Things changed after their decision for Caitlin and Barry. When they decided to venture out of their hotel room, they ventured out as a couple, not an actress and her bodyguard. However, Barry didn't act any different when it came to being her bodyguard just because they had decided to put a label to themselves. In fact, the security increased tenfold. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful for his desire to make sure that she was safe because she was; her annoyance stemmed from the fact that she couldn't seem to catch a break from being in the public eye.

On the final morning of their trip, Caitlin and Barry came back into the hotel from a morning run, Barry having picked up the paper that was outside of their suite. After depositing the paper on the counter, Barry turned to give Caitlin a kiss before she headed off to shower.

"I'll be out soon," she said.

"Take your time," Barry encouraged, and she smiled, knowing that he didn't want her to feel like she had to rush. She nodded her head, placed a kiss to his jaw, and made her way to her bathroom in her room. Her eyes landed on her unmade bed and she smiled. Barry had taken to sleeping in her bedroom with her some nights. It wasn't every night but it was enough to make her heart expand. She didn't know how she was going to tell Felicity that she was dating her bodyguard; didn't know how she'd react, but she knew that she had to be honest with her friend.

Caitlin stepped into the shower and allowed the hot water to soothe her aching muscles from the run they took. She wasn't greedy with her time in the shower, instead choosing to use the allotted time she had given herself. After toweling off, she changed into skinny jeans and an old band t-shirt before making her way out of her room and into the living room. She spotted Barry standing in the middle of the room, brow furrowed as he stared at something in his hands.

"What's that?" Caitlin asked but she thought she had a pretty good idea as to what it could be by his disconcerting look alone. He shook his head.

"Nothing," he said quickly, too quickly.

"Barry," she warned.

"Honestly, Caitlin, it's nothing," he reiterated, but she wasn't about to accept that answer. Not when someone was screwing with her wellbeing.

"Barry, I swear, if you don't give me whatever it is you're holding this instant…" she said, threat dying down as he sighed and made his way towards her, handing over the photos when he reached her.

"Was that so hard?" Caitlin asked. He just grumbled and Caitlin shook her head as her eyes fell to the photos in her hand. They were of her and her eyes had been cut out.

"Holy shit." Caitlin gasped. Barry went to take the photos out of her hand but she tugged them towards her.

"Caitlin, I swear I will catch who's doing this," Barry vowed, but that's not what bothered Caitlin.

"You're not in these photos," she commented, and he frowned.

"Okay, and?" Barry asked. She bit her lip.

"These were taken last night at the restaurant we went to. Why did he just snap photos of me this time when you've been in them before?" Caitlin asked worriedly. Barry shook his head.

"Whatever you're worrying about, please don't. All I need you to do is promise me you'll look after yourself," he implored.

"What do you think I've been doing?" Caitlin countered, eyebrow quirked. Barry sighed.

"I think you've been acting like you're looking after yourself but in all honesty, you're still living the life you were," he said, tone desperate.

Caitlin didn't have it in her heart to scold him for telling her how to live her life. Not when he seemed so disturbed. Sighing, she loosened her stiff posture and walked towards him, winding her arms around his waist and laying her head against his chest, the sound of his heartbeat anchoring her.

"I promise you I will look after myself," she murmured, pulling back to stare at him in the eyes. He studied her and she kept her face open and honest so he knew she was serious. After a moment, he nodded, dropping a kiss to her forehead.

"Thank you," he murmured.

XXX

The next day dawned bright and early for them when they had to catch a flight back to the states. True to her word, Caitlin decided to put her lifestyle change into effect and be on her best behavior. That meant no mimosas on the way home, which ultimately meant she was clearheaded when they landed. As soon as they stepped outside of the airport, they were bombarded by news reporters and paparazzi.

"What the hell?" Barry muttered. He placed himself next to Caitlin, gripping her elbow and helping guide her forward to where Andrew was waiting. As soon as they slid into the car, Andrew stepped on the gas and they were out of there. It took Caitlin a moment to register Felicity was in the car with them.

"Licity, what was with the circus outside of the airport?" Caitlin asked. Felicity ignored her question and asked her one of her own.

"Is there something you two want to tell me?" Felicity demanded, and Caitlin felt her stomach flip. She gulped as she looked at Barry nervously. For his credit, he looked calm.

"Uh…" Caitlin trailed off, unsure of how to answer that question.

"No worries, Caity, I think I can answer my own question quite alright," Felicity said in a falsely cheery voice. She pulled out a magazine and thrusted it into Caitlin's surprised hands. Caitlin looked down at the front page to see a picture of Barry and herself, walking the streets of London hand-in-hand. She sighed.

"I was going to tell you, Felicity," she assured.

"I don't care if you were going to tell me or not, Caitlin. Do you know how bad this will look to whoever's stalking you? The fact that you're dating your bodyguard?" Felicity asked, and Caitlin's stomach dropped. She hadn't thought of it that way. Biting her lip, she tried to think of a response before Barry spoke up.

