Depends On Where You're Standing

by This Is The End's Beginning

First movie. What if Casper (played by Frank John Hughes) had a wife, Evie, that was away at college but returned in time for the start of the movie? Being married to a criminal and having a friend in the wife of a cop leaves her trailing both sides of the law. But sometimes it's hard to tell which is the good side; it all really all depends on where you're standing.

I first met Casper when I was in elementary school. My family and I had moved to Miami and the very same day we arrived he came over with his mom, introducing themselves. They were two houses down and were actually a great help. We knew next to nothing about Miami and they helped us navigate the unfamiliar territory.

Casper and I became inseparable. He was a grade ahead of me, but always made sure that when I walked to school that someone was with me. He's always been waiting for me outside my house, and if he couldn't make it he'd send his sister or one of his friends. But he'd always be the one to walk me home, even when he got to middle school. They got out half an hour earlier but he'd walk the three blocks to my elementary school and wait until we got out, just to walk me home.

During those years I just thought it was him being the greatest best friend ever, but as we got into high school I started to wish it was something more. Both our moms were convinced there was something more going on between us, and when we made it clear there wasn't, Casper was so embarrassed about the thought I knew there'd never be anything between us. My mom tried to convince me otherwise, but it was pointless. I knew for a fact that Casper had many girlfriends, and for some reason he still stuck around me. He could be friends with anyone, he was that guy, but he kept hanging out with me. I wasn't the most popular person in high school and knew it confused everyone else greatly. Why would such a popular, handsome guy hang out with a loser like me?

One night when one of his ex-girlfriends point blank asked me that to my face I was stunned. Not because of the question, but the fact she would have the nerve to ask it to my face. And Casper was just as shocked by it. I didn't even know he was there at first, but as soon as that question was asked everyone knew he was there. He practically blew up, shouting and cussing the girl out for even asking such a stupid question. He dragged me out of there and I could feel the rage pouring off of him. His hand was gripping mine so hard it almost hurt, and I stopped him to tell him so. His anger was quickly joined by guilt as he released my hand. He apologized and said he was just so pissed someone could even think something like that. I asked why not, it was all true anyway. His anger disappeared at my comment when he realized I wasn't joking. He couldn't believe I thought that way about myself and quickly started telling me all the reasons it wasn't true. His words actually made me cry, and he held me until the tears stopped before doing something I thought he never would but always wished he would. He kissed me.

Now I'm not stupid, he's had girlfriends, he's kissed girls before, and I knew the fact I hadn't ever been kissed probably showed, but he just pressed me to the wall in that alley in Miami until I couldn't breathe. It started a whole new wave of tears and he panicked for a second thinking he made a huge mistake in kissing me until I told him he didn't, I just thought he would never want to kiss me in the first place and couldn't believe it was actually happening. He laughed a little saying he'd been wanting to do that for years.

Things were good after that. Everyone at school backed off when it came out that we were dating. No one was stupid enough to mess with Casper, and so everyone knew to not mess with me either. While we might've been best friends before and he would've seriously fucked up anyone who messed with me, it was different when we were dating.

After a few months things started to change. Casper's dad was killed in a car accident, and the new guy his mom got together with was involved in some seriously bad shit, and pulled Casper in too. But he handled it, and he made sure to keep me clear of it. I knew it was probably drugs, or gun running, but I loved him, so I could ignore it for the time being. While this posed a problem or two in our relationship, everything was still good. He graduated high school-mostly because I kept him from dropping out beforehand and made sure he kept his grades up high enough that he could actually graduate-and I only had one more year left. Everything was good at home, and everything was good with us.

But he couldn't always keep his…extra curriculars from me. After he graduated it took up the spaces in his life that were now empty. Things got more hectic, he'd get phone calls and would have to leave suddenly, he would come to me late at night, sneaking in through my window with cuts and bruises and I'd patch him up. Some of the guys I'd see coming and going at his house were a little shady, and I recognized some of them as people that didn't make their money legally. But quite a few of them were nice, and one or two even became good friends of mine. There were nights where Casper would have to leave and not come back for a day or two, where he would have me stay at his place with his mom, saying it was for our own good, and a few guys would stay with us.

But he knew it was wearing on me, and I could see it was wearing on him. So on spring break, my last high school spring break, he took me away from it all. My mom and dad trusted him enough-they knew he'd never put me in danger, either in danger of losing my life or my freedom, and so allowed it since I was still 17 and so a minor. Casper rented some room in a decent hotel and we just took the weekend. He turned his cell off and spent every second with me. It was on our first night here that I lost my virginity to him, and I've never regretted it, any of it. I loved him, he loved me, and with everything he'd put into this relationship I knew he wouldn't just ditch me afterward like some guys would. And he didn't, in fact he did the opposite. Afterward he wouldn't let me an inch of space between us, and when we were alone in our hotel room he couldn't seem to get enough of me. It was my first time, but he said it was the best he'd ever had.

But when we got back things just kept getting worse. His involvement with his cartel or whatever it was took up every second of his day, and most nights. And it showed, he was exhausted and snapped at his mom and me, which hurt because he'd never been like that. Don't get me wrong he could cuss up a storm and get downright violent, but he'd never been like that with me or his mom, only with people who threatened or seriously insulted him or his family.

It was because of his busy schedule that I didn't tell him about the full scholarship I had gotten to the University of Florida. I just could never seem to find the time, and neither could he. He knew I was applying to colleges, but when I told him I was seriously thinking about going to the University of Florida we fought about it. The college was at least five hours away and he didn't want me to go so far away. I honestly thought he just didn't expect me to go anywhere but the local college, and it stunned him I wanted to go somewhere further away from Miami, and from him. It was one of the worst fights we had, and it wouldn't be the last. As the months past and graduation was approaching, I decided to go there, and while he was still unhappy about it, he knew he couldn't force me not to. So he accepted it, but on one condition-that I marry him first. And so I did, two months before graduation I turned 18 and we went to the local church and got married. When my parents found out they were furious. They had loved Casper when we were little, but when he got involved into things we all knew weren't strictly legal they only tolerated him for my sake. But they never would've let me marry him, which is why we waited until I didn't need their consent. But I didn't know just how upset they'd be-they kicked me out. That night I showed up on Casper's doorstep, his mom answering the door. She ushered me in and I told her what happened, sobbing almost hysterically before she managed to calm me. She tried calling Casper but couldn't reach him and so moved me up to his room. It was just as I was finally drifting off to sleep that the door opened and he almost ran over to me. He had turned off his phone because of some important meeting, and as soon as he got his mom's messages he rushed back. He held me that night, and every night after. I moved in with them, and just before graduation things got even worse.

It was one of the nights that Casper couldn't be there, but had sent two of his friends, gang members he had under his command, to stay with me and his mom at home. They were there for our protection. We had never needed it before, but this night we did. An hour or so after Jasper had left a van pulled up outside and three men in masks got out. The two men guarding the place told us to go upstairs and as we did the door was kicked in. One of our guys went down with a bullet in the leg as Casper's mom and I ran up the steps and into the closest bedroom, locking the door and moving the dresser in front of it. More shots were fired downstairs as someone tried to get through the door. We knew we couldn't stay there and went to the window. I got out and made my way onto the street via the fire escape, but Casper's mom didn't. The guy had gotten the door opened enough to be able to fire his gun at her and had hit her. She had hit her head on the metal fire escape. A minute later the guy appeared at the window and raised his gun at me, forcing me to run.

I ran ten blocks before even considering slowing down. It was then that I realized my cell was missing. I stopped at the nearest diner and convinced the manager to let me use his phone to call Casper. He picked up before the first ring was even over and he was so panicked, saying he had come home and found the cops all over the place. He came and picked me up, taking me to a fellow member's house. Almost everyone was there, even people I had never met before but had seen in passing. Casper didn't like involving me but at this point we were way past that.

It turned out his mom died, as did one of the guys trying to protect us. After this everything went to hell. Casper made sure nothing like this would ever happen again, but he started to become distant with me. But after two or three weeks I got so pissed I yelled at him until he finally broke down, saying he blamed himself for his mom and for almost getting me killed. It was my turn to hold him as he cried and after he told me I had to go. I was confused and a little hurt until he explained that things aren't getting better, if anything they're getting worse. He couldn't ensure something like this wouldn't happen again and he wanted-no needed- me to be safe. So when graduation happened just a month later he drove me to the University of Florida, leaving me with a promise that he'd call and visit every chance he got, which we both knew probably wouldn't be often.

And he kept his word, he called almost every day and he came up twice a month. I'd go back to visit him and my parents, who had eventually come to accept the way things were. About two years into this arrangement I got a call from the Miami Police informing me that he had been arrested, charged with carrying a concealed weapon and drug possession. I went down to the prison to visit a few times and started getting letters in the mail from him instead of phone calls because his phone time was limited.

And then the U.S. Army stepped into the picture. My major in college was cyber security and forensics and I was already working at a private corporation that specialized in it. But the Army had apparently noticed me and wanted me to come work for them, even with my marriage to a convicted felon. I suppose they thought that having me work in the counter-terrorism unit tracking online leads wouldn't be affected by a small time felon. Besides the countermeasures they already had in place to prevent leaks and tampering were more than enough to keep someone from trying to use their job there to their advantage, not that I ever would, even if Casper asked, which he wouldn't. And it's not like I could really do anything to help him even if I wanted to because what I had access to isn't anything that could help him.

Casper wasn't happy when I told him, but at least it wasn't the government I was working for. The other guys in his gang had a similar reaction, or so Casper told me. But many of them had been military and while they had a problem with the police and government, less so with the military.

It had been five years since I had started college, and this last year I'd been working for the Army in addition. But I find myself feeling more and more lonely. Casper got out of prison two years ago, but his visits were few and far between. I was almost done my degree and already looked into getting a transfer to the army base in Miami, also called the U.S. Army Garrison-Miami or U.S. Southern Command. After ensuring this could actually be an option I called Casper.

"Hey baby," he answers in almost a whisper. The cell he's using isn't his regular one. He bought a different one that he uses solely to talk to me, not wanting any of his associates to find out about me. Remember how I said things were bad when I left, well most of that gang was wiped out or put in prison. Luckily Casper only got a year.

"Hey, this a bad time?" I ask, seriously hoping it's not.

"No, just give me a…" he trails off and I can hear the sound of a door being slammed and locked. "Alright."

"So I looked into something and I wanted to get your opinion," I begin tentatively. He still isn't happy with the idea of me coming back. Things are starting to settle own but it's still dangerous, especially if anyone were to remember me or find out who I am. They could use me to get to him.

"Okay, bout what?" he asks and I can imagine he leaning against the wall on his shoulder.

"I researched positions at the local army base in Miami. I haven't applied or anything, there might not even be something, but I wanted to see," I'm starting to ramble but he stops me.

"Evie, everything is still too up in the air here," he say and I can hear the sternness to his voice.

"You've been saying that for the last five years Cas, it's never going to settle, not like you want it to," I say, the unspoken 'not unless you get out' tacked on the end. "I just want to come home. I want to go to sleep in the same bed as my husband every night."

I can hear him sigh, not angrily, but sadly because he wants the same thing to. But after what happened to his mom he's become focused on keeping me safe first and foremost.

"Please Cas, just…just think about it," I plead.

"Yeah…yeah, okay," he says.

"Wait, okay, as in…okay?" I can't stop a smile from starting to spread on my face.

"Listen, we got something going on here, something big. And if everything goes to plan it's going to be a serious payday, enough that we could move wherever we want, do whatever we want," he says, his voice low.

"And if it doesn't go to plan?" I ask worriedly.

"Don't think about that," he answers shortly.

I take a breath and slowly nod before remembering he can't see me. "Okay, what do you want me to do?"

"Find somewhere, anywhere, far away from Miami, and apply," he says and I know why. Getting involved with these kinds of people is supposed to be a lifelong commitment. If you break that you better be far, far away, hidden somewhere they can't find you.

"Love, you sure about this?" I ask worried for him. He could be crossing some pretty dangerous people here.

"Yeah," he says, sounding tired. "This life, it never used to bother me, but now…I need out."

"Okay, I'll do some more research," I say.

"I gotta get back," he tells me. "Call you later. Love ya'."

"Love you too," I say and then hear the dial tone. Time to research other places, preferably halfway across the country.

It takes a few weeks, but I manage to find a bunch of places hiring and apply. With my education and work experience I should be accepted to a substantial number, but it's up to Cas and I both to decide which one I end up going to.

Shortly before my trip to Miami, to see Cas for the first time in our home city in a few years instead of him visiting me, he called me during work. I didn't get the message until later that night, and he said that thing that was going on, something got in the way and they were trying to fix it. He said if I came down he probably wouldn't be able to see me for more than a few hours. But I didn't care; I had other people I could visit. My parents moved away a long time ago, but most of my friends still lived around the area, namely Maxine Logan and Theresa Burnett.

He doesn't answer his phone but I leave him a message to tell him I'm still coming. He isn't living at his mom's house anymore, not since she died, and I don't want to go to his place without him there. He may be there with some of his associates, or there might be things there he doesn't want me to see.

So the next morning I drive to Miami and go straight to see Maxine. When I knock on her door it isn't her that answers. It's her roommate, Julie.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"I'm here to see Max, I'm an old friend," I say and hear a squeal from inside the apartment before Max is there, pushing Julie out of the way and hugging me.

"Jesus girl, it's so great to actually see you again," she says into my hair.

