Harrison is back & demanding that Sylvie return to Fowlerton with him. He refuses to be denied no matter her reasons for staying.

"Are you out of your mind Harrison? I'm not going anywhere and certainly not with you." She tried to remove his hand from her arm but he only gripped her more forcefully, causing her to wince in pain.

"You don't know what you want, Sylvie, you never did. This is just another one of your hare-brained ideas and look where it got you! I'm taking you away from this city and all the low-life scumbags who live here." He began pulling her away from the bar toward the street, expecting her to follow along meekly.

Sylvie jerked her arm, almost freeing herself. Her eyes widened as she felt his grip tighten even more. "Harrison, you're hurting me. Let go! I'm not in love with you and probably never was. I wanted to love you but what you're offering is not the life for me. You have to move on – just because I don't want that life doesn't mean there isn't someone out there for you – someone who will appreciate you. I'm sorry but that someone isn't me."

Her words had little effect on his determination. "Sylvie..." he spoke through gritted teeth... "that someone is you – stop trying to fight me. I'm right."

Sylvie looked at her former fiance with a bit of alarm. He was acting irrationally and it was beginning to frighten her. She looked at Gabby with dismay, at a loss what to do next. She knew that Harrison was set in his way and had always wanted everything to be done according to his "laws" but she had never seen him like this.

Not one to give up easily, she tried to placate him one more time. "Harrison, please, this is my life now. I'm with someone and I'm happy. I want you to be happy too. You have to let me go – my place is here – doing what I love."

Sylvie almost couldn't comprehend what happened next. She felt the grip on her arm tighten painfully, felt herself being shaken. She cried out as her head began to pound... Harrison looked at her with narrowed eyes and she did not recognize him. She felt and heard his next words, appalled that he was so out of control.

"Your place!" he spat at her. "Your place is with me. A woman's place is next to her man, agreeing with him, supporting him, obeying every word that comes out of his mouth." Sylvie felt dizzy, sick, nauseous. Whether it was from her head injury or the fact that her former fiance seemed to be psychotic, she was too confused to know. She saw Gabby rush forward, try to pull her away from Harrison. He grabbed the front of her jacket and threw her back and she would have fallen had not the door opened at that very instant.

Joe was startled as Gabby literally fell into his arms. Murmuring a surprised "hey" he easily set her back on her feet & quickly surveyed the situation playing out in front of him. His heart began to pound at the sight of Sylvie struggling to get away from Harrison. "What the hell?"... he muttered under his breath.

Feeling the grip on her arm lessen slightly, Sylvie twisted her body, slamming her elbow into Harrison's stomach. She tore herself free, wasting no time to reach Joe, who wrapped his arm around her protectively.

Harrison looked at them with a sneer, his look derisive and contemptuous. "Are you kidding me Sylvie? This is the best you can do? A boyfriend who's probably a wetback? A spic girlfriend?"

Joe pulled her closer as he felt her body tense. "It's OK baby" he whispered against her temple, the brush of his lips a reassurance that he needed only her and nothing else mattered.

Sylvie's eyes narrowed in anger. Her words brooked no argument as she threw them at Harrison like knives, hoping to make him bleed. "He is the best, Harrison. He's my best friend and I can't imagine my life without him. He knows me and understands me like you never did – you never wanted to. Gabby is the most loyal friend I've ever had and your words don't cheapen her, they cheapen you. So take your arrogance and your prejudice and go back to Fowlerton. You have no place here."

Harrison huffed at her in disbelief. "You can't talk to me like that. I was going to forgive you, take you back, make you my wife. Do you know what an honor that is? Instead you insult me and show me that you've become trash...trash that needs to be taught a lesson." His eyes glittered with madness as he pulled knife from his back pocket, flicking a button to pop out the blade, wickedly long and sharp.

