Chapter Ten

Chris walked over to the phone and called the police, asking them to have Taggert or Page to call him back.  He looked back at Eve and Ryan's words haunted him again.  He tried to shake them loose as he waited for the call.

Eve looked over at him seeing that he stayed close to the phone. He didn't have to say what he was thinking as it was written all over his face. He was starting to have doubts about her.......doubts given to him from Ryan none the less. She felt her anger fueled as she pulled her legs up to her chest hugging them tightly as she thought of the wedge Ryan had managed to put between Chris and her with just a few words.  She felt a chill in the air as she looked away realizing that with Ryan around, she'd never be happy. He wouldn't allow it.

Chris saw her hole up and she looked like she was slipping away from him. No matter what Ryan had said, he couldn't let that happen.  He stepped over to her and put his arm around her, "Eve, it's going to be alright. We're together and nothing that Ryan will say or has said is going to change that."

Eve leaned into him feeling his arm around her and she closed her eyes. While he didn't say it Ryan had done so much already and she didn't want to lose him. "I love you Chris," she said softly feeling the tears in her eyes. "When I was with Ryan, it wasn't anything like this.....it was all a lie and when I realized I loved you, I couldn't lose sight of that." she cried harder thinking about Ryan's power over the situation. "Loving you is the one thing he could never take away from me as much as he tried." 

Watching her this way, Chris knew that whatever Ryan had or would say would be nothing but a lie. She was so upset now.  He had to take care of her, to ease this pain she was feeling. "Eve, look at me," Chris said bringing her eyes to his, "I won't lie to you. Ryan's words hurt. But the way he looked at you made me want to kill him . . . and then hearing the way he talked about you," he closed his eyes, "Eve, I wanted him to hurt like he'd hurt you. I wanted to kill him," he touched her cheek and looked back into her eyes, "I love you Eve. I don't believe him. I know that he'd do anything to hurt you and I could see that he was just trying to separate us. I won't let him do that. I'm right here with you and this is where I'm going to be forever," Chris said before kissing her softly.

Eve felt tears in her eyes as he'd said how Ryan's words hurt him. She'd tried so hard to keep him from getting hurt by being dragged into this, but here he was hurting and she hated it completely. Her heart sank as she listened to him and when he spoke of wanting to kill Ryan, she knew that feeling oh too well, but then he surprised her with his last statement. He still loved her and he wasn't going to leave her.....that was something she could be sure of. She  returned his kiss feeling tears fall down her face as she held onto him wanting him to see just how much she loved him regardless of the lies Ryan had tried to make him believe.

"He can't take this from us, Eve. We won't let him. I'm not going to let him take you from me. I refuse to lose you for any reason," he said before kissing her tenderly and touching her cheek, "I'm going to get you out of here. I gave them my cell phone number and they can reach me there. Let's get you out of here and into somewhere safe where you can relax and rest." Chris kissed her again softly, "And where I can hold you and keep you safe."

"Okay," Eve replied with a nod wondering if there ever could be a place where she'd truly feel safe, but being in Chris' arms was probably the closest thing to safety that she could ever find and right now there was nothing she wanted more. She kissed him again and looked into his dark eyes. "Let's get out of here." she whispered touching his cheek. 

Chris looked into her eyes and kissed her lips softly, "I love you," he said putting his arm around her as they left the room.  He signed her chart and tossed it onto the nurse's desk as they walked past. They went out of the hospital and over to the PC Hotel, taking a room and going upstairs. Once inside the room, Chris locked the door and looked around, "Do you want me to get you some clothes? Anything else I can get you? Food?  Anything?"

"Food," Eve replied with a laugh, "I can't even remember the last time I ate something," she admitted looking at him. "And yes clothes would be nice," she said taking his arm in hers, "but I don't want you to leave. Just stay here and we'll worry about everything else later."

"You sure?" Chris asked, then saw the determination in her face, "In that case, we'll just order room service and stay here."

"Okay," Eve said with a smile hugging him, "I like the sounds of that much better." she closed her eyes just enjoying the feel of being close to him. "Somehow I never thought we'd get to this point."

"To the PC Hotel?" Chris smiled with a wicked grin, "I should have gotten you here sooner," he smiled, trying to take away her pain from Ryan, "I love you Eve."

"I love you too Chris," Eve said cracking a smile at his attempt to lighten the mood. How she loved him and she just hoped he knew it.  She leaned in to kiss him again feeling her heart filled with love for him as their lips met. 

Chris touched her cheek softly kissing her again, "This is much better than the hospital."

"Much," Eve agreed wrapping her arms around him as they continued to kiss. "I love you Chris." 

"Let's get more comfortable," Chris said before they moved to sit on the sofa.

Eve followed him over to the sofa and leaned back into him feeling his arms around her. She pulled him closer to her just wanting to lose herself completely in the feel of him as she looked up at him. "I love you Ramsey," she said touching his face.

"I love you Lambert. Holding you in my arms feels a little like heaven. I've wanted to do it for so long." Chris said kissing her softly. 

"I'm sorry you had to wait for me to come to my senses," Eve  said returning the kiss as their eyes met. "I should've allowed myself to love you so long ago, but I was just too damned stubborn and look at what a mess I've made.....all the time we lost."

"You didn't know, Eve, and I wasn't brave enough to take a chance. I was so afraid that I'd really lose you for good. I know better now and now we can take advantage of that. I love you, Eve, and I'm not going to let go," Chris said before kissing her again.

"Never?" Eve asked as they parted and she turned herself around to face him as he pulled her in closer. She kissed him again feeling the passion alive between them as they held onto one another. "Promise?"

"I promise you, Eve," Chris whispered, looking into her eyes before kissing her once more.

"Chris," Eve breathed his name feeling the heat of his kiss as he held her. She loved him so much.....needed him more than anything as she kissed him again feeling him recline back on the sofa still holding her in his arms.

"Eve," Chris whispered, moving his hands over her back, feeling her body pressed to his, "I want to make love to you. No distractions this time. Just you and me," he said softly before kissing her again.

