Lee walked into the office the next morning feeling a slight bit of dread. First of all, he braced himself for whatever Jane was going to accost him with. Secondly, he didn't want to look at Emily and see satisfaction on her face.

No sooner was he in the office than Jane had him in a vice grip by the elbow and hauled him to her office. She shut the door and walked over to him with a furious look, slapping him right across the face.

"What the hell?" he asked, gripping his cheek and feeling slightly nervous of the rage in her eyes.

"What did you do to her?!" Jane demanded.

"Excuse me?"

"I knew not to leave you two alone!" Jane went on, pacing now. She growled and glared at him. Lee was genuinely confused, and his face was stinging.

"What are you on about?" he demanded.

"Don't pretend! Were you just unable to handle it anymore? Did you just decide to do whatever you wanted? And the audacity of you to show up here the next day as if nothing happened!"

"Nothing did happen!" Lee exclaimed. "Jane, I left Emily there with Scott after he showed up. What the hell happened?!"

Jane opened and closed her mouth. Then she looked horrified.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I just...I just assumed..."

"Assumed what?" Lee asked, growing impatient. What had happened to Emily?! He was picturing the worst. He knew he shouldn't have left her alone with that bastard...

"Just...you better see for yourself," Jane said, going to open the door. "She won't talk about it, so just be warned." Lee was feeling very anxious now. He pushed past Jane and walked quickly to Emily's office. He stopped short in the doorway when he saw her sitting behind her desk. She was wearing a scarf around her neck, but there was a bruise just above her brow. His stomach clenched.

"Oh, hi," she said, noticing him. "I think I've got a lead on..."

"Em, what happened?" he asked, cutting her off. She looked perplexed.

"What do you mean?"

"Your face," he answered, walking into the room slowly. "Did he hit you?"

"No," Emily snorted. "I walked into a wall."

"Oldest and lamest excuse in the book of excuses," Lee retorted. "I'm not stupid. Em, what happened?"

"Nothing!"

He was close enough to her now that he reached and pulled the scarf down without her permission. She grabbed his wrist to stop him, but she was too late. He saw the fingermarks on her neck.

He was going to kill Scott.

"It's fine," she said quickly.

"No," he disagreed sharply. "This is not fine."

"It's dealt with," she insisted, pushing his hand away and adjusting her scarf to hide the marks again. "Okay?"

"Where is he?"

"No, I'm not telling you that."

"I'll find out."

"Just leave it!" she exploded. "Okay?! I do not need you to rescue me!"

"It would appear I'm a little too late for that," he said, gesturing at her neck and face. She got to her feet so that they were eye to eye now, her desk in between them.

"I've dealt with it, and it's over. Stay out of it," she ordered fiercely.

"What else did he do, Em?" Lee asked, needing to know. It was going to help fuel his rage and make Scott pay for this with every inch of his life.

"Nothing else." Emily tried to casually tug her sleeve down, but Lee noticed. He reached to catch it and slid her sleeve up, revealing more fingermarks on her wrist. He was briefly aware of Andy, Jane, and Nigel standing in the hallway listening. Alison wasn't there yet.

"Who is he?" Lee asked, his voice low and almost dangerous sounding.

"No," she replied.

"He is not getting away with this."

"And you're not going to kill him!" Emily said loudly. "Okay? Just let it go."

"I don't need you to tell me anything. I'll find him," Lee said, turning away from her and storming out of her office. The others backed away hastily as he charged out and down the hall. Emily ran after him.

"Please don't," she begged, getting in front of him and trying to block him from leaving. "He knows where I live!"

"He won't be going anywhere near you when I'm done with him," Lee promised. He tried to get past her again, but she simply stepped in his path once more. Growing frustrated, he reached to pick her up by the waist and moved her aside. She grabbed his shoulders, crying now.

"Please just don't," she begged. "Please."

In that moment, he realized she was breaking down, that she'd been holding it in for too long, and she needed someone to tell her it was going to be okay. She gasped with sobs and clutched at his shirt so tightly that her nails dug into his skin underneath. He decided he would deal with Scott later. Emily needed him right now.

