The house is quiet - so much so that when her phone dings, the simple chime echoes off the walls. It causes her to jump in her spot on the couch and it takes her attention from the laptop set on her crossed legs to the device beside her. She cautiously reaches for her phone as if its going to do something to her. A smile comes to her face when sees the text from Jay letting her know that they're stopping at the store on the way back to the ranch and asks if she needs anything. She replies with a couple items and a heart emoji at the end before sliding her thumb from the bottom of the screen, up. All the apps she had open in the background of her phone pop up and she rolls her eyes before she starts to close ones she no longer needs. But she stops when she gets to the gallery. Her finger hovers over the last of three apps remaining as she recalls why she had opened it a few days ago. Then she presses on it - letting it take over the screen and she looks at the now enlarged picture before swiping to the next one, to the first of the images from several months ago. A night she won't soon forget - her heart already pounding as the memory comes back to her.

She moves out of the gallery app and goes into her contacts, clicking the second name on the alphabetical list. The ringing does little to stop the events of that night in her apartment from playing in her mind. And even after their conversation ends, she can't get out of her head.

Her heels are kicked off into different directions the instant she steps into her apartment - not even bothering to wait until the door is closed before she rids herself of the shoes. Once her feet are bare and pressed against the nice, cool floor of the entryway she closes the door with her hand not currently holding her case files. Her eyelids fall shut as she leans back against the white wood of her front door. She stands there for a few minutes - letting relief wash over her as she thinks about how she has the full weekend off. When that settles in she moves further into her space. The files in her hand get dropped to the table in the hall - the Manila folders landing with a thud next to the decorative bowl where her keys are soon tossed. The light switches are all flicked on and her living room and kitchen are illuminated in it's usual warm and dim glow.

She heads down the hall towards her room to change into more comfortable clothes. And when she gets done, she goes to get a bottle of water before heading to the exact place she plans on spending the next few days. She's just about round the corner of the couch when she sees a picture frame lying face down on the end table. But she shrugs it off - figuring she must have knocked it down at some point. She fixes the frame and takes a step forward but stops once again when her eyes catch on the dirty spots on her area rug. It's two shoeprints facing the back of the couch and the front of the livingroom. The left one is quite smudged but the right one shows every groove and marking from the bottom of the shoe. Both of them are right on the edge of the light grey material. Her feet don't move as her eyes follow the trail backwards, clumps of dirt that she somehow missed when she came in. A chill runs up and back down her spine seeing the drying mud leading to the door.

She doesn't even realizes how long she's immersed in her memories of that night until the feeling of a hand gripping her thigh, pulls her back to the present. Though he's as gentle as always, his touch causes her to tense initially before relaxing next to him.

"Hey." He lightly squeezes her leg again and she looks at Nadia first, who's standing in front of her with a worried look on her face. Then her attention moves to her man, a concerned expression on his features as well.

Jay's hand that was resting on her thigh moves up to cup her cheek and sweep his thumb back and forth over her skin. His eyes look into hers and he asks what's wrong without actually saying anything at all. She doesn't reply as she lifts her phone just a little and unlocks it before handing it to him.

In her peripheral she can see his eyebrows furrow in confusion as he swipes from one picture to the next and when he's gone through them all he goes back to the first one.

"This is your apartment." It's a rhetorical, she knows that but nods anyway.

"It was a week or so after I got back to Chicago last summer." She tells him and feels him tense - knowing it was the time immediately following her pregnancy. "I still wasn't feeling the greatest and I was out of it - like I was lost within myself. I didn't even notice the whole trail of drying mud until I saw a picture frame down on the table behind my couch and then the prints on the rug in that photo."

"Did you ever find out if they took anything?" Nadia asks and Erin shakes her head as she looks down and covers Jay's hand with one of her own.

"You knew about this?" Jay whispers sternly and Nadia nods meekly while Erin sighs.

"But you couldn't tell me?" He adds as he too looks at his lap.

