Yes, I know I said this was a one shot, but it just wouldn't leave me alone, so I ad to write a conclusion…and again I blame my sappy streak for it. I hope it works for you. I'd appreciate you letting me know, review whore that I am.

A big Thanks to Stayce for her help!

But I still don't own anything or any of the characters, they're JE's.

Knock Three Times

Part 2

After what seemed like hours, Stephanie's breathing calmed. I got up and got her robe from the bathroom. She took it from me with a grateful smile and wrapped it around her, then lay back down.

"You wanna tell me what happened?" I asked.

We hadn't found anything or anyone in or around her apartment, I was sure Santos or Brown would have included it in their report, but it was clear something had scared her shitless.

She took a deep breath and turned so she was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling. I could see her forehead in the dim light that filtered in from the parking lot and reached out a hand to smooth the frown lines. Her hair was beginning to dry into a hundred tiny curls.

"I…I got home," she started. "And…and I don't know why, but I looked upstairs and there was a…" she swallowed, "a light on in my apartment."

"Then you called me," I suggested when she didn't say anymore.

"No, no at first I thought I'd forgotten I'd left it on and went upstairs."

My stomach clenched at the thought of what could have happened. "Babe…"

"I know, it was stupid, in hindsight, but…" She turned her head and looked at me. "You came."

I smiled at her. "Of course I came right over. Why'd you hang up?" I didn't want to accuse her of scaring the shit out of me, but effectively, that's what had happened.

"When I got upstairs, I heard noises," she said. "At first I thought it was Rex running but then…" she suddenly bolted upright. "Oh god! Rex! Is he…"

I sat up and put my arm around her. "He's fine. There was no one here when we arrived."

She relaxed at that and leaned into me. I closed my eyes and held her. She took a couple deep breaths before she continued.

"It was probably just me overreacting," she said, her face against my chest, her breath tickling my skin.

"Steph, you don't have to tell me if it's too hard, I just want to make sure you're safe." I pulled her closer and she wrapped her arms around me.

"I just panicked and called you. It was probably just me overreacting," she repeated, as if she was trying to convince herself.

"I doubt that," I said. "Your instincts are pretty sharp."

I could feel her smile at that. After a moment, she pulled her head back to look at me. "I didn't know it was you," she said. "When you arrived. At first. Otherwise I would have come out. I heard the cars and I thought it was, you know, them. Coming back." I could hear naked fear in her voice.

"So you hid?" I guessed. That would explain why she was soaked when she came in, the rain was just letting up now, it had been heavy when I arrived.

She nodded. "I hid behind the hydrangea bushes. They didn't see me."

"Who?"

She sighed. "They. Whoever they were. There were two of them. They left maybe a minute after I'd come downstairs, while I was on the phone with you. I was too scared to come out and take a closer look. I didn't get a license plate number."

Okay, now it all made sense. "So you turned off your phone."

"Yes, I…oh!" She bit her lower lip. "You must have thought…that I, I mean that they…I was just so afraid they'd hear me!"

I nodded and she sucked in some air. "I'm so sorry Ranger! I wasn't thinking I…"

"Shhh," I soothed, pulling her head down to my shoulder. "It's all good, nothing happened."

Thank God. I couldn't even describe the possibilities that ran through my mind when the connection went dead. I'd feared the worst, not that I'd ever tell her that. Learning how close it had actually been was bad enough.

So far, I'd done a pretty good job at hiding my feelings for her. The few times too much had slipped out, I was always able to defuse it fast enough.

I was pretty sure Steph thought of me as a man whom she could count on and who loved her as a friend. Which I was, of course, but if I'd let my control slip, I'd be so much more.

And that would put her in danger, I couldn't risk it. If word got out I had feelings for a woman, she would be a target for far worse than stalkers and run of the mill psychos.

No, this was as close as I would allow myself to get, it had to be. I had it right when I drove over here, as close to panic as I'd ever get, I was the one who put her in danger. But not because I wouldn't be with her. Because I'd let her in too close.

At the moment, that was pretty hard, the way her breasts pressed into my chest and the smell of her hair wafted up to me as I ran my fingers through it.

She reached around me and fished a tissue out of the box on her nightstand. Wiping her nose, she sighed.

"So let me sum up," I said. "You heard them in your apartment, and you saw them leave."

She nodded again. "I know, I made a big thing out of nothing, I don't know why I got so scared. I'm sorry I woke you and…"
"Stop," I said, lifting her head with my fingers so I could see her eyes. "You know you can always call me. You did the right thing. Tomorrow, I'll need you to go through everything to find out if anything's missing. Then we'll start looking for them." I cupped her face in both my hands. "It looks like you scared them and they didn't get to do any damage."

She smiled and her blue eyes sparkled. "You don't think I overreacted?"

She'd done the exact right thing and I was proud of her. She could've gotten hurt or…worse.

"Not at all." And then I couldn't help myself. She looked so vulnerable and yet so…kissable. I lowered my head and brushed my lips over hers.

A small sigh escaped her mouth and I was done for. Fuck distance. She needed me. I needed her. Her lips parted slightly and I closed her mouth with mine, touching her tongue with my own.

She tightened her arms around me and sank into the kiss.

Whatever the consequences were, I'd have to find a way to deal with them. There was no way I was going to let her go.

Ever again.

A/N: So I hope that clears a few things up and doesn't leave it hanging as the first part...