Les, Cal, and I all sat in the SUV in a parking lot behind the 7-11 near the no-tell motel where Lula had a room. We'd tested the audio equipment and everything was a go for our operation. We were all on edge, hoping against hope that we could keep Lula safe and bring Joe to justice. There were six heavily-armed officers on standby, also hidden out of sight. We all had ears on the situation and the tension ratcheted up when we heard the hotel room door open and close.

"Hey there, Officer Hottie," Lula greeted him, using the agreed-upon nickname to let us know that it was Joe who had entered her room.

"You come alone?" Joe asked. Just the sound of his voice made me shiver. He sounded unhinged.

"You know I did," Lula answered quickly. I could hear the fear in her voice.

"You always were smarter than Patty," Joe spit out. It sounded like he was drunk. "She didn't have the common sense to keep her damn mouth shut and stay on the right side of the law."

"What you talkin' 'bout?" Lula baited him.

"You know the rules," Joe practically yelled. "Keep your mouth shut and your legs open and I won't bring you in for being a ho. You open your mouth, I have to do whatever it takes to cover for myself." Joe was slurring his words.

"So you…you offed Patty?" Lula asked.

"And if you don't shut up and do your job, I'll do the same to you," Joe threatened.

We heard rustling and then heard the words we were waiting for. "You ready for this?" Lula asked loudly. That was our signal that Joe had his weapons off and Lula had him reasonably indisposed. We all jumped out of the SUV as we saw the TPD officers running in from their hiding place. We stormed the room behind them and I covered Lula in a blanket as soon as the officers slapped the cuffs on Joe Morelli.

"Get these damn cuffs off of me!" Joe yelled. "You're interfering with an official investigation!"

"Joe Morelli, you're under arrest for the murder of Patty Sanchez and use of force and intimidation unbecoming of an officer," Eddie began as he hauled Joe up off of the bed and began stuffing him back in his pants.

"You can't do this to me! Do you have any idea who I am?" Joe asked. "I'm an officer of the law!" He was obviously more drunk than we'd realized.

"Were an officer of the law, Morelli," Mayor Juniak, my godfather, replied. "You're being suspended without pay pending your trial. You'll never work a day as a police officer again."

Eddie led Joe out of the room and I brought Lula into the bathroom and helped her back into her clothes. "You okay?" I asked her when she began shaking.

"I will be," she whispered. The adrenaline letdown was bad, and understandably so. "I was 'fraid he was gonna kill me, too."

"You're safe, Lula. You'll never have to deal with him again," I promised her. I ducked my head out of the bathroom and looked at Cal. "Can you get her a soda and a candy bar or something? The adrenaline crash is going to be bad."

Cal nodded and sprinted off toward the vending machines and I led Lula out of the bathroom and back to the bed. "You're safe now," I assured her. "Joe is going to jail for a long, long time."

"I gotta get a new career. I can't be a ho no more," Lula sobbed.

My heart broke for her. I took the soda Cal handed me and popped the top and handed it to her. "Here, take some sips. It will help with the shakes from the adrenaline letdown," I explained.

Lula began drinking the soda and I made eye contact with Cal, looking between him and Lula. He nodded his head and smiled at me. Thank god for ESP.

"Lula?" I began. "If you're really serious about getting out of the business then I have a job offer for you. Let's get you somewhere safe for the night and I'll call you tomorrow to talk about it, okay?" I asked. She wasn't in any shape for this conversation right now, and Cal and I had plans to be at my parents' house for dessert and coffee at 2000.

Les stepped up and put his hand on Lula's shoulder. "Come on, we've got an apartment set up for you back at the office so you can sleep peacefully tonight and not have to worry about your safety. Let's go," Les encouraged her. He'd gotten an overnight bag from her when he'd met up to give her the audio equipment and offered to let her stay at RangeMan in an open apartment for a couple of days. Cal and I would go see her tomorrow and make her a job offer. She'd be a great office manager for our new business.

Les led Lula out to a RangeMan SUV that was parked next to mine and loaded her up for the short drive to her safe haven for the next couple of days and Cal and I got into my SUV to go see my parents. With the takedown tonight we couldn't make dinner, but Cal was adamant that he didn't want to wait until tomorrow to meet my mom.

