She woke up to a sun filled room. Jade jumped up in fright, not recognizing where she was. Then, the events of the previous day and night came rushing back.

The place was quiet and she slipped out of bed. Jade went into the bathroom and found her purse where she had left it in the sink to dry. She opened it to see if what she protected was still in its place, and it was.

Jade went into the living room to seek her rescuer out. She found him lying on the couch sound asleep. She smiled. If the sight of him the night before was something to swoon about, then this had ten times the effect.

He slept on the couch with the blanket she had used the previous night. It was hardly covering him at all. It was in a twisted pile between the couch and his side. His boxer briefs covered what needed to be covered, and his long muscular legs came out from them. They were lightly dusted in golden blonde hair, more gold than what was in the hair on his head.

His chest was bare. His muscles were impressive, to say the very least about them. He was in incredible shape. He had to be athletic, Jade thought, staring at him. She wondered what sport he played. She hadn't seen any sports, or exercise, equipment lying around. Jade wondered what it would be like to watch him play something. Him running, shirtless, of course, sweat running down his back...

"Good mornin'," said a sleepy voice that pulled her back from her fantasy.

Her eyes went to his sleepy ones that were looking at hers; for god only knew how long, Jade thought, embarrassed to be caught checking out his glorious body.

"Morning." She patted her hair down, suddenly wishing she had brushed it.

He pulled himself off the couch and quickly pulled on a pair of jeans that had been lying on the love seat across from it.

He came to her and put his hand up to her forehead. "Get back in bed," he demanded, his sleepy eyes going back to hers. His eyes were a lighter green now. His pupils dilated large with sleep. She was mesmerized by them.

"I can't," Jade finally said, and then sneezed. Before she knew what happened he had picked her up and brought her back into the bedroom."Put me down!" she shrieked and pounded on his back.

"Gladly," he said, setting her on the bed, and quickly pulled the blankets back over her.

"I have to go!" she protested, pulling them back off.

"Where to?" he demanded, throwing the blankets back on.

"I don't know," she admitted, pulling the blankets off again.

"Well, while you're making up your mind, you might as well stay in bed and get better, right?" he said firmly, his eyes flashing angrily as he tossed the blankets back on her.

"I don't know you," she said firmly.

"You've seen me practically every day at the bar for weeks."

"You serve me drinks. I don't even know your name."

"I told you last night. And I'm sure I have at the bar too. My name's Lawson," he said, putting the covers back around her. "Or Law."

"Lawson what?"

"Stone," he fibbed, saying the name to whom the apartment was rented out to. "What else you need to know?"

"Is bartending your only source of income?" Jade asked, looking around the room. It was a nice place. It wasn't shabby, but it wasn't up to what she was used to either. But could just a bartender afford such a comfortable living?

He looked at her incredulously. That's what she wanted to know?!

"For now," he ignored the question. "You? What do you do?"

"I'm an accountant for a bank."

"Tell me, how does an accountant get into trouble?"

She shook her head.

"Hmm... let's see a) embezzlement...b) money laundering...c) tax evasion...or d) all of the above?"

"I can't talk about it." She stubbornly put her arms across her chest.

"Well, I'm here when you can, okay?" he said sincerely.

She deflated, touched by his words and the tone of them. "I've already imposed enough."

"Impose some more." He threw out his arms with an encouraging smile.

"I couldn't," she said hesitantly. Jade looked up at him. She wanted to trust him. She really did.

"Please... do," Lawson said as if reading her thoughts again, and he leaned over to kiss her lightly across the lips.

Jade moaned as she felt his soft lips on hers. Her arms came around his neck, and Lawson's warm tongue slipped into her mouth. Jade moaned again as it met hers, tangling them together in a hot passionate kiss, which reached into every pore of her.

She felt him move his body onto the bed. Sense had left her. Jade just wanted to touch him, to feel him, to taste him, and damn with the consequences. Her hands slipped down Lawson's bare back feeling the strong power of the muscle on it.

A phone rang, bringing them both back to their senses.

"Oh, God," he said, pulling away. "I'm sorry," Lawson ran his hands over his face, "I shouldn't have..." Never get involved with a case. Idiot!

"It was my fault, as well. I... I haven't been thinking straight," she said, embarrassed that she let it get that far. What had she done? Had she lost her mind kissing him?

Jade didn't know a thing about him. He was a perfect stranger and here she was, letting him kiss her, touch her, take care of her. She looked back at him. Lawson really was a really great guy, who she wouldn't mind getting to know more, she thought. Besides that, he was an awesome kisser.

He turned back to her, and his eyes met hers. Law cursed, seeing the bewildered passion in Jade's eyes, echoing what was in his own heart, and he quickly swooped down and kissed her hungrily again.

She trembled beneath him. Jade had never been kissed so passionately before. A mere peck on the cheek, a messy wet slobber on her mouth. But this, this was different. Jade felt...incredible... a stranger making her feel so incredible was beyond her. No one had ever made her feel that way. She kissed him back, wanting more.

Law pulled away, with a groan, and pulled out the phone that continued to shrill at them from his pocket.

