It was like the floodgates opened, and I began to talk.

I started off telling them about the weird feeling I had in my office when I was performing the autopsy for the first body in the case. That I had thought that someone was in my office searching for something because some of my files and papers were either missing or were in a different location from earlier. I went into details about the letter I received three days ago, how Carlos came and bagged it for evidence. I know I was talking a lot about little things, but I needed to tell every single detail to be able to get it all out. I continued on by speaking about meeting Carlos's team, and getting called to the second crime scene. Ms. Reynold asked me questions like, did I notice anything unusual or what type of feeling did I get when I arrived? I told her I could remember feeling anxious, and that I had never felt it before when approaching a case. I also remember feeling like I was being watched and had seen a shadow before Carlos shouted for everyone to get down. I skipped over what happened afterwards with Morelli because that was documented with both agencies.

I paused to take a sip of water, trying to calm myself before I began again. I went through the process of explaining about coming back to my office setting up my supplies as I waited on the coroner. I remember feeling this tighten in my chest when I heard the old elevator start, because for so long it was believed that it was out of order. Then, locking myself in the old panic room in my office because I knew something was not right. My hands were clammy and began to shake as I remembered seeing his cold black eyes surveying my office and coming to staring into the two way mirror as I looked out. I described the way he walked into my office, his body was tense and his arm slightly bent with his fingers twitching. Joe popping up again, this time may have saved me from being kidnapped sooner.

Getting to the more frightening part, I completely zoned out and just talked. The bomb, Wulf, using my hands to push the detonator. The painful surprise of seeing Helen at the cabin, tied up and a little bruised. The way he confessed his deeply rooted obsession that he carried all these years simply because of an hello. Ms. Reyonolds jumped in with her questions, asking me how I felt emotionally at the time. I just told her I felt heartache and dread when I thought that I had killed Carlos, the anger and pity when Helen was presented to me as a present leaving me with the choice of her fate. The overwhelming feeling of relief when Carlos came through the door. I knew in my mind, it was too soon to tell Carlos how I felt but I was falling in love and I hope he had not caught on. I told her I felt guilty after being rescued, I knew someone had gotten hurt trying to save me. Followed by the panic I felt waking up in the dark room with a stranger standing over me and Carlos coming to my rescue again.

Physically, I knew that I was presently sitting in a conference with Uncle Joe, Ms. Reynolds, and Carlos by my side. Mentally, I was reliving every moment that happened in the past few days. I talked until I was hoarse and by the worried looks on their faces they wanted me to stop but I continued on. It was a hellish therapeutic session for me. I felt a little better as I recalled those memories, speaking them out loud. The heavy feeling in my chest receded the more I spoke, and by the end I exhaled deeply before slumping down in the chair. I wrapped my cardigan tightly in my arms, closed my eyes, and slid even more down in my chair.

There was just silence. The recorder clicked but the transcriber continued to type. Ms. Reynolds cleared her throat and shuffled her papers. My uncle was looking at me with this shock expression that clearly turned into anger.

"It's my fault that this happened." I almost didn't hear what he said.

"No it's not Juniack, you could not have predicted that one of your detectives would do this," Ms Reynolds almost shouted back, "In this type of situation, he just slipped through the system, and we lack operationalized tests to accurately identify children with mental illnesses. Kids like him are often ignored and those kids are labeled as delinquents. So none of you should place the blame on yourself."

We all nodded and waited as my statement was printed out. I quickly glanced over it and signed my name. Uncle Joe signed his and then stood up from the table.

"I need to reign in Officer Morelli before we have another situation on our hands, Ms. Reynolds I may need your assistance with this matter." She nodded her head before looking at me as he walked out of the room.

"Here Stephanie," Ms. Reynolds handed me her card, "If you need to talk some more."

I snorted, "I think I've spoken enough today, but I'll keep you in mind if I need to talk."

Carlos and I were left alone in the conference room. I peeked at him, and saw that he was watching me. I got out of my chair and sat on his lap, his arms held me tightly as I placed my head in his neck. We sat there in silence as we held each other.

"Stpehanie, I'm proud of you," he placed a kiss on my forehead, "You did good, and I know I've said this before but there will never be another situation like this ever."

"Thank you." I leaned back and kissed him.

"Ok kids break it up," one of the other officers shouted into the room as he walked past.

"Come on babe, let's get you home."

Carlos pulled into the driveway of my cottage and shut the car off. We spent a moment in silence, I was waiting for him to speak as I shifted in my seat to look at him. I was battling with myself about asking him inside, I didn't want to come off as needy. But we've never established what we were to each other, and I know that he had to finish the case. I knew that he had to leave but I was not ready for him to go. His hands reached up and tightly gripped the steering wheel, and I sat twiddling with my fingers.