"I want that too," Eve admitted holding him closer still, "there's nothing I'd like more than to make love you again and feel you with me Chris."

"I love you, Eve,” Chris whispered, kissing her deeply, and moving his fingers to the bottom of her scrub top, gently moving them underneath to touch her skin.

"I love you too Chris," she said bringing her fingers upon his as she helped him remove her shirt being careful not to make contact with her wound from earlier as they discarded the shirt.  She looked back at him smiling as she moved her hands to him starting to ease him out of his shirt. 

Chris sat up to make easing his shirt off easier.  It soon fell to the floor and he took a moment to just look at her, looking over her beautiful body and slowly moving forward to press his lips to her skin.

Eve felt his lips to her skin amazed that he still wanted her regardless of the bang up job her body had taken during her time with Ryan. Feeling him kiss her wanting her made her heart melt knowing that he loved her regardless. She pulled his lips to hers and kissed him again running her hands over his body.

"I love you, Eve," Chris whispered, kissing her deeply before moving his lips along her neck.  He wanted her to know that no matter what Ryan said or did, it didn’t change how he felt about her.  He loved her and would always love her. He moved his lips along her skin, "You're so beautiful."

"Oh Chris," Eve breathed feeling her heart melt when he'd said that as if he'd read her mind knowing how insecure she was feeling about him seeing her like this.  She closed her eyes allowing him to touch her........wanting to feel his touch as she began to move her hands over him needing him so much.  She ran her hands over his shoulders taking in the feel of him as she kissed his neck. "I need you Chris. I want you so much." she breathed kissing his skin.

"I love you, Eve," Chris whispered, moving his fingers down her body, careful to avoid her wound. "You're everything I ever dreamed of," he spoke pressing his lips to hers again, tenderly at first then growing into something passionate.  He moved his fingers to the waist band of her scrubs and began to ease them down.

Eve helped him remove the scrubs and reciprocated with helping him out of his slacks before moving in close to him again feeling the heat from the contact of their skin pressed together. She kissed him eagerly wanting him more than she could put into words as they held onto one another caught up in the moment.

Chris kissed her deeply before lifting her into his arms and carrying her to the bed, easing them both down gently onto the bed.  He continued to kiss her as he moved his fingers over her skin, learning how every inch of her felt when pressed to him.

Eve reached out to him feeling his body pressed to hers as their eyes met.  She looked at him feeling as if she was turning over her control to him, but feeling at perfect ease with it none the less as we touched each other.  She pulled him to her kissing him again as the heat from their bodies burned between them. She wanted him now more than she'd ever wanted anyone in her life and as their lips parted, she spoke to him hungrily. "I love you Chris," Eve breathed wanting him to make love to her completely.

"I love you, Eve," Chris said in a passion weak voice, kissing her again, wanting and needing her now more than ever before.  He rolled onto his back, bringing her to lie on top of him as he moved his hands down her body slowly and watching her reaction.

"Chris," Eve breathed feeling more in control of this as he rolled back allowing her to be in charge taking things at her own pace. She lowered herself to kiss him feeling her body filled with need for him as she felt his hands on her skin.  She touched his face cupping his cheek as she kissed him before bringing herself down on him wanting to feel him inside of her as they started to move together.

Chris moved his fingers over her cheek, kissing her deeply as their bodies moved. As their lips parted, he looked into her eyes and knew that she was the only person he could ever love. She was everything he'd ever wanted, needed, and knowing that she wanted him, needed him, . . . really loved him, he fell in love with her all over again. 

"I love you Chris," Eve breathed feeling their lips meet again in a passion filled kiss as their bodies moved together in perfect rhythm. She looked down at him seeing the love in his eyes and knew that for the first time in her life she'd found true happiness and she wouldn't ever let it slip away from her.  She loved him too much to let that happen. 

"Eve," he whispered moving his fingers over her skin, noticing the beautiful look in her eye. She seemed at peace as their bodies responded to each other to perfection. As their lips met again in a fierce kiss, the intensity built between them, his love growing every moment.

Eve could feel her heart pounding in her chest as things picked up between them to 
that near breaking point as it had before when she felt her body become his completely. With each movement they made, her love for him grew and ran through her body leaving her with a feeling far more powerful than anything she'd ever experienced in her life.  She kissed him eagerly knowing what kind of explosions would be taking place between them soon and as their mouths met again in that same familiar fashion, she wanted it to be perfect.......better than before as she let out a soft moan against his lips.

Their bodies burned with each other, knowing just what to give and take. Being with her so completely blurred the lines of where Chris came to an end and she began. She was the better half of him, the heart and soul of his being and feeling themselves lost to each other this way made that clear to him as he kissed her, feeling the intensity burst between them.

Eve felt the intensity build between them until neither one of them could take it and things exploded between them flooding the room with the passion built up as they moved over the edge lost in each other as one. Eve kissed his lips firmly unwilling to break the spell between them as she felt the dramatic exchange between them causing her to collapse in his arms.

Chris kissed her holding her body to his, unwilling to stop the flow of electricity between them. He kissed her once more and smiled, "I love you, Eve."

"I love you too Chris....more than I ever thought I was capable of loving anyone." she said looking into his eyes believing for the first time in her life she'd found where she belonged and here in his arms was the only place she wanted to be.  She smiled touching his face lightly, "I don't ever want you to doubt that Chris because from this moment on you have all of me especially my heart."

"I don't doubt it Eve. I love you and I know that you love me. You're my heart, everything that's good in me. I almost lost you once. I won't ever lose you again," he said as he kissed her gently.

Eve looked back at him feeling tears in her eyes at what he'd said to her.  She knew now just how much he loved her and she was never going to let that go. "I love you Chris...so much more than I can explain or put into words and I know that you mean more to me than life itself." she admitted settling in against his chest. "I love you Chris and I hope you're right because I don't ever want to lose this." 

"We're not going to. This is much too precious to lose, and you know me.  I never let go of truly valuable things," he said relaxing with her in his arms and feeling a peace that he'd never known.

