Next morning, as the sun shined in her eyes, Noelle let out a soft whine and went to pull the comforter over her head until she realized it wouldn't move no matter how hard she tugged on it. She rolled over and opened her eyes, a smile appeared on her face when she came face to face with Jamie.

The night before, after talking in the car for a while, they finally made their way inside and he offered to stay the night with her, which she quickly accepted. She remembered the two had laid in her bed- her under the comforter while he laid on top- but apparently, at some point in the night he had gotten under the comforter and now had most of it wrapped around him, which shouldn't have surprised her, he was always more cold-natured than her.

Noelle watched him breathed in and out a few times as she folded her hands and rested them under her cheek to keep from reaching out to him. She wanted to run her fingers through his bedhead, she wanted to trace his jaw with her fingertips and she wanted to run her thumb over his bottom lip, but she didn't dare touch him because above all, she wanted him to sleep more.

She knew he always had a lot on his mind; missing the ones he had lost, his new career, trying to take care of everyone with that huge, kind, heart of his and now she had laid her own problems on him. The last thing she wanted to do was worry him and pile more on his already full plate.

"Why are you watching me sleep?" Jamie sleepily asked, even with his eyes closed he was aware of her staring at him.

Hearing his words pulled her out of her own thoughts, she had never noticed he was beginning to wake up. She let out a soft chuckle. "Why are you drooling on my pillow?"

"I don't drool." He rolled over onto his back with a laugh, then opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. "And even if I did, you have no room to talk with your snoring."

"I don't snore." She playfully punched his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you," he joked as he pointed to this ear. "My eardrum is busted from all the loud snoring last night."

"Shut up!" She hit him again when he began to imitate loud snoring to tease her.

She let out a squeal of laughter when he suddenly rolled over and pinned her under him before he began to attack her by tickling her sides. She let out another loud laugh and tried to push him off of her while wiggling under him trying to get away.

She yelled out his name and tried to grab his hands to stop him, she even tried to bite him a couple of times, but nothing could get him to stop- nothing that is, until her shirt rode up some and he saw something on her side, something that looked a lot like a deep scar.

"What's that?" Jamie questioned as he stopped the assault on her sides.

"What's what?" Noelle asked confused until she saw his eyes shift down to look at her side. Suddenly feeling exposed, she pushed him off of her and jerked the shirt down as she quickly sat up in bed.

"Nol, where did that come from?" He looked at her and saw her fold her arms across herself- as if trying to protect herself.

Remembering the scar he saw once on her ankle, he grabbed her leg and pushed the fabric of the pajama bottoms up to look at that mark closer. He lightly ran his thumb over the shorter scar. "And this one? Is this from being chained?"

Noelle shook her head and pulled her leg back. She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, laying a hand around her ankle to cover the scar.

"There's a couple of swallow marks around my ankle. They're lighter and less noticeable at first glance, those are the ones from being chained," she explained.

"And the other ones?" He looked at her closely for a moment, feeling his heart race. "There's more to the story, isn't there?"

When she ignored his question and turned her head to avoid his eyes, he felt like he had his answer.

After telling him about Jimmie last night, when she didn't add any more details, he just assumed that meant the story was over. He assumed it meant that Jimmie only had her for a short time before the cops found her and saved her.

He didn't know what made him assume that was how the story ended, maybe it was just wishful thinking or maybe it was because he couldn't stomach the idea of something worse happening to her, but either way, he was starting to realize he was completely wrong for thinking that way.

"Nol, what happened?" Jamie questioned.

He watched her and saw her breathing pick up as the memories hit her and she tried to keep the tears at bay. He hated putting her through all of this by making her relive everything, but he had to know. The not knowing was torturing him.

"I never wanted you to know...none of you," Noelle quietly began to say. "I knew how badly it would hurt you to hear what happened and I never want to cause you any pain, Jamie."

"Hey..." He reached out to grab her chin and turned her to look at him. "You're not causing me any kind of pain, but the not knowing is killing me." He held her face in his hands, lightly running his thumb over her cheek. "Nol, tell me everything," he added, his voice barely above a whisper.

"The scars are from when I tried to escape," she began to say. "As more days went by and help didn't come, I wanted to just give up, but I couldn't. I wanted to live, I wanted to see my family again, but most of all, I wanted you, Jamie. I wanted to come home to you."

He scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her toward him to kiss the top of her head. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry I couldn't bring you home, Nol. I would have been there, I promise, I never would have stopped looking for you if I had known."

