Tuesday morning Carmilla woke to find herself wrapped in Laura's arms; her casted left arm under her head and her right arm pulling her close. "This is new," she thought and smiled; it felt nice being in her arms. She felt safe. Every other morning before that she'd woken to find Laura gone. Despite her assertions to the contrary, she was a 'morning person' and was not only up before her but was showered and had their breakfast ready by the time she joined her.

She looked at the time and deciding it was still early opted to stay right where she was. It had been a busy week so far, what with doctors' appointments, training and dealing with reporters. She'd finally had enough by Monday and ordered all of them new, untraceable, phones. Somehow Deanna, and by extension, the reporters she paid, had known their every move. Getting them all, including Laura's father, new phones, was a start but she was worried. Worried what would happen when she left for the Ultimate Fighter.

The stories revolving around her and Laura were, so far anyway, predictable. They began with painting Carmilla as a young woman who was keeping Laura on a short leash, had her locked up according to some accounts, to trashing Laura as someone who was only with Carmilla for her money. Slowly, however, the stories were becoming fewer and farther between as more and more people saw them together, sometimes with her father Mark in tow, and realized that maybe, just maybe, their relationship was genuine.

She sighed and pulled Laura's hand out from under her shirt where it had come to rest on her belly. She brought it to her lips and kissed her palm.

"You're awake," Laura said quietly and kissed her neck; "You okay?"

"Sure, why?" Carmilla asked as she turned to her back and looked up to Laura.

"Because, when I got up to go the bathroom earlier I came back to find you shaking and crying in your sleep," Laura informed her and kissed her cheek; "Nightmare?"

"I…" she rubbed her face as she tried to remember what she'd been dreaming. "Nightmares aren't that out of the norm…" she admitted and looked to Laura, her eyes swimming with tears; "I keep dreaming that I've lost you… either I don't get to you in time and you bleed out, or the Doc comes out of surgery and tells me that you didn't make it," she sighed as Laura wiped away her tears; "But then I usually wake up, find you here safe with me, and fall back to sleep."

"I'm here," Laura replied and kissed her softly; "I'm safe and I'm yours."

"Yeah?"

"Hell yeah," Laura replied fiercely, and as she kissed her again, moved so the she was half on top of her. She kissed along her jaw to her neck as her good hand again snuck under her shirt. She kissed her way back to her ear and whispered; "And Dad's leaving tomorrow afternoon so maybe you'll finally let me show you?"

"I was thinking, after we drop him off at the airport, maybe we could go to dinner and maybe a movie?"

"I'm talking about making love and you want to go to dinner and a movie instead?" Laura teased.

"Well," Carmilla started as she pushed her off her gently and then sat up and stretched, smiling when she didn't feel the nagging aches she'd had since carrying Laura out of the bush; "I'm actually planning on kidnapping you this weekend and getting out of the city for a few days."

"Carm, how many times do I have to tell you the 'where' doesn't matter? That it'll be awesome no matter where we are?"

"I know, love, I do, but if I make love to all night, like I want to, I won't want to get up the next morning to train when I'd much rather just stay in bed with you all day," Carmilla explained. "And," she continued when she noticed Laura pouting; "Frank's cabin is about an hour's drive from a natural hot spring and that would do us both a lot of good."

There was a knock at her bedroom door, which frankly, scared the crap out of her.

"Breakfast is almost ready," Mark called.

"We'll be right out Dad," Laura replied as she sat up and again wrapped her arms Carmilla. "Sorry… I ran down to my place to grab something to wear for the day and he offered to make us breakfast."

"I know this is going to sound weird, but I'm going to miss your Dad," Carmilla admitted, she'd actually enjoyed his company and it was nice to feel accepted by a parental figure.

"Don't tell him that or he won't leave," Laura joked.

