A/N: Can I just apologize for neglecting this fic, twitter, tumblr, and all internet related things this week? I'vve just needed a little online break... The real world is stressing me out and commanding all my attention right now, so I'm sorry. Not to mention writers block is a Bitch and when Karma comes back around I hope writer's block is stuck in the eye with a needle. Fo Shizzle.

"Oh, she's drowning in emotion, and she cannot reach the shore. She's alive, but can she survive the storm?"—The Storm (Garth Brooks)

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Eventually they drove until Emily could not resist the urge to pee anymore and forced Ian to pull over at a rest stop. They had been driving in an uncomfortable silence for hours. Ian had firmly vetoed any radio, and it was clear he was thinking hard about their next move. Yes, it had been decided they would move to Auburn, Indiana. But where? They hadn't bought a house or anything, and Emily was unsure as to how much money Ian had been able to take. He'd thrown both of their phones off of the river overpass they'd been on. He'd already shut off Cindy, the annoying GPS lady, by taking his fist through the screen just because she was getting on his nerves. Emily could tell Ian was starting to get nervous like, he was unsure if this plan would work…

She had finally convinced him to stop at a rest stop somewhere near Ft. Wayne. They were on some interstate 69 or something like that, an interstate that according to Ian would take them directly to Auburn.

About 20 minutes later they pulled off the interstate into Auburn, Indiana.

"Oh, what fresh hell is this?" Emily muttered under her breath.

"What?" Ian asked, looking at her weird facial expression with what seemed to her like cocky amusement.

"It's like Deliverance out here…" Looking out the windows she wondered what new hell she'd gotten herself into now... Ian chuckled and Emily leaned her head against the window. She had no idea where he was driving now. Declan had woke up and instantly started saying he was hungry. She'd been waiting for the cliché kids phrase: are we there yet? And she had not been disappointed. Every 30 minutes or so he'd started asking, she'd just grinned at Ian and let him answer, because since she had no idea where they were going it was logical to leave the answering up to him.

"Where are we going now?" She asked tiredly. She'd tried napping in the car, but it hadn't really worked.

"We kind of need a house to live in, correct? Or were you thinking we'd be living out of the Range Rover for a while?" Ian asked sarcastically. Emily rolled her eyes. Men were such smart asses. Ian would have made an excellent trucker. He'd been awake for probably well over 24 hours and driving for several hours straight.

"I see. Ian, how much money were you able to take from the house?" She asked quietly to make sure Declan wasn't listening. She didn't think he'd understand, but she didn't want him to worry. He was a smart kid for his age.

"One hundred thirty thousand." He said shortly, his expression turning sour. "Emily, we aren't going to be living the lifestyle we were. I have to find work. Fast. $130,000 won't last long, after we buy a house and all the furniture and appliances to go in it. Additionally we may need another car… possibly." He said bluntly. Emily shook her head. She'd thought this might be a possibility since they left. She took a deep breath, okay. One step at a time. She counted to ten in her head like she always did when she needed to regroup.

They pulled into a parking lot of a Remax realty company. Ian got out of the car, telling her to stay with the kids. She nodded, looking back at the twins, thank god car rides put them to sleep. But she knew any time now they would wake up and all hell would break loose.

About 30 minutes later Ian walked back out to the car shaking a pair of keys between his fingers.

"How much are we down to now?" She asked scared of the answer.

"15 grand." He said. She pursed her lips together, nodding.

Ian drove them to the new house. It wasn't very far away. It was in town, on a street with many houses lining it. It looked pretty old from the outside, but not decrepit in any way. Just old, as did most of the other houses. She got out of the truck and unbuckled Lauren and Landon's carseats. Ian came around and grabbed one from her, and together with Declan they walked into their new home.

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*3 Days Later…*

"Emily! Enough! I don't want to hear about it!" Ian shouted in her face, he had her cornered in the bedroom. She wasn't cowering, however; she stood her ground. Women were so obstinate, immune to reason… They'd been arguing all day now, and she was beginning to get on his last nerve. The last three days had been hell trying to get enough furniture, amenities, extra clothes, groceries to fill their new house. While the house looked very old from the outside, the inside had just been remodeled 2 years ago, and was very nice. All wood floors, brand new kitchen and bathrooms.

At the moment though, all Ian could think about was where he could find a job. They were already running low on money and he was running out of time. He'd become short tempered with growing anxiety, and the war had begun. It was the same blame game, different court. It was his fault they'd had to be on the run in the first place, and it was her fault her team had ever become involved in the first place. It had been his fault his kids would never have a normal life, it was her fault he'd missed out of 7 years with his son, etc...

