The next week, Colby smiled at the end of his session. He always seemed to smile when he saw Charlotte, a beautiful woman with the perfect career. She was so kind and understanding. Able to really listen to what he had to say and give him helpful advice. She never nagged at him and was almost never in a bad mood. "Thanks, Charlie. I'll see you next week?"

"Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel."

"Sounds good." He made a move to hug her, but stopped himself. "I know, boundaries."

"Colby," she laughed and shook her head, "hugging is not violating the boundaries of the doctor/patient relationship."

"Good, because I rather like hugging you." He smiled when she laughed again as they embraced. "See you next week."

"Have a good week, Colby."

Running down the stairs, he noticed the familiar spring in his step and his smile get an inch wider, though that faded when he saw the black SUV parked across the street and one house away. It was always parked in the same spot every week, but this week she'd asked him to come in a half hour early because she said she had an appointment after his session. "Charlie?" He ran back up the stairs to the solarium. "Charlie, do you have another client scheduled?"

"Number one, I can't answer that. Number two, Colby, it's none of your concern." This wasn't like him. Ever since they'd spoken about his transference issues, he'd minded their limits, even turned them into a game, as he had just moments before. "What's going on?"

"There's a black SUV parked outside that always seems to be there with the driver behind the wheel. Are you under security?"

"Not that I am aware of, and no, I don't have another client. You are my only client on Wednesday." His tone scared her. This wasn't her friend and client. This was the FBI agent that Don had requested for his team.

"OK, here's what you are going to do. You are going to walk outside with me and I am going to drive you to wherever you need to go. Then, I'm going to have Don pick you up to drive you home. You are going to be fine."

"I'm going to meet Don, but I don't see why I need to be in virtual protective custody."

"Because that SUV is parked there every week, save last week. I chalked it up to another client who didn't want to get seen before their time, but not now."

Where was he? Agent Granger was always out five minutes after his session ended. He sat in his Bureau issued SUV and stewed. Charlotte, his beautiful and perfect specimen of a woman, always sat on the front porch after Granger's exit and worked on paperwork when the weather was as sunny as it was that day and given that Granger was early, it just meant he'd get to watch her for that much longer. It was that vision that he'd missed for the last week and a half while he was away on assignment. It was that vision that kept him going. Where the hell was she?

"Thank you for driving me, Agent Granger. I don't know what is wrong with my car." Charlotte attempted to remain calm as Colby escorted her out to his Suburban, but her anxiety level was through the roof.

"It's my pleasure, Dr. Stegmann." Colby kept his hand on her back as they walked, making sure he always stayed at least on step in front of her, between her and whatever was parked across the street.

Don paced the waiting room of his shrink's office. Colby's words echoed in his head. A strange SUV was parked outside his house, outside their house, just outside where Charlotte was alone inside. There was part of him that wanted to race over there and rip the bastard limb from limb, but he waited. He'd play it by the book for now. She was in good hands with Colby and she was on her way to him. "Hey Charlie." He reached out for her when she burst into the room and felt her begin to shake and grip the back of his t-shirt. "Shh, I've got you. You're safe now."

She tried to use his strength, his calm, to keep her emotions in check, because she did feel safe. In Don's arms was the one place in the world she felt completely safe, but her fear was too great and she felt the hot tears beginning to make their tracks down her cheeks. Somewhere in the distance, she thought she heard Colby and Don discussing strategy, but she was locked in her own head. All she could hear was her increased heart rate and breathing. Finally, she pulled away and wiped her face. She had to be rational. She had to face the situation head on. She had to follow her own advice. Take a deep breath and break the problem down into parts. There was no option for falling apart. There was no time for a panic attack.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She nodded, but she didn't look at him. "Here," he helped her to the couch, "Charlie, you're fine. You know that right? We're just acting with an abundance of caution." Again, she only nodded.

"Wow," Dr. Bradford came out of his office, "I'm used to people crying in my office, not outside. Come on in."

"No," Don stood up, "I think I'm going to take her home. There is a lot going on that we need to deal with."

"Which is exactly why we should keep to our appointment with Dr. Bradford." Charlotte spoke and took his hand. "I'm fine, Baby, really." She forced a weak smile and watched his brown eyes question her. "It's a mild panic attack. That's all. This is the perfect place to be."

"She's exactly right." Dr. Bradford showed them into the inner office. "Can you talk about what brought on the anxiety attack?"

"I'd prefer not to. Let's concentrate on the topic at hand. This is Don's session after all."

He laughed. "I think I've used that smile and those words too many times myself, but I can take the hint as long as you are sure it has passed."

"It will. I know I'm safe here."

"And why is that?"

It was her turn to smile, and she leaned more against Don, allowing his arm to completely encircle her shoulders. "Because Don is here."

"And how does Don being here make you feel safe?"

"With his intellect and skill, I know that he has the necessary tools to evaluate a situation and orchestrate a positive outcome."

"Except when it doesn't." Don commented.

"No, Don," she turned to face him and placed her hand on his chest, "it always has because you walked away and saved countless others. I can only imagine what it's like to do what you do and I know how heavy your decisions weigh on you at times, but you need to remember the lives that have benefited from your decisions. I know that it's tough sometimes because you always run towards what we are all running from but, at the end of the day, when you walk through our front door, you have orchestrated a positive outcome to the day."

He kissed her hand. "Yeah, Charlie, coming home to you is always a good thing."

Blinking back tears, she turned back around. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to seize control there."

"Not at all." Dr. Bradford smiled a soft smile. "I don't know if I would have said the exact things, but you hit the nail on the head."

"She usually does." Don coughed to control his emotions. "While I'm running towards what everyone else is running from, she's standing in the crowd helping the people coming at her."

They all smiled and Charlotte relaxed into Don's embrace for the remainder of the session, the worry, even the thought, of her potential stalker was out of her head. All that filled her head was the counseling, the focus on their relationship, working on building and strengthening what they had while it was still there rather than waiting until it fell apart. It was what she needed, what they needed.

Special Agent Colby Granger. What made him so damn special? What made him think that he could chase him from watching Charlotte? The look in the agent's eyes as he'd escorted Charlotte from her home had told him that he suspected something. So, he headed back to the motor pool and picked up a Charger sedan instead of the black SUV. This way he could always say that he was sent to watch the house for the suspicious vehicle. He was there to watch out for Charlotte, to make sure that she was safe, to make sure that the idiot Don Eppes didn't do anything to hurt her. As the two of them stepped out of Don's vehicle an hour after she left, he fought a wave of nausea. Don Eppes was not the man for a sophisticated woman like Charlotte. He'd seen him cheat on other girlfriends, get involved with agents under his command, and try to keep relationships going just because he didn't want to be alone. The man was messed up. Charlotte deserved better. Charlotte deserved him.