"Okay," she replied and kissed her briefly; "I'm going to the bathroom and I'll be right out," she told her before climbing out of bed and grabbing her phone on the way to the washroom. She turned on her phone and placed it on the counter while she was busy relieving herself, grabbing it again when she was done and had washed her hands. She scrolled the missed calls, smiling when she saw a call from the car dealership downtown.

"Good morning, Yaletown Mini," a friendly female voice answered when she called.

"Hello, I'm returning your call, my name is Carmilla Karnstein."

"Oh yes, Miss Karnstein, we called to let you know your car arrived and you can pick it up any time," the voice replied.

"Excellent," she answered; "We'll be by this afternoon, around two, to pick it up."

"Very well, Miss Karnstein, we'll see you then."

She ended the call and smiled as she dialed the car rental company; "Good morning, Budget Rentals."

"Good morning," she replied; "it's Carmilla, I was hoping someone could come by Yaletown Mini this afternoon and pick up my rental?"

"That shouldn't be a problem, around what time?"

"Twoish," she replied.

"We'll see you there, Miss Karnstein."

"Took them long enough," she thought as she ended the call and went to join Laura and her father for breakfast. She'd ordered the Mini Cooper a week after meeting Laura. Actually, she'd ordered it after finding out how bad Laura was at driving her Jeep. Yes, maybe she was being a little overprotective of her baby, but it was the first thing she'd bought herself when she'd finally gotten her money. Sure, Laura could have used either the Karmma van or pick-up, but she, who was taller than Laura, didn't feel overly comfortable driving them.

She kissed Laura's temple and sat beside her at the table, Mark setting down banana pancakes, bacon and sausage in front of her.

"Thanks Mark, but I doubt I'll be able to finish all this," Carmilla said as she poured syrup over her breakfast; "I don't usually eat this heavy before training."

"You're not training today," Laura informed her.

"I'm not?" Carmilla asked with a smirk.

"No, Doc Coughlin has me going in for blood tests at ten and an appointment at one," Laura told her; "You don't have to come with us, if you don't want."

"But neither of us know downtown very well," Mark commented.

Carmilla stood and picked up her pancakes; "I'll be right back, I have few phone calls to make," she informed them, kissed the top of Laura's head and made for her office. She called the car dealership first and told them she'd be by around eleven instead. Next, as she waited for her email to open, she called Rick.

"Morning kiddo, what's up?" he asked when he answered.

"Can you and your team be ready to go by this afternoon?" she asked as she opened a certain email confirming her suspicions. She noticed that Rick had also been sent the email.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Laura is having blood tests at ten, then we'll be picking up her new car, next its back to the Doc's for her appointment at one. I was thinking after we'd go for lunch at the Fountainhead Pub and then head down to English Bay for a walk on the seawall," she replied.

"Sounds like a plan," he answered, his tone changed subtly as they talked business; "Your escort will pick you up before you cross Lion's Gate bridge and stay with you until he's in custody," he paused at Carmilla's gasp, she'd been reading the report on the video surveillance and realized the mystery man had been following her longer than she'd known. "What?" Rick asked, sounding concerned.

"He was sighted here a few days after we picked up Will," she replied.

"Carm, don't be so hard on yourself, you've been a little distracted," he soothed.

"What do we know about him?" Carmilla asked as she rubbed her temples with her free hand.

"Nothing," he replied tersely; "The car isn't in his name."

"Should I tell them? Laura and her father?" she asked.

"I wouldn't," he replied; "tipping him off that you know he's following you will only put you all in more danger, and worse yet, we might lose our only chance to nab him," he paused a moment as if considering his words carefully; "This is dangerous, kiddo, we know nothing about this man or what he's capable of but it's as safe as we can make it."

"I'm just worried they'll be mad if I don't tell them," she admitted.

"Look, he's been following you for weeks and never approached," Rick reminded her; "Go about your day and hopefully we'll have him in custody by the end of it. I'll have two officers following you on the seawall and a team waiting in the parking lot to arrest him when you get back. I'll text you when they're ready," when his plan was met with silence he continued; "Carm, they'll take him down the second he tries anything, I promise."

