A/N: Thank you for the comments, Caranath, ILoveMom, max2013, Leya, catlover1033, Guest, zenfrodo, Jackie, bhar, Lady Emily, Vinsmouse and Stork Hardy! They are very much appreciated. A little fluff to begin the chapter and then back to the case. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 10

Joe drew in a long, contented breath as he lay sprawled on the bed, one arm hooked around Emily. She was snuggled against him, using his chest for her pillow. Joe bent his head down and kissed her forehead.

"Happy?"

She sighed and ran her hand down his chest and across his stomach, finally coming to rest on his hip bone. "Very."

A slow smile spread over Joe's face as he rolled toward her. "I love you," he said, touching his mouth to her already kiss-swollen lips.

"I love you," she breathed, her head now resting on her pillow. She brought her fingertips up to trace lightly over the curves of his face. She smiled as she ran her index finger down his nose. "That was perfect, you know."

"Perfect, huh?" Joe grinned.

Emily nodded and leaned in, kissing him tenderly. "Absolutely, one hundred percent perfect in every way."

Joe lay back on his pillow. "I don't think I'd say that."

A worried look crossed Emily's face. "Why not?"

He turned his head. "Oh, you were perfect, honey. It's just that..."

Emily sat up. "What?"

Joe snapped his fingers. "Wait, I know what it is."

He slipped out from underneath the sheets and walked across the room to Emily's dresser. He returned holding her jewelry and pressed his knee into the mattress. "Turn around."

Emily pulled her hair up and shifted so that her back was to Joe. He slipped the pendant around her, dropping a delicate kiss on the nape of her neck as he fastened the clasp. He watched as she touched the diamond, then turned and looked up at him with a smile.

Joe reached for her left hand and slid the ring back onto her finger. Emily stared down at it, her eyes filling with tears. Joe took her hand up to his mouth and kissed it tenderly.

"This doesn't come off again until I replace it with a diamond, got it?"

Emily nodded vigorously as she lay back down on her pillow, holding her hand out in front of her to stare at Joe's ring. He gazed down at her, love swelling his chest until he thought it might burst.

"Now it's perfect."

She smiled and reached for him. Joe brought his mouth over hers, kissing her slowly and deeply, wanting her all over again.

"Emily?" He whispered the question against her parted lips.

"Yes, Joe," she breathed, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

OOOoooOOO

Frank glanced up as Louis entered the Alpine suite. The man's brow was furrowed and his lips pressed together in a tight line.

"Is something wrong in here?" Louis asked. "I just passed the hotel doctor and he said someone had gotten hurt on the slopes."

"Kathy twisted her ankle," Frank explained, "but she's fine."

"Oh, is that all? Of course she's fine." Louis's tone was matter-of-fact. "It's another bid for attention. Was someone ignoring her when it happened?"

"Well, now that you mention it..."

Frank smiled. It seemed like the senator's top aide had also had more than enough of Kathy's antics.

Louis rolled his eyes and took a seat on the sofa. He was reaching for his briefcase when Kathy entered the room, limping.

"Nice touch," he muttered, as he took out a file and began examining its contents.

Kathy ignored him.

"Frank, where's Joe?" she wailed. "I've been waiting for him to come and check on me."

"Oh, um, he had to do some investigating."

"Investigating? What does that mean? He's supposed to be here protecting me." She strode across the room toward Frank, her limp disappearing.

Frank chuckled at the obvious inconsistencies in her so-called injury, then noticed Tammy and Lauren eyeing him curiously.

"Well, Kathy, remember the man at the bottom of the slopes you thought was watching you?"

She nodded.

"Joe was worried about that. He went to go check it out. See if he could get some information on him."

She crossed her arms and huffed out an exasperated breath of air.

"Why couldn't you do that?"

"I didn't see him, remember?"

"Well, when is he coming back?"

"When he's finished. It might take him awhile. Why don't you get some rest?" Frank suggested. "You shouldn't be walking on that ankle."

Kathy spun around and headed back toward her bedroom, the limp now prominent in her gait again.

"Send him in as soon as he gets back."

"Aye, aye, captain," Frank said under his breath.