"Valuable thing huh?" she asked laying against him feeling his body beneath hers as she felt at complete ease in his arms. "Well I suppose that's way of putting it for us here." she pressed her lips to his chest lightly. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this....for us to be together like this....just you and me."

Chris looked at Eve as the phone rang interrupting the moment and he took a breath, "That has to be Page or Taggert." he kissed her softly before grabbing his cell phone, "This is Dr. Ramsey."

Eve lay back against the pillows watching him on the phone and just took the time to admire him taking in the incredible view of the man she loved.

"Hi Dr. Ramsey, this is Det. Page. How can I help you?"

"Ryan Chamberlain escaped from the so-called officers you had on him.  He found Eve's room and attempted to attack her again.  I got her out of the hospital and I want some officers here at the PC Hotel to keep that psycho from getting to her again.  Can you help out?"

Stephanie looked over at Marcus. "Chamberlain escaped?", she asked for Marcus' benefit. 
"Ok, stay where you are. Lieutenant Taggert and I are on the way over"

"Fine.  We're at the PC Hotel."

"Room number?"

"1402, how long will it take you to get here?"

"About 15-20 minutes"

"Okay, just get here," Chris said before hanging up and going back to lie beside Eve, "The cops are on their way."

"I guess that means it's time for all of this to end again huh?" Eve asked holding him for a moment wanting to stay close to him. "Once again thanks to Ryan none the less." she  added with an air of frustration.

"But this time is good," he said moving his hand across her cheek and looking into her eyes, "This time we're making sure he's not going to hurt you again. He's not going to get the chance." Chris kissed her softly and smiled, "I love you Eve."

"I love you too Chris, but how can you be so sure?" Eve asked doubtfully. "I mean we can't hide out here at the PC hotel forever no matter how good this feels." she sighed reaching out to kiss him again. "I mean who knows what he'll try to pull next? I'm terrified Chris, but not just about what he's done to me...." she paused looking back at him. "I'm afraid of what he's going to try to do to us."

"He's not going to do anything, Eve. We're going to stop him. He's hurt now and that gives us a chance to make sure that he can't hurt you again.  We've just found this together, Eve, and I'm not about to let him tear us apart. No, we can't stay here at the hotel forever, but we don't have to run from him either. He'll be in prison and we won't ever have to worry about him again."

"And what about Julie?" Eve asked finally letting out the one thing that she didn't want to mention before. "If you're going to be with me, then what are you going to tell her?" she asked holding onto him afraid she was going to lose him. "I love you Chris more than you can imagine, but what happens now?" 

Chris looked into her eyes and saw the fear there. He kissed her gently and looked into her eyes, "Now, I be honest with her. I know that sounds crazy coming from me, but it's time that I told her the truth. I'm in love with you, Eve, and you need me. And I can not leave you, nor do I want to."

"Good because I don't ever want you to go away again," Eve replied pulling him to her and kissing him again. "I love you Christopher Ramsey and now that we've found each other I can't imagine my life without you." she looked into his eyes overcome with emotion. "I wasn't truly alive until we came together in this love of ours." 

"Eve," Chris took her into his arms and held her to him, "You taught me how to live instead of just existing. I can never live without again. I can't lose you either," he said closing his eyes as he held her.

Eve lay against him thinking about what he said and she wished that everything could just be easy for them. She wanted to forget the world and everything that happened as she held onto him just wanting this feeling to last. "I love you Chris," she whispered listening to his heart beating. 

"I love you Eve, more than anything," Chris said as he held her against him, vowing to appreciate each and every moment that they had together.  He knew that Ryan needed to be stopped and he also knew that the PCPD didn't have the greatest track record in the world at putting way criminals. He had to find a way to stop him and keep Eve safe.

Eve lay in his arms appreciating the moment of silence between them as she looked up at him seeing a pleased smile on his face. "What are you thinking about?" she asked touching his cheek lightly. "You're awfully quiet." she said kissing him lightly. 

He looked into her eyes and smiled, "I was just thinking about us, and the future."

"That good huh?" Eve asked with a smile looking at him. "It's going to be wonderful for us Chris. I promise you that."

"I know it will be. Just you and me, Eve. No outside interference."

"As soon as Ryan is taken care of, I just know everything will be as it should be." Eve  said kissing him. "I just want to put this whole nightmare behind me and concentrate on you and I together. I've waited my whole life for this and I can't let him destroy this."

"He's not going to," Chris said firmly as a plan began to spin in his head. The details would take some work, but overall, it seemed like a good way of getting rid of two birds with one stone.  He kissed her and smiled, "We've found the real thing, Eve and we're not going to let it slip away."

"How long did you say we had before the PCPD showed up?" Eve asked looking down 
at him with a smile thinking about the track record the officers had in this town.

"15 or 20 minutes . . the way the cops in this town work . . an hour or two,” Chris laughed, smiling at her.

"I thought so," Eve replied kissing him again, "they just can't do anything right can they?" she laughed bitterly. "You know Ryan had his last chance to stab me right in front of them. They watched him do it." 

"Wait a minute. They watched him stab you?" Chris asked feeling anger mount.

"Well Shelley had just passed out and the officer walked in demanding he stop, but he was able to stab me before she put the gun to his head." Eve said thinking back. "It all happened so fast."

"And she didn't shoot the bastard??" Chris asked wanting blood now.

"No," Eve replied seeing the anger in his eyes, "Chris...." she trailed off seeing she was upsetting him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you worked up." 

"Eve, it's not you that I'm angry with. You could have been spared, but the cops didn't see fit to actually do their jobs,” he said frustrated before taking a deep breath and kissing her softly, "It's okay. As long as you're alive."

"Chris for a while there I didn't think anyone would find me." Eve admitted after they'd parted. "I mean the hospital didn't even notice I wasn't around and as for the police, well Garcia gave me the reputation down there when he was ready to pin the general homicide murders on me." she said with a frown looking to Chris. "I don't want to think about this......" she said holding him tighter. "As long as we have each other I feel completely safe. I love you Chris." 

"That's right Eve. You are completely safe. I'm not going to let anything happen to you at all. Ryan's days are numbered," Chris said thinking ahead.

