Author's Note: This story has been flitting around my head for a long time now, and I finally decided to get moving and write it. I know the whole movie plot with an OC thing has been done before but I hope people will give this a chance anyway. Enjoy! And one more thing, so no one can say I didn't give fair warning and because I think its only fair to let you know, there is a scene of attempted rape in this chapter. Nothing really dark or graphic, its strong language more than anything else, but I didn't think I should spring that on you without affixing a warning label.

Oh dirty Maggie Mae

They have taken her away

And she never walk down Lime Street anymore

***

Chapter One – Maggie Mae

"Maggie, do you really need to leave?"

She looked up into the face of her twin and smiled. "Yes, Dave, we've been through this. You know Mom and Dad won't let me do anything I want if I stay here. They just want me to get married and be the perfect little housewife, which you and I both know is not going to happen."

Dave chuckled. "I know. But d'you have to follow your dreams all the way to New York? I'm gonna worry about my other half being all alone in the big city."

"I'll be fine. Just you wait, my pictures will be in magazines and galleries before you know it. I can take care of myself."

"I know." He pulled her into a hug. "I love you, Maggie Mae."

"Love you too."

Maggie wearily unlocked the door to her apartment and slipped inside, relocking it behind her and tossing her keys and a large wad of cash onto the small table. She let her coat fall to the floor halfway to the bathroom; upon entering the small tiled room she promptly rid herself of her clothing and stepped into the shower. Turning on the water as hot as she could stand it, Maggie stood there trying to wash away the dirty feeling she had when she left the club every night, to rid herself of the feel of strange hands roaming over her skin. Tears began to mingle with the water sliding down her cheeks as she remembered the conversation she'd had with her brother nearly four months ago, moments before she'd hopped on a train and left their small town home for New York City, her head full of hopes and dreams.

Yeah, sure I can take care of myself, Maggie thought bitterly. I just have to dance naked in front of complete strangers to do so.

Maggie wasn't sure how much time passed while she stood there and she only shut off the shower when the water ran cold. Wrapping a towel around her slender frame she rested her hips against the sink and wiped the steam from the tiny mirror. She studied the young woman gazing back at her from the glass; she looked mostly the same as ever, with her fair skin and long wavy brown hair, but her green eyes had been stripped of the vibrancy and laughter they had once held. Taking in her reflection Maggie realized that if something didn't change soon, this city was going to kill her.

***

"Well, shake it up baby now"

Max grinned widely as he half-sang, half-shouted a song from the concert he and Jude had just left.

"Shake it up baby"

Jude joined in as the pair made their lazy way down the street, both a little drunk and singing at the top of their voices, not caring that it was almost three in the morning and that people might be sleeping.

"Twist and shout

Twist and shout

C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon baby now

Come on baby

Come on and work it on out

Work it on out…"

Jude stumbled a little on the sidewalk and Max caught his arm, laughing.

"Man you're drunker than I thought you were."

"'M not drunk, you bugger. Sidewalk's just uneven," Jude retorted.

They both laughed as they continued towards the apartment that had been home since they'd arrived in New York a few weeks previously. Max wondered vaguely if Sadie would still be awake when they got back. He thought she might be; it was Saturday night after all. Maybe they'd all have a few drinks together when he and Jude got home…

Just then a muffled scream shattered his musings. Max stopped and looked at Jude.

"You hear that?"

Jude nodded, suddenly much more alert. "I think it came from over there," he said, pointing to an alley some way ahead. Max glanced up and saw that the alley was next to a strip club, but before he had time to ponder the situation further the distinct sounds of a struggle floated out of the alley, followed by a woman's frightened voice.

"No – stop! Get – off – me!"

Max and Jude glanced at each other and without a word set off towards the dark alley.

"C'mon you little whore, the way you were shakin' your ass on that stage, I know you want it."

The menacing tone of that gruff voice made Max feel sick as he and Jude hurried closer.

