Hey everyone. Sorry this chapter took so long to upload. Even now I'm not quite sure I got Lilly and Scotty's character's exactly right. Oh well, please leave me a quick review to tell me what you think. OH also. There's a very slight borrowed (ahem, yes I'll return them ASAP Shonda) line or scene from both Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, so kudos to you if you can spot them. :) Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, as usual

Chapter 3: I'd Come For You

Scotty circled her block yet another time. It was nearing midnight, yet he was still trying to muster up the courage to walk up to the door and knock. As he passed her house, trying not to slow down too obviously, he noted that in spite of the late hour, the light in the living room was on. He still didn't k now what the hell he was planning to say to her. How could he summarize the feelings of the past few months – years maybe – of worry, affection, and desperation, in what could only be a surprise, late night visit.

Or maybe it wouldn't be a surprise. Maybe Lilly was expecting him to visit. Maybe she was feeling exactly what he was and wondering why the hell he hadn't done anything about it yet. Because Lilly was perceptive. She was a detective for god sakes, probably the best one on the squad, so there was no way she hadn't noticed what was going on between them. And the only possible reason – that he could think of anyway – that she hadn't call him out on it, and given him the ass kicking of his life, was because she… was just as confused and overwhelmed by these feelings as he was.

Suddenly feeling a wave of courage and chastising himself for the lack thereof before this point, Scotty parked his car with conviction, hurried up the front door and knocked softly.

When she didn't answer, Scotty leaned in and pressed his ear to the door. He could hear her TV droning on and sighing heavily, called her name, "Lil?" Still no answer. Getting just a bit frustrated, Scotty spoke into the door again. "C'mon Lil, I know you're in there. Its Valens."

Still getting no answer, Scotty tested the doorknob, and – to this shock and amazement – found in unlocked. Pushing open the door, Scotty stepped into the doorway and took in his surroundings.

Lilly's house was warm, a faint orange light glowing from various lamps. It was decorated with paintings and wall mountings that were not overly fancy, but perfect for someone who was rarely home, and needed that touch of home when she was. This personal side of Lilly was so rarely visible that Scotty had to spend a few seconds looking around. In fact, he was pretty sure he'd only been in her house twice before, both in untimely circumstances. Once because she'd almost thrown her career away for a guy, and another time – more recently – because her mother had died. But now, now Scotty was here, not as the uncomfortable coworker, but as a man who wanted so much to help her, and to hold her, and to somehow communicate what he'd realized in the past few hours – that he loved her.

Scotty was so mesmerized by the personal side of Lilly that he rarely got to see, that he didn't even notice where she was at first. But then he saw – and the sight made his heart melt because it possibly the sweetest thing he'd seen in a long time.

Lilly was lying on the couch, fast asleep, one arm drooped over the side of couch, the tip of her fingers just barely brushing the carpet, and the other hand unconsciously clutching the simple, but elegant necklace she wore around her long, ivory neck. The TV was playing in the background, tuned to one of those mindless late night talk shows and she was dressed in a pair of cotton pajama pants and a tank top. With her on the couch, there were two, very alarming looking cats, whose names he'd heard were Tripod and Olivia from a disgruntled Vera who had once described in great detail Lilly's 'freaks of nature' after being forced to feed them. The white one, who had only three legs and whose name Scotty inferred was Tripod, was curled around her feet. The other, orange tabby, was sitting on her stomach, fixing him with a one eyed gaze he got from Lilly all the time.

Deciding that the mystery of her cats should be saved for another time, Scotty turned off the TV and wondered whether he should wake her up. Tripod and Olivia gave him a look that clearly said, don't you dare wake her up, you – intruder, don't you know this is the first good night's sleep she's had in ages?

Of course I know, Scotty wanted to reply, but not only did he realize the ridiculousness of talking to cats, he recognized that if he didn't wake her up, and she woke up on her own and saw him hovering above her, she'd, well, kick his ass out the door and halfway to China.

