Lia was sitting on the sofa with Lollipop curled up in her lap and Seamus laying on her feet when she heard the door being unlocked.  Dominic.  She didn’t even wait until he was completely through the door before she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.  Dom began rubbing his hands up and down her back, kissing her cheeks, forehead and lips.  Lia let out a long sigh.  She felt like this was the first time she’d been relaxed in two months.

“I missed you so much, baby”, she said into his chest.

Dominic cupped his hands on each side of her face and lifted her chin.  “I’m here, baby.  Everything is going to be fine”.

“Can you just hold me? Hold me for as long as you can and don’t leave me”.  The weariness in her voice broke his heart.  He hated that she’d been dealing with all the craziness without him.

Dominic dropped his duffle, took off his coat, picked Lia up and carried her to the bedroom.  He laid her on the bed, then backed up to take off his boots and climbed on the bed after her.  He gathered her up in his arms and placed her head on his chest.  He stroked her hair and pressed sweet, soft kisses to her forehead.  He held her until she fell asleep, reveling in the weight of her; the soft scent of coconut wafting up from her hair filled him with a sense of well being.  He buried his face into her soft, curly hair, relishing the way it felt on his skin.  She was his paradise, his home.  He’d do whatever he needed to do to protect her.

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

Dominic woke up three hours later and looked down at Lia, who was staring up at him.

“Hey, beautiful.  How long have you been awake?”  He said, giving the tip of her nose a kiss.

“Not too long.  I was just looking at your handsome face thinking about how happy I am to be in your arms”.

“Missed me, did you”, he said, chuckling softly.

“So much.  Did you miss me?”

“I don’t think I could express with words how much I missed you.  But I’d like to show you”, his eyes hooded and his voice gentle but still filled with want.

“Please show me, Dominic.  I need you to show me”.

That night the made love slowly, savoring every delicious moment.  It wasn’t about reaching climax for them.  It was about the expression of love between the two of them.  They kissed, clutched at and caressed each other, basking in their union.  It was the most sensual experience either one of them ever had.  They were so consumed with each other that they hadn’t taken the time to use a condom.  That night, Dominic’s sperm cell made it’s way to Lia’s womb and fertilized the egg that had implanted there.

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

They both woke up feeling better than they had in months.  They were back together and finding some normalcy.  Dominic hated to have to shake that up.

“Babe, I talked to my father about two weeks ago”.  Dominic started slowly.

“Oh, really?  What did he have to say for himself?”

“He uh...wants to come visit.  Him, my maw, Nessa, my brother Donal and his wife, Irene”.

Lia looked at him with a raised eyebrow.  “They know we live together, right?  They know that if they come to see you, they’re coming to see me, too?”

“Yeah, babe, they know.  Da mentioned that they all wanted to meet you”.

“Uh-huh”.  Lia wasn’t looking forward to meeting Dominic’s parents.  She was looking forward to meeting his sister face to face.  She didn’t know much about his brother and sister-in-law, but she knew she was NOT looking forward to meeting his racist, backwards thinking parents.

“Look, I know that given how they behaved when they found out that we were dating, my parents aren’t high on your list of people you’d like to meet.  But I can’t just tell them not to come.  No matter how much I hate what they stand for, they’re still my folks.  Besides, you’re more than just my girlfriend now, you are the woman I’m going to marry.  You’d have to meet them at some point”.

Lia walked over to Dom and put her arms around his neck.  “I know, baby.  And I will welcome them with open arms when they get here.  So when will they be visiting?”

“Next month.  I still have to firm up the arrangements”.

“Those arrangements wouldn’t include them staying here, would they?”

Dominic gave her an ‘are you insane’ look.  “Hell no!  I’m going to pay for a suite at the TriBeCa Grand”.

She kissed her fiancee on the cheek.  “Smart man”.

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

Eric had been drinking heavily since his encounter with that bastard.  ‘How dare he threaten me!’ He didn’t deserve her, his Lia.  HIS Lia!  She was gentle and sweet; he was a brute.  How dare she agree to marry him!  Was she just trying to make him jealous?  Make him angry?  Well if that was her intention, it was working.  