"Get the fuck off me!" The woman shrieked and Max heard what sounded to him like someone being kicked hard in the shin.

"You bitch! That fucking hurt!"

A loud smack followed by a small squeak of pain from the woman. "You better learn your place, you filthy little slut," growled the deep male voice.

There was the sound of ripping cloth as Max and Jude rushed into the alley. A sleazy looking man had a young woman pinned against the wall with his hand under her shirt, which was badly torn. She was putting up one hell of a fight but he was obviously much stronger than her. Max felt a surge of fury as the man nuzzled her neck and his hand slid up her leg, disappearing under her skirt.

"Stop – please stop," the girl sobbed.

"Shut up whore," snarled the man.

"I believe the lady said stop," Max shouted, his voice shaking with barely suppressed rage.

"I think you'd better leave her alone," added Jude furiously.

The man let go of the girl, who slid down the wall as her legs gave out beneath her. Max and Jude started towards the man, both very much wanting to cause him serious physical harm, and he turned and ran. Rather than run after him and beat the bastard to a pulp, Max turned his attention to the weeping young woman on the ground. He and Jude crouched down on either side of her and after a moment's hesitation Max gently placed his arm around her shoulders. At this she sobbed harder than ever and clung to him, crying into his chest while Max awkwardly rubbed her back in what he hoped was a comforting way.

After several long minutes she seemed to pretty much cry herself out, letting out small, hiccupping sobs as she loosened her hold on Max and raised her head to wipe her streaming eyes. She accepted the handkerchief Jude offered her without looking up and mopped the tears off her face, still sniffling and hiccoughing.

While her head was still bent Max shot a look at Jude and was met with the same confusion and shock that he himself was feeling; what was someone supposed to say in a situation like this?

Both young men were saved from thinking of something to say when the young woman sitting between them broke the tense silence.

"Thank you," she said in a tiny voice.

"We couldn't've just let that bastard…you know," Jude replied quietly.

Max nodded. "C'mon, we'll take you home. Can you stand up?"

"I – I think so," she said quietly, slowly hauling herself to her feet. She stood for a moment before her eyes slid out of focus and she swayed alarmingly; both Max and Jude reached out to steady her and she slumped against Max's chest, unconscious. He scooped the slim young woman up into his arms and turned to Jude.

"We've got to get her home."

***

Maggie woke as a stream of warm sunlight fell across her face. As she rolled over and opened her eyes the memories of the night before came crashing into her mind and she sat bolt upright.

"Whoa, easy there."

Maggie's head whipped around to find a woman with wildly curly hair sitting in a chair next to the bed. Bed? How did I end up in a bed? And for that matter, where the hell am I?

"Easy darlin'. My name's Sadie. You're in my apartment. My boys brought you in last night, unconscious and looking a right mess. You remember what happened, honey?" she asked gently.

Maggie swallowed hard and nodded shakily. "Yeah, I…where are they? The guys who saved me?"

"Max and Jude. I'm sure they'll be barging in here soon as they realize you're awake. They've both been real worried about you."

"Damn right we have." Maggie looked up to see the two young men from last night enter the room. The blond one, who Maggie vaguely remembered clinging to the previous night, sat on the end of the bed while the dark-haired one perched on the arm of Sadie's chair. Both of them gazed at her with genuine concern.

Clearing her throat quietly, Sadie stood up. "I'll go make you some coffee."

The dark-haired man slid into the vacant chair as Sadie left the room and Maggie looked from him to the blond sitting at the end of the bed, completely at a loss for what to say.

"So, does our damsel in distress have a name?" asked the blond, a kind smile on his handsome face.

"Maggie."

"Max," he replied, extending a hand which Maggie tentatively shook. He nodded toward his friend. "This here's Jude."

Maggie nodded and silence fell between them once more. Clearing her throat she tried to put into words the immense gratitude she felt to these two young men.

"About last night…well…thank you," she began. "Oh, God, that is just so inadequate…I owe you both so much. I can't thank you enough."

