A few hours later Olivia had woken up to the sun shining in brightly through the curtains. She looked around and remembered why she was on the couch. She was just about to swing her feet over the edge of the couch when she saw Brian lying right there on the floor, sound asleep. She sighed to herself. She knew that Brian would do whatever to make sure that she was okay but she wished he didn't have to. She wished he was asleep in their bed, with her lying next to him, uninterrupted by nightmares.

"When did you get up?" Brian asked as he popped one of his eyes open and saw that Olivia was sitting up.

"Just now," she answered, "why don't you go get in bed? It's still early."

"I'm fine," Brian said sitting up and wiping the morning gunk out of his eyes so he could see clearer.

After a few moments of awkward silence Olivia spoke up, "I wish you wouldn't have slept on the floor…"

"Liv… I didn't want you to be alone. I slept like a baby. If anything it helped my back."

Olivia scoffed, "Sure…"

Brian stood up and untangled himself free of his blanket. He sat down on the cushion next to Olivia and made sure to keep his distance. Sometimes she wanted and needed his touch but sometimes she needed her space. He figured now was one of those times. "Olivia, I want to help. I don't want you to be scared when you wake up in the middle of the night so if that means sleeping on the floor, then guess what? I'm going to be sleeping on the floor for a while." He looked over to see if he could read Olivia's face. Usually she would hide her expressions behind her long hair but that wasn't possible anymore…

"You shouldn't have to sleep on the floor," Olivia whispered through the coat of tears that covered her throat, "I shouldn't have to sleep on the couch just because… because…" She stopped when she realized that Brian still didn't know the extent of things that had happened.

"You can tell me, Liv," Brian said encouragingly, "It's okay." He reached out his hand in hopes that Olivia would take it. When she did it squeezed it gently.

Olivia took a deep breath before tucking her short hair behind her ear. "It's stupid…"

"It's not," Brian argued softly.

Olivia gazed down and focused her attention to Brian's hand wrapped around her own. "Your bed is… it's similar to the one that um… um…"

"So I'll get a new one," Brian said trying to mask his emotion. He knew he needed to be strong right now because he could see the tears brimming in Olivia's eyes. He had to be strong for both of their sakes.

"Bri?" She finally met his gaze.

"Yeah?"

"Can we stop by my apartment today?"

Brian was pretty floored by the question. She had been so adamant about staying out of it that he never thought she would go back. "Can I ask what for?"

Olivia swallowed hard, "I just need to go there. I need to get some things and… I don't want to go alone."
"We can go together," he assured her with a gentle rub of his thumb over the top of her hand, "we can stop on the way and get breakfast. How does that sound?" Brian knew that being in a social setting around a bunch of people was still difficult for Olivia but she was coping with it the best she could. Brian's therapist had mentioned that maybe going out places with her for little stops like lunch and to the market could help her in the long run.

"It sounds nice," Olivia said with a bit of uneasiness to her voice, "I'm really craving a chocolate donut."

"Always a cop," Brian smirked.

While stepping into the café they were overcome by the smell of cinnamon and fresh brewed coffee. The placed seemed to be pretty busy with a line stretching from the register to the door. They stood in line side by side, with Brian's arm protectively around Olivia's back.

With the sun still rising to its peak in the sky, the sun shone brightly through the large glass window, cascading off of Olivia's face and giving her an angelic glow. In certain light you could still the see the fading bruises that still reminded him every day of what Olivia went through.

"You okay?" he whispered in her ear when he saw that she was shaking slightly.

"I need to get out of here," she said followed by a sniffle.

Brian nodded and guided her out of the building and into the fresh air where she took in a few deep breaths. She leaned against the building for support and closed her eyes tight. She hated this. She hated that she couldn't even wait in line anymore without having a reminder of what happened to her.

"What was it?"

"The cashier," she said opening her eyes, "he looks just like him…" A lone tear escaped down her face.

"We can go somewhere else," Brian said. There wasn't another café for a few blocks but he would walk around the whole city if it made her feel more at ease.

"Maybe we should just eat at home," Olivia said and Brian knew she that meant she wasn't ready.

"Okay," he nodded, "do you still want to stop by your apartment? We can go another day."

"I need to go," she said pushing herself off the wall with her hands.

Brian gave her a smile. She was so determined to get well and he could see how hard she was trying. He just wished it was easier. It wasn't fair for anyone to have to suffer such harsh cruelties.

Next: Olivia goes into her apartment for the first time since the attack. Brian's learns a new piece of information about that night…