Before he could act though, Lilly was disturbed by something in her slumbering state. The look on her face was suddenly terrified and she murmured, "no … stop, don't shoot me…" Turning abruptly onto her side, the cats jumped off and were instantly tugging on Scotty's pant leg. This time their look conveyed, well are you going to let her stay in there? Wake her up god damn it!

But Scotty had acted without the prompts of Lilly's scary cats. Years of experience dealing with Elisa's nightmares gave him the knowledge of exactly what to do. Sitting on the edge of the sofa, Scotty grasped both her shoulders and shook her as gently as he could. "Lil. Wake up. C'mon, you're safe. It's a nightmare, Lil!"

When she finally awoke, Lilly sat bolt upright and looked around frantically, searching for the service weapon she'd left on the table. It was a moment before she noticed Scotty sitting next to her, and before she could wonder whether or not she was still dreaming – a much better dream though – he reached out and wrapped her in a bone crushing hug.

Scotty paid no attention to the healing wound on her shoulder, because he knew the pressure would help. Even if she couldn't breathe, she'd know he was here, he was real, and she was not in that place her nightmares had put her. Pressing a kiss to her soft golden hair, he whispered endearing words of comfort, "I'm here, Lil. You're okay. Everything's okay."

At first Lilly was shocked, her mind not being to work past the fact that Scotty was in her house, let alone enveloping her in such a tight hug. And then she heard the words he was murmuring into her hair. He wasn't denying her pain, like her mother had. He wasn't using her fears to psychoanalyze her childhood issues, like Joseph had. He wasn't trying to distract her, like Ray had. He was simply holding her, and doing his best to make it better the only way he knew how.

Suddenly feeling a rush of gratitude, Lilly collapsed and let her chin fall onto his shoulder, returning the hug and closing her eyes. It didn't matter why he was here, it didn't matter that no one else had ever seen her vulnerable before because – for now at least – Scotty was somehow managing to take the pain away.

Scotty felt a wave of relief wash over him as Lilly leant into his embrace, instead of fighting him like he'd expected her to. He didn't know how long he sat there, just holding her, occasionally pressing a kiss to her hair, and muttering whatever words came to mind. But soon, altogether too soon in his opinion, Lilly was pulling out of his arms and fixing him with a quizzical gaze.

"What are you doing here, Scotty?" Her voice was still shaky, but returning slowly returning to its normal timbre that made doers confess after all those years.

Crap. "I, um, you're door was unlocked Lil'"

"That's not what I asked you." She replied without a beat.

Double crap. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay." The response sounded lame even in his head and Lilly seemed to agree.

"I'm fine, Scotty." She said, obviously annoyed at being asked the question that so many were thinking. Abruptly, she stood up and walked over to the door, pulling it open for him and waiting for him to leave.

Getting the hint, Scotty stood up. Today's just not the day, he told himself. But then he realized that this was exactly what she'd done that day he came to her house after she'd pretended to be sick. She'd opened the door for him, given him an out. But what if I don't take it?

Walking over to her, Scotty took the door from her hands and shut it quietly. "Lil, I – we, God, I just wanna make things easier for you. Trust me, I get it. Not wanting to talk to people. I mean, I practically wrote the whole damn book on avoidance. But what they say is true, Lil, it helps."

"What helps?" she replied harshly, her voice completely devoid of emotion.

Scotty wondered briefly how she did that. How she could switch so easily between Lilly and Detective Rush. One minute she'd been clinging onto him for dear life, not quite crying, but occasionally letting out a chocked sob. And now she had slipped behind a mask that hid the side of her he'd seen a few minutes ago. Wish I could do that, Scotty thought ruefully because all he wanted in that moment was to pull her back into his arms and pretend it was all okay.

Breaking out of his brief reverie, Scotty realized Lilly was expecting an answer. "Talkin'"

Rolling her eyes at him, she crossed her arms and said, "I do better not talking."

