Jem rolled out of bed and ran a hand through his disheveled hair when he watched the envelope shoot under his front door. His blue eyes tracked it, confused and intrigued, as it slid just a few feet across the floor. Adjusting the drawstring on his pants he walked over it pick up. He hardly ever received mail that way anymore unless it was a big job. Quickly ripping open the envelope he found a check for five thousand dollars with the words "rescue" written into the memo line. He scoffed and threw the envelope and check on top of the table next to his door. The fact that Kate had the audacity to send him money frustrated him. He debated what he would do with it: flush it down the toilet, throw it in the trash, light it on fire… he was willing to do anything if he could stop feeling for her. A knock came from his door. He opened it to find Doug standing before him, holding up the same check and envelope.

"You get one 'uh these?" Doug asked holding it up.

"Yeah," he answered, stepping back to let Doug in. "Fuckin' joke," he spat.

"It's damn good money," Doug said with a shock. He was surprised Jem was so angry about the money, but he knew the feelings were only related to the fact that it was from Kate. "Don't be fuckin' rude. She could have not sent us anything."

"Whateva'." He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers. Doug took one from his hand and sat down at the small table Jem called a dining room table.

"You know, if we started doin' shit like this, we could quit the business."

"Quit the business? Yeah," he mocked leaning back in his chair before taking a long swig. "Dougie, I got some news for ya, that shit ain't gonna happen." Doug put his elbows on the table and leaned in. He was going to make Jem see his side of things one way or another. He was tired of fighting for ways to keep himself alive all of the time.

"Are ya fuckin' kiddin' me?" He held the check up and shook it. "We just made five thousand dollars actually doin' somethin' good. I wanna quit doin' this shit eventually, man. I'd like to have a family. I'd like to have a son."

"Yeah, sure. That's what we all want, a bunch 'uh fuckin' needy kids runnin' around. That's a life."

"Shut the hell up."

"Nah, I'm serious. We're criminals, Doug, not fuckin' family men." Doug's brow dropped as Jem talked.

"Ya know that you need my help with jobs, Jem." Jem shook his head and ran his hands over the tops of his legs. He was trying to discount what he best friend was saying. Jem never imagined he'd ever be a father. His sister had a daughter, but he only got to see her every once in a while and even then, he couldn't stand to be around her for more than 10 minutes.

"What are you sayin', Doug? You gonna suck me into this bullshit business by tellin' me that you won't go on jobs with me anymore?"

"You like money just as much as I do, you stubborn fuck." Jem listened quietly as to what Doug said. He did like money and couldn't resist a big score. Beating and killing people was a specialty of his. Even he couldn't deny he'd be perfect for the job.

"You wanna become a bodyguard? This is what you're sayin'?" Doug nodded and put his hands behind his head. Jem mulled it over in his mind. Doug was his brother. He would do anything for him. He killed for him and lost the one person he cared about for him. The pay would be better, but what in the hell would he do with Fergie? He never took the old man as a threat, but he couldn't be too sure. "What about Fergie?" he asked plainly. Doug shook his head and put his hand up to his forehead. He released his hand and looked angrily up at Jem.

"Fuck that senial old fuck," he growled. "I'm gonna start livin' my life under my fuckin' terms. Been doin' this far too long. We're smarter, younger, and do a lot more work than he does. Sittin' around cuttin' flowers an' shit. I'll beat his ass into this grave if he says a word." Jem nodded at Doug with a smile.

"I know what the hell you mean, man. I don't know why I've been lettin' some cock sucka' armed with roses boss me the fuck around."

"We'll handle this shit."

"Fuckin' yes," he stated.

Months passed and it slowly turned into autumn. Leaves fell outside of Kate's window as she typed quickly on her computer to answer an e-mail a fellow politician had sent her regarding a new policy schools were trying to pass regarding metal detectors at school. Thunder rattled the room, lightning sparking outside, causing a reflection to bounce off something on her desk. Her eyes diverted to the pendant she had once given Jem. She stopped typing for a moment and stared at it as if it had spoken to her. The memory sank in quickly…

"What the fuck did you get me? You shouldn't have bought me a damn thing," Jem spat as Kate walked around from behind him.

