Blaine sighed as he pulled up in front of the small cottage type house. The x-ray that Levi had given Ruff had shown that though there were not any fractures, Ruff did in fact have a couple of cracked ribs. Levi assured him that they would heal fine, but that the woods weren't the best place for the healing process. Putting what the pup needed before his own wishes he had agreed to stay in one of Levi's spare room until the pup was well.

Climbing out of the truck, Blaine gently picked up Ruff, blanket and all as Levi hurried and unlocked the front door of his house. Blaine followed behind at a more sedate pace, not entirely sure that he had made the smart decision. He could have taken Ruff to Mark's house, but something kept telling him that the best thing for his new dog would be to be at Levi's house. It also helped that he wanted to be near Levi.

Blaine glanced around as he walked into the house. The entryway went directly into the living room and Blaine walked over to the loveseat situated at the far end of the room and gently laid the blanket and Ruff on the cushions.

"How long do you think it will be until he'll be healed?"

"Well, I would like to keep him away from the woods for a couple weeks, why?"

"Well, I was just thinking that if it was going to be a while then I should probably go and pack the stuff at camp up. With Christian knowing where I was camped at I wouldn't put it past him to go and ransack or still my shit."

"Well, I have to go get my truck anyways, we can either take Ruff with us or I have a kennel we can put him in. I gave him some pain killers at the clinic and they should keep him knocked out until we can get back. The kennel would probably be best, that way we don't have to move him too much."

"That sounds like a plan, will you get the kennel and we'll get him set up and then get back on the road. I don't want to leave him alone too long."

"Yeah, I'll get it, but can I talk to you for a minute before we head out?"

"Yeah, sure, what's up?"

"How are you doing with all of this, honestly?"

"I'm doing okay, things are just so strange right now. I thought he was out of my life and now he just decides to show up. It took everything I had not to just beat the living hell out of him for some of the things that he said, but I reminded myself that they were just words. When he took it out on Ruff, well, that wasn't just words and it infuriated me. Ruff is just a pup, from what I could see he didn't even have his teeth in Christian, just his pant leg. It makes my try to figure out exactly what it was that I ever saw in him."

"Sometimes things like that just don't show up for a while."

"Yeah, but I thought that I knew him, at least at first. I realized after the break-up that he wasn't everything that he seemed, but to hurt an innocent dog, I never expected that."

"I think we're going to have to start expecting the unexpected. We're going to have to watch out for him Blaine. I don't think he was making idle threats."

"As much as I wish I could say you were wrong, I think you're right. I can look into getting a restraining order, but I'm not sure."

"We can try to do that tomorrow, but for right now, lets just worry about getting the stuff back from camp."

"You're right, but god I'm tired. I haven't slept worth shit for the past few days."

"Yeah, me neither. We'll hopefully get some better sleep tonight."

"Yeah, but in order to do that we need to go get my camp packed up and pick up your truck. I'll get Ruff, will you get the kennel?"

"Yeah, let's get him settled and get out there. The sooner we leave the sooner we'll be back, and with Christian out there I would feel safer if we were inside."

"Yeah, I think you may be right," Blaine said before going back over to where Ruff lay on the couch.

Within minutes they had Ruff settled and were back in the truck, headed towards the lake. It was a fairly silent ride to the lake; neither Blaine nor Levi really felt like making small talk. They were both in their own worlds, thinking about what had happened over the day and trying to find the best solution to the dilemma that was Christian.

With the two of them working together, it didn't take long to pack up Blaine's camp once they reached the site. They had the tent dismantled and packed up in no time flat. They had picked up Levi's truck on the way to Blaine's camp and they quickly loaded everything into the back of Levi's truck. They would have loaded everything into Blaine's truck but it would have taken longer because there was already stuff in the bed of Blaine's truck.

Within a half hour they were back on the road, Blaine following behind Levi. Neither one of them ever noticed the truck that was following behind them. Reaching Levi's house they quickly parked and headed into the house. The truck that had been following them slowed down as it passed by the house.

Blaine awoke with a start, looking around, unaware of his surroundings. It took a minute before he remembered that he was in Levi's spare bedroom. He was trying to figure out what woke him when he heard the sound of breaking glass. Flying out of bed, Blaine ran out of the bedroom where he ran straight into Levi.

"What the hell is going on?" Blaine yelled as they ran for the front door.

"Not sure, sounded like glass breaking," Levi said, throwing open the front door.

"That would be because it was," Blaine said, stopping in his footsteps at the sight that greeted them.

"Oh god Blaine, I'm sorry," Levi said as he led the way to where Blaine's truck sat, all the windows bashed in.

"That son of a bitch, he didn't get to yours, did he?" Blaine sighed as he strode angrily over to where Levi stood next to his own truck.

"No, he didn't. Looks like he was just after yours tonight," Levi said, reaching out and twining his fingers with Blaine's. "I'm sorry about this Blaine."

"It wasn't your fault Levi, I should have seen this coming. He told me that he wasn't done with me yet."

Glancing up at the sky Levi shrugged before leading Blaine back into the house. "It doesn't look like it's going to rain, so the truck should be okay for tonight. I can follow you tomorrow and you can take it in to get fixed."

