A/N: Hello, all! I know I've taken forever and a day to get this chapter uploaded and this story moving again. Sorry. I finally got a job (part-time though it may be) and I've had weird/crazy hours. Trust me, when the job get tedious, I zone out and think about what to do/write for my ficts.

I kicked myself in pants to get this out this week because the past several days have been absolute shit! First, one of my co-workers passed away while at work (he was 22 and a big teddy bear, so he will be missed terribly), then one of my best friends tells me she moving to another state so I'll see her less than I already do, and 2 nights ago my brother was in a car accident which was a hit-and-run from a drunk driver (he's fine, but he definitely needs a new car).
Sometimes I wish I wasn't such a black and cold-hearted bitch so I could cry. :-/

So this chapter is a little on the fluffy side to help my soul a bit...there's some plot towards the end, though.

Enjoy!

Running a hand through my hair with a growl, my shoulders slumped and I frowned as I looked back at the laptops.

"You're definitely sure it was that asshat?" I asked Phil and Shippen.

"Yeah. Definitely." Shippen replied, leaning back into the couch and folding his arms over his chest.

"This sucks." I mumbled. A thought then occurred to me and my eyes widened as I glanced up at Ian. "We need to make sure Sean's gonna be okay. If anything happens to him because of my fuck-up, I'll—"

"Jack." Ian cut me off, gripping my arm. "He'll be fine. Collins isn't after him. He's just trying to rattle you."

I gave him a skeptical look, biting the corner of my lip.

I watched Ian's gaze drift down to my lips briefly before returning his eyes to mine. His tongue came out to wet his lips as I watched his eyes dilate just a tiny bit.

Oops.

I didn't do that on purpose. I swear.

We must have stared a bit too long at each other. Someone on the couch cleared their throat, which effectively snapped our attention back to the problem at hand. My head whipped towards them and I blushed, seeing that both of them were grinning at us.

"For fuck's sake." I grumbled, looking away and down towards my feet.

"Anyway." Phil said, raising his voice a few decibels and gaining everyone's attention again.

The little bastard had a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

I let out a puff of air and rolled my eyes as I felt Ian's hand slide down and off of my arm. Placing my hands on my hips, I glared at Phil before turning and starting to head to the kitchen.

"I need something to drink. Anyone want anything?" I didn't give them a chance to respond before I continued. "No? Okay. Great."

I pretty much stomped into the kitchen and went over to the refrigerator. Grumbling the most obscene and creative profanities I could think of, all directed at Phil, I reached in and grabbed the jug of cranberry juice. With one last name call, I closed the fridge door while making a very childish face, then headed towards the counter. I opened the cabinet and reached up for a tall glass (closing the cabinet after), set it on the counter in front of me next to the juice jug, then placed my hands wide on the counter and let my head hang low.

It wasn't Phil's fault that I endangered my friend. I was just angry and he'd been on my case about Ian for a while now...I guess he was the easiest target. I'd apologize to him later.

"Are you done cursing out Phil?"

Looking over my shoulder, I gave Ian a lopsided grin. "For now." I pushed myself back upright and went about pouring juice into the glass. Spinning around with my drink in hand, I leaned back against the counter. "So what's the plan?" I asked, then took a sip.

"Come back out and we'll discuss it." He said, nodding his head slowly back towards the others.

With a nod and another gulp from my glass, I picked up the remaining juice and stored it back in the fridge, then walked over to Ian. He started to walk back towards the others, but I grabbed his hand and tugged him back. He gave me a slightly confused look, but when I grinned and stepped towards him, then stood on my toes to kiss his cheek, he smirked at me.

He needed to watch it with those smirks, or I swear to god, I was gonna jump on him whether our friends were there or not.

We walked back out towards the couch and stood behind it. I took another sip from my glass, then rested my forearms on the back of the furniture. I stared down into my juice so I wouldn't have to make eye contact with anyone.

"Okay." Ian started, breaking the awkward silence. "I think it would be best if Sean had someone around to keep an eye on him. Just in case." I glanced up and saw him looking at the other three. "I want you three to take turns staying with him. The rest of the time, you can hang out here if you want. I don't care. But currently, Sean is priority."

"What about Jack?" Shippen voiced.

"I'll be here. With Ian...and whoever's not with Sean." I tacked on. "I'll be okay. Sean gets anxious too easily. I'm more worried for him than myself, right now." I paused. "I would feel a lot better if someone were with him."

"No problem." Phil replied quietly.