Eve looked up at him seeing the spark behind his eyes that she knew so well from days gone by. "What are you thinking?" she asked feeling the wheels turning in his head. "Chris if you're thinking about going after him after what happened....." she started remembering how they’d both almost lost control back at the hospital.

"No, no, I'm not going after him, Eve," he said touching her cheek and kissing her softly, "I've got a much better idea, but we don't need to talk about that right now."

"Chris......." she started wondering what was running through his mind, but looking into his deep brown eyes, she realized whatever it was would have to wait because right now her mind was exactly where it wanted to be......with him.

"You and I . . . .well, I see a very bright, very happy future for us, Eve. We have the world in front of us for the taking and we're going to seize every bit of it that we can. I'm going to make sure that you're happy."

"You've already made me very happy Chris just by being here with me," Eve said touching his cheek, "by loving me."

"I love you, Eve. I truly honestly love you," Chris kissed her softly.

"I love you too....with everything I am I love you Chris," Eve said wrapping her arms around him as they kissed. She thought about everything leading them up to this point in time and she still couldn't believe it was really happening between them.

Chris held her to him and knew that my plan would work. It had to.  He was determined to keep her safe no matter the cost.  He kissed her softly and looked into her eyes, "We're good together, aren't we?" 

"Better than good," Eve admitted kissing him lightly, "we're perfect together Chris and somehow I think we always will be." she said confidently letting her thought slip back to Julie for a moment. "Chris.......I don't want to lose you not ever and when you do tell Julie about us, I want you to be careful." she said looking into his eyes. "She's probably as much of a threat to us as Ryan is right now." 

"Julie's a pussy cat, Eve. Especially when anything she does could jeopardize what she wants most. She wants to get her baby back and that will keep her in line just as long as we need her to be." Chris said honestly.

"Her baby back?" Eve replied a bit confused as she looked at him. "Chris what are you talking about?" 

 "I have so much to tell you," Chris sighed, "While everyone thought Julie was nuts and pretending to be pregnant, she really was. She had Frank's baby, Eve. Christina is Julie's daughter."

"Christina is Julie's?" Eve repeated in confusion seeing that he was telling her the truth. "But how did she pull that one off and how did....." Eve started looking at him. "This has something to do with you getting involved with her in the first place...." she trailed off starting to piece it together in her head.

"Yes it does. We made a business arrangement. I would help her get Christina out of Ferncliff and she would give me half of the DL-56 patent money. She was going to have Christina inside, but when my visiting privileges were revoked that time, we hit a snag. She escaped and I helped her deliver Christina while she was out."

"Which was why you were with that baby before the nurse's ball." she said thinking it over. "The baby that turned out to be Christina." she said piecing it together. "And marrying Julie I presume was also part of this deal?"

"Yes, it was the only way we could make sure that I'd have access to the money. Plus it would help Julie gain custody of Christina once she was released."

"And now?" Eve questioned looking into his eyes. "What about us? Where does that leave everything?"

"It leaves us with a way of keeping Julie in line, Eve. I"m not leaving you now or ever. Julie will get Christina, I'll find a way of helping her. . . but not at the risk of losing you. That's one thing I will not jeopardize for anyone."

Eve looked back at him seeing how sincere he was about this as she reached out to him kissing him again. She never wanted to be away from him and despite all the horrors she'd experienced over the past couple of days she felt like all of her dreams were finally coming true. "I love you Chris." she said over and over again in between kisses. 

"I love you, Eve," Chris said touching her cheek and then returning her kiss, holding her to him. He wasn't about to let her go of her ever.

"This feels so...." she started thinking back to Ryan's outburst as she looked into his eyes and kissing him again. "perfect. What you and I have is beyond anything I could've ever hoped for." she kissed him gently as her hands traveled over his body. "Tell me again when we should be expecting our friendly police protection." 

"They were supposed to be here ten minutes ago," Chris said softly feeling her hands move over his body before he kissed her, "Why? Something on your mind?"

"You could say that," Eve smiled in response letting her fingertips play across his skin.

"This feels like a very dangerous idea," Chris said with a smile before kissing her again.

"Dangerous can be good," Eve replied continuing to kiss him boldly. 

"You are good," Chris smiled before kissing her and bringing her body to his.

Eve kissed him harder as her body moved against his.  She could feel the heat of the  contact of their skin as she found herself wanting him again. "Chris....." she breathed unable to believe what kind of effect he'd had on her already as he always left her wanting him more and more with every touch.

Chris moved his body against her and kissed her deeply, moving his fingers along her skin, "Eve, I love you."

"I love you too," Eve whispered kissing him again before moving her lips along his neck tasting him as she felt his hands upon her. "More with each moment we're together."

"You're tempting me," Chris said with a grin, loving the feel of her lips upon his skin while his hands moved over hers.

"Well then I suppose the best thing to do in this situation is just to give in to temptation and say the hell with everything else." Eve replied meeting his mouth again and giving him a fierce kiss.

"Give into temptation you say?" Chris asked with a smile, moving their bodies against one another, "Oh yes, I think you're onto something here."

"Chris," Eve breathed feeling a bit of the energy she'd seemingly lost before coming back to me.  She was now more at ease with him as things had developed between them.  She kissed him again deepening it until she finally had to break for air and after a second she spoke up in a raspy tone. "Make love to me." 

"Eve," Chris breathed against her lips, kissing her again, moving her body along his, "You're sure?" he asked, moving his lips along her neck.

"I'm sure," Eve replied with a nod running my hands over him thinking about how much she wanted him. "If the police show up, well they can wait because we're involved in very important matters."

"Well, who am I to argue with you?" Chris asked with a smile covering her hands with his as she continued to roam his body.  He moved his lips back to hers, kissing her breathless.

"Chris," Eve breathed his name feeling it fall from her lips with a hint of urgency as she drew in another breath and kissed him again ready to make them one again. 

"Eve," Chris whispered, kissing her and moving his fingers back along her body,
giving himself over to her.

