A/N: I know this will be hard to read, but please don't judge it by the first chapter. I promise you it will have as happy an ending as possible, and the event will strengthen the character. Just trust me.
***Willow Pond***
Jonathan and Jennifer are in their bedroom. They are both packing suitcases.
"I love that we are both going somewhere, but I wish we were going somewhere together".
"Me too. It's going to be a long 4 days without you".
"Darling, I'm sure it will be over before we know it".
Jennifer was going to a wellness resort, to do a story on a spiritual mecca who has come under controversy. Jonathan was flying to Italy to close a deal on some Italian wineries.
Max brought them a bottle of champagne, and 2 glasses.
"Mr. and Mrs. H., with you guys being gone, I figured it would be a great time for me to take a little trip. So, Freeway and I are going to Vegas. He gets to visit the doggy spa, and I can visit the craps table."
"Sounds perfect, Max".
After they finished packing, they climbed into bed and drank their champagne.
They made love and fell asleep all wrapped up, neither of them looking forward to sleeping alone.
***The next morning***
Jennifer drove Jonathan to the airport, and straight to his plane.
She got out with him and was telling him goodbye. They stood there kissing for several minutes.
"I'm going to miss you, darling."
"Me too."
"Will I be able to contact you while you are at the place?"
"Not sure. You can try. I wrote down the information and put it in the front pocket of your briefcase. My assumed name will be Suzanne Channing".
"Got it, Ms. Channing".
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
"I cannot wait till you and I are back home again".
"It will be a night of dinner, dancing, and dessert".
"We can skip the first two, sailor".
She kissed him again. "I love you, be safe".
"I love you too". He got on the plane.
She drove away, and headed for the wellness retreat in Arizona.
She got about ½ way there, and received a phone call.
"Due to a water main leak, the wellness retreat and all of its properties are going to be closed until further notice. Please do not come here, as we will not allow you to stay. Full refunds are available".
She pulled over and got out her map. She decided to go to a spa about ½ way between where she was and home.
She headed to the spa, and checked in. They only had availability for 2 nights, but it was ok. She booked several treatments and massages and then headed to her room.
She placed a call to Jonathan, and left him a message telling him where she was.
"I will be here two nights and then I am headed home. I love you".
She hung up the phone, and unpacked a little. She had a facial scheduled for that afternoon, so she changed clothes to get ready for that.
She was going to try and keep busy until she could be back with Jonathan again.
***A couple days later***
Jennifer checked out of the spa, and headed back to Willow Pond. She had heard from Jonathan only once. He was way far out, deep in the city and didn't have good reception.
She opened the sunroof and put her music on, and just enjoyed the drive. She planned her entire evening. She would have the house to herself, so she was going to pick up La Scala for dinner, bring it home, take a long hot bubble bath, drink some wine, and read in bed. It was the perfect evening, and would only be made more perfect if Jonathan had been with her.
She stopped at got La Scala when she got back into town, and arrived at Willow Pond, shortly after 5.
***Willow Pond***
Jennifer came in the house and put her stuff down. She ate her dinner on the couch with the TV on, and then headed upstairs to take her bath and go to bed.
She turned on some music in the bedroom and sank into a nice, hot bath. After she soaked for almost an hour, she got out and put on her pajamas and headed to bed.
She sank into a deep, deep sleep. So deep that she didn't hear anything. Not the trees rustling outside, not the neighbors dog barking, and certainly not someone in the house.
She didn't wake up till she felt a hand clamp across her mouth.
"Don't move, or I will kill you. Just do as I say and you won't get hurt. If you understand, nod your head".
She nodded. Her eyes filled with tears. She literally had no choice but to comply, as there was nobody else in the house who could help her.
***The next morning***
The attacker finally left the house around 5 a.m. Jennifer had sank inside herself. She wasn't talking, she wasn't crying. She was shaking but she was kind of in a daze. She sat on the couch and just stared for a couple hours.
The phone rang, and she reached over and answered it.
"Hello?" her voice had literally no emotion in it whatsoever.