Sighing again, Scotty longed to rub her shivering arms, "You been different, ever, since… that night. Just tell me, Lil." He pleaded with her.

"Tell you what?" Her tone was evasive, and characteristic of someone who knew their interrogator was getting close.

"What's been going on with you."

"Scotty, it's really none of your business. I'll remember to lock the door next time, don't worry."

"Lil, it is my business. It's my business cause I care about you, way more than I should. I, care about you Lil." He shot her a significant glance and in that moment, he knew that she knew what he meant by, I care about you.

"Leave. Now, Scotty."

"No" He took a step closer to her, "Not til we talk."

"Get out."

"No."

"Scotty…"

"Lil' …"

"Fine!" Lilly suddenly snapped. "You wanna know what's been going on? I haven't had a good night's sleep since the shooting. I'm always having nightmares, panic attacks. Do you honestly think the nightmare you woke me from today was the first? I don't sleep in my room anymore, because the curtains are gray and it reminds me of the observation room. Loud noises scare me. People dropping things, damn kids popping paper bags, hell even doors slamming sometimes. And I… I don't know what to do."

Lilly turned around and leaned her hands on the back of the couch, her breathing ragged from the repressed words that finally came spilling out. For his part, Scotty was stunned. For months, he wished she'd open up to him and tell him everything. But he had no idea that – everything – had gotten so bad. And now he had no idea what to say. "Lil…"

But she saved him trying to figure out what the hell he could do because she obviously wasn't done. Spinning back around to face him, she continued. "And you know what else happened to me? You. You happened to me. Because on top of all of this, today I realized that I – care about you – too. Way more than I should. But there's no freakin way I can do anything about it because I can't lose you as my friend."

The anger and frustration finally dissipated from her voice and Scotty found an opening to speak. "Oh Lil. This … whatever this is … it could work if we just gave it a chance."

But before he could continue, Lilly closed the gap between them and captured his lips in a hot, desperate kiss and all logical thought was swept from his mind. Holy mother of… he never knew kissing her would feel this good and this right. Spinning around and pinning her to the wall, Scotty felt her hands slip lower to toy with his belt.

All of a sudden, the logical thought pierced through the rest of his senses. This isn't right. Not for your first time. If you take advantage of her, she'll never forgive you. Sighing inwardly, Scotty broke their kiss and ordered his libido into silence. "Lil. No. We can't… not like this."

Lilly paid no attention to his protestations and continued to run her hands over his body. She lifted his shirt slightly, feeling his taught abs and kissing him desperately again. Knowing that if he didn't stop her soon, he'd have no chance in hell, he grasped both her wrists and yanked them away, holding them up above her. "Lil… I'm not gonna take advantage of you." I love you too much for that.

He saw the frustrated look in her eyes, accompanied with a flash of pain, presumably from her shoulder, as she fought his hands. But he didn't let go, not until he was sure it was safe. At that moment, Lilly realized exactly what she was doing, which was practically – no, completely – throwing herself at her partner, and in a second, she slumped against the wall and ceased her attempts to continue taking off his pants.

Sensing her defeat, Scotty gently let go of her wrists and placed them on either side of her. Her next words shocked him, and broke his heart at the same time.

"I'm sorry Scotty." She hated sounding needy, hated sounding weak and tired, but at that moment the will to continue standing on her own left her completely. "But I-I need you." Looking up into his eyes briefly and returning them back to the ground, she continued, "Could you, maybe, just… love me just for tonight?"

Her words knocked the wind of him. Love. She'd said it. The words they'd been tiptoeing around all night and replacing with 'I care about you'. Gently lifting her chin and making her meet his eyes, Scotty leaned in and gave her the most reverent, tender kiss he could muster as a response to her question. Nah, Lil. I can't imagine loving you for any time shorter than the rest of forever.

But as they stumbled towards the bedroom, shedding clothing as they went, all logical thinking evaded both their minds in a love filled haze of lust.

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