Eve kissed him again wanting him so desperately as she moved above him making him hers as their lips met and they started to move together. 

"Eve," Chris whispered, kissing her fiercely as they moved together, "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied feeling the need build up inside of her as their urgency grew with each passing second knowing that at any moment they could easily be interrupted, yet wanting to make the most of this adventure together. She kissed him again deepening it as they moved together. "Oh Chris....."

"Hmm, Eve," he moaned softly as they moved with each other, taking each step closer to perfection with one another.   He moved his hands along her skin still finding it hard to believe that they were apart of one another.

"Chris," she breathed his name feeling the intensity between them as he touched her. Feeling his hands on her skin set her on fire as she kissed him like never before feeling this explosive reaction between them as they moved.  She ran her hands over his body wanting to take in every inch of him as they made love a bit less tame than they had before as their urgency built.

Chris matched her every movement, feeling the wild rhythms mount between them, feeling her body and mine ignite in a fire that only they could fuel. He moved his lips along hers, feeling the explosive peak closer and closer as he moaned her name.

Unable to contain herself a moment longer, Eve cried out his name louder than she'd anticipated as she felt the fireworks explode between them. She kissed him again with all the passion in her as their love making came to a close leaving them both breathless.

Chris kissed her, holding her body along his and fighting to regain their breath, "I love you Eve."

"I love you too Chris," Eve replied pressed against him wondering if she’d ever find the power to get up off of him as she lay there just enjoying the feel of being in his arms like this. 

Holding her close made Chris forget about the entire rest of the world.  Nothing existed but he and Eve and this moment of perfect joy between them.

Eve closed her eyes feeling a bit tired as she held onto him just thinking about how wonderful it was to be in his arms finally....how perfect this felt. He was her everything and she knew they'd be very happy together once Ryan was out of their lives.

Chris heard the pounding at the door and he sighed, "Looks like quiet time has been interrupted." he kissed her softly before they got dressed and went back into the den area.  He went to the door and opened it, "Took you long enough."

"We got here as soon as we could, Dr. Ramsey." 

"Yeah, sure you did.  You people have just been marvelous in all of this," he said sarcastically going back over to sit beside Eve while taking her hand in his.

"Excuse me? We are only human, doctor. We will get Chamberlain back into custody"

"It's amazing to me how you bothered to get him in the first place. You couldn't even stop him from stabbing Eve. Did it ever occur to you to shoot the bastard??" Chris said his anger mounting.

"That is not procedure, doctor! We don't shoot someone on the off chance that  he will stab someone! The movement was very sudden & quite unexpected!" the officer said getting just as angry with him. 

"He's a serial killer. When he went for her, you didn't kind of think something might go wrong? It's like the Keystone Cops around here," Chris  said equally peeved. 

"You know, you weren't there, so why don't you just shut the hell up about things you know NOTHING about!" 

"I know that Eve was wounded when you could have stopped him. The only question is why didn't you? Too scared? Maybe being a police officer is out of your league." Chris taunted.

The officer took a deep breath, trying to control her temper, "Excuse me? What the
hell is that supposed to mean?"

“It means if you can't 'serve and protect' you should quit!"

"I do my job just fine, doctor!" 

"Oh yeah, I can really tell by the bang up job you did here, Officer." Chris said sarcastically. 

She pulled out her shield. "Take a good look. Its Detective, not officer. I busted my ass to get this shield & I'm not letting some two bit quack bust me back down to officer!"

"Just stop this," Eve said breaking her silence. "Look I don't care about what happened in the past. All I'm concerned with is seeing to it that Ryan doesn't get another opportunity to finish what he started earlier."

Chris stopped as he noticed how rattled Eve appeared to be from all of this. He nodded, "She's right. Ryan can't have the chance to hurt her again. He's hurt her too much already. You've got to put a stop to it."

"He never should've been allowed into my hospital room like that just walking free." Eve  said to them. "He should be behind bars."

"Considering they barely made it here, I'm thinking we'd be better off on our own," Chris said to Eve.

"Dr. Lambert, I understand your feelings, but Chamberlain was entitled to medical attention. I can assure you that the guard assigned to him is being dealt with by the Commissioner as we speak." 

"Oh now that's reassuring," Chris said sarcastically. 

The officer looked over at Chris. "You shut the hell up so I can talk to the victim here. I hear from you again & I'll run you in on charges of obstruction. Who knows, m maybe the statute of limitations hasn't run out on another case that could use investigating...does DL-56 & Frank Scanlon ring any bells?"

Chris half laughed, "Gee, trying to get a person that's not dangerous. I suppose that would be easy for you, wouldn't it?" 

She sighed in frustration. "You know, if getting a man addicted to an experimental drug isn't dangerous, I don't know what is."

"And just what evidence do you have Kojak?"

"I realize that you‘re trying to help here Detective,” Eve cut them off returning to the subject at hand, “but at the time he entered my hospital room he was more than fine and not in need of anything but being locked away somewhere." she explained thinking back to Ryan.

"Like I said, he's being dealt with. Lieutenant Taggert & I can arrange for you to be protected until this is over, Dr. Lambert" 

"You actually think you can manage that? Pardon me if my faith isn't unwavering here."  Chris sneered. 

"We will more than likely move Dr. Lambert to a safe house for her protection. As for my evidence,” she glared at Chris, “lets just say a few people have said things. You should have had you license yanked permanently. You are a danger to the general public & should not be practicing medicine on dogs, let alone people" 

"Eve's not going anywhere without me.  Have you got that?  No where."  Chris blurted out.

"Well, that's not your call now is it, Spanky? We have to protect her & the best way to do that is to get her away from here & in hiding."

"She's not going without me.  She can go away.  Fine. . . but I'm going with her."

"That is against regulations. Do you care so little about her that you won't let her get the protection she needs if you can't be there?"

"I care enough about her to know that she needs me right now. She's just been through the worst experience of her life and now you want to send her off without any kind of emotional support. Are you really so cold-hearted, Detective?" 

