This just came to me so I had to write it down.

Cupcake one-shot, I hope you like!

Not a songfic, just another title inspired by Bon Jovi

Disclaimer: As per usual, I don't own anything, I'm just having fun with JE's characters

Raiting: K, T, whatever. No smut.

Who Says You Can't Go Home?

At first I thought I was dreaming. Someone was calling me in my dream. But it wouldn't go away and I finally realized it was my real phone ringing.

I was hoping the machine would pick it up as I opened one eye and squinted at the alarm clock. 2 AM. Who the hell calls at 2 AM??

Now I remembered I'd turned the answering machine off earlier that night because for once, I didn't have a psychotic stalker calling me on a regular basis. Until now.

With a grunt, I pushed myself up on one elbow and snatched the handset off the bedside table.

"What?"

"Steph, it's me."

"Morelli, it's two in the morning!"

"Yeah, I know." He said and then he chuckled.

"Are you drunk?" I asked, because he didn't sound like it was an emergency.

"Maybe. I just got home and you weren't here. Why aren't you home?"

Now I could hear he was drunk, just this side of shitfaced, actually. I sat up and leaned against the headboard.

"I am home, " I said simply. "You're not here." Morelli repeated.

"No, I am at my home. We broke up, remember?" Now I was getting irritated. It was one thing to get a booty call; it was a whole other thing to get called at 2 in the morning by your ex-boyfriend whom you just had the mother of all fights with the evening before.

"I didn't break up." Morelli said, and I could picture him leaning against a wall, trying to keep his balance. I sighed. The vision made me sad. I missed him already.

"I'm sorry Cupcake." He said when I didn't respond. I sighed again. I was sorry, too, but my pride didn't allow me to admit that.

I knew Morelli was drunk, but he would never say or do anything when he was drunk that he wouldn't do or say sober. So I decided to have it out, right here and now, since I was awake anyway.

"What are you sorry for?" I asked. He took a deep breath and I could hear him swallowing.

"I'm sorry for trying to tell you what to do. I have no right to. It's just that I'm scared something will happen to you and then you won't be in my life anymore."

"You have a funny way of expressing that fear." I pointed out.

"Yeah, I know." He said and sounded defeated. "Give me another chance?"
It almost broke my heart to hear him this desperate. I knew I loved him, but lately I'd been thinking I might have to cut my losses and go on with my life.

"I don't know, Joe…" I said slowly. As much as I wasn't ready to live my life without him, I didn't want to get hurt anymore either.

"Steph, I love you." He said. I knew that he did, too. Love was never our problem. I took a deep breath.

"You say you love me, but you don't like the way I live my life."

"I do!" He protested. "I love that you're independent, that no one can tell you what to do, that you do what you think is best."

"Again, you have a funny way of showing that." I said and I could feel tears welling up. Shit.

"I booked time at the gun range for us." He said. Huh? "What for?" I asked. Joe sighed.

"I want you to become more comfortable with your gun. I want to make sure you're safe when you're out there by yourself."

"So you don't want me to quit my job?" I asked, not quite able to understand what I was hearing.

"No. Yes. I don't know. I don't want you to quit your job, it's what you're good at."

Wow, Joe thought I was good at being a bounty hunter? That was a first. And a bit too sudden. "Since when?" I challenged.

Again another sigh from Joe. "I love working with you on cases. I love your sixth sense about things. I guess I realized that I can't keep you in a bubble, protected from all the bad guys. I tried that, but you kept popping the bubble."

I had to smile at the visual. Morelli was definitely a funny drunk.

"But I also realized there's something I can do about it." He continued. Oh boy, here it comes, I thought.

"I can train you. I can make you feel comfortable with a gun. And we can go to the gym together and work out." I grimaced at the thought of going to a gym, although I knew I had to go.

Little by little, Morelli was breaking down my defenses.

"What about Ranger?" I asked. Along with my job, Morelli hated the way I interacted with Ranger.

"He's a good guy." Joe said, almost whispering. "And?" I prodded.

"And I can't help it if I'm jealous, but I trust you, Cupcake. He keeps you safe when I can't be there. And he's good as what he does."

I couldn't remember ever having such an honest conversation with Morelli. But I didn't want him drunk every time I wanted to talk to him.

"I went out with the guys tonight," Joe interrupted my thoughts. As if I couldn't have guessed that one. "And we were sitting there and I looked around and I figured this is what my life would be like without you, you know? Then I felt real sorry for myself and I thought maybe I'd be better off without you, you know? Then I thought about that and felt even sadder and then I thought maybe you can change so that I can be with you, you know? But then I thought that's the last thing I want, Steph." He finally took a breath, "I don't want you to change. Ever. Not for me, not for your parents, not for anyone else. I love you because you are you, not because you can be something I thought I wanted."

Did he really just say that? More importantly, did he mean that? "That's the alcohol talking, " I said, "I'm sure you'll change your mind in the morning." It hurt me to say that but I willed myself to be strong.

"I booked time at the gun range and signed us up for a gym membership before I started drinking," Joe said, "But yeah, the big breakthrough came when I'd had a few. I finally allowed myself to be honest with myself, Steph."

"You mean…"

"I mean the whole time, I was trying to be what everyone expected me to be. I drew the line at whoring and gambling, but other than that, I was trying to be the perfect Burg husband."

He got that right. Complete with a row house and a Burg wife that preferably doesn't have a job.

"It's not what I want, Cupcake." Joe said.

"What do you want, Joe?" I asked.

"I want you. I want you the way you are. If you were different, I wouldn't want you. And I want to be me, not something my mother thinks I should be." Now Joe sounded a lot like me. We'd both grown up in the Burg, and I know how hard it was to break the mold. Heck, I'd been trying for years and my mother hadn't accepted it yet.

"You mean all that?" I asked, "You won't wake up tomorrow, sober and thinking you were too drunk to think straight?"

"No, Cupcake, I think I'm finally thinking straight for the first time in forever."

Okay, I told myself. This was easy. One more day wouldn't hurt. If he still thought the same in the morning and we could have this conversation with both of us sober, I'd be willing to give it a shot. Truth be told, I couldn't picture my life without Joe either. I thought I couldn't be what he wanted me to be and that he loved the idea of what I could be, not who I was.

"Okay," I finally said.

"Okay?" Joe almost screamed.

"We'll talk about it in the morning. If you still feel the same way, I'm willing to give it a try."

"You mean that?" Joe asked.

"I mean that." I confirmed.

Suddenly I heard a noise in the hallway outside of my apartment and I froze. A bang on my front door followed.

"Joe, I think there's someone outside my apartment."

"Yeah," Morelli said. "I hit your door when I tried to jump. It felt like a jump moment. Now I can't feel my legs…"

A/N: Please let me know what you think. I was trying to capture the way I think Morelli feels about Steph.