"Yeah?" he asked, answering it, and cleared his throat."Yeah, uh, just a sec." He held the phone to his bare chest.

"Stay there," Law told her firmly, and he left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Did she tell you anything yet?" Gus asked.

"No, not yet. Can you manage to swing by? I want to give you something to check out."

"Yeah. I can be there in about a half hour."

"Perfect. See if you can pick up some women's clothes on the way. Size six."

Lawson ran a hand through his hair, thinking about if she'd need anything else. He went to the dryer, where he'd left her clean clothes in a neat pile the night before. He read off the tags of her bra and underwear to Gus.

"I don't know about shoes. She wasn't wearing any. She's small. Maybe Miranda's size? A size smaller? I'm not sure," he frowned. "No, I think she's more like Meadow's size... if you can..."

Gus cut him off, "I'll see if there's anything in the file. Anything else, sir? A steak dinner perhaps?" Gus asked in a mocking British butler accent.

"Just get here."

"Yup, don't worry, I got it." Gus hung up without a farewell. That wasn't anything new with him lately. They were all moody since Doug had died. It was like the life had been sucked out the party; except it was their lives, not a party.

Lawson slipped the phone back in his pocket and sighed. He went to the bedroom door and knocked.

"Come in," she called.

"Hey," he said hesitantly, coming into the room. He didn't want to scare her, not after what had happened between them. He was surprised that she hadn't already tried to make a run for it.

"Hi," Jade replied shyly from the bed.

There was nothing more he wanted to do than to crawl into the bed with her. But that would have been a bad idea. Very bad. She was a case. He had to remember that.

"Mind if I take a shower?" he asked, nodding to the bathroom. A cold one, Law added to himself.

"It's your place," she said, looking down at the bedcovers.

"You'll be okay?"

"Sure."

"You'll stay put? You won't run off?"

"I won't run off." Jade gave him a reassuring smile. She wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Not after that kiss.

"Okay," he said with a nod. Lawson gave her a warning look, and then went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

She wouldn't run off because her purse was locked in the bathroom with him, he thought as he stripped off his pants.

He looked at her purse, feeling guilty for riffling through it the night before and for making a copy of the thumb drive that was in it. It was the only thing in her purse that could possibly hold any value. Those guys hadn't been chasing her for the twenty dollar bill in her wallet, nor the makeup and hair brush in her bag.

Law glanced at the door, worried that he was leaving her on her own for even a few minutes. If Jade did try to run off, there was an agent in an unmarked car, right out front, waiting to follow her. If he was paying attention, Lawson thought to himself with a curse.

He quickly stepped into the stream of hot water, letting it beat down against his sore muscles from sleeping on the couch. Lawson hadn't had to sleep on anything less than a bed with a real mattress in a while. Maybe, Gus was right, maybe he was out of shape.

Law was way overdue for going home and helping out on the ranch. But he didn't want to go there. He didn't want the sympathy in his family's eyes. And the whole damn town, was his family, they all knew what had happened. They all had loved Doug as much as he had.

It was hard for him to go home. When they looked at him, he knew they were thinking that Doug should be there with him. And since he wasn't, they gave Law looks of pity.

Sometimes, he let himself believe that Doug was just away visiting Law's family. He often took Corrine and the kids, even without Lawson.

Law's family had always welcomed Doug and his family like they were their own. They loved having them there, and the kids loved the ranch.

Doug liked it to clear his head, and Corrine liked it because it made Doug and the kids happy. She was less outdoorsy, but she enjoyed talking to Lawson's mom and sisters, and they'd all go to Dallas sometimes to go shopping. They always had a good time together.

He glanced at the door again, remembering his conversation with Jade, and her friend, that she loved to ride horses. She would love it on the ranch. He knew that she would because of the way her eyes had lit up when her friend had started talking to him about how good she was at riding.

He would love to take Jade home with him. He'd put her up on one of their sweetest mares, and he'd take her around the ranch, showing her everything that he loved about it.

Law could take her home. After Miranda's wedding, they were doing a second wedding at the ranch so Lawson's family didn't have to descend on Florida for the first ceremony.

Lawson chuckled, imagining the Senator calling the President because of a few hundred Greves and Haywood's were invading Florida. It was a scary sight to imagine, he smiled, at the thought.

His mom was in full socialite flurry, preparing Miranda and Ben's second wedding ceremony, and Lawson was kind of bummed that he was going to miss it. He couldn't leave Jade for that long.

As it was, he'd be leaving the next day for Miami for the rehearsal dinner and then real wedding. As soon as it was over, he was planning on flying straight back. He'd already informed Miranda he'd only be there for the rehearsal, ceremony, and reception. Even the day and a half those would take were more than he had being on Jade's case. He would have to leave her with someone else and it couldn't be Gus or Kyle, who were the only two people he'd completely trust to watch over her since they were both going to the wedding. The only other option besides missing Miranda's wedding was to take Jade with him.

Being that Miranda had already re-scheduled her wedding three times because of the cases she, Ben, and Kyle had been working on, she'd definitely had been, and would be, more than understanding if he only showed for the ceremony. Miranda understood the job.