"Thanks." I mumbled taking another drink.

I felt Ian place his hand on my lower back, rubbing his fingers gently over my spine a few times.

"Well. Here's some good news." All of our attention focused on Viktor as he turned from watching the monitors. "Finally got the Cadillac's license plate number."

"Yeah? Now what're you gonna do with it?" I asked.

"Give it to your cop buddies. They can at least have him followed." The Russian replied.

With a nod, I briefly raised my eyebrows to agree (somewhat) with him, then stood up straight. "You guys still have that card with their number on it somewhere, right?" I asked. When I received affirmative nods, I continued. "If one of you wouldn't mind calling them to inform them of all...this," I pointed in general to the laptops and monitors, "I'm going to call Sean and let him know what's up."

Shippen leaned towards his left and reached behind him to take his wallet out of his back pocket. Opening it, he pulled out the cop's card. When he lifted it up to show me, I noticed the slight foxing around the edges, but otherwise it was in pretty good condition...which is surprising since Ship isn't exactly known for being tidy.

"We're on it." He said, standing and picking up his phone. He walked over to Viktor to collaborate their information.

I watched their little huddle for a moment, then absently reached into my back pocket for Ian's phone.

"I'll call Sean." I said quietly.

I walked off before either Ian or Phil could say anything. As I walked across the loft and up the stairs to the bedroom, I slowly dialed Sean's number as I took another gulp of the juice. It rang several times without him picking up...and it worried me. I paused at the top of the stairs, ready to run back down and tell the guys to head over to his place, when the punk finally picked up.

"H-Hello?" Sean answered tentatively.

I let out the breath I was holding and continued on into the bedroom.

"Jesus, Sean, you nearly gave me a panic attack." I said, putting my glass down on top of the dresser so I could rub my hand over my face.

"What? Why?" He asked.

"You weren't picking up. I thought something happened to you." I sighed, stepping over to the end of the bed and plopping down on it.

"I didn't recognize the number. Sor-ry." He huffed.

Oh, no. He didn't have any right to huff at me. Not after what I just found out.

"Okay. Look." I started, giving him my best 'you better listen and listen well' voice. "You were right to be freaked out about those purchases. They're shady and from some douchebag who won't take 'no' for an answer."

"Huh?"

Guess I had to tell him about this shitstorm from the beginning.

So I did.

"What. The. Fuck." He eventually said after I finished.

I gave a humorless laugh. "Which part?" I asked.

"Who does this asshole think he is?" Where did this aggressiveness come from? Sean's normally more of a worry wart. "Dude, you so need to kick him in the balls next time."

That's the Sean I knew!

At that, I gave a hearty laugh. "I'd like to stab him in the throat with a knife more, but you know? I just might take up your advice."

"Good." He said fiercely. "So what's the next step? Are you okay?...Am I okay?"

"Yeah. We'll be fine. I have some friends who are trained in...firearms. There're three of 'em and they'll have a rotating schedule on who's gonna keep you company. So break out that air mattress, buddy. They're good company. Like to play cards and drink." I smirked as I heard a snort through the phone.

"And when should I expect them?"

"Uh...probably in, like, an hour or so? They have to finish up some things here, then one of them will head on over." I answered, looking towards the stairs when I heard them creak, only to see Ian stop at the top. He crossed his arms over his chest and his right foot over his left as he leaned on the doorframe.

I may have tuned out Sean as I watched Ian through tunnel vision.

"Hellooooo?" I finally heard through the phone and my momentary deafness.

"Huh?" I asked, tearing my eyes away from the Englishman in the doorway.

"Boss man walked into the room, didn't he?"

"Come again?" Frowning, my eyes snapped straight ahead of me.

"The last time you were on the phone with me and you caught sight of him, you started to breathe heavily, too."

The little shit had a good memory...too good.

"Shut up." I grumbled feeling my cheeks heat up.

He had the nerve to laugh loudly at that.

"No, seriously. Shut up." I said again.

I waited for my friend to get himself under control. While waiting, I closed my eyes, then flopped backwards onto the bed.

How long was he seriously going to take to calm the fuck down?

While still waiting for the hyena on the other end of the line to stop, I felt the mattress dip down next to my right knee. Opening my eyes, I lifted my head slightly to watch as Ian kneeled and slowly crawled towards me on all fours.

I couldn't help but widen my eyes and stare as he came closer to me.