"I'm sorry but I'm not going to allow myself to become a target for him again." Eve said getting up and moving towards the window. "I spend two days of hell with that man and if you take me away from Chris now, he will find me again and this time he won't let me get away as easily as before. I survived thus far on my own and if you two aren't going to let me be with Chris, then I'll find other means of protecting myself."

"I'm just trying to save your life, that's all.", the officer said with a sigh.

"Not the right way though." Chris added bitterly.

"There's no way I'm going to be shipped off to some safe house." Eve added firmly squeezing Chris' hand. "I don't feel safe knowing that Ryan's still out there and that's only going to isolate me further."

"You wouldn't be alone. There would be a minimum of two guards with you at all times."
 

"No I'd feel safer on my own and I'm not leaving Chris," Eve said holding his hand tighter. "He's staying with me or there's no deal."

"I don't get you. You ask for our help & protection and when we offer it, you decline it."

"You're not offering the right protection.  She's just been through a horrible ordeal and now you want to ship her away from those she loves and who love her?  That's not going to be helpful."

"Fine, what do you suggest?"

"Taking me away to somewhere for Ryan to find me is not the answer," Eve shook her head.

"That's the point...he wouldn't find you." 

"Trust me he will," Eve said turning to face them. "Look I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I think I'm going to take my chances on my own. You just concentrate on locking him away for good."

"If you can manage that." Chris frowned.

The officer looked at them & sighed. "If you do stay, we will have officers looking out 
for you.", I said. Not knowing what more to do or say, she looked to Marcus. "Is 
there anything you want to say?"

“I think we’ve just about said it all,” he frowned.

“Some help you were,” Chris muttered in frustration.

The officer with Taggert turned to him. "I thought I told you to shut up" 

Chris glared at her, "Like I should listen to anything you have to say?  You haven't said anything useful so far."

"Okay that's it," Eve said moving over to the door. "I think we've had enough discussion for tonight. Thank you for coming over, but we're done for now Detectives." she said opening the door. 

The officers nodded to her. "Ok. If you need anything call us. We'll arrange for protection here in town & we'll let you know when Chamberlain is taken care of. You have a good night, Dr. Lambert." 

"Thank you," Eve said closing the door behind them as she turned to Chris, "Gee dear, could that have gone any better?" Eve asked sarcastically seeing he was still fuming.

"I'm sorry," Chris said rubbing his face, "I couldn't help it. I had to say what was on my mind."

"I know that Chris and I understand." she said moving in closer to him. "You were right though. That's not going to help me at all if we play by their rules."

"No, they're not. That's why I have an idea of my own."

"Care to fill me in on this one?" Eve asked curiously stepping towards him. 

"You wouldn't like it so I don't want to bother you with the details.  Suffice it to say that I know a way to take care of Ryan without either of us having to lift a finger."

"Well as long as I don't have to worry about losing you in the deal, I won't pry into this just yet." she said reaching out to him. "Chris I don't know where I'd be right now if you weren't here to help me through this." she touched his cheek slightly. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, Eve," he said, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips, "I love you and I would do anything for you.  Helping you get through this is exactly what I'm here for. I'm here to love you and take care of you."

"I just wish I didn't have to put you in a position where you have to take care of me." Eve admitted with a sigh. "This needing someone to look out for me.....this depending on someone, it's all so new to me you know." she said meeting his gaze as he held her hand. "I've never been so loved before or needed to love someone like this before either for that matter." 

"You've got me Eve, completely. I don't feel like I have to take care of you. I want to. I want to look out for you and make you happy," he said looking into her eyes, "You're strong, Eve. You always have been and I know that you always will be despite anything that Ryan threw at you.  You're just down right now, but that won't last. You'll be back to your stand-up self in no time at all, but until then, I'll be right here to be your support."

"You have no idea how much that means to me Chris," she said reaching out to him and pulling him into an embrace, "and even after I'm back to my old self, I'll still want you like this. You mean the world to me and I know that as long as we're together, everything will just find a way of becoming right again." Eve held him tighter never wanting this feeling to end. "I won't let Ryan come between us again."

"I won't either, Eve. Ryan is the past. We are the future. We've got it all now, Eve. You and me. Loving you is the best thing I've ever done.  I'm going to be with you forever, where it takes us, I'm going to be right by your side."

"You really mean that, don't you?" Eve asked touching his cheek before leaning in to kiss him. "How I love you Chris."

"I mean every word, Eve. I love you so very much," I said kissing her softly as he held her in his arms.

"I love you too Chris," she said nestling in against his chest. "This being together like this, it just feels like this was how it was meant to be between us. How it always should've been." she closed her eyes thinking back. "All the time I was locked up all I could think about was what it would've been like to be with you like this."

"I thought about you while we were apart. I wondered if you were okay, if I should have stayed with you that night. I should have. I really wished I had."

"I wish you had too and I tried calling you," Eve said thinking back to one of Ryan's attacks. "So many times I wanted to reach out to you, but I was afraid of what Ryan would do. He threatened to kill you.....to hurt you if I didn't cooperate and I couldn't let that happen. I love you too much to ever let that happen." Eve said looking into his eyes. 

Chris stopped, "Wait. . . you tried calling me?" he asked and kicked himself a dozen times over for not checking his messages, "I'm so sorry Eve. I'm so sorry that I didn't come for you."

"He would've killed you if you had." she replied thinking about Ryan's attacks on her. "I'm glad that you didn't despite what happened." she touched his face seeing the sadness in his eyes. "I couldn't let him hurt you."

"Eve, you took all this abuse," Chris said looking at her scrapes again that he had ignored earlier, "I wish it had been me. I wish I could've taken this in your place. I'm so sorry for your pain."

"No, no don't say that." she said touching his cheek. "Chris if you'd been hurt it would've been a thousand times worse than this is. I'm alive and here with you and that's what's important." she said thinking about everything. "No matter what he tried doing to me, he could never truly break my spirit or take away what I feel for you regardless of how hard he tried to. Our love is what kept me going."

"And it's what we have here. It's what will keep Ryan from getting to you again. Our love is greater than that. Ryan can't touch us, Eve."

