(Chapter 4)

"Cat, what the hell are you doing here?" Evan Inquired, looking through the microscope when he spotted Catherine entering the morgue. He didn't expect her to be there since she had just called him a couple of minutes ago.

"Following up on evidence."

"Yeah, of course, but when you called it in, I thought you were actually calling it in." Evan said as he gestured to her to take a seat in the chair he was sitting in. "Sit down."

"Okay." Catherine brushed her hair aside and then took the seat that Evan had a few minutes ago.

"Your bandage is bleeding through," Evan noted as he saw the red-stained on her shirt and asked. "Did your doctor release you?"

"Yeah. He said he was fine with my recovery." Catherine quickly lied while drawing her brows together and shook her head. She didn't want to try to explain to Evan the 'real' reason, why she left. The fact that she almost got herself hurt trying to protect Vincent's stupid ass fiancée. Let alone trying to protect him from Muirfield again.

"Take down your jacket," Evan ordered her while he took a seat in front of her.

"Evan, you don't have to do this," Catherine complained. She would rather have Vincent change it. If he weren't too busy with his fiancee, then again, Alex wouldn't be too thrilled having her fiancée touching another woman.

"Look, if he's not going to look after you properly, I sure as hell am." Evan commented while unbuttoning her jacket more, so he could examine the wound.

Catherine sat there, letting out a groan; she was too much in pain to argue with Evan at this point. She allowed him to unbutton the top portion of her shirt further and started to change her bandage. She kept thinking about feeling Vincent's large hands undress her shirt and glaze his hand over the top of the wound. To have him undress her slowly, his rough hands exploring her entire body...

"That guy you were dancing with at your father's wedding, who was he?" Evan inquired as his voice broke in to her thought

"Guy? What guy?" Catherine wondered, wanting to play it off like she didn't know. Since she told everyone that the guy she was bringing was someone she made up, well, his last name was anyway.

"Come on, Cat. Don't play innocent with me."

"One of the guests must have brought a friend," Catherine commented quickly.

"If I didn't know better myself, he would seemed more than just a friend." Evan probed as he applied the bandage, hoping to get more answers. Adding. "The way he was holding you close."

"Like I said, it must have been one of the guests," Catherine repeated herself.

"Well, you still owe me that dance, especially after that kiss..." He told her while applying the gauze.

"Yeah, about that."

"You know, it's odd how you asked me about the creature's DNA changing, and then I find the thing holding you at the car accident." Evan hinted, applying tape to the wound, hoping to get more answers from her.

"I wasn't conscious when it was happening, remember." Catherine reminded him, hoping Evan will get off of the subject. She remembered Vincent mentioning Evan may have seen him and that it wasn't a good thing.

"I know, but..."

"You, uh, get a match on that hair?" She interrupted him, she tried to change the subject before it became more complicated. She didn't want to talk about the dancing or the kiss right now. Not with Evan anyway, it was already more uncomfortable. Instead, it would have been Vincent she would rather be smooching with.

"I did. But why are you digging around in an old case from Precinct 86?" Evan asked as he finished dressing her wound.

"Just a favor and because it's Precinct 86." Another lied, she told him.

"Point taken. Yeah, I pulled a name and a photo. He's an ex-con, released a couple of months ago, goes by the name of Connor..." Evan took a photo off his desk and handed it over to her.

"Thanks, Evan; this has really been helpful," Catherine said while taking the photo from Evan and headed towards the door.

"Cat, we need to talk about that night."

"Look, Evan, I have to go," Catherine said to him quickly while leaving the morgue.


"Tess. Hey." Catherine greeted her with a fake smile, nearly bumping into her partner. She had been too busy wondering what Evan had in mind to talk to her about that night to notice her approaching.

"Cat, what are you doing out of the hospital?" Tess asked, giving her a serious expression as she approached the morgue and then pulled her aside. She couldn't believe her partner was here at the precinct and not where she's supposed to be.

"How did you..."

"Well for starters when I called one of the nurses said you weren't in your room." Tess interrupted in a low voice and then added. "Besides checking up on you, I was going to tell you what I've found out about the perp that was stalking your nurse."

"She was attacked last night and I went to help her." Catherine told her as she continued to walk. "It seems her stalker is more than just infatuated with her."

"And you thought you can handle that by yourself?" Tess remarked with a distressed voice.

"Tess, I'm fine." Catherine answered her as she turned to her. She winced in pain again as she moved her shoulder a little.

"The hell you are, you shouldn't even be here." Tess criticized her, blocking her from leaving and continued. "Look, Cat I get that you want to help. I really do, but you just got out of surgery."

"Like I said my nurse needed help."

"And I told you I was going to take care of that." Tess reminded her while following her down the hallway and then gave her a questionable look. "You know you're on medical leave right?"

"Yes, Tess I know, but..." Catherine let out an annoyed sigh as she was about to head towards the double doors. She knew her partner was just concerned about her. She also needed some space from Vincent.

