I wake up, to the sound of my phone ringing. I look to see the caller ID is Arizona. I check the time, seeing it's 2am.
"Hello?" I ask down the phone.
"Laura, someone's in my house." I hear her whisper softly, the panic evident in her voice.
"Okay, I'm on my way. The boys are asleep, they will be fine I'll let my neighbours know do they will watch them." I say down the line calmly, even though my heart was beating out of control thinking about her being there alone with a stranger.
"Just keep the line open okay?" I say.
"Okay." She answers me and I put her on loud speaker while I get changed. I put on a button up top and a pair of jeans, taking my hand cuffs and my own personal gun.
"Where are you?" I ask her calmly down the phone, I hear her sigh shakily.
"I looked myself in my ensuite." She says.
"Okay, do you know where the intruder is?" I ask as I walk out of the house, running to my next door neighbours and tapping on their door.
"I think they're in the loungeroom." She whispers.
"Okay, I'll be there shortly. Just hold on one minute." I say down the phone before muting the the microphone.
"Hey, George, I've got my boys and their friend in the house but a friend needs me, can you just poke your head in if I'm not back in the next twenty minutes?" I ask my neighbour.
George is an older man, in his fifties, his wife and him have lived next door for as long as I have been here. He smiles and nods his head, taking the spare key from me. I unsure the microphone.
"Have you got the bathroom light on or off?" I ask Arizona as I get into my car.
"The light is on." She says shakily.
"Okay, I know this is going to be scary, but I need you to turn the light off, and sit in your tub. This way they won't know that you are there." I say in seriousness.
"O-Okay." She says. I hear a small flip of a light switch and some shuffling telling me she is in her tub.
"Are you there?" She asks in a frightened whisper.
"Yeah, I'm here don't worry I'm coming up your driveway." I say. I turn my lights off before going up the driveway, to stop the suspect from getting frightened from the lights.
"I have to hang up now okay?" I say down the phone.
"No, please don't." She leads in a whisper.
"I have to. I'll be there in two seconds. Just trust me." I hear her sigh.
"Okay." With that I hang up and walk toward her house.
I inspect the front door, seeing that the door had been broken into. I pull out my gun, finger off the trigger and on the safety switch. I walk into the house, quietly scanning through the lounge room and then the kitchen, only to hear some noise coming from the master bedroom. My heartbeat quickens, knowing that Arizona is in there.
I turn the corner, turning the light on and pointing the gun at the black hooded figure, his back is turned to me but he freezes at the switch of the light.
"Police! Don't move." I yell out clear for him to hear. He puts his hands up.
"Get down on your stomach. With your hands behind your back." I order, he lays on his stomach with hands hands on his lower back. Walking to him, take out my hand cuffs and cuff him while telling him his rights, and searching him for any weapons.
Turning him around, his brown eyes stare at me, a smirk on his lips as he narrows his eyes. I sit him on the floor, legs crossed as I wait for Archer to arrive.
Within minutes, Archer and another officer came through. I hand him over to them and knock on the ensuite, my head against her door.
"He's gone, you can come out." I say softly.
I hear some shuffling and the door opens to show a frightened looking Arizona. Without hesitation I take her into my arms, hugging her to me, her head resting in the crook of my neck as he body shakes slightly. I rub her back and press my lips against her cheek to comfort her.
"You're okay." I say softly.
She lifts her head from my neck, her eyes are red. I caress her cheek and tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Stay with me tonight." I say softly.
Without hesitation she nods. I let her grab a few things before getting into my car and driving back toward my house. While driving back, she wouldn't stop tapping we foot, I reach over and rest my hand on her knee, stopping her from bouncing her leg. When she does, I move my hand once more, this time taking her hand in mine.
When we finally pull into my drive way, I see George just about to unlock the front door. He turns to me and smiles. I turn off the engine and unbuckle my seatbelt before getting out of the car and opening Arizona's door for her.
"I see everything is okay?" George asks looking between me and Arizona.
"Yeah, just a bit of a scare." I say vaguely.
He nods his head and walks back over to his house, not before handing me my spare key back. I unlock the door and walk inside, carrying the bag that Arizona had brought with her.
"You can stay in my room tonight. I'll sleep on the couch." I say softly.
She nods her head. Complying with what I am saying. I'm not sure that's exactly a great sign though. She follows me into my room. I put her bag near the door and close the door behind us. She's hugging herself and biting her lip.
I take hold of her hand, stopping her from hugging herself. She just stares at me, the silence was becoming deafening. With my free hand I cup her cheek.