When Ian was eye level with me, his right arm reached across my body, so he could hold himself up above me. He smirked that oh so sexy smirk of his. I reached up with my free, right hand and gripped the front of his shirt. With a smirk of my own, I lightly tugged him closer. He responded immediately and kissed me soundly. I moved my hand from his shirt to his back to hold him against me.

Several long seconds later, Ian pulled back for us to get some air...making an obvious lip-smacking sound.

The laughter on the phone stopped.

"So, in a few minutes, I'll send you pictures of the guys who'll be coming over. Just so you don't freak out when they get there." I said, pretending like nothing had happened, all while grinning at Ian.

As Sean sputtered until a complete sentence came out of his mouth, Ian flicked his tongue out to lick his lips (all while watching mine). He then lowered his head to my neck and started to leave little butterfly-light kisses around my throat.

"Was that a...a sound that should only be heard in private?" Sean finally asked.

I guffawed shortly...because of Sean's obvious discomfort and because Ian's kisses actually tickled. I didn't even get to answer Sean.

"Eww." Sean continued. "But, finally...I guess."

"Hmm...yeah. I send those pictures in a little bit." I said, trying not to moan as Ian hit a spot below my ear. "Bye Sean. See you later."

I didn't even give him a chance to reply before I took the phone away from my ear and ended the call. Dropping the phone on the bed somewhere near the pillows, I brought my left hand to Ian's head and lightly tugged on his hair so he would pull his head back. When he did, he looked down at me, but before he could move too much further away from me, I lifted my head to catch his lips with mine. With something that sounded like a cross between a grunt and a moan, Ian rested his body over mine and readjusted his arms so they were now wrapped around me, unintentionally—or intentionally—pushing my breasts up into his chest.

I did let out a small moan at that and let my left hand rest on the back of his neck, holding him where he was lightly.

I couldn't tell you how long we were making out, but it must have been for a while…

There was a sudden 'thumph' of something hitting the glass wall overlooking the rest of the loft, making Ian and I literally jump apart.

"Jesus Christ!" I exclaimed in a stage whisper, looking towards the glass, waiting for my heart to get back in my chest. "What the fuck was that?"

"Dunno. Probably those assholes down there thinking they're being funny." Ian replied.

He reluctantly got off of me with a grunt and went over to the glass to look down; I rested up on my elbows to watch. I could hear the unmistakable sound of our friends laughing, so I got up from the bed to take a look myself. Standing next to Ian, I glanced down to see Phil, Shippen, and Viktor sitting on the back of the couch, laughing up at us. Phil was casually tossing a stress ball up in the air and catching it. I assumed that's what hit the glass.

My friends could be real fuckwads.

With a huff, I raised both hands and flipped them off. At the same time, Ian made (as I understand it) a very crude gesture with his index and middle fingers in the shape of a 'V' and moved them in an upward motion.

This only made them laugh harder and Phil almost fell backwards over the couch.

Ian then turned to me and wrapped his arms around my back and waist. He turned so his back was to the glass and mine was to the bed, then moved me backwards until we collapsed onto the bed.

I flung my arms around him on the way down and let out a shriek when we hit, bouncing once before stilling. Feeling his chuckles vibrate through him and into me, I reached my right hand down and swiftly slapped his firm ass.

"Warn a girl next time, okay?" I asked with a smile. "Jeez, I don't need any heart attacks."

Ian grinned at me like the cat that ate the canary, then swooped down and kissed me.

During the kiss, my hand (which still rested on his ass), slid up his back underneath his shirt and stopped below his ribcage.

Breaking the kiss with a hiss, Ian looked down at me. "Damn woman. Why are your hands so cold?" He asked, squirming away from my cold digits and laying on the bed on his side to my left.

I kept my hand on him as he moved and turned on my side to face him.

Snorting, I took my hand away from his skin. "Sorry." I muttered, not sounding very sorry at all...which I wasn't. "By now, you should know my extremities get cold when the weather gets cold." I slid my hand from his back to his taught stomach, over his shirt. "And you're so warm all the time." I snuggled closer to him, leaving my hand where it was, and tilted my head back for another kiss.

Instantly, he obliged, bringing his left hand up to gently cup my cheek. It was a short kiss, but when he pulled away, he ran his thumb over my cheekbone a few times.

"Hey lovebirds! Stop making out so we can get back to work!"

Phil.

Figures.

"I'm going to seriously maim him one of these days." I said to Ian, letting my hand slide off of him.

"Just wait until we get Collins first, yeah?" He said with a grin, taking his hand away from my face.

