Lieutenant Welsh called Ray, Stan, Ben and Jess into his office. Jess sat in a chair in front of Welsh's desk.
"Ms Mitchell, I am assigning Detectives Vecchio and Kowalski as your police protection. They will be with or around you at all times. I suggest that you all get together and go over your schedule and work out some kind of roster to make sure that you are never on your own."
"I appreciate that, Lieutenant, but I'm sure these men have better things to do than baby-sit me 24-7."
"Ms Mitchell, at this point, your safety is our primary concern. If the attack wasn't random, you can guarantee that
whoever attacked you this morning will try again."
Jess nodded, then stood and turned to the three men standing behind her. "Well, let's get this show on the road." She turned and headed out the door, the trio obediently following her out of Welsh's office.
Before leaving the station for the second time that night, they stopped at the lab. Jacquie, the lab assistant, presented them
with a printout. It contained statistics and a description of the attacker. They had yet to find a match.
"Okay, let's get out of here."
"Ray, I don't think there is much that we can do about this tonight. How about we all try to get some rest and meet at Ms Mitchell's apartment in the morning?"
"Can I just step in here? Since we're going to be seeing a lot of each other for a while, can we drop the formalities?
Please feel free to call me Jess."
"Okay."
"Understood."
"Sure."
"How about we meet at my place at 8 o'clock?"
"Ray, why don't you take Fraser to his apartment, and go home. I'll stay with Jess for the rest of the night."
"Sounds like a plan. See you at eight. Don't get into any mischief, Kowalski."
Stan glared at Ray's retreating back. He then turned to Jess. "Do you mind if we swing by my place first, to pick up a few things?"
"Not at all."
Jess and Stan entered her apartment. Stan slowly scanned the room, taking in the simple yet elegant furnishings. "Nice place you've got here."
"Thanks. You look surprised."
"I guess it's not what I expected."
"Oh? What were you expecting?"
Stan thought for a moment. "I don't know. I just wasn't expecting this."
"I live a simple life. I'm not an overly materialistic person."
Jess disappeared down the hall and returned to find Stan sitting on the couch. She handed him some blankets and a pillow. "I thought you might need these."
"Thanks."
"Well, I'm going to bed. I don't know about you but I need what little amount of sleep I can get. We've all got a long day ahead of us. Good night, Stan."
"Uh...I'd prefer it if you would call me Ray."
"Why?"
"I hate the name Stanley. Raymond's my middle name. So, I go by Ray."
"Okay. Good night, Ray."
"Good night, Jess."
Jess made her way to her bedroom and shut the door behind her. Stan settled on the couch thinking about Jess. He had only known her for 3 hours but he could see that she was a strong, independent woman. The fact that she had fought against her attacker made him feel respect for her. Not many women would have, although they protest that they are capable of taking care of themselves. She was witty. Who else would have been making jokes about their own welfare immediately after an attack? If he hadn't witnessed the fear and terror in her eyes when she approached him, he wouldn't have been convinced that she was human. He fell asleep completely admiring Jess.
Jess changed into her pyjamas, then climbed into bed. She was exhausted. Who would have thought that so much could happen in so little time? All long before the crack of dawn. She rolled onto her side and promptly fell asleep.
The elevator doors opened and Jess stepped out. She was back in the basement. How did I get here? She saw her car in the middle of the car park. She walked towards it. The sooner I get to my car, the sooner I can get out of here. Upon reaching her car, she realised that she didn't have the keys with her. Where could they be? She patted her pockets and when she didn't find the keys she tried searching around her car. She peeked under the car but didn't find them there. When she stood upright, she felt a hand clamp over her mouth.
"Not so powerful now are we?" The voice mocked her. Her feet were uncooperative. She couldn't move. She tried to scream, but no sound emerged. Jess was frightened. She could feel herself being dragged into a corner. As soon as the hand was removed, she screamed. This time, her voice functioned. She felt the hand impacting on her face, but she kept on screaming. She felt two hands grab her shoulders, but she kept on screaming.
