Emily stood to the side as Barney briefed with Lee and Toll.

"Toll, I'll work on getting you into the magazine place as security. Here's some cash for a motel room. I called around and found one that will let you stay there on a week to week basis. I'm separating you from us in case you're being watched."

"Thanks, man," Toll nodded, taking the envelope of cash.

"Thanks for volunteering. I know we don't normally do undercover work," Barney said.

"No problem. It's gonna be entertaining," Toll grinned.

"Lee, you're going to stay with Emily."

"I know."

"In her apartment."

"Whoa, what?" Lee asked. "That wasn't the deal..."

"If Theron is after her, he'll find and target her place. He won't expect you to be there...I hope. Sorry, mate, but you gotta do it."

"You can't just get me an apartment in the same building as hers?"

"Not this fast."

"Fine."

"I've already talked to Emily about it. She said it was fine if you didn't mind the couch."

"Awesome."

Sleeping on a couch for an undetermined amount of time...it sounded so joyful.

"We'll hang out close by. If you need us, holler," Barney finished.

"Will do," Toll bobbed his head. Lee said nothing. Two cabs pulled up, one for Toll and one for Lee and Emily.

"Have fun," Barney said. Toll got into his cab and left. Emily got into the second cab, and Lee went to follow, but Barney caught Lee's arm to stop him.

"What?"

"I know I was teasing you about Emily, but seriously, it's probably not a good idea to get too close to her."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Lee asked.

"I'll be in touch," Barney finished, ignoring the comment. Lee got into the cab, and Barney shut the door behind them. Emily was looking out her window as they drove, and Lee wondered just what the hell he'd gotten himself into.

...

"Well?" Louis asked, standing behind his man, Josh, at the computer. His leg was aching, but he refused to lie down. He was not weak. He hadn't even stayed in the hospital as long as they wanted him to. He was not going to lie around and do nothing, and he certainly wasn't going to be an easy target.

"It doesn't appear that she came in with either of the two men," Josh indicated.

"Who did she come in with?"

"Her," Josh answered, pointing. Louis stared at the screen.

"Miranda Priestly," he mused. "Interesting."

"I can run facial recognition of the other two men worldwide to find where they are now if you'd like," Josh offered. Louis smiled. They did have the technology after all. It paid to be high up in the world of crime sometimes.

"Do that, but for now, let's pay attention to Miranda and see who her right hand girl is," Louis said. "Find out all you can on her."

"I'm on it," Josh grinned, picking up the phone to call in his partners. They were going to go get some intelligence in New York City.

...

Emily felt slightly nervous as she unlocked her apartment door. Lee stood behind her, and she vaguely wondered what state she had left her place in.

"I don't judge," Lee said, reading her mind.

"I didn't say you did," she countered. She pushed the door open and felt relief to see it was tidy inside. Once they were both inside, she shut and bolted the door. She tried not to let on that she felt scared. Who knew that a trip to Paris was going to put her life at risk?

A noise made Lee pull out his gun quickly, and Emily's heart jumped into her throat. Were they there already? How had they found her?

Then, she started to laugh because her cat, Jasper, came running towards her. Lee lowered his gun, feeling ridiculous.

"Hey, you," Emily said, bending to scoop Jasper into her arms. "I missed you too."

"I did not peg you as a cat person," Lee commented, setting his bag down. He wished she had warned him she had a pet. It would have saved the embarrassment of almost shooting it.

"Not many do," she replied, scratching Jasper's chin and rubbing his ears. The cat meowed and purred. Then, as usual, he struggled to get down. Emily wished he would cuddle with her for longer, but he had a very short time limit in that department. Jasper streaked away, ignoring Lee altogether.

"Well, make yourself at home I guess," she gestured. She took her bag to her room and set it down. She wanted to change desperately. She could hear Lee out in the living room setting up as she stripped. Just knowing he was out there gave her a funny feeling in her stomach, but it wasn't unpleasant. She caught herself. What the hell was that? She slapped her cheeks as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"He's so not your type," she told herself. "Stop it." After staring at herself and finding and noting all of her flaws, she finally shook her head and put on comfier clothes. She came back out of her room to find Lee had taken off his coat. He had a white t-shirt on, and it revealed a tattoo on his right, inner forearm just before the crease of his elbow.

"What is that?" she asked. He looked at her.

"What is what?"

"The black chicken on the rock?"

Lee couldn't help it. He started to laugh.

"What? What did I say?" she asked.

"Nothing," he shook his head. He'd told Tool many times the damn raven looked like a black chicken. Here was proof that he wasn't the only one to think so. The skull looking like a rock was a new one. He'd have to share that with Tool.

"Well? What does it mean?" she pressed, not giving up easily.

