"This was a bad idea.  I should not have let you talk me into this."

"Are you going to say that all night?" Katie asked, stopping at the door to the small club.

"Probably."

"Why?  I'm fine.  I told you that."

"You are not fine.  This was a bad idea."

The bouncer stood watching amused as the two argued back and forth for a few minutes before he added his two cents, "I agree with the dude."

Katie stopped arguing and looked over at the bouncer.  He was a big guy, so she kept her words to herself.  She didn't think he would hurt her, but she thought the same thing about Dane.

"Just a few minutes please!"

"Why do you want to go in there so bad?"

Katie thought for a minute, trying to decide if she wanted to tell him to truth, or if she could think up a plausible lie fast enough.  She decided the truth was the only way to go.  In other words, the only lies she could come up with were ridiculous.

"I've never been into a club before."

"So you chose the night you get out of the hospital to go?  Why did I agree to this?"

"Cause I'm beautiful?"

AJ rolled his eyes, "We're only going in there so I can tell Nick we're not staying.  He won't answer his phone...probably can't hear it.  We'll go have dinner."

Katie gave in, finding her arguments useless.  He'd decided that giving into her about this was a stupid idea, and if he had anything to say about, he was fixing it.  She followed him into the club and he immediately spotted Nick.

They forced their way through the crowd to Nick, but Katie got separated from AJ.  There were too many people and they kept bumping into her and her still tender bruises. Katie was beginning to agree with AJ.  This was a bad idea.  She took a deep breath and tried to find AJ in the crowd.  He hadn't yet realized she wasn't still right behind him.

She forced her way through the crowd to get to him.  A guy in the crowd spotted her and tried to grab her around the waist.  She couldn't hear what he said, but she probably wouldn't have been able to understand his drunken slurring anyway.  His hands her on her hips, trying to get her to dance with him.  She was trying to pull away from him, panic setting in.

AJ looked back to check on Katie and realized that she wasn't there.  Scanning the crowd he couldn't immediately see her.  He'd already told Nick they were leaving, so he just needed to find her now.  He tried to make his way back out the way they came in, hoping Katie would be somewhere along there.  He spotted her a few feet off the path they'd taken, being manhandled.

"Dude, get off my girl!" he yelled over the music, grabbing Katie's hand to pull her away from the guy.  The guy let go of Katie and AJ was free to drag her out of the club.

"See.  I told you it was a bad idea."

"Sorry.  I really didn't think it would be that bad."

The bouncer laughed at that comment, "Dude, she's really never been before?"

"Don't ask," AJ responded as he led Katie back to the car, "I could've told you it would be crazy like that."

"I wanted to see.  Dane would never let me go out with him when he went.  And I guess I was too scared to go with the girls in case he was there."

"That's messed up.  Now you've been.  And I'm not taking you to another club until you are off those pain meds."

"If ever.  That was so not cool.  I don't see the appeal."

"Good.  Let's go somewhere less crowded."

"And a little quieter."

They found a small restaurant with live music and decided that this would be a much safer bet than the club had been.  Walking in, they found an empty high-topped table and quickly went over to sit down.  Katie wasn't supposed to have anything with any kind of alcohol due to the various medications she was put on at the hospital for pain and such, so she wasn't really thrilled.  She finally settled with a soda, but she was sure to show her displeasure.

They didn't really talk as the two perused the menus in front of them.  They sat in a comfortable silence, listening to the live band.  AJ periodically scanned the room for any unwanted visitors.  The last thing he wanted was to be mobbed by anyone, but he figured this was an older crowd, so he was pretty safe.

AJ and Katie put their food orders in, making small talk while the band played in the background.  Not long after Katie felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Beth!  What are you guys doing here?" she hugged her best friend and smiled at Joe who was standing just behind her, "I thought you two were celebrating your anniversary?  You've been together for seventy years now?"

They all laughed.  It had seemed like it was that long.  Katie knew it was just a matter of time before Beth and Joe were engaged and married with little Joe's and Beth's running around.