"You have no idea how badly I want to believe that Chris," Eve said kissing him lightly.

"You can believe it," Chris said touching her cheek, "Because it's true."

"Sorry to sound like the pessimist here, but the PCPD didn't leave much to be desired here." I admitted thinking about their ideas on helping. "I just can't believe he found us like he did." she thought back to the hospital, "but at least now maybe he'll give up on his delusion about the two of us as he knows I'm in love with you." 
 

"Don't worry about anything Eve. Ryan's going to have his hands full and he won't have time to come after us. And even if he does, he's not going to get to you. The two of us together took him down at the hospital and we could do it again, because together, nothing can stop us."

"We did kind of show him a thing or two didn't we?" Eve asked looking at him remembering how Ryan had to be lifted out of the room.  She wrapped her arms around him feeling a bit more secure. "We make a wonderful team don't we Chris?"

"Yes we do. We're unbeatable together. The team of Lambert and Ramsey is never defeated . . . . well . . unless one of us blabs," Chris teased holding her to him.

Eve laughed lightly loving the feel of his arms around her as she looked up at him smiling. "I love it when you look at me like that." she confessed watching his grin widen. "No, not like that....." she said watching his face. "Like that. It makes me feel so beautiful and loved when you look at me that way." 

"You are beautiful." Chris said moving his fingers to her cheek, "And you are loved. I've never loved anyone like this before Eve. You're the most wonderful woman in the world and I'm very proud to have you in my arms."

"And it's the best feeling in the world being able to be in these arms here," Eve said holding him. "You are the one I was waiting my whole life to find Chris and I'm just sorry that it took me so long to wake up to what I had, but I'm just letting you know now," she said with a pause as a smile spread across her face, "there's no way that I'm ever letting you go now." 

"Thank god," Chris said with a smile before kissing her gently, "I think that's the best possessive declaration that I've ever heard, and by the way darling, you have absolutely no worries about that because I've grown quite attached to having your lovely arms around me."

"Have you now?" Eve asked with a teasing grin. "And to think you didn't really want to allow yourself to be in them earlier at the hospital." she smiled a bit more thinking about his initial refusal to making love. "Somehow I knew I'd make love to you before the night was over."

"Eve, I just wanted you to be sure. I didn't want to rush anything. As soon as I knew you'd be okay, I wanted to make love to you right then, to take away all the pain that Ryan had caused you. I wanted to erase him from your mind and let you know that I loved you. You have quite a persuasive way about you, lady," Chris said holding her and loving the way she felt in his arms, like she was the only one meant to be there.

"Well it's one of my finer points," she smiled nestling up against him as he held her, "and I just want you to know that I appreciate what you did for me back at the hospital. I saw how much you did care about me and my well being which was why I knew that us making love wouldn't have been a mistake." she explained closing her eyes and listening to his heart beating. "I just knew that you'd give anything for me and when I held you I felt that love between us and it helped me to move forward past Ryan and to you where I belonged.....where I'll always belong." 

"We were meant to be together, Eve," Chris said kissing the top of her head, "I've wanted to hold you for so long. I wanted to make you smile and know that you loved me. I wanted you to know that I'd do anything in the world for you, Eve."

"I know that Chris and the same holds true for me. I would do anything to see to it that you weren't ever hurt in any way. You mean more to me than I'd ever imagined anyone would.  For so long I spent so much time locked up in my own little world so afraid of finding true love, which was why I always threw myself into the wrong relationships and why I couldn't bring myself to admit that you were the one. I was terrified of loving you and losing you....because in my heart I knew that if I'd let you in, I'd never be able to be without you."

"You have to know Eve that we're in this together now. You're not alone anymore and I'll never let you be alone again. I know you've been burned in the past even without the Ryan thing, and I will never do you that way. Never. Because I love you Eve. If you're in pain, I'm in pain. If you're happy, I'm happy. You're a part of me, Eve."

Eve looked back at him with tears in her eyes as she placed his hand over her heart letting him feel the love pounding inside if for him. "You're a part of me too Chris." she replied honestly leaning up to kiss him. "The best part of me." 

"You're the best part of me Eve," Chris said looking into her eyes before kissing her again, "You're everything that I want and need in my life."

Eve kissed him again loving the feel of being in his arms. She looked up at him too caught up in the moment to speak as they gazed into one another just taking the time to memorize this moment until finally she moved in and sealed it with yet another kiss. 

Chris held her to him, loving her with all that he had in him.  He couldn't even begin to express to her what he felt, but he wanted her to know that she was all he was thinking about.
 

"Chris I love you," Eve breathed looking up at him kissing him again wanting him to feel how much she wanted him, needed him, loved him in this moment. Their kisses continued and her heart filled with love for him completely. 

Chris continued to kiss her, firmly then lightly, switching pace every so often as he held her in his arms. "I love you Eve."

"I love you too Chris," Eve breathed finding herself drawn to him again more and more with each passing moment as they kissed. His kisses were setting her on fire and just being with him like this was beyond her dreams. She wrapped her arms around him pulling him in for another passion filled kiss thinking about how much she loved him.

Chris lifted her against him as he kissed her, careful not to touch her wound as he pressed her body to his. He slowly let her back to her feet, sliding her body along his and igniting a fire between them that would never fully be quenched. They were making slow steps back towards the bedroom as their kisses became even more passionate.

"Chris," she breathed his name feeling the fire between them as they moved back towards the bedroom. She tugged at his shirt in between kisses thinking about how badly she needed him as they stepped into the bedroom. Finally inside she pulled him to her in a fierce kiss longing to have him and be with him again as their mouths met hungrily. 

Chris moved against her, tugging at her shirt once again, needing to see and touch all of her. She was in his blood, and the desire to have her was overwhelming. He moved his hands over her exposed skin before lowering his lips to taste her.

Eve felt the need between them as he kissed her hungrily.  She could feel his lips on her skin as she let out a moan thinking about how good it felt to be with him. The urgency between them was building so fast as she reached out to him helping him ease out of his clothes as they somehow moved back over towards the bed again.....her stepping backwards as he held her close to him kissing her.

