I'd like to say that things had run smoothly for us, that we'd fallen in love at first sight, and that we wasted no time in getting 'involved'. I'd also like to say that I knew she was the one for me, and that the sun had shone and it was one of those perfect moments that are far and few in life.

The truth is, it was one of the shittiest moments of my life when I met her.

In she'd walked, royally pissed off about something, demanding a room at the Independence Inn. I was dehydrating from a lack of good coffee, you can blame that on Luke for refusing to bring me any, and I was not in the mood to put up with anyone else's troubles, let alone someone who had shoved a FBI badge in my face without warning. I remember thinking how foolish it was that she was using it to get somewhere to sleep, and I promptly told her that a fake ID was never going to work with me. It might have worked with Michel, because he's a sucker when it comes to authority, but she was never going to get it past me. I mean, what sane woman working for the FBI, earning 10 times more than me, would want to forfeit any sort of real luxury for a quaint little place in Stars Hollow? Hello, that's what the six-
star hotels in Hartford were for.

I suppose I was a bit harsh with her from then on, rejecting suggestions from both Rory and Luke that she was actually a nice person. I supposed pigs could fly at the time as well. I'm not to sure how she wrapped those two around her fingers so soon, but she still gets free doughnuts from Luke, and Rory still makes her herbal tea in the morning. I haven't managed to get anything free from Luke, and my daughter has never made me herbal tea (that might be because I'm addicted to caffeine, but hey... I'm using it for dramatic effect.).

I can remember things starting to change between us the day she quit smoking. There she was standing outside Lukes just about to light up when it finally started raining in Stars Hollow after a weekend of overcast weather. I caught her glaring at the sky for a moment, then she smiled and I saw her say 'thankyou'. She believes in omens, and a lot of other spiritual stuff, and I guess she knew that the rain was a sign, and she quickly threw out her pack of cigarettes and her lighter and strolled into Lukes to get dinner.

You'd think that the lack of nicotine in her bloodstream would've turned her into a raving lunatic, but the next day she'd walked into Lukes for her free doughnut without her customary glare at me. Since it pissed her off that I'd sat in her seat at the counter one day, I deliberately kept doing it, just to see if she could improve her insults. Besides, it was good practice for me, and it woke me up as well. I planned to use her every slur when I got to work against Michel. He'd have his own insults, and I used them against her. It was a worthy little game I had going, and I was proud of myself.

I got my first smile out of her as we silently passed each other on the walkway over the lake. It took me a full five minutes to register what had happened, and then I debated it all night with Rory. She told me that Monica was actually a very cheery person, and that I kept judging her from our first meeting. First impressions last a long time in my world, and Rory actually refused to talk to me until I got over my problem with Monica Reyes.

I thought that Rory would give up on her plan sometime the next afternoon, but she went for three days without uttering a word to me. There was, of course, the note on the fridge that said she was going to Lanes, but even that was lacking length. I remember thinking that I should catch Reyes while she was at the Inn in the morning to talk, just to have my daughter back on my side.

But I guess I passed on my sneaky side to my daughter, because she returned home with Reyes right behind her. Albeit practically dragging the older woman, Rory told me that the two of us were to sort out our problem with each other, and promptly locked me out of the house. The problem wasn't as much Reyes as it was the fact that I was only wearing a pair of jeans and a short sleeve top. Damn winter weather.

So I spent the next twenty minutes yelling to Rory to let me in, with Monica behind me telling me that maybe the neighbours were just about to come out with guns blazing. I repeatedly told her to shut up, and she finally got the point, although she still stood there in my front yard, even with the light rain that had begun. It occurred to me that maybe she wanted to settle our bickering like Rory wanted, and she was actually willing to do it tonight.

The rain had gotten a little heavier by the time I stopped threatening Rory with the biggest grounding of her life, but Reyes hadn't moved any closer to the porch, and her clothes and hair were soaking wet. I quietly asked her if the lack of nicotine was affecting her logic, expecting a sarcastic remark from her. She had an insult ready to go, I could see it in her face, but she never let it slip, and I was surprised when she asked if she could just sit in one of our porch chairs and dry off instead. I nodded my head at her, and she ascended the stairs, pausing beside me a second to mumble a thankyou.

Neither of us was willing to start up a calm and friendly conversation, so we just listened to the rain for a while. I sat down at the door with my knees up to my chest, hugging myself in an attempt to keep warm. I swear I could feel the goosebumps on my legs through my jeans, and I grumbled to myself at the thought of getting sick with an upcoming wedding reception in two weeks at the Inn.

Monica must've heard or seen me, because she coughed aloud to hide a laugh. I glared at her, but all she did was shift her hand to cover the smile I knew she had. Cheeky cow.

That night I started to see the light in her eyes that I had missed when I'd first met her, and it amazed me that Rory and Luke had seen it before I had. We got into a conversation that drifted from Rory, to Lukes coffee, to the last book we'd read. I'd shifted to sit on the porch chair next to her just as our discussion was dying down, and we simply sat and enjoyed the silence of the night, and each others presence.

I don't remember falling asleep that night, but somehow I ended up on the couch the next morning with the spare throw rug covering me. Rory told me that Monica had knocked on the window and told her that I was asleep, and that she'd lifted me up and carried me inside without waking me.

Just as we were so quick to hate each other, we kind of became attached to each others presence. We had, and still have, some spirited dinners at Lukes, but now of course, I can distract her from a heated conversation about the government or the advantages of eating pop tarts with a simple kiss on the lips.

She seems to forget where she is for a second after I kiss her, which is amusing to watch.

Truth is, I've never been so in love before. It took us another week to realise that we were indeed falling for each other. Now, if someone had told me that was going to happen, I would've laughed in their face, and quickly called them a shrink.

END