With an overly dramatic sigh, I rolled my eyes upwards. "Fine."

For a few minutes, I actually forgot about that fucker.

"Come on. You want your friend to feel safe, you gotta go take their pictures." Ian said, rolling to his back and sitting up, then standing from the bed. He looked back at me and held out his hands.

"Good point." I said, lifting my hands to place into his.

He gripped my right hand tightly, but knew that my left still hurt, so he gently grasped above my wrist, closer to my elbow. After he hauled me to my feet, he lifted my left hand to his lips and gave a very gentlemanly kiss to the back of it.

With a half grin to him, I turned towards the bed to search for his phone. I would need it to quickly send pictures of the guys to Sean. Once the phone was located—teetering on the edge of the bed by the pillows—I snatched it up and shoved it in my pocket again. I then took Ian's hand and tugged him along behind me as I made my way towards the stairs. Just before leaving the room, I picked my glass of juice up off of the dresser and took a sip. As I went to step out onto the top step, Ian reached around me and took the glass out of my hand. He took two large gulps, completely annihilating the remainder of my drink. With a scoff of incredulity, I descended the stairs before Ian and went over to our friends, who were still sitting on the back of couch.

And they were still grinning.

"Okay, you asses, I need to take your picture and send it to Sean so he knows what you look like." I said taking Ian's phone out of my pocket and bringing up the camera. "Say 'cheese'." I said, stepping in front of Phil. "And stop laughing, shitheads."

This sent them into another round of giggles and sniggers.

When Phil was able to stop laughing long enough for me to take a picture, I snapped it, then moved over to Shippen. When I got his, I stepped in front of Viktor. Ignoring them while they continued to laugh, I took a few steps away as I went to start sending the pictures and the name of who was who.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Ian came into the room. He must have stopped in the kitchen to drop off the glass seeing as he wasn't carrying it anymore.

"Shut it." Ian said.

The laughter of the three idiots stopped almost immediately.

I rolled my eyes. It figures they would listen to him and not me. Well, he pays them, so I guess that's a good enough reason to ignore me.

"Who's going to head over there first?" I asked. "Sean has an air mattress, so at least your overnights won't suck. And he drinks and plays cards almost as much as you guys."

They were silent for a beat as they glanced at each other, deciding who would go first.

"I'll go." Phil offered.

"Okay. Thank you." I said, then sent a quick message to Sean saying that Phil would be the first over.

I realized that they had never been to Sean's apartment, so I went over to the coffee table and picked up a notepad and pen. I wrote down directions and the address, then ripped the paper out and handed it to Phil; the place was only about fifteen minutes away.

With a lackadaisical salute, Phil took the paper and turned to leave. Before he reached the door, he turned back with a smirk that I wanted to slap off his face and tossed the stress ball to me. I caught it with one hand and squeezed as hard as I could, imagining it was his head. He gave a chuckle on his way out the door.

I squeezed the ball once more fairly hard, then tossed it to Shippen. I watched him catch it, then turned and made my way back across the loft to the bathroom. Closing the door behind me, I did my business, then (after washing my hands) took a washcloth out of the linen closet and let cold water run over it. After it was good and soaked, I shut off the water and wrung out the cloth. Bringing it to my forehead, I let out a deep sigh at the coolness, then ran it over the rest of my face and the back of my neck. Once I was cooled and not so mad at Phil—for interrupting Ian and I obviously—I hung the washcloth over the faucet and with one quick look in the mirror, I left the bathroom.

Glancing around the loft, I saw Ian on the couch, mindlessly flipping through channels on TV, but saw no sign of Shippen and/or Viktor. With a light shrug, I went over to Ian and flopped onto the couch next to him, leaning my head on his shoulder. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around my shoulders, holding me close to him.

"Where'd Ship and Vik go?" I asked, snuggling into his side.

"Went for dinner. Told 'em to bring us something." He replied, keeping the TV on the Cooking Channel and tossing the remote onto the couch. "Left just as you were coming out of the bathroom."

I nodded against him and focused my eyes on an episode of Two Fat Ladies.

It was maybe a minute or so later when the main door's lock clicked, unlocking it, followed by the door opening. Ian and I were on high alert, separating slightly in case we needed to move quickly...but when Viktor walked through the door with a box that was about two square feet, we relaxed.

"Jack. Package for ya." He said, walking it over to me.

I stood and met him about halfway, being more than a little wary of who said package was from. When he handed it to me, I looked at the return address and nodded with a grin.