"Jem, will you just shut up?" she asked stopping in front of him. He was always so full of pride. He couldn't even accept a simple gift, always wanting to do everything on his own. He was afraid of what the guys would say if he told them Kate had bought him a gift. As far as he was concerned men in his line of work didn't deserve gifts. "I bought you a gift an' you're gonna like it an' you're gonna wear it for the rest of your life… so help you fuckin' God," she joked pulling a box out from behind her. He smirked and put his arm on the back of the couch.

"I at least get sex after this, right?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as he took the box. She slapped him on the arm and sat down next to him, pulling his arm around her shoulders.

"Fuckin' pig," she teased. He smiled at her before looking at the box then back at her.

"What is it?"

"I don't remember," she answered sweetly.

"Uh-huh," he mumbled before using one hand to pull the green bow off of the box. He opened the black box. His blue eyes grew in length as he stared a silver chain and cross pendant. "Kate, you shouldn't have done this…"

"Jem, I'm serious, you better shut up." He held the box in his lap, staring at the reflections on it from the lights in the room. It was the first gift he had received in years, seeing as how he pretty much lived on his own and didn't have any family that cared enough to buy him anything. Kate was the first person to give him an actual gift. His heart grew at the thought of her fussing over what he would want, buying it, and wrapping it. "Do you like it?"

"I fuckin' love it. Thank you," he answered with a kiss.

"I'll put it on for you," she beamed, rising to clasp it around his neck.

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she thought about the joke she had made. He had never taken the chain off. She was snapped into time someone knocked on her door. The sound caused her to jump. She wasn't entirely comfortable with people knocking on her door considering the incident at her hotel. She picked her cell phone up off the table for protection and sat the pendant down for heading to the door. Her eyes peeked carefully out of the peep hole to make sure that it was no one intending to do harm. A wild smile grew on her lips when she saw the face waiting for her. It was Liam Kelly, the Captain of the Boston Police. The man she had been dating for the last couple of months. She opened the door quickly. "Hello," he beamed as his eyes landed on her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile. She hadn't seen him in a few weeks what with his duties and her going to various meetings and speeches.

"Just answered a call from around the corner, thought I'd stop by." She smiled and stared at his hazel eyes, his dark hair poking out from under his hat. She lost track of how long she was staring at him when he cleared his throat. "I don't have a warrant, so you want to invite me in?" he asked teasingly. She smiled and nodded, her face flushing.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." She held the door open farther and led him inside. He pulled his hat off and pulled his wet jacket off to hang up on a peg just next to the door. She wasted no time wrapping her body around his. "I've missed you," she mumbled burying herself into his chest. He held onto her and kissed the top of her head.

"I've missed you, too. I'm sorry I've been so lately." She breathed in the scent of his cologne and smiled.

"It's alright. I haven't been as free as I should have been the last week." He pulled her chin up to kiss her softly. Her job kept her busy a lot of the time. There was always something to do, it almost felt never ending to her. They hugged again when her phone rang from her pocket. She answered it immediately. "Hello?" she answered walking over to sit on the couch. Liam followed her.

"Kate?" asked a voice.

"Yes," she replied as Liam leaned in to kiss her neck. She fought the urge to giggle and smiled at him, wagging a finger in his direction.

"There's a ceremony down at one of the Charlestown elementary schools and our speaker just cancelled due to a flu bug. Do you think you could be at Franklin Elementary School in an hour to give a speech about how we plan to help that school succeed?"

"Sure." Liam looked her over slowly, pushing hair from her face. Her eyes connected with his and she mouth a sorry. "Anything important I need to know?"

"Just that we're incorporating some new tutors and new material. There will be a list of notes in the limo that comes to pick you up."

"Alright, thank you." She hung up the phone and looked at him longingly. It was the first time she had an afternoon off in a few days and yet she was off to work again. She felt defeated as she curled up next to him, tucking her head under his chin. When she was next to him she felt safe and free. It was almost the exact same feeling she had once had with Jem. Not exact, but pretty damn close. For her, it was nice he was half as busy as she was a majority of the time so she didn't feel guilty about not being able to see him.

"Let me guess…" he started, putting an arm around her.