I smile at her enthusiasm and hug her back. "It's good to see you too. It's been way to long."

"Damn straight it has been," she says pulling back and putting her hands on her hips. "I get that this college stuff is important to you, but it's been three years since I've seen you."

It doesn't take long to calm her down once I start talking about everything that's happening in those three years. Julie disappears for a while, wanting to give us some privacy for us to catch up, but returns an hour later. I quickly find that I like her as well and all three of us hang out for a few hours before Max and Julie tell me they have somewhere they have to be. Apparently Max roped Julie into accompanying her to a party.

"No, no, no, Evie you stay here. Casper would kill me if he found out I took you," Max says after I volunteered to take Julie's place since she seemed less than thrilled about going. While I definitely wouldn't have done anything with the guy Max was meeting, I would've at least dropped her off and waited. While I might be in college and have a good job compared to Max's situation, that doesn't mean I don't understand why she does it. It's hard to get a decent job with decent pay when you barely graduated high school. There aren't many options besides working overtime for slave wage, or getting your money illegally. So I don't judge. Max is old enough to choose how to live her life.

"Well then it's a good thing he won't know then isn't it?" I ask, getting up and grabbing my purse.

"Who's Casper?" Julie asks.

"Her husband, who also happens to be a major player in one of the meanest gangs on these streets," Max says, her voice as tough as nails. "And you're still just as stubborn. I don't want you to come."

I gasp and put a hand to my chest. "That hurts Max, really."

I hold up the keys to my car. "Now do you want me to drive you or are you going to take the bus as usual?"

"I like her," Julie whispers, leaning toward Max.

Max is still looking at me like she can convince me to not go just through her glare, but it softens a bit hearing Julie's comment.

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's get this over," Julie then says, grabbing Max's hand and dragging her toward the door. "Can I drive?"

I shake my head no and she shrugs, already knowing that was probably going to be the answer.

Max directs me to where they need to be and I drop them off right outside the hotel. Max touches up her makeup and thanks me, saying it won't take long before she and Julie are out of my car heading for the Al Capone suite. Max actually recognized the address, having heard about it before. But really, the Al Capone suite? Who comes up with these things?

As I wait for them to come back I take out my cell phone and try calling Cas again, and this time he actually answers.

"Hey baby, this isn't really a good time," he says, voice lowered.

"Then I'll be quick," I say, pushing down my frustration at him not answering my earlier calls today and not being able to see him even though I'm finally in the same city he is. "I got your message about you not wanting me to come up, but too late, I'm already here."

There's a second of silence and then he asks, "What? Where?"

"Right now outside the Filmore Hotel, dropped off Max and one of her friends," before I can elaborate he cuts me off.

"The Filmore? I'm there right now," he says before there's a noise over the line and I can hear his now muffled voice say impatiently, "I'll be there in a minute, Jesus."

"Where exactly are you?" I ask him starting to get excited at seeing him sooner than I thought I would.

"Al Capone suite," he says and my heart stutters to a halt.

"Cas, Max is there right now, I just dropped her off," I say, worry seeping into the words.

"Shit," he curses, "I'll check it out, just stay where you are. Okay baby?"

But I don't answer, I'm already getting out of my car and walking toward the hotel.

"Evie?" he asks, "I'll handle this, please just stay in your car."

"I think you know me better than that," I say, climbing the steps.

I hear him sigh almost violently, "Damn it Evie. Why can't you just do what you're told for once?"

"You wouldn't love me if I did," I say.

He sighs again, but this time it's more defeated because he can't argue with me there. He told me once that one of the reasons he loves me is the fact I never just blindly do what he tells me to, I actually use my brain, unlike some of the girls he dated before. "You have five minutes, maybe, before we get there. I want to see you walking down the street out of that place before we get there. I don't care if Max is with you are not, you can't be there when we get there."

"Okay," I agree.

"Damn it, I fucking mean it, you have to be gone!" he raises his voice this time.

"And you know I would never just leave Max there, not her," I say, and then hang up the phone, wincing as I imagine the stream of curses leaving his mouth when he realizes I hung up on him.

I practically run toward the suite, entering none too gracefully when I do. Max is sitting at a table, a man standing next to her. I see an opened key of coke on the table but one glance at Max tells me she hasn't sampled it yet. I can easily recognize when someone is high thanks to my less than perfect childhood.

"Um, I'm sorry for just barging in, but Max it's time to go," I interrupt and see Max look at me closely. "My husband called and we need to leave."

I emphasize the 'husband' part, hoping Max will understand enough that she'll make a quick excuse. She doesn't disappoint because she stands and politely and gracefully navigates her way around ducking out on her client. He's a little pissed but she whispers something in his ear, probably something about how my husband is someone you really don't want to piss off with a hint at what he does to those who do piss him off, and then she slips him her number with a promise of getting together later.

"I'll just go get Julie," Max says, but before she can take more than one step the door opens and I can hear a muttered sentence of, "I should've told you sooner about Eddie's private party."

"Well now, now it's a surprise party," a different, accented voice says.

I freeze, every muscle in my body tensing because these men are dangerous, less so to me because Casper is with them and I'm with him so I would fall under his protection, but Max isn't. So I force myself to take a deep breath and sit down on the couch. Max slowly does the same, sitting back down in the chair she was in earlier.

One of the men crosses the room, and I keep my back to the others, knowing Cas is there and that he's pissed- pissed because not only am I somewhere I'm not supposed to be (only gang members should be involved in gang business) but because I also am in danger. He's told me about this new boss of his; he's smart, but unpredictable, even sometimes flat out crazy.

"I see you treat yourself well, Eddie," the same man that spoke earlier says, the one in a black suit.

"Yeah," Eddie says, "I needed to blow off a little steam after the uh… the move, you know, so I-a little party with a couple of friends, you know how it is, that's all. I was going to invite you guys."

I look at Max, who is nervously trying not to fiddle with the hem of her dress, and after giving her a reassuring look I finally gather the courage to look at Cas. He's watching Eddie and the other man, but as soon as my eyes turn to him, his dart to mine. He holds my gaze for a second and I suppress another wince seeing the anger behind them, and worse the concern. How the hell is this going to play out?

"Right, well it looks like I'm catering this," the black suit says, now directly behind the chair Max is sitting in.

"I was looking for my two keys of dope and now I know where they are," he says and I mentally curse. Before he said that Max and I didn't know anything, but now he's said it, which means we know something we shouldn't, which is a risk for him.

"Yours, man, it's our score," Eddie says and I know even before the hand comes down on his face that he shouldn't have said that.

Despite the violent act, there's no anger or rage on the man's face. But I stiffen in my seat when he steps up behind Max and almost touches the side of her face. "And the girls?"

"Oh, that one," Eddie gestures at Max, "Nobody, just entertainment."

Max takes that opportunity to try to build some good will, start toward getting us out of this mess. She stands up and extends her hand for the black suit to take, putting on her best manners. "Hi, I'm Max."

"Nice to meet you Max," he says, in a way that makes my skin crawl. "And the other?"

His eyes flick to me and I struggle not to shrink under his gaze. I'm really been away from Miami too long; I've grown unused to how it works here. But as I take a breath and visibly steel myself, I can tell it's coming back to me, and fast.

"Hum?" Eddie says before realizing the question was actually directed at him. "Oh, she isn't like Max here, mentioned something about some husband that wouldn't ever let her work like that."

My eyes go back to Cas and I see him straighten up. I can tell he's about to let everyone know here that he's in fact that husband, to try and get ahead of this. "You're damn right I wouldn't."

If it's possible I tense even more, and I see black suit pause before turning halfway around to look at Cas, who stares back unblinkingly. No one says anything, and then Eddie, being half doped up, stupidly speaks up again. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"She's my wife you fucking moron," Cas says coldly, laying it out there plainly so there's no room for misinterpretation. I want to cringe at his tone, I don't like seeing this side of him, but I know it's kept him alive this long and that when you deal with these kinds of people you can't appear weak, at all.

"Ah, lovely," black suit says, although it's obvious to all that he neither means it nor is completely bored with it. I stand when he steps toward me, putting out a hand for me to shake. "I am Fouchet, very nice to meet you."

"Evelyn, likewise," I say, keeping my voice and expression controlled as I shake his hand firmly. His eyes wander, taking in every part of me but I don't react apart from looking at Cas again. I can tell he isn't happy with the blatant staring, but he doesn't speak up and communicates through a look to just let Fouchet do it. So I do, and after a few seconds he seems satisfied.

"And why have I never heard of her before?" Fouchet asks, rotating his head toward Cas so he knows he's talking to him.

"She doesn't live in town, you know how it gets round here," Cas says and Fouchet doesn't agree or disagree, he just keeps staring for another moment.

"Well," he suddenly says, clasping his hands together, "While this was rather…enlightening, we do have business to get down to."

"Then Max and I won't get in your way," I say and Max quickly rises to her feet, grabbing her purse as I do the same.

"I am afraid it's a little too late for that," he says, making me feel cold with dread.

"Evie knows how it works, so does Max, they won't say a thing," Cas says, projecting confidence into his voice to convince Fouchet how certain he is.

"I'm sure," Fouchet says, a sharp smirk on his face. "Well, I won't keep you Casper, I'm sure you and…Evie, here, have some…catching up to do."

He words it carefully (I cringe internally when he uses my nickname), making everyone in the room besides Max and I grin at what he's insinuating, even though I can tell Cas's is fake with how tight he's clasping his hands together, as if it's physically hard for him to play along. But he does it perfectly, because he knows he has to.

"We sure do," Cas drawls, taking a step forward to grasp Fouchet's shoulder tightly in thanks, "Come on girls, let's go."

A sense of relief washes over me as Cas crosses the distance between us, his hand finding the small of my back to guide me from the room. But a second later that relief is shattered.

"No," Fouchet says, "Max stays, we will…bring her home, once we…make use of the entertainment Eddie so graciously brought."

I swallow and look at Max, hoping to God that she'll forgive me because I can't argue with this, and neither can Cas. We can't directly go against Fouchet, not without ending up dead ourselves, or wishing we were.

To my relief and utter guilt she meets my eyes steadily and nods once, telling me it's okay. "I'll see you soon."

I nod, a sinking feeling rising in me. Cas's hand presses against my back, gently but firmly pushing me toward the door. He opens it for me and again has to push me forward, and as he closes it I take one last look at Max, who's staring right back at me, her eyes filled with a strength to try to cover her fear. And then the door is closed, cutting off my sight.

Cas then grabs me by the waist, pulling me along as quick as possible without looking too suspicious. He doesn't say a word and I grab onto his jacket just to have something to hold onto. He finds my car easy enough and wordlessly I pull out the keys and put them in his waiting hand. He opens the passenger side door, looking back at the hotel as if expecting someone to follow us. He closes the door behind me and walks around the car to the driver's seat, quickly starting to engine and pulling out onto the street.

He still isn't saying anything and tension builds in the air, making me fidget because I can tell he's upset, furious even. A few minutes into the car ride I can't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry," I say in a small voice, looking at my hands in my lap.

"Fucking hell Evie," he says, not quite at a yell but it makes me wince anyway. "What the hell were you thinking? You realize how bad that could've been if I hadn't stepped in."

"Of course I do, and I was thinking that I didn't want Max where she is right now," I say a little sharply. But his anger hurts, and the fact his anger is coming from his worry just makes me feel guilty, adding to the guilt I already am feeling at how I left Max back there by herself. Oh shit, Julie! I didn't see her, maybe she had already left. She didn't seem into this whole thing, so she probably just stepped out. Hopefully if she tries to get back in she won't be able to.

I hear him half sigh half growl in frustration because he isn't really mad with me, just the whole situation. I curl my legs up on the seat and hug my knees to my chest. I see Cas look over at me a few times, knowing I only do that when I'm really upset.

"Shit baby, I didn't mean…" he sighs again frustrated. "I just-I can't lose you okay? Not now, not ever."

"I know Cas, I know," I whisper and with how he relaxes just barely, I know he heard me.

The rest of the drive is spent in silence, and we get out when he pulls up in from of his apartment. It's actually a pretty decent place considering the right hand man to one of the biggest drug cartels in the city lives in the place. But he did that on purpose; he wanted somewhere people weren't as familiar with him, that way if I ever visited no one would be able to put us together.

He gets my bag from the backseat and takes me upstairs, unlocking his door before relocking it once we're inside. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Now that we're safe and out of that stressful situation my brain finally gets the chance to catch up to the fact that I'm standing in the same room with Cas, who I haven't seen in two months. He couldn't find the time to visit me on the weekends and with my classes I couldn't visit him, so all we've had was phone calls. But I'm here and so is he, and that thought makes me exhale in excitement and happiness.

My feet carry me the few steps into the living room where he's standing next to the coffee table that he just put my bag down on. I wrap my arms around his waist from behind, and he leans back into it before taking my arms in his hands and turning himself around so he can hug me properly. He holds me close, one of his hands moving up my back to tangle itself in my hair, while the other settles on my lower back, pressing me forward into his chest.

"I missed you," I whisper, inhaling his cologne and trying to keep my emotions in check. Just like when I get really angry, when I get really happy, I'll start to cry, but I'd rather not right now because I know I wouldn't be able to stop.

"Shit baby, I missed you too, so fucking much," he says into my ear, and the way he emphasizes those last three words makes me shiver a little. He shifts me in his arms, leaning back just enough to kiss me, holding the side of my face with one of his hands. He moves his hand to the back of my head, gripping my hair and making me moan. He tugs on my hair, turning my head to the side to get at my neck.

