"What was that about?"

"Nothing bad, you'll find out in a minute."

"No one else is coming in here right now," she growled still in shock at the level of pain she'd been put through, and still reeling from the pain itself.

"I know." Sara shrugged and sat down on the bed with a sigh.

Charlotte gave her a lop-sided smile. "So, hey, by the way."

She smiled back. "Hey." She laughed. She sighed again.

"This sucks."

"It does that,indeed." Charlotte agreed.

"Char, if I'd have know," she bit her lips and shook her head imagining what could have only been a horrifically violent scene, "I'd have killed the son-of-a-bitch."

She nodded slowly, saddly. "I know."

"No, I mean it. I'd have knocked his head off with a damn baseball bat."

She was breathing heavier now, angry, clearly furious that she had been needed and wasn't there.

"It's okay."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that crap. I'm your friend, remember? Don't go lying to me now. It is not okay."

Charlotte shruged, so damn tired of everything wishing she could wake up from this nightmare.

"Fine," she answered. "It sucks, but there's nothing you can do about it now."

Sara just glared shaking her head. Charlotte knew she was fighting back tears. Tears of both pain and rage.

There was a knock at the door. Charlotte nearly jumped out of her skin in fear at the sudden noise, while Sara mearly jumped up and rushed to the door.

She opened it a crack to see the doctor in blue who'd tried to get her to leave earlier standing there with his hands full of the supplies she'd asked for.

She reached across the threshold and grabbed them all as if they were candy.

"Hey, wait!" He grabbed her wrist as she was retreating. "Your arm is dripping blood!"

She rolled her eyes and pulled away. "It's fine." Then she closed the door.

Dropping the materials on the nearest cart she noticed Charlotte eyeing her. God her eye looks horrific.

"What?"

"What's all that?"

"Stuff. You'll thank me later."

With that she set to work, first taking the ice cube and using the lighter to melt and round it's edges. That done she quickly popped it into a finger of the glove and tyed the base of the finger into a knot.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Helping you."

Charlotte nodded to the ice finger. "With that?"

Sara walked over to the foot of the bed. "I wouldn't do this if we weren't best friends, Charlotte. I'm not doctor but I promise I'm no pervert either."

Now Charlotte was concerned. "What the hell are you talking about."

"Look this thing is gonna melt in a second and you'll be sorry. You hurting down there?"

A raised eyebrow was her response.

"Are you hurting inside your vagina right now?"

Charlotte snorted. "Is Alabama humid?"

"This will make it stop," she assured her.

"You're gonna put that thing inside me?"

"You can't do it for yourself, and if you tried I'm sure you'd find your stomach feels like it's been hit with a baseball bat, so even if your arms and hands were okay, it's not a good idea to manuever yourself like that."

She was right. Her gut hurt like hell.

She looked off in the distance for a moment before adding, "Wish someone had had the brains to do this for me."

I knew it.

"it's gonna help?"

Sara nodded.

Looking off to the side, Charlotte bent her knees up. "Fine, do it."

Charlotte watched Sara make a face of disgust as she did. She laughed, "You'd make a terrible doctor! You know how many vagina's I've stared at in my lifetime?"

Sara gave an annoyed sigh, pushed the ice cube inside Charlotte and answered, "Maybe I shouldn't be worried about me being the lesbian."

"Shit! That's freezing!" Charlotte yelled.

"it's ice," she deadpanned. "It's gonna burn like hell, but only for a little bit. Do that breathing I showed you."

Sara stepped away then, listening to Charlotte's muffled curses, and grabbed the towel and ice packs.

"You fought the bastard?"

"Didn't do me much good," Charlotte glared, glancing at her arms.

"Then you're gonna need these." She held up the ice packs.

"Bet the outside of your vagina feels like shit too, and from trying to keep your legs closed you've torn your leg muscles. Now if you don't wanna be in even more pain tomorrow, you'll let me put these on you too, while that cube's calming your insides."

Business like, as if she did this every day, Sara pulled the bed sheets up to Charlotte's stomach.

"Put your legs down." Her voice was calm now, caring. "I'm going to put this towel over your groin and between your legs so you won't get frost bit. Then I'll put the ice packs over them.

Draping Charlotte, no longer squeamish now, Sara popped the ice packs to activate them, then gingerly put them in place, saddened to see bruises already forming on Charlotte's thighs. With a thin smile she pulled the sheet back down and patted Char's knee.

"You keep all those in place for fifteen minutes. Then later we'll do it again."

Charlotte let out a breath.

"I see you've done this before."

"I know about injuries," she answered. "How's your bajingo feelin'?"

"My bajigo?" She smiled.

"Yeah I still watch Scrubs, shut up."

"It's feeling better, not so cold now."

"Good," she nodded. "Tell me when you can't feel it anymore."

She nodded, once again feeling so tired. Her eyes blinked closed and she saw his face.

With a start she shook herself.

"So, tell me."

Sara was sitting next to her now, calm.

"Tell you what?"

"About when you were raped."

At least if she kept talking it would keep Charlotte from thinking.

Sara looked away. "I wasn't raped."

"You're a horible liar, you know that?"

She crossed her arms, a dark shadow of a look passing across her face and eyes as she looked through Charlotte.

Charlotte grabbed her friend's hand. "Tell me?" She asked. "Please?"

Sara shifted on the bed. "You don't tell anyone this?"

"That reminds me," Charlotte looked at her seriously. "You don't tell anyone either."

Sara's eyes widened. "They don't know?"

"But for Addison. And it's gonna stay that way. You keep my secret," she wielded, "I keep yours."

"Fine."

"But, I'm not telling you mine yet so don't go thinking it's some slumber party and gonna happen."

Sara just stared at her, and Charlotte could tell she'd hurt her by assuming she'd tell her secret to anyone.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "It's just...it's been a rough day. I have a lot to protect."

Sara sighed deeply then cracked her neck and rubbed her shoulders.

"I think I'm done by the way," Charlotte informed her. "Don't feel it."

Sara rose, pulled the ice cube out, then turned the other ice packs over before throwing away the surgical glove, now only filled with water.

"Feel better?"

"Some. I don't hurt in there now."

She smiled. "That's good."

Charlotte smiled and commented in all honesty. "Good? It feels like heaven right now!"

"Glad I could help."

Sara was uncomfortable, she could tell. But Charlotte, she just had to know.

"Tell me what happened to you, and how you know all these good tricks."

Sara didn't look at her, but she answered. "I fought, like you."

"And I'm not a lesbian-"

"You've been saying that a lot since you got here."

"You're bringing up memories," she replied frankly.

"Like I was saying, "I'm not a lesbian, I don't want girls. But I don't want guys either. Know all those times I told you I just didn't feel like it when you'd try to hook me up with some guy? Or wondered why I didn't go home with the hot guys that asked me?"

Charlotte didn't answer, just waited for Sara to continue.

"After what happened to me, I couldn't stand the thought of a man touching me or being near me ever again. It's like something inside me died."

She thought of Cooper. Knowing she would never tell him. But could she bring herself to sleep with him again as if this had never happened? Charlotte didn't want to say it, but if what her friend was saying was true, she didn't want to end up like her.

She squeezed Sara's hand with her good one.

"Tell me more," she said instead. Releasing her hand, she used her bedsheet to press against the blood still oozing from Sara's forearm.

"Ow," she whispered.

"Sorry."

"I wanted you to hurt me," Sara answered. "Wanted to feel your pain, if I couldn't take it away."

Charlotte nodded, understanding. "Talk," she prodded again. "Or I might let you bleed to death."