"C'mere," he said, pulling her into an embrace. She clung to him tightly, still crying. He met Nigel's eyes, and there was a shared agreement between them. They'd be dealing with this together.

"Should I call the police?" Andy asked.

"No!" Emily blurted out. "Please, just...no."

Andy looked so helpless. Lee knew how she felt. Jane put a hand on Andy's shoulder while she herself tried to keep it together. Lee continued to hold Emily until she cried herself out.

"Come on," he said gently. "Let's just get you home for the rest of the day." She immediately stiffened in his arms, and he knew she was scared Scott would find her there. How thoughtless of him.

"We'll stay with you," Jane promised, sensing this.

"No," Emily said. "There's too much to do, and all of you can't take the day off because of me."

"Watch us," Nigel said. "The world won't stop turning for one day."

"But..." Emily tried.

"No buts. Jane and Andy, take her home or to one of your places."

"What are you doing to do?" Emily asked Nigel worriedly. She looked at Lee next.

"Just let me do what I do best," Lee answered, allowing himself to touch her cheek and smooth her hair back softly. "Okay? Trust me."

"Okay," Emily whispered. He pulled her in for one more comforting hug, kissing the side of her head at the same time. He ignored Jane's raised brow. This wasn't the time. His girl was hurting, and he needed to be there for her.

Friend. His friend. Not his girl. He caught himself quickly. Not that anyone was his. It was meant to be a term of endearment. But she was not his girlfriend, so there shouldn't be a term of endearment for her. Man, he was really effed up right now.

"You're in good hands," he told Emily, handing her off to Andy and Jane. "I'll see you later."

"Okay." Her voice was wobbly now. She let the girls take her away. Lee tried to give her an encouraging, "trust me" kind of smile when she looked back at him before disappearing outside.

"So," Nigel said, cracking his knuckles. "Where do we start?"

...

Andy didn't know what to think or how to feel. She sat off to the side at Emily's apartment while Jane fussed and made tea and tried to help Emily feel better. Emily had insisted on staying at her apartment, that she wasn't going to be afraid of this man. Andy was terrified for her.

"I'm really okay," Emily said again as Jane ran around checking to make sure the windows were locked. Her fingers were wrapped around the mug of tea that Jane had shoved into her hands, but she wasn't drinking it.

"Do you want us to stay here overnight?" Jane asked, not hearing her (or more like choosing not to hear her). Andy felt prickles of nervousness go across her skin. The idea of being here when that guy tried to come was really scary.

"No, I don't want you to stay overnight," Emily said, shaking her head. Jane stopped moving and rested her hands on her hips, giving Emily a once over kind of look.

"I really think you should have someone here," she insisted.

"What about Lee?" Andy suggested, the idea coming out of nowhere. It hit her suddenly that this could be the opportunity needed for both Emily and Lee to realize they should be with each other. Jane's eyes lit up instantly.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "You should have a guy here to make sure Scott doesn't come and to beat him up if he does come. He'd keep you safer than either Andy or I could."

"No!" Emily practically exploded, setting her mug down with a bang on the table. Tea sloshed over the side and slid down to the coaster. "I don't need a babysitter! End of discussion!" She got up and went down to her bedroom, slamming the door hard behind her.

"I think we struck a nerve," Jane noted, looking at Andy.

"I think we did. She didn't react that strongly about us staying with her."

Jane sighed, and Andy picked at a hangnail, looking down at it. She didn't know what else to say, and neither, it seemed, did Jane. She wondered if Nigel and Lee had found Scott yet.

...

Lee had Scott by the throat as soon as he opened the door. In the next moment, Scott was going flying across the room and landing sprawled on the floor.

It hadn't been hard to find him. Lee had gone to the bar and asked around, pretending to be a buddy who owed Scott money. The bartender knew where he was staying. Lee and Nigel had found Scott about twenty minutes later.