"It's just the team's logo," he answered. "And it's a raven, not a chicken, and a skull, not a rock."

"Ew," Emily said, wrinkling her nose.

"Don't judge," he replied.

"I'm not," she insisted. "I just think it's kind of gross."

"Make fun all you want. I don't suppose you've got one I can mock, eh?" he asked. Emily worked very hard to keep her face from flushing.

"Nope," she lied. She turned quickly, heading for the kitchen. Lee noticed, and he couldn't help but wonder just where she had it and why she was embarrassed by it. He smiled to himself behind her back. This might be fun after all.

The Next Day

Emily got up when her alarm went off, showered, dressed, and made her way the kitchen to make coffee. She gave a start when she saw Lee lying on the couch with an arm thrown over his head, but she quickly remembered why he was there. It all seemed ridiculous, but Barney's words of what Theron could do to her frightened her more than she wanted to admit. She got the coffee going and put out some food for Jasper. She herself did not eat anything. She didn't really eat much to begin with. She knew it was a small problem, but she didn't concern herself with it too often. It was who she was. She accepted that. She heard a cell phone vibrate with a text message on the counter, and she looked to see that it was Lee's phone. The name on the envelope on the front said "Lacy." Emily was surprised to feel a bit of disappointment hit her chest. Who was Lacy? She must be his girlfriend. Of course he'd have a girlfriend. Why would she think he didn't? He was good looking and intelligent. If she noticed it, then other women noticed it too. She walked away from the phone and leaned against the opposite counter, waiting for her coffee maker to finish. Her thoughts wandered towards Lee. Why did it disappoint her to think he had a girlfriend? She pondered on this.

A pounding on her door made her jump and Lee sit up boltright, gun in hand and aimed at the door.

"Easy, Rambo," she said. She knew who it was. Lee looked at his watch. It was 7:30. How had he slept in?

"Wait," he said, but she opened the door. He hid the gun quickly.

"Hi, Steve," she said.

"No run today?" Steve asked.

"Not today."

"You sure? I missed you when you were gone," he told her.

"I'm just not feeling it today," Emily replied. Steve caught sight of Lee then.

"You have company?" he asked.

"Oh...yea," Emily said, looking at Lee. "He's my cousin. He's here for a bit til he finds his own place."

"Cool," Steve said. "I'm Steve."

"Lee," Lee answered.

"I'm sorry you're running alone today," Emily said. "But then again, you won't have to hurt yourself to keep up with me."

"Ha, ha, ha," Steve said sarcastically. "Okay. Another day?"

"Another day," she promised. Then he was gone.

"Your cousin?" Lee asked once she shut the door.

"Not bad, huh? It just came to me on the spot," Emily said, moving to pour her now finished coffee into a mug.

"We don't exactly look alike," Lee pointed out.

"Maybe you were adopted," Emily shot back. "I couldn't very well say you were my boyfriend. Steve knows I'm not seeing anyone."

"I think Steve wants you to see him," Lee commented, getting up. He'd noticed it very easily. Steve had looked threatened until Emily had said the word "cousin." Then he had visibly relaxed.

"Excuse me?" Emily asked, surprised.

"Oh, come on. Did you not see his face when he was looking at you? It was quite obvious," Lee said as he picked up his phone. Emily noticed his face as he saw the message from Lacy, but she couldn't read his expression.

"Steve is just a friend," she told him.

"Who doesn't want to be in the Friend Zone," Lee countered. He shut his phone and looked at her. "Trust me. I know."

"How could you know? You just met him."

"I read people for a living," he shrugged. "Just like right now, you're wondering about the person who sent me that text."

"What? No," Emily spluttered.

"I know you looked at my phone when it went off, and I saw you looking at me when I read it. Like I said, I have been doing this a long time."

"Contrary to what you think, I don't care who was writing you," Emily lied. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get to work now."

"All right," Lee said. He decided to let it go for now. It was interesting to him, though, that she wanted to know who he was talking to.

"What are you going to do all day?" she asked.

"Don't you worry about me," Lee answered. Emily raised a brow but didn't push. She gathered her purse and coffee travel mug and walked out.

...

"How was your first morning?" Barney asked. Lee was on the phone with him and sitting on a park bench just a little ways down from Runway. He had followed Emily discreetly ever since she had left. He'd seen Toll go in dressed as a security guard, and all he could do was wait for her to leave for the day and follow her back home. It was around noon now.

"It was fine."

"Anything out of place?"

"Not yet."

Lee examined the area around him. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to him. He kept his ball cap low, though, in case Emily made a sudden appearance with someone else in tow. He didn't feel like playing cousin again.

"You talk to Lacy?"

