A/N: Tag to season two, episode sixteen. The Cradle Will Rock. A mention of episode three from season one as well. It's not very long, but enjoy :) xx Mariah

Ages:

Jim - 26
Melinda - 22

"Which locker is it?" Wyatt screamed as he pushed Melinda and Lynn into the locker room.

Randy wheezed, his energy fading as he sat on the bench. "Tell him it's thirty-nine."

"Number thirty-nine," Melinda said, short of breath from Randy's energy, somehow relayed the message as Wyatt's grip on her arm tightened and whipped the key at Lynn.

"Open it!" Wyatt yelled.

The woman dropped it, frantically trying to pick it up as she brought it to the lock. He rose the gun toward her and she only shook worse, making it even hard for her to try and open the locker. "It doesn't work," Lynn muttered and dropped the key again, her hand shaking so badly. "It doesn't fit." She stepped back after trying it again. "I can't get it open. It doesn't fit."

"Give me that," Wyatt screamed and pushed her out of his way. She ran to her as Lynn fell, catching her. He tried the key, screaming as it didn't work. "SON OF A BITCH!"

The crazed man whipped the key across the room and stormed over to the nearby weight table. He grabbed the biggest one and smashed the locker door to pieces before grabbing a leather bag and unzipping it; only to find gym clothes.

"What kind of game are you playing bitch?" Wyatt walked over to both women and Melinda didn't know who he was talking to until he grabbed her arm. He yanked her away and shoved her into the lockers. He was near her face, the gun pointed to her head as she sobbed, his saliva covering her face as he screamed at her. "WHERE'S MY MONEY?"

"Freeze!" A police officer yelled as a group came in, weapons all trained on Wyatt. "Put the weapon down sir and put your hands in the air."

Her attacker froze, dropping his weapon as someone tackled him to the ground and put handcuffs on him.

It was all over quickly and Jim rushed in and enveloped her in a tight embrace. Melinda didn't know how to react. At first, she just held him, her arms melting into him soon after.

"How'd you know to call the police?" She asked after everything, her mind blank for several minutes as just he held her.

"Mel, honey, I didn't..." He sighed and kissed her forehead. "They called me."

"What?" She whispered and looked over to see Wyatt being dragged out of the room as Randy's sister came in behind, Rose in her arms.

She tucked herself further into her husband's arms, his hands were warm and tight around her waist. She loved him so much. Her tears spilled quicker now and the soft material of his sweater soothed her more as his hands rubbed his warmth into her.

"Let's get you home," he whispered and began to lead her out.

Jim watched her as Melinda settled into bed with a huff. She'd never admit it but she was internally fighting a battle with herself. She wanted to ask for help but was scared to look weak. "Honey, can I do anything?" He asked, sitting on the edge of her side of the bed. "Mel?"

She looked over at him and smiled sadly. "I'm fine. Just tired that's all. Today was... exhausting, you know?" She said and pressed her hand to his chest. "You're sweet though."

"You know I hate it when you plaster that fake smile on your face and say you're fine." He sighed, taking her hand into his and kissing the palm. "Please just talk to me about something."

"What do you want to hear Jim?" She asked, her eyes filling with tears. "That I can't close my eyes because I see him? That my heart still hasn't stopped racing and I can still feel him shoving a gun against my face?"

She threw her arms up and moved to get out of bed, and he felt like the worst person in the world. He hated that someone, that Wyatt, was able to hurt her like this again after the robbery, which had turned out to be him too. He had failed to protect her once again.

He had listened to his wife's entire statement to the police twice, three times tonight, and his heart broke more every time. "I'm here," he whispered. "I will keep you safe."

"Your words are hard to believe right now," she sighed.

"Do you remember when we first got married? When you were dealing with those twins?" He asked, reaching his hand out to her to bring her back to bed.

She let out a deep sigh, taking his hand and sitting across from him. "What does that have to do with right now?" She asked.

"Do you remember?" He asked and she nodded. "You were so rattled and wouldn't tell me why you didn't want to go to dinner with Andrea and Will. What did I tell you that day?"

"You um... you said that our wedding rings created a bond and that my problems were yours," she told him and squeezed his hand, looking at their wedding bands. "Why are you making me remember all this?"

"I still mean everything that I said then, Mel," he said, bringing her hand up to his mouth for a kiss. "When you're ready. We can talk about this."

"Did you get your cop friend to turn the mic on from the hallway?" She asked, knowing him far too well. He shrugged. "Jim... I didn't want you... why?"

"I should've gone with you over to that damn house," he said, gritting his teeth back and forth.

Melinda sighed. "This is why I didn't want you to know. You get all in your head about it. I'm going to be fine," she said. "I'm sorry that I keep getting myself into these messes."

He kissed her forehead. "As long as you let me know ahead of time so I can get off work, we'll be fine next time." He teased her until she laughed, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "I love you and what you can do."

"I know. I'm lucky," she said and then a smile brushed across her lips, a real one, and his heart jumped. That's what Melinda Gordon did to him. It was a craft of hers to get what she wanted and he instantly knew what she was craving for him to do.

She wanted him to make her forget all about today. To kiss her thoughts out of her head and to push her over the edge into a world of love and passion. In one fluid motion, he slid his hand from holding hers to the back of her head, pulling her in for the kiss, and that was just what he going to do.