"I know." She laid her head against his chest, clutching his shirt with her fist- like she was scared to let him go for fear of being jerked away from him.

Realizing what she said before, he asked, "Wait, you said days...how long did he have you?"

"A week," she quietly answered.

He pulled back to look at her, a shocked look on his face. "A week?"

"Well, a little over a week. They said it was about eight to nine days, but it felt longer to me."

"How did you get away?" He lightly brushed a lock of hair from her face, then ran his finger down the side of her face as he stared at her. He didn't want to look away from her or stop touching her, mostly to comfort her, but also for himself as well.

"I had to pretend," she said, her voice barely above a whisper as tears filled her eyes. "I had to pretend I loved him."

As her vision blurred, it was like she could see it all playing in her mind like a movie. Suddenly, it was like she was back in that house again. The one place she never wanted to go back to.

- Flashback -

"Jimmie, Jimmie!" Noelle tilted her head back to look up at the ceiling. She could hear him pacing back and forth above her, she knew he could hear her.

"Jimmie, I'm sorry, okay? I-I didn't understand before, but I do now. You were right, okay? You were right!"

She waited a minute, wondering if her plan would actually work, then she heard it- she heard his footsteps walking across the floor toward the basement door. Seconds later, she heard the door creak open, followed by his heavy footsteps coming down the stairs toward her.

He stepped off the last step, then began to walk toward her, the eerie smile that always made her stomach turn was present on his face. "Do you mean it? You really see it now?"

"Mm-hm," she muttered as she nodded her head.

She didn't think it was possible, but his smile became even more creepy. "And what was I right about?"

"Everything," she lied. "You-You were right, we belong together."

Jimmie studied her quietly for a moment, making her worry that he wasn't buying her lie. If he figured out she was tricking him, she didn't want to think what he would do to her.

Finally, the menacing smile was back on his face, before he took a few steps toward her. He laid his hands on her sides, rubbing them up and down a few times before he pulled her closer to him. She squeezed her eyes shut and held back the bile in her throat when he buried his face in her hair and inhaled.

"We'll be together forever, Noelle," he whispered in her ear. She shuddered when she felt his lips against her skin. "You're mine forever."

He pulled back to look at her, a giddy smile on his face. "I've waited for you all my life and I knew it...I knew it the moment you sat beside me that you are my one and only. I never knew why my brother had to die until that moment, but now I know I had to do it for you, so I could find you."

"What do you mean you had to do it?" she questioned. "Your brother committed suicide."

"No." Jimmie shook his head, a chuckle escaping from his lips- like he was spilling a huge secret finally, and in a way he was.

"I killed him." He smiled. "I didn't mean to at the time, it just...happened and I was devastated at losing him. He was all I had. But they told me it had to happen, they told me what to do with the body afterwards and they told me there was a plan, and they were right...they were right because the plan was you. It's you, Noelle."

"They who?" She lowered her eyebrows in confusion.

"They... They! You know what they I'm talking about!" He shook her by her shoulders, then shoved her backward, causing her to trip on the chain and fall with a hard thud to the floor. He ignored her cry of pain as he turned away from her in frustration

Why was she asking these questions? She already knew the answers, they told her. They had to have told her already just like they told him.

He turned back to look at her. "They! The universe, some higher power or-or whatever you want to call it, they said it! They said we're meant to be." He advanced toward her, causing her to shrink back, but she didn't get far when he grabbed her arms and pulled her up from the floor.

"They told you too, right? You heard them?" he questioned.

Her vision blurred from pain and fear. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. When he yelled at her again, she jumped at his tone, then nodded her head repeatedly to answer him.

He breathed out a sigh of relief, then pulled her to him to bury his face in her hair again. He held her too tightly, making her feel like she couldn't breathe, but she was too scared to do anything, too scared to tell him to let her go.

"I knew it. I knew you heard it, I knew you were the one," Jimmie whispered as he continued to hold her close. He pulled back to look at her, placing his hands on either side of her face and squeezing a little too hard. "Tell me you love me."

"What?" she breathed out, hoping she heard him wrong.

He pressed against her face more, causing her to whimper out in pain. "Tell me you love me."

"I-I lo-love you," Noelle choked out, trying to hold back a sob. She tried not to scream out when his lips were suddenly against her for a rough kiss.

She felt him backing her up toward the small cot he had placed out for her to sleep on, giving her a pretty good idea of where he wanted to take this. There was no way she could go along with that, that was where the acting ended.