"We've been texting. I told her I was delayed in coming home. She's mad at me."

"Mad at you?"

"Yea. It's been almost a month since I saw her last," Lee answered.

"Comes with the job," Barney commented. "It's not my fault you haven't told her what you do for a living."

"I like to keep work separate from personal life."

"Sometimes it doesn't work that way."

"How did you get Toll the job?" Lee asked, changing the subject.

"I had a guy who owes me a favor. There was luckily also a job opening for a new security guard."

"Lucky us."

"I'm sure Theron has figured out who Emily is by now and is on his way," Barney pointed out.

"You have a lot of confidence."

"I like to be positive, yes."

"Right. And how is that positive thinking? He wants to kill her," Lee scoffed.

"Positive thinking in that this will all be over soon, and you can go be with your girlfriend. That's all I meant."

"Uh huh. I gotta go."

"Later."

Lee noticed Emily coming out of Runway with another woman. He vaguely recognized her. Then it hit him. She had visited Emily in the hospital three years ago. He pulled his hat lower. Emily couldn't say he was her cousin to this woman because she'd know it wasn't true if she recognized him. They walked by him, and he could feel Emily's eyes on him. He didn't look up.

...

"I still can't believe what happened over there," Serena was saying as they walked. Emily immediately noticed Lee sitting on the bench. She assumed he thought his hat could hide him for some reason. She didn't address him as they walked by, but she gave him a level stare all the same.

"It was a shock, yes," she said, knowing Serena wanted a response.

"And poor Nigel. His arm looks terrible all wrapped up."

"At least no one else was hurt," Emily said.

"You must have been so scared."

"It was frightening, but I'm here now. Let's not talk about it anymore, okay?"

"Okay."

They walked and talked about other things. Serena complained about her boyfriend. Emily listened. She was thinking about Lee and this Lacy person for some reason. When they got back to the office, Emily noticed Toll sitting and reading behind the desk.

"Good walk?" he asked them, looking up.

"It was, yes," Serena smiled at him. Emily noticed that Serena was using her flirty eyes. This intrigued her.

"Excellent," Toll smiled back. His name tag said "Chase." Emily had wondered if he'd pick a new name instead of using "Toll," but how much better was "Chase" anyway?

"What are you reading?" Serena asked him, peeking.

"Oh. It's this story about a journalist who gets stuck working in fashion under a type of tyrant in order to get a job wherever she wants. It's quite good really," Toll said. His face was going a little bit red, though.

"Can I borrow it when you're done?" Serena asked.

"Sure. It was just sitting here. It's not mine."

"Great. See you later."

"Have a good afternoon," Toll said, tipping his hat. Serena giggled. Emily rolled her eyes.

Emily gave Toll one last look as they went into the elevator.

"I love it when guys feel free to read 'girly' books," Serena sighed.

"Seriously?"

"Yea. It doesn't make me think less of their masculinity. If anything, it's sexy."

"Okay," Emily said, holding up her hand. "Enough."

"He's very handsome," Serena went on. "And that uniform..."

"You have a boyfriend," Emily pointed out.

"But for how long? It's on the rocks as it is right now. I like to keep my options open."

"Okay, well...just wait until you're single before leaping onto the poor man," Emily said, stepping out of the elevator once it hit her floor. Serena gave her a smug smile as the doors shut behind Emily. She shook her head as she went back to her desk.

"Good lunch?"

Emily looked up at the new second assistant sitting across from her. Mei Quan was their newest hire, and she had lasted so far. She was petite and almost fragile looking, but she was anything but that. Mei was strong and determined, and Emily knew she could handle her own. Even Emily had been surprised to see Miranda unable to make this woman feel depressed and full of self loathing over doing the job.

"Yes, it was," Emily answered. Mei didn't say anything else as she went back to work. Emily didn't know how to read Mei really.

"Emily," Miranda called. Without missing a beat, Mei got up and went to join her.

Some things really didn't change.

...

"What is that?" Emily asked as Lee picked up a package of pepperettes.

"Food," he answered.

"You know, my father had a minor heart attack, and they told him meat in a tube was a once a year kind of treat," she explained. Lee gave her a level stare.

"I think I have a higher risk of getting shot or stabbed or blown up," he pointed out. "I will take my chances."

"It's your health," she shrugged. She already had her groceries picked out. Lee, as it turned out, was a bit picky about what he ate. She was surprised at this.

"Emily, hi," Nigel said, coming into view. Emily froze. Lee stood very still, his back to them, as he pretended to be looking at something.

"Hi, Nigel. How are you? I didn't get a chance to see you today," Emily said. "How's the arm?"

"Sore, but it could be worse," Nigel replied. "How are you? I didn't see you after it happened."