Carmilla looked up at a knock on the door, surprised to find Mark standing there instead of Laura.

"Alright Rick, call me if anything changes," she said before hanging up. "Where's Laura?"

"I asked her to grab my camera," he replied as he took a seat across from her; "I don't want to alarm you but you know we're being followed, right?"

Carmilla leaned back in her chair and studied him a moment before replying.

"I do," she admitted finally; "and there's a plan in place to have him in custody by the end of the day. Does Laura know?" she asked.

"No," he replied; "I had a feeling you've dealt with this sort of thing before and would know what was best. So what's the plan?"

Carmilla watched his face, trying to get some indication of what he was thinking while she told him her and Rick's plan. He regarded her a moment; "I think I know who he is," he said quietly.

"What? How?"

"Laura mentioned something about a guy creeping her out at her last gym," he explained; "She mentioned seeing him when we were at the Aquarium yesterday."

"It's not me… shit…" Carmilla hissed as she called Rick back; "He's not stalking me, he's after Laura," she informed him.

"Which means you're the one in danger," he replied. "How do you know?"

"Mark told me Laura mentioned someone at her last gym giving her the creeps and she noticed him at the Aquarium yesterday," she informed him; "Does this change anything?"

"No. He won't try anything in public," he replied; "Park on the street, we'll save you a spot."

"Thanks Rick," she said and hung up.

"Maybe we should ask Laura about it? Maybe she knows his name?" Mark suggested.

"You know her better than I do, what do you suggest?" she countered.

"It might be good to know what kind of crazy we're dealing with."

"True," she replied; "and if we don't tell her she might just turn around and confront him and blow the whole thing…"

"Blow what whole thing?" Laura asked as she entered.

"I'll give you a few minutes," Mark suggested and stood.

"Mark, are you allowed to carry a gun?" Carmilla asked, ignoring Laura's look of shock as she waited for his answer. He nodded. She got up and went to her safe, opened it and then pressed a button inside of it to open a hidden cabinet beside it. She punched in the password for it and called Mark over. "Take your pick," she offered.

"How…" he said, stunned at the array of handguns and two shotguns she had.

"I have a hunting permit and a license to carry thanks to Rick," she replied; "However it would be better if you, who already have a reason to carry, were the one carrying it as I don't want that to come to light."

"Carm?" Laura said, getting her attention; "What's going on?"

"I'll take this one," Mark commented as he chose a gun similar to the one he used on the job.

Carmilla watched him leave then went to sit behind her desk again. She patted her lap and smiled when Laura took the hint and sat there. "Tell me about this guy who has been following you."

"It's nothing…"

"It's not," Carmilla interrupted; "He's been following us since a few days after we picked up Will."

"Seriously?" Carmilla nodded. "Why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't notice until we drove out to pick up your dad," she explained; "Laura… there's a plan in place to have him arrested by the end of the day. You up for it?"

"Wait, if you didn't notice until a few days ago how do you know he's been following us that long?"

"I have cameras set up around the gym, two of which catch every car that comes and goes within a half block around the gym. When I noticed him at the Aquarium I told Rick and he had surveillance set up across the street. They analyzed the video and I got the report this morning." She moved some of Laura's hair behind her ear and then kissed her neck. "Do you know anything about him?"

"Only his name," she replied quietly; "Bruce Smith."

"Sounds like an alias," Carmilla commented as she reached for her phone and texted Rick the name. "But maybe it's one he's used before."

"What's the plan, then?"

Carmilla told her the plan, leaving out, of course, the errand they'd be running between her appointments.

"You weren't going to tell us, were you?" Laura asked sadly.

"Not because I don't trust you," Carmilla rushed to assure her; "Rick thought it was the best way to keep you both safe…"

"What about your safety, Carm?" Laura asked as she stared into her eyes; "Dad's a cop, a damned good one too. Don't you think it'd be best for him to know?"