Lawson grimaced at the thought of what Miranda would do to him if he missed the ceremony. It wouldn't be pleasant.

He was also glad that Miranda and Ben had agreed to having a second wedding celebration at his family's ranch. Lawson wouldn't want to see Miranda after his mom got ahold of her, if she hadn't allowed the second wedding.

Miranda was like a sister to him and, therefore, a daughter to his parents, a sibling to his brothers and sisters, and a cousin to the hundreds he already had. The whole town loved her from the first moment they had met her.

It wasn't hard to do. Miranda was like that. Jade was too, he supposed, that was why he liked her so much. She was just one of those types of sweet, caring, individuals that everyone loved upon first sight. He'd love for his family to meet Jade. He really wished he could take her to the wedding... both of them...

Lawson shook his head, clearing the thoughts out of his head. What was he thinking? What a total fantasy. He could never take Jade home! She was his case!

And why the hell did he have to go and kiss her?! He couldn't stop thinking about her since their lips met.

Actually, if he was honest with himself, he couldn't stop thinking about her since he saw her picture in Gus' file. Law had thought she was beautiful and sweet. And she was both those things. He wanted to find out more about her. Everything he knew so far, he liked. He cursed himself as he picked up his razor.

Why did she have to be a case? He couldn't tell her the truth of who he was and what he did. Even though he really wanted to.

In the few hours they'd had together, Lawson was starting to really care for her. And it was one thing for him to pretend to be something that he wasn't on a case for the people he was investigating; it was another thing lying to someone he really didn't want to lie to.

Not everyone he met on a case was "the case". They were mostly bystanders. People that knew the people that had done the crime. They weren't involved, and they were really nice people. He'd met some people who he wouldn't mind calling friends over the years on his cases. But he couldn't be their friend for real.

It hurt him every time he made an arrest that he had to leave good friends behind without even saying goodbye to them. Or worse, having them witness the arrest and know that he betrayed their trust. That he lied to them over and over. He'd had some once good friends spit in his face, walk away from him, or merely stare at him with hurt and betrayal in their eyes. It gutted him to have done that to good people. Undercover work could really suck. It was emotionally draining more than physically.

That was one of the reasons he had taken time off out of the field and "went desk" when Dougie was killed and Gus shot in two places. On desk duty, Law could use his real name, be himself, and could sleep without one eye open, without having to worry about someone hunting him down for arresting one of their associates or simply for betraying them.

He'd been a member of a motorcycle club on one of his cases. It was like the FBI in many ways- the most prominent was they were a family. Brothers. That one was the hardest to make arrests and walk away from.

Law still dreamed about his brothers in the MC. He'd been on that case for over three years and he couldn't let them out of his mind or heart. He checked up on them from time to time. And when he could, he helped them out without them knowing.

Lawson got them good lawyers, he gave character witness statements in some cases, he did what he could for the ones he was closest to- for the ones who had gotten dragged into the illegal part of the MC life despite their best efforts for trying to make better lives for themselves.

He had even set up two of his younger MC brothers up with college scholarships. Both had graduated and now had good, legal, jobs. They would never know that it had been Lawson who had paid their way through college.

Law had been blessed being born into a very wealthy family. He had a trust fund already set up for him by the time he was born from his grandparents.

The trust was fully opened to him on his twenty-first birthday. Lawson hadn't spent a penny on himself. He invested the money to make it grow even more and used it to help others. He hadn't earned that money. It had been handed to him just for being born into his family.

It was a nice break sitting at the desk in the office, but eventually, all the paper pushing had gotten to him. Law was a man that needed some action. He couldn't sit around and not do something. It was why he had given up on his law degree in the first place. Lawson could do all the talking that he wanted in court, but when it came down to it, it was up to the judge and jury.

Law needed to be more involved than being in a courtroom. He needed the thrill of taking the bad guys down and slapping the handcuffs on their wrists because there were damn fine people out there being hurt by a few bad seeds.

That's what he intended to do to whoever was doing this to sweet Jade. Even if it meant not getting as involved as he wanted to be, on a personal level, that was. Because he had every intention of being involved, whether Jade liked it or not.

****************************

Jade sighed. What had she gotten herself into? Not only was she being chased down by gun yielding businessmen, she was now kissing a complete stranger. What if he was more trouble than they were? He could be a rapist or serial killer. She dismissed those ideas quickly. Lawson would have tried something already. Not given her dinner and a warm bed to sleep in. His bed. She quickly jumped off it and headed out the bedroom door.

Lawson finally came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. It would have helped if he'd taken clothes in with him, he thought. He cursed himself. Glancing at the bed, he didn't see Jade waiting for him as she promised. She was gone. Law cursed again and hurried into the living room and stalked towards the door, hoping to catch her at the notoriously slow elevator.

"Making breakfast," Jade called defensively from the kitchen.

Law stopped in his tracks and blew out a breath in relief. He spotted her by the stove. "I can do that." Law stepped into the kitchen and tucked the towel around himself tighter. "Get back in bed."

"I'm fine." Jade protested, not looking up as she stirred the raw eggs in the frying pan, so she wouldn't look at his incredible body. "It's the least that I can do."

