After testifying in court against his assailant, Luis went to his apartment to crash. The whole two month-long ordeal had been emotionally exhausting. He wouldn't have gotten through it without Eddie.

She didn't need to open herself up like she did in recounting her own sexual assault. Especially if it was a woman opening up to a man about such a heinous act, it showed a trust had been established that went beyond mere partners on the job. It was an act of emotional intimacy and they both knew it.

* Knock * Knock * Knock *

Luis tensed at the wrap of knuckles on his apartment door. Luis took a deep breath. She's in prison, he thought. It's not her.

He exhaled as he walked to the door and looked through the peephole to see Eddie. She was dressed in blue jeans and a red and yellow blouse. Her hair was down unlike when they were on tour, but it wasn't too done up, either. And she still looked flawless.

Luis opened the door. "Hey," was all he could muster. "What's up?"

"Oh, you know," Eddie said casually, "just in the neighborhood."

For a beat, Luis and Eddie stood there, looking at each other. Eddie had to admit, even in jeans and plain gray T-shirt, Luis was exceptionally handsome. Most men can't pull off that look, but he could.

"Uh… Can I come in?" she finally managed.

"Sorry," Luis said with a chuckle, holding the door open for his guest, motioning for her to come inside. "Come in."

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" he asked, trying to be hospitable for his unexpected but welcome guest.

"No thanks, I'm good," she said with a wave of her hand.

As they sat on his couch, Luis sighed a wistful sigh.

"Why the sigh?" Eddie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The last time we were both on this couch," Luis explained, "you were in uniform and I was all bruised up and explaining what happened to me."

Eddie smiled. "But you got through it," she assured him. "You filed a report, arrested her, and testified against her in court. That takes guts… Guts even I didn't have when the same thing happened to me."

Luis eyed her curiously. "You reported it, though, right? And you arrested that piece of crap."

Eddie nodded. "Yes, but it took me awhile to do it. You on the other hand, reported it more quickly than I did."

"It's not a game of who did it quicker, Eddie," Luis contested with a chuckle. "If I didn't have a good partner," he said, gently bumping Eddie's shoulder with his shoulder, "I might still be looking through my peephole repeatedly before going to bed."

Eddie looked at her partner with sad, knowing eyes. She had gone through a similar ritual after Singer had assaulted her. She'd be lying if she didn't say that she never got nervous from time to time when she saw a man who looked even slightly like him.

"Well," she said with a playful roll of her eyes, "glad I'm good for something."

"Hey," Luis said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You're good for a lot of things."

A few beats passed. Both felt the tension, but neither dared acknowledge it outright.

"Sorry," Luis said, removing his hand.

"Don't be," Eddie said with a shrug of her shoulders. "We were just – "

"Having a moment?" Luis said with a grin. "We gotta stop having those."

Eddie grinned in return.

Luis turned serious. "Can I ask you a question? It's on the heavy side."

"Of course," Eddie said, seeing the look in her partner's eyes.

Luis exhaled the whirlwind. "Does it get easier?" he asked, a quiet desperation in his voice. "The feeling like something was taken from you? That you can't trust the opposite sex? Feeling like you need to look through the peephole in the door to make sure she isn't there even though you know she's in prison?"

"It does," Eddie said, eyes glittering with sympathy and heartbreak over her partner's pain. "It did take a bit, but it does get better."

"Well," Luis said after a beat, "having someone like you helps make it better. I completely, absolutely trust you."

Eddie smiled warmly. "I made a promise to myself that if another cop went through what I went through, I'd help them."

"Did you know the cop you'd be helping would be your partner who happens to be a man?" Luis asked wryly.

"Doesn't matter," Eddie answered.

Luis nodded. "Well… Thanks."

"You're welcome," she assured him, absent-mindedly placing her hand on his knee. Without even thinking, Luis placed his hand on top of hers.

They both looked at their hands and looked at each other, the tension crackling.

"I thought we agreed we had to stop having these moments," Luis said, trying but failing to deny the feeling.

"So did I," Eddie said, fighting just as hard as Luis.

Luis leaned toward Eddie and kissed her. Eddie kissed him back, her lips engaged in a slow, tender dance with his. Their lips parted and their foreheads rested against each other. And still, Eddie could tell Luis was torn.

"I want you," Luis confessed in a hushed voice. "I want this." He paused, hesitating to really say it. "But… I don't think I'm ready to..."

Eddie lifted her head. She wanted him, but she didn't want to take advantage of him given his fresh memories of Melissa. She remembered all-too-well how skittish she was after her violent dalliance with Singer.

Eddie cupped Luis' cheek with the palm of her hand. "I understand completely," she said with a soft, understanding smile. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to do. If you want me to go, say the word."

"No," Luis said assuredly. "Please stay. Stay with me tonight… I want to hold you. If… If that's okay."

Both of them knew this would be the first time Eddie had been with a man in any capacity since Jamie's passing.

Eddie stood up, eyes soft, reaching her hand out to her partner, now in more ways than one.

"Take me to bed," she softly commanded.

-

A/N: Sorry for the delay in Ch. 3. Between crazy work schedules and technical issues with Fanfiction's web server, this took way more time than it should have to post.