My heart starts to beat faster, my next breath a little shaky as he licks and nips at the side of my neck.

"Cas," I whimper when he licks that spot right behind me ear that makes my knees go weak. I tighten my grip on him and he moves both his arms to my waist, holding me to him by my hips. The start of his erection is obvious through his pants and I groan at the contact, already getting wet for him.

"I want you so bad baby," his voice is low and rough. I can tell by his tone and by how his arms are rigid around me, his hands gripping my hips so tightly its borderline painful, that he's trying to control himself so he doesn't take me right then and there on the floor. While we've done it before, he doesn't appear to want to do it like that now, but the two months we've been apart has frayed his self control now that we're finally together again, and it's making it hard for him to resist doing just that.

So I reluctantly slide my arms from around his back and grab his hands, pulling them from my hips so I can take a step away from him. "Come on, let's take this to the bedroom before we can't."

At those words he grips my hand and almost drags me to his bedroom, making me laugh a little. But when we finally reach the room, and the bed in the center of it, he grabs me by my waist and pushes me onto it. My back hits the bedspread and the air in my lungs leaves me as he's sudden over me again, kissing me hard, teeth dragging against my bottom lip.

His hands wander to my chest and he teasingly traces under both my breasts with his thumbs. I jolt at the action and then push at his chest; we have to get these clothes off.

After a few pushes he finally leans back, immediately taking off his jacket and shirt, and it makes me smile seeing the chain around his neck with his wedding ring on it. He doesn't wear it on his finger because he didn't want anyone to know about me, so they couldn't know he was married, but he always keeps it on him somewhere. Snapping out of it, I take off my own jacket and shirt, leaving me in my bra. Before I can slip that off too he stands up from the bed and grabs my hips, dragging me forward to the edge of the bed and making my back hit the mattress again. It should be wrong how him being rough with me actually just turns me on more.

He leans back over me, his arousal pressing into my thigh. A spike of lust courses through me from it and he kisses my stomach, his tongue running a wet trail up to the edge of my bra. My hand finds his hair as his hand sneaks under me and deftly unclasps the bra. When his fingers find the straps to take it off I'm glad to lift my arms to help get rid of it. He tosses it to the side and instead of going straight for my breasts, he instead unbuttons my jeans next. I lift my hips as he slides them off, taking my underwear with the pants. He drops them off the side of the bed and I use my elbows to sit up, wanting to kiss him, just do something to have him on me. He lets me pull him forward, his skin sliding over mine. He puts one of his forearms on the bed besides me to support his weight and kisses me sweetly, just a touch of the lips, relaxing me a little from my state of hyper arousal.

But the kiss was just a distraction because I arch off the bed when his other hand grabs my sex, a cry escaping my lips. He takes the opportunity to sneak his tongue into my mouth, easily dominating the kiss, not that I'm protesting.

My breathing is airy now, easily heard, and it jumps when one of his fingers rubs just ever so slightly at the skin covering my entrance, slipping between it. He swirls his finger in the wetness gathered there and runs his thumb lightly over my pearl. My heart skips a beat and my body seems hyperaware of every sensation as he teases me.

"Cas," I say barely audible, my brain not in the right sorts to concentrate on speaking. My hands are on his shoulders, moving as if they have a mind of their own. He lays a small kiss on my collarbone before moving downward, kissing his way to my breasts.

And then he, slowly, pushes his finger into me, making me whimper at the stimulation before relaxing into it as I get some relief from the burning heat engulfing me, even if it is only a little.

"Jesus baby, you're so wet," he says, starting to pump his finger in and out, making my entire body tremble. And then he slides another one in, twisting them and stretching me, making my legs start to tremble.

"Only you," I whisper, my brain trying to piece together the words. He tilts his head up but keeps his head down on my chest, his eyes staring right into mine. "Only ever for you."

I know he loves to hear things like that, not that I say them just because I know that's what he wants. I say them because they're true. This man is the one who took my virginity and I've never been with anyone else, nor have I ever had any interest or really ever even been attracted to anyone else.

I can see the desire in him flare at my words and I can hear a muttered, "Fuck" escape his lips. He thrusts his hips forward, his member dragging across my thighs in a momentary loss of control. Jesus, I still find it hard to believe that I can do that to him- make him loose control, even for just a second, just through words.

I'm ripped from my thoughts when he curls his fingers in me, pressing up against that spot that makes me see stars. "Oh God, Cas!"

He raises his head, capturing my lips, drowning out the sounds I make. He presses down on my pearl, adding a third finger and rubbing me in all the right places. "What do you want baby? Tell me what you want."

"You! I want you! Please Cas, I need you inside me!" I answer, almost sobbing as one hand twists in the sheets and the other grasps at his arm, trying to stay afloat in the overwhelming pleasure. It's so much it almost hurts. It's been two months since we last saw each other; it's been entirely too long since we've been intimate and Jesus, I almost forgot how good he was at this, how intense it is.

He kisses me as if he's trying to inhale me and I groan in protest and relief when his fingers pull out of me. While he was driving me slowly crazy with his magic fingers, I didn't want to come just yet.

The warmth from his body fades and I open my eyes- I didn't even realize I had closed them. He's standing at the edge of the bed, with my legs hanging off it and feet not meeting the floor. His hands grab my hips, pulling me a few inches toward him as he lines himself up. I'm a little tight since we haven't done this recently and it takes a second for the pressure to give and he slips inside me. And then it seems that he's reached the end of his self-control because after that initial inch, he slams the rest of himself into me.

"Oh my God, Cas!" I almost scream. My back arches off the bed, toes curling, and my arms rise on their own, grabbing his. He let's go on my lower half to take my hands and pins them above my head on the bed, bending his body back over me so my breasts push against his chest.

"Jesus, you're so fucking beautiful, so sexy," he mumbles in my ear before tracing the outside of it with his tongue, starting to thrust in and out of me with a force that rocks my whole body. "You're so fucking tight and hot around me."

I whimper at the combination of his words and feeling him inside me.

"You like that baby? You like what I'm doing to you?" he asks, squeezing my wrists tighter and I know I should be worried about bruises but at the moment I really can't give a damn. I give another whimper as he gives one particularly brutal thrust, a bit of pain mixing with the pleasure.

"Yes, yes, I love it, all of it!" I say, feeling the heat starting to pool in my lower stomach. "Please, please Cas, please…"

I don't know exactly what I'm begging for anymore, but it doesn't really matter.

"I got you baby, don't worry, gonna make you feel so good," he mumbles, his voice rough but the way he says it is gentle. He lets my wrists go, taking one of my hands in his and entwining our fingers. I squeeze it so hard it's a wonder I don't break it, but then his other hand is rubbing my pearl and I'm gone. I scream, I actually scream, and I think I say his name somewhere in there, but my mind is so overwhelmed with the sensations my body is feeling that I honestly can't tell. The muscles in my arms and legs spasm and my core flutters around him as he relentlessly keeps moving inside me as he chases his own release. A few seconds later he's coming and I can feel the rush of his seed as it leaves me feeling wet and full. Jesus, I love being filled by him.

He trembles above me as my own body finally starts to calm down, all my limbs relaxing into the bed, my hand letting go of its death grip on his. I close my eyes, focusing on catching my breath. His forehead falls onto my chest, between my breasts and I raise a shaky hand to run my fingers through his hair. But I soon lose the strength to even do that and I lay it on the back of his neck.

A minute later after just laying there he places a gentle kiss in the valley between my breasts before pushing himself up using his arms, slowly and carefully withdrawing from me. I try to cover up a wince as he does, feeling a sting of pain, but he catches it. He looks down between us, his hand pushing my thigh out to the side.

"Fuck baby, you're bleeding," he says, making me raise my head and look for myself, and yep, there's some blood. I shift a little and feel sore, enough for me to grimace, but other than that I don't feel any pain. There's some blood on his sheets, on him, and on my thighs, but neither of us are panicking. This has happened a few times before and so we both know it's nothing to worry about just yet. Sometimes when we have rough sex this happens and the first time we both panicked, but the doctor said it's just a side effect of my birth control pills, rough sex, and the fact my period is close. That doesn't mean Cas necessary loves it when I do bleed because of that; he always feels that means he hurt me in some way.

"Come on baby," he says, pushing an arm under my back and pulling me into a sitting position before helping me further back on the bed. I don't really care that I'm probably getting more blood on his sheets because I've already gotten a fair amount on them already. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

I nod and he leans down to give me a quick, but tender kiss, before he's walking into the bathroom. I close my eyes, feeling exhausted after what we just did, but open them when I hear his footsteps beside the bed. He has a wet washcloth in one hand and has already cleaned himself up. He kneels on the bed next to me and then proceeds to wipe the cloth between my legs, getting all the blood off. I have to take a slow breath because even though we literally just had sex, my body is already responding to him again, but it wouldn't be a good idea with how I'm bleeding.

I notice him smirking at me so he must've noticed and I roll my eyes at him, making him chuckle. He finishes with the washcloth and throws it into the pile of dirties in the corner before he lies down next to me. He arms wrap around my middle and pulls me toward him.

"I'm going to get blood on you," I mutter.

"Probably," he says and then sighs, letting go of me. This time it's my turn to give him a kiss before I get up and walk into the living room, his eyes following me the whole way until the wall blocks his line of sight. I unzip my bag and find everything I need before going to the bathroom, putting on a pair of underwear with a pad. I then rejoin Cas where he's relaxing on the bed, and he immediately pulls me back toward him. We lie on our sides facing each other, my head tucked into his neck with his arms around my middle. He uses the back of his hand to lightly stroke my arm, making me smile at the touch. He knows I love it when he does something like this. For a while after I first left for college, he'd come to visit and he'd have to leave again after a few hours. We'd usually sleep together and then he'd leave and for a while it made me feel horrible, like I was being used. Logically, I knew he loved me- I was the woman he married for God's sake- but emotions aren't logical and I couldn't help but feel that way. So one day I finally couldn't take it anymore and told him. He had no idea and felt so guilty that for the next few visits all we'd do was sit with each other, talk, or go into the city, but not sex. It helped, but eventually I was getting tired of not having him touch me like that anymore, and knew it was probably the same for him. After that though, he always made sure that after we had sex he'd talk to me or do something to ensure I wouldn't feel used or abandoned afterward.

He kisses my temple, breaking me from my thoughts, and then asks, "Did you look up jobs?"

I nod into his chest. "I found a few all around the country, one in Maine, a few in Virginia, California, Washington, Texas…"

I trail off, knowing he has the idea, and ask if he has any preferences.

"As long as it's far away from here," he answers, making me roll my eyes because no, that doesn't really help me.

"I am not going to dictate where we go," I say, looking up at him. "You have to have at least one place you'd like to move to."

He shrugs, "Never really thought about it before, but maybe…somewhere with snow."

I smile; I've seen snow, thanks to one of my friends from college bringing me home to meet their family, but Cas hasn't ever seen real snow.

"Snow…yeah, I like that idea," I say and then tentatively add, "And maybe, who knows, one day, our kids will be able to see it too."

His hand stops its motions on my arm, and I know he's looking at me, but can't bring myself to meet his gaze. We've talked about having kids before, but he's always said it wouldn't be a good idea. But now that he's getting out, maybe it would become a possibility.

"That is, if you…if you want to have kids," I add quickly.

I feel him let out a breath of air, slowly, and his hand moves to my chin, making me look up at him. "Baby, of course I want kids with you, and yeah, it's never been a good idea before, but now…it'll be different. We can talk about it once the move happens, okay?"

I nod into his hand and he smiles, his lips meeting my forehead in another tender kiss that makes me feel so loved.

And then his phone rings.

"Fuck," he says before looking at me sadly because he has to get it, even if neither of us want him to. So I sit up, extricating myself from his arms and he gets up and fishes his phone out of his jacket, answering it what an annoyed, "What?"

I can't hear what the person on the other end is saying, but I know it's not something Cas wants to hear. When he hangs up he looks at me and his expression is one I've seen plenty of times before; he has to go.

"It's okay," I say, trying to smile, "Go."

"Evie," he says regretfully before bending to pick up his clothes and get dressed.

"Hey, really, it's fine," I say, getting off the bed and getting dressed myself. "I have some people I wanted to visit anyway."

"Not Theresa," he says, his voice hard.

"Why? You've never said no before-" I ask, because yeah, Theresa's husband is a cop and my husband is an outlaw, but I've visited her before and he's never stopped me.

"Before only I knew about you, now Fouchet does, and if he finds out you're going to see the wife of a cop, he could think you've giving the cops info. Baby, he's killed for less," Cas says, making me sigh because damn he's right.

"Alright, fine, but she's already expecting me, so can I at least call her to tell her I'm not coming?" I ask, half rhetorically.

Cas, now fully dressed, steps toward me, resting his hands on my hips. "Of course."

He then dips his head down and gives me a kiss that makes me smile and my eyes slide closed. "I'll call you when I'm done."

"Okay," I reply, and he steps away from me, grabbing his jacket and walking out of the bedroom. When I don't hear the front door open or close, I start to get curious, but then he walks back into the room, with something in his hands that makes me stop for a moment.

"I want you to keep this on you," he says, holding out the hand gun. I take a breath before taking it. I haven't carried one in years; there isn't a lot of crime around the area my college is located and so all I carried was a bottle of pepper spray. And Cas might've also got me into some self-defense classes, which I also thought was a good idea.