"What the...?!" Scott shouted angrily from the floor. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Friends of someone you should have never messed with," Lee answered, bending to pick up Scott again and slam him into the wall, knocking off frames and other items that were nailed there. He dragged him down the wall before throwing him up and over the kitchen table. Nigel was in the background pumping his fists and cheering Lee on. Scott was panting as he stood and tried to get his bearings. He squinted at Lee, sniffing hard as the blood started to trickle from his nose. Realization soon dawned on his face when he finally recognized Lee.

"Oh, that bitch," Scott said. "She had that comi-aieee!" Scott's voice went high pitched into a yelp as Lee grabbed him again and threw him down onto the floor hard. He was on him in an instant and wrapped his fingers around Scott's neck and squeezed, choking him.

"You got anyone who's gonna miss you, Scotty?" Lee asked, angling him around on the floor as he looked for a photo to identify a loved one. "Huh?" It would appear that Scott was renting this place from the look of non-personalized pictures on the walls and the state of cleanliness.

"Bastard!" Nigel shouted then.

"What?" Lee asked, turning his head to look at him.

"He's married!" Nigel held up the wedding photo that was sitting on the desk.

Lee turned his head slowly towards Scott, who was quite red in the face by this point. He was pulling at Lee's fingers desperately.

"You beat her up too?"

Scott shook his head slowly, choking.

"Liar," Nigel scoffed. "Leopards don't change their spots." This hit home for Lee, making him think of Lacy and her own unfaithfulness, but he had to shove that far down into the recesses of his mind for right now.

"No, he just does it to women who he considers meaningless," Lee said. He released Scott before pulling him up and punching him in the face as hard as he could. He wished he had his brass knuckles as he wailed on him a few more times, each punch feeling more satisfying than the last.

"You stay away from her, do you hear me?" Lee asked after punching Scott so hard he fell down onto his back. Lee was kneeling next to him on the floor.

"I hear you," Scott croaked out. His face was bleeding worse now, and he looked genuinely terrified of Lee.

"You're lucky I don't like tight spaces," Lee said. "Or else you'd be in a hole somewhere right about now." This guy reminded him of Paul, the guy who had beat up Lacy. Granted, she'd cheated on Lee with him, but he still didn't let Paul get away with it.

"You touch our girl again, and all bets are off," Nigel threatened, his voice taking on a level of menace that surprised Lee. He hadn't pictured Nigel as a tough kind of guy, but everyone was full of surprises it seemed.

"You go near her again, and I'll be informing your wife about it," Lee added.

"She'll never see me again," Scott managed to say, coughing. Lee reached to shove him down onto the floor roughly again before getting up and walking to the door. Nigel walked over to give Scott a good kick in the side and threw the framed wedding photo at his head before following. Lee could see the red in his vision waning the farther away he got.

"Think he'll listen?" Nigel asked when he caught up to him.

"He will."

"How do you know?"

"He doesn't want his wife to catch on he's a piece of scum, if she hasn't already," Lee answered. "He wants to be able to do this again to someone else, but maybe this beating will make him have second thoughts next time."

"Makes me sick," Nigel muttered. Lee was quiet. He was thinking about Emily and hoping she was okay. They got to Lee's truck, and Nigel paused before opening the door. "So, who are you exactly? Those were some intense fighting moves back there."

"Former military," Lee answered. It wasn't a lie. He was.

"I knew it," Nigel said, shaking his head with a laugh.

"Don't tell her how much I beat him up," Lee ordered.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Nigel said with a snort. "And why should you get all the credit anyway?"

Lee laughed and got into his truck as Nigel did the same. Then they went to check on Emily.

...

Lacy looked up when Miranda came whooshing through the office. The bag and coat dropped on her desk like stones, and Lacy felt herself flinch with each individual thump. Judith was on the phone and barely even looked up.

"Make sure you're at the airport for eight sharp," Miranda called over her shoulder at Lacy. This put Lacy on full alert, her brain racing through all her tasks and trying to find out what Miranda was talking about.