We pulled up to the curb in front of my parents' house ten minutes later and my mom and grandma were standing on the porch waiting for us. We exited the car and met on the sidewalk and Cal took my hand and led me up to the porch. My mom must have been drunk or possessed, because she reached out and hugged me tightly with tears brimming in her eyes and then moved to Cal and embraced him. I stood there stunned until she pulled me into the house behind her with Cal and Grandma Mazur on my heels. She brought us straight to the dining room where coffee and pineapple upsidedown cake were on the table and my dad was waiting for us all. She opened her mouth the moment we were all seated and I swear I almost passed out.

"Cal, it's so wonderful to meet the man who's captured our daughter's heart. Welcome to our home," my mom said.

I gave my dad a shocked look and he just smiled and winked at me.

"Thank you, Mrs. Plum," Cal answered quickly. "It's good to be back home to stay."

"There's no need for formalities," my mom corrected him. "You're family. You call me Helen."

"Am I in the twilight zone?" I asked without even thinking. My dad laughed and Grandma Mazur almost fell out of her chair.

"No, Stephanie, you're not in the twilight zone," my mom quickly answered. "I have only pushed you in the past because you seemed to be unhappy and drifting. It looks to me like you're happy and settled and have direction now. That's all I ever wanted for you."

I wiped the tears from my eyes and laced my fingers with Cal's. "Thank you, Mom," I choked out.

"How about you and I go out to the garage and we leave the emotions to the women, son?" my dad asked Cal.

"Sounds good, Frank," Cal chucked. He stood and kissed me on top of the head and followed Dad out to the garage, probably for a beer and a cigar.

Cal's POV

"Welcome back, son," Frank said as soon as we got to the garage and the door was shut behind us.

"Thank you, Frank. It's good to be back to stay," I answered. "I missed Steph like crazy and it seems I got back at just the right time. My boss was harassing her - or ex-boss, that is - and she closed her first case as a BEA tonight. I got to be here to see her in action and I couldn't be any more proud."

"Ex-boss, you say?" Frank asked. I could see the question in his eyes and knew what he was thinking.

"Don't worry, we won't need to move in here," I chuckled. "Steph and I are financially sound, and we're starting our own business. Holmes Investigations will do private investigations and also have an exclusive contract with Plum Bail Bonds to do their bond enforcement."

"Holmes Investigations, huh?" Frank asked with a smirk. He was too sharp for his own good.

"Yes, sir," I answered quickly. "I suggested a combination of our last names, but Steph didn't want to be associated with Vinnie's business and said she wanted to share my last name as soon as possible."

"Good for you, son," Frank said with a wide smile. I opened my mouth to ask his blessing and he stopped me. "You don't need my permission or blessing to ask Steph to marry you, but you have it. Any idea when you're going to ask?"

"As soon as humanly possible," I replied with a chuckle.

Frank didn't answer. He just opened the door back to the house and gave me a pointed look. I took a deep breath and fished around in my pocket for the ring. I had stopped by my parent's house just long enough to let them know I was home and get the ring my grandmother had left me when she passed away. I didn't even have to think about what I was about to do, I just ran on my instincts. I walked into the dining room and wasted no time in getting down on my knees in front of Steph. She looked down at me and kissed me as she ran her fingers through my hair. When we broke the kiss I took her hands in mine and spoke from my heart.

"Steph, baby. You captured my heart the moment I laid eyes on you in that club. I wasn't even supposed to be working that night, but Ram was sick and needed a cover. As it turns out, I was right where I was supposed to be. You have become the most important person in the world to me, and I don't want to wait to make you my wife. Will you marry me?" I asked.

Steph sobbed and nodded her head enthusiastically as she slid down onto her knees in front of me and hugged me tightly. "Yes, Cal. Yes! A million times, yes!" she answered, and I kissed her passionately. Then I reached down and took her left hand and slid the ring onto its new home, the finger of my fiance. I was lost in the moment and completely oblivious to anything going on around me. All that mattered was the girl in my arms.