"Jennifer? Hi! It's Susan Kendall. I was calling to see if you wanted to have dinner tonight"
"I'm sorry. I cannot".
"Jennifer, you don't sound right, are you ok?"
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure? I can make a house call if I need to".
"That would be lovely".
"Ok I will see you in about 30 minutes."
"Ok".
They hung up. Jennifer didn't move off the couch the whole time.
Susan got there and the gate was open, so she came on up.
She knocked on the door. Jennifer yelled out "Come In".
Susan walked inside and saw her on the couch.
"Jennifer…are you alright?"
Jennifer just stared straight ahead. Susan could tell she was disassociating.
She tried to hug her, but Jennifer flinched.
"Ok, ok. No touching. Don't worry. Can you tell me what happened?"
Jennifer shook her head no.
"Ok. That's fine".
Susan looked Jennifer up and down. Her pajamas were ripped, and missing some buttons. Her face had a scratch on the side. She had some scratches on her wrists, and some bruises around her collarbone.
"Did someone come in here, and hurt you?"
Jennifer nodded, and still continued to stare straight ahead.
"Did they do anything else?"
Jennifer nodded.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Jennifer shook her head no.
"Ok. We don't have to. Would you like me to call the police?"
Jennifer nodded.
"Ok. We are going to have to take you to the hospital. So, how about I help you change clothes and then we call the cops and then I will drive you to the hospital myself, is that alright?"
Jennifer had tears rolling down her face, and she slowly nodded.
"Do you want me to go get your clothes or do you want to come with me?
Jennifer stood up, and took Susan's hand. They went upstairs, and Susan was able to get Jennifer dressed. Jennifer had still not spoken.
"How about we go downstairs, and I will make you some tea while we wait for the police?"
Jennifer nodded.
Susan called the police, and then made some tea.
She poured a mug for Jennifer and handed it to her.
"Jennifer, you know I am a doctor. And in this case, I am your doctor. So, if you want to talk to me, whatever you say I promise you will be kept confidential".
Jennifer nodded.
The police got there soon after, and Susan let them in. She had asked for at least one female officer, so she was glad to see they had sent two.
She showed them to the den, and Jennifer brought her tea in and joined them.
Susan began to fill the police in.
"I believe she was attacked, here in the house. Her pajamas are in this bag, she was wearing them when I got here. She let me change her clothes but we didn't shower or anything. She doesn't have any visible cuts, but she does have visible bruising and scrapes. She hasn't spoken a word since I got here".
"Ok, thank you. If you could just hold her hand and try to reassure her while we talk to her, that would help".
"Ok".
Susan went and sat by Jennifer and held her hand while the officer started questioning her.
"Mrs. Hart, I am Officer Stevens. Can I ask you some questions about what happened today?"
Jennifer nodded.
"Were you attacked here in your home?"
Jennifer nodded.
"Mrs. Hart, was it a man who attacked you?"
Jennifer nodded.
"Did he break into the house?"
Jennifer nodded.
"Where in the house were you?"
She pointed up to her bedroom.
"Mrs. Hart, did he rape you?"
Her eyes filled with tears, and she nodded.
Jennifer let out a wracked sob.
Susan leaned a little closer.
"How about we call Jonathan?"
Jennifer nodded very vigorously.
Susan grabbed the phone, and Jennifer handed her the piece of paper with the number on it.
She dialed the number, and the hotel receptionist answered.
"May I please be connected to Jonathan Hart's room?"
"I'm sorry. He isn't in."
"Can you please give him a message to call Susan Kendall? It's extremely urgent". She left her number and then hung up.
The officer continued.
"Mrs. Hart, I need you to tell me what happened".
She took several deep breaths.
"I..was…sleeping…and…he…put…a….hand…..on my mouth….and told….me…he…would…kill….me….I…just….cooperated…." She started sobbing very hard. Susan tried to calm her down.
"Did he take anything from the house?"
She nodded and started tapping her wrist.
"Your watch?"
"Diamond…sapphire…bracelet…"
Officer Stevens was writing all of this down.
"Did you struggle?"
"At…the…end"
"How did that occur?"