"He already did," she laughed and kissed her; "C'mon, let's get going, I need to talk to the coaches before we leave."

"Morning," Dark greeted as they re-entered the living room; "These just arrived," he said as he put a box down on the table.

"Excellent," Carmilla replied, licked the food off her knife and then used it to open the box. "Here," she said as she handed Mark his new phone.

"What's this for?" he asked as he looked it over.

"Since I don't know how Deanna's minions are tracking us, I thought I'd take one possibility out of the running," she replied as she handed Dark his new phone along with Will and Brody's; "These are untraceable," she said as she opened Laura's for her. "Please, don't argue Mark, I got them for all of us and got a good deal because I bought ten of them."

"Alright, alright…" he said, his hands in the air; "I know when I've been outranked."

"Dark?" she said to get his attention, her best friend was too busy checking out his new phone; "Try not to lose or break this one?" she teased; he had a horrible record with cell phones.

"I can't make any promises," he replied with a laugh.

"Can you take Will and Brody theirs, please?" He nodded. "Thanks, and tell my trainers I'll be down soon." He nodded again, took a couple of bite-fulls of her pancakes, stole a sausage, and then left.

"How long have you two known each other?" Mark asked.

"A few years," she replied and shrugged; "not very good years, either, so yeah, we're close."

"What happened with him and the bridge?" Mark asked.

"Unlike what the papers reported I didn't push him off if that's what you think," she joked, but it was tense nonetheless. She sighed, Mark was only asking because he wanted to know, not because he believed the stories. "His doctor gave him Tylenol threes to help with the pain of his growth spurts but didn't know he was allergic. Dark took too many because they weren't helping and walked off the bridge in, what they could only guess, was a fugue-like state," she shrugged; "We're not sure cause he was alone at the time."

"You weren't even town, were you?" Laura asked.

"Nope," she laughed; "I was up in Kamloops meeting with trainers."

Mark studied her a moment; "Why is your stepmother so intent on ruining your life?"

"Cause she's a bitch?" offered Laura, who received stern look from her father. "What? She is and trust me, it's one of the nicer names I have for her."

"Deanna is obsessed with two things; money and Will's money," Carmilla shook her head and pushed away her plate; the anxiety of their plans making her lose her appetite. "When we first left it was all about keeping us from our inheritances. Unfortunately for her, Frank is an amazing lawyer and not only kept her from the money we'd yet to receive he got us all the money she'd kept from us before we left. My Dad's will allowed each of us a thousand dollars a month for spending money, clothes and, you know, having a life, but I was lucky if I saw two hundred of that. Will was a bit better off, she liked to spoil him to make me feel worse, but Frank still got us over a hundred grand plus interest," she smiled; "It was enough to put the down payment on this place, fix it up, and get my Jeep. Bob paid off a good portion of the mortgage and I paid off the rest when I turned twenty one in April," she sighed; "Bob, Brody's dad, died a few days after he signed over the gym," she shook her head as she stood; "brain aneurism… never saw it coming," she finished and went to kiss the top of Laura's head; "We'd better get going if we want to be on time."

Carmilla stopped on her way out to talk to her coaches. While they were a little annoyed with her taking the day off she promised she'd train extra hard Wednesday morning, Thursday, and Friday until they left for the weekend. While it was true she was less than two weeks away from her fight with Danny, she also ran the risk of over-training. She'd come a long way, thanks in part to Laura, in the four weeks they'd already trained and now it was all about fine-tuning her game plan. To that end the gym would be closed, starting the following Monday, from ten in the morning to six in the evening. The last thing she needed was Danny finding out what she had planned for her.

The drove into town in silence, Carmilla's eyes flicking to her rear view mirror more than was strictly necessary. She felt her phone vibrate and fished it out of her pocket and handed it to Laura. "What does the text say?"

"They've got you both in sight," Laura read.

