A/N: I apologize for the long delay. Please note that I do, in fact, have an endgame in mind for this story, and a way to get there, but I haven't had much time to write lately. But, I figured I would take advantage of a snowy day, and hopefully provide some entertainment to all others who find themselves afflicted. See the first chapter for the disclaimer. The title of this chapter is from "Demons" by Imagine Dragons. I hope you all enjoy this one, and please review. :)

Chapter 10: There's Nowhere We Can Hide

The vase was innocently perched on the counter, displayed for the entirely of the ER to see. The flowers contained within were downright gorgeous: light blue hydrangeas, summer blue delphiniums, and blue orchids were surrounded by at least a dozen white roses. No card had come with the flowers, but then, none was really needed.

Allie knew how they got there.

Rather than make a spectacle about them, though, she pretended that the flowers didn't exist. That they were nothing, meant nothing, and could never lead to anything. Not even in a million years.

And yet, there they were. The constant reminder.

Her attempts to avoid them did not go unnoticed by Linda, who was probably a better detective than her own husband. Linda simply watched Allie as she went about her day, trying (and failing) to be unnerved by the beautiful display on the counter.

Finally, Linda couldn't take it anymore. She had to know what was going on. Allie said nothing, as Linda pulled the younger woman into an empty room.

"You can tell me," Linda assured, as Allie looked at her phone. "What's going on with you and the flowers?"

Allie continued to say nothing, sliding her finger across the screen of her phone until she found exactly what she was looking for. At that point, she simply handed her phone over to Linda.

"…Oh," was all Linda said, as realization sank in.

Someone was watching them.

Eddie could feel it as she walked down the street. Not just the normal stares of citizens and tourists watching two cops on patrol.

No. This was more.

And if Jamie had noticed, he wasn't saying anything. Eddie kept looking over at him for any indication that she wasn't alone in her feelings.

Nothing.

So Eddie watched the world around her for anything that seemed out of place. Anyone that seemed a little too interested in them. She couldn't be certain if the feeling was for someone watching her, or someone watching him. But no one stood out among the crowd on the corner anyway.

So she kept watch. And after a few blocks, that feeling went away. Though that should have brought her some comfort, she still had a bad feeling deep within the pit of her stomach.

This was just the beginning.

"They've gotta be from him," Allie said somberly, the first words she had uttered all day that weren't directed at a patient. "No one else from here would know, and they sure as hell wouldn't send them if they did."

"Why would he send you flowers, though?" Linda asked as she gave Allie her phone back.

"After every time that he…" Allie tilted her head slightly. "He would always…" She gestured toward the door and the flowers on the counter behind it. "I don't know. They always felt more like a threat than an apology."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Allie breathed. "With the way his family is… and them basically saying that death was the only acceptable way out of the marriage… being given flowers from our wedding felt like he was continuously trying to remind me that I had signed a lifetime contract, and that I had better honor it. Though, when he gave them to me each time, he always said that he was going to be better, be the man that I married that day… he never was."

"How many times did he hit you?"

Allie shook her head.

"More times than you told Jamie about," Linda surmised.

Allie sighed softly.

"You know, you can be honest with him. He isn't going to leave you, no matter what."

"I don't want him to know how weak I am," Allie whispered. "How long I waited before I left, how much I… how many times…" Allie's voice trailed off as tears threatened to fall. "Jamie already knows too much. And I know that he definitely deserves better than me."

"But I know that he loves you," Linda told her. "And that your past doesn't matter to him, not in the way you think it does. He loves you for who you are, the beautiful person inside you. Everyone has baggage, Allie."

"Not like mine."

Linda shrugged. "It's not like Jamie's without his faults too."

"Yeah, but how much of his feelings are a need to fix me? And when everything's fixed, then what? He leaves?"

"I think you and I both know that's not gonna happen. Do you have any idea how many girls he's brought home to family dinner since he and Sydney broke up?"

Allie shook her head.

"None," Linda told her. "And I'm pretty sure he hasn't been livin' like a monk since then."

"I know he hasn't," Allie said quietly.

"So, what makes you think he's gonna leave you?"

Allie just stared at the door.

The feeling returned as they made their way back to the squad car.

Eddie hung back a moment, her eyes scanning the area for anything or anyone that was out of place, un-routine, unnatural. Anyone that seemed a little too focused on them and/or their car.

She found nothing.

Except that this time, Jamie noticed her hesitation. He stopped, looking back at her. "What is it?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," she replied.

He walked back to stand next to her, looking around in the same manner she was.

"Someone's been watching us," she added.

He nodded, scanning the faces on the street the same way she was.

"I can't find him, but I know he's here."

"Come on," Jamie said softly. "Let's get out of here."

The two of them made their way to the cruiser, both still looking through the regular New York scene. They were almost there when Eddie's instincts kicked in again.

"Jamie, wait-"

The explosion rattled the windows of Saint Victor's Hospital, to the extent that it got Linda and Allie's attention. "What the hell was that?" Allie asked.

"I don't know," Linda replied. "Did you hear anything?"

"No."

"Allie, Linda," Natalie said as she rushed in a few moments later. "We're already getting word, all hands on deck."

"What happened?" Linda asked.

"Car explosion three blocks over."

"Oh, God," Allie breathed. "How many casualties are we expecting?"

"Unknown right now," Natalie replied. "But, I have to tell you guys, the rumor is that it was a cop car that exploded."

Allie and Linda looked at one another, finding the same look on each other's faces. Fear of it being someone they loved. Hope that it wasn't, and that whoever was involved would be okay. Prayers that it was only a rumor, and that it wasn't true.

But either way, they had work to do.

It wasn't more than five minutes later when the first victim rolled in, and their worst fears were confirmed.