"I just ran like hell to get out of there," she answered. "I didn't look back."

"Well, it certainly scarred me for life. Literally," Nigel said jokingly, but then he grew serious. "I hope it never happens again."

"I'm sure it won't," Emily assured him. They shared a sympathetic smile with each other.

"Branching out, are we?" Nigel asked, seeing the pile of unhealthy food in her cart. Lee caught him examining it with an odd expression.

"Oh...ah..." Emily said, hesitating. "I've got company."

"Ah, that makes sense," Nigel nodded. "Well, carry on then. I'll see you later."

"Take care," Emily said as he waved and left.

"My food is not abnormal," Lee said once Nigel was gone.

"Seems to me like it is."

"No, you're abnormal," he gestured. "I don't even know what any of that is, but it certainly doesn't look like food."

"To each their own," she commented, moving forward. He just shook his head as he followed her.

...

"Okay, so we have Emily's schedule," Barney said, setting out the papers on the table. Gunner, Caesar, and Yang examined them.

"Lee's gonna be busy," Gunner commented.

"Well, I figured we could cut him some slack on some of these," Barney said. "Like her runs in the morning. Someone could cover him there."

"I'll do it," Yang volunteered.

"Thank God," Gunner sighed. "I don't do running."

"I agree," Caesar snorted. "You barely keep up on missions."

"My aim is better. I don't need to be fast," Gunner retorted.

"Oh, oh, are we gonna start that up again?" Caesar asked, incredulous. "Who shot a civilian in the arm again?! Huh?"

"Enough!" Barney hollered. He was getting annoyed with those two about that incident.

"She spends most of her time at work," Yang noted, still looking and ignoring the other two.

"Yea. Toll's got that covered."

"Hair appointments?" Yang asked, looking up at them. Barney looked between Gunner and Caesar.

"Isn't that one obvious?" Caesar commented, patting the top of his bald head. "Do I look like I could use a hair cut?"

"Guess that's you, Gunner," Barney said, smirking.

"I don't like strangers touching my hair," Gunner growled. His thick, blonde hair was just the way he liked it.

"You don't have to get an actual hair cut," Barney said. "You just stand outside on guard."

"Oh, well I could have done that," Caesar retorted.

"You can do yoga," Barney told him, grinning widely.

"I am so not flexible..." Caesar started. Gunner was openly laughing now.

"She goes three times a week for that," Yang said.

"Yea, and a haircut once a month," Gunner snorted. "My job's easier."

"Shut up," Caesar muttered.

"She gets her hair done once every other week, not once a month," Yang went on. "Wow. Fussy lady."

"What? How many times can she get her hair trimmed?" Gunner asked.

"I imagine it's probably styling or dyeing or something," Caesar said. "But I'm no hair expert, clearly." He sniggered.

"All right," Barney said. "Everyone got their schedules?"

"Yup," Yang nodded.

"Uh huh," Caesar agreed.

"Definitely," Gunner grinned.

"Just let me know if anything or anyone seems suspicious to you," Barney told them all. "Theron could have his own spies out there too."

"Roger that," came the collected response.

...

Emily was going through other fashion magazines at the table when Lee walked by. His own curiosity got the best of him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Studying the competition," she answered.

"It all looks the same to me," he shrugged.

"It's not," she argued.

"A dress is a dress," he countered. "I don't see the difference."

"Right, like there are no differences between your guns?"

"There are major differences..."

"Well, I don't see them," she cut him off, looking at him. "Just like you're saying you can't see the difference between dresses." He narrowed an eye at her.

"If you can't tell there is a difference between a rifle and a pistol, then I don't know what to tell you," Lee said.

"If you can't tell the difference between a halter dress and a sheath dress, then I don't know what to tell you," she countered.

"What are you trying to do, prove a point?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered. "If there are different types of guns, then there are different types of dresses."

"All right, Sherlock," he scoffed. "Don't bust a brain cell."

"You're just mad because I'm right," she said to his receding back.

"I'm not mad."

"You're annoyed, and that is in the same family as mad," she pointed out.

"I'm irritated," he said.

"Still in the same family as mad," she commented. He gave her a level stare then.

"You just stick to your thing, and I'll stick to mine," he replied.

"Fine," she agreed. She went back to her magazine and he went back to his phone. She wondered if Lacy was writing him again. He didn't seem happy, but then again, she didn't know what happy looked like on Lee. He was a complicated guy, she was learning. She wondered just how long she would be graced with his presence. She already missed her life of freedom.

True story: after his heart surgery, my grandfather's dietician told him about "meat in a tube" being a once a year treat because it's so deadly...that's why I threw that in there. Plus, it made for a comedy moment. I hope you're enjoying the story so far!