It was from my parents. I had called them a few weeks ago and told them what happened to my apartment and where I was currently living...just didn't tell them that it was Ian I was staying with.

"Picked up the rest of the mail, too." He handed me a small stack of envelopes, magazines, and catalogues. About ninety-eight percent of them were addressed to Ian, seeing as it was his place...I only had important bills sent there temporarily.

"Thanks." I mumbled. "Get something good to eat."

Viktor nodded, then headed back out the door, locking it behind him.

I walked back over to the couch and Ian and set my box on the coffee table. Succeeding handing over the mail to Ian, I reached for a pair of small scissors in a small bowl that held some pens, pencils, a screwdriver, and the scissors. Using the sharper blade on the scissors, I cut though the tape down the middle of my box, then returned the scissors to their home. I ripped open the box flaps the rest of the way (feeling super strong and kind of wanted to flex after) and bent them back.

The first thing I noticed was a folded piece of paper with my full name written in curly handwriting on it.

Clearly, my mother wrote it...and even with arthritis, was still perfectly legible.

With a small grin, I picked up the paper and unfolded it to start reading.

Baby Girl,

Christmas is coming up and I wanted to get this to you earlier rather than later.

I laughed. Mom was always on top of things that needed a deadline...and still wanted me to be her little ten-year-old girl.

"What?" Ian asked, watching me.

"Currently, none of your business, nosey." I replied, still chuckling a bit. "But it's from my parents if you must know."

"Are they well?"

Such a gentleman...when he wanted to be.

"Seem to be. I didn't finish reading yet."

Ian nodded once, then turned his attention back to his pile of bills.

I continued reading.

I, and your father, sent some presents.

The one in the snowflake wrapping paper is for Sean. It's some paintbrushes and a few acrylics. (You let me know if he needs another scarf yet, you hear?)

The three in red are for your co-workers. They're hat and glove sets. I hope they fit, but if they don't send them back to me and I'll adjust them.

My parents didn't know the context of the work we did...or rather, what they did. I was just the secretary with a hard-on for her boss. All they knew were their names. And it appeared the guys were getting hand-knitted gear.

Lucky them.

The one in blue is for Ian. I know he's your boss, but even bosses should get something special at Christmas. It's a scarf in a new pattern I wanted to try. Hope he likes the color.

Oh, my god, mom.

I brought my hand up to lightly face-palm myself, then looked into the box for the blue-wrapped present. I had to take out the red and snowflake ones to get to the blue one, but when I did, I looked up at Ian.

"Hey you." I said softly to get his attention.

When he glanced over at me, I tossed the present to him. He looked from the gift to me with a raised eyebrow.

"An early Christmas present from my parents." I explained. "Mostly from my mom, though."

Ian clearly looked like he was debating opening it now or waiting until the actual holiday.

"Oh, just open it already!" I encouraged. "I wanna see!"

With a scoff, Ian found an edge and slowly tore into the present. When the paper finally fell away, he unraveled a beautifully knitted, leaf-esque patterned scarf in a gray-blue color.

"Wow." Ian said with wide eyes at the same time I let out a small gasp.

It really was a thing of beauty.

Ian rubbed his fingers sensuously over the scarf and I couldn't help but let my mind wander to what that touch would feel like on my naked body.

Shaking my head, I smiled.

"Put it on." I demanded, looking back at the letter. "She'll want to know if you like the color."

"I do." He answered looping it around his neck. "It'll work well with a few coats I have." Once he had it wrapped fashionably around his neck (how did he know how to wear a scarf like that?), he looked up at me.

And I could only stare.

The color of the scarf made the gray in his eyes stand out more.

"Well?" He asked, making me realize that I was probably staring a lot longer than I needed to.

Shaking my head slightly to clear it, I cleared my throat. "Uh, yeah. You're not allowed to wear that out." I eventually said.

Ian furrowed his brows. "Why?"

"Because I could seriously jump you right now." I licked my lips. "Your eyes. Goddamn...it makes your eyes pop."

Was that a blush making its way onto his cheeks?

"Do you have a pea coat?" I asked. I couldn't remember if he did or not.

"Yes?"

"Yeeeaahh. You're not allowed to wear that with it." I smirked. "Now I'm picturing you wearing it and—"

I had to stop myself.

Now there was definitely a pink tinge to his cheeks.

And mine as well.

I scratched the back of my neck as I looked back down at my mom's note.

The green ones are for you, Baby. We hope you like them.