Carmilla nodded and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter; she was accustomed to putting her own safety at risk but she wasn't sure how she felt about having Laura and her father along for the ride. They made their way through the traffic on the Lion's Gate Bridge, and as they made their way through the trees of Stanley Park, Carmilla spotted the now familiar sedan behind them.

"There's parking in the lot beside his office," Laura read out the next text.

"How is it that you have this much support from the Vancouver Police Department?" Mark asked conversationally.

"Rick," she replied simply; "Frank and Doc Coughlin are both trying their best to help because they feel guilty they didn't help sooner. As for Rick? He feels bad he wasn't able to do more the night we ran," Carmilla replied. "She has at least two or three cops on the take inside his department so he has to be careful but he has the support of the higher ups. His boss wants Deanna as badly as we do," she shrugged; "I think he's tired of her making a mockery of his department."

"So they catch this guy and what? Hope he admits to working with her?" Laura asked, something Carmilla never heard before, lacing her tone.

"That's the best case scenario," Carmilla replied neutrally; "I'll be happy if it gets him out of our hair for the foreseeable future," she replied as she parked the car.

"I hate blood tests," Laura muttered as Carmilla reached over and undid her seat belt.

"Needles don't bother me much anymore," Carmilla admitted; "The Morphine caused some liver damage so I get tested every six weeks just to be safe."

"So, you'll come in with me?" Laura asked meekly as Carmilla helped her out of the car.

"Sure, Pup, whatever you need," she replied affectionately and kissed her cheek as she watched the same grey sedan that had followed them from North Vancouver park across the street. She rubbed her cheek along Laura's and then kissed her neck. "God, you smell good…" she commented and hugged her close, her eyes never leaving the car across the street.

"C'mon, we're too exposed out here," Mark said quietly as he ushered the two towards the building.

Carmilla received another text as they entered the elevator informing her that their stalker was waiting in his car. "He's staying put," she said quietly as she slipped her phone back in her pocket. "You both needn't look so worried, they'll put him down the second he tries anything."

"Is that why you weren't going to tell us? Because you've already got it covered? We're 'safe'?" Laura asked, again something was lacing her voice that Carmilla couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Babe? Is everything okay?" she asked.

"No, nothing is okay," Laura sighed; "but we'll talk about it tonight, okay?"

Carmilla followed Laura in for her blood tests and distracted her from the needles by telling her all about Frank's cabin. By the end, despite the needle, Laura was looking slightly happier and more relaxed.

"So what do we do for three hours until my appointment?" Laura asked as they exited the building a little while later.

"I have an errand to run," Carmilla replied; "Hope you don't mind tagging along."

"I've come to quite enjoy running 'errands' with you," Laura teased and kissed her cheek as she opened her door for her.

"Am I missing something?" Mark joked.

"When we were still pretending I suddenly seemed to have a lot of little errands to run," Carmilla replied with a shrug and then helped Laura with her seat belt.

"So what's this errand?" Laura asked once Carmilla was seated in the driver's seat and buckled up as well.

"It's a surprise," she replied with a smile.

"So you got it then?" Mark asked from the back seat.

"Came in this morning," Carmilla answered.

"Wait, you know?" Laura asked as she turned in her seat and glared at her father.

"Carmilla asked me if I thought it was a good idea," he said defensively.

"Just do me a favour and close your eyes for fifteen minutes?" Carmilla asked as she took Laura's hand; "Please?" she pleaded.

"Oh fine," Laura huffed and closed her eyes.

Carmilla winked to Mark in the rear view mirror and started the car, the dealership was only a few minutes away and they were pulling into the lot before Laura could even become annoyed about having her eyes closed. She spotted the car right away, blue matching the blue of the British flag on its roof, a fully loaded four door Mini. She pulled up beside it and asked Laura to keep her eyes closed a minute longer while she got out of the car and went to open her door.

"Alright, open your eyes," she told her in a hushed voice.

"Oh, Carm! It's so…" Laura exclaimed and then trailed off when she noticed the license plate. "Wait, it's yours?"

