Hmm... This is taking longer than I expected! I thought it was only going to be a couple of chapters, but my muse has other ideas. Oh well, keep reading! :)
Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 24

I know I am probably taking advantage of Steph's exhaustion and befuddlement, but I am a mercenary, you know. The parking attendant was already almost frozen in awe and fear when I approached him, so it was easy to convince him to keep Steph's car overnight. I slipped him a twenty to seal the deal. Steph's reaction was predictable, but again she is just too overwhelmed at the moment to put up much of a fight. I did forget to tell the attendant which car, but that was easily dealt with.

Shopping with Steph was fun. I never thought that was something I would say, but it is true. I loved picking out clothes to flatter her figure. It nearly backfired on me, however, when I saw her ass in those jeans. I think I growled. If any man made a move, I would do more than growl. Steph kept trying to steer me towards cheaper options, but I prefer better quality, and I wasn't really intending to let her pay me anyway. I had to hold myself back when she was looking at lingerie. She went for a bra and panty set in pale blue. It was lovely, but I couldn't help myself in swapping it for the black set. My pants tightened at the thought of seeing her in it. Just the lingerie. I would have bought her both sets, but I didn't want to push my luck.

Steph seems to have the habit of saying things to herself but saying it out loud. It can be pretty amusing to hear some of the things that come out of her mouth. As we walked out of the Target, she muttered something about parking karma. I should have anticipated Steph's reaction to the elevator. It was totally understandable. She is obviously not used to climbing up seven flights of stairs, but she makes no complaint. I feel unaccountably nervous as I usher Steph into my apartment. I want her to like my space, even if it is just a rented apartment. She seems interested as she looks around. I cannot wait any longer, as I walk over to her. I have to kiss her.

I stand close to her to say, "Welcome to my home, Babe." The nickname slips from my mouth again, and I realise it is how I think of her now. Steph is right; it is hard to believe we only met a few hours ago. I feel like I have known her a long time and know her so well. I am sure there is so much more to learn, but I am also sure, in that instant, that I don't want to have her leave my life now.

I lean forward slowly, almost, but not quite touching her lips; seeking consent, seeking her desire to kiss me. She closes the gap equally slowly and brushes her lips against mine. We melt together into the kiss, and I lose track of time as we explore each other's mouths. My hands slip around her waist to pull her into my embrace fully and allow my tongue to explore. Eventually, I have to pull back, desperately needing air. We are both panting, still gazing into each other's eyes. I know I am in real danger of breaking my word to her. If I keep holding her, kissing her, I am likely to drag her into my bed regardless of the fact that we met only hours ago.

Slowly, reluctantly, I pull back and slide my hands down her sides and hips as I let her go. I take a deep breath, and lightly caress her cheek, before sliding my hands into my pants pockets. "Babe," I tell her, "If you want to have a shower first, it is through the bedroom there." I point to indicate the door. "Or would you rather get your phone calls out of the way?"

She looks thoughtful, and then replies, "I think I'll call first. I'll probably be able to relax then, after the shower. Plus, I don't feel quite so icky out of my clothes, whereas you must be keen to get changed. You have your shower first and I'll make the call to my parents."

"Are you sure, Steph? I'm here if you want moral support when you talk to your mom."

She gives me a small smile, "Honestly, it probably won't be as bad as all that. My mom loves me; I know that. But she's just got these fixed ideas of how my life should go, and a weird obsession with how her neighbourhood views us. I will call her and tell her what happened. It'll be fine."

I nod, "Don't forget to tell your dad to feed your rat."

"He's a hamster!" She objects. I grin at her and move into the bedroom to give her privacy and have a quick shower. Steph is right about one thing; I am really looking forward to getting out of these clothes.

I take my usual two-minute shower, just long enough to clean my body. I use the toilet and take a minute to brush out my hair and tie it back again neatly. I am standing in front of my closet uncertainly; uncharacteristically unsure what to wear. Normally I would throw on my standard attire, black cargoes, and a black t-shirt. But something makes me want to wear something different for Steph. In the end, I reach for a pair of black jeans, and a navy-blue t-shirt. It is not too far out of my comfort zone, but maybe a bit more 'evening in at home' than work. I hope, anyway.

I open the bedroom door to go and get some water, and my gaze is inevitably drawn to where Steph is sitting on the couch with her cell phone pressed to her ear. She is leaning forward, her other hand pressed to her forehead, and her eyes squeezed shut. She is murmuring, "Ma. Ma. Ma! Mom!" in increasingly emphatic bleats.

Even across the room, I can clearly hear a strident voice screeching through the phone "Don't you shout at me, young lady! I expect you here to explain yourself at dinner time. And you'd better not be late and spoil the pot roast!"

Steph sighs and rubs her temples. "That's what I'm trying to tell you mom," she says a little desperately, "I can't come over right now."

"And why not?" Is the icy shout.

"Because I'm still in Newark. I had to stay close by tonight; they haven't finished interviewing us and taking our statements. But they let us go for the time being they want us back early tomorrow morning to finish up with all the paperwork. I'm staying the night with a friend in Newark," she finishes in a rush.

Her mother's disapproval is still clear, but she only sniffs loudly. Steph continues, "When I finish up with the authorities tomorrow, I'll come back to Trenton and then I'll come over to see you. I promise."

Her mother's tone is slightly less strident, but huffy as she says, "Very well. But I expect you here tomorrow to explain yourself and you'd better not be in any trouble."

"I'm not in any trouble mom," Steph says resignedly. "I'm ok. I just had a big scare and really awful experience." Steph shakes her head, and I wonder if her mother even asked her if she was ok after the trauma of the day. Steph adds, "Is dad there? Can you put him on? I want to ask him to go over and take care of Rex."