"Wait, wait, wait," she mumbled out, trying to stop him. "We can't do this. I mean, not-not here," she stuttered, keeping up the act. She needed to find a way to stall him until she came up with a better escape plan.

"You're right." He nodded, then ran his hands down her face. He gripped onto the hair that had stuck to her damp cheeks and gave her a smile. "You're right. Our first time needs to be special, it needs to be perfect. It will be perfect."

- End Flashback -

While telling her story, Noelle had stared straight ahead in a daze, but when she heard a pained noise come from his mouth, she turned her head to look at him.

The look on his face was a cross between several different emotions at once. He hated that she went through this alone and even lived with the memories by herself. Just the thought of this guy touching her made him sick to his stomach and made him want to punch something.

"Jamie?" she breathed out when she noticed him balling his fist over the comforter so tight his knuckles turned white.

She didn't see him get angry often. Growing up she only saw him lose his temper a few times- like the time she caught her college boyfriend cheating on her, the look on his face before he punched the guy was similar to the look on his face now.

She softly said his name again and reached out to lay a hand on top of his. He released the comforter and latched onto her hand. He felt her run her thumb over the back of his hand, her touch causing him to take a deep breath as he tried to calm down.

"What happened next?" he quietly asked, a part of him needed to know, but the other part dreaded it.

She cleared her throat, then lowered her head. "After he unchained me, he took me upstairs to one of the bedrooms. He uh, his hands were all over me and he was- he was kissing me and I...I was just trying to think of a way out of it."

"Did he- Did he..." His voice broke off as he thought about what could have happened next. He tightened his hold on her hand and looked up at her with a pained look on his face. "Nol, please don't tell me he-"

"No," she cut him off, knowing what he was asking. She raised her head to look at him, fresh tears in her eyes as she relived that moment in her mind. "Before it got that far, I talked him into letting me go to the bathroom...to shower and freshen up, you know? I remember I was in a panic while I was in that small room alone. I knew I couldn't stay in there forever, but I couldn't go back into that bedroom either because I knew what was coming.

"I tried to open the window, but it was, like, painted shut," she explained. "I looked all over that room, trying to find something I could use for a weapon. Finally, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my fist and tried to break off a piece of the mirror as quietly as I could."

She shook her head and wiped the tears from her face. "But there was no way to break it off without making a lot of noise. So I just dropped the towel and punched it as hard as I could...it hurt like hell and for a moment I thought I broke my hand. It also made more noise than I thought and he heard it."

This time Jamie was the one rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand when he saw how upset the memories were making her. From her reaction, he could tell whatever happened next was the worst part of the story. It was going to be the part that really explained her fears, it was going to be the part that haunted her dreams, it was going to be the part that broke his heart.

"I could hear him at the door. He was beating on it and yelling at me to open it. The mirror had only cracked, I needed to hit it again," she began to say. "So I hit it a few more times, while he threw himself against the door. Right when the door popped open, I finally broke off a long piece of glass. He charged toward me and I just started swinging. I remembered I cut his cheek, then I stabbed him in the shoulder with it before running out of the room.

"I ended up in a long hallway, with all these others doors around me. I ran into each room and went right to the window, but all of them were nailed shut."

She stared straight ahead, knowing what was coming next. "I found the stairs and went down them. I could hear him coming down the hall...he was so calm, so sure that he would catch me. He knew I was trapped and I couldn't get away..."

- Flashback -

"Noelle...Noelle," Jimmie called out in a sing-song voice. "You really disappoint me, Noelle. I thought you understood now, you told me you love me!"

The brunette ignored his shouts as she continued to run down the stairs. Spying the front door, she ran over to it, even though she didn't have high hopes that she could get out of it, and she was right. Desperate to find a way out, she did like before and ran into any room she came across, trying window after window, but like before, they were all nailed shut.

"You can't run from me, Noelle. You can't get away. No matter where you go..." He let out a laugh, then added in a sing-song voice, "I'm gonna catch you...I'm gonna find you."

She yelled out in frustration as she beat her hands against the glass, leaving traces of blood from the small cuts on her hand from punching the mirror before, then grabbing it to use as a weapon. She pushed away from the window and glanced around the room, looking for something to smash it open or something else to use as a weapon, but the room was basically bare with nothing useful in it.

Realizing that room was a bust, she stumbled out of it and looked around, wondering where he was now. She held her breath for a moment to listen for him, but he had stopped talking and she didn't hear any footsteps either.