He was tired of this game she was playing with him.  She sent the earrings he bought her back to the jewelers and she’d refused the last few floral arrangements.  What was she playing at?  She knows he loves her.  And if she didn’t know it by now, she wasn’t as bright as he thought she was.  He tried to show her with gifts, maybe he needed to tell her...face to face.

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

Lia and Dominic had finished eating his welcome home dinner which consisted of roasted chicken and fingerling potatoes, spinach sauteed with garlic infused olive oil and her mother’s famous tiramisu.  They’d just finished cleaning up the kitchen and Lia was about to take the garbage to the chute down the hall.

“I’ll take that out, babe”,  Dominic said when he saw her tying up the bag of trash.

“It’s just down the hall honey, relax”.

He looked at her for a long moment.  He’d put a scare in the creepy bastard, he was sure of that.  Was it enough to keep him at bay, though? But she was right, it WAS just down the hall.  Against his better judgement, he let her go.  “Ok, but hurry back”.

Lia pulled the garbage bag out of the trash can and strode out of the door.

The trash chute was on the left side of the hallway, next to the emergency exit.  As Lia went into the small room that housed the chute, she didn’t see that the door to the exit was slightly ajar.  Normally, the door was always closed flush to the door jamb.  She didn’t spare it a glance, so she didn’t see him peeking out at her from behind that door.  Her shriek was muffled by a hand over her mouth as she was lifted and pulled through the exit door.

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

“Don’t scream, Lia”, Eric said as he continued to cover her mouth with his hand.  “Please don’t be afraid of me.  I love you, I would never hurt you”.

Lia stared at him with fear and loathing in her eyes.

“Please don’t look at me like that Lia”, he said firmly.  “What I’m doing, I’m doing for your own good.  That man you’re ENGAGED to, attacked and THREATENED me.  Is that the type of man you want to marry?  To father your children?  He doesn’t deserve you, don’t you see that?”

Lia knew that if she was going to get away from him, she was going to have to make sure he trusted that she wouldn’t scream.  She tapped the hand over her mouth and looked at him with pleading eyes. She was asking to remove his hand.

“If I remove my hand, do you promise not to scream?”

Lia nodded her head vigorously.  Eric slowly dropped his hand.

“Oh sweetheart, thank you.  Thank you”,  he said.  He looked at her lovingly and began stroking her hair and her face.  She fought not to cringe at his touch.  He needed to believe she trusted him.  He pulled her to him and smiled as he pressed his lips to her hair.  “I’ve waited so long for this.  I’ve wanted to hold you in my arms since the moment I saw you, the very first moment.  You’ve awakened something in me, Lia.  Something I didn’t even know was there.  I need to be able to take care of you; to love you.  Let me love you”.  Eric stepped closer to her and kissed her.  He pulled back and placed his lips against her temple. “So sweet”, he murmured.  He kissed her again, more urgently this time.  He ran his hand from her face to her breast.  He slid his hand further down and cupped her mound.

“No, no, no...please”.

“You’re absolutely right, darling.  I want to have you in my apartment, in my bed”.

Eric pulled her in for another kiss and  she clamped down on his lower lip with her teeth, hard enough to draw blood.

“You little BI-”  Lia hit him with a hard left hook before he could finish that statement.  He rushed at her before she could administer another blow.  He slammed her back against the cement wall of the stairwell, his hand around her throat.  Lia screamed as loud as she could.

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

Dominic began to panic.  She’d been gone too long.  He knew he shouldn’t have let her out of the apartment without him.  He heard her scream as soon as he flew out into the hallway.  His blood began to boil with fury as he ran towards the sound.  It was coming from the emergency exit.  Dominic almost yanked the metal door off of its hinges just in time to see that asshole punch Lia in the face.  Dom let out an inhuman roar as he powered into the tall, blonde man, pinning him to the wall.  He administered blow after punishing blow to Eric’s face.  Lia ran back to the apartment, picked up her phone and called the police.