So far they'd managed not to get physical but, Ian knew from experience that the civility was coming to an end. Emily was crying, screaming at him, he was screaming back. He had had enough. He grabbed the car keys off the nightstand. He had to get out of here before he did something he regretted. Again.

"Ian where are you going!" She screamed following him out of the bedroom. He stomped down the stairs and through the front door, jumping in the Range Rover. He sped out of the driveway, just as she made it onto the porch. She stood with her arms crossed, cheeks red with anger and tears, he looked away and drove away.

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Emily ran onto the front porch after Ian. God she was so angry with him. She swiped at the tears that were running down her face. She crossed her arms and stood on the porch and watched him speed out of the driveway. She guessed she should be glad he left, before things got worse, but she was so mad she wanted to continue the fight. She was stubborn, strong willed. She didn't want to concede and give up. Not to Ian Doyle. She'd done enough of that for a lifetime. She wiped away more angry tears that stung the corners of her eyes, when she heard a voice.

"Hey, go after him." Emily looked over and saw a teenaged sized girl sitting on the porch swing next door. Emily, snorted, even if she'd had a car, she had no idea where he was going.

"I can't, we don't have another car, and I can't leave the kids here… But, thanks…" She said smiling weakly, sniffing.

"Here," the girl tossed a set of car keys across the way to Emily. "Take mine. Go after him… Nobody puts Baby in the corner." She said smiling, walking over to Emily's front porch. "I'll watch the kids." Emily paused. She looked at the girl, she'd never met before. She was highly uncomfortable leaving her kids with a total stranger, but she didn't want Ian to go out and do anything stupid. "My name's Misty. I live next door." The girl said, extending her hand to Emily.

"Emily," she responded shaking the girl's hand.

"Don't worry, I'm 18. And I've had my share of babysitting jobs." She said smiling reassuringly.

Emily looked back inside the house. Declan was in the living room, purposefully immersing himself in the TV so he wouldn't hear his parents fighting. The twins were upstairs napping. She bit her lip. If anything bad happened while she was gone she would never forgive herself, neither would Ian… But Ian was so stressed out and angry she didn't know what hell he would get them into, he could get hurt, he could get arrested. She needed to go after him.

Finally she gave in, "Thanks, I wont be long. The babies are napping upstairs… they should be down for at least another hour, and the little blondie in there is Declan." She said smiling. She stuck her head in the living room and told Declan she would be right back and that the new neighbor girl Misty, was going to sit with him until she got back. He nodded absentmindedly, not even looking away from the TV. She gave a sad smile. Poor kid. Her heart panged when she thought about all the awful things he'd probably heard them say. She walked back out onto the porch and smiled at Misty, "Thanks."

Misty just grinned. "Go get him, Tiger." She said as Emily dashed off the porch to the little Mitsubishi Eclipse parked in front of the neighboring house, started the car and drive away after Ian.

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Ian pulled into a bar parking lot. It looked pretty deserted, only 2 motorcycles parked out front, but the neon sign said Open. This was invitation enough for Ian. He hopped out of the SUV, locked the doors, and set the alarm. He walked into the bar. The sign on the wall said "The Meteor" it was dimly lit, smoky. Just the way it should be. 2 men sat at the far end of the bar, an older man and a younger one. Clearly a father and son, they looked so much alike. Ian walked to a bar stool about 4 seats down. A young red headed girl walked over, cleaning a glass.

"What can I getcha?" She asked.

"Scotch, neat." He said. She brought him a decent sized glass of scotch, and sat it down quietly in front of him.

"So who is she?" She asked. Ian paused, taking a swig of his drink.

"What do you mean?"

"The woman you're hurtin' over. I can tell just by the look in your eyes. So who is she?" She said giving him a warm smile.

"Emily. Her name's Emily." He said quietly taking another drink.

"So, what'd you do?" She asked, leaning on the bar.

"Nothing… This time." He said shortly.

"What do you mean?" She asked this time.

Ian paused. He didn't know this girl from Adam, but she had of those personalities you felt an instant trust to. Like you could tell anything to, even though you'd just met. Fuck it… he thought.

"Me and Emily, we haven't always had the greatest relationship…" He said slowly, turning the glass in his fingers.

"Like how? You ever hit her?" The girl asked sharply.

"More than once…" He said sighing…. "We've tried to kill each other in the past."

"Good Lord, why?" The girl asked in astonishment.

"Well, she had me thrown in prison for 7 years, and took my son. While I was in prison, I heard he'd been killed. I held her responsible." He said bitterly. He swallowed another large gulp of liquor.