"You're sick. You should be in bed." Lawson's hand came around her to turn off the flame to the burner. Jade sucked in a breath as his hard body brushed against hers.

"It's only a cold from getting caught in the rain," she said stubbornly, turning the flame back on, and continued stirring. "I'm fine. I can handle scrambling some eggs. It's no big deal."

Lawson pulled her back to his front, startling her. His hand went to her forehead as his other arm snaked around her waist, pulling her to him.

Jade couldn't breathe, being pressed up against him. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment.

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully, his hand flipping from one side to the other as he felt her warm forehead. He slowly spun her around and Jade's eyes dropped to his sculpted chest as he pressed his lips to her forehead. "You're still a bit warm. It's a low grade fever. After breakfast you're going back to bed. No arguments," Lawson told her firmly.

He stepped away from her and headed back towards the bedroom.

"We'll see about that," she called after him, causing him to chuckle.

"Yes, we certainly will." He raised an eyebrow over his shoulder before walking back to the bedroom.

***************************

"Lawson," she said hesitantly, biting her lip, as he came back out fully clothed.

"Yeah?" he replied, pouring them both a glass of orange juice.

"About before..." she said nervously.

Law closed his eyes."We don't have to talk about it." He opened his eyes and set his glass down.

"I think we do. I don't normally go around kissing men."

He looked up at her in surprise."Really? You like women then?"

Jade burst out laughing. "No! I like men. But I meant, I don't... date...or anything. I mean...I've dated. A bit. I just meant...I don't...sleep around. I don't kiss guys I hardly know..." Jade felt her face catch on fire. She hated blushing. She could only imagine her face was brighter than her hair.

Lawson couldn't picture her not going out, dating a lot of men. She was beautiful. Jade must get asked out all the time. He supposed that didn't mean she had to accept their invitations, but he was still surprised she didn't. She was young and gorgeous, why wouldn't she want to date?

"It's nothing to be ashamed about," Law shrugged. "We kissed. It happens."

"I'm not ashamed."

"Then why bring it up?" he asked curiously, "Was it so bad? Did you not want me to?"

"No! I mean, yes, I mean..." Jade looked at him helplessly and cringed at the emotions flickering across his face. She was making a mess of this. She'd hurt his feelings; she could tell. "I just wanted you to know that I'm not normally like that."

Jade had never acted that way with a guy before. She had never wanted to. Lawson was unlike any guy she had met. He was beyond gorgeous physically and was the nicest guy she'd ever met. Lawson was kind, considerate, and protective. Guys she had met as good looking as he was were all conceited jackasses. They thought of nothing but themselves and what they wanted, they took. Lawson was a giver.

She knew in her heart Lawson was a good man and she couldn't resist her attraction to him. But her draw to him was not only exciting, it terrified her. She didn't know how to feel or how to act with him. She never had experience with a serious relationship. She'd never been in love. She'd never had anyone even look at her like Lawson did.

And the fact that there were people searching for her, who wanted her dead, was a nightmare that she couldn't wake from. She didn't want to drag Lawson into her mess.

But at the same time, now that she had gotten to know him, she didn't want to let him go. What if she never saw him again?

Jade sucked in a breath at the pain in her heart at the thought of never having Lawson's arms around her again, never seeing his smile, never drowning in his kiss, never having him look at her like he was looking at her now -- like she was the only woman in the world for him and he would protect her or die trying.

It would be so easy for her to fall in love with him as she was already starting to fall.

Law ran a hand over his face. He wasn't sure where the conversation was going, and he wasn't sure that he was going to like the direction she was going to take it. It'd be best to avoid the conversation all together if she was going to push him away.

He hoped that he could salvage something of what he thought that they could have together, later, when she wasn't freaking out about their kiss. And, preferably, when the case was done.

Lawson folded his arms across his chest."And do you, not normally," he smirked teasingly, "run around the streets of San Francisco in your stocking feet?"

"That either." She transferred some eggs onto a plate to avoid his gaze. Jade ducked her head as he leaned towards her.

"You want to talk about that, darlin'?" he whispered in her ear. The warmth of his breath tickled her ear and produced a wave of heat throughout her body.

Jade shook her head, though she really did want to tell him everything.

Lawson sighed, "I can't help you if you won't let me."

"I...can't...I appreciate all you've done for me. Really, I do. But I think it's better if I go."

He lowered his glass surprised. "Are you going to report what happened to you to the police?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Lawson!" She rubbed her eyes, her fingertips coming away wet. She discretely wiped them on her shirt.

"Then stay," Lawson set his glass down on the counter firmly. "I don't want you going out there all alone."

He'd never forget how Jade had looked the night before, soaking wet and scared to death. It had taken ten years off his life. Law would do everything in his power to protect her, and he'd do anything to be the one to arrest the son of a bitch that had chased her. At least, Law had seen the guy himself, and he'd already given a description to his bosses to comb through their databases.

"I don't want to get you involved," she touched his arm lightly before squeezing it.