"It was another thing that I really wanted to tell you about-" She admits, already feeling herself becoming frustrated. "But things between us were still strained from when you left Chicago and with everything that happened after. I wasn't going to call and possibly worry you over nothing - even if what I wanted most in those moments was to hear your voice." She adds and he sighs - feeling his heart sink as he looks down, knowing he let her down too many times in the last year.

"Erin, the guy broke into your apartment. That's not nothing." He sounds more angry than worried now - ignoring all other emotions he's currently feeling.

"Wait, you know who it was?" Nadia steps forward and stops things from escalating between even more - at least for the moment.

"It was Andrew." Jay states matter-of-factly and Erin runs her fingers back through her hair.

She shakes her head. "We don't know that."

"We don't know that it wasn't him either." He argues and she pushes his hand off her leg.

Erin's breathing accelerates and she feels herself begin to panic as things start to become more clear. "It was before I even met him and I-"

"Are you really trying to defend him right now?" Jay questions and that's when she actually becomes defensive.

"No, I just don't think it's fair to immediately point the finger at him. It could be him but it could have also been any of them." She argues and he gets more agitated.

"Did you at least call the police? How long was it before you met him?" He fires off and she pulls her knees up and into her chest, trying to calm herself down.

"The police came to the apartment but whoever it was didn't take anything. So they took my statement and some pictures and suggested I stay with a friend if I didn't feel safe, before they left. A few days later, there was a party that I didn't really want to go to but I figured that maybe it'd be a good distraction from - well everything. That's when I met him." She finishes and Jay pulls his hand down his face.

"So how do we prove it's him?" Nadia inquires and Jay's eyes meet Erin's again just before she looks down at her lap.

"Erin." He warns and she shakes her head and narrows her eyes as she glances back up at him.

"Don't Erin me. It's the only way to actually prove it." She quips as she lets her feet hit the floor.

"I clearly missed something." Nadia interjects but Jay continues to look at Erin.

"She wants to meet up with him, see if he'll confess to her." He states and Nadia all but gasps with his words.

"I don't know what else to do." Erin murmurs causing Jay to shake his head.

"They're bound to fuck up and have some slip ups. That's when we'll catch them." He grumbles - his chest vibrating with the words.

"I did this Jay. I brought him into my life - into our lives. This is my chance to make this part right. It started with me and I want to end it."

"These people are dangerous Erin. If we're right and it was Andrew or any one of his siblings that broke into your apartment, it means that they've been planning for at least a year. You'll be putting yourself in danger and I'm not going to just stand by quietly while you do." He lectures her and she rolls her eyes.

"Then don't." Erin tosses at him and it takes them all by surprise. "If it's that hard for you then stay home but I'm going tonight."

With those last words she moves to go upstairs and grab a few things before getting ready.

"So fucking stubborn." Jay murmurs to himself while pinching the bridge of his nose but Nadia chuckles lightly, just being able to make out what he said.

"From what I hear, you're the same way." Nadia jokes and Jay looks up at her with that - the frustrated, stern expression still present on his face.

"You think she should be doing this?" He grumbles and she shakes her head with her reply.

She suddenly becomes more somber again, her brown eyes filling with tears. "No, I don't, but you and I both know there's no changing her mind."

"If you saw what he's - what they've done you wouldn't be taking her side right now because there's a real chance he could hurt her or that we could even lose her if she meets up with him."

"I may not have seen all of it but I've seen enough to get the jist. And to be blunt, we could lose her." She nods with that - soon seeing his jaw muscles tense.

"But we won't." She adds and his eyebrows furrow even more but he doesn't look at her. "Because I know you wouldn't let anything happen to her. In the same way she would do everything in her power to keep you safe."

He nods, knowing that to be true for both of them. "Thanks Nadia."

Then he goes upstairs - not hearing the shower on he walks through the bedroom and into the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, dressed in just her bra and panties, she stares at her reflection. His eyes roam her body once, then twice before his eyes meet hers in the mirror.

"I'm sorry." She whispers and the tension in his shoulders all but disappears with her words. He moves to stand behind her and wraps his arms around her waist, the palms of his hands lying flat against her stomach.