"I'm sorry?" she asked, not finding it. "Why am I going to the airport?" Miranda stopped by her office door and heaved a huge sigh, looking over her glasses at Lacy.

"We are going to Los Angeles," Miranda said matter-of-factly as if Lacy knew this all along and was just being an idiot.

"What?"

"Are you deaf?"

"No, I'm just really confused," Lacy said. "I wasn't made aware of..."

"It came up an hour ago," Miranda said dismissively. "I need my team there, and you're going. If you don't go, then I'll be forced to realize you're not serious about this job, this career, and I will fire you without a second's notice. You're already on thin ice as it is, so I'd make your choice wisely."

"But what about Judith...?"

"She's coming too," Miranda answered, going into her office without another word or waiting for Lacy to say anything else. Lacy opened and closed her mouth like a fish. How was she going to tell Lee that she was going away for a last minute job? She didn't even know how long she'd be gone!

"Judith," she hissed after Judith hung up the phone.

"What?" she asked irritably.

"How long are we going for?"

"How should I know?" Judith snorted. Lacy felt at a loss. She was not getting any answers. She swallowed hard. She had to hope that Lee would trust she was going on a work trip, which was ironic because she'd been stepping out on him for the last while without leaving the state. She just felt he'd be more mistrusting and ask more questions, which would make her spit out the truth.

"Hey," Hutch said from the doorway. "See you tonight."

"Oh, no...I'm going to L.A. with Miranda," Lacy started.

"I know. I'm going too. We're doing a shoot out there."

"We are?"

"Yes. We're trying to sign on a new brand. Get with the program Lace," Hutch said with a smirk. He patted the door frame and walked away. Lacy felt a mix of dread and excitement. Hutch was going too. They could walk around like an actual couple and not worry about being seen.

Then she gave her head a shake. She was marrying Lee, not dating Hutch. She was finished with that fling. It was over. She was not going to act on her urges anymore.

"Judith!" Miranda called. Lacy looked to see Judith's finger pointing towards Miranda's office without her even looking up. Lacy sighed and went to go see what her boss wanted now while formulating her text to Lee in her head.

...

Emily felt embarrassed. And mortified. And ashamed. And angry. She paced, catching sight of herself in the mirror as she passed it each time. The bruises on her neck stood out so much that she wanted to throw up every time she saw them. Her face was no better. She hoped Lee hadn't killed Scott. She didn't want to involve the police, no matter how hard Jane tried to convince her she should. She just wanted it all to be over with. She wanted to move on.

How had she missed it? Well, she hadn't entirely. She had felt something about him that wasn't right, but she'd chalked it up to her paranoia. She ran through every moment she'd spent with him, recalling the times where he'd gripped her too hard or had been slightly rougher than she liked. Why had she ignored those red flags?

"Nigel!" Jane called from the other room. Emily paused in her tracks. They were back already? Had they found him? Was he...?

She couldn't even finish that thought.

Footsteps came to her door, and a soft knock occurred moments later. She knew without hearing their voice who it was.

"Em?" Lee called. She hesitated before going to pull the door open. He stood there with empathy in his eyes and scraped knuckles. Oh God.

"What did you do to him?" she asked.

"Nothing he didn't deserve," Lee answered.

"Lee..."

"He's married, Em," Lee cut her off. She felt kicked in the stomach. She'd unknowingly had an affair. She was the Other Woman. She felt the bile rising in her throat.

"Oh my God," she said, putting a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God."

"He's obviously only staying here for work based on the state of his living quarters, but he shouldn't be bothering you again," Lee finished. He rubbed his nose quickly, and she saw the scrapes again. She wanted to cry, so she turned away and went to stand across the room from him with her back to him. Had Scott wanted to kill her to prevent the affair getting back to his wife? The thought sent chills through her body. Was he a serial killer? Did he find victims, charm them, have sex with them, and then kill them? Her heart rate picked up, and she thought she might have another panic attack right here right now.

"Do you want me to stay or go?" Lee asked then, and she honestly didn't know what she wanted.

"I...I don't know."