Jade needed the contact. She didn't want to leave the safety of his apartment; she didn't want to leave him, but she didn't want Lawson to be hurt on her account either.

"I'm already involved!" He grabbed her hand, pulling her closer. "I brought you here."

"And you shouldn't be," she said sadly, looking down as Lawson entwined his fingers with hers, "even that much. I'm so sorry for that."

"Don't be." Lawson pulled on her hands until she was pressed up fully against him."I want to help you."

"Why? You don't even know me."

"I know some. And what I do know I like. And I want to get to know you more." He used his free hand to stroke her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "Would you want to get to know me more? Give whatever this is starting up between us a chance?"

"Lawson," she sighed, pressing her face against his hand.

"Do I have to say please again?" he asked with a light smile, and his mouth moved in towards her lips.

Screw his job. Lawson needed to kiss her. There was just no way around it. He wanted Jade with him and he was going to bring her to Miranda's wedding. He wasn't going to leave her alone, or with another agent that wouldn't look out for her like he would.

He kissed her softly as to not scare her away. He was about to step back to check her face for consent when Jade sighed against his lips. He kissed her again, her lips this time pressed back against his, her arms wrapped around his neck, and all seemed right in the world for once.

There was a knock on the door. Jade jumped, stepping quickly away from him.

He hung his head and smiled, shaking his head. Gus always had perfect timing. "Hold that thought," Law told her, taking a few reluctant, respectable, steps away from her. "Come in," he yelled to the door.

Jade heard a rattle of a locked doorknob, then a key enter, and turn.

"It would help if the door was unlocked," a tall, dark, and handsome guy muttered, coming in the apartment carrying a few bags.

"Breakfast?" Lawson asked, holding up a plate of sausage that had been sitting on the counter.

"Stop twisting my arm," the guy answered, picking up a fork and poking it through one and took a bite.

"Jade, Gus. Gus, Jade," Lawson said and took a casual drink of his juice, like introducing his best friend to the girl of his dreams wasn't a big deal.

He watched Gus' face, but damn, the guy, he was impossible to read sometimes. It had to do with Gus' being an ex-Marine. He knew how to not show his emotions.

Lawson wished sometimes that he could be more like that. Sure, for his job, he could cover up what he was feeling. He had to, his life, and those of others, depended on it. But to people that knew him really well, his friends and his family, one look at his face and they could read him as if he'd said what he was feeling out loud.

"Hi," Gus said, taking her hand and shaking it. Gus' eyes searched her blushing face before returning to Lawson's, giving him the same pursual. Law noticed a slight upturn in his friend's lips. Gus was smirking. He knew, damn it.

"Hi," Jade answered weakly. Being in the room with the pair of them was like being in a room with male models.

Her heart raced and her palms sweat because one of them had just kissed her like she was the most precious thing in the world. It scared her and thrilled her at the same time. She couldn't wait to do it again yet at the same time she shouldn't let it happen again.

"I brought you some stuff," Gus said, setting the bags he'd carried in by her feet.

"Uh...what?" Jade stared at the bags confused.

"Clothes," Lawson explained. "You can't wear mine forever. Although, they do look better on you than me."

"Can say that again," Gus said as he poured himself a glass of O.J as if he was in his own home. Of course, he was. This was Gus' apartment when he needed it as well. He refilled Lawson's glass without asking if he wanted more.

"You didn't have to do that." Jade eyed the both of them, unsure what to think.

"I didn't think you wanted to go out in that." Lawson gestured to the baggy sweatsuit of his she was still enjoying wearing.

She must look a fright, Jade thought. She loved the sweats though because it was not only comfortable, but it also smelled like Lawson.

"Besides, your credit cards are no good."

Jade gasped. "What?! Why?"

Lawson shrugged, "If they're pros, they'll be tracking them." He poked a fork into a
sausage and took a bite of it.

Her eyes widened in fear, she didn't know how Lawson could be so calm about it. "They can do that?"

"Probably. If they've got someone good enough to embezzle from their accounts, then credit cards would be just as easy."

"I never told you that they were embezzling," she looked at him, her eyes narrowed. How did he know that?

"You work in a bank. I figured the only reason someone would be shooting at you was if you stole money or you knew they did. And I can't see your sweet soul stealing anything, darlin'."

Jade swallowed and blinked back some tears.

"Why don't you go try them on?" Gus gestured to the bags. "Make sure they fit."

Jade cleared her throat. "I'm sure they're fine."

"I don't know. I had to guess on the sizes. Not everything is in numbers. Size six doesn't help much with small, medium, and large. I had to guess." Gus glanced at Lawson with his 'we need to talk' look.

Jade crossed her arms over her chest."How'd you know I was a size six?"

"I looked on your labels." Lawson nodded to her clothes from the day before, which she could see were folded neatly on the dryer through the open laundry door.

"Oh," she sputtered and dropped her arms, not sure what to say.

"Go ahead, try them on," Lawson said with an encouraging smile.

Jade sighed, "Alright. Thanks." She picked up the bags reluctantly. She went into the bedroom and closed the door.

****************************

"Lucky man," Gus patted Lawson's shoulder.

"You're telling me." Lawson stared at the closed door.