She leaned back against a wall and looked down at the end of the hall, once she rounded the corner she had a straight shot to the kitchen. She assumed the backdoor would be boarded up like the front, but she did remember seeing a window in the basement above the cot she had slept on. She knew there was a good chance it was nailed shut as well, but she had to have hope that maybe he forgot about that one, it was her last chance for freedom.

She laid her head back against the wall, trying to slow down her racing heart and catch her breath. She had no idea where in the house he was right now, he could even be waiting around the corner for her, but she hoped speed would be on her side, she had to hope she could outrun him.

She counted to three in her head, then took off running, rounding the corner and was relieved to see he wasn't standing there waiting for her. She rushed into the kitchen and jerked the basement door open, then rushed into the hell hole that had been her prison for the last week. She was halfway down the stairs, when she felt a sharp pain in her ankle, causing her to lose her footing and roll down the stairs, landing on the floor with a hard thud.

When she saw him coming out from behind the staircase she realized what he happened- he had been hiding under them waiting for her with the piece of glass she had stabbed him with earlier. When she had ran down the stairs he had used that to slice her ankle open.

Seeing him come toward her, she cried out and turned to crawl away from him, but he grabbed onto her injured ankle, causing her to scream out in pain. She tried to grab onto something, but there was nothing to grab as he pulled her back toward him, her nails scraping against the floor. He flipped her over and straddled her, trying to hold her still as she screamed and tried to fight him off.

"You can't leave me! You can never leave me!" Jimmie screamed over her cries for help. "You're my forever. My forever!" In his rage-filled mind, he stabbed the long piece of glass into her side.

Noelle's mouth dropped open in surprise, a scream falling short as she felt unbearable pain in her side. Once he realized what he had done, she heard him screaming out her name and apologizing to her repeatedly as he jerked the glass out, but she ignored him and tried to breathe through the pain, her body trembling in shock.

She didn't know how long she laid there, feeling her blood spilling out until she heard a sound upstairs followed by the best sounding words in the world; someone yelling out her name and announcing they were the police. She lazily turned her head toward the stairs when she heard a set of footsteps coming down them. Before her eyes began to flutter shut, she saw it was Spencer racing over toward them, followed by several other cops.

Feeling someone press something against the wound, she snapped her eyes open with a cry of pain and saw Spencer above her, while the other officers wrestled Jimmie to the floor to handcuff him. Jimmie yelled out to her, begging her to tell the cops this was all a mistake, that they were in love. He swore that he would find her again, that they would be together while Spencer yelled at them to get him the hell out of there.

While they dragged Jimmie toward the stairs, Spencer turned back to Noelle and pressed the button-down shirt he had ripped off to try to stop the blood flow. He glanced down at the white shirt he had on under it, seeing that some of her blood had ended up on it, the bright red smears began to blur as tears filled his eyes.

Hearing a whimper from her, he snapped his head to the side to look at her. "Hang on, Elle. Sweetheart, you have to hang on, okay?"

She tried to nod her head, but it felt too heavy to move, everything felt too heavy. When she felt her eyes trying to close, she heard him speak up again, begging her to keep her eyes open and to look at him. She could even swear she heard him choke up as he continued to beg her to stay alive before everything went black.

- End Flashback -

"He-He almost killed you?" Jamie questioned, his voice full of emotion.

Noelle slowly nodded her head. "If Spencer didn't find me when he did..." Her voice had trailed off, both knew what would have happened if he hadn't got there when he did.

"You almost died," he repeated softly- as if he could barely believe what he just heard. Once the impact of those words sunk in, he jumped up from the bed and began to angrily pace back and forth. "Jesus, Noelle, why didn't you tell us sooner? Hell, why didn't you call us after it happened? I would have been there in a flash, you know that!"

"I know. I know, Jamie, but you just lost your brother months before that, I didn't want to put you or your family through that again," she tried to explain.

"You still should have called me. Me, Noelle." He jabbed a finger in his chest to get the point across.

"And say what? Hey, guess what, I almost died, but don't worry because somehow, by the grace of God, I survived." She stood up from the bed.

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "You should have at least called and said something. After all we've been through...out of all the times I've been right by your side, and the one time you needed me-"

"You couldn't have stopped it, Jamie," she softly said, interrupting him as she walked toward him.

"We don't know that," he argued. "Because you never told me!"

"I know, I'm sorry," she said, her voice barely above a whisper as she took another step, coming to a stop in front of him. She knew he wasn't really mad at her, just the situation. He hated that he couldn't have helped her in any way.