"Duty calls."

"Ay," he responded, rubbing her back slowly.

"Think they'd let me give a speech from the couch like this?" she asked jokingly. He chuckled for a minute and kissed her forehead.

"Doubtful." She sighed loudly and pulled herself up out of the couch. "I should get goin' though. Got some reports to fill out." She followed behind him, holding onto his waist as they walked. "I'll call ya tomorrow," he spoke, kissing her cheek.

"Bye," she called out as he walked down the sidewalk to his squad car. She shut the door and made a point to lock it before heading up the stairs to get ready.

The auditorium at the school was stuffy. The air was thick, because the air conditioning didn't work and the rain outside made it muggy on the inside. Kate tried her hardest not to fidget as she sat in the folding chair, it felt like every piece of clothing she was wearing was sticking to her body. She brushed her bangs out of her face and tried to smile as the principal spoke to introduce her. The media sat in the back behind parents, students, and teachers. They were waiting to hear from the infamous Katherine Faust, the new politician who causing such a big stir in Charlestown. She rose as the principal called her name, taking the podium with ease. "Thank you, Principal….ma'am," she began, completely spacing the principal's name. She cursed herself on the inside and smiled genuinely at the crowd. "As we know, Franklin Elementary School didn't do so well this last year. We're going to make a great turn around this year." She adjusted the index cards in her hand. "We plan on incorporating new tutors, materials, books, supplies, and activities to help the students achieve their potential." A few parents and teachers clapped. Kate was surprised. Most people in Charlestown didn't care for their education and Kate understood that most of them were planning on inheriting the "family business" of prostitution, drug dealing, stripping, or robbing. It wasn't her job to make that aware though. She took a good look around the room after asking if anyone had any questions. There was a heavily, awkward silence as no one raised their hands. Finally, a hand shot up. "Yes," she called out pointing to a hand in the back row.

"Aren't you that bitch that proposed harsher laws on criminals who live in Charlestown?" asked the voice in a rough manner. She swallowed hard and stared out into the crowd then back at the man.

"Yes."

"What the fuck are you doin' out here?" asked another voice angrily.

"Yeah, fuck this bitch," yelled a man from the front row.

"My brother was deployed to Afghanistan, because of this cunt," yelled another voice. Kate held her hands up, her brow, neck, and chest beading with sweat. Taking on the people of Charlestown was a big mistake. She knew better than take them on like this, because they would rip her a part. She backed away from the podium slowly as more people stood to yell out comments. The principal rose to take the podium again when a gun rose from the middle of the auditorium. There was a lot of screaming and shuffling. A man stood up with the gun and pointed it up to the ceiling.

"I say we give her some pay back," he screamed. Her eyes grew. She didn't think it could be happening to her again. With a lot of courage, she dropped to the floor as gunshots rang out. Her hands covered her neck as a few more shots rang out. The shots stopped, but people kept moving, running out of the auditorium.

"Fuckin' degenerates," yelled out a police officer as he put his gun back into his holster. He walked over and helped Kate stand up, before assisting other teachers rise to their feet. Her eyes scanned the seats to find a dead body slumped over a few chairs, bloodied. "I've radioed Captain Kelly, ma'am," he told her sternly as he rescanned the empty auditorium as if at any moment someone else would start firing. Liam was going to be there at any minute. She sat down on the chair and held her head in her hands. He showed up about 10 minutes later with a full squad and coroner. He immediately found out Kate and comforted her. Her body rolled into his in a hug.

"Are you alright?" he asked looking deep into her green eyes. She nodded slightly, considering the amount of times she had been kidnapped and at gunpoint before, it was beginning to become pretty regular and less scary each time. Liam kissed her cheek before giving her a tight squeeze. "I want you to hire another bodyguard." Kate started to open her mouth and explain about Brian for the hundredth time when he put a finger to her mouth.

"What about you?" she asked sweetly, clutching the back of his uniform. It caused him to laugh. He would take the position if he could, but he knew he was needed to help keep the streets clean. There was not too big of a need for him to follow her around for hours on end just for face value in case someone tried to do something.

"No, Kate, ya know I can't," he answered. "But, I have a pretty good idea of who we need…"