"Mmm...hmmm," Gus raised an eyebrow. "You're playing with fire, you know that, right?"

Lawson rolled his eyes. "You know, you need a better hobby than worrying about me."

"Sure do," Gus agreed, popping another sausage in his mouth.

"And save some of those for Jade. She made them for us, not you."

"She thought she made them for you. When really, she made them for me." Gus smiled, attacking Lawson's eggs.

Lawson went to the living room and opened the drawer in the coffee table. He tossed Gus the thumb drive that he had copied Jade's information onto.

"So?" Gus asked, lowering his voice and glanced at the bedroom door.

"I checked the files out a bit," Lawson said under his breath so Gus had to lean closer, "but I didn't want to spend too much time on it in case she woke up. It's probably not any more than what we already know, but check it out, just in case."

Gus nodded. He slipped the thumb drive into his pocket.

"We'll check it out. What are you going to do with her?"

"Don't know. Suggestions?"

"Get names. And put her in WITSEC if these guys are serious."

"I don't think she's ready to do that."

"Think she'll stay with you?"

"I don't know," Lawson said, scratching his head. "I think there's serious trouble here. And she's itching to run."

"We'll set up near her place and check it out. You try and keep her away from it."

"Keep it on the down low. I don't want them to know that we know something's up."

"Talk about a worry-wart. I got it covered. You know me." Gus shot him a look of disbelief and helped himself to Lawson's breakfast again.

"Hey, um, how would you feel about me bringing her to the wedding?"

Gus laughed, nearly choking on his orange juice. "She'd really talk then. We'd have her surrounded."

"We'd tell everyone to keep a lid on it. I don't plan to scare her out of it. I just figure this could be a way for her to get away for a while and get to know me. Trust me."

"You serious?" Gus' eyes narrowed to study him.

"It'd get her out of town a while," Law shrugged, "and the guys chasing her would never think she'd be in Miami. Plus, this way, I can still keep an eye on her without worrying about some dumbass rookie who's going to drop the ball."

"I wouldn't worry about that. Me and Kyle gave them a good talking to yesterday. They'll be gone, if they pull that shit again, and they know it."

Law nodded. "And it'd give us time to issue warrants," he continued.

"If we had names," Gus continued his thought, "Which you're going to get from her, right?" He raised his eyebrow pointedly. "You're not just looking for a hot date to the wedding?"

Lawson narrowed his eyes."You're thinking that I should tell her."

"Yup, sure do," Gus said, polishing off a piece of toast and brushed the crumbs from his hands.

Law passed him a napkin. "I don't know if she'll trust me if I tell her."

Gus wiped his hands and mouth. "Well, there's only one way to find out."

"You sound like Kyle."

"Ouch," Gus said with a wince. He put a hand to his chest. "That really hurt, man."

"I want a new identity for her. The works: driver's license, social security card, credit cards, birth certificates, school records..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll see if I can get it. You don't have much to go on to warrant it. If she was in WITSEC..."

"But, you can pull some strings."

Gus gave him a look that told him that he was going to owe him a favor. "I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, can you please tell your mom to stop calling me about the damn wedding?"

Lawson laughed, "Why's she calling you, now?"

"Because I know Miranda, and I know what she likes."

Lawson frowned. "I know Miranda, why..." Lawson's face paled. "Shit. Aw... man, I'm sorry, I'll talk to her. That was so wrong."

Gus waved a hand, "I know the wedding's important to her. Don't be too hard on her." He shifted in his seat to turn towards him. "Honestly, it doesn't bother me too much. But..."

"Teresa," Lawson said knowingly.

"How's it look, your mom asking me all these personal questions about what my ex would want at her wedding? Especially since we almost..." Gus trailed off and put a fist over his mouth.

He shook his head. "I swear it doesn't..." Gus took a deep breath, "okay, it bugs me, a bit," he lowered his hand. "but Ben's a good guy, and I know that he's better for her than me. I get that, and I've been over Miranda a long time now. I love Teresa..."

"You do?" Lawson almost winced.

"I know you guys aren't crazy about her, but she's great once you really get to know her. It's just..." He wiped imaginary lint of the knee of his jeans. "I don't know...she gets jealous. All the time I spend with all of you, my relationship with Corrine and the boys..." Gus grabbed Law's arm when he flinched. "Don't. Just..."

"I wasn't going to say anything."

"Yeah, you were. And I get that. I do. And I see her point of view. What all of us have, she can never understand it. She's never been a part of it. And even though I try to bring her in, to get her to understand, she pulls away."

"Weren't you talking to G.G about all this? What'd she say?" Lawson picked up a sausage, with his fingers, off the serving plate and took a bite.

Gus scoffed, "Teresa's even jealous of G."

Lawson raised an eyebrow. "Why? She's your psychologist."

"She's your cousin," Gus reminded him, "and Teresa says that your family is from outer space or something since you're all so damn good looking. It's impossible for your whole, entire family to look so gorgeous."

Lawson laughed at that. He wasn't sure that was meant to be a compliment. Especially from Teresa."Something wrong with being from Mars?"