"I would have been there," he said, his tone matching hers. He laid a hand on the side of her neck. "I would have been there, Nol. Danny and Dad too...everyone...the whole family would have been there, I know it. We all would have done something, we would have protected you. We would have done anything to protect you."

"I know," she mouthed as she nodded her head at his words.

A pained look appeared on his face as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers, holding her face in his hands. He knew from the beginning that something happened to her in Florida, but had no idea it was this bad, he had no idea how close he actually came to losing her completely.

With teary eyes and a voice full of emotion, he quietly said, "I can't lose you, Nol. I can't."

She pulled back to look at him and saw a tear slide down his face. She reached out to wipe it away, then rested a hand on the side of his face. "You won't. I'm here, Jamie, I'm right here."

Her vision blurred as tears filled her own eyes and she said the two words she had never been able to say before, but for once she finally felt like she could. "I survived," her voice was low, but had an air of confidence that he hadn't heard in a while.

He pulled in a sharp breath, knowing how big that was for her to admit. His eyes scanned her face, feeling such pride that this amazing woman was in his life; that he got to grow up with her, that he got to be by her side through the good times and the bad, that he got to see her strength daily, and now, he felt himself falling even more in love with her.

"You did. You survived." Jamie nodded, agreeing with her comment. "You fought like hell and you never gave up...you made it, Nol, and you have no idea how proud I am of you."

She looked up at him and bit her bottom lip to hold back tears at his words. She flashed him a small smile, then stepped forward to bury her face in his shirt and wrap her arms around his middle.

After revealing everything that happened it felt nice to be comforted by him. She had to admit it felt nice to finally get everything out and not have to live the nightmare alone anymore- something Spencer told her from the beginning, she just never listened until now.

Jamie wrapped his arms around her and held her close, then placed a kiss on top of her head. His heart felt heavy after everything she told him. He couldn't imagine how it made her feel- to not only live it once but then to retell it and live through it again. He understood why it took her so long to open up to him about it. He was glad she finally let him in, but he couldn't deny that he felt a bit bad for pushing her so much lately.

The two held each other for a few minutes longer until something on her dresser caught his attention. He nodded over toward it. "What is that?"

"What?" She pulled back to see what he was talking about.

He sidestepped her and walked over to the dresser to pick up a ziplock bag that held a red rose- it was the one she found on her car the day before after leaving the gym. After spending most of the day looking over it with a set of gloves on, she had placed it in a bag for evidence.

Jamie turned it over, seeing the small note attached to it and reading the short word. He looked up at her with a confused look on his face. "What does this mean? What does 'We' mean?" Before she could answer, he took a step toward her. "Wait, last night you told me you think Jimmie is here...did he leave this?"

"I don't know," Noelle answered honestly. "I found it on my car when we left the gym-"

"Whoa, wait, you mean yesterday?" he cut her off. "Yesterday, when we were at the gym together, standing in the parking lot and I was only steps away from you...You found this and didn't call me right then? What the hell, Nol!"

"It's not like we were on good terms in that particular moment, Jamie. I was frustrated, scared, embarrassed..." She paused for a moment. "And frankly, a little pissed at you."

He chuckled at her last comment. "And now? You still pissed at me?"

"I haven't decided yet," she joked, flashing him a smile.

Jamie shook his head, another laugh escaping his lips at her answer. Turning serious, he nodded toward the bagged rose. "What's with the one word?"

"It's something he used to do before," she answered. "He would leave things, one at a time with one word, but once I had everything, there would be a phrase."

"Was that well-known? Like was it released to the media?" he questioned.

Feeling hurt, she shot him a look. "You don't believe me?"

"No, no, that's not what I'm saying," he quickly said as he approached her.

When she went to turn away from him, he reached out to grab her arm and turn her back toward him. "I do believe you, Nol, I swear I do. I just...deep down, I'm hoping there is a chance this could be a copycat. I'm hoping like hell this guy isn't back. I mean, was he not locked up or something?"

"No, he was...he is, hopefully," she said, correcting herself. "He was offered a plea deal instead of standing trial and was sent to a mental hospital."

"Was he released or-"

"I don't know." She shook her head. "He's not supposed to be. When I started noticing little thing, I thought- well hoped- that I was being paranoid.

"Then recently when some criminals were released because of tainted DNA tests, it made me start to wonder if there could have been some kind of mistake and he was released too. I've tried to get in touch with Spencer so he can check it out, but I haven't heard back from him yet."

"Is that normal for him?"

"Not really," she said. "If he does miss my call, he'll call me back within a day or so, same with texts."