Stan was jolted out of his sleep by screaming that came from Jess' bedroom. He dashed as quickly as he could to the room. Once inside, he saw Jess' struggling form, twisting and turning amongst the sheets. He gripped her shoulders and shook her.
"Jess...Jess! Wake up, it's only a dream." He tried hard to block out the screaming that was in close proximity to his ears. He continued to shake her gently until her eyes flew open. She slowly focused on Stan's face. When she was finally aware of her surroundings and convinced that she was no longer in danger, tears formed in her eyes before streaming down her cheeks. She collapsed into his arms crying.
When her sobbing subsided, Stan asked, "Bad dream?" He felt her nod in his embrace.
"Please, stay with me." The words were barely a whisper and Stan strained to hear them. They both settled onto the bed, Jess tucked protectively in Stan's arms. They both fell asleep that way.
An insistent rapping on the door jerked Jess awake. Feeling the movement beside him, Stan stirred. Jess rolled over and looked at the clock. 8:02am. She jumped out of bed and ran to the door. She flung it open revealing an anxious Cop and an equally anxious Mountie.
"Sorry. I just woke up. Come on in. Do you want some tea or coffee?"
Ben and Ray sat at the breakfast table. "Coffee, please. You really know how to scare the hell out of someone, don't you, Jess?"
"Tea for me. You had us very worried. Ray wanted to break down the door."
Jess had just made a pot of coffee and handed a steaming mug of coffee to Ray and gave Ben a cup of tea when Stan walked in rubbing his eyes.
"Morning, guys."
"Good morning, Ray. Did you sleep well?" Ben asked.
"Something like that." Replied Stan as he pulled out a chair and sat down.
"I don't recall seeing you on the couch as I came in, Kowalski, but it seems pretty obvious you just woke up."
"That's because I wasn't on the couch, Vecchio." Stan stood and poured himself a cup of freshly brewed coffee, turning his back on Ray, who had his mouth hanging open in astonishment. He winked at Jess who grinned back at him. She was amused by the quips flying between the two cops.
"Well, I suppose you want to know what my schedule looks like?" Jess asked, then left the kitchen, returning soon afterwards with her laptop computer already booted up. She pressed a few keys and her calendar popped onto the screen. "Okay, I have a lunch appointment at twelve, and a meeting to attend at the Drake at four. Other than that, I should be in the office. I can always call one of you if there is a change of plans."
"Kowalski, you drive Jess to work, I'll drop Benny off at the Consulate. I'll take the lunch appointment and you can have the meeting, and drive Jess home afterwards. Then give me a call and we can all grab a bite to eat. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good. That way I can get a bit more sleep beforehand." said Stan.
Jess immediately felt guilty. "Listen, Ray, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean for that to happen."
"It's all right, Jess. You couldn't have known it would happen." Stan reassured her.
"I know, but I still feel bad about it...thanks for being there for me."
"No problem."
Ray rose from his seat. "I'll call you at work if anything comes up, Jess. All right, Benny, we'd better get you to work before the Dragon Lady bites your head off for being late."
"Ray, you shouldn't speak about Inspector Thatcher that way. She really isn't such a bad a person, once you get to know her. Besides, she has changed since she returned to Chicago."
"Whatever you say, Benny. See you later, guys."
"Goodbye Jess, Ray."
Ray and Ben left the apartment and headed towards the elevator. Once safely inside, Ray turned to Ben. "So, what do you think is going on?"
"What do you mean, Ray?"
"I mean with Kowalski and Jess. Something happened last night and I want to know what it is. Do you think they're getting it on?"
"Ray, you're jumping to conclusions." The elevator doors opened and the two men stepped out into the lobby. "Besides, it's really none of my business, or yours for that matter."
"Aw, come on, Benny. Are you meaning to tell me that you have no interest whatsoever about what happened between them last night? On second thoughts, don't answer that. Are you coming with me to Jess' lunch appointment?"
"I assumed I would be joining you, Ray, yes."
"And you think I'm the one jumping to conclusions."