"I'm not." He murmurs against her skin as he kisses her shoulder.

One of her eyebrows raise as their eyes stay locked on each other in the reflection.

"You're knowingly going into a bad situation. He's ruthless and dangerous - he's not going to care that you're in public. And while you may not like it, I'm not going to apologize for wanting to keep you safe."

He takes a deep breath - letting the brief pause calm them both before continuing. "You know how I feel about you - at least you said you do and told me you felt the same. But-"

"I do." She turns around with that, her hands finding home on his chest as she looks up at him. His thumbs massage the dimples in the small of her back.

"Then put yourself in my shoes." He sternly suggests, the tension coming back tenfold. "And then tell me that you wouldn't try everything to stop me from going."

"I would try but I wouldn't be able to hold you back." She shakes her head and he thinks about it for a moment - taking his own advice of putting himself in her shoes. Then he tries a little different type of approach.

"We haven't had this before - what we have now is different then the times before. I feel like we're actually in a relationship and that this is it. I just want to protect you and this because I just got you back and I'm not willing to lose you again - not now - not ever." He admits with a shrug and she looks down.

"I don't want to lose you either." She tells him and he smiles sadly as they lean in for a quick kiss.

"At least let me come with you so I can be close by in case you need back up." He tells her and she nods a bit hesitantly and he can actually feel her body language change.

"And by that I mean kick his ass if he tries anything with you." He whispers against her lips and that gets a small smile from her just before she kisses him.

"Babe, I have to finish getting dressed." She murmurs into their kiss when he cups where her thighs meet her ass and lifts her up onto the vanity.

"Or you could just stay home and I can rid you of these." He kisses near the strap of her bra while teasing the waistline of her panties with his fingers.

"Mmm...As tempting as that is, I said I'd be there at six." She says as she tilts her head to the side to check the time on her phone and he takes it as an invitation to drag his lips from her sharp jawline to her collarbone.

"Jay." She huskily whispers while gently pushing against his chest when he starts pushing one bra strap off her shoulder.

He just groans in response.

"I promise to give you what you - what we both want." She has to pause to catch her breath as he continues his sweet assault. The feeling of his scruff scratching against her skin as he nods sends a warm, tingling sensation throughout her body and she feels her resolve start to crumble. "-if you stop we can finish this when we get home tonight."

"Fine." He grumbles into her shoulder - fixing the strap while giving her one more kiss.

He watches as she turns around to start her make up - admiring her practically nude form once more before prying himself and his gaze away from her. Then he goes out to the room so he's not tempted to seduce her into giving in.


Her hands are shaking and she takes a deep breath before opening the door to Nadia's car and the trembling seems to get worse as she walks over to the curb and pulls door to the steak house open. She contemplates looking over at Jay's truck when she seems him pulls into the parking lot in peripheral. They took separate cars just in case Andrew or anyone else is watching. Which is why they also planned for him to stay in his truck for a little bit before moving into the combined restaurant and bar. The temptation to look at him for reassurance almost becomes too much but she shakes her head and goes in - telling herself that him being there is more than enough.

A chill runs up her spine as soon as she steps in and hears her name being called - hitting her ears in an eerie whisper. The entryway - the space between the two sets of doors is dark and she didn't see him waiting in the corner as she entered. His presence behind her and his hot breath against her ear terrifies her.

"I'm glad you agreed to meet." He tells her as he moves to her side and places a hand on the small of her back. She feels tears pricking the back of her eyes but she blinks them away - reminding herself that she has to stay strong and play the part. So she gives the best smile she can and walks forward and through the second door - hoping that being in other's view will prevent him from touching her.

"I've really missed you." He says once they are seated.

"You too." She replies simply - her idea playing a part vanishing almost as quickly as she thought of it - not caring if it doesn't sound genuine, just wanting this to be over with already.


He checks his surroundings to make sure no one is watching as he walks up to the carpet cleaner van. When he doesn't see anyone around he opens the back door - immediately confirming his suspicions. He finds Antonio sitting with a headset on and watching the screens in front of him before he glances over at him. Jay shakes his head and steps up into the van without a word.