Seeing the worried look on her face, he tried to ease her mind. "There's no reason to think something happened to him, Nol. He could just be busy with work."

"Maybe so, I just...if Jimmie is back, I don't know what he'll do...how far he'll take things to get me back." With the worried look still present on her face, she quietly asked, "What are we gonna do if he is back?"

"Then we're going to stop him...together," he said confidently, then nodded toward the bag. "First step, getting this to Danny."

"No, wait..." She shook her head to stop him.

"What is it?" he asked, seeing the hesitation in her actions.

"I-I don't know if I can do this, Jamie." She nervously played with her fingers.

"Hey, it's okay." He laid a hand on the back of her neck and brought her toward him. He kissed her forehead, then pulled back to look at her. "This isn't like before, no one is going to dismiss you and send you away. I believe you, Danny is going to believe you-"

"It's not just that." She shook her head. "I-I don't know if I can go through it all again, at least not so soon." It took a lot out of her to tell him what happened, she wasn't strong enough to tell it again. "Give-Give me a day or two. I was going to run tests on it anyway, I mean, I doubt he left any prints, but just to make sure."

"Okay." He nodded. "But then we're telling Danny, okay?"

She hesitated for a moment, then gave him a short nod. He leaned forward to give her a soft kiss.

"You're not alone in this anymore, okay? I'm right by your side, Nol," he whispered.

Noelle nodded her head, a relieved look on her face before she laid her hands on the back of his neck and captured his lips. She put everything into the kiss; her fears, her worries, her feelings- she wanted him to feel everything.

While she took the lead, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him while his other hand went to the back of her head, intertwining his fingers in her hair.

After a few more kisses, he pulled back slightly, then mumbled against her lips, "Get dressed."

Noelle pulled back, shooting him a confused look as she joked, "You should be trying to talk me out of my clothes, not into them."

Jamie laughed at her comment, then brushed his lips against hers a few times. "Trust me, there is nothing I want more, but I think there's something else you need right now."

"Food?" she guessed, causing him to laugh- of course, that would be her first guess.

He shook his head. "Later, but first, we're hitting the gym again."

"Um, no we're not," she disagreed as she took a step back. After what happened the day before, she wasn't looking forward to stepping inside one again, which she explained to him.

"It'll be okay, we're not going back to that one," he said. "We're going to the one near the precinct, it's the one I use the most. I want you to work with my trainer; he's good, Nol, and he'll teach you what you need to know."

When she still looked unsure about it, he took her face in his hands. "Look, if you are right, and Jimmie is back, we need to be ready. You know I'll be by your side and I'll protect you with my life, but if something does happen when I'm not around, I need you to be prepared for that too, okay?"

"Okay," she softly said, knowing he was right. If Jimmie did come after her again, he would do it when she was alone and the most vulnerable, meaning she needed to know how to fight back. She feared if he ever grabbed her again, she wouldn't be so lucky the next time. She feared the next time, she wasn't coming back alive.

•••

After a few hours at the gym, the couple was walking down the sidewalk headed for the car, which had to be parked near the precinct since that was the only available space at the time for him to park.

She was leaned against him with his arm wrapped around her, while she felt like she was going to pass out. She had never worked out that hard before, actually she barely worked out in general. The only thing that got her through the intense work-out and boxing lesson was his promise of taking her out for a late lunch afterward. There was also a promise of cupcakes, which he told her he would get for her later since he had to start his tour soon.

Seeing a bench up ahead, she pulled away from him and stumbled over toward it, then plopped down on it with a tired groan. He shook his head and walked over to her, a laugh escaping his lips as he asked her what she was doing.

"I need a minute," Noelle breathed out. "Just one little minute."

"No." Jamie laughed, then grabbed her arms to pull her up and nodded toward the side. "The car is just down there. It's not that far of a walk."

"But-But, I can't make it," she moaned.

"I'm going to feed you, remember?" he reminded her.

"I know, but-but can't you just bring me the food here?" she whined.

"Okay, come on, lazy bones," he said, ignoring her question and leaning over to toss her over his shoulder. It was something he did often while they were growing up and she was being stubborn, meaning he knew what was coming next.

"Oh, my god! Jamie! Put me down!" She hit him in the back. Luckily she was too tired to hit him too hard, unlike the times in the past when she hit him so hard it brought him to his knees.

He ignored her request and slapped her on the butt. "You know the rules, Nol, if you're stubborn and refuse to move, I'll move you myself."

"Don't you think we have outgrown this, Jams?" she questioned.

