Ok so...I have been toying with the idea of starting a new fanfiction for a while. I kinda lost direction with my last one...I will go back to it...ONE DAY! lol.

This fanfiction kind of goes into darker territory. Its very AU and will be focused around our favourite Doccubus couple...First chapter is kinda short but if I get some good feedback I will keep on and do my best to make the other chapters longer!

Please Read & Review...Also I LOVE messages. They make me muchos happy! I hope you enjoy!

Lauren once again looked at her reflection in the mirror with dismay. The bruise around her right eye and cheek bone shone like a big neon sight.

'Domestic Abuse'. 'Battered Housewife'. 'Walked Into A Door? Yeah Right!'. 'I Bet She Deserved It.'

Lauren couldn't help but wince a little at the last one, Lachlan had always told her that he didn't punish her because he wanted to, that it was her that drove him to it...Except Lauren couldn't think of a single thing she had done wrong last night to deserve his attack, she had gone out of her way to do everything just the way he liked, but it had made no difference. Standing here in front of the mirror she knew the real reason for his anger. He didn't want her to go to the job interview this morning. He didn't want her to go, but he couldn't stop her either. After all it was his friend Trick that had approached him to request her attendance and Lauren didn't know why but for some reason Lachlan never could refuse a request from Trick. Lauren had never met Trick, but she already felt like she owed him for this opportunity, it made her feel more like her old self, the person she was before Lachlan, before...everything. Plus she missed her research, having patients, meeting people.

"Lauren...We are leaving in 10 minutes and you had better be ready."

Lachlan's voiced echoed through the locked bathroom door. Lauren quickly began covering the bruise with make-up, the area hurt to touch but with each new layer of make-up the colour began to fade, till eventually it was almost invisible. Of course she could still see the mark, she could still see all the marks Lachlan had left on her skin over the years. Sometimes Lauren felt like her skin was some kind of road map and she could remember every point of interest, every scar and bruise along with their meaning and reason. It had got to the point where she could close her eyes and still see them, each still raw and fresh. She wondered if, instead of fading away, they had just been absorbed into her skin and now sat just below the surface, where only she could see them. The only things long forgotten were the excuses she had thought up to explain them away. The excuses for other people and the ones she used for herself.

"Lauren, I will not warn you again."

Lauren took a deep breath and checked her reflection in the mirror one last time. Her face now looked almost flawless, her suit was clean and neat and her hair fell into place perfectly. On the surface she looked exactly as she meant to, the perfect woman, with the perfect husband and the perfect life. Women wanted to be her and men wanted to marry her. People thought she was living the life most people dreamt of, in reality she was living in her own version of hell. People never looked long enough to see the truth, to see the sadness in her eyes and the cracks hiding just under the surface. At first she tried so hard to hide the truth, convinced that if she believed everything was wonderful then it would turn out that way. She wasn't sure when that idealistic part of her had finally died.

Lauren walked to the door and unlocked it, Lachlan stood in the doorway and looked her over, his gaze focused in on the now covered over bruise. He didnt even bother to hide his smirk, he was proud of his handiwork, he always had been. The 'I'm sorry's' and 'it will never happen again's' had stopped a long time ago.

"Lets go, try not to embarrass me will you? Oh and put a bloody smile on your face. Any one would think I don't give you everything."

Lauren plastered a fake smile on her face and followed Lachlan down the long hallway of their 7 bedroom country manor. She locked the door as Lachlan chose which of his sports car's he would use for the day. She had the things most people dreamt of, what some people might call a charmed life. But she would trade it all for someone who treated her with love and respect. Someone who wouldn't use and abuse her.

Lauren got in the car beside Lachlan and did her best to look happy as she smiled at him. He returned her smile as he started the car.

"Very good Lauren. See how much better things can be when you do as you are told?"

He rested his hand on her leg and moved it under her skirt and up her thigh. It took every ounce of self restraint she had not to flinch or move his hand. The feel of his skin against her own sickened her, but at least this type of touch wouldn't hurt her, on the outside.

She didnt answer his question, but then he didnt really expect her to anyway as it was more of a statement, proof that things worked better when she did things his way.

"Tell me you love me."

"I love you, Lachlan"

The words slipped so easily from her lips, she almost felt like a robot. She had grown used to saying them, but now she wasnt even sure she still meant them, or that she ever really had.

"Good".

Lauren looked out the window as buildings and tree's seemed to fly past, she had no idea what to expect from her job interview or how things could change from this day forward. But she knew they couldn't get any worse.