Roman started the day by swearing at his alarm, he was in the middle of reliving his date with Violet for the millionth time in his dreams. He pulled himself off the couch and sweared some more, now he remembered why he didn't sleep on the couch more often, peice of crap Craigslist worn out shitty couch… he should invest in a Lazy Boy or something, his ass was too big to be sleeping on this thing. He dragged himself to the shower, swearing even more as he tripped over his own shoes, he really needed to clean. Shower first… he checked the clock, cleaning would have to wait until after work.
Violet cruised into work right on time with her breakfast and her coffee, her desk phone was flashing with 3 messages already. Seth called in sick, AJ wasn't coming in for whatever reason and Antonio had safety training all day long. That left all the permit samples, all the data entry and all the R&D experiments all for her to deal with. Wonderful. She wrapped her muffin back up and chugged as much coffee as she could before putting on her lab coat and retreating into the lab area. There was a strict "no food in the lab" rule and although no one was here to know the difference, it would be her luck that she would drink from the bottle of acid instead of her cup of coffee.
Vi spent the next 3 hours prepping samples and running tests in the lab, she decided to save all the data entry for the end of the day. Her stomach was growling, but she wasn't going to stop to eat until she got just a few more things done. She was in the middle of a pH titration when she heard the fire alarms going off inside the building. She paused and looked around, she didn't see anything or smell anything, it was probably just another malfunction, no way she was throwing away an hour's worth of work for a stupid fire drill. She ignored the alarm and went back to work.
She was so focused on ignoring the alarm and getting her measurements right that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard someone screaming her name.
"Violet! Let's go! Don't you hear the alarm? Get the hell out of here!" Roman was storming through the lab, "Where is everyone else?"
"Relax, I'm the only one here. The alarm goes off all the time, I'm in the middle of something."
"No, Violet, this is the real deal, let's go," He grabbed her by the wrist and tried to drag her out.
She pulled her hand back and glared at him, "Don't!"
Roman sighed, "Violet, come on." They both looked up when they heard the sirens, "Did you hear that? Fire trucks, that means real fire, now let's go."
"Ok, fine, let me get my purse." Violet closed the chemical hood and turned toward her desk when Roman put a big hand on her shoulder.
"No. Outside. Now. Either you walk, or I drag you."
They hurried toward the closest exit and saw the smoke billowing outside the window. "Oh my god," Violet whispered her eyes wide as saucers, she froze in panic.
"Violet Miller, turn around and go to the back door, NOW!" Roman took her hand and guided her towards the back door and out into the parking lot.
It was total chaos, Violet was still in shock, the fire was burning up all of the bushes right outside the window near the office area, the smoke billowing into the building filling the little work area. Violet sat down on the curb and put her head in her hands.
Roman checked in with Dean, "Yeah, lab is empty, Violet was the only one in. Stubborn little thing, had to practically drag her out."
"Look, bro, keep your eyes on her, you hear me?"
Roman turned his head to see Violet sitting on the curb talking to one of the EMTs, "Yeah, of course. What's going on?"
"Fire wasn't an accident, security cameras saw her crazy ex wandering the property. No cameras outside the lab though."
"I warned you about that blind spot bro, you have no eyes around an entire building." Roman reminded his friend.
"Now's not the time for I told you sos. What's the deal over there?"
Roman scanned the people milling around the parking lot, "Everyone here looks familiar. I'm gonna have to get back in the lab to get Vi's bag or she can't get home."
"No, don't leave her and don't say anything to her yet. I have spare keys to her house and her car at my place. Just keep her in your sight. Don't let her leave alone."
Roman hung up with Dean and strolled back over to Violet, he didn't like keeping this from her, but Dean knew her better, if he said not to tell her, he had to trust his buddy.
"Hey, Vi. You ok?" He squatted down in front of her.
She looked up at him and nodded, "When can I go get my bag?"
"Sorry, Vi, they won't let anyone back in until tomorrow morning at the earliest. Dean says that he has your spare key at home, I'll drive you."
Violet stood up and started pacing, "This is some coincidence, don't you think Roman? I mean, I am the only one here today and the fire was outside my desk window where I am normally sitting. I know this wasn't just a little brush fire."
"Vi, listen.." Roman started to talk but she cut him off.
"No, no, don't 'Vi listen' me, I know something is up here. You were talking to Dean. Jake did this, didn't he? He saw us together and now he is punishing me."
Roman sighed, at least he wasn't the one who told her. "Yes, Dean said he saw your ex on the security cameras before the fire started. He didn't want me to tell you."
"Why? He didn't think I would figure it out? Ambrose should know me better than that by now. When I see him, I am going to punch him."
"Who? Dean or Jake?"
Violet squinted her eyes at him, "Both. And maybe you too if you don't watch it." She spun around and stormed away.
"Whoa, Violet, wait, where are you going?" Roman followed after her.
"What? Did Dean tell you to babysit me?" She put her hands on her hips and glared at him, "Yeah, I thought so. Fine, take me to the security office. I want my house keys."
"Only if you promise not to punch him." She was still glaring at him, "OK, fine, just don't punch him on company property because I then I would be obligated to write you up and report the incident. At least wait until you get to his place."