Jude looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "You don't need to thank us. We just did what any decent person would've done."

"But I –"

"We weren't going to leave you in that situation," Max said, cutting her off.

"But…"

"Enough," said Max, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "We understand."

Maggie nodded, smiling faintly despite everything; Max's good humour seemed to be contagious and she felt safer here with these two near strangers than she had in months.

"Okay," said Jude, standing up. "Bathroom's just down the hall if you want to clean up, I'm sure Sadie can give you something to wear. Then just come on into the kitchen and we'll find you something to eat."

***

Sure enough, after she'd taken a quick shower Maggie was provided with a pair of faded blue jeans and a pale yellow tank top to wear courtesy of Sadie, both of which were a bit too big but Maggie was extremely grateful nonetheless. She rolled up the bottoms of the jeans so she wouldn't tread on them, ran her fingers through her damp hair a few times and followed the sound of voices into the kitchen.

Sadie, Max and Jude were all sitting around a table drinking coffee when Maggie entered the room. Jude pulled out the chair next to him and handed Maggie a mug of steaming coffee as she sat down.

"Thanks," she said, taking a sip.

"You want something to eat, honey?" Sadie asked. "You look like you could use a good meal."

Maggie opened her mouth to accept the offer when her stomach rumbled, clearly audible in the quiet kitchen. Her cheeks turned pink as Max and Jude chuckled. "Yes, please."

"I'll fix you an omelette," Sadie offered and she began to rummage around in the fridge for ingredients.

Max tilted his chair back, balancing it on two legs. "How come you never cook for us, Sadie?"

"When you suffer a trauma, hon, then I'll cook you up something good," Sadie replied good-naturedly.

"But I'm sure you're a much better chef than me or Jude," Max whined playfully.

Jude grinned. "Speak for yourself, mate, I can cook just fine. Just 'cause you can barely boil water don't mean we're all hopeless."

Maggie snorted with laughter into her coffee. Max shot her a mock-glare across the table, which she returned over the rim of her mug. After a moment Max's face broke into a lopsided grin.

"So, Miss Maggie, where do you call home?"

Maggie drained the last few drops of liquid from her mug and set it on the table before answering. "About five blocks from where you…rescued me last night."

Sadie set down a plate of omelette and toast in front of Maggie and pulled a chair right up next to her; she, Max and Jude all stared in disbelief at Maggie.

"What?" Maggie asked upon noticing their expressions.

"You were going to walk five blocks by yourself at two in the morning?" Max asked, suddenly serious.

Sadie turned to Max and Jude. "Where'd you find her?"

Jude told her and Sadie gasped softly. "Oh honey, that's a dangerous neighbourhood for a pretty young thing like you to be wandering at night."

Maggie stared at the tabletop and bit her lip. "It's not like I have much choice," she mumbled.

"Why the bloody hell were you out there by yourself in the middle of the night?" Jude asked quietly.

Maggie bit down harder on her lip and blinked furiously to rid her eyes of the tears that were beginning to form. "'Cause I'd just got off work, alright? I'm a Goddamn stripper," she replied snappily.

Maggie couldn't bring herself to look up and meet any of their eyes after her blunt admission; she was afraid of what she might see there if she did. The silence stretched on for a ridiculously long moment until Max finally broke it.

"Well that settles it then. We'll just have to be there to make sure you get home safely tonight."

Maggie's head snapped up so fast she almost cricked her neck. She stared wide-eyed at Max, sure that her ears must be playing tricks on her. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

Max grinned at the look on her face. "I said that Jude and I'll walk you home tonight."

The damn tears were back. Maggie gave him a watery smile as she wiped her eyes with her napkin. "Thank you so much."

Jude placed a friendly hand on her shoulder. "We're happy to help."

"Just promise me one thing?"

"What's that?"

"Wait for me outside. I don't want you guys to see me like that," Maggie said quietly, determinedly avoiding their eyes.