"Okay, so how about I stay until you tell me to go?" he offered. It seemed like a good solution, so she nodded. He went to leave her alone again when she stopped him.

"Do you think I'm a terrible person?" she asked. She had to know. Being a part of an affair with someone was difficult to stomach, even if she didn't know she was.

"No, Em," he answered softly. "I don't."

"Please stay," she whispered, suddenly just needing his support. He gave a slight nod before moving towards her. He grunted upon impact as she threw herself into his arms, but he held her back tightly.

"It's all right," he told her over and over. "It's all right. You're gonna be okay. It's all right."

In that moment, it felt like she just might be.

...

Barney was cranking his socket wrench while lying underneath his truck when his cell phone rang. Growling, he slapped his hand against his leg, rooting into his pocket for it. He managed to pull it out and pressed it against his ear while avoiding dropping a washer on his head.

"Yea?" he said.

"Is this Barney?" a female voice asked. It was not one he recognized. He lurched upward from surprise, banging his head off the bottom of his truck. He swore and scuffled his way out, sitting up and leaning against his truck with a pulsing head and a hot temper.

"Whatever it is your sellin', I ain't interested," he said.

"I'm not selling anything. My name is Jane, and my friend Emily is planning your friend Lee's wedding."

This had Barney's full attention now. He sat up straighter, wondering what was going to happen next.

"Uh huh," he said. "Go on."

"Andrea and I agree that Lee is with the wrong woman. Based on your text messages..."

"Hang on, you read my text messages?!" Barney exclaimed.

"Lee left his phone unattended. How else was I supposed to figure out if anyone else felt the same way we did?" Jane challenged. Barney laughed out loud. Whoever this woman was, he liked her a lot.

"Alright, so you snooped and figured out I'm not on board with this wedding."

"That's right. We're wondering if you can help us..." Jane started.

"I've burnt out all my arguments with him," Barney interrupted. "I asked Emily to stop planning the wedding, but she wouldn't have it. Look, I don't think there's much else you can do except..." He trailed off. Once a cheater always a cheater. Perhaps if they discovered Lacy was being unfaithful yet again, Lee would end it with her once and for all.

"Except?" Jane prompted.

"Lacy's a known cheater. I don't doubt she'd do it again in a heartbeat. You find out who the guy she's cheating on Lee with, you have your ammunition to end this wedding."

"Brilliant. Thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet. He's a stubborn bastard, and he keeps giving her more chances than she deserves. He'll be very resistant at first when you tell him."

"If we find anything..."

"Oh, I'm certain you'll find something," Barney cut in. "My bullshit radar is going wild with her right now."

"Your what now?"

"Just find her new boy toy," Barney said, exasperated. "And don't call me again."

"But..."

"Deniability," Barney said.

"Ohhh. Right. Gotcha. Okay. Just so you're aware, Emily got hurt by some guy, and Lee is spending the night with her in her apartment."

"Is she alright?" Barney felt concern for her even though he didn't know her that well.

"Very shaken up, but I think she'll be okay. She's tough."

"She seemed that way." His mind was whirling a little. Lee was alone with Emily in her apartment. Interesting.

"I'm hoping maybe something good comes out of this terrifying event," Jane went on. "Andy and I needed a distraction from this nightmare, and it was her idea to call you to share our plan and get some ideas off of you. We are hoping some one on one time together tonight will have a positive outcome."

"Like Emily telling Lee she's crazy about him and vice versa?"

"Yea. Think my hopes are too high?"

"Just a little."

"Alright. Well, thank you again!" Jane said eagerly.

"Good luck." When they hung up, Barney held out his phone to look at it and chuckled. Lee had no idea what was coming at him.

...

Lee was the last one left. Andy had gone home first. Nigel was second. Jane was last. All of them made Emily promise to call if she needed them and offered her another day off. She'd declined and thanked them for everything.

Now, it was just the two of them. Lee wasn't sure what to do since it appeared Lacy was going to be away for the next few days. His initial thought was that she was cheating on him, but then Emily explained that these trips did happen and often last minute because Miranda would hear about it and then dump it on her admins without much notice.