"Not even a little bit, Nol." He smiled.

"Okay, fine! I'll walk." Her head began to hurt from hanging upside down. "Just put me down."

He paused for a minute to remove her from his shoulder and place her feet on the ground, earning him a punch in the stomach once she was on solid ground. He laughed at her antics and rubbed his stomach, then reached out to playfully tap her on the side of the face, which resulted in her shoving him away from her before she began to walk down the sidewalk alone.

He let out a loud laugh, then began to walk along behind her. His longer legs caught up with her in seconds, then he reached out to grab her hand, which she fought him on for a few minutes, before finally letting him grab it. She turned her head to shoot him a grin as he intertwined their fingers.

After walking silently for a moment, she took in a deep breath, then released it with a smile on her face. "Do you smell that?"

"No, what?" He turned his head to look at her.

"I smell snow," she said happily. "Snow is coming. I bet you it'll be here before Valentine's Day."

"You think so, huh?" he asked, seeing her nod her head repeatedly, reminding him of a bobblehead, causing him to let out a laugh.

He would have pointed out that there has been no talk of snow, but somehow she usually was right when it came to snow. He saw it time and time again when they were growing up. There was even a time she made him do a 'snow dance' with her to make snow come sooner, which was something he made her swear never to mention. It was a secret that would go to their graves.

"Well, if you're right, you're not pulling me out into it," he added. He couldn't count the times she had called him or knocked on his window to get him to come outside in the snow with her. He liked to tease her about how big of a dork she became when it snowed, but the truth was, he secretly loved it.

He loved seeing how giddy she looked over something as simple as white flakes falling around her. He loved the way her cheeks would flush as she ran around or the huge grin on her face before she tipped her head back to catch a snowflake on her tongue. Those were some of the moments he began to fall for her when they were younger, but he had to always shove those feelings away- now he didn't have to put a stop to his feelings.

"You're joking, right?" She scoffed as she jerked her head to the side to look at him. "Do you know how much snow I missed while living in Florida? We have a lot to catch up on, Jams."

"We'll see," he joked, knowing when that time came he wouldn't deny her. As he thought of another day coming up that she mentioned, he was silent for a moment. "So, speaking of Valentine's Day...you have any plans?"

"No, you?"

When he shook his head to answer, she added, "Hey, do you remember when we made the 'no date' pact? Every year, we would not make a date with anyone on Valentine's Day, and instead, we would get together and eat boxes of chocolate and make fun of romantic comedies."

"You mean the romantic comedies you secretly loved?" he teased her.

"Yes, those." When she noticed he was picking on her, she playfully punched him and told him to shut up. "Anyway, do you remember that?"

"Yeah, I do." He nodded. "We spent a lot of Valentine's Days together."

"I always loved that." She smiled at him. "I know we were only spending it together as friends, but I always loved we were spending it together."

"Me too." He pulled her closer to him and kissed the side of her head. "So, do you want to pick that tradition up again?"

"You want to get together and mock romantic comedies?" she questioned.

"No, what I was thinking is instead of a 'no date' pact, we can start a 'yes date' pact," he suggested.

A grin appeared on her face. "Wait, Jamie Reagan, are you asking me to be your Valentine?"

He chuckled at her question and nodded his head, causing her to coo, "Aw, the little girl in me is freaking out right now. She's been waiting for Jamie Reagan to ask her to be his Valentine for years. This is like a dream come true for her."

"Okay, now, I take it back." After a laugh, he brought them to a stop, then turned to face her, a serious look on his face. "All joking aside, Nol, will you be my Valentine?"

She bit her bottom lip, feeling her stomach flip-flop before a smile appeared on her face and she nodded her head. "I would love to, Jamie."

He grinned at her answer, then placed his hands on her hips and brought her closer to him before pressing his lips against hers for a tender kiss. Not wanting to get carried away in the middle of the sidewalk, he pecked her lips a few more times, then grabbed her hand before the two began to walk toward the car again.

They were all smiles and only had eyes for each other, until they realized someone was leaning against his car, causing them to come to a stop in confusion once they realized it was Sonny Malevsky.

"Well don't you two paint a pretty picture," Sonny said as the couple stood in front of him. He turned his attention to Noelle. "You being at the scene the other day makes sense now."

Noelle narrowed her eyes at him, knowing what he was hinting at. He assumed since she was dating the commissioner's son, that's why she was getting some of the cases she was, but nothing could be further from the truth. The scenes she was called on was because she was good at her job and was well-trained.