"It's registered in your name, so you don't need to worry about getting arrested for that," he says, and I know he's just as reluctant about giving me this as I am about taking it. But they know about me now, and if his crew knows, who knows how long it'll take to spread to some of the others gangs.

I don't realize just how long I've been staring at the gun in my hands but Cas suddenly reaches out and takes it, putting it on the bed beside us. He pulls me into his chest, rubbing circles in my back with one hand and stroking my hair with the other, a sure way to always make me relax.

"Okay, if I'll make you feel better, I'll keep it on me," I say quietly.

"Thank you," he says, kissing the top of my head before pulling his arms back. "I'll see you soon, promise baby."

He then kisses my lips one more time and whispers, "I love you Evie."

"Love you too," I say back kiss him again for good measure, and then he's reluctantly pushing me away because if he doesn't go now he won't be anytime soon.

And so without any other words, he leaves the room and this time I do hear the door open and close, and then I'm alone again.

I sigh and sit down on the bed, scolding myself for even thinking such a thing. It isn't like he wanted to leave or leave me alone. I look at the gun beside me and pick it up, making sure the safety is on, before going into the living room and putting it in my purse. I then return to the bedroom and change the sheets because of the blood we got on them and then call Theresa, informing her that I can't visit. She knows Cas is in a gang, and so does her husband, and while like Cas, her husband wasn't keen on her being friends with the wife of someone who's on the other side of the law, her husband didn't stop us, just like Cas didn't. But I tell her that something happened and Cas's crew found out about me and so it wouldn't be good for me to be seen with her.

After that conversation, in which we talk about everything we probably would've if we'd actually met up like we planned to, I don't really know what to do. Max and Theresa were really the only two friends I had in Miami, the rest of my friends I met in college, and so I don't have anywhere I need to go. So I take out my textbook for my history class (I like history and so took a few classes that were offered) and start on my homework.

That last me a few hours and then I decide to go to the local library to use their computer. I find some jobs in states far away from here, print out the applications and take them home. I'm about half way through them when I decide to stop. Night has fallen and I'm tired from the long drive here, so I climb into Cas's bed and pull the covers up around me.

A few hours later I'm briefly nudged awake when the bed shifts and arms wrap around me. I immediately recognize Cas's cologne and relax, taking his left hand in mine and smile at how his wedding ring is now on it, for everyone to see now, before I drift back off to sleep.

He's there when I wake up, but leaves shortly after, saying that he'll be back earlier than he was yesterday, which makes me happy at least. The bleeding has stopped from our…activities yesterday, so maybe we'll be able to do something tonight.

I fill out the rest of the applications and the rest of my homework and decide to relax a little, turning on the TV. Half an hour later I turn to a news channel and the story they're covering is a murder case. A woman was found dead at the Filmore Hotel, her name Maxine Logan.

In that moment I don't even know what I'm feeling because of my god, she's dead. Max is dead, I walked out of that pace, left her behind, and they killed her. Oh my god, what kind of person does that?

And then another thought pops into my head, did Cas know? When we left did he know they were going to kill her, even though they didn't act like it by saying they would take her home? Was that a show they did just for me, to make me leave quietly? And even if Cas didn't know, did he know last night when he came home? Jesus, why didn't he tell me?

It starts to get hard to breathe and feel the nausea overload my senses. I jump up and run to the kitchen and when I get there I empty my stomach into the sink. I stand there, trying to catch my breath through the tears before turning on the tap with shaking hands. I rinse out my mouth and cover my mouth, trying to calm myself down, but all I can seem to do is cry harder. I grab my jacket and purse, needing to get out of the apartment. I drive around, trying to sort through my thoughts and come up with what I'm going to do when I see Cas again. I don't want to believe that he knew they were going to kill her, but how could he not? And why wouldn't he just tell me? I would understand that he couldn't stop them, not without getting me, himself, or both of us killed in the process. I wouldn't like it, but I would understand it.

Jesus, I wish I has someone to talk to. All my friends in college don't know about what Cas does and so it would be a little hard to explain any of this, not that I could because they'd probably freak out and call the cops. For things like this, things that aren't strictly legal, I would call Max, and with that thought I break down into tears again.

I pull over until the tears stop and am dialing my phone before I really realize who I'm calling; Theresa. I won't tell her anything, but I just need a friend.

"Hello?

"Theresa?" I say, and it's obvious in my voice that I've been crying. "It's Evelyn."

"Evie, is everything alright?" she asks, immediately picking up on it.

"No, no not really," I answer, trying not to cry again.

"What is it sweetheart?" she asks kindly.

I shake my head, I can't tell her, not without implicating Cas in some way. "I-I can't…can you just talk to me, please? How-How are the kids?"

And so she talks, she talks about everything and nothing, she just keeps speaking. I let her voice calm me down, and eventually I start to feel better.

"Now, you want to tell me what this is about honey?" she asks when she realizes I've been silent for a while, no more sobs.

"I can't, it…it involves Cas," I say, which is more than enough for her to understand.

She sighs. "Alright, I just wish I could help more."

"You've helped plenty, thank you," I say.

"Anytime Evie," she says and then we're hanging up. I put the phone back in my purse and look at myself in the mirror. My makeup is ruined, but luckily I don't wear a lot so it's pretty easily fixed. I start to car back up and drive back to Cas's place. I only have to wait an hour for him to come home, and I'm sitting on the couch when he does, reading a book.

He stops at the kitchen table, pulling out two guns and putting them there before walking over to me. He sits down next to me, but when he tries to put his arm around my shoulders I shrink away, gripping my book tightly in my lap.

"Baby?" he asks confused at my sudden change in behavior.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask in a small voice. "That they killed her?"

I hear him sigh and glance up to see his eyes closed as he asks, "How did you know?"

"It's all over the news," I answer, "Did you know they were going to kill her when we left?"

"No," he says, opening his eyes again to stare into mine. "I thought they would use her and then leave. I said she wouldn't talk; Fouchet usually listens to me."

"I guess he didn't this time," I say a little bitterly as tears start to form in my eyes again. I push them back and feel a headache starting to form from doing that so many times today.

Cas's hand touches my shoulder and I flinch at the sudden contact, and then lean into it. As soon as he knows I'm not going to push him away he moves closer and wraps both his arms around me, pulling my head to his chest as a few tears manage to leak out.

"I'm sorry baby," he whispers, pain in his voice as he runs his fingers through my hair.

"It's not your fault. She would've been there even if I hadn't been, and they still would've killed her," I say, giving up on not crying again, "You tried, you told them they didn't need to-to…"

"Shh," he says as my sobs start to affect my speech. "It's alright baby, I got ya."

My hands grip onto his jacket, my book slipping off my lap as I cry for what seems like the thousandth time today and he just holds me until it stops. He kisses my head, rubs my back and runs his fingers in my hair, all the while muttering comforting things. It's everything I need him to do to help me feel better, like everything really will be okay, because he's here and nothing is ever going to change that.

As soon as I stop crying I sniffle and get up to get a tissue. He follows and after I throw the tissue away he's hugging me from behind and I melt into him. I let my eyes close and put my hands over his arms that are crossing my body. He kisses my neck and I smile a little as his moustache tickles me.

"Feel better?" he asks.

"A little, now that you're here," I say shyly.

He chuckles in my ear. "Missed you too."

He kisses my neck again, light, barely there kisses, and then he tightens his arms around me and just stands there, holding me in his grasp. A minute later I've pulled myself together and step out of his arms, taking his hand and leading him back to the couch. I kneel on the ground to pick up my book, but before I can reach it arms are around my waist and I'm pulled backward off my feet. I land in Cas's lap, a few laughs making their way out of my mouth and I look over my shoulder at him.

"As much as I love sitting in your lap, I have to finish that before I go back to school," I say and try to get up only to be pulled back down again.

"Later, can't a man spend some quality time with his wife first?" he asks with a smirk.

"Depends on what exactly you mean by 'quality time'," I say, because I am really, really not in the mood.

"Well, here I was going to tell you about this lovely place I found up in Maine, but if you would rather read your book…" he drawls out the last word, already knowing what I'm going to say.

"No, no, that sounds fine, tell me," I say instantly curious.

It takes him only a few minutes and he shows me a paper he printed out with the information, and a few others he found in the states I said I found job openings.

A few hours later, after all conversation has gone down I pick my book back up and start reading, but this time out loud. I'm halfway through it but he doesn't mind, I'm not sure he gets most of it anyway. There's a lot of military terminology which the average person doesn't understand, not unless they're military. And it's all about World War 2, so unless you know something about that it's a little confusing too. A few pages in I look up to see he's asleep. I sigh and close the book, leaning over and tracing my thumb under his right eye. He looks so tired even sleeping he looks exhausted.

I slide off the couch to reach the coffee table, putting the book down on it. I then kneel on the couch, shimmying into the spot between the back of the couch and Cas and lay down on my side. He's lying on his back and I rest my head on his shoulder, lying on one arm on his chest and the other under me. My eyes slide closed and Cas shifts in his sleep onto his side facing me, one hand gripping my shirt as he unconsciously lies it behind me over my stomach.

A minute later tiredness is starting to fall over me; I wasn't really sleepy when I lied down but I wanted to be close to Cas. He moves again, still asleep, rolling closer to me and I almost laugh as his body is now leaning over me. My laughter becomes a groan when I feel something rigid pressing into the apex at my thigh. Jesus, it amazes me that even when asleep he's still able to get it up when close to me.

I wiggle against him, not really sure if I'm trying to get closer to him or away from him, but the way he's lying on me makes it impossible to move more than an inch. But my moving makes me brush up against his arousal and he rubs himself against me, a hum coming from his throat.

"Evie," he mutters and I lean my forehead against his chest because he's asleep, doesn't even consciously know it's me here with him, and yet he's still dreaming it's me. And that thought sends a wave of heat through my entire body, specifically at the place between my legs.

But there is no way I'm going to do this while he's asleep. While we've done it before, it's always him doing it while I'm asleep. I love it and he loves being able to get me off, his name coming from my lips even though I'm sleeping, but I've always just felt awkward doing it to him.

"Cas," I say, my voice raw, and I clear my throat as I shake his arm. "Cas, wake up."

I keep shaking his arm and saying his name until he lifts his head and he says, "Evie?"

I take my hand off his arm and move it to his neck, leaning back to look at his face, to see if he's really awake. He rubs his face with his hand and blinks a few times before his eyes focus down on me.

"You with me?" I ask and he nods and moves to push himself up, it probably hasn't clicked with him that he's aroused. So I move the hand from his neck to his crouch, squeezing hard at the bulge there.

He jumps, "Fuck!"

And then he shudders, a full body tremble as he goes rigid. "Jesus Evie, are you trying to kill me?"

"Hey, you were like this when I woke up," I say lightly and he hums. I meet him halfway as he leans down to kiss me. His arm brushes under my breasts and then his hand grabs mine that's on his arousal, tugging it away and moving it between us. He lets it go and moves one of his legs between mine, rubbing his hard on against my thigh as he pushes his hand up my shirt, but just as it's about to reach my breasts, he stops.

"Evie baby, with everything that happened today…I need you to tell me now if this is really what you want," his voice is tight as his hand grips my side as he uses every ounce of self control he has to make sure he has my permission and isn't taking advantage of me in an emotional state.

I think for a moment, not really wanting to but knowing he has a good point. Earlier I was too emotional about Max and feeling guilt at the fact of even thinking of having sex with Cas when she was dead- Jesus I just left her there-

"Hey," Cas says, his voice pure and gentle. The hand he had under my shirt is now stroking the side of my face. "It wasn't your fault, alright baby? You couldn't have gotten her out."

I sniffle a little but nod, "I know, it's just I wish…"

I trail off, not needing to really say anything for him to understand.

"I know baby," he murmurs, kissing my forehead, and I feel the mood has changed radically, and find myself wanting to change it back. His insistence at wanting to make sure I was okay with this so soon after finding out about Max warms my heart. And I know that if I said I wasn't really okay with it after thinking about it, he would've stopped so I wouldn't have any regrets afterward, and this just affirms my decision that I want this.

"Cas," I say stronger, "I want this, I really, really want this."

He cuts me off by crashing his lips on mine. His hand is back under my shirt and this time it doesn't stop when he reaches my bra clothed chest. He cups one of my breasts, lightly squeezing because he knows they're sensitive, sometimes borderline painful sensitive.

My hand slides around his stomach, finding his back and pulling myself as close as I can to him, the heat from his body seeping into mine. The bulge in his pants is moving against my upper thigh as I find myself starting to rub against him as well as his fingers unclasp my bra from under my shirt and start to play with my nipples.

His mouth hasn't moved from mine, but I whimper when his hand leaves my chest. His fingers take their time trailing down my stomach to the top of my jeans. He pushes them inside, and I scoot back a little away from him to give him enough room, and even though I know it's coming, I can't stop the full body convulsion that comes when his hand presses against down against me, the tips of his fingers at the top of my folds.

I whimper into his mouth and this time he kisses me slowly, gently. I move my leg further over his hip, opening up my legs a little more, and one of his fingers dip into my folds, getting a feel for how wet I already am. It's almost embarrassing how fast he can get me aroused.

I move my hips forward, but he pulls his hand from my pants, making me groan as he chuckles, moving his mouth to my neck. He raises his body to free his other hand that's under us and unbuttons my jeans. He slowly, torturously slow, drags down the zipper and then starts pulling my pants down, revealing my panties.

