Leanne wasn't sure exactly when she'd gotten home, but she was damned happy of it. She smiled softly and took in the lovely scent of the Juniper candles she'd recently purchased as she relaxed in her bubble-less bath. She knew that any normal person would be crying their eyes out and frantically trying to board up their house, but she wasn't that kind of girl. She'd finish her bath, try and wash her uniform, and head out to work like nothing happened. Calling the cops was pointless because she was one, and calling the government or anything of that nature was just stupid, she knew they would just disturb their sleepy town deep in the woods of Alaska and that was the last thing she wanted. No, keeping quiet was the best thing to do and hopefully when he got what he came for he'd leave.

'Yep, that's exactly what I'll do. Keep quiet.'

As she got out of the tub and got ready for bed she couldn't help but marvel at how her skin seemed to take on a new glow and that, although it felt soft to the touch, her skin seemed harder. Shrugging off the oddity for now she settled into her bed and after shutting off the light promptly fell asleep.

The screeching sound of her cell was what woke her up hours later. Groaning she swung her arm over to her nightstand to grab her phone, only to find that it wasn't there. It sounded farther up now, almost like it was floating above her nightstand. Outstretching her arm once again without opening her eyes she reached for the center of the racket, only to find once again the phone was farther away from its proper place. Then another sound joined the ruckus except this one was soothing, almost like a pur-Leanne bolted awake and without even thinking grabbed the gun under her pillow with her non-stretched out hand and looked about the room for the source of the purr. She frowned upon seeing the phone, still ringing, except on her nightstand where it was supposed to be. After giving her room a quick once over she picked up the still ringing phone and answered.

"Duchess?!? Are you okay? Why didn't you answer earlier? Did someone hurt you? I swear if someone hurt my baby I'll break their spineless-"

"Hi Dad, yes I'm okay, I didn't answer because it's-" she glanced over at her clock, "3:20 in the morning, and no Dad no one hurt me I'm perfectly fine and healthy. The only thing that happened that would make me upset was the rookie I told you about being forced under my wing. Oh, and he wandered into the woods last night to take a piss when I was driving him home and I guess got lost, because I couldn't find him. I'm guessing from the lack of desperate phone calls I've received that he made it home alright to his mother."

She paused for a moment before continuing.

"Dad? Have you ever-I mean can you come visit me ASAP? There's something I want to talk to you about and I'm not sure I want to say it over the phone."

"I'll be right over, sweetie."

Saying her goodbyes she got ready for work and by the time she was done her father was at the door wanting to come in.

"What's wrong, Duchess?"

Deciding to cut straight to the chase she sat her father down and prepared some coffee for them.

"Remember those stories you told me about your days in the Marines?" Her father nodded silently asking her to continue. "I saw one."

Silence encompassed the house and intensified when she brought out her soiled uniform from her bathroom and set it on the coffee table in front of her father's position on her couch. "El cazador trofeo de los hombres…"

Sitting down in the armchair across from her father she suddenly felt as if her living room was too small for her Dad, and that the information made the atmosphere oppressive.

"When?" His voice was quiet, but firm.

"Earlier tonight, when I was looking in the woods for Brian."

"Were you…?" She sighed knowing the question he seemed almost afraid to voice.

"Yes, I was armed."

He stayed silent and she knew what she needed to do. Slowly and quietly she told him of the incident from beginning to finish without missing a single detail. They fell into silence again as her father digested the information.

"Did you tell anyone else?" He let out a sigh of relief as she shook her head.

"Do you have a fireplace?" She shook her head again.

"I have a fire pit outside that I can get started for you, Dad."

Nodding he picked up her clothes and went for a cup of coffee. "Keep this quiet Duchess, don't tell anyone what you saw, and as soon as we both enjoy a cup of your fine coffee we'll burn these clothes. Just tell them you destroyed your last uniform because it was too badly stained and couldn't be saved."

Not 10 minutes later they both were sipping coffee and watching as her uniform slowly burned in the fire pit. The evening air caused their breath to come out in puffs of mist as they drank their coffee in silence enjoying each other's company.

"Duchess, only carry a weapon at work and don't go anywhere alone even then. You've made yourself a target and I don't want to lose my baby girl."

She nodded and smiled softly at him before being drawn into his embrace. Even in his mid-fifties he was built like a bear and was as healthy as an ox. He made her feel small, but she knew he would always treat her that way she was his only daughter. Leanne had a brother, but he had followed a different course from his father and sister. He went into the medical field hell bent on finding cures for the worst diseases out there and spent his life traveling in search of cures and cases or in a lab bent over a microscope. Although he led a different life, both Leanne and Dutch were happy for him and very proud. Her family was small, only herself, her brother, and her father were the surviving members of their line.

Dutch had been an only child and his parents too had been only children. Any grandparents from either side had long since passed away and Dutch's own parents had passed sometime in the year before. Dutch had married a lovely woman who had no family except for her new husband. She sadly died during Leanne's birth leaving both her and her brother alone with Dutch. He'd never tried to find another.

Leanne hoped to one day find that kind of love and devotion that consumed her father's soul when meeting and marrying her mother.

As the sun started its trek up the horizon, their coffees finished, and her uniform burnt they headed inside to warm up and enjoy each other's company as they both remembered it was her day off.

Neither noticed the eyes that had been watching their every move.

Her father left that very evening needing to head home to sleep and feed his dog Rex. After wishing him goodbye Leanne turned on the radio and cooked several large steaks and headed outside after lightly spicing them and putting a cover over them to keep them from cooling down too much. She knew she shouldn't try her luck, but she couldn't help but let her curiosity get the best of her. Her father said they were dangerous, but that one had stopped her from being killed and even was nice to her when she healed him after apologizing for shooting him. She just wanted to see him again for some reason.

Setting the steaks down on her porch table she sat down and took off the cover and waited as she drank her evening cup of tea. She'd kept her porch light on so that she could see his approach and a gun if any other animal decided to try a bit of her steaks.

She waited several hours before giving up and heading into her warm house and away from the cold outside. She put the tray of steaks on the kitchen's island and brewed herself another cup of tea and set off to take a shower.

For a week Leanne kept up the routine: wake up early and see if she can lure him out, go to work all day and come home late at night, take her shower, try to lure him once again, and then head to bed. Wash, rinse, and repeat.

Needless to say she was getting tired of steak dinners.

As she headed into the shower she wondered if she should keep it up, and after deciding that although cow, deer, moose, and caribou steaks are delicious, she was sick of steak for the moment. Getting into the hot shower she instantly relaxed and all her worries seemed to just wash away with the water she was so relaxed she didn't even realize she'd been soaping herself up, or that her hands felt so large and almost reptilian as they swept slowly over her bod-Leanne opened her eyes and quickly noticed two things. One, her hands were on the tile before her, and two, the hands upon her body WERE large and reptilian and definitely not hers.

She twirled around elbowing the reptile in the face and heard a satisfying crunch and roar before kneeing it in the groin twice and running out of the shower mindlessly throwing on her bathrobe and into her room. Upon reaching her bed she picked up her gun from under her pillow and went back to the bathroom only to find it empty with the water still running. She quickly searched through her house and after finding it empty she hesitantly put the gun back under her pillow and stripped of her bathrobe before going back into the shower. This time she did not relax, she kept a watchful eye for any movement as she resumed her shower. Eventually though, the water forced her to close her eyes again and relaxation consumed her, but the only hands upon her body were her own.

The reptilian hands were gone but a cat like purr had taken its place and Leanne was too relaxed to realize it.