"What're you thinking?" Emily asked, interrupting his thoughts. She was on her stomach on the couch, hugging a pillow and looking at him. He was sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch not far from her head.

"I'm thinking I'm hungry," Lee answered.

"Oh, sorry. I don't really have much here..."

"I can order something," he offered, turning his head to look at her. Her hair was disheveled, but it was the bruises on her that bothered him the most. He wished he'd beaten Scott up a bit more than he had.

"Okay."

He pulled out his phone, calling his new favorite Chinese place. Within the hour, they had food. Emily joined him on the floor, her leg touching his.

"Have you ever thought about traveling to the farthest part of the world and never coming back?" she asked him.

"Loads of times," he answered with a chuckle.

"I sometimes wish I had just left," she went on wistfully. "I might have gone back home, or I might have ended up in Italy or somewhere nice."

"How did you get into wedding planning anyway?" Lee asked, curious.

"Oh, you know. Nigel and I got sick of Miranda treating us like dogs, so we decided to quit and do our own thing. It was originally supposed to be a bridal magazine, but then Nigel got excited about being the planners of this amazing day, and I didn't have the heart to say no, so I joined him."

"You don't like doing it?"

"Oh, I do! I just...sometimes it's hard."

Lee suspected there was something she was holding back, but he didn't pry. He knew she'd tell him when the time was right.

"Do you believe in true love?" he asked her. She gave a snort.

"That's a million dollar question isn't it?" she countered.

"I thought I did."

"You don't?"

"I'm leaning towards the idea that we find people and stay together because we're compatible and because it's shit being alone," Lee answered. It surprised both of them. He wasn't even sure where that thought had come from.

"Do you love Lacy?" Emily asked. He'd known it was coming. It was his own doing after all.

"I always say yes, but sometimes I'm not sure," he answered honestly. Her leg against his was nice. It was comfortable.

"But you're marrying her," she said.

"Yea, I know. Barney doesn't get it either."

"So why marry her if you don't really fully love her?"

"History. She's fun. She cares about me. I dunno," he answered. He picked at his pant leg absently. He hadn't intended on spilling these truths to her of all people, but sitting there with her was making him be honest. He didn't know why.

"Hmm, well, maybe you should think on it a bit more. Marriage is kind of permanent," Emily pointed out. "Or at least...it's supposed to be."

"I know."

"Do you worry about her cheating on you?" she asked. The question hit hard, but it was very much on his mind, more than he was willing to admit. He made a quite "heh" sound in his throat while running a hand over his head and avoiding looking at her.

"Lee?" she prompted when he didn't answer. He finally caved and looked at her, noticing the concern and empathy in her eyes.

"I do," he answered. "All the time."

"Because she's done it before?"

"Twice."

"Oh, Lee..."

"People make mistakes," he said defensively. "She's trying."

"I didn't say anything," Emily commented. He stared at her. She was right. She hadn't said anything. It was his own thoughts making him defensive and angry. He looked away from her again, desperate to stop talking about this suddenly.

"I'm going through with this," he told her, still not looking at her. "I'm not going to end up alone. I can't..." He stopped abruptly. He was making himself sound desperate now. He didn't want to be alone, couldn't be alone, but he knew she'd tell him that wasn't a reason to get married.

"Being alone really sucks," Emily said softly, surprising him. He dared to look at her again, and she gave him a watery kind of smile before getting up and going to another room. He wondered what had happened to her. He wondered if she'd ever tell him.

He rested his head back against the couch, closing his eyes. He wasn't sure if he'd fallen asleep or not, but Emily had returned at some point without him seeing her and was lying on the couch. She didn't tell him to leave, so he decided to stay. After a moment, he felt Emily's hand reach for his, and he let her take it. It was soft and warm, and he felt tingling inside from her touch. He heard her sigh, and he felt glad to be able to provide her feelings of safety and comfort. Before he knew it, he was asleep once more, her hand safely tucked in his.