Lia threw open the apartment door, sprinted down the hall and pulled open the exit door.  She found Dominic still violently pummeling Eric.  

“DOMINIC STOP!”  She yelled.  “The cops are coming, baby.  Stop”.  She reached out and touched his arm.  Dominic stilled at her touch and let Eric slump to the ground, battered and bloody.  He turned to Lia as if seeing her for the first time.  He grabbed her and hugged her tight.  She was shaking like a leaf.

“It’s okay, angel.  You’re okay now”.  Lia began to weep, fisting his shirt with both hands.

He squeezed her even tighter, placing his hand on the back of her head.  “Shhh.  You’re alright now.  I’m never going to let anything happen to you”.  Never again, Dominic thought to himself.  Never again.

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

The police arrived 20 minutes after Lia called 911 and had the scene processed in about two hours.  Dominic and Lia had been questioned.  One of the police officers on the scene turned to Lia.

“Miss Mariani, would you like to press charges against the man who attacked you?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely”.  Fear had been replaced with a rage she’d never felt before.  

The police officer smirked at that.  “Okay, then.  We’ll finished here.  We’ll be in contact.  Get some rest”,  the officer handed her a card with the number of a victim’s support group.  “If you feel like you need to talk to a professional about what happened to you tonight, you can call the number on that card.  Good night”.

Some of the other tenants had gathered due to the commotion.  Their neighbors, Julia and Seth Goldman were waiting by the elevator on their floor.  They’d always been friendly so Julia came up to Lia and gave her a warm hug.

“Are you going to be okay, honey?”, Julia asked.

“Yeah...I think so”.

“You know, I’m not at all surprised that that Davison fellow turned out to be a bad guy.  He had developed a fixation on another young female tenant.  She finally had to move it got so bad”.

“Oh my God!  Why was he still allowed to continue living here if he was stalking another tenant?  The management was quick to send us a letter telling us we had to get rid of Seamus when someone reported that he was vicious.  They didn’t even investigate the charge!”

“That’s B.S., excuse my french”, said Seth.  “For one, that sweet dog wouldn’t hurt a fly and two, there is ALWAYS supposed to be an investigation into accusations like that.  It was probably Davison who filed that complaint.  He gets away with stuff like that because his father owns the management company.  It’s why he was able to continue living here after that young girl, I forget her name now, filed her complaint”.

Lia felt like it was imperative that they find out the name of the young woman who’d been harassed by Eric.  She might be able to help build a case against him regarding the stalking.

“If you guys remember the name of that girl, would you let me know?” Lia asked.

“Of course, honey.  And if you need anything all you have to do is knock on our door”.  Julia hugged her again and Seth gave Dom a friendly slap on the back.  “Get some sleep you two”.

“Thank you Julia, Seth.  Goodnight”.

When Lia and Dominic were safely behind the door of their apartment, he took her in his arms and said “I’m calling a realtor tomorrow”.

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

One Month Later

So much had happened in weeks that passed since Eric Davison had attacked Lia.  The first, Davison was released from jail when his father paid his bail.  Dom and Lia hired a lawyer and filed for a restraining order against Davison.  This created a logistical problem because he still lived in the same apartment building they did.  They had to quickly find another apartment or house to rent while they were house hunting for a permanent residence.  They’d found it easier to put their furniture in storage and stay in a hotel until they found a home.  Her parents had offered to put them up during that time, and they’d considered it for a moment before decided to move into the hotel.  They needed their privacy.  Her parents understood.  

They didn’t want to stay anywhere near the TriBeCa neighborhood; they didn’t want to run the risk of seeing Davison.  They decided to stay in a hotel that offered month to month accommodations in Times Square.  

Dominic’s family also came for their week long visit.  Dominic and Lia paid for their travel and a suite at the same hotel they were currently staying.  As expected, the visit was awkward.