As he does this some of my higher brain functions come back and I'm able to concentrate long enough to move my shaking hands to his own pants. I undo the button and zipper and then a shrill noise makes me jump.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," he says, not just with annoyance, but a bit of true anger in there too. It takes a second after he says this to realize the noise is a phone ringing. "Please tell me it's yours."

I know why he says this, if it's mine then it's just a friend, which is a call we can ignore. If it's his phone, that means it's one of his 'associates', which is something we can't ignore.

I peek my head up and look across to the kitchen, where my phone is sitting, but I know before I look that it's not mine; the ringing is way too close for it to be coming from my phone that's so far away. So I follow the noise and find his jacket, draped across the table and grab it, pulling it closer. I fumble a little getting his phone out of the inside jacket pocket, and when I do I see the screen is lit up as it rings obscenely. I hand it to his waiting hand and he answers it, pissed off at how we got interrupted.

"What the fuck do you want?!" is the first thing he says, and I know that if I wasn't so upset myself at getting interrupted I'd be amused. "Yes you're fucking interrupting something! Are you calling for a reason or can I hang up on your ass?!"

I blush a little, burrowing my face in his chest. Some of the tension in Cas's body goes away at this motion, and his hand finds my hair. My eyes close as he runs his fingers through the strands, applying gentle pressure to my scalp. But as the other person speaks his hand stops. I look up at him concerned and see the murder written on his face.

"Son of a bitch," he says, "Hey, slow down Fergie, just-"

He pauses again to listen and then curses, running the hand that was in my hair across his face. "Yeah, alright. I said alright! Be there in ten, Jesus fuck!"

He hits the hang up button and tosses the phone to the floor and groans, his head making a thump sound as it hits the arm rest. I move to the side, onto him and move up closer to his face. "Problems?"

I can't hide the tint of sadness in my voice and his face goes from annoyed to sorrowful. "Sorry baby, something just happened at the club, Fouchet wants me there."

I sigh and nod, moving off of him and sitting on the other side of the couch before standing. I pull my pants up and fix my bra under my shirt as he rises as well, grabbing his phone and jacket. I cross my arms, trying to not let my disappointment turn into anger, at least not anger focused at Cas because it isn't his fault. My eyes focus on him when he puts on his jacket and I walk up to him, lifting my arms around him. The anger that's left in him fades as he relaxes into me.

"How long?" I ask.

"Few hours, maybe longer," he answers. Translation: probably all night, and morning, and afternoon.

I groan, why couldn't they have waited thirty more minutes?

"I know baby, but it's just a few more days, then pay day and we can get the hell outta here. Promise," he says and I lean back to look at him.

"Fine, but we're picking up where we left off when you get back," I grumble, still annoyed as I feel the remnants of my arousal still flowing in my veins.

"Yes ma'am," he says amused, but with how we're pressed up against each other I can feel how he's still a little hard. It takes all my willpower to not pull him back down on that couch. "And if you're sleeping?"

I know why he's asking; one, I most likely will be asleep, and two, whenever he wakes me up through sex he always asks permission beforehand, so he doesn't freak me out. Just because we have sex doesn't mean that he has a free pass to do whatever he wants whenever he wants, and neither do I. We had a very extensive conversation when he expressed interest in doing this because he in no way wanted to make me wake up while he was doing something and have me feel like I was being raped. So whenever we do this he asks permission the day beforehand.

"Then wake me up," I say before raising myself up on my toes to whisper in his ear. "And I want to see just how far you can go before I wake up."

I feel him shiver, his dick jumping again, as he squeezes his eyes shut, breathing deeply. "Fuck baby."

In a visible show to control himself he grabs my wrists and gives me a small push as he takes a step back. "You're going to be the death of me woman."

I smirk at this, love that I can do this to him, but then his phone is ringing again, and I'm scowling at it. He looks at it and then sighs, the front of his pants still tented. He leans forward and gives me a light peck on the lips, not trusting himself to do anything more without pressing me back onto that couch and taking me now when he really needs to go.

"See you in a few hours," he mutters.

"I love you," I say.

"Love you too baby," he sighs, really not wanting to leave but knowing he has to. He goes to the kitchen, grabs his guns, and with one last regretful look at me, leaves, the door sounding painfully loud as it closes shut.

I fold my arms around myself, sighing at the wave of loneliness that falls over me suddenly. It isn't his fault, so why the hell do I feel like he abandoned me? Tears even start to come to my eyes and I wipe at them angrily.

I shake my head at myself and walk into the bedroom, stripping out of everything and going to Cas's dresser, taking out one of his longer t-shirts. It's the only thing I'm wearing when I slip under the covers; no bra, and no panties. It'll make it easier for him when he…comes back.

It's only when I'm relaxing in the bed that I realize I really am tired. Maybe it was the hormones after coming down from the high Cas and I got ourselves into, or maybe it was because I was falling asleep earlier, but I'm tired. I hope I'll be able to get a few hours of sleep before he comes home.

My dreams that night aren't exactly pleasant. My mind keeps whirling around Max and Fouchet, and all the ways they could've killed her. If they took it slow, or did it quick before she would even realize what was happening, if they used a knife or a gun, if they raped her before, or maybe even after is they were really sick fucks. I wake up a few times and it's breaking dawn by the time I finally get a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

And then another dream starts, but this one isn't a nightmare, it's the opposite. It starts with a familiar scent, one I can't place, but it makes me feel safer than I usually feel. I feel like I'm drifting in and out, but never really leaving. Warm reds and oranges take over my vision and I feel hot, not uncomfortable but warm, like I'm being encased in Casper arms.

Casper.

-Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys-

It's nearly seven in the morning when Casper gets to come home, cursing Marcus Burnett and that stupid ass partner of his. Not only did they lose two guys, but they also lost the ether that they needed to cut the heroin, which would triple the price of it. It was hard, but he, Fouchet, and the other guys managed to get what they needed for the chemist, who is now working as hard as he possibly can to get the shipment ready in time for the deal, not that it'll save his life. He's already set them back one too many times and Fouchet is pissed. Stupid chemist isn't going to survive after he cuts the shipment.

Cas doesn't feel anything about this. Dude knew what he was getting into, and what kind of people he was going to deal with. Maybe he didn't know just exactly how unhinged Fouchet is, but come on, the guy went to college for fuck's sake, he can't be that stupid!

But right now all Cas wants to do is get home to his wife and finish what they started before they were so rudely interrupted. And he plans on taking up Evie on that offer of how exactly to wake her up, and her challenge of how far he can go before she wakes up. They've never been able to get to the point where he managed to get inside her before she wakes up, but they get closer every time. But they don't do it often. She's at college and so is usually always awake when they have sex becomes he'll arrive in the middle of the day, but she always loves the surprise of being awoken with sex, and he loves waking her up before leaving. She just always seems to wake up as he finally gets her undressed enough to actually do something.

Getting to his bedroom and seeing her sleeping in his bed- not a sight he gets to see too often- gets him aroused before he even has the chance to reach the bed. He hurriedly sheds his clothes, his mind flashing back to what they were doing earlier, and he climbs under the covers behind her. He puts himself flush with Evie's back and notices immediately that she isn't wearing any pants, just a shirt, when his legs come into contact with only skin on her lower half.

Slowly, careful not to jostle her in fear of waking her up, he puts a hand on her thigh, running it up with a feather light touch that makes her twitch because it probably tickles more than arouses. He has to bite back a curse when he's able to run his hand over her hip and to the bottom of her breasts without anything in the way. The fact she isn't wearing either a bra or panties makes all of the blood in his body rush south. He shifts a little, his now fully erect cock pressing into her lower back as he takes a deep breath. He takes his time, first touching her breasts and kissing her neck, nibbling at the especially sensitive spots to get her warmed up really fast. It's harder for her to get wet when asleep as she isn't completely aware of what's happening to her body, and he doesn't want to hurt her when he enters her because he didn't go slow enough to give her body time to get ready for him.

When he finally rolls her nipple between his fingers after teasing around her breasts for a minute, she shifts, pressing her shoulder back into his chest, exposing her neck more. He takes advantage of this and presses open mouthed kisses along the skin there, making her squirm when he licks at that spot before her ear.

He moves his other arm under her, sliding it around her neck and reaching down to lightly grip her right breast. She moves into it, but his arms around her keep her from rolling off her side, pressing her back against his chest. In the faint morning light he can see her eyes moving under her lids, her breathing starting to increase under his ministrations, and Jesus, she looks beautiful.

He drags his other hand downward, taking time to caress her stomach and butt before slipping his hand between her legs. He gently rubs her there as she moves her thighs together, as if sensing what's coming. But after a second she settles, unconsciously spreading her thighs to give him the room he needs. He presses a finger inside her and has to bite back a groan at the tight heat he feels, his member throbbing feeling her muscles flutter around his digit unconsciously. He pumps it a few times before adding another finger, and he notices it's a little harder than usual to get it in. The position she's in makes it tighter and even though she's wet, he could still hurt her because of it. But he doesn't want to risk trying to move her to a different position, and frankly, he really doesn't want to. So instead he rolls onto his back and reaches for the nightstand, pulling out the drawer and grabbing the small bottle of scentless lube he keeps in there. With how often she visits- almost never- they've never used it, but right now is the perfect opportunity. He doesn't bother to close the drawer and puts the bottle next to him under the sheets. And then carefully, watching her face to make sure he can catch the first sign of her waking up, he pulls back to comforter and top sheet, exposing them to the cooler air. He feels her shiver a little and can see her nipples harden, but other than that she doesn't seem to stir.

He pops open the bottle of lube, now that he doesn't have to worry about the covers impeding his ability to get to her body, and squeezes a small amount onto his fingers. He then trails his hand back down to her lower region, putting two fingers into her. She makes a little whine in the back of her throat, once again rolling back into him, and he sees her biting her lip as she moves against his hand, trying to get more.

"Cas," she murmurs, and Jesus fucking hell, he almost loses it right there, because God damn she's still sleeping and yet responding to him- to him- and doesn't even realize it.

Taking another deep breath he steadies himself, not able to wait any longer and removes his fingers from inside her body. His member jerks again when she whines again, and holy fuck it's his name again, and he hastily squeezes the lube onto his hand and slicks himself up. He slowly pushes her thighs up and forward, bending her knees toward her chest so he can get better access. He rubs his member against her ass, making the lower part of her cheeks wet and slippery, the head of his erection pressing against her opening. She's still asleep and he presses a gentle kiss to her neck as he slowly brings his hips forward, using his hand to guide himself into her heat. He meets a little resistance because of how her body is folded, but with another, slightly harder thrust, he's able to get the head of his cock inside her. He then grasps her hip, the lube making it a little difficult to get a good grip at first, as he moves against her, taking it slow sliding all the way into her, not wanting her to feel any pain. He smirks at the low moan she makes, and the way she writhes against him has him thinking she's awake for a second, but a quick glance down tells him she's still quite asleep, however lightly by how she's moving.

He slowly pulls out until just the head of himself is still inside her before snapping his hips forward, her body moving forward a little with the force of it. He hears her gasp and looks down again to see her eyes fluttering open, still not fully aware of what's going on.

-Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys-

I don't know at what point I started to get hot, but all my sleeping brain knew was that it enjoyed it, and wanted more. Feelings of electricity and a burning warmth spread through my body like wild fire, and images of Cas with me under the sheets fill my mind. I feel a need coursing through my veins and myself reaching out, moving against the pleasure it brings as I feel someone touch me. Cas, my mind supplies, and I groan at the feeling of skin against mine.

And then as my body rocks I blink my eyes open, realizing it was just a dream before I feel someone behind me whispering loving words.

"Evie, wake up baby," Cas says, his voice in my ear. "Come on baby, I know you can hear me, it's time to wake up now."

"Cas?" I ask, my voice sleepy, something hot and thick in my lower region, making me feel so full. And then it moves, making me shudder as little sparks of pleasure shoot up and down my spine. Lips press into the back of my shoulder as he suddenly thrusts forward again, filling me to the brim, making me gasp. "Oh God Cas!"

If I wasn't awake a second ago I am now. The feeling of him dragging his member out of me, over my hypersensitive nerve endings, only to thrust back in sharply but gently, lovingly, has me on the edge. "Cas, Cas I'm-"

A sob reaches my throat when he pushes back in harder than before, making me move with him. His hand rubs along my side, going to my breast and flicking my nipples.

"I know baby," he says breathlessly, moving with me as we both near our release, the sheer anticipation making us both arrive at this point faster. I meet his thrusts as best I can in this position as his hand grips my hip tightly as he drives himself into me again and again until I fall apart under him.

I'm sobbing by the time the wave that's been building comes crashing over me, incoherent sounds falling from my lips. He keeps thrusting in and out of me, almost there himself, stimulating my oversensitive nerves as my climax makes my vision go dark for a second. But nothing can block out the feeling of when he trembles behind me, his member stiffening inside me even more than it already is, and then the rush of warmth that fills my entire lower half, making me even more wet than I already was.

I let out a long breath at the feeling. I rarely feel as close to Cas as I do in this moment, and I relax into the sheets, leaning my body back against his chest. His entire body is moving with how hard he's breathing, and he's on his side with his breath of my neck. His fingers are trembling a little as he releases my waist and slides his arm around me, almost surrounding me with his body.

"Best way to wake up," I mumble tired.

A kiss is pressed to my neck. "Glad you think so because I definitely want to do that again."