"Technically, yes, it belongs to the gym, but I got it for you to drive," she regarded her a moment; "Do you like it?"

"You just don't want me driving your Jeep," Laura teased as she walked around it.

"You don't seem very comfortable driving it," Carmilla countered.

"Oh c'mon," Laura laughed; "Like I didn't see how relieved you were when Dad suggested we hang on to the rental."

"So… do you like it?" Carmilla asked again.

"It's adorable, Carm, thank you but you don't have to do this."

"Do what?" she asked innocently.

"You don't have to buy me shiny things to impress me," she replied affectionately.

"I wasn't," Carmilla replied honestly; "I ordered it right after I saw how bad you drive standard," she shrugged and smiled as Laura blushed; "And aside from the van and pick-up being too obvious I'm taller than you and don't feel comfortable driving them," she kissed her softly; "Besides, I'm just being practical. I want you to keep living at the gym and you need reliable transportation to get to and from school."

"Ms Karnstein!" a friendly voice called. "So nice to see you again."

The two girls turned to face the salesperson as she approached, Carmilla noting the grey sedan parked across the street. "And you must be Laura," she continued as she drew close. "If you'll both follow me there are just a few papers to sign."

"Of course," Carmilla replied and took Laura's hand; "Mark, can you transfer our stuff into Laura's new car? They'll be picking up the rental from here later."

He nodded and took the keys from the salesperson.

They followed her inside and were listening to her explain how the insurance would work when a shot rang out followed quickly by sirens. Before Laura could stop her Carmilla went running outside to see what happened and stopped dead in her tracks; lying about ten feet away from Mark was one Bruce Smith.

"What the hell happened?" she demanded as she reached Mark.

"He, uh…" he trailed off as two officers ran over and cuffed the bleeding man. "He came over to talk to me… told me I was to blame for Laura's deviant lifestyle…" he shook his head; "He reached into his jacket and…"

"He's carrying a gun," one of the officers called to them.

"Go get Laura," she asked Mark; "I'll deal with this," he looked to the man on the ground and then did as she asked. She watched him walk away and then take Laura in his arms when he reached her. She shook her head and turned back to the officers; they had him sitting up while one of the applied pressure to the wound on his shoulder.

"Oh, stop whining, you'll live," the officer admonished him.

"Not exactly according to plan though, was it?" Carmilla joked.

The officer still standing shook his head and motioned her away from the bound man.

"Rick didn't want to scare you, but," he glanced at the man again before looking to her; "He's a very very bad man, Carmilla, and he's got an arm's lengths of warrants against him," he shook his head; "He murdered the last one…"

"Fuck…" she sighed.

"Exactly," he agreed; "Rick told us not to take any chances."

"Can I ask him a couple of questions before you take him away?" she asked.

"I don't know how much sense he's going to make," he smiled; "My partner is an excellent shot, knows just where to hit someone to cause the most pain without killing them."

"It's worth a try, right?" she asked, and without waiting for his answer went to kneel by their stalker. She studied him a moment; somehow he didn't seem so scary anymore. "Are you working for Deanna Karnstein?"

"Fuck you, you fucking dyke," he replied and then squealed in pain as the officer putting pressure on his wound dug her thumb into it a little harder than necessary.

"Answer her," she hissed.

"I don't know," he admitted and howled again as she applied more pressure; "I don't!" he yelled. Carmilla nodded at the officer who relaxed her grip. "I don't know who it is… could be man for all I know…" he panted as he tried to catch his breath; "I got a phone… instructions… texted information and got paid a few minutes later."

"Sure sounds like her style," Carmilla commented wryly as she stood up and turned to Mark as he and Laura joined them.

"Laura… please… it's not too late…" Bruce pleaded.

"Shut up," the officer halting his bleeding warned as she again applied more pressure.

"It is," Mark commented dryly; "for you…" he added.

"Mark?" she said, looking to him as the disgust was obvious in his tone.