"You are safe." I say in seriousness. She nods her head and sighs.
She takes hold of my hand on her cheek, turning it slightly and kissing my hand softly. I feel my heartbeat quicken at the small gesture and drop my hand, the guilt of liking her in a romantic way, hitting me, it's too soon.
I smile and take a step back. I watch as her features fall slightly but she gives me a weak smile and walks toward her bag.
"Goodnight Arizona." I say softly as I walk out of the door.
Once I'm in the living room, I take off my jeans, my shorts underneath them. I take off my bra, a sigh escaping my lips because of it. No man will ever understand how much relief comes from taking your bra off. I go into the cupboard and take out the spare blanket and laying it down.
I can't help but think about the fact that, Arizona is laying in my bed, her body against my sheets. I throw my hands over my face and groan in frustration. I shouldn't be thinking about her soft skin in my bed. I sigh and turn on the couch, tugging harshly at my blanket in frustration, my hand losing grip and punching myself in the boob, I laugh at my own stupid you while groaning slightly. Tonight is going to be a long night.
The next morning I wake up early, creeping into my room to grab my police uniform from my wardrobe. I hear shuffling and turn to see Arizona staring at me.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I just need to grab my uniform." I say.
Yet I can't keep my eyes off her. Her beautiful bed hair, the way her singlet strap is dangerously low against her shoulder. The singlet, also being slightly see through meaning I can see a very clear outline of her breasts.
"That's okay, what time is it?" She asks softly, her morning voice making me bite back a groan.
"It's 5:30am." I say quietly.
"Okay, well do you mind if I have a shower?" She asks softly. I smile and shake my head.
"No, go right ahead. I'm just going to go into the main bathroom and get changed." I say grabbing my clothes and scurrying out, tripping slightly as I try to leave the room as quick as possible. I close the door and lean against it. I can't help but be shocked as I hear a small laugh come from inside my room. She is aware how flustered she had me just then. I shake my head and smile before walking to the bathroom and changing.
Once I'm changed, I walk to the boys room and wake the three of them up. Getting them in the shower one after the other. By the time the last of the boys have had a shower, Arizona was out and dressed in black waist high dress pants and a white blouse tucked inter her pants.
"What would you like for breakfast?" I ask the boys as Arizona walks over.
My eyes watching her, the way her hips move. I turn my attention back to the boys before she can realise I was watching her.
"Can we have pancakes?" Tyler asks.
I look at the clock to make sure we are going good with time, seeing it is 6:45, I have to leave by 7:30 as does Arizona. We have enough time to make pancakes. I smile and nod.
"Sure, can you grab the eggs and flour?" I ask the boys. They all have grins on their faces as they move around and grab different ingredients for me. I smile and ruffle Tyler's hair, before picking him and placing him onto the bench. James and Justin are giggling and trying to mix the badder together.
Soon enough the pancakes are ready and all the boys are sitting quietly, the occasional giggle being released as they face each other to see who can finish first.
We all pile into the same car, as Arizona's car is still at her place. Today, my two boys are going to preschool, they go three days a week, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Luckily for us, the pre school is next door to the primary school that Justin goes to. Soon, it is just Arizona and me, in the car.
"So, did you recognise the guy from last night?" I ask her. I watch as her features visibly pale.
"Yes." Her answer barely a whisper.
"Who is he?" I ask as I glance at her.
"He's Justin's father." I grip the steering wheel a bit tighter, and nod my head. Trying to keep calm and not pry into her business.
"You know you can talk to me about what's happened with him and you if you want to." I say. She smiles weakly and nods her head.
"I know...I just can't talk about it." I nod my head and let it be.
I stop in front of her work and watch as she exits my car. I sigh and lean my head carefully against my steering wheel. Lifting my head I reverse and drive toward the station.
Archer is at the station already, waiting for me. His grey eyes watching me intently as I walk toward our shared desk. I smile at him and sit down. As I do, he smirks at me, folding his hands over his chest.
"So, who was the lady from last night?" He asks, wiggling his eyebrows. I roll my eyes and laugh.
"She's an old friend." I say lightly.
"Do you like her?" I blush and shake my head, lying to him. He just rolls his eyes with a knowing smirk.
"You should ask her out." He says. I shake my head.
"We had our chance many years ago, and besides, I just lost my wife." I say, he nods his head but still has a small smile.
"You know, there is no perfect timing, no set amount of time you have to wait after losing a loved one. If she makes you feel whole again, then you shouldn't stop yourself because of what others will say." I nod my head at his words but don't say anything else to continue the conversation and get back to doing my work.