Waking Up In Vegas

The squat, tan brick, building in front of Katherine Jones stood in stark contrast to the reflective lights of the Las Vegas strip that she could see still in the distance; despite it being eight in the morning. With a frustrated yawn she slammed the rental car into park and dropped her head back against the seat for a moment before climbing out of the vehicle and walking in the dry desert heat towards the building.

The Las Vegas Police Department Convention Center Area Command was a mere one mile from the Las Vegas strip and was the last place Katy wanted to end her bachelorette weekend; but necessity and logic were what dictated that she be the person to make the trip this morning.

"I would be the only person not hung over wouldn't I?" she grumbled; internally half-cursing her sobriety. If she had known that what was supposed to be a simple trip to Las Vegas for the weekend would end with a trip to pick someone up at the police department she would have gone with her initial gut feeling over not going. "Hey," she added louder as the person she was looking for was sitting on a bench outside.

"You?" he replied sounding exhausted and more then a little annoyed.

"Get in the car," was all she responded, before turning on her heal and walking back towards the vehicle. "I'm pissed at you," she added off his questioning look.

"It was self defense."

"Bull shit. It was you being a drunken testosterone addled idiot."

"Love you too," was shot in her direction as Rob climbed into the car and put his seat belt on.

"Don't fuck with me right now Robert," she growled, carefully pulling out of the parking space and turning the car to head back to his hotel. "I got no sleep last night because I had to deal with your fuck up."

"Why'd you have to deal with it? She's a big girl as she proved last night."

"Why'd I have to deal with it? You know; You're really fucking lucky that guy didn't decide to press charges."

"He hit me first!"

"You broke his nose!"

"Would you just shut up and drive? I don't need you to try and discipline me. You've got enough of your own problems to worry about."

Katy's head snapped in the direction of the passenger seat at the comment and her jaw immediately tightened as she choked down the screaming match she was suddenly very tempted to get into with her fiance's best friend. Instead she turned her attention back to the road and repeated what she had been thinking since the previous Tuesday when the trip to Vegas had been sprung on her, "Well, this trip was certainly a good idea."

"I said shut up."
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"I dunno you two," Katy replied uncertainly. "Do you really think Vegas is a good idea?"

"Yes we do," Holli insisted. "And we bought the tickets already so you can't say no."

"But I don't even drink anymore. What am I going to do all weekend?"

"Dance, gamble a little, have a full spa day," Leigh replied with conviction. "You aren't getting out of this Jones, soon to be Garbowsky. It's your bachelorette weekend."

"And what are we telling the boys?"

"We're telling them that we're going to Boston," Leigh continued with the explanation Katy was beginning to realize the two blondes had cooked up a while ago. "They're going to Atlantic City this weekend anyway. It's the perfect cover."

"Why don't we just tell them we're going to Vegas?" Katy asked the most logical question that came to her mind upon hearing her friend's supposedly fool-proof plan. "He might not love the idea of me taking off to Vegas for a weekend, but I don't like lying to Greg either."

"You aren't lying," Leigh replied. "You're putting his mind at ease. He thinks you're in Boston going to a spa and museums and stuff and really you're dancing with Chipendales dancers. This way he can enjoy his weekend with the boys in AC."

"I don't do strippers."

"No one said you have to do any strippers," Holli replied with a smirk. "But you will have to watch a few."

"Classy," Katy muttered, beginning to grow exasperated with her two friends. Her original plans, upon hearing that Greg was going to Atlantic City with Rob and Mike for the coming weekend, had been to sit at home with Peanut and catch up on her writing. "What about Peanut?"

"Kennel?" Leigh suggested.

"Excuse me?!" Katy nearly shrieked. "You want me to put my baby in a kennel for the weekend? Or at all?"

"Relax, I already spoke to Greg's parents cause I knew you'd freak out about the dog. They're gonna take him for the weekend."

"So I have no outs huh?"