"He…dragged me….down the….stairs".
"Did he attack you down here too?"
She nodded.
"So it happened twice, once upstairs and once downstairs?"
Jennifer nodded.
"Have you showered yet?"
She shook her head no.
"Good. Ok, so we are going to finish up here and then your friend can take you to get a rape kit done at the hospital. After that, you will be allowed to shower. I need to get some pictures of your injuries and bruises, is that ok?"
She nodded.
After they took the pictures, they asked her if she had anything else to say.
"All…my…fault…."
"No, ma'am. It is not your fault. You are not alone here, ok? I am sorry this happened to you, but you didn't cause this".
"She's right, Jennifer".
She nodded.
Susan got her some more tea, and then the officers finished their report of the house.
"They have a gate intercom here, so either he climbed it or she let him in".
Jennifer shook her head. "I..didn't…"
"Ok, so he was trespassing as well. Got it".
The officers left and promised to follow up with her in a few days. Officer Stevens handed her a business card with her name and badge number on it.
"Please give this to the nurse who does your rape kit. They can call me and I will know to grab your report from the hospital".
They walked outside. Jennifer headed towards the Porsche, and saw that whomever had done this had broken out the windows to it.
"Jennifer, where is your purse?"
"Up….stairs….bed….room".
"I am going to go get it. Do you want to come with me?"
She shook her head no, very emphatically.
Susan left her by the front door and quickly ran upstairs to get her purse.
The bedroom was a mess. The sheets were all off the bed, and the pillows were thrown all over the place. The mattress was hanging off the frame partway, and all the drawers were open. Susan found her purse and quickly brought it downstairs.
She took her to her car, and drove her to the hospital.
***Bel Air***
Susan stayed with Jennifer all through intake, and through the exam. She held her hand, and tried to distract her from the procedure. They were able to successfully complete the rape kit, and then she was finally allowed to shower and dress.
"Jennifer, do you want to shower here, or at home?"
"Home".
"Ok, sweetie. Here are your clothes, you can get dressed now".
Jennifer stepped behind the privacy screen to get dressed. Susan gave the nurse the business card and explained that the officer wanted her to call her.
Susan took Jennifer to the car, and as they pulled out of the parking lot, Jennifer grabbed her arm.
"Can…we…go to the…beach…house?"
"Sure, where is it?"
Jennifer told her the address, and they drove there mostly in silence.
***Beach house***
Susan helped her inside and Jennifer headed straight upstairs to shower. She turned the water on as hot as she could stand it, and stayed in for almost an hour. She scrubbed herself raw almost. She cried, she sobbed, she ached for Jonathan. He was the only one who could make her feel better.
She finally got out and put on some fresh clothes. She threw her hair up into a bun, and headed downstairs.
She found Susan on the couch, reading a magazine.
"I made you some tea".
"Thank you. For everything".
Susan hugged her, and then headed to pour her the tea.
Jennifer stepped out on to the terrace and sat in the chair out there. Susan decided to give her some time alone.
She placed another call to Jonathan, and this time he answered.
"Susan, hi".
"Hi. Listen, I'm calling about Jennifer".
"Is she alright?"
"Yes and no. She was attacked in the house, Jonathan. She was raped. She is a mess, but she is physically ok".
"Where is she?"
"I called her and got the gut feeling that I needed to go to the house, so I went, and she let me in. She was on the couch. After the police left, I took her to the hospital and then she wanted to come here. She's very fragile right now. She is blaming herself".
"Please, tell her I love her and that I will be home soon".
"Will do. How long is your flight?"
"About 10 hours. If we leave right now, I will be home by lunch".
"Perfect. I will stay with her tonight so she won't be alone".
"Thank you so much, Susan". His voice was breaking.
They hung up the phone. Susan took Jennifer her tea out on the terrace.
"I am going to stay with you tonight, and Jonathan will be home tomorrow".
Jennifer nodded.
"Do you want to talk?"
She shrugged her shoulders, and wiped away tears.
She was scared. Not of being alone, not of seeing her rapist again, but of being touched like that again. She never wanted to be touched like that ever again.