I hear the distant yell, "Frank! Come here and talk to Stephanie." There is a more remote back and forth of voices, before I hear a masculine murmur come through faintly, too low to hear the words.

Steph smiles faintly, and speaks again, "I'm ok daddy. Honestly. I wasn't hurt. Just scared and worried." She listens to her father speak again before smiling more genuinely this time, "thanks, daddy. I just wanted to ask you if you would go over and feed Rex for me? I have to stay tonight in Newark, to deal with all the paperwork tomorrow, and Rex will be hungry." She must have heard agreement, and she adds, "Thanks dad. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" Steph hits the end button on her cell and leans back on my couch, still with her eyes closed and rubbing her temple.

I move quietly into my small kitchen and retrieve a couple of bottles of water out of the fridge. I carry them back into the living room and place them silently on the coffee table, before moving around behind Steph. I gently place my hands onto her shoulders and begin to rub the tension out of her muscles. She jumps slightly at my first touch and opens her eyes to look up at me backwards. I smile at her slightly and continue rubbing her neck and shoulders.

Steph sighs, "That's heavenly," she says quietly.

"Mom not happy?" I ask neutrally.

She sighs again, "Mom's never really happy. At least, not with me," she adds a little bitterly. She shrugs slightly under my ministrations, "I guess I've learned to live with it. It's just a bit stressful after today."

I murmur something incoherent to indicate understanding. I am not able to voice my true opinion of a parent who apparently does not consider her daughter's welfare the most important thing after the day she had today. I finish rubbing her shoulders and walk around to sit beside her. I hand her the bottle of water and take a long drink out of my own. She copies me, taking a few large swallows, and then sipping silently from the bottle.

"Why don't you have a shower, Steph? I put your shopping bags on my bed and laid out a towel for you in the bathroom. Take your time, there's plenty of hot water. When you come back out, we'll open a bottle of wine and watch the news before we order some take-out. What do you feel like eating?"

She thinks for a minute, "I feel like I need some comfort food. Is that ok? Maybe pizza or Chinese?"

"There's a pretty good pizza parlour two blocks away that delivers," I reply. "I'll order a bit later, when you've had time to get cleaned up and relax."

Steph thanks me and busses me lightly on the cheek, before standing and walking into the bedroom to shut the door. I decide to call my own family to warn them about my likely appearance on the news tonight. A short phone call to my father takes care of that, and a longer call to Marco in Miami updates him and gets me a current update on the business. I then call my attorney in Miami to explain the events of the day and ask his advice on the meeting tomorrow. Ross tells me it would be better to have legal representation with me, just to make sure I get copies of all the documentation I will need, and to advise if questioning goes in any tricky directions. He promises to make some calls and will let me know when he has someone lined up to meet me at the fire department tomorrow morning.

By the time I've finished with the calls, I can hear Steph moving about in the bedroom. I move into the kitchen to find a bottle of wine and open it to breathe. I am not a big wine aficionado, but I do enjoy a glass of wine more than most other alcoholic drinks. I open a bottle of Australian Cabernet Shiraz. Eli had visited Australia last year and done a winery tour in the Barossa Valley and had sent me a case of his favourites. I am enjoying them.

Steph emerges, flushed, and still damp from the shower, and gives me a shy smile. She has put the jeans and t-shirt back on and she looks casual and sexy. I smile at her and pour us each a glass of the wine. Steph sits on the sofa and accepts the glass as I sit beside her. Feeling like it's appropriate, I clink my glass on hers lightly and say, "To us, Babe."

She repeats, "To us." Steph sips the wine and says, "Mm, nice. I don't recognise it. What is it?" I explain about Eli's travels to Australia and his devotion to wine. As we chat and sip the wine, I can see Steph is relaxing, finally, and I am happy to see her comfortable in my space after our horrendous day. I get up to refill our glasses and ask what Steph wants on her pizza. Her reply of, "Anything," earns a raised eyebrow from me.

"No really, I eat anything on a pizza," she affirms. "I've never met a pizza I didn't like! Get whatever you like, I promise I'll like it too." I consult the take-out menu I have for the local pizza parlour and decide on a large half-vegetarian and half-pepperoni. I figure she will enjoy the meat and I'll mostly eat the veggies. I order the pizza and top off our wine glasses.

I note as I return to the living room that it is nearly time for the local news broadcast, and I pick up the remote control to switch on the tv. The broadcast starts as we sip on our wine, and we both nearly choke as we see the elevator story is the lead story. The reporter is a hard-edged blonde woman, but she is very enthusiastic as she presents the events as if describing a fast-paced disaster movie. I watch as there is brief footage of the preparation of the fire fighters on the ground floor, moving swiftly to show us being lifted out of the elevator. The camera crew was apparently not allowed in the building foyer, for which I am grateful. We are shown at a distance, and our faces are not shown very clearly.

The sudden and dramatic events for Rodriguez are shown more fully, and it hits me again as I watch his agony and shock. I glance at Steph and see fresh tears tracking her face as she relives it too. The ambulance pulls out and the news crew apparently started packing up; as the next footage is clearly just after the elevator crashed, showing hastily filmed footage of the NFD officers standing in the swirling dust and looking stunned at the turn of events. There is speculation from the news reporter about what happened to the elevator, but clearly no details have been confirmed.

I switch the tv off as the report finishes and pull Steph into my side as we continue to sip the wine and reflect on the events of the day. The front security door buzzes and I get up to answer it and go down to accept the pizza delivery. When I get back, Steph has been exploring my kitchen, as she has found plates and cutlery and created some napkins from kitchen paper. She has also topped off our wine glasses again. Normally two glasses would be my limit, but I decide on this day I will enjoy a third.

After all, it really has been a hell of a day.