A thin, thirty-five year old, woman sat on the edge of her bed in silence. The only sound was from the wind blowing through the broken door that had been pulled from it's hinges only a few minutes ago. The woman's name was Nikki Alexander, and tonight was the night that her life had changed forever.

Nikki walked into her house two hours late from work, she had spent this time with her friends and colleagues, Leo Dalton and Harry Cunningham. She was surprised to see that her lounge light was still on 'Tom must have left it on for me'. She took of her coat and put it on the coat rack behind her door. When she turned around her head came into contact with something hard. Something so hard her eyes started to water, and her breath became raged. Her eyes tightly closed, she felt another blow to her stomach. And another to her head. Nikki fell to the floor in agony and the last thing she saw was the face of her adoring boyfriends' foot coming speedily towards head.

Nikki raised her hand to her nose and gingerly ran her index finger down it. She gasped as the pain ran through her body like a bullet. Her hand recoiled, she slowly got up and walked towards her mirror that was situated on the dressing table that her loving mother gave to Nikki in her will. After sitting there on the stool, for a couple of minutes, not wanting to look at the damage, she heard her phone ring. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID. 'LEO'. Should she ignore it? Should she pick up and pretend to only just have woken? She didn't know. Another few seconds deliberation and she plucked up the courage to speak to her boss. "Hello, Nikki are you all right?" He sounded worried.

"I'm fine Leo, why wouldn't I be?" A rhetorical question but he answered all the same.

"Well the way you just walked off like that at dinner. And what's the matter with your voice?"

'My voice?' She glanced in the mirror as she ran a hand across her neck. There was blood still seeping from the wounds on her head and face, and there were deep yellow and purple bruises on her neck, even though they were only just visible in the extreme dark that spread around the room. She was so shocked at the sight of herself that she dropped her phone on the floor.

"Nikki? Nikki? Are you still there? Nikki?" Leo's voice rang in her ears.

"I'm fine Leo. Look I'll speak to you tomorrow Okay?" She heard her friend grunt and hang up. Getting up again, Nikki walked over to her land line phone and dialled the number for a lock smith. After the conversation was over Nikki walked into the lounge to tidy up, but the moment she saw the pool of her blood that was next to the door, she fainted only to be woken at dawn by a rather fat lock smith.

"Are you alright love? Do you need to go to hospital?" As Nikki opened her eyes she saw a fat, balding man with a beard staring worriedly at her. She tried to shake her head only to be overcome by nausea. There was a voice behind the lock smith. It was Tom.

"Nikki? Baby? What the hell happened?" He pushed past the lock smith and knelt by Nikki's side. As she tried to move away the two men held her in place. "Nikki you need to stay still baby. You could have broken something."
"No! You stay away from me! Don't come near me again, do you understand?!" She shouted at the man she used to love.

"Nikki I don-"
"Please" She pleaded with the older helper. "Keep him away from me." The lock smith looked from one to the other and deciding that Nikki needed to be calmed down, he followed her orders.

"I think you'd better leave son. Don't worry I'll take her to hospital." After a minute or so Tom decided that he'd see his lover later. Once he'd left Nikki sat up on and up-turned arm chair.

"Listen I don't want to be a burden but can I do anything for you?"
"You can start fixing that door if you like. I'm going to get changed. And then I am going to work. Not that it's any of your business." He laughed at her determination to do things alone.

"Well can I give you a lift into work?" After considering it for a moment she agreed.

"Thank you, that would be very kind." She gave him a quick smile before departing to the familiar surroundings of her once clean bedroom.

The lock smith and Nikki had left her house at nine-thirty. Half an hour late for work. The lock smith pulled up outside the lab and they said their thanks. "Listen if it wasn't for you I don't think I'd be here now. Tom he-It doesn't matter."
"Well I think it does. If you wont tell me, and I cant blame for not telling a complete stranger, at least tell one of you friends. It'll help, I can promise you that." He gave her a quick smile before she got out of the white van. Nikki stood by the drivers window and started getting out some money. "What are you doing?" A frown appearing on his brow.

"Paying you. For what you did for me this morning. And for fixing my door." She handed him the money for the door, and a little extra for his help. "Well, time to face the music. I don't even know your name. Sorry."
"My name? It's Harry. And don't worry about them. I'm sure they've seen a lot worse. Knock 'um dead gorgeous." He gave her a wink, before starting the engine. "Anytime you want to talk you know where I am. Okay?"

"In the L section of the yellow pages. Goodbye and thanks again." As Harry drove off a big smile appeared on Nikki's sore lips.

As she entered the building the woman on the front desk stared at Nikki's head. But as always Nikki ignored it. That was until she came face to face with Leo. "Nikki why are you so late?" Upon noticing how much of a state Nikki looked in he said. "Why don't you step into my office. We can have a little chat." She didn't say anything, just nodded and followed her boss into his highly furnished office. "Now what happened to you? You look a mess."
"Thanks Leo. It was...just me being stupid. I fell over as I was walking upstairs." It was an obvious lie and they both knew it.

"Are you going to tell me the truth or not? You shouldn't keep something from us if it's bothering you." A single tear rolled down Nikki's cheek and she started to become short of breath.

"It wasn't me falling on the stairs. It was my boyfriend, Tom. He did this to me. When I came home last night, I had just put my coat on the rack and he punched me." She indicated where. "And he just kept hitting me Leo. I didn't know what to do. I just let him do it. I thought he loved me. I know that I loved him." The tears came spilling down her face and landed on her lap.

"Shush, shush, shush. It's going to be okay Nikki. Tell me what happened this morning." She did just that. When she was woken by the lock smith, Harry, and when Tom had came back. And finally explaining the drive to work. "Okay, I think you should go to hospital. And then to the police." Nikki looked up suddenly and gasped.

"I can't go to the police Leo. Tom's a policeman. He's a DS. And I am not going to hospital for a few silly cut's and bruises." Just at this moment Harry Cunningham decided to come running in with a file in his hand.

"Leo, the paperwork you wanted. Done and dusted by my ten o'clock deadline." A grin plastered to his face, but it faded as soon as he saw Nikki with tear's still running down her face. "Nikki what's the matter? Why are you crying?" He put the file on Leo's desk, walked over to his best friend and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "It's okay Nikki. I know I'm ugly, but it's nothing to cry over."
"I don't think your ugly Harry. Do you know that I met a lock smith called Harry? Yeah he saved me from my abusive boyfriend. That's what all these are from." Nikki pointed to her cut's and bruises. "And the worst part is, that I actually believed that he was 'the one'. How stupid of me. Whenever I meet someone really great, they always have some dark past, or another girlfriend, or that they're married. Or they're gay. I'm never going to fine him." Another batch of tears rolling down her face. Leo got up and walked out leaving Harry and Nikki alone in each other's arms.

"You'll find him Nikki. He may be closer than you think." Nikki looked up and he brushed a stray tear from her face. They stared into each others eyes and almost at once the tension became to much to bear. Harry brought his lips slowly towards Nikki's, and once capturing them Harry sought entry which she willing allowed.

The next morning Nikki opened her eyes and saw that she wasn't in her house. Suddenly the room was light. The light spread like a wildfire and it danced on the walls. Once her eyes had adjusted to the warm light, she saw a handsome, top-less man who she recognised at once. Harry Cunningham. After breakfast Nikki asked if she could borrow Harry's phone and yellow pages. He agreed. The phone rang for a few seconds before a familiar voice answered. "Hello, Harry the lock smith. How can I help you?" A smile spread across Nikki's face once more.

"Harry, It's Nikki. From yesterday. I think I've met somebody who can fix me."