"She tell you I was here?" Antonio asks as he hands him the second headset.

"No." Jay answers honestly.

Antonio's eyebrows furrow. "Then how did you-?"

"The van kind of sticks out when the place you're parked in front of has hard wood flooring throughout." Jay points out and Antonio gives him a look that says 'fair enough'.

"I'm glad you could at least talk her into doing this by the book and got a hidden camera."

"I didn't, this is all her, she already had the camera, just called and asked me to meet her here with a surveillance van to hook it up to." Antonio shrugs and Jay shakes his head with a sad smirk - knowing his girl has more than a few tricks up her sleeve.

"How's she doing?" Jay asks his friend.

"She seems to be doing alright."

Jay looks at the monitors in front of them and takes in his girl as she sits across from the scumbag that is her ex-boyfriend. He can tell how uncomfortable she is - can see how her shoulders are tense and her back is stiff with her arms folded over her chest defensively - showing that she's far from alright.

"She's smart and strong." Antonio adds and Jay nods still not taking his eyes off of her.

"She is but I still don't like this idea." Jay acknowledges and it's Antonio's turn to nod.

"This guy is sick and she has to sit and pretend to still like him in order to possibly get a confession." Jay notes while Erin and Andrew talk about why he didn't go back to Chicago. The latter spews some bullshit about not wanting to leave her. Antonio thinks about Jay's words before nodding towards the screen when he hears Jay being mentioned by Andrew.

"What about him?"

"I figured you'd be with him - too busy fucking him to even think about me. I couldn't get it out of my head."

"I told you when we were still together that Jay and I were just friends. The only difference now is that we work together."

"That's not what it's looked like to me from what I've seen of you two around town." He rambles and it obvious when he realizes that he just slipped up as he shifts in his seat. Erin knows it too and it shows as she tilts her head and pretends to look perplexed by his statement.

"I think you're confusing us with someone else." Erin plays coy, hoping he elaborates.

"Unless you two both have identical, twin siblings who are dating, I'm pretty sure it was you and him" He bites back.

"Where is it that you think you saw us, together?"

"I already said around town." He wipes at his brow as he reaches for his glass of water with is other hand.

"You did but I want to know where you supposedly saw us?" She presses and he grinds his teeth - a tell of his - letting her know she's getting somewhere.

"So that wasn't you who's been spending weekends alone together at his cabin in the valley or riding him in those springs?"

"That was me " She admits, not denying the second part of the question - even though they didn't go that far. "Have you been following us?"

"I don't see how that matters when you lied to me Erin."

"I don't owe you anything Andrew and even if I did, that wouldn't make it ok to stalk me." She tells him as he sits back and huffs with a sickening smile - letting a pregnant pause fall over them.

"You know you drew me in the moment my brother showed me your picture. And even more when I took in all of the pictures in your apartment a few nights before we met and then at the party - in person. I just knew you were meant to be mine and no one else's - especially not his." His voice is quivering with anger and Erin looks at him a little shocked - not realizing it'd be that easy to get him to cop up to breaking into her apartment last year.

"And when you saw me with Jay, you wanted to give us - give him a warning, right?" She leaves out the details of what she's referring to, to try and get him to bring it up himself.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He scoffs and adverts his gaze.

"Oh come off it Andrew. You might as well admit that you were enraged when you saw me with Jay." She taunts him and she can see another shift in him. His hands clench into fists on the tabletop. That's when Jay stands up - his body rigid as he moves to the back doors of the van.

"Where are you going? He hasn't confessed yet." Antonio asks and Jay shakes his head as he points back at the screen as he steps out onto the asphalt parking lot. He thinks about stopping and explaing or waiting to hear the rest of Andrew and Erin's conversation. But the thought of how he's seen the behavior and body language Andrew is exhibiting before - the way he puffed up and tensed as he stared Erin down, his anger letting itself be known has Jay running for the main entrance of the restaurant.