"You just got a text from your friend. You must have dropped it when you ran out here," he explained as he handed her her phone. Carmilla read the text quickly, blanching at the list of existing charges against the man in front of them; they ranged from petty theft all the way to aggravated sexual assault and murder. She looked up when she heard Mark speak again; "Do you know what happens to men like you in prison, Mr Smith?" He laughed and shook his head; "I think you'll be getting over that homophobia pretty quick, pretty boy, or you won't last long."

"Do you need us to make a statement?" Carmilla asked.

"No, we have enough to put him away for life already," the male officer replied.

"Thanks, guys, I appreciate your diligence today," Mark commented and went to shake his hand.

They walked back to Laura's new car as the ambulance arrived and Laura had yet to say anything.

"I'll give you two a minute," Mark offered and excused himself.

"You okay?" Carmilla asked as Laura went to lean against the car.

Laura sighed and shook her head.

Carmilla was at a loss; as much as she wanted to assure her she knew that this, their lives being put in danger, might happen again. She stepped forward and tentatively put her arms around her.

"I can't promise being in my life will always be easy," she started, pausing when Laura pushed her away to search her eyes; "but I can promise to always try to make it worth it."

"Is it always like this?" Laura asked quietly.

"Not always," she said, but even to her own ears it sounded hollow; "Well, not this crazy anyway…" she shook her head and went to step away; "Maybe you should go back home with your Dad… at least…" she was interrupted as Laura silenced her with a kiss.

"Not. Going. Anywhere."

"You sure, Pup? If something happened to you," she looked at Laura's cast; "well, if something else happened to you because of me, I'd never forgive myself."

"Carm, stop," Laura said, forcing her to meet her eyes again; "This," she indicated her broken arm; "Wasn't your fault. And neither was this…" she said as she pointed to the ambulance they were loading their injured stalker into. "He was following me long before I met you."

"So… it's not all about me?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"No," Laura laughed and pulled her close again; "and what doesn't kill us will only make us stronger, right?"

"Couldn't you have come up with a better choice of words?" Carmilla groaned.

"Think of it this way," Laura started as Carmilla met her eyes again; "If we can make it through this we can make it through anything, right?"

"Someday, I promise, it won't be like this," Carmilla assured her before kissing her softly; "Once this is all over we'll have our normal life, I promise, I do…"

"And we'll have earned it."

"We will have," Carmilla laughed; "But until then we get our little breaks. Like this weekend at Frank's cabin and…" she smiled mischievously and stepped back; "We're going to New Mexico for two weeks while I train for my Invicta fight."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously, coach told me this morning," she replied with a smile.

"You two about ready to head back to the Doc's?" Mark interrupted.

They both smiled and nodded. Mark handed Laura the keys to her new Mini but she shook her head and handed them back to her Dad. "I won't feel comfortable driving it until I get some mobility back and I'm a little shook up."

"Me too," Carmilla admitted quietly.

"Alright then, the two of you get in the back but try to control yourselves?" he teased.

"We'll do our best," Carmilla replied seriously despite the blush on her face.

The two girls climbed into the back of the car, Laura coming to rest in Carmilla's arms as soon as they were comfortable. She could feel her shaking slightly and rubbed her back until it stopped. Again her carefully laid plans had gone awry and again, someone she cared about was nearly hurt. How long until her luck run out? If Deanna was resorting to using wanted felons for information, what wouldn't she do? It was that uncertainty that scared her. She could plan. She could try to stay ten steps ahead of her, but somehow Deanna just kept coming back like a cockroach. She smiled at the mental image of stomping on a cockroach with Deanna's face. No matter what, though, she'd keep Laura safe. Laura was her new reason for wanting to see Deanna's reign of terror come to end; she wanted a normal life, and she finally had someone she wanted to share it with.

A/N: Sorry for the delay folks. As some of you know last weekend I was dealing with extreme heat and smog caused by forest fires in my province followed by a badly pulled neck muscle. I had hoped to get some writing done at work but I had a busy week. Hope you liked!