"If Joe finds out that you're doing 'cop stuff'." Tess whispered to Catherine while looking around making sure he wasn't in hearing distance. "he will put you on desk duties."

"I know, but think the perp is going to come back again." Catherine said while opening the door to leave.

"Don't do anything stupid Cat." Tess warned her.

"Tess I gotta go." Catherine told her partner as she walked past her and headed for Alex's.


Vincent stood by the couch in Alex's living room, staring out the window, remembering his beast left out a cry, fearing something had happened to Catherine that night. He couldn't eat or sleep right after Catherine's car accident and her getting shot at. The way he kept blaming himself if only he stayed at the damn wedding, none of this would have happened to her. He worried himself sick wondering if she was going to make it out alive. He'll be damned if he would let anything happen to her now, he couldn't stand losing her not now or ever.

"So how long have you known Detective Chandler, Vince?"

"For a couple of months." Vincent lied as he started to shove his hands in his pants pocket. Even though he only knew Catherine for a couple of months. He felt like he knew her longer while he watched over her for 10 years.

"And you're acting like that?"

"Like what?" Vincent asked, looking at her and afraid that she was going to go there.

"Like something is going on between the both of you." Alex answered. She could tell by the way he kept looking at the detective that she was more than just a close friend or a cop.

"Alex." Vincent sighed, not wanting to talk about that right now and not with her.

"What are you not telling me?"

'A lot of things' Vincent was almost tempted to go check on Catherine. He needed her to get better, but he couldn't just leave Alex here alone while a stalker was still out there. "I told you, I can't."

"You know you can trust me, Vince." Alex stood up from her sofa and came over to him.

"Yes, but ...I" Vincent hesitated, trying to find a way to tell Alex, without divulging too much information about Murfield.

"But what?"

"It's better if you don't know, okay."

"You care for her, don't you?" Alex asked him, she could tell by the way he kept pacing the floor a few minutes ago, that something was bothering him.

"Yeah." He told her honestly.

"And me?" Alex placed her hands on his face, forcing him to look at her. She needed to know, especially after the way Vincent has been acting towards her lately.

"Alex, I do still care for you, okay, but..." Vincent paused and pulled back from her. Even though he wasn't with her, he still cared. "I uh…." he was about to tell her that he didn't have the same feelings as he did when they were together. But at that moment Catherine came back from the precinct carrying a brown business-size envelope with her.


"Connor Sorvino- he was shot twice in the take down." Catherine interrupted as she opened up the envelope, taking the contents inside of the perp, including a photo and handed it to Alex. She then took a seat on the couch beside her. She continued explaining. "He had three months in recovery, and the hospital records I pulled showed you as the attending."

"Oh, my God." Alex grasped, she then realized who the guy was. "We used to call him 'Con Man.' He-he thought he was in love with me. He kept asking me to marry him, but I said..." Alex paused with hesitation and quickly glanced over at Vincent.

"What is it? Over-share, remember?"

"I... said I was already in love. That my heart belonged to someone else." Alex commented while she continued to look at Vincent.

Vincent's attention then went to Catherine telling her. "Uh, okay, uh, Catherine, you got to call Tess and let her know he's dangerous."

"It's not as easy as that. She'll have forensics sweep this place and Alex's car."

"Meaning they'll... they'll find Vince's DNA?" Alex realized what can happen if that would happen. "No, no. We can't have that."

"I'm not having Catherine walking around injured and you as some kind of target." Vincent said to Alex before looking at Catherine for a moment again.

"Use me as bait. I'll have you two looking out for me." Alex offered.

"No." Vincent couldn't believe Alex would want to put herself in that position. Let alone Catherine's.

"If we could draw him out." Alex started to protest.

"That's not a good idea." Catherine chimed in, shaking her head. She wouldn't want any innocent person to put their life on the line, especially Alex's.

"And there is no uh..we, Alex. Catherine just got out of surgery." Vincent interjected with a stern voice, he couldn't believe she wanted Catherine's help, especially in her condition. He had to make sure Alex knew how important her safety was to him.

"Don't you think I know that." Alex couldn't believe the way Vincent talked to her, with that the tone of his voice. So she suggested. "Just listen. Connor hacked my emails, I know it. Sometimes he forgets to mark the new ones 'unread.' If I write to a friend and say that I was taking off after a shift to be with the guy I love."

"Okay, fine." Vincent sighed, he only agreed with her because he knew Alex wasn't going to give up. She wasn't as strong as Catherine was and she'll probably need both of their help. He continued watching as his ex opened the laptop and started typing on the computer. Then looked over at Catherine as her eyes met his and their gazes held for a moment. He really didn't want her here trying to protect Alex just because of him.


