I'll Be There

Chapter 6

The cab flew down multiple roads before turning down an alleyway. The man got out and started running toward an old, abandoned building. Jamie threw five one hundred dollar bills at the cab driver and jumped out, chasing the man down. He left his cellphone turn on in his pocket so that the police could track his location. The man was attempting to unlock a door to the building when Jamie tackled him and started punching him.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Jamie yelled at him. "Why won't you leave us alone?" He finally stopped hitting him but kept him pinned down with a strength so strong that Samson himself couldn't escape his grip pre-haircut days.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he cried, blood coming out of his nose.

"Why have you been following us?" Jamie asked again.

"Because..." the man started, clearly looking quite embarrassed and ashamed, "because I'm obsessed with Dakota Johnson," he admitted. "I'm in love with her."

"That doesn't give you the right to stalk her!" Jamie yelled, outraged. "Do you realize the stress you've caused her? She's injured because of you. If I ever find you anywhere near her again, you will regret the day you were born. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir. I'm so sorry, sir," the man said again, clearly at a lost for words.

Right at that moment, Jamie heard the sirens approaching and saw the blue flashing lights pull up behind them. Two police officers from two different patrol cars got out and ran over to assess the situation.

"This man has been following my girlfriend and stalking her at her home," Jamie said, still holding down the man. "He knocked her over in the park after following her all morning and hiding behind trees, and then we found him peeking into her bedroom on her balcony tonight. He escaped down the fire escape and I chased him here."

"Please come with us sir," one of the officers said to the man as Jamie got off of him and the other started over to handcuff him.

Once the cruiser pulled off with the man in the back, Jamie got a cab back to the apartment.

"Oh my gosh, Jamie," Dakota exclaimed as he walked through the door, "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"He's taken care of," Jamie said simply, taking her into his arms. "He will never bother you again. The police took him in after I bloodied his nose and I made sure that he understood never to come round again."

"I love you so much," Dakota cried into his shoulder.

"Come on. Let's get some sleep. It's late and it's been a long day," Jamie whispered into her ear.

They made their way to the bedroom and crawled into bed. Jamie wrapped Dakota into his arms and they slept snuggled up close to each other.

When Jamie woke up the next morning, Dakota was nowhere to be found. He sleepily got up and walked toward the kitchen. He opened the fridge to get the gallon of orange juice out and opened the cabinet for a glass. After he poured himself a glass, he set the juice back in the fridge and went around the breakfast bar to sit down. He found a post-it note on the end of the bar.

'Taking Zep for a walk. Be back soon. -D'

He sipped on his orange juice and thought about the note in front of him. It wasn't like Dakota to just leave the apartment without waking him up.

About an hour later, Jamie heard the front door open and Zep bark. He peeled himself into a sitting position on the couch. "Hey."

"Hey, sorry it took me so long. Zep and I went for a walk," she said while hanging her jacket up and taking Zep off his leash.

"You okay?" he asked, noticing her distracted tone.

"Yeah, I just needed to clear my head."

"Come here," he replied, motioning for her to sit down beside him. She accepted, sitting down as he put his arm around her body and pulled her closer to him. "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing," she said, a bit more angrily, "I'm fine."

"Is it about the stalker?" he asked, seeing right through her lie.

"Yeah," she replied guiltily, hiding the truth from him. She was no longer worried about the man. She knew Jamie had taken care of the problem and he wouldn't allow the man to come anywhere within a mile of her again or he wouldn't live to see tomorrow. She was still fearful of other fans going too far and knew to watch her back, but she realized that anyone is in danger when walking out their front door, especially in this city. She knew how to take care of herself though, and there was a more pressing issue at hand that had her brain in overdrive.

"I told you, I'm not ever going to let anything happen to you," he said softly into her ear. "He's history."

She nuzzled her nose into his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. She couldn't help but wonder who he had been talking to on the phone the night before. She never saw Jamie as a man who would go behind her back to see another woman, let alone call her in her own home. She knew she had to confront him about it. She just didn't know how to bring it up. For once, she was happily in love and everything seemed right in the world. He was her protector, her rock, and the love of her life. He was her knight in shining armor. She didn't want to see him any other way. Not right now, at least.

"What do you want for lunch?" she asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Whatever you want is fine with me," he replied.

"How about some Chinese then?" she suggested.

"Sounds good," he agreed.

"Great, then you make the call while I hop in the bath," she said standing up. "I have to get out of these filthy clothes. Zep rolled around in the dirt and hopped up on me and I still feel icky."

"What do you want?" he called as she started down the hallway.

"General Taos with chicken fried rice," she yelled back.

Jamie made the call and turned on the television.

Dakota walked into the bathroom, started the water, added some bath salts and fruity smelling bubble bath, and stripped of her clothes. She waited until the water was over halfway filling the tub before putting a foot into the steaming, hot bath. She had never felt water so hot in her life. It was exactly what she needed, though, to take the stress away. She felt like a ton of bricks had been put onto her shoulders, and the scorching water was chipping them away as she relaxed down until the water covered her shoulders. Her body got used to the temperature, but every time she tried to move a limb, it burned her again.

About ten minutes later, Jamie heard Dakota yelling his name.

"Jamie! Jamie!"