"Teresa doesn't want me talking to G.G since she's a hot woman."

Lawson pounded his chest as he choked on the sausage. Gus handed him the glass of orange juice. "Sorry...G.G?"

"I know she's your cousin, man, but," Gus shook his hand like a fan, "ooh, she's fine."

"Shut up, before I punch you."

"Uh-huh. Look, I'm not going to stop talking to G.G. You know I don't think of her like that. She's gorgeous, yeah, but she's your cousin, which pretty much makes her mine. And she's been helping me with...other..stuff."

"Doug?"

Gus sighed, "Yeah...and my dad...and, just stuff."

Lawson nodded. Gus had lost his dad on 9/11. His father had been visiting the World Trade Center that day for a standard business meeting. At the time, Gus and his father had been in one of their usual fights about what Gus was doing with his life, and they had been giving each other the silent treatment. It wore on Gus that he hadn't made peace with his father before he had unexpectedly been killed.

Lawson didn't want to get involved, but he loved his friend. He didn't want to see Gus get hurt. "Why don't you have Teresa talk with G.G? Do a couples session or something?"

Gus rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, I tried that."

"What happened?" Lawson asked in concern.

Gus shook his head. "Didn't happen. Teresa wouldn't go for it. Wants nothing to do with...Shit, I think I'm going to have to break up with her, man."

"Are you sure?" Lawson wouldn't be upset over it. He didn't like Teresa very much. Sure, she was pretty and could be nice, but she had no trust in Gus. She constantly thought he was cheating on her. Teresa didn't understand that they had to work all hours of the day and night. It could be days, weeks, or even months at a time before they could come back home, and she knew perfectly well what Gus did for a living.

Teresa was one of those people who always had to be the center of someone's attention. And if she wasn't, she lashed out, and it was usually at the people that Gus cared about. Meaning, Lawson, Kyle, Miranda and their extended families.

And Law was sick and tired of how Teresa gave Gus a hard time about spending time with Corrine and the boys. That was Doug's family. And that meant that it was their family. They were doing right by Doug, making sure that his family was taken care of, and that those boys had some men to look up to. She couldn't understand that?!

Lawson touched the medal around his neck to calm himself down. He didn't want to get into it with Gus. It was Gus' life and the A Squad had all made their feelings about Teresa known to Gus. If Gus didn't want to listen to how they felt, or listen to their advice about Teresa's attitude, it was Gus' decision to make.

Gus shook his head again. "I don't want to be sure. But, yeah, I have to break it off. I can't even get a damn phone call from your mom without being accused of cheating on her."

"With my mom?" Lawson asked incredulously.

"Hey, your mom has a really sexy voice."

"My mom?"

Gus laughed, "She is pretty hot, you know."

"Oh, man! Can't believe you just went there. Please, take that back."

"How old is she again?" Gus teased.

"Too old for you. And happy with my dad, thank God for that."

"Too bad," Gus said thoughtfully, shaking his head.

Lawson smacked him on the back of his head. "Ass."

"Takes one to know one."

"Give me my breakfast." Lawson took his plate from under him.

"Hey, it was a compliment! Your mom looks real good for her age."

"Just. Stop. Talking."

"Yeah, I better." Gus smiled and reached for another piece of toast.

"Jesus," Lawson muttered under his breath. "Just say that you don't want to talk about it the next time."

Gus grinned. Law knew him so well. No, he didn't want to talk about Teresa anymore. He was done. She didn't understand what his family meant to him. Not his birth family, as he thought of them now, they'd never been supportive and caring like his real family was; the one that respected him as a man, a brother, a son. A family that laughed with him, cried with him, and had his back at all times. The family that he'd built with Lawson, Kyle, Miranda and Doug. They were closer in mind, body, and soul than his own birth brothers and sisters.

He'd spilt blood for the A Squad, and they'd spilt blood for him. They'd been through everything together, blood, sweat, and tears. And they were everything to him.

Gus wouldn't ever let that be destroyed by a relationship with a woman. His eyes slid to the bedroom door.

He'd seen how Law had looked at Jade. Law was falling for her already. It was time to do some more digging into her. He'd dug deep for the investigation, but for Law, he'd dig even deeper.

****************************

Jade tried on the clothes. Jeans, tee-shirts, a pair of tennis shoes, they weren't really her style, but they fit. She couldn't believe that a perfect stranger had bought her underwear and bras. And that he knew her size. Labels again, she thought, making that fact rest her mind at ease. But she blushed as she imagined Lawson looking at them.

She settled on an outfit. Jade calculated from the labels on the clothes how much she owed Lawson's friend, and she wrote out a check from her purse, leaving the name blank since she didn't know his last name.

Jade opened the bedroom door, and the two gorgeous male specimens looked up at her from what looked like a very confidential conversation.

She walked over to Lawson's friend and held out the check.

Gus just looked at her and didn't reach for it.

Jade shook the check towards him. "For the clothes."

He shook his head and put his hands in his pockets. He leaned back in his chair. "I can't cash it."

"It's good," she said defensively.

"I cash it, they link me to you. I cash it in San Francisco; they know that you're still around."