Later that evening, Catherine and Alex met with Vincent at the hospital before taking their positions. He stood leaning against the wall where the waiting room was. While Catherine sat in one of the chairs across from him, looking through one of the magazines. He knew that she was just there pretending to be helping Alex. She shouldn't be here, not in her condition, but being the stubborn person she was. He had no say in the matter, but he would definitely keep a close eye on her. Vincent took this moment to check on Alex and make sure she was standing by the hospital information desk as they planned. His eyes met hers and he gave her a concerned look. Even though he wasn't with Alex like he used to be, he still cared about her. He kept watching the hospital entrance, noticing some guy coming in, and was just standing there for a moment. Figuring it was a visitor, he looked back over to where Catherine was again after the guy walked off. It was quiet for a few moments before an enormous explosion erupted in the building, setting off the alarms. Vincent's heart quickly went into overdrive when he noticed Alex had disappeared. He then quickly followed her scent that led him towards the exit doors. He had to stop himself from continuing when he realized that he had almost forgotten about Catherine. Thankfully, she wasn't too far behind him as they both entered the corridor.

"What's wrong?" Catherine asked Vincent as she followed him through the doors out into the corridor. She could tell by the way he was breathing heavily that he was about to lose control. It was already hard enough for her to walk in her condition, trying to keep up with his long strides.

"She was just here!" Vincent panicked a little as he wasn't in full Beast mode yet.

"She's still here. We'll find her."

"Okay, come on." Vincent panted a little more this time as he headed off around the corner. He wasn't trying to get upset, but just thinking about something happening to Alex and worrying about Catherine at the same time was setting off his adrenaline. He couldn't get anything, no sounds from them, and it was getting annoying. He started to pace the floor. "This place is a damn echo chamber."

"Don't worry; we will find her," Catherine assured him again as she didn't want to have to deal with Vincent's Beast right now. Not in her condition anyway.

"There's gotta be a quicker way."

"Maybe we should split up," Catherine suggested, figuring she'll only get in the way of him saving his fiancée.

"What?" Vincent looked at her with a perplexed expression. He couldn't believe she would suggest such a thing.

"You can find her quicker than I could in my condition." She explained.

"It won't be quicker if I have to worry about you too," Vincent said with a worried tone while he gently grabbed her by the arm, stopping her from leaving. What the hell was she thinking? He almost lost her once; he'll be damned if he'll let that happen again. "And Alex's life may be at stake, but you just got out of surgery," Vincent said with concern.

"I'll be fine."

"Just be careful. Okay." Vincent told her while clenching his jaw and watching her head in the opposite direction. He knew it would be useless to try and stop her. He watched her make a turn around the corner before heading off in the other direction.


"Connor! Connor, please! Stop! Please, you... Please, you don't..." Alex pleaded loudly with Connor as he dragged her by the arm down the long corridor. She was hoping that Vincent would come to her rescue before it would be too late.

"Shut up. Shut up!" Connor yelled, he was getting sick and tired of hearing her nagging while dragging her ass around the corner.

"You don't have to do... Please! Please! You don't have to do this!" Alex begged, she came to a halt and wanted to hold him off long enough so that Vincent could come to save her. She continued to struggle with Connor and held on to him. "I-I was good to you. I-I took care of you."

Catherine heard the commotion as she approached the corner, hiding behind it, and then peek around while aiming her gun. She could see Alex trying to struggle with Connor as he tried to drag her ass in her direction.

"That's why you would've been the perfect wife. All you had to say was yes." Connor remarked while pointing the gun at her, and she let out a gasp. "When I saw you with that Army grunt, I knew you'd never love anyone else, that no one could take the place of..." Connor paused as he could have sworn he heard a noise coming from around the corner before continuing. "...your first love."

Catherine took off the safety lock on her gun and cocked it, and she had to get ready in case something would happen. Especially with the way Connor was waving his gun around, she was concerned that somebody would get hurt.

"Please... let me go!" Alex cried, fearing for her life and started pleading again. "No...! Please...! Please...! Vincent! Vincent! No! No! Please...! Alex began to scream as Connor dragged her around another corner again.

"Get in there!" Connor ordered her as he shoved her into one of the boiler rooms and jammed one of the folded-up chairs underneath the handle.

"Vincent!"

"Police!" Catherine shouted as she came out from behind the corner, aiming her gun at Connor. "Let her go, Mr. Sorvino."

"I can't. They want me to use her to get to him and then get rid of you." Connor replied menacingly as he aimed his gun at her.

"Who?"

"I think you have a pretty good idea," Connor remarked while he slowly approached where Catherine was, still aiming his gun at her.

"No, Vincent." Catherine muttered, realizing who Connor was referring to, Muirfield. Was he working for them? Before she could make sense of all this, she saw him fire his gun, causing her to quickly move out of the way just in time and landed on her injured shoulder while falling to the ground. She let out a loud painful moan, losing the grip on her gun in the process as it slid a few feet from her. She watched helplessly while nursing her injured shoulder as Connor stalked towards her and pointed his gun at her, cautioned. "it's really a shame that he's gonna miss you too."

To be continued. . . . . . .

Author's Note: Still in the process of continuing, it's probably going to take a while for the next upcoming chapters, since I'm still trying to figure where to go with this story. Hopefully not. Thanks for the reviews again good people.