Love,

Mom & Dad

Ooh! Presents for me, too? Cool.

I looked back down into the box and pulled out four green-wrapped gifts, setting them on the coffee table. So I didn't lose them, I put the guys' presents back in the box and proceeded to put the box on the floor. Picking up the smallest present, I unwrapped it and chuckled softly as I balled up the paper and threw it at Ian.

With a half-assed "hey", he glanced up at me, then threw the ball back, hitting me in the hip.

I stuck out my tongue, then looked down at the four pack of classic-flavored Burt's Bees lip balm in my hand. Opening the box, I tilted it so one of the tubes would slide out. I tossed the box down on the table and cracked open the brand-spankin' new balm, then smeared it over my lips. With a smack of my lips, I recapped the tube and tossed that to the table as well.

I felt Ian watching me attentively, so I brought my eyes up and walked over to him. Standing in front of his knees, I smirked and placed my hands on his shoulders, then brought my legs up one at a time to straddle him. Being careful not to get too close, I sat as far back on his knees as I could. I gently wrapped his new scarf in my hand and pulled him in for a kiss.

When I pulled back several seconds later, I rested my forehead against his, still smirking.

"Whatchya think?" I whispered.

"Mmm." He hummed, licking his lips briefly. "I like it."

"Good." I said, leaning back and getting off of his lap to go back to my presents. "Because there's plenty here." I laughed picking up the rest of the lip balms to show him before throwing them back down again.

The next present I picked up was only slightly bigger than the lip balms. Ripping the paper off, I crumbled it up and let the ball fall to the floor. Another grin came onto my face when I looked over the box for a Mad Libs desk calendar (the kind that you tear off a page every day).

Totally a gift from my dad.

Well, the next year would be full of giggles, that's for sure. And I couldn't wait.

I set the calendar on the coffee table and picked up the third present, which was bigger than the calendar, but smaller than the one left. I shook it just to be a little childish...and caught Ian rolling his eyes at me. The paper came off and I let it fall to the floor and immediately burst into laughter, throwing my head back and bringing a hand up to my chest.

Definitely another gift from my dad.

It was a Shakespeare insults mug. Reading the box of some of the insults, I kept giggling as I held the box out to Ian so he could read some of them as well. I think my favorite one on first glance was "Not so much brain as ear wax".

I think I'll have to use that on someone, now.

Regaining my self-control, I reached for my last present. Before opening it, I watched as Ian put my mug on the coffee table, then reach up to remove the scarf. I raised an eyebrow at him when he caught me looking.

"It's making me a little hot." He explained, carefully folding it and resting it over the back of the couch.

I think he's more than a little hot.

...

Oh, we're talking about body temperature...right. My bad.

I picked up the last (and biggest) present. It gave a little bit when I touched it, so I squished it in my hands lightly, making the green paper crinkle; it was a satisfying sound. I got the tape off of the largest seam and let it fall open.

There was another small note under the paper so it was the first thing I saw.

To replace the one that got destroyed.

I gasped and dropped the note to the floor. Holding up the dark green, knitted blanket so it unfolded itself, I let it stretch out, where it reached about a foot over my head when it touched the floor. I could feel tears trying to work their way out of my eyes. With a quiet sob, I curled in on myself, clutching the blanket tightly against me.

My mom was so incredibly thoughtful.

I was bent in half, trying to stay on my feet and not all-out bawl like a baby, when I heard Ian.

"Jack?" He asked. I could hear the worry in his voice.

And since I didn't trust mine, I didn't answer him.

"Jackie baby." He whispered, getting off of the couch quickly and coming over to me, kicking wrapping paper out of his path as he walked.

His nickname made me suck in a sharp breath, but I still didn't move.

When he gripped my biceps and gently guided me to stand straight up again, I lifted my watery eyes to him, keeping my blanket-covered hands along my cheeks.

"Mom made me a new blanket to replace the one Collins unraveled." I breathed, burying my face into my currently wooly hands and letting out another sob.

Ian rubbed my arms a few times, then pulled me into an embrace, keeping me tight against his body as I let the water works burst forth. I turned my head to the side (so I didn't suffocate myself) and rested my forehead against his throat; I kept my hands sandwiched in between us. Even though I could feel my legs wanting to give out, I locked my knees and leaned into Ian...which he had absolutely no problem with.

A few minutes later, the water dam that became my eyes, ceased and I was reduced to taking deep breaths with the occasional sniffle to get myself together again. Another minute and I took a deep breath.