She sighed. "I don't have much cash on me," Jade admitted, embarrassed by her lack of access to funds or anything else she owned.

"Don't worry about it," Gus replied with a shrug.

"I'll pay you back." Jade insisted. She wasn't going to be a leech on anyone. She could take care of herself.

"We can talk about it later if you want. I'll be seeing ya," Gus told her and patted Lawson on the shoulder. "I'll bring that stuff we talked about by tomorrow a.m."

"Alright," Lawson said with a nod.

"Nice meeting you, Jade," Gus said to her as he walked to the front door.

"You too," she said with a smile and a wave as he opened and closed it.

Jade turned to face Lawson. "He seems like a nice guy."

"Yeah, he is."

Jade went back to the kitchen to continue putting breakfast together for them since Lawson's friend ate most of what she had made.

"Hey, um..." Lawson said hesitantly, coming into the kitchen and leaned on the door.

"Yeah?" she asked, putting bread in the toaster.

"Would you want to come to Miami with me?"

She spun around and stared at him.

"You see, my friend is getting married on Saturday, and I could use a date," he said simply.

"You want me to go to Miami with you?" she asked in shock.

"It'd get you out of town for a while. You'd have time to think. You'd be safer from whatever you're running from."

She'd be safer with an agent stuck to her side, twenty-four hours a day, he thought. Plus, with all the wedding activities, Jade would have at least twenty to thirty agents with her at all times. There wasn't any place in the world safer for her.

"God. I don't know what to say."

She'd never been asked to go on a trip with a guy. That was a serious step in a relationship. Jade had never gotten to that point with anyone before. And here he was asking her when they barely even knew each other.

"Think about it. But I need to know soon so I can get you a ticket."

"Are you sure you want me to go? You hardly know me."

"We had this conversation earlier," he said, stepping towards her.

"We didn't finish it."

"No, we didn't," he said. Lawson moved in and this time met her lips. Jade's arms went around his neck. She kissed him back eagerly.

"Stay with me," Lawson murmured into her ear and then kissed her lobe before scraping it lightly with his teeth.

Her knees almost buckled. "Lawson," she gasped.

"Yeah?" he asked, moving to kiss her neck gently.

"This is crazy," Jade turned her head to kiss his cheek.

"It's okay to be crazy sometimes," he answered, running his hands up her back.

"I don't want you to get hurt," she said, putting a hand to his chest.

Lawson wrapped his arms around her waist."I won't get hurt, and neither will you."

"You don't know that."

"I'll protect you," he promised, kissing her lightly on the nose.

"Lawson, you don't know these guys. They shot at me," she said, pulling away.

"They what?" he demanded, pulling her back to look at her.

"They shot at me. With real guns," she said with tears finally spilling.

He pulled her into a hug."Why didn't you tell me that before?" he almost growled, trying to keep his voice level.

"I don't know. I was scared," she sniffled in his chest.

"I'm getting you out of here. You're coming to Miami with me. No arguments," he said firmly, pulling her away from him to look into her eyes.

"But..."

"No arguments," he said softer.

"Alright. I'll go," she said, not knowing what else to do, where else to go, who else to turn to. And he had nice arms to turn into.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket again and held it to his ear. "Hey. I'm going to need that stuff by tonight. Can you do that?" he asked into the phone.

"They shot at her," he said and held up a hand to stop Jade from protesting that he was telling someone her secrets.

"Okay." Lawson's eyes scanned over her apprisingly. "Hey, see if you can get some hair dye," he told the person. He turned to her. "You want to be blonde or brunette?"

"You want me to dye my hair?!" she asked, appalled, holding a strand of it.

"I love your hair, darlin, it's gorgeous, but red's too noticeable."

She sighed. "Brunette," she said with a pout.

"Got that?"

"See you later," he said and hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" She demanded.

"Gus," he answered, putting the phone back in his pocket.

"Why did you tell him I was shot at? What else does he know?" she demanded.

"As much as I do. Don't worry. He's going to help us out. He's going to get you some new IDs, and we'll get you a new name. These guys won't be able to find you," he said, wrapping his arms around her again. "You're shaking."

"New IDs? A new name? You want me to dye my hair. You're taking this way too seriously."

"Of course I'm taking it too seriously! You were shot at!"

"It's none of your concern."

"How can you say that?" he asked, touching her lightly on the cheek.

"Lawson."

"I don't want to go through that conversation again. If you can't tell that I care about you, maybe we need to work out some other arrangement," he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You're just moving way too fast for me! I have so much going on right now. I'm confused. I don't know how I feel about you or anything else!" she said, crying again.

"I'm sorry. That's okay," he said, hugging her again. "It is," he said gently, looking into her teary eyes. She looked away. He sighed. "I'll back off. I won't kiss you again unless you ask me to," he said, taking a step back.

"I don't want to hurt you," she told him, seeing what looked to be hurt on his face.

"All I'm concerned about right now is your safety, okay? I can set my feelings aside for that. And when you're ready for something more, we can talk."

She took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Okay. So how about breakfast?" he asked, picking up a plate. "I'm starved."

"Coming up."