"Me too," I agree, and as I shift my legs because one was starting to fall asleep, I realize there's a slickness on my thighs that has me panicking for a moment. The only time I feel that is when we have sex on my period because the blood will get on them. It was supposed to be starting soon, but when I look down there's nothing red anywhere. And he came in me, so it isn't from him, and it's clear anyway, so it can't exactly be from him, or me.

"Cas?" I ask confused.

"Yeah?"

"Why…um," how do I ask this, better just go with blunt, "Why exactly am I so…slick? This can't be just from us."

I hear and feel him laugh behind me before he answers. "I used some lube."

We've only ever used lube once or twice, and that was really only the first time we had sex since he knew it might help with some of the pain of my first penetration.

"Oh, alright…why exactly, we usually don't?" I can't help but ask, too curious at what his answer will be.

"I didn't want to hurt you, and you weren't exactly able to tell me if I was," he answers, and I move my neck to look at him to see him staring down at me. It warms my heart that he'd think of something like that, I mean I didn't think of it because I figured that if I was asleep it wouldn't really matter, and if I was awake I'd be able to tell him.

So I, heart filled with the love that his statement and with what we just did brings, lean up and kiss him, which he reciprocates easily, and I feel his member give an interested twitch inside me, making me hum as a spark of pleasure soars through me at the action.

It isn't for a few hours that we make it out of the bed, and we spend quite a few of those hours just sleeping since he was up all night and my bad dreams kept me up. When we do get out of bed it's only to jump into the shower because he says Fouchet needed him back. It's around one in the afternoon, and he kisses me goodbye as I make myself something to eat, him saying he can get something at the club.

A few minutes after he's gone I start to feel a mild cramp in my abdomen, and go to the bathroom to check if my period has started. To my immense confusion there's nothing, even though I know my period should be starting. Alright so it's late, that's happened before and there's no use panicking about whether or not I'm pregnant. I've done that before and it just added stress, which I already had thanks to finals, which is why it was late in the first place. But as the feeling doesn't go away I have trouble focusing on my book and shove it back inside my bag, only to knock a different book out, my day planner, which I use to keep track of all the important deadlines and schedules in my life. And then something outlined in red catches my attention that does have me panicking a little.

To keep track of my period, and to make sure I prepare for it when it's time for it to show up, I circle the number of the date on every day I have it in red marker. Only this month I was wrong, I have the dates for last week circled; only I didn't have it last week.

Closing the planner abruptly I force my panic down. Okay, what do I do? Go to the drug store and get a pregnancy test. There's no use in freaking out, or calling Cas or anyone else until I've taken a test.

I grab my purse and keys and get into my car, driving to the closest drug store and buying two kinds of tests. I pay for them, head back home and go straight for the bathroom. As I wait for the test results I think about the last few weeks. There might not have been any symptoms until recently, but when I think, really think, I realize there's been a few. My breasts have always been sensitive, but lately they've been even more touchy than usual. When Cas and I had sex I bled, and while it's happened before to which the doctor provided an explanation for, it's also another sign of pregnancy. And when I found out about-about Max, I threw up, I literally threw up. Even the news about Cas's mother- who was like a mom to me as well- when she died didn't make me have a physical reaction like that. And then last night when Cas was called away, I almost cried because I was irrationally feeling abandoned. I usually never feel things like that, maybe a slight sadness and annoyance when he suddenly has to cancel a visit, or leave, but I've never felt it that strongly, not even when on my period and my hormones are at their highest. And then the biggest one, I missed my last period, but I just chalked that just to stress because of finals and finally getting my masters. Jesus, how did I not think…?

Checking my watch I realize the time is up and pick up the first test, to see it's positive. And so is the next one. I have to sit down on the toilet when my legs start to shake with this revelation. Well they always do advertise that birth control pills aren't always 100 percent affective, but Jesus, how are we going to-

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind kids, but right now I don't really want them exactly. Cas and I aren't ready, and frankly kids take up a lot of your time, and privacy, and Cas and I haven't had a lot of time together so far in our marriage. We were hoping with this move we'd be able to- I mean we'd actually be sleeping in the same bed, under the same roof, everyday, when for the last five years we've only been able to do that two, maybe four times a month. I wanted a little more time with him, just us, before we had kids. And him, he's always changed the conversation when I ask him about kids. I think it's because he knows it wouldn't be a good idea with the life he lives, it wouldn't be safe, but what if it's really because he doesn't want kids at all. Oh Jesus, what am I going to tell him?

No, wait. Okay, there's still a chance I may not be pregnant. While home tests are usually accurate, there's no way to know for sure without going to the doctor for their test. So I dry my eyes, put the tests in the trash, and head for the nearest clinic. They do cheap tests, with full confidentiality, and I'll be able to have the results within 24 hours.

By the time I get the blood drawn and am back at the apartment it's five in the afternoon and I really don't know what to do. My mind can't stop thinking about the fact that holy shit I might be pregnant when I'm not sure how I feel about having kids, and am definitely not sure how Cas is going to feel about it if the doctor's test comes back positive-

Before I can slip further into my panic there's a knock on the front door. I freeze; it isn't Cas, he'd just come right in, could it be one of his 'associates', looking for him maybe?

Swallowing, I get up and walk into the living room, grabbing the gun from my purse and slowly approaching the door. I look through the peephole and see two men, both of color, and one that I vaguely recognize; Marcus Burnett, who's a cop. Jesus Christ, are they trying to get me killed?!

I yank the door open, and immediately their gazes are drawn to the gun in my hand, which I forgot was there. They both take a step back, drawing their own weapons, but hesitant to lift them on me.

"Oh for God's sake," I say and lean to the side, setting the gun down on the kitchen counter and stepping away. "Better?"

"Yeah, unless you have any other dangerous weapons somewhere on your body," the taller one says with a grin that would probably charm most girls. Luckily I'm not most girls.

"First, I'm married, so back the fuck off," I say, in no mood for this. "Second, what the hell are you doing here Marcus? Are you trying to get me killed?!"

I take a step forward and look into the hallway; luckily there's no one else there.

"Don't worry, we made sure no one saw us," Marcus says, "Theresa told me about that call."

I nod slowly, immediately knowing what he's referring to.

"So, um, this would probably be easier if we could come inside…" Marcus hints but I just grab the edge of the door and close it halfway so my body is blocking their entrance.

"What do you want Marcus, before I call my husband?" I ask flatly.

"Um, yeah, speaking of your husband, we were actually wondering if maybe he's heard anything, or he's told you anything-"

I raise my hand and stop him right there. "First of all, he doesn't tell me shit, that's the way we've always been, and the way we like it. I know what my husband is, but that shit doesn't come through this door, not when I'm here. And second, even if I did know, I would never tell someone that could arrest him for it. So, if you don't mind…"

I wave toward the left where the elevator is that will take them downstairs.

"Oh come on Evie, don't be like that…" Marcus says and I just look at him.

"Don't try and pretend we're friends, we weren't even in high school and we certainly aren't now. You're a cop, I'm married to a felon, we're not on the same sides, and if Fouchet's men see you here they could kill me," I say, trying to emphasize that last part.

"Woah, woah, wait," the taller one says, whose name I still don't know and really don't want to. I just want them gone. "You know about Fouchet?"

"Met him, once, never want to do it again," I say shortly.

"What, when?" Marcus asks, "Did you hear anything?"

"No, look, you really need to…" I trail off however seeing the elevator doors open and out step a few shady looking guys, one of whom I recognize. "Fuck."

Marcus and the other guy, who must be his partner, follow my gaze and reiterate my statement.

"Time to go," the tall one says, both of them once again pulling out their guns when the guys reach for theirs.

"Yeah, fuck yeah," Marcus adds and they're then pushing their way into the apartment. I almost trip trying to back away before they can run into me. Gunshots are fired in the hallway and Marcus puts to use all the locks Cas has on the door.

"Is there another way outta here?" Tall One shouts.

But at the moment I'm a little stunned at the turn of events; I haven't heard gunshots fired since that night Cas's mom and I were attacked in their house.

"Evie!"

"Yes, the fire escape, through the bedroom," I say, jumping.

"Okay, Mike, I'm right behind you," Marcus says, grabbing my arm tightly and dragging me behind them as they make a mad dash for the bedroom. I don't bother fighting them; Fouchet's men will probably kill me, and our baby. That last thought hits me hard, because I find that I want it to live, I don't want to let those sons of bitches hurt it in any way, it's my baby, Cas's baby.

Mike forces the window open and climbs out, Marcus shoving me forward next and Mike grabs me and pulls me over the windowsill. Marcus follows as Fouchet's men finally break through the front door. The three of us sprint as fast as we can down the steps, and when we hit the alley Marcus grabs my wrist again and drags me after him and Mike, shoving me into the back seat of a car parked on the side of the road.

Mike and Marcus are cursing and yelling at each other in the front seats as they peel away from the apartment complex.

"Evie? Evie?!"

I look up at a bleary Marcus, who's turned around in his seat looking at me, and I realize I'm crying. I wipe at my eyes, a little embarrassed, and after a second I'm pulled together, mostly.

"Oh my god, I can't-I can't believe that just...fuck," I mutter, leaning forward, burying my face in my hands as my emotions seem scattered.

"Yeah, fuck, what the hell we doing now?!" Mike asks, "I mean, the wife of a gangster, what the hell Marcus!"

"Hey, she's a friend!" Marcus immediately shouts back. "Well, a friend of my wife's."

"Well what're we gonna do with her, huh? In case you haven't noticed, these guys aren't too happy about us talking to her, how the hell are we gonna keep her alive?!" Mike asks.

"The same way we're keeping Julie alive," Marcus says, and that name makes my heart skip a beat.

"Julie?" I ask. "As is Julie, Max Logan's roommate?"

"Yeah," Mike says, looking at me in the mirror, "How the hell you'd know that?"

"Because Max was my friend, she was the first friend I visited when I got here, I met Julie too," I answer.

"Yeah, well, those men back there, Fouchet's men, killed your friend Max, and are trying to kill Julie, and now you," Marcus says.

"Well, they wouldn't have if you two hadn't shown up. They were probably watching the place because Fouchet didn't trust me, and were just waiting for you two idiots to show up to prove he was right in not trusting me!" I yell at them.

"Hey, you're the one stupid enough to marry a convict!" Mike shouts.

"I married him before he got arrested you asshole! And I'm fairly certain I'm smarter than you, or do you have a master's in computer programming?!" I yell back, furious at everything that's happened today.

"Alright, everyone shut the fuck up!" Marcus yells above both of us. "Thank you, now we're gonna take her to your place, stash her away with Julie, keep em' both out of trouble."

"What-?" I start to protest, but Marcus yells over me again.

"No! My wife will kill my ass if I let anything happen to you, and right now you're as much of a target as Julie, wife of a criminal or not!" he directs that last part at Mike, who I can see is reluctantly agreeing.

And that's exactly what they do, and when we get to Mike's apartment, Julie is quite shocked at seeing me. They've already told me about how Marcus is pretending to be Mike and vice versus, and I keep up the act, however I do hint pretty obviously at the truth, making Marcus and Mike glare daggers at me behind Julie's back, but come on she can't be that stupid.

But because of this Marcus ushers me to the bedroom, away from Julie, and then proceeds to handcuff me to the headboard. If he wasn't Theresa's husband I might have panicked a little when he did this, but he just said it was to keep me from doing anything stupid until they got back. They would've taken me with them if I hadn't been trying to blow their cover with Julie, and if they didn't think I'd try to escape. And in Marcus's words, if I 'wasn't like a sister to my wife' and if he wasn't sure said wife would 'kick my ass out of the happy home' if she found out he didn't try to at least protect her, he'd let me run out of there and let myself get killed. Mike calls him away before I can give a real retort, and I'm left alone, in a stranger's apartment, pulling at the handcuffs, trying to sort through everything that just happened today to get me here. How did waking up with Cas this morning end up with me handcuffed to a cop's bed, pregnant, with Cas's friends trying to kill me?

And that's when I lose it and finally just start sobbing into the sheets, because all I want is my husband, and he is the exact person that I don't have. I have his friends out there looking for me, trying to kill me, and I have cops trying to keep me alive from them even if one of them could really care less if they manage to kill me or not, and I have a baby growing in my belly that I'm not sure how I really feel about, and the one person who I really want, who I know would be able to get me calm enough for me to sort through this shit storm of emotions, isn't fucking here!

Eventually I tire myself out to the point I fall asleep, and dear God, thank you for small mercies.

When I wake up it's still light out, but a quick glance at Mike's digital clock tells me it's the next day. Holy shit, I slept through yesterday afternoon, night, and part of the next morning. It must be the stress, and the fact I'm pregnant because I've been feeling tired a lot lately and I read that was a symptom.

Marcus, Mike, and Julie aren't here, so either they came back last night and left again this morning, all without waking me, or they've been gone all night, something that probably isn't a good thing because what if that means they've been hurt, or killed. No one knows I'm here besides that desk guy downstairs when we first came into the lobby, and I don't think he's going to be checking up on me anytime soon; he seemed to pretty much do whatever Mike and Marcus said.

Please Cas, please find me.

-Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys-

Meanwhile, Casper has tried calling his wife four times. He called the night before to tell her he wasn't coming home that night, and then the next morning, leaving messages both times. Fouchet seems determined to give him every job to do, but by the time of the fourth missed call he's starting to get worried. So when Fouchet sends him and Fergie out to pick up some more stuff the chemist needs to cut the heroin, he sends Fergie to get the harder stuff and calls again, no answer, and now he's starting to panic. Evie knows to pick up her phone or he panics, and so she almost always answers, and if she can't, she always calls right back.