"She tried to come after me, and it backfired on her, I almost killed her… Dear, God… I thought I had." He said choking up a little.

"Wow. Intense."

"Yeah, you could say that."

"So how'd you guys end up back together?" She asked quizzically.

"I wanted us to be a family again… Like we used to be. I didn't really give her a choice. I came, told her I was leaving with my son, and she could either come with, or not, but if she tried to stop me I would kill her." He said bluntly. "She came, unwillingly at first, only to protect my son. We moved away, and I don't know… We hated each other at first, but eventually things went back to normal. The way they were before…. Well before everything. We even had twins not too long ago."

"Aww, cute!"

Ian snorted. Their story was anything but cute, dysfunctional: yes; wrong on so many levels: yes; destiny? Most definitely.

"Yeah, well Emily has dealt with a lot of trouble because of me. I took her away from her friends, her family, the life she had. I've been nothing but trouble since the day we met. And yet, she's still here. I don't understand it. I know I'm a bastard. I'm a man only a mother could love really…" He said wryly.

"Wow, you guys are like the epitome of Beauty and the Beast." She said in a awed voice.

"Pardon?" Ian asked confused.

"You know, like the Disney movie. This man had turned into a Beast and held Belle in his Castle away from all of her friends and family, and she discovered the real man underneath the spell. He was a good person, just a little misguided and angry is all. Kind of like you it sounds like." She said lighting up a cigarette.

Ian considered this for a moment, nodding. "Maybe… What's your name anyways?" he asked curiously.

"Izzy."

"Izzy?" Ian asked incredulously… parents must have had a cruel sense of humor.

"It's short for Isolde." She said blushing, clearly embarrassed. She was about to explain when she was interrupted by the two men at the end of the bar.

"Hey sweetcheeks, why don't you come over here and get me another beer huh?" The old man said roughly.

"Get outta here Johnny. You're cut off." She said rolling her eyes.

"Hey, Bitch, listen here; get me another fucking beer!" He said again, slamming his empty pint glass on the bar.

Ian started to tense up, but he didn't interfere. Izzy looked like she had dealt with these guys before, and he needed to stay out of jail.

"Fuck off, Johnny." She said angrily. Slowly and drunkenly, the old man, Johnny, stood up and started to walk around behind the bar. Ian prepared himself for a fight. He wasn't going to sit here and let these assholes hurt this girl, who couldn't be more than 22.

"Johnny, I'm serious. I'll get Matt. I swear!" She yelled backing away from him.

"Don't you think I don't know Matt ain't here sweetheart? Why don't you quit talking… I got something better you could do with that mouth. At that instant Ian snapped. As Johnny walked in front of him he swiftly reached over the bar and yanked the old man over bar, throwing him into the table and chairs behind him.

Izzy gasped as Johnny stirred weakly on the ground, wincing. Ian gave him a hard kick in the balls, and his son backed away in sheer terror. Clearly, no one ever messed with these "tough" guys. Well, that ship had sailed. Ian thought smugly. It felt good to get out some pent up aggression.

"Get the hell outta here. Don't ever let me catch you in this pub again." Ian said dead quietly, putting his foot on the guys' throat. The old man's eyes widened and he nodded. Ian shoved him away and the son rushed over and practically drug his father out of the bar.

"Oh my god." Izzy said, "You ever been a bouncer before?"

"No." Ian said shortly.

"Well you said you were looking for a job. If you want it, you got it." She said solemnly.

"You're serious?"

"As a heart attack."

"Shouldn't you ask Matt?"

"Nah. He's been harping on me to find a bouncer forever." She said grinning.

"Well…" He thought about it. And decided he really couldn't be picky. Emily was going to flip. "Deal."

"Awesome. When can you start?" She said enthusiastically.

"Ummm tomorrow? I gotta sort things out with Emily." Ian said rubbing his temple.

"Cool."

At that moment the door to the bar opened once more and in walked, none other than Emily Prentiss herself.

"Oh my God, Ian!" She cried out. "My god, I've been looking all over for you!" She said, gripping him in a hug. Ian was taken aback. He wasn't expecting her to be happy to see him. Not in the least. He pulled back a little to look at her.

"Ian, I am sorry. I wasn't trying to pressure you. I know you were doing your best, it's just this whole situation I –I" She started.

"Shh. Emily. It's okay. I'm sorry too, Love." He said brushing her hair back. "And anyways, I've got good news, Love." He said smiling at her.

"What?" She asked confused looking around at the knocked over tables and chairs in the bar.

"I'd like you to meet my new boss. Izzy." Ian pointed behind him to where Izzy was standing with a giant grin on her face…

TBC