Back inside Andrew looks around and then leans in towards Erin some more. "He's just like the almighty Hank Voight - thinking he's so powerful and that he should be feared by all."

"So you wanted to show him that he's not feared and what you'd do to him - maybe even to me if you got the chance." Erin laments and he nods.

"Damn right. I went to the ranch and campgrounds, imagining that it was him - wished it was him as I killed those horses. If I ever catch him alone, I won't show that kind of restraint." Andrew growls and Erin feels herself begin to shake again.

"Is that a threat?" Her voice breaking a little with her words - the fear that statement brings out in her, causes her chest to tighten.

"No, it's a promise." That short sentence accompanied by the disturbed smile on his face makes her physically sick but she pushes that down and lifts the camera in her jacket so he notices it.

"Did you get that Tony?" She asks - even though the Sheriff can't communicate back to her.

"You were recording me?" Andrew questions and lunges forward to grab her jacket - lifting her from her seat until just the tips of her toes are on the floor - her thighs hitting the edge of the table and pushing it towards Andrew a little. He back hands her twice when he sees the camera fall out of it's place - the second hit knocking her back in the wooden bench of the booth.

She can taste blood and feel something trickling down one side of her face as she moves to get away - not even noticing the other patrons watching in awe as Erin hits square in the jaw and Andrew pulls her back towards him - this time holding her arm so she doesn't fall back and can't get away as he goes to hit her again. But he doesn't get the chance when his arm is yanked back - his shoulder popping with the force. Jay throws him into the booth and hits him until Andrew grabs one of the knives on the table. He swings it at Jay and cuts through the sleeve of Jay's shirt and slices into the skin of his forearm. Andrew stands up - a little wobbly on his feet as he swipes the air with the knife still in hand. But Jay is too quick and dodges the knife - only to grab the smaller man's hand and break it with ease - the bones snapping like toothpicks in Jay's grip. Andrew practically yelps with the pain and the knife falls to the floor.

"You ever come near or even look at her again and I promise they won't find your fucking body." He snarls as he's pulled away and pushed out of the restaurant by Antonio while some deputies slap handcuffs on Andrew. Erin waits to see him escorted out before following behind Antonio and Jay.

When they get outside - he calms enough to check on her. His already bruising hand cupping her jaw and turning her head to inspect where Andrew's ring sliced into her cheek bone. There's already a swollen, red splotch around the cut that is near her eye where a bruise will soon be. And there's blood coming from the cut next to her eye as well as the corner of her mouth.

"Damn it. I should have come in sooner." He whispers to her as he leans in to kiss her temple.

"We got him." She whispers to him with a shrug and sniffle as he nods while she tucks her head under his chin.

"You got him babe." He corrects her as holds her tighter.


It feels like days have passed by the time they're allowed to go back to the cabin. But in reality it's only been a couple hours since they left for the steakhouse. She stays in her seat - staring out the passenger window as she leans against Jay even after he parks in front of the cabin. He doesn't push or try to rush her - choosing instead to give her time to settle after the last couple hours.

When they eventually make it inside they find Kevin and Nadia sitting on the couch. The younger woman sits up and moves out of her boyfriend's arm when she sees Erin and Jay walk in. The worried expression from earlier still on her face and tears are brimming her eyes as she walks over to hug her friend. Erin keeps her left hand in Jay's right and wraps her free arm around Nadia.

"I'm fine Nads." She whispers to let her know that she doesn't need to fret over her.

"I kept telling her that but it didn't stop her from worrying." Kevin says as he joins them in the entryway.

"I think we all need a drink." Nadia says as she moves to the kitchen and the other three nod in agreement.

"I'm just going to change." Erin notifies them before moving upstairs with Jay close behind. Once they're in his room, they both sigh. Her eyebrows furrow when she sees him look visibly shaken.

"Are you sure you're ok?" She asks and that gets him to look at her confused.

"Are you?" He questions back and she shakes her head at him.

"No." She states and he nods while wiping at his beard.

"Seeing his body language change with you, that something snap within him and then hitting you. It just brought back some memories - reminded me of..." He trails off but she already knows who he thought of so there's no need for him to say it.