"Yeah, about that...the plans I had didn't really work out so great," Joe lightly blushed.

Beth grinned at him, "The thought of it all was really sweet, but...he almost burned the apartment down."

Katie and AJ both raised their eyebrows in question.

"Do I want to know?" Katie finally asked, with a little shake of her head.

"Candles, burnt dinner causing a small oven fire...it was a horrible mess," Beth laughed. It wasn't funny when it had happened, but looking back, Beth found it slightly amusing.

"Hey!  I had help!  You were the one that knocked over that one candle," Joe protested.

"Yep, that's definitely something clutzy here would do," Katie laughed as she pictured the scene in Joe's tiny apartment.  Well, it was more of a cracker box with a door.

"Like I need your help!" Beth scowled at Katie.  She then took in the scene before her.  AJ and Katie, having a nice dinner, at a semi-romantic restaurant.  She pulled on Katie's arm, "Can we talk for a second?"

Katie looked at Beth with a questioning look, "I'm in the middle of dinner."

"It'll just take a minute," Beth pulled Katie out of the chair.

Katie rolled her eyes and finally allowed Beth to pull her away from the table to the bathrooms where it was a little quieter, and there were no prying ears.  The guys were left alone at the table.

"That was rude!  What's so important that it couldn't wait?  It better be important after that!" Katie emphasized her words with a few waves of her hands as she glanced back at the table to see Joe sit down.  It appeared that they guys were in a good conversation, so she let it go a little.

"What are you doing?" Beth asked.

"Having dinner?"

"You look like you're ready to go clubbing...you didn't, did you?  Shouldn't you be like...resting or something?"

"First of all, you packed these clothes, not me.  I never asked for them, but they were there, so I figured I'd use them.  I can take care of myself mom," Katie knew the next comment that was coming, and decided to head it off before it even came, "And we're just having dinner, so back off."

"Okay, I packed those so if in a few days you were up to it you could go out without having to go back to the apartment.  Not for you to use the night you got out of the damn hospital.  You still didn't answer my question...are you going clubbing?"

"No.  Alex put an end to that idea.  It sucked anyways, so I didn't even want to stay."

"So...you did?  Or you didn't?"

"Alex didn't think it was a good idea."

"He was right."

Katie shot her a ‘shut up and let me finish' look, and continued, "As I was saying...he didn't think it was a good idea, but he gave in.  We were there for all of five minutes before I was bumped up and groped.  I have no interest in going back any time soon, so don't worry."

"At least he's not a complete idiot."

"He's not an idiot...he's a really great guy.  And we are not cuddly.  Just one friend taking another friend out to dinner.  I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were.  I'm just looking out for you."

"I know you are, and I appreciate that, but like I said before, I can take care of myself.  Alex is great."

"Yeah, you keep saying that, but you know his reputation..."

"That's AJ.  Crazy flirty guy."

"I just want you to be careful.  You shouldn't get yourself involved or attached to another guy so fast."

"Alex and I had the talk.  We're just friends.  If something happens in the future that's great, but we're just friends.  I know I'm not ready for another relationship.  He knows that, too.  It's only been a few days."

"As long as you're being careful."

"I promise I am.  I just...I can't help it if I want to find what you and Joe have.  You two have been together for eighty years," the girls laughed at the joke, "I just want that, too."

"You'll get it, Katie.  Maybe Alex is your lobster; I just want you to take it slow.  Very slow."

"I am."

"Then I guess I have to be happy for you.  You're moving on..." Beth finished, giving up her side of the fight.

The girls hugged and then went back to the table to join the guys.

"I hope you don't mind I invited Joe to join us?" AJ asked.

"As long as Beth gets to stay, too?"

AJ rolled his eyes and nodded, smiling.  So the four sat together, celebrating Joe and Beth's ninetieth anniversary.  Oh, and the old married couple grilled AJ on his intentions and such.