For the third time that night, MiraBeth's bedroom door closed with a soft click. Roman glanced around the room quickly before heading for the nightstand on the other side of the room. He moved a few things around and sat the bowl containing Seth's belongings under the lamp. Then he sat on her bed, scooting around until he was comfortably leaning back against the headboard. He crossed his ankles and opened his arms, hoping MiraBeth would join him. Slowly she crawled onto the bed, propping pillows up to make herself comfortable. Roman shoved them away and pulled her against his side. He whispered, "This crap is going to be hard enough to sort through as it is. We're not doing it with piles of pillows separating us."

MiraBeth laid her head on his shoulder momentarily. "This is the best place in the world to be." she murmured. "But Ro…"

"Shhh…" He wrapped both arms around her and kissed her forehead. "I need you to know what I was thinking, where I was coming from." He kept his mouth against her forehead as he spoke. "I want you with me all the time. Flying across the country when one of us is hurt or has a crisis just isn't working for me. I want us, together, all the time. I want to hold you, fall asleep with you in my arms and wake up with you still right there by my side. I want to protect you from the crappy things in life, the painful things and I know that's not always possible. It f*cking kills me when you cry. To know that I caused…" He smothered his thought with a kiss to her hairline. "I can't imagine my life without you. This is a very real fear, Mira. Yes, I knew what I was getting into when we started dating. I knew who you were just like you knew who I was. But now… It's just so real. I feel like I've come so close, too close." She slid her hand to his waist and murmured his name. "Yeah, I sound like a freakin' pansy, I know. But the man is supposed to protect his woman. How can I do that if we are hundreds or thousands of miles apart and I don't know what the h*ll is going on?"

MiraBeth heard everything that Roman had said. She caressed his chest with one hand in an effort to sooth him. She slid her other arm behind his back and curled one leg across his thighs. Waiting until she felt his racing heart start to slow, she finally started to speak. "I have been a police officer for eleven years. In those eleven years, I have worked the road a majority of the time. I have assisted detectives and worked crime scenes, but that's not for me. I like the day-to-day interactions with people. It's helping people, protecting them, and putting those that hurt other people behind bars that makes this job fulfilling. H*ll, that's how we met!" Roman chuckled at the memory. "Are there tough days? Yeah. Are there days I feel like throwing in the towel? Yeah. Every day since that accident. Watching people die, having my hand on someone's pulse as the last beats happen…" She sucked in a deep breath. "If it doesn't shake you to your core, there's something wrong with you. I don't need my boyfriend pushing me to quit. I need my boyfriend standing by my side telling me that he will support anything that I choose to do. That you will respect any choice that I make. And yes, if you have the ability to give me an option, I can see where you would want to open that door." Roman clutched her tightly.

"If I had only gotten in here and talked to you sooner, tonight would have been so much less dramatic." he muttered.

MiraBeth yawned. "True. But you did come into the house of a police officer in the middle of the night and you weren't very quiet about it."

Roman cupped her jaw with his large hand. "You pinned me to the floor right over there. I saw a side of you I don't ever want to see again, Officer. 'For your safety and mine, you need to stay put.' I can hear you saying that to someone sitting on a curb in handcuffs. Now that I'm not fearing arrest at the hands of my girlfriend, I can tell you that you looked pretty d*mn hot when you were so forceful and domineering. Makes us a good match." He touched their noses. "What did you call me earlier? The big dog and the enforcer of the WWE. There was something else too… Oh, yeah. You said I was the 'panty-wetting sh*t'."

MiraBeth smiled as a light blush rose up her neck. "The truth is the truth."

Roman shifted. "So you think I am the panty-wetting…"

"Shut up." MiraBeth gave Roman a gentle shove.

Roman pulled her to lay flat and spooned behind her, wrapping his arms around her lightly. "Shhhh… I was just trying to…" he whispered as sleep tried to claim them both.