"Yeah, that will probably work, we'll see what happens tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure, it's your truck," Levi said as he sat down on the couch.

"I didn't mean it like that Levi, it's just that... hell, I don't know. I should have expected this. We should probably call and file a police report."

"Yeah, just wish we had some way to prove that it was Christian."

"All we can do is tell them about what happened earlier today and see where it goes. We have a lead on who we think it is, but I doubt that will be enough for them to be able to make any kind of arrest."

"No, it's usually not, but it's worth a shot. We know that it was him and you had me for a witness when he confronted you at the lake. It would at least be enough for them to pull him in and question him, I would think."

""It should be, but we'll just have to wait and see. Can I use your phone?"

"Yeah, it's in the kitchen. Let me grab it and then while you call I'll get something for us to drink."

"Okay, thanks Levi. After I call them I'll need to take the pup out. Where are your dogs by the way?

"One of my buddies took them while I came back out to lake to look for ya. I didn't know how long I'd be out there and so I figured it would be easier. I'll probably go pick them up tomorrow," Levi said before heading to the kitchen and coming back with the cordless phone. After handing it back to Blaine he went back to the kitchen and grabbed a couple soda's out of the fridge. He walked back into the living room as Blaine was heading towards the kitchen.

"Hey Levi? I need your address."

After telling Blaine the address, Levi set the drinks on the coffee table before going back into the room that Blaine was using and got the pup out of the kennel. With the pup in his arms he headed back into the kitchen and went out the back door. He knew that there was no way the pup could get out, but after what had happened earlier in the day he felt it best that someone stay out with the pup for the time being. He watched as the dog did what he needed to do and laughed when the dog headed straight back to the house, and it's owner.

Levi cussed to himself as he watched poor Ruff limp back into the house. He wanted to wring Christian's neck for what he did to the dog, but he knew that it wouldn't do any good. From what he had already seen, he knew that Christian was mean as any snake and could probably do some damage. He was furious that the prick had come to his house, but he was also grateful that it had just been Blaine's truck windows and not Blaine himself.

Following Ruff back into the house, Levi walked up to where Blaine had just put the phone back on the cradle. "So what's going on?"

"They're sending someone out to make a report. When the cop gets here I'll have to explain what happened earlier today, and I am not looking forward to that."

"Well, as I said before, at least you have me for a witness."

"Yeah, but knowing Christian, he'll claim that it never happened and that he's the scorned party in all of this."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, right now let's not ask for any more trouble, ok?"

"Sounds good to me, I don't need any more bullshit. Not knowing what he's going to do next is going to drive me nuts though. First my dog and now my truck. Maybe I shouldn't be staying here, he could come after you next."

"Let me worry about myself, you're welcome to stay here for as long as you need to. I'll go and get the dogs tomorrow, Christian would be an idiot to try and get in when they are here. If it would make you feel better I could even go and get them now."

"No, it's the middle of the night, but tomorrow I want you to go and pick them up. If he comes after you though, I'm gone, I won't have that on my conscious."

"Then I'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen, won't I?"

"Yeah, I guess you will," Blaine said, just as they heard sirens coming down the street. Blaine quickly headed out to meet the cops, Levi following close behind. In no time at all the cops had both Blaine and Levi's statement as well as a description of what had happened earlier in the day, and Christian's home address. They were going to pull Christian in for questioning and they would let Blaine know in the morning what they found out. Levi and Blaine both thanked the officers and Levi made sure they had his home phone number before wishing them a good night.

"Now that that is taken care of, how about we enjoy those sodas and try and get some sleep?" Levi said as they headed back into the house after watching the police cruiser pull out of the drive.

"Actually," Blaine began, "I don't know if I feel much in the mood for soda anymore, I think I'm just going to hit the sack if you don't mind."

"Of course not, I'll just throw the sodas back in the fridge, go and get some sleep and try not to worry."

"I can try, can't guarantee that will work," Blaine said, pulling Levi to him in a hug and placing a light kiss on his lips before picking up Ruff and heading back into the bedroom he was using. Blaine didn't know how long he had lain there before he realized that he wasn't going to be able to sleep. Climbing out of bed he slipped his shorts on and padded barefoot down the hall to Levi's room and slipped quietly through the open door. He smiled as he saw Levi curled up in the big bed and walked over and crawled in beside him, being careful not to wake him up.

Blaine wrapped his arms lightly around the other man and placed a light kiss on Levi's neck. His skin flushed as he felt Levi turn more fully into his arms and cuddle up to him. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of this sooner, but it felt good to lay there with Levi curled into him. He felt a sense of peace overcome him. He was just about asleep when he heard Levi's voice in the darkness.

"I was hoping you would join me," Levi said sleepily.

"Why didn't ya just ask?" Blaine returned softly.

"Didn't wanna push," Levi answered, his voice low and husky.

"It wouldn't have been pushing. I don't know if I'm ready for more, but I could get used to this feeling."

"We'll talk about it in the morning, for now, lets get some sleep," Levi said as he rose out of Blaine's arms and kissed him gently, yet passionately, before sliding back down into the warmth that was Blaine.