Chris lowered her slowly to the bed, hovering over her as he kissed her skin, leaving no inch of her skin without his attention.  He moved his lips back to hers, kissing her deeply as he prepared to make them one.

Eve returned his kisses feeling his body pressed to hers as he moved in on top of her. Suddenly something snapped inside of her as she heard herself screaming.  She broke from the kiss feeling Chris' lips travel over her skin as she found herself lost in another time.......the last time Ryan was with her.  She drew in a breath trying to ignore the memories coming back to her as Chris kissed her again starting to ease himself inside of her.. Suddenly all the memories hit her and she broke the kiss in a panic. "No........." she said pushing him away slightly. "I can't do this....." she said in tears feeling her body freeze up. 

Chris pulled away feeling his entire body going rigid with frustration and anger. He should have thought about what she'd been through. Damn Ryan! He'd done so much to hurt her and Chris only wanted to help her, but he'd only made things worse. He wanted to reach out and touch her, take her in his arms and tell her that it was alright and that everything would be okay, but he was so scared that it would only drive her further into her thoughts
of what had happened with Ryan. 

"Eve, honey, it's okay," Chris finally said, trying to force the stiffness from his voice, "Are you okay?"

Eve pulled her legs to her chest as she reached for the sheet turning her back to Chris.  She could feel her body shaking as she felt his eyes upon her. Why had she done that? How could she have let Ryan slip into her mind at such a time?  She started to cry unable to quit thinking about what she'd just done. Why couldn't she just let Chris make love to her like she'd wanted him to?  She sobbed harder. 

"Chris I'm sorry...." Eve said still unable to look at him as she felt a chill come over her. "I'm so sorry." 

"Eve, it's okay," Chris said as her crying did him in.  He closed his eyes, hurting for her and wanting to kick himself for not realizing what his taking the lead might‘ve done to her. "It's not your fault," he said softly, reaching out to lightly touch her shoulder, barely touching her before withdrawing his hand, "I'm sorry."

"No Chris......I shouldn't have stopped you like that." she said trembling as the tears fell from her eyes. "I promised you that I wouldn't let him come between us, but I did it again." she sobbed harder feeling as if the walls were closing in around her. "I'm so very sorry........so so sorry Chris." Eve cried feeling as if Ryan had taken the best out of her all over again as his memory haunted her. 

"Eve," Chris said moving to face her, "Eve, look at me baby," he said trying to will her to look at him. She glanced up for a minute, "I'm not angry with you Eve. You have every right to say no. What Ryan did to you was horrible and you have every right to be affected by it. I should have thought about that, but I didn't. I love you Eve, and we'll take it just as slow as you need us to be baby," he said touching her cheek gently wiping her tears, "It's okay."

"Chris," Eve replied feeling his finger on her cheek as she sobbed harder sinking into him, "it's not supposed to be like this. I shouldn't have let him destroy this. I wanted to make love to you so badly, but then I saw him and how he....." she cried harder unable to forget the image as she wanted to make all of it just fade away. She felt him reach out to her and at this moment she was so afraid she'd fall into pieces if he let go. "Damn him!" she cursed feeling a combination of guilt, rage, sadness and terror as the tears fell from her face.

Chris held her in his arms as she broke down, giving in to all the pain that Ryan had caused her. "It's not your fault, Eve. Healing takes time. It'll just take time," he said rocking her gently in my arms, letting her cry out her pain and knowing that he'd get rid of Ryan for good no matter what he had to do in order to make it happen.

"I'm so sorry Chris," Eve said still not being able to shake the guilt as he cradled her in his arms. She held onto him needing him so much and wanting to show him, but Ryan had stopped it. He'd kept her from making love to the man she cared about more than anything in this world and now she couldn't shake what he'd done.  She curled up into a ball as Chris held me and she sobbed harder just wishing the pain would end and she could forget about Ryan and allow herself to be with Chris without any fear of the past. 

"It's not your fault Eve. You have nothing to be sorry for," Chris explained, so wishing that she wouldn't blame herself. Ryan had come between them. He was to blame. He was the enemy.  Chris wanted to kill him, to return all the pain he'd inflicted upon Eve. he held her and hoped that his arms being around her would be enough to make her feel protected.

Eve felt his arms around her and tried so hard to forget, but it wouldn't go away. She'd pushed away the man she loved because of a man she'd hated and she couldn't forget that. Finally after what felt like an eternity, she brought her gaze up to look at Chris. She hated having him see her like this, but he didn't have that cold angry look she'd been expecting to see after she'd let him down. He looked sad and hurt. "I didn't mean to hurt you," she said weakly nestling against him. "I wanted to make love to you so badly. I just wish he hadn't come into my mind." 

"They'll be plenty of time for making love," Chris said, not even believing that he'd actually had the wisdom to say that, "And we will when the time is right. We'll get rid of Ryan from your mind Eve. We'll take time and our love with rid us of his presence forever. I'm not going to rush you, Eve. There's plenty of time for us," he said holding her as she nestled against him.

Eve listened to his words finding herself at ease as he held her.  She slowly started to relax just allowing herself to feel comfort in his arms as they sat there in silence. She felt his fingers through her hair and she let out a sigh wishing that things were easier. Finally she broke the silence. "I love you."

"I love you," Chris said placing a kiss to her forehead as he cradled her against him, feeling her relax more every moment. "I'll always love you Eve," he said wanting her to know that no matter how long it took for them to be together, he'd be there. 

Eve felt the love in his voice as she lay against him knowing that he truly meant it. He wouldn't turn his back on her even after what happened.  She looked up at him wanting to say so much more but nothing came out.  She closed her eyes feeling the warmth of his body as she finally spoke up again. "Can we just stay here like this for a while with you holding me?" 

"I thought you'd never ask," Chris said with a brief smile, just holding her to him and wanting her to relax

Eve smiled weakly just letting herself calm down in his arms as her eyelids grew heavy and somehow she managed to drift off to sleep in his arms feeling safe for the moment in the arms of the man she truly loved.