"Okay." I mumbled pulling my head back to look up at Ian. "I'm okay now." I gave him a small smile for emphasis.

"You're sure?" He asked, watching me for a lie.

"Yeah." I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek.

"Alright." Ian spoke softly, letting his arms drop from around me, then held out a hand. "Come on. Let's sit for a bit."

I reached out from under the blanket and placed my hand in his, then he led us back over to the couch. We sat down and I snuggled against him again (wiping my eyes with the heel of my hand as we settled), arranging my new, warm blanket over us to keep warm. Ian threw his arm back over my shoulders and I rested my head against his neck. Once we were comfy, Ian changed the TV to another food channel, the Food Network, where the Neelys were cooking up some Memphis-style, hickory-smoked beef and pork ribs.

"Mmmm." I moaned, feeling Ian's back straighten to attention. "Those look amazingly delicious."

Man, I hoped the guys brought back barbeque for dinner.

Another Down Home with the Neelys episode followed by an Ace of Cakes episode later, Shippen and Viktor finally came back with dinner.

It was getting dark out and I was starting to worry about them, seeing as they hadn't checked in at all.

"The hell took you so long?" I asked, sitting up from my leaning position against Ian.

I watched Viktor close and lock the door, carrying a brown bag of something. I shifted my eyes to Shippen, who was carrying another brown bag and a drink carrier.

"Long line." Shippen explained. "And we ate there." He put the carrier and bag down on the coffee table in front of Ian (since I hadn't cleaned up my wrapping paper mess yet).

"Where'd you go?" Ian asked, taking his arm from around my shoulders and sitting forward to open the bag.

"Some barbeque place a few minutes away from the warehouse." Viktor answered as he came over and deposited his bag next to Shippen's. "We've been meaning to go there."

I sat up straighter and grabbed for the second bag, practically tearing it apart as I opened it and started pulling stuff out. I had two boxes and another smaller brown bag with some grease stains on the bottom. Opening it, I found a few sweet rolls. Pulling one out of the bag and shoving it in my mouth, I turned my attention to the first box. I set it on my lap—feeling the warmth of the food seep out of the bottom and into my thighs—and popped open the lid.

Beef brisket smothered in BBQ sauce.

Did these guys somehow become mind readers?

My mouth watered and I smacked my lips.

"I'm good with this and I'm not sharing." I said, setting down the rest of the roll on the lid, then leaned forward to pick up a black, plastic fork that came with the meal. "What's in there?" I looked at the boxes in front of Ian as I subtly pushed the other box I had towards him.

"Some barbeque chicken," he pointed to one box, then opened the other, "and ribs." He picked up one of two round Styrofoam containers and took off the top. "Some macaroni and cheese, and..." he set that one down and opened the next, "...whatever this is."

He didn't look too thrilled about what was in the container.

I leaned towards him and looked into the Styrofoam. It looked like potato salad. I reached my fork over his arm and scooped up a bite. Shoveling the food into my mouth, I chewed thoughtfully, then nodded my head.

"Tastes like baked potato casserole." I replied. "It's good."

Ian nodded and picked up the chicken box as 'his' meal.

"Sit down, boys, relax." Ian said to Shippen and Viktor, who were still standing on the other side of the coffee table.

That seemed to jump them into motion; Shippen came around the table and sat next to me on the couch, while Viktor took one of the drinks out of the carrier and took it over to the monitors with him.

As I was taking my first bite of the brisket, Shippen reached over to the drink carrier and handed Ian and I both one of the drinks. I took a sip after swallowing my mouthful of food and was pleasantly surprised to find that Vanilla Coke was in the cup...I hadn't had that in years.

"Good choices on everything, guys." I said, taking another bite of meat.

"Told you she'd like it." Viktor grumbled from across the room.

I smiled, ripping part of the roll apart and shoving it in my mouth.

Towards the end of the meal (AKA when I started getting full to the point of bursting), I nudged Shippen with my elbow.

"Hey, in that box, there's some red-wrapped presents from my mom. One for each of you guys. Pick one, then give one to Vik." I said, putting the empty take-out box onto the coffee table. "I'll give Phil the other one tomorrow."

Shippen nodded, then reached down to the box on the floor and took out two of the red gifts. He tossed one over to Viktor. I watched both of them tear into the wrapping and toss it onto the floor with the rest of my paper pile. They unfolded the dark blue, almost black, gloves and skull caps my mom knitted for them and immediately tried them on.