"If I may say something, Felicity. I'm not scared of this guy. If anything, he should be scared of me. I'm not going to let some guy behind a camera make me fear having a relationship," he said.

"And the professionalism?" Felicity queried.

"I can date and still be professional," he replied calmly.

"Not how I see it," Felicity snapped.

"Don't underestimate me," he said simply.

Felicity fell silent, eyeing him for a moment, before rolling her eyes.

"Whatever. Just make sure you keep doing your job," she muttered, fight clearly exhausting out of her.

Caitlin looked at Barry who just squeezed her hand gently. She nodded and leaned back into the seat. They'd be okay.

XXX

After Andrew made a detour to Caitlin's favorite Chinese restaurant, they were dropped off at Caitlin's apartment with Felicity in tow. The three of them made their way into the building, away from the paparazzi who were waiting outside of her home for her.

"God, they're like vultures," Caitlin muttered, keeping her head ducked down to hide her profile. Barry opened the door for them, ushering the two women inside before shutting the door. Not before a man tried blocking the door with his foot.

"Come on, Caitlin, just give us a quote," he begged.

"If you value that foot, you'd remove it from the door," Barry snarled, eyes darkening to almost pitch black in his anger. Caitlin watched as the man gulped, retracting his foot hurriedly. Barry slammed the door in his face and turned back to Felicity and Caitlin, supremely unconcerned with the fact that he just threatened someone.

Felicity whistled lowly. "Damn."

"Let's get upstairs," was his reply.

They headed for the elevator but were stopped by Dean's voice calling out to them.

"Caitlin," he greeted, and she turned, smiling at him.

"Hello, Dean," she replied.

"You have a good trip?" Dean asked, and she nodded.

"It was lovely, thank you," she said.

He looked at Barry briefly, who kept his face impassive. "It did seem like you had a good time."

Caitlin glanced at Barry before looking back at Dean. "Like I said, it was lovely."

"Well, don't let me keep you. I just wanted to say hello. Oh, hang on, you got a package delivered here," Dean said, reaching underneath the desk and pulling out a cardboard box.

Caitlin eyed it warily but accepted it regardless. "Thank you, Dean."

Then, she turned and headed to her floor, Barry and Felicity on her heels.

"I want to see what's in that box before you do," Barry said.

"We can look together," Caitlin replied, closing the topic. He groaned but let it go and she smiled in victory.

XXX

Once inside of her apartment, she set the food down on the counter before grabbing a knife and looking at Barry.

"Ready to open it?" Caitlin asked.

He nodded, jaw set. She sliced the tape away and pulled back the flaps of box, spotting several pieces of tissue paper.

"So far, just a shit ton of tissue paper," Felicity commented.

Caitlin pushed aside the tissue paper, fingers fumbling around something soft and silky.

"What the hell?" Caitlin muttered, pulling whatever it was out. She stared at the tie for a long moment, trying to figure out the importance of it.

"Turn it around," Barry said in a deadly voice.

She did as he said and her stomach dropped when she saw the word, "liar", painted onto it.

"Is that paint?" Felicity asked, but Barry shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said in a dangerously low voice, and Caitlin suddenly dropped the tie as if it had scalded her.

"Oh god," she whispered. She took steadying breaths, trying to keep the anxiety that she still dealt with at bay. Barry walked towards her, placing his hands on her cheeks.

"Look at me," he ordered softly, and she raised her eyes from tie that was painted in blood and looked at him.

"I'm calling the cops first thing and they'll come get all of the evidence we've gathered so far. As for what you do every day, you go nowhere without me, understood?" Barry asked in a firm voice.

Caitlin wanted to defy him; to tell him she didn't need to be babysat but a voice in the back of her head told her this was bigger than even she could handle. She simply nodded, throat constricting painfully. Barry pulled away from her, pulling out his phone and began dialing. Caitlin looked to Felicity once she found her voice.

"Felicity?" Caitlin asked lowly, and the blonde turned towards her.

"Yeah, Caity?" Felicity whispered.

"I want to take a self-defense class," Caitlin said, tone firm. Felicity studied her for a moment, before nodding.

"I'll talk to your trainer tomorrow, see who he knows. He might even be able to do it," Felicity replied. Caitlin nodded, wrapping her arms around her torso. She watched as Barry talked to the police, filling them in on everything, and sighed to herself. She was going to learn how to defend herself no matter what. Because this shit ended now. No ifs, ands, or buts. It was that comforting thought to herself that settled the raging storm of nerves inside of her and she felt like she could finally breathe a bit easier. It was going to be okay. It had to be.

Author's note: Here's the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoy! I also got a question about when I update and unfortunately, I don't have a set time. I try to do it at least a couple of times a week but I do have other stories I write as well and I try to balance them. But, that being said, I try to get chapters out in a timely manner. And, we've already been introduced to the stalker. Settle in for a bumpy ride, folks. XXX