A knock on the door jars me out of my thoughts. I can only hope it's who I think it is. I cross the kitchen, beer bottle in hand, and peer through the small peephole centered in the wood. To my relief, a blonde woman stands on the outside, not Ben.

I open the door and offer a halfhearted smile, waving JJ inside.

"I would say it's good to see you, but given the circumstances..." she greets as she enters my apartment.

"Thank you for coming, JJ. I don't know what to do. I can't have him lurking around every corner while I'm trying to raise a kid."

"Well luckily for you, you have the greatest FBI agent in history at your disposal," she quips.

"Yeah, yeah, Jareau. Don't get all cocky on me."

"I would never," she smiles. I grab her a beer and we sit down on the couch.

"Does your team know where you are?" I ask.

"They know I'm visiting an old friend from my hometown," she answers vaguely. I nod and silence fills the room, neither of us knowing how to strike up a conversation with each other after so long.

"What are we gonna do, JJ?" I ask gravely.

"We're gonna stop this son of a bitch."

"How? There has to be credible proof of a threat on top of persistent harassment, and neither of those things are exactly easy to prove," I sigh.

"We'll figure something out, Y/N." She glances down at the coffee table, noticing the stack of bills resting atop it. "What's all this?" she asks with furrowed eyebrows.

"Medical bills. Syd, uh, she has cancer."

"Oh, shit. I'm so sorry, Y/N."

"No, it's...don't apologize. I just wish I didn't have to worry about Ben right now on top of everything."

"Then let's figure this out. We need to delve into your life. Figure out why he's back now. It's not like he couldn't have found you before. He waited to make a move. Has anything in your life changed recently?"

"Uh, well, yeah. A lot, actually. A lot of time in the hospital with Syd, less time at the shop, and...there's a woman."

"A woman?"

"A woman who I may or may not be a little bit really in love with," I smile talking about her.

"I'm happy for you," JJ says with a small smile, knowing the hell I've gone through to get to this point. "So we know this is a game to Ben. But ultimately, his goal is to make you his. So maybe he waited until you were happy to show up again."

"But what about Syd's condition? It's not like everything is perfect right now," I counter.

"You're right. Okay...so he's taking advantage of your vulnerability. Your daughter is sick, you're drowning in bills, and you're newly in love. That's a lot of change. He sees it as an opportunity to slip back into your life. But we're gonna stop him, okay?"

"Okay. I trust you, JJ."

A knock on the door interrupts our conversation and I immediately tense up, not expecting anyone at the apartment.

"Do you know who that could be?" JJ asks. I shake my head in denial and she moves to the door, looking through the peephole. "It's a woman with short hair."

My heart flutters in my chest. "Oh, I'll get it then." I stand up and open the door, smiling slightly at the woman on the other side. "Hi, Flo."

"Hey. Uh, I know you weren't expecting me but I was worried about you and the way we left things and I just...I don't know. I brought you flowers," she rambles, handing me a bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you, Flo," I blush. "I-"

"So is this the girlfriend?" JJ asks politely, appearing next to me in the doorway.

My mouth opens and closes repeatedly, but I have no clue what to say.

"Who are you?" Florence asks defensively, looking between us.

"Uh, this is JJ. She's a friend from my hometown."

"Ah, I see," Florence says shortly, avoiding eye contact. My stomach ties into an uncomfortable knot at the look on her face.

"Flo, you should come in so we can talk."

"Yeah, okay."

I lead Florence into my bedroom and close the door behind us, standing in front of her. I lift her chin so she's looking into my eyes, and search for any hint of what she's thinking.

"There's something I need to tell you, Flo. It's gonna be shitty and you're gonna freak out but you need to remember that I'm okay and it's gonna be fine."

Her face scrunches up with a million questions, and I take a deep breathe to prepare myself to answer them. "Mark, the guy who, uh, who raped me...he has an older brother. His name is Ben, and he...he told Mark to do it and then watched. He got a little obsessed with me for a while and followed me around...but then I moved here and he stopped bothering me. Long story short, he's back. So I got you and Syd out of the apartment so he couldn't hurt anyone I love. But JJ is an FBI agent and she's here to help. Okay?"

"What?" she forces out breathlessly. "Y/N, you should've told me. I could've stayed here. I could've- I could've been here protecting you. Why is he- how long has he been doing this? Is he going to hurt you?"

"Look, I know I should've told you but I just wanted to keep you safe. You have to understand that. Honestly, I don't know if he would hurt me. But he wants me for himself. And we're not gonna let that happen, okay?"

She nods and pulls me into her body, wrapping her arms securely around me. "I won't let him near you, my love. Even if I have to kill him."

I laugh through the tears gathered in my eyes. "Nobody's killing anyone, baby. So we're okay? You're not mad?"

"No, I'm not mad. Just don't ever hide stuff from me again, please?"

"I won't, I promise." We seal the vow by interlocking our pinky fingers, and then solidify the moment with a kiss that promises everything words can't.

A/N: soooo, I owe y'all an apology😅 I haven't updated in forever because my life has been a bit hectic. Between school and 30-hour work weeks, I've had absolutely no time to write. I'll try to upload more often and do the best I can. Thank you all for your patience!