"Jay." She whispers as she steps closer to him until she's standing flush against him. "Look at me."

"I let this happen." He cups her cheek and sweeps his thumb beneath the darkening bruise and cut at the corner of her right eye. Her hand not gripping his side moves up to grab his wrist where his hand is still resting against her cheek.

"No you didn't let this happen. You stopped him - even while he was swinging a knife at you. You stopped him and disarmed him - you broke his hand Jay." She acknowledges and he still looks like something's bothering him.

"You did exactly what you said you would by kicking his ass and having my back." She adds and that gets him to smile sadly.

She stands on the tips of her toes to kiss the corner of his lips before going to grab a long sleeve shirt of his to change into. Neither of them even think about their thoughts or promises before they left the house earlier in the night, as she gets undressed and pulls one of his henleys.

He waits for her to make her way back over to him - wanting to give her another quick kiss, his lips meeting her forehead gently and then he moves into the bathroom. She gets settled on the edge of the bed - choosing to take a minute or so for herself instead of going back downstairs right away. Her legs get crossed under her and then Poppy jumps up by her - the young dog lying her head on her favorite person's lap. The puppy's chocolate nose nuzzles Erin's abdomen earning a small smile from her as she begins to run her hand over Poppy's colorful coat.

His hands grip the vanity so tight even the one with bruised knuckles turns white. He close his eyes and he imagines things being worse than they were. The thought of Andrew picking up that knife before he got there - the idea of Erin getting hurt even worse than she was makes him sick. Goosebumps erupt over his skin as he thinks about that possible scenario and outcome for a moment longer. Then he shakes his head and tells himself that he stormed inside before it was too late. He lets go of the counter and reaches for the sink to turn the water on and splash some on his face. Once he pats the drops off his skin and beard with a towel he changes out his jeans for a pair of sweatpants. Taking a deep breath he grabs the first aid kit before opening the door and exiting the bathroom. She looks over at him as he steps out - their eyes immediately locking on each other's.

When he gets close enough he leans down and in for a quick peck.

Then he takes a seat next to her and flicks the clasp to the kit up. He pulls out some antibacterial wipes for both her eye and lip as well as butterfly stitches for her cheek. He's just about to start on her eye but she stops him and reaches over to get a few things from the kit. She cleans and dresses the cut on his arm first - feeling his eyes on her the entire time and knowing that his gaze is on her, makes her blush, the heat rising up from her chest, neck and to her cheeks. She tosses the used gauze and wipes onto the nightstand closes to her and then turns back towards him. He uses the same gentleness that she showed him but when he gets down to her lip - the wipe stings and causes her to hiss quietly. Poppy lifts her head and growls as she looks up at Jay.

"It's ok Pop, I'm just cleaning it." He explains as if the dog understands him but her two different colored eyes continue to stare at him as she growls a little more. "I promise I'm not hurting your mom on purpose." He continues, petting the dog on the head and the use of the word mom in relation to his dog causes her heart to flutter a little and she suddenly feels a bit lighter. She gives him a tired smile as she stops him as he attempts to clean up all the bloody pieces of white cloth around them. Her hand cups his jaw and pulls him in for another kiss. This time she breaks the kiss first and looks up at him - her hazel orbs shining with unshed tears - making it even easier for him to see all that she's feeling. It's as if she's speaking the words of how scared she was and thankful she is that he was there - how much she loves him all out loud as he stares into her eyes even though neither of them says a thing. He kisses her forehead for umpteenth time of the night before responding to her silent words. "You too babe."

She leans into him with that, both of them wrapping their arms around each other.

"So much." He adds so quietly that she almost misses it but causes her to hold onto him tighter. They stay as they are for a few more minutes before going back downstairs for the temporary distraction of drinks with their friends.


A/N: Another one I'm not 100% on but we're getting somewhere...Maybe?

Sorry for the mistakes that I know I missed but I hope you still enjoyed it. As always nice reviews are very much appreciated. Thank you!