"How do they fit?" I asked both of them.

"Good." Viktor replied, holding his hands up and wiggling his fingers. "I was gonna need a new pair of gloves soon, too."

I beamed at him, then turned to Shippen.

"Perfect." He said. "You know how long it's been since I've had someone make me a gift?"

Laughing, I shook my head, then leaned into Ian again. He took my hand in his.

Hours later, I was cleaning up my wrapping paper mess, reminding myself to call my parents some time tomorrow to thank them, when somebody's phone rang. I ignored it as I went into the kitchen to throw away the paper, then headed into the bathroom to perform my nightly routine. After I finished, I exited the bathroom and was just about to run up the stairs to get my PJs (I normally would change in the bedroom, but since there was company, I didn't want to expose myself), when the guys called me over.

They were huddled around the monitors, but not looking at them...well, Viktor was, but Ian and Shippen were standing on either side of him.

"What's up?" I asked, coming up behind Viktor and resting my hands on the back of his chair.

Ian sighed as he brought his hand up to rub the space between his eyebrows before looking over to Shippen. I shifted my gaze over to the Aussie, who looked up from his phone.

"Your cops called." He started. When he didn't continue right away, I nodded. "Collins was the one behind the break in at your apartment."

I gave him a confused look. "Yeah." I said slowly. "We already came to that conclusion."

"Since we gave the license plate number, they were able to use the security camera footage from your complex and see that the Cadillac was there almost immediately after you left." He explained. "They confirmed it now."

"That's good. They can go arrest him now, right?" I asked.

There had to be more because Ian and Shippen exchanged a look.

"They tried." Ian answered. "They searched for the address that was linked to the car and went to the place." He paused and looked me dead in the eye. "No one has lived there for months."

I gulped.

"So...what you're saying is no one knows where he is or how to find him." It was a statement more than a question.

"Right." Viktor added his voice to the conversation.

Fuck.

This was NOT what I wanted to hear before going to bed.

"What do we do now?" I asked, biting the inside of my cheek.

"These two will keep an eye on the monitors. If the Cadillac comes around, they'll call the cops." Ian explained, stepping closer to me and wrapping an arm around my waist, pulling me into his side. "Phil'll be filled in when they switch shifts." He rubbed his thumb over my hip bone. "And I know you don't like it, but you're not leaving here. It's safer for now."

As much as I loathed the idea of being cooped up for however long this would take, Ian did have a point.

I nodded sagely and Ian kissed my forehead.

"Okay, go get into bed. I'll be up shortly."

"Alright." I said with a deep sigh. I turned my attention to Shippen and Viktor. "Night, guys."

When they responded likewise, I turned out of Ian's arm and grabbed my new blanket off of the couch, then headed up to the bedroom. I tossed the blanket onto the bed as I grabbed my pajamas, then went back downstairs to the bathroom and changed. Before heading back up, I went to the kitchen to get a cold glass of water and took that upstairs with me. At the top of the stairs, I looked down to see Viktor taking off his shoes and flopping down on the couch.

Guess Shippen was taking first watch.

I stepped to my side of the bed and put the glass on the nightstand (on a coaster). Turning down the sheets, I crawled into the bed, then flung the covers over me. I brought my arms back out to adjust mom's blanket over me before sighing and staring at the ceiling as I waited for Ian.

Minutes later, Ian came up the stairs and started to strip down as soon as he was in the room. My eyes automatically turned towards him. He was down to his black boxer briefs before he realized that I was watching him closely. He paused.

"Oh, please. Don't stop on my account." I smirked.

With a huffing laugh, Ian reached for his sweatpants, stepped into them, and pulled them up to rest low on his hips. He then picked up his t-shirt and pulled it over his head.

Now fully changed, he came over to the bed and lifted the covers to slide under them, trying to let as little cool air under the warm covers as he could. When he was settled, he reached over to turn off the light, then flipped onto his side to face me.

I mimicked him so I could face him as well and moved as close to him as I could, then threw my arm over his waist. His arm slid across my body to my back, where he rubbed his palm slowly up and down. Bringing his head closer to mine, he let his lips softly crash into mine.

He released my lips after a few seconds, but didn't bother moving his head away.

"Try to get some sleep, Jack." He gruffed.

"No promises." I replied, but closed my eyes in an attempt to sleep.

I felt Ian nuzzle my nose with his own before relaxing into his pillow.

I wasn't able to fall asleep until the sky started to lighten, signaling a new day.

A/N: There we go!

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