Joe immediately pushed Sylvie behind him, intent on keeping her from harm. Without a thought to his own safety he advanced toward the threat in front of them, his eyes on Harrison's face, ignoring the blade. He'd been in more than a few street fights in the past and he hoped he remembered more than he'd forgotten. He didn't even flinch the first time the blade swept toward him. He knew it would miss. Harrison was too enraged, too intent on teaching a lesson and not paying attention to anyone. He thought himself superior, his winning a sure thing and he so wanted to teach Sylvie a lesson.

Suddenly he stiffened in his tracks, his intentions momentarily forgotten. The cold, hard press of metal had settled against the back of his head and a gravelly voice made his blood run cold. "It would give me great pleasure to end your miserable life. I won't even blink. So unless dying is your goal, drop the knife and get down on your knees."

Hank Voight, head of Chicago PD Intelligence, stood behind him, his expression grim, determined and pissed off. Al Olinsky, another member of the unit stood to the side, no less angered than his boss.

As Harrison complied, Voight glanced at Joe. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah." He replied... "everyone's OK. Thanks."

"Al... cuff this piece of shit." Voight continued to survey the group in front of him. Once he satisfied himself that everyone was indeed not injured, he posed his next question. "So who wants to be the first to press charges?"

No one seemed inclined to speak, only looking at each with relief and a bit of sadness at what had just occurred. Finally, Sylvie spoke, her words soft and a bit shaky. "I don't think anyone wants to press charges. It will be enough that he never comes back because if there's a next time, I won't hesitate to do what I have to."

Seeing agreement in everyone's eyes Hank nodded. "OK, if that's what you want but what I saw was assault with a deadly weapon. I have no choice but to arrest him. Spending a few days in jail before his arraignment may just teach him the lesson he needs. That is, if he doesn't get "lost" in the system for awhile." He smirked as he turned to walk away with Al, their prisoner now subdued and dejected, but only time will tell if he will have learned his lesson.

Sylvie sagged against Joe, relief and exhaustion taking their toll. Today had been one hell of a day and one she hoped would never repeat itself.

"Hey, are you OK?" Joe looked into her eyes, concern etching his forehead with a frown. Seeing that she gave a small nod of assent, he wrapped both arms around her, burying his face in her hair. His words mirrored her thoughts exactly. "Let's go home. Are you coming Gabby?"

"You know what, I think I'll wait until tomorrow to move in. I'm going to stay at Herrman's tonight. He's already offered to let me stay with him and his family for a few days so I'm gonna' take him up on it. You two go ahead. I'll call you tomorrow Sylvie."

She walked over and hugged them both. Sylvie looked at her, an unasked question in her eyes. At Gabby's nod, she smiled. "OK, call me... but not too early."

XXXXXXX

Once again they found themselves on the sofa in Sylvie's apartment. Joe could not seem to let her go. When he saw the bruises on her arm, he pressed his lips against each one as if he could erase them with his touch. He swore to himself that if he could help it, she would never be hurt like this again. She was sitting on his lap, arms looped around his neck, breathless from their last kiss. Leaning her head against his forehead, she sighed. "This day... some of it I wish had never happened. Some of it I want to happen over and over."

"Yeah? Am I in that part?" He was pre-occupied with the scent of Sylvie's hair and the softness of her skin beneath his lips. Her curves were pressed enticingly against his broad chest making most coherent thought impossible.

"Oh yeah." She leaned back slightly to smile at him. "But right now all I want to do is go to bed and forget all about the bad parts and keep the good parts going."

She felt Joe's huff of amusement beneath her ear, where he had begun to explore that sensitive spot, the spot that rendered her speechless and wanting so much more.

"I can help with that." His breath was hot against her skin, his words exactly what she needed to hear.

"Is that so? Then, prove it." Her words were playful and when he looked into her eyes he saw heat and a playful challenge, one that he wouldn't need proposed a second time.

As he scooped her into his arms, he felt her lips curve into a smile against the side of his neck. Moving her lips to his ear, her words caused his heart to stutter once again and made him move just a little faster toward the bedroom.

"I could get used to this."