Dammit, he had a good point. "Fine," she huffed, "Let's go."
Dean wasn't surprised when Violet stormed into his office, he looked accusingly at Roman who just shrugged his shoulders, "Wasn't me. She did it."
"Take me to get my keys. Now." Violet demanded.
"Look, kiddo, I know you are angry, but…"
"Angry? Angry? Jake set a fucking fire outside my office window because he saw me kissing Roman last night! And you, you, you think I am stupid and I wouldn't figure it out? You are telling Roman not to tell me?"
"OK, so you are more than angry, look, Violet, take a couple million deep breaths or something and just listen to me. I don't think its a good idea for you to go back to your place tonight. Leslie and I will pack a bag for you and you can stay with us."
"No way. No, I am tired of hiding from him. I won't do it anymore. I want to go home."
"No, you are staying with us. End of story." Dean turned and walked back to his desk.
"End of story? Who are you, my father? No way, Ambrose. Give me my house keys. I am going home tonight."
"OK, you two," Roman cut them both off, he knew how stubborn Dean was, but he was surprised by Violet. "Look, let's compromise, what if I stay with Violet at her place tonight?"
They both turned and looked at him in shock, "What, Vi, you have a couch, right?" She nodded so he continued, "It's the only way to make you both happy. Violet gets to go home and Dean will know that she isn't alone. Deal?"
Violet and Dean continued to glare at each other. "Do we have a deal?" Roman asked again. "Dean? Vi?"
"I don't need a babysitter," Violet said, Dean grunted. "What, Dean? What? Just say it!"
"Nothing Vi, nothing." He looked at Roman, "If its OK with her, then fine, you stay at her place. And you call me immediately if you even suspect that asshole might be lurking nearby. You got it?"
Violet sighed, "Dean, don't be a jerk to Roman, he's the only reason I haven't punched your teeth in. I'm sure he is more than capable of handling Jake. I mean, just look at him…"
Roman grinned and flexed, "That's right baby, she doesn't want a softie like you watching her back."
"I give up!" Dean said, "She's all yours! But if anything happens to her, I am siccing Leslie on your sorry ass."
Violet finally had her house keys from the Ambroses and managed to convince Roman to stop for take out. She wanted Chinese, but he insisted on something that had a drive thru, so she settled for Boston Market. They were sitting at her kitchen table attacking their salads when Violet thought of something.
"Roman? Did you see anything unusual outside last night?"
"No, nothing. I would have told you, Vi. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jake this morning. I trusted Dean's instincts."
Violet smiled at him, "I know, I'm not mad at you. I just, I mean, if I didn't see Jake last night and you didn't see Jake last night, then how did he know about us? He must have one hell of a hiding place."
He shrugged, "Maybe he doesn't know, maybe he just got bored and felt like tormenting you again."
"No, fire isn't his normal thing. It would be a voicemail, or a note on my door or a postcard at work. This was too intense to just be him screwing with me."
"OK, so we can eliminate the obvious, he wasn't lurking outside and he wasn't sitting in a car."
Violet shivered, "That means he is in a house or a garage. Someone is helping him." She jumped up and started pacing back and forth again. "Shit, shit, shit… I can't do this again, Roman. I am so tired of hiding and looking over my shoulder and burdening my friends."
"Violet, you aren't a burden," Roman said softly.
"OK, so, whatever, I can defend myself now at least, right? I mean, I train, I know martial arts! I have a blue belt. Shit, who am I kidding, I'm not as strong as him, there is no way I can fight him off and hurt him bad enough that I can get away. No, see, I am screwed. He'll never leave me alone. Never."
Roman stood up behind her, when she turned around she slammed right into him, he wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest. "Violet. You can defend yourself. I know you can."
"How? I am so small! He is strong, he knows how to wrestle." Violet swallowed the lump in her throat, she was determined not to cry over Jake anymore, especially not in front of Roman.
"How big is this guy?" Roman asked.
Violet shrugged, "I dunno, 5'8", I guess…"
Roman smirked, "So, practice on me. If you can fight me off, you can easily get away from that slime."
Violet looked at him wide eyed, "You? No way, no way I can grapple with you. You are, I mean, no way, I wouldn't stand a chance."
"Look, if you can create separation with me or break my hold, then you can easily get away from him. Plus, I can teach you more tricks that you won't learn in MMA."
"Like what?" She asked.
Roman looked around her kitchen, "Like how to turn any object into a weapon. Like that glass jar, or a fork or even one of your chairs."
"OK, let's start tomorrow night after work. I am too tired right now."
Roman smiled, this would be fun, "Perfect."
"Oh and by the way, there is no way you are sleeping on my tiny couch," she said as she strolled out of the kitchen.
Roman raised his eyebrow and watched her hips sway as she left, "Down boy," he thought to himself.
Jake was furious, this was not how he planned it! Violet was pissed, she wasn't scared, not even a little. Then to make matters even worse, that big jerk brought her home and he was still in there with her. He started throwing things around the dingy attic, there was no way he was going to let his woman be ruined by some big guy with a ponytail. He would watch her like a hawk, he would get her alone, he would get her back, she belonged to him and sooner or later she would realize that. This was not over, not by a long shot.