Lia and Dominic greeted his family in the lobby of the hotel.  Lia was surprised as they weren’t quite what she’d expected.  For some reason she’d expected his parents to be the scottish version of your typical midwestern tea party supporter; portly with fanny packs and a wardrobe as outdated as their racist ideologies.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.  Dominic’s father William was an older version of Dom with salt and pepper hair and a beard to match.  At 54, he was tall and fit.  He would easily be mistaken for a man 15 years younger.  His mother Aileen was also tall and shapely with dark hair and green eyes.  His sister Nessa was as pretty in person as she was on the computer, maybe prettier.  She was tall, about 5’9 with a curvy figure like her mother.

His brother Donal could have been Dominic’s twin, although he wasn’t as tall or as muscular and he had green eyes.  His wife Irene was just a little taller than Lia, with red hair and emerald green eyes.

Dom greeted his family with hugs for the men and hugs and kisses for the women.

“It’s good to see you, all of you”.  Dominic said, slightly uncomfortable.  

“It’s good to see you as well, son”, his mother replied.  She looked up at him and nodded slightly towards Lia.

“Oh, yes!” Dominic reached for Lia and wrapped an arm around her. “ Maw, Da...this is Lia, my fiancee.  Lia, my parents, William and Aileen”.

Lia held out her hand to shake her future in-law’s hands in greeting.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you both”,  she said with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Lia” said William.  

“Yes, lovely to meet you”, Aileen said lightly.

Dominic gestured to his sister.  “You already know Nessa”.   Both women grinned at each other, but Lia still offered her a handshake.  “What that, then?  We are almost sisters, we hug!”  Nessa engulf Lia in a hug that she enthusiastically returned.  She was going to love Nessa.

“And this”, Dominic said guiding Lia to his brother and sister-in-law, “is my brother Donal and his wife Irene.  Donal offered his hand for a handshake.  “Lovely to meet you, Lia”, he said in a stiff business like tone.  Irene simply gave a light wave and curt hello.

‘Well, they’re at least being civil.  Cold, but civil’,  Lia thought.  It’s all she could really expect given their feelings.  “Why don’t we get you to your suite so that you can get settled”.

The group headed to the suite that the MacCleod’s would be staying in.  

Dominic jumped in to explain the temporary living arrangements. “The suites here are 2 bedrooms each, so Maw and Da you can share your suite with Donal and Irene and Nessa can bunk in our second bedroom”.

“Oh, BRILLIANT!” Nessa squealed, clapping her hands.  “Lia and I can have girl time.  Dommy, you can’t do whatever it is you do when you’re not harassing your fiancee”.

“You can have her for a couple of hours, Ness”,  Dominic said, wrapping his sister in a loose headlock.  “But you’ll not be keeping her from me for the whole night”.

Lia noticed Irene roll her eyes.  She had a feeling that the woman was going to be testing her good nature this week.

“Oh! Tomorrow my parents have invited us to dinner at their restaurant.  It’ll be a private party, just the two families”.

“That’s right.  Dominic told us your parents own a restaurant”, said Aileen.  Italian?  Is that right?”

“Yes.  It’s actually family owned.  My parents and my aunt and uncle are partners”, explained Lia.

“A black family with an italian restaurant?” Irene said incredulously. “That’s unusual”.

“Actually, my family is italian”, Lia explained, trying with control her rising anger.  “We moved to the States when I was in grade school”.

“There are BLACK italians?” Irene asked sounding as if the idea of black italians was preposterous.  ‘This broad is really pushing her luck’ Lia thought to herself.

“Yes, there are black italians, I’M a black italian, but my family is mostly white”.

“Well where did YOU come from?”

“Irene you rude, miserable cow!” Nessa shouted.

“Nessa!”  Aileen said sharply.

“Well it’s true, maw!  She’s being rude!”

“You are being VERY rude, Reeny”, Aileen warned the younger woman.  Lia’s eyes widened in surprise.

Irene stood up and stormed into a bedroom and slammed the door.

“Donal, you need to talk to your wife.  If she continues to disrespect Lia, I’ll make sure she’s on the first flight back to Scotland.  And if you don’t like it, you can go with her!”

Donal rolled his eyes and sighed.  “I’ll talk to her.  Lia, I apologize for Irene’s behavior”, he said as he followed his wife into the bedroom.

Yeah, this was going to be a long week.