"Not at all," Holli replied with a smirk. "And don't get try starting in on me. My doctor already said as long as I don't drink and I take it somewhat easy I am perfectly okay for this trip."

"Better question over my dog," Katy responded with a smirk. "What about my goddaughter?"

She relaxed back in her chair, as she was fairly certain that somehow her meticulous best friend had forgotten about the child that had only come home from the hospital a week earlier. A series of emotions passed over Holli's face and then her expression hardened into a resolved expression.

"I am less then thrilled about leaving Regina, this is true. However, my parents are going to take care of her for the two days we are gone. In fact, they are the ones that suggested I take a trip as well this weekend. Something about, needing to get that first excursion away from the baby over with."

Katy's shoulders dropped at the news and she sighed in resignation, "Fine. I guess we're going to Vegas."

"We are. And don't try and guilt trip me over the baby again. We're leaving late Friday afternoon and getting back Sunday afternoon. It's barely forty-eight hours."

"Fine," Katy replied again and began stabbing her salad with a fork.
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"Well, we're here," Katy mumbled once she had parked the car in the parking lot of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

"Yea thanks," Rob muttered, sounding anything but thankful, as he got out of the car. "What are you doing?" he added when she climbed out as well.

"Well, the girls and I checked out earlier then planned this morning and brought our shit over here. It's all in the trunk. Now I'm going to go get them so we can go to the airport and actually make our flight on time."

"She's here?!"

"Yes, she is. You have approximately a half hour before we have to leave to go apologize profusely to your girlfriend. I'd like one of those too if you can squeeze it past your bruised ego."

"Why should I apologize to either of you. You were supposed to be in Boston!"

"You were supposed to be in Atlantic City. And you ruined my bachelorette weekend. In fact, you should probably go apologize to Greg too since it was his bachelor party that got ruined as well."

"I don't need to apologize to anyone for what I did. I went to go remove some no neck frat boy from my girlfriend. She got pissed at me for it; which, might I point out how fucked up that is. He swung at me. I defended myself."

"Leigh got pissed at you for being a moody belligerent drunk asshole," Katy snapped back at him and turned the full power of her glare on him, smirking when he actually paled slightly. "Now, go make up with your girlfriend so my wedding isn't awkward as well."

"Ex-girlfriend," he stressed and began walking inside, leaving a shocked female to follow him.

"Ex? What the fuck is this ex business?"

"She was all up on that guy," he grumbled back.

"Oh get over yourself Robert," Katy finally snapped, losing all hold on her limited patience given the situation. "You landed in overnight lock up. No one but you fucked up."

"They really needed to send your sanctimonious ass to pick me up didn't they?"

"Yes!" she snapped, stepping onto the elevator and ignoring the curious looks they were receiving from other hotel guests. "They did. Because if Greg went to get you he was going to kick your ass into next week. And Leigh was far too upset to drive."

"She's really that upset?"

"Yes," Katy replied, softening her tone slightly.

There was a long pause as Rob processed her words and Katy relaxed, thinking she had finally gotten through to the occasionally hard headed young man. It wasn't until the doors opened that he responded to her answer, "Good."

"Asshole," Katy hissed and brushed past him off the elevator to head to the boys' suite; still wondering why she hadn't just stuck to her initial reluctance over going to Vegas in the first place. She slammed the door to the hotel suite open when she reached it and drew curious looks from the three occupants. "Where's Greg?"

"Bedroom," Holli answered quickly; not willing to draw anymore ire from her best friend, who had been a ranging ball of anger since Rob had been hauled out of The Palms the night before in handcuffs.

Without another word she stalked into the bedroom in question and slammed the door closed behind her, leaning against it heavily and choking down a sob so her fiance wouldn't realize how upset she was. She met his eyes across the room, where he was finishing packing and waved off any comment quickly with a shake of her head.

"You okay?"

"This trip might have been the worst idea we have ever had. And we didn't even have it together."

"Hell," Greg mumbled looking annoyed, though Katy knew it wasn't at her. "Neither one of us actually had it to begin with."