"Babe." the way he whispered my nickname, I knew he had to go.

"Carlos, it's ok." I don't why when it comes to him I turn into this insecure woman.

"I don't want to leave you like this." he looked at me, but his face was blank.

"Go finish the case and come back to me."

We leaned towards each other over the middle console, I quickly pecked his nose earning me a smile. He reached over and pulled me closer, I took a deep breath inhaling his scent letting it wash over me. His tongue came out and traced the lining of my lips teasing me. At this point, I was panting in anticipation waiting for the kiss that I knew would curl my toes. Our lips finally met, he alternated between firm and gentle, sucking my bottom then my top lip. His hand caressing my neck, gently holding me in place as he devoured my lips. I was held captive in his kiss, eyes closed fully enjoying the moment. We broke apart gasping, my eyes slowly blinking as I looked up at him, and I attacked first. I crawled over into his lap as he adjusted the seat to make more space. My hands went into his hair as I reattached my lips to his. The kissing turned more aggressive, each of us battled one another. Little nips and bites, tongue contorting, and his hands on my hips grinding into me. I could go on forever kissing him but when he leaned back to remove my shirt, my butt hit the horn.

I rested my back against the steering wheel, my arm over my eyes. Carlos hands rubbing my sides as my body calmed down. I felt him reach for the handle on the door, the car dinging when it swung open. He maneuvered us out of the car, placing me on my feet and I had to support myself by holding on to the door because I was feeling a little unsettled. I swallowed the lump in my throat, watching him as he walked around the car removing my bag. We didn't speak as I walked behind him, following him to my door.

"Carlos, what…" I didn't get to finish, his finger was placed on my lips preventing me from talking.

"Babe, I'm going to be busy these next few days," I nodded my head at the same time feeling rejected, "I have to finish this case."

"Carlos, I know that you have to go."

He gave me a swift kiss before turning around and walking away, "I'll call."

A week later.

He didn't call.

I spent the week stressing about what I did wrong and how it ended before we even started. In my head I was making up any and every excuse as to why whenever my phone rang his name never showed. I knew I was being irrational because I knew that this case was big and it spanned multiple states and the federal government got involved. My mind was too preoccupied to even think about what I experienced, because Carlos was the only thing I thought about. There were a couple of days where I woke up to his smell in my room. Nights where I dreamed that he was sitting on the chair in my room watching me sleep. I didn't have time to dwell on my misfortunes because I was busy thinking and possibly hallucinating about him.

I was on paid leave from work this past week, I divided my time with my family and watched daytime television. I volunteered in the twins classroom, took them to the park, and even walked their dog during the day. I tried to get outdoors more like taking hikes and bird watching, which I'll admit didn't pan out. But I found myself in the evenings sitting on my back porch watching the sunset. My Dad and Regina must have known that something was wrong because they gave me a five minute journal. I took to writing in it, spending more than the required five minutes to write down my thoughts. It took until the last day before work, is when I felt that I was ready enough to face everyone and not worry about why he never called.

Today I was going back to work, but only for a few hours to finish some notes and clean up my work area. When I walked into the precinct, some people stopped and stared and others clapped. I just smiled and waved, making my way to the stairs leading to the basement. I blinked in surprise when I made it to the bottom step, the hallway was brightly lit and two of the old offices were torn down. There was a little sitting area to my right made up of dark red and bronze and an area with a desk set up to the left outside of my office. The walls of my office were replaced with mirrored two-way glass.

"Steph." I jumped in surprise when Uncle Joe's hand touched my shoulder, "I didn't mean to scare you. I thought that I had time before you came to show you your surprise."

The tears were already starting to gather as I leaned into his hug, "Thank you Uncle Joe."

"I thought that with you being down here by yourself in this dark dungeon that you need a little brighten up. Plus with you being Head of the Forensic Team you needed more space and a secretary."

"But I'm not the head of the…" I looked at him in shock, "Uncle Joe."

"Congratulations, you've earned this."

I heard cheers and clapping and almost everyone made their way down the stairs with balloons and a huge cake. It seemed like the whole force, front desk, and two other forensics were there and nobody was left to man the station. I was laughing when Carl and Big Dog came over to me and picked me up swung me around in their arms. The cake was cut and Uncle Joe shouted for everyone to take their cake and get back to work.

I was sitting at my desk eating my second slice just looking out the windows smiling to myself when I heard my phone ding. I looked at my desk where my phone was laying face down. I reached over to pick it up and then reached back. I was nervous, the only messages I received were from Mary Lou and Valerie because they were the only ones who knew how to text. And I had already spoken with them this morning. I reached for the phone again picked it up and quickly placed it down again.

"Come on Stephanie, don't be a coward."

I picked it up quickly and stared at the screen.

Carlos:

7pm?