OOOoooOOO

Louis waited until Lauren and Tammy had followed Kathy into her bedroom and shut the door before he turned to Frank.

"You saw someone watching her?"

"Yeah," Frank replied. "Well, Joe did, anyway."

Louis fished around in his briefcase. "Did he look like this guy?" He handed Frank a photograph.

"Matches Joe's description," Frank replied. "Who is he?"

"One of our agents." Louis stood and moved toward the bar. "Senator Martin wasn't about to leave Kathy with just you and your brother protecting her. He has several agents watching her as well."

Louis gestured to the photograph. "That's Jason Crowell. I'll have him make contact with you so that Joe can confirm his identity."

"The senator doesn't trust us?"

"The senator doesn't trust anyone as far as his daughter is concerned. You and your brother were only brought in on this because Kathy demanded it."

"Kathy demanded it?"

"Yes, she wanted some detectives closer to her age. She detests the agents trailing her." Louis poured himself a scotch. "There's a surprise, huh?"

"So, Senator Martin doesn't really think we can figure out who's stalking his daughter?"

"Actually, you both have a very fine reputation. He was impressed with the work you've done. He just knows that Kathy is a whining, demanding, brat who will try and monopolize your time, and prevent you from getting the job done." He took a swig of the scotch. "Which seems to be exactly what she's doing."

Frank chuckled, "You noticed, huh?"

"Kind of hard to miss," he snorted. "Listen, I don't know what the senator is paying you for this assignment, but if I were your brother...I'd make him double it."

OOOoooOOO

Joe pulled on his jeans and fastened them, then sat on the bed and gazed at Emily. She was sitting under the sheets, her knees pulled up to her chest. Her hair was tousled, her expression sleepy, and her lips swollen from kissing. He sighed and ran his knuckles along her cheek.

"You don't know how hard it is for me to leave you right now."

She smiled. "Probably as hard as it is for me to be left."

He reached for his shirt and slid an arm through the sleeve. "What are you going to do for the rest of the day?"

"I think I'll head over to the library and do a little more research with Guillaume."

Joe raised an eyebrow. That was a man's name. The French version of William. "Who's Guillaume?"

Emily giggled. "He's a monk, Joe."

"Oh, well I guess that's okay, then." He began buttoning his shirt.

"Of course it is," she replied. "Even if he wasn't, you're going back to a high school girl who has a crush on you."

Joe rolled his eyes, leaned over, and touched his lips to hers.

"Please don't remind me. I want to stay here more than anything. You have no idea how hard this is."

Emily brushed away that sweep of blond hair that always seem to fall across his forehead and studied his face.

"She's going to know."

He was puzzled. "Who's going to know what?"

"Kathy. That's her name, right?"

Joe nodded.

"She's going to know something has changed." Emily smiled at him and ran her finger across his lower lip. "You look very...satisfied."

Joe reached out and pulled her into him for a hug. She had no idea how much he'd needed to be with her today. And it wasn't just his body. His soul needed that connection with hers. Just being with her steadied him, strengthened him, centered him. He'd gotten to the point where he didn't feel whole without her. And instead of that kind of dependence on another person terrifying him, he craved it. She had changed his world over the course of one year, and he never wanted to go back to his previous "girl of the week" life again.

"That's because I am." He slid his hand under the sheet and groaned as he felt her bare skin. "I've got to leave now, or else I'll be back under the covers with you."

He kissed her deeply. "I love you. I'll see you again soon, I promise."

Emily returned the kiss and held him to her tightly. "Solve this case quickly, Joe, okay?"

He nodded and brushed his lips over the top of her head. "I will."

He reluctantly tore himself out of her arms and walked to the door. Emily followed, dragging the top sheet loose and wrapping it around herself.

"I love you," she whispered as he opened the door.

For an answer, he brought her hand to his mouth and tenderly kissed her ring. Then he walked slowly away, unable to tear his gaze from her. She looked like an angel wrapped up in that white bedsheet with the light from her room glowing behind her.

He didn't miss the irony of having to leave his little bit of heaven for a return trip back to his own personal hell...otherwise known as Kathy Martin.