So he stops by the apartment, only to find it's roped off with police tape. The police are gone, but the tape still covers the entrance to the hallway his apartment is on, and now his level of panic is reaching a new high. He ducks under the tape and his heart plummets seeing the door to his apartment- the one place Evie was supposed to be safe while in Miami, somewhere tucked off the grid that Fouchet didn't even know about- has been kicked in.

He walks through, taking in the multiple bullet holes in the walls and around the apartment in general, but he doesn't see any blood, or any indication that somebody was injured or killed. It doesn't make him feel all that better.

So instead he walks around, digging through everything to get some inclination about what happened, and where the fuck his wife is now. Her purse and her bag is still here, her phone sitting on the table. Nothing seems to be missing or moved- the cops wouldn't move anything in fear of contaminating the crime scene- unless done by the gunshots, at least that's what he thinks until he reaches the bedroom. The window to the fire escape is open and he thanks god because that most likely means she got away. Although why she hasn't called, made contact with him worries him? Unless- Fouchet, but why?

He goes back to the living room and picks up her phone, going through the messages as he scours the rest of the apartment. They're five messages and he goes through the first four, all the ones he left yesterday and today. That leaves the last one, and as he checks the bathroom something catches his eye in the trash. He bends over and picks it up. It's a box and the label on it shocks him; it's for a pregnancy test. He almost drops the phone, but he catches it at the last minute and puts it down on the sink, picking up the trash can and going through it until he's pulling out the actual tests, there's two of them. And Jesus Christ, they're both positive.

He realizes there's a voice in the room and picks up the phone as the last message begins to play.

"Hello Mrs. Accardi, this is Doctor Kramer from the Miami Clinic which you visited yesterday for a pregnancy test. As specified, the results of the test have come through and have determined that you are indeed pregnant. If you would like to make a further appointment to…"

-Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys-

By the time Mike, Marcus, and Julie comes back I really have to pee. So Marcus unlocks the handcuffs and tells me where the bathroom is. After using it Julie takes her turn and I can hear the shower running as I walk into the living room. I think about running for a second but Mike is between me and the door, and where would I go? I need to call Cas first.

When I reach for the phone on Mike's desk someone grabs my hand.

"Oh no," Marcus says, pulling me away from the desk and from the phone. "Aw hell no, I don't think so!"

"What, why not?" I ask because come on, calling Cas isn't going to do anything.

"Because we can't risk this case getting blown, and I won't put it past you tipping your darlin' husband off," Marcus answers, pulling up my arm and pushing me onto the bed again, closing the handcuff around my wrist before I can pull away.

"Tip him off? How?! I have no idea what the fuck is going on!" I yell at him as he walks away.

I huff in sheer frustration and shove down the urge to scream. Then a small bag on the end of the bed catches my eyes. I reach out, having to extend my entire body to grab onto it, and pull it next to me. It must be Julie's, there are a few things in here I could see her using, but it takes a few seconds of looking before I see the thing I was hoping she'd have; a phone.

I look into the living room and see Mike and Marcus but then they move into the kitchen, and Julie is still in the bathroom. As I'm about to dial Cas's number I pause, even if I call him there's no way I'm getting out of here? I can't get out of the handcuffs and I don't know where I am so I can't tell him to come get me. Who would know the address of Mike's apartment and be willing to tell me without question?

I smile as I dial a new number, the one for Marcus's wife.

-Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys-

"No baby, your daddy just wishes he was in Cleveland," Theresa says to her two sons as she watches the TV footage of her husband- who told her he was going to be in Cleveland- yelling at the media helicopter.

And then the phone rings, and the person on the other hand makes her stop for a moment in her anger.

"Theresa, it's Evie," the person says.

"Evie?"

"Yeah, I need your help," she seems to be whispering.

"Okay, is everything alright?" Theresa asks, a little confused at the shushed way Evie is speaking.

"No, your husband just handcuffed me to his partner's bed," she hisses, obviously annoyed, and Theresa is floored.

"Wait, what? No, sorry, back up for a moment…" Theresa says, shaking her head in confusion.

"I don't have a lot of time, they could walk back any second now. I just, something happened and I was in danger so Marcus and Mike took me to Mike's place to keep me 'safe'," the way she says 'safe' has Theresa thinking Evie might not be entirely on board with them protecting her, "but what I really need is to get back to Cas. But your stupid husband handcuffed me and I have no idea where Mike's place is so I can't tell Cas if I call him."

"Alright, just stay calm, I'm on my way, I need to have a very lengthy conversation with my husband anyway," Theresa says, already gathering her purse and making plans to get her neighbor to watch the kids. "Evie?"

There's nothing on the other end, so Theresa calls Evie's number, assuming that's the phone she was calling from.

-Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys-

I curse when the battery in Julie's phone dies, but I told Theresa what I needed to tell her, and even though I can't call Cas- not that I had time to get the address of the apartment from Theresa anyway- I know that Theresa will get me free.

I put the phone back in Julie's purse and push it to where it was on the bed earlier, and wait. Julie comes out of the bathroom, hair mostly dry but with the same clothes on that she was wearing before the shower (she must not have an extra), and Marcus and Mike join them in the bedroom a little later.

"I'm telling you man, this Fouchet, he's a slick one…"

-Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys-

To say Casper was furious was an understatement. After almost having to kill Fergie to get him to tell him what happened at his apartment, and with his wife- he does leave Fergie with a few nice bruises and has a few of his own- he wants nothing more than to kill Fouchet. The apartment had been staked out, on Fouchet's orders, ever since the Filmore Hotel and Evie became known to him. He didn't trust her and told Fergie and two others to watch the people coming and going, and to follow Evie when she left. And then Marcus fucking Burnett and his stupid ass partner went in and talked to Evie, who he has no doubt was just as furious at them for their brainless actions, making Fouchet's suspicions seem correct. Not that Fergie and the others stopped to find out before they started shooting. Cas's only comfort comes in the fact the cops took Evie with them and they got away clean, because if they hadn't, Evie would be dead right now. Fuck, this is why he didn't want her here, why he wanted her to be a secret from everyone he knew!

He then sent Fergie back to the ship with the supplies the chemist needed, and- fuck he can't believe he's about to do this- gets into his own car, fully intent on going over to Burnett's house because that's the most likely place they stashed Evie. Only as soon as he's about to do this his phone rings- actually scratch that, Evie's phone rings, and he scrambles to pick it up thinking it might be her.

"Evie?" he asks.

"Um, no, I'm- would this happen to be Evie's husband?" a female voice asks.

"Yeah, who the hell is this?" Cas really isn't in the mood for games right now.

"Theresa Burnett, Evie just called me," the woman- Evie's friend he remember now- answers.

"What? Is she okay? Where is she?" the questions come out in a stream and Theresa calmly quiets him.

"All I know is that she was going to call you to come and get her, my husband has her in some protective custody at his partner's place, but she didn't know the address. She called me because I do, but the call cut out before I could tell her. Now, I love my husband, but she's like a sister to me," Cas finds himself liking this woman, she talks fast, but gives enough detail to give him a full understand of what's happening, "I don't know what's been happening, but she made it clear she wanted you and to not to be where she is, so I'm going to give you the address of the apartment building, but that's it. You are to wait for me in the lobby until I get there and I will take you to Mike's apartment."

"Listen lady-" Cas starts, completely fed up with this day, but she cuts him off.

"I may be a lady, and I might have married an idiot, but I am not stupid. The only person that's going to be hurting my husband today is me, so you are to wait for me in the lobby."

Cas sighs annoyed, but impressed. "Fine, what's the address?"

-Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys-

"So I guess when you guys get back this'll all be over, right?" Julie asks, lying down in front of me on her stomach on the bed. I'm still handcuffed to the headboard, sitting on the edge of the bed with my elbow resting in a position that won't have the handcuff pull at my wrist. I already have a pretty nice bruise around my wrist from how I must've pulled on it yesterday while I was sleeping.

"You got that right," Mike says, walking over to a cabinet as he puts his shirt on.

"Now don't you worry though, you'll be set free," Marcus says, "Cut loose, you'll be back to your old life. Psst, no more handcuffs."

Because apparently Marcus and Mike have a thing about handcuffing women to pieces of furniture and inside their cars.

"And what about me?" I ask, trying to go for light.

"Hmm, what 'bout you?" Mike asks. I still don't think he really likes me.

"Well will I be 'let go' too, or able to call my husband?" I ask, just a slight amount of annoyance creeping into my tone.

"Yeah, sure, that is, if he isn't one of the people we arrest at this bust," Mike answers.

"Why would he be…?" Julie says, but then must remember what Max said when we first met, about how Cas was in one of the biggest cartels in the city. "Wait, Max…you drove us there."

I can hear the accusation in the sentence and see Marcus and Mike looking between us.

"You did what now?" Mike asks, voice low.

"Max and Julie were meeting with someone, I volunteered to drive them so they wouldn't have to take the bus," I answer trying to keep calm and not reveal anything Cas may not want me to.

"Yeah, and then Fouchet and his goons walk in just minutes after we get there!" Julie says, jumping off the bed and glaring at me.

"Yeah, and if you had saw the entire thing than you would know that I was there too. Fouchet let something slip, something Max and I shouldn't have known, that's why he killed her!" and fuck I shouldn't have said that.

"And so how exactly did you make it out?" Julie asks.

I sigh, my body deflating as my arm subconsciously rises around my middle as I start to go on the defensive in this conversation. "I called my husband, who said he and Fouchet were going to the same place you and Max were. I knew that would be very bad so I got there first and Max was about to get you so we could leave when Fouchet walked in. He was going to kill us both when Cas stepped in, said he didn't have to, not either of us."

"Yeah well that obviously didn't work," Mike says toneless, and I can tell he's hiding the pain he's feeling with lifeless words instead.

"Fouchet said they'd let her live because Cas vouched for her, we thought he meant it," I explain and then add. "And even if we knew he was lying, if we had tried to stop him he would've just killed us too."

"Really, he would've killed one of his own men?" Mike asks.

"Well, he did kill that one guy for a distraction, and then he killed Eddie," Marcus says, weakly taking my side, I think.

"So what, Max's life wasn't important enough to risk yours?" Julie says, almost yelling.

"Of course she was important; she was one of my best friends! But if we had known they were lying to us about letting her live, which we didn't, do you really think Cas would've let me put my life on the line to try to save hers," I yell back and then turn to Marcus. "If you were Cas and your wife was me and you knew that trying to save Max would probably get her killed, the woman you loved, the mother of your kids, would you let her do it?"

The guilt on his face is answer enough and he looks at Mike and Julie. I see a glimmer of understanding on Mike's face and a small amount of defeat there as well, but Julie's is still all anger. She looks at the guys and seeing where they're now standing on this has her pissed at them too now. She storms out into the living room, picking up one of her dogs and sitting angrily on the couch.

A few minutes later the doorbell rings and my heart jumps hoping its Theresa. Mike asks Julie if she can get it and Julie sighs but gets up.

I listen closely and am able to hear the words, "Hello, I'm here to kill my husband, Marcus Burnett."

-Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys-

When Cas gets to the apartment complex he gets out of his car and goes inside. There are two men in the lobby behind the counter and no one else.

"Can I help you?" one of them asks.

Cas waves him off, "Waitin' on someone."

The guy just nods and goes back to the magazine he was reading. Cas reclines against one of the pillars in the lobby and crosses his arms over his chest as he waits for this Theresa to show up. Jesus, this has been a shitty day.

The doorbell rings, signaling the door has opened, and a young, pretty good looking lady walks in, wearing a nice dress with a purse, with a look of utter determination on her face and Cas immediately knows this is Theresa. He straightens up as her eyes land on him and she raises her hand, taking a single finger and making a 'come-hither' motion as she walks by him, indicating that he should follow. Jesus, he can see why Evie likes her.

He follows her wordlessly into the elevator, the guy from earlier trying to call them back to no use. Once the doors shut and the elevator starts moving Theresa starts to speak. "Now, I realize you are probably quite angry at my husband and his little friend, but if Evie's voice is anything to go by she's not in such a great place right now and your attention is needed on her, not beating in my husband's face, or his partner's."

He knows what she's trying to do, she's trying to get it so he's more worried about Evie so he'll go to her, than upset at her husband so he won't pummel him into the ground. That doesn't make it any less true though and he finds himself reluctantly agreeing. This woman didn't have to help him get here, and she's Evie's friend, so he's going to let her win this one, but only because she's right about how he should be concentrated on Evie, not revenge for how they majorly fucked up this whole situation.

So he nods, the confirmation she was looking at him for, and the elevator stops. He follows her, half a step behind, as she walks down the hall to the very end before knocking on the last door.

Another woman answers, and perhaps this is the reason Theresa is so angry at her husband. He can't imagine cheating on Evie, and here this woman is about to confront hers about cheating on her. Damn, every second he spends with Evie's friend he finds one more thing to be impressed with.

"Hello, I'm here to kill my husband, Marcus Burnett," Theresa says calmly.

"And would that be the tall one or the short one?" the girl asks and Cas can't hold back a smirk.

"The short one," Theresa says, using her hand to mimic her statement.

The lady nods and mutters like she should've known, "Thought so."

She then looks at him giving him a once over before her eyes turn distrustful, "And who're you?"

"He's with me," Theresa says as she steps inside, with an almost bored flick of her hand, trying to get the attention off of him.