She opened her mouth to comment but felt Jamie squeeze her hand, wanting her to bit her tongue. Normally he would be all for her putting someone in their place, but not Sonny Malevsky- not with the things he suspected about him.

Sonny smirked at her, then turned to look at Jamie. "We didn't get a chance to talk the other day." He let out a laugh. "Your brother, Danny- what a hot dog. Grandstanding that judge."

At his comment, Jamie nodded his head, unsure what to say back- he wasn't even sure why Sonny had approached him. His plan was to say as little as possible until he could figure out his angle.

"He's a good detective, though," Sonny said. "So was your brother Joe."

Now it was Noelle's turn to squeeze his hand, offering him some comfort when his brother's name was brought up.

Jamie nodded his head. "That's what people say."

"You know...we worked together, in the Warrant Squad." He paused for a beat. "Lydia Gonsalves worked there, too, but...you knew that already."

Jamie instinctively stepped a bit forward, placing Noelle behind him. He had a good idea what he was up to now. He knew he was investigating the Blue Templar, or at least he suspected he was and this was his way of giving him a warning.

"Boy, I bet, with your brother killed in the line of duty, your family worries about you. I bet you do too, don't you, sweetheart?" Sonny looked over Jamie's shoulder to look at Noelle causing Jamie to tense up. He flashed them another smile, then spoke to Jamie, "Just...make sure you're careful. It can be dangerous out here."

For a moment, no one said anything, then Sonny pushed away from the car. He glanced at it from over his shoulder as he simply said, "Nice car."

Jamie stood still and watched the older man walk away, then felt Noelle pull on his hand to get his attention. She could instantly tell something was wrong with him. This wasn't a friendly little chat between them, there was more going on and she wanted answers.

"Jamie, what's going on?" Noelle questioned.

"Get in the car," Jamie stated, ignoring her question as he began to lead her toward it.

"Jamie, what-"

"Just get in the car." He opened the passenger side door, then looked over at her. "Please, Nol, just get in."

Seeing how spooked he was, she gave him a nod, then sat down in the passenger seat. After shutting the door, he walked around to the driver side, glancing around nervously, then slid behind the wheel. She watched him closely as he cranked the car and pulled out into the traffic. She waited until they were near her apartment before she asked him what was going on.

Jamie tightened his hands around the steering wheel. "I don't think Joe died in the line of duty, I think he was killed."

"What?" Noelle asked with wide eyes.

He glanced over at her for a moment, then looked back at the road as he quickly began to explain about the FBI approaching him recently wanting his help with their investigation into the Blue Templar. They were convinced the group knew Joe was closing in on them and killed him to silence him. He wasn't sure who all was involved, but he suspected that Sonny Malevsky was.

"So, wait, you're working with the FBI?" she questioned.

"No." He shook his head. "Honestly, at first, I wasn't even sure how much I believed about all of this until I found something that made me believe."

"What?" she asked as he pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex.

He parked his car beside hers, then shut it off and turned to look at her. He nodded toward the glove box and asked her to open it.

"The iPod inside is Joe's; will you grab it for me, please?"

Noelle nodded her head, then reached inside to grab the small device. He held out the earbuds for her to take and told her there was something she needed to hear. She gave him a confused look, unsure what any of this had to do with Joe, but she trusted him.

After placing the earbud in her ear, he hit play and her mouth dropped open in surprise when she heard a voice she never thought she would hear again.

Tears filled her eyes when she heard Joe say; "Testing. Testing. This is Detective Joseph Reagan. Six months into my investigation of the Blue Templar. Big meet tomorrow. I think I'm in. My FBI contact was changed without explanation. I-I don't know if they can be trusted. I make this record separate from my recordings for them. More after tomorrow."

When the message was over, she turned her head to look at Jamie. She looked a cross between shocked and surprised, a look he assumed was his own when he first heard the message- it was almost like getting a message from beyond the grave.

"Other than you, I don't know who all I can trust with this...which is why I've been doing my own investigation," he explained to her.

"What have you learned so far?" she asked.

"Nol, no..." He shook his head. "I don't want you involved with this-"

"Look, Jamie, I know Joe was your brother, but he was also like a big brother to me too." An angry look appeared on her face. "And if someone did kill him, if this group is involved with his death, then I want in- I want to help...for Joe."

•••

A/N; I thought the last chapter took a lot out of me, but this one killed me. The cute Nol x Jamie stuff helped tho lol.

Thank you to everyone reading!

Happy reading!
xx