<span style="color: #FF80FF"> <span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;"><div style="text-align: center;">Lea Stevens</div></span></span> </span><br/><div style="text-align: center;"><a class="postlink" href="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn24/SociallyToxicBeauty/036e0d3a-b28c-47ec-b858-0eaea6c67e4d.jpg">[ img ]</a></div><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;"><span style="color: #FF80FF"><div style="text-align: center;">"Jazz"</div></span></span></span><br/><br/>Lea had a hard time not stumbling as she had run down the stairs, completely missing her neighbor, and damn near falling on her ass on a patch of ice. It wasn't until she was an adequate distance away from the apartment that she felt like she could breathe again. She walked for a few minutes, furiously rubbing her face with the sleeve of her shirt to wipe away her tears. She had panicked and she knew that. Carlos was probably furious, but she needed the space for a few minutes, to feel the cool air and to calm down.<br/><br/>A car pulled up to the curb and she looked up to see Carlos' patrol car as he leaned over towards the passenger window.<span style="font-style: italic">"Lea, get in. Your neighbor has alarmed the coppers and Starsky and Hutch are looking out for you and she gave them my description. I just got a call from Maria warning me, to get our asses covered,"</span>his voice was firm and Lea hesitated with indecision. Ultimately she had decided to get in, not wanting to go down the station and not wanting Carlos to have to deal with Simmons and Peters.<br/><br/>She opened the door and got in. The car was warm and she didn't realize how cold she had actually been. She hadn't grabbed a jacket, too busy being in a rush to escape. She didn't say anything as she folded her arms to her shivering frame, trying to huddle to herself for warmth. The heat of the Patrol car felt better than she would openly admit, and she still had tears in her eyes that were threatening to fall.<span style="color: #FF80FF">"I'm sorry. I just needed to get out of there...." </span>she said quietly, unable to look at Carlos.<br/><br/>Knowing that her neighbor had called the cops on them had her a bit worried as she did not want Carlos in trouble and she didn't want the department in her business. She tried to ignore the sting that she had felt at the mention of Maria, telling herself that if Maria still liked Carlos, that was a good thing--perhaps the two of them could be happy together and she could go back to being all alone.<br/><br/>But that thought, too, suffocated her.