"Is Chet ringing the- oh! Baby…" Marcus Burnett steps out of the hallway, stopping dead in his tracks, his hands waving as he looks between his wife and the other woman. And then his eyes find Cas. "What the fuck is he doing here?!"

"Oh, him, I called him, told him to meet me here," Theresa says, her back straightening as she steps almost menacingly toward her husband. "Because really, even after I told you how Evie called saying she couldn't be seen with me because I'm the wife of a cop, you were really stupid enough to go see her, being said cop! And then you kept her here, against her will I'm guessing by how she sounded!"

"What? Baby, no-"

"Oh don't even, she called me, told me you handcuffed her to Mike's bed!" Theresa says and Cas momentarily sees red.

They handcuffed her…to a fucking bed! What the fuck, they're supposed to be cops, Jesus Christ. If they've touched her in any way that this situation implies he's going to kill those cops, regardless of any promises he's made to Theresa.

"You did what?" he asks, almost getting into Marcus's face but Theresa's hand clamps down on his shoulder, drawing him back.

"Go get Evie, she's what you're here for," Theresa says, her voice as hard as steel.

Cas pushes down the homicidal rage he feels and walks into the living room as Evie's voice shouts, "Cas!"

-Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys- Bad Boys-

Hearing Theresa lay into Marcus is satisfying after these last few days, although I am confused at who Theresa brought with her, probably someone to give her support in kicking Marcus out. And then I hear his voice and my heart jumps. It takes a moment for me to speak and I see him walking down the steps.

"Cas!" I say, standing up from the bed, but the handcuff around my wrist gives me a painful reminder that that's all I can do.

His eyes hone in on me and then he's running to my side. It isn't until I see him that I realize I was worried about him to, and not just because I knew he'd be going crazy out of his mind trying to find me. I didn't think about it but if Fouchet thought I was a rat, he easily could've killed Cas in spite, or thinking he was one too.

The relief I feel at seeing him, alive and whole and here, brings tears to my eyes as he finally reaches me, pulling me into a tight hug that I can return with only one arm.

"Jesus Evie," he says, running his hands up my arms to cup my face before leaning in for a breathtaking kiss. "I was worried out of my fucking mind."

"I'm sorry," I whisper into his lips as he presses his forehead to mine.

"Not your fault baby," he says and his nickname has me remembering that I have something rather important to tell him.

But then a there's the sound of someone clearing their throat. My eyes slide behind Cas to see Julie there, arms crosses and looking disgruntled and almost put out. "Max would talk about you two; she seemed to trust you, both of you. I can see what she would go on about now."

My eyebrows furrow in confusion at what Julie means and then she reaches into her bra, making my eyes go wide for a second before she pulls out a key and walks over to me. She grabs my arm that is handcuffed and unlocks it, pulling off my wrist. I look at her shocked that she would help me like that, and by like that I mean at all. I rub my wrist and almost jump when Cas grabs it. I see him looking at the slight bruising around it from being handcuffed all night, his eyes darkening.

I place my hand on the side of his neck, making his eyes move to mine as I say, "Hey, it's alright, I'm fine. They didn't mean to."

I lean up on my tip toes for another hug and after a few moments he's entirely relaxed into it. I see Julie at the foot of the bed, gathering her things and mouth a thank you at her, which she just nods at. While she doesn't seem to hate me, I can tell we're not going to be best friends anytime soon.

I lean back and step out of the hug. "How-how did you know where I was?"

"Theresa called, told me she'd bring me to you," he says, surprising me a little before I really think about it.

I hear Theresa in the hallway, her raised voice mixing with Marcus's.

"Evie, why were you…handcuffed to a bed?" he asks and with the hesitant and dark voice he asks this in I know what he's really trying to ask.

"No, Jesus Cas, they didn't," I take a breath, "They did that because they left me alone here for the night but didn't want me to be able to leave. They didn't…no one touched me, not like that."

I can feel the tension in his body leave at that and he hugs me yet again, kissing the top of my head.

"Cas, there's…" my voice falters a little and I clear it, "There's something I do have to tell you though."

There's no hiding the nervousness I'm feeling and he pulls back.

"I know," he states, making me stop. "When I went back to the apartment I saw the tests in the bathroom, and there was a message on your phone from the doctor you visited that confirmed it."

My eyes drop from his face, suddenly feeling an overwhelming load of emotions because his voice is flat, no happiness or hate about the fact I'm pregnant. I knew he wouldn't-that he didn't want this.

"I'm sorry," I say, beginning to cry, my hand going to cover my mouth. I hate this, I feel like I'm crying all the time.

"Hey," he says, voice gentle like he's trying not to scare me which is ridiculous because I have no reason to be afraid of him. "Evie, baby, its okay."

I shake my head, turning my head away when he tries to get me to look at him. "No-no it's not, I know you-you don't want kids, and-"

My words are cut off by a sob and his hands push harder at my face, trying to get me to look up at him again. "Evie, what the hell makes you think I don't want kids?"

I shake my head again. "Because you- whenever I ask you always brush it off, like you do-do when you don't want to talk about something because you know I won't like the answer, and you know that I wanted kids one day."

His lips cut me off from my rambling as they press hard against mine and when he ends the kiss I'm forced to take a few deep breaths to get my breathing back in order.

"Evie, listen to me. I always avoided it because I knew you wanted this for our future and I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to give it to you, if we'd ever have a life where it would be safe enough for us to. That doesn't mean I didn't want to," he says and this makes me gain the courage to finally look at him.

"You-you mean that?" I ask hesitantly.

"Yeah," he breaths, his thumbs moving under my eyes to brush away the last of my tears and my cheeks heat up in embarrassment at how I overreacted.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me," I say sniffling.

He just kisses my forehead again and holds me for a second before I ask, "What's going to happen now?"

He sighs. "I have no idea. Come on, let's get the hell out of here."

As we walk out of the apartment I notice that Julie is gone, and so is Mike. I can hear Theresa and Marcus's voices coming from the elevator and see the doors close, blocking my view of them. Cas and I get in the one beside it and he hits the button for the ground for, holding me to his side.

When it stops he pushes the door open but we only take three steps out of the elevator when he pulls me to a stop. I look up at him and see him looking at something so I follow his gaze and holy shit that's not good. Marcus and Theresa are arguing a few feet to our left, Mike is standing a few feet away from them to the side, and there's Fouchet with two other guys, with Julie right in the middle.

I shiver when Fouchet's cold blue eyes turn on Cas and I, his smile fading as he shakes his head at us. And then he's pulling out a gun, the others with him doing the same.

"Julie get down, down!"

Cas grabs me by the waist and pulls me to the right behind one of the counters as the loud, resounding noise of bullets flying engulf the room. Papers get shredded as the desk we're behind is fired upon and I hear Theresa scream as Marcus grabs her and shoves her back into the elevator. I cover my ears and Cas shifts behind me. I look and see he's pulled out a gun and I jump when something comes sliding over the top of the counter, or rather someone because it's Mike, he must've jumped over it.

He moves so he's sitting with his back resting against the counter and he looks at Cas and I before focusing on the gun in Cas's hand. "You with us on this?"

Cas's face is grim, but determined, and he just nods once. I never imagined something like this ever happening, Cas firing on his own crew, helping the cops, but then again I don't think we ever figured his crew would be trying to kill me, or I guess it's both of us now.

"Mike!" Julie screams.

Mike stands up just enough to get a line of sight and fires off his gun at Fouchet's men, and Cas follows his lead, doing the same. I can see Marcus doing the same from the elevator but then it all stops. Mike runs out from the safety the counter provides and I realize they must be gone.

Cas grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet and I see one of the guys from earlier over his shoulder, aiming a gun inside an elevator- Theresa.

"Cas!" I yell and he turns, raising his gun and firing, knocking the guy off his feet as he pulls the trigger twice. Marcus, who was in the elevator with his wife, comes out slowly, gun on the guy and nudges his body with his foot, but he doesn't even flinch.

Marcus then looks up at Cas and I, a look of surprise on his face. "Thanks."

Cas doesn't comment, he just grabs me and says, "Go, I'll stay with them."

He pushes me past Marcus, who nods however slowly as he realizes he's about to trust a convict, one who used to run with the exact crew trying to kill them, with his wife's safety, but at this point he really doesn't have a choice. Fouchet has Julie, and Mike is by himself running on foot after them. His partner needs him, but so does his wife.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen to us," I whisper to Marcus as I pass him because I would never let anything happen to Theresa.

Marcus nods again, stronger this time, and looks at Cas. "Take them upstairs to the apartment."

He tosses Cas a key and pulls his wife into a long kiss before dashing out of the building. Cas grabs her and me and pushes us all the way back into the elevator, hitting the button for the right floor. He lays an arm over my shoulders, as if needing the physical assurance that I'm here and I'm alright, and I take Theresa's hand as she appears to be in shock.

When we get to Mike's apartment Cas locks the door and moves us further into the apartment away from it. We wait for what seems to be an eternity before the door's lock clicks open and we hear Marcus's voice. "Baby? Baby?!"

"Marcus!" Theresa yells back, running across the living room and almost jumping on him as she hugs him.

Mike enters behind Marcus, but more slowly, almost defeated.

"Where's Julie?" I ask and Mike exchanges a look with Marcus that more than answers my question.

"We don't have a lot of time. You," Mike points at Cas, "Where's the meeting happening?"

I look up at Cas; it's one thing for his crew to go against him, but another for him to go against them.

"I don't know," Cas sighs and when Mike starts to call bullshit he adds, "I don't, Fouchet kept a lot of things close to the chest, that was one of them."

"Shit!" Mike says, kicking one of his chairs and toppling it. I jump a little and Cas's hand presses against the small of my back, settling me.

"Alright, you two, you're coming with us," Marcus says and I look at Cas, but he just seems to have accepted that this was going to happen.

And so that's how we find ourselves sitting in the police station, other cops looking at us curiously (some of them recognize Cas) and distrustfully.

Marcus and Mike go and talk to their captain, leaving us alone sitting against the back of the room. I have a tight grip on Cas's hand, our shoulders touching. Cas is holding himself very tense, feeling more out of place than he has in a while, something that's quite obvious to me so I just press myself closer to him, as if I could take some of it away.

I hear Mike yell after talking to someone on his phone, pissed at whoever was on the other end, and Cas and I watch as he walks into on office with Marcus. A few minutes later they walk back out, coming straight for us.

"Is there anything you can tell us about where they are?" Mike says, not wasting any time.

Cas shakes his head, "I don't know man."

"Hey, the only reason you're not in handcuffs right now is because you saved my life and my wife's," Marcus says, leaning forward over Cas, who doesn't look intimidated in the slightest. "But that might change if you don't start being useful."

"And you'll charge me with what? You got nothing on me and you know it," Cas says.

"Alright everyone hold up, just hold on!" Mike says, causing everyone to look at him. "Evelyn, it is Evelyn right?"

I nod at him and know he's just trying to defuse the tension, he knows my name.

"You said you had a master's in computer programming?" Mike asks.

"A few more weeks and I will," I answer wondering where this is going.

"Mike?" Marcus asks, not sure what he's getting at either.

"I had some problems getting Fletcher out," Mike tells him and Marcus nods his understanding.

"If we were to give you a file, could you hack in?" Mike asks and I hesitate.

"Depends on the file," I say slowly.

"How about the police record for one Eddie Dominguez?" Mike clarifies and I look at Cas for his permission because I don't want to say yes if there could be something in there that might incriminate him, but he just nods.

"I can try," I answer and mike claps his hands, waving in the direction he wants me to go. I don't let go of Cas's hand though, dragging him up with me, not that he was going to let me out of his sight anyway.

I sit down at Marcus's desk (there are pictures of his wife and children there) and Mike brings up what he wants to get access into and I start typing.

"Not to rush you or anything…" Marcus mutters.

"But hurry up, yeah I got it," I say, getting into the base operating system and replacing a few lines of code before hitting enter. They file they wants slowly fills in and they peer over my shoulders at it.

"Girlfriend…" Marcus murmurs and I look at him, then Mike.

"What, do you know her?" I ask.

"Yeah, we do," Marcus says and I turn around to see them both looking at a woman sitting behind a desk in the police station. Oh, well that's probably not so good for security.

"Alright, you two, because you've been ever so helpful and because we really don't have the time right now, Cas you're getting off with a warning," Mike says, but it's clear his attention is focused elsewhere.

"Well I wish I could say it was a pleasure, but…" Cas grabs my arm and makes me stand from Marcus's chair. "I would be lying."

He moves his arm around my waist, dragging me from the police station. I don't speak until we're out of earshot and then ask, "Cas, we are we going?"

"Right now, your place," he answers. Mike and Marcus had us drive here since Cas had his car parked outside Mike's apartment, and so we're lucky we don't have to go back to the apartment to get it. It may not be too safe going back there.

"But couldn't Fouchet know about my place too?" I ask worried if we should be going anywhere familiar.

"Yeah, probably, but he's too busy making this deal that he wouldn't waste his resources coming after us today, so we go to your place, get what we need, and skip town, all before they even think about coming after us," he tells me, unlocking the car and I get into the passenger seat.

"Cas, is this going to work, running?" I ask quietly.

He sighs, "I don't know, but it's the only chance we got."

I nod and swallow, "Well, at least now we can face it together right?"

"Yeah," he says, "Yeah, all three of us."

I smile at his allusion to our baby and clasp his hand. It might not have happened the exact way we thought it would, but we're together, unlike so many times for these last five years, and we're not going to be ripped apart easily. Not ever again.