Spencer POV

She was there in fifteen minutes. After getting off the phone with Ashley, Spencer had called the police to file the report. It had been hard. The clinical, detached re-telling of her recent attack had almost sent her into a real panic but it had to be done.

Anything that had to do with the case had to be done by the books, otherwise they might risk the judge ruling in Madison's favor, and after tonight, Spencer knew that would be disastrous not only for Ashley, but for her daughter as well.

She was getting a really good picture of the type of person this Madison really was, and the thought of letting a child stay in her custody made her feel sick to her stomach. By the time she was getting off the phone with the police, Ashley had arrived.

Spencer finally emerged from the protective shadow of the alley as the Silver Jaguar screeched to a stop. Ashley was out of the car in a flash, her lips pressed in a tight line, the expression on his face murderous. "Get in the car," she hissed softly, looking around. Spencer didn't need to be told twice.

She slipped gratefully out of the freezing night air and into the blonde leather seat, her entire body still shaking from shock. "What the fuck happened?" Ashley asked, as soon as she got into the driver's seat. She leaned forward and turned on the heater full blast. She whimpered and then took one deep breath to get it together.

"You should be warm soon," she said gruffly, something softer, deeper in her voice helping to add to that warmth. "Thanks," she muttered, blowing into her cold fingers, trying to ease the shivering that had her clenching her teeth to keep them from chattering. It was just from the cold, she told herself. She was just really, really cold.

"Here." Ashley shrugged off her thick leather jacket and carefully draped it over spencer's shoulders. Spencer buried her face in the rough material and briefly closed her eyes as her deliciously masculine scent washed over her. It was real, and spicy, and so much better than the haunting scent of garbage and the stranger's rough hand clasped painfully over her nose.

She reached up and turned on the dome light and she blinked in the sudden brightness. "Shit." Ashley gritted her teeth as she stared at her, taking in the sight of spencer's cheek, scraped raw from the brick she had been pressed against, and the marks on her jaw from the blows he had landed.

There were bruises on

spencer's neck just starting to show from where his fingers had wrapped around, forcing her face away from him to keep himself hidden. "What the…" "It was Madison," Spencer whispered, fresh pain lancing through her face as she spoke. "She sent someone after me. He…" She took a deep, gulping breath, trying to keep her voice steady. "He…" Something warm trickled down her neck. "You're bleeding." Ashley's eyes were horrified as she examined her neck. "We're going to the ER." "No," she exclaimed, pressing two fingers against the wound to stop the bleeding.

"He just nicked the skin. It'll be okay." "Here." She pressed the sleeve of the jacket to the wound. "Keep the pressure on." "Okay," she whispered, fighting back tears, shock, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude at Ashley's kind actions. Her deep brown eyes were agitated as they scanned the bruises on her face, tracing them with her gaze, counting them.

"God, what did they do to you?" In an achingly tender gesture, Ashley cupped her jaw, running her index ever so lightly against the two bruises on her face. Unable to bear the sudden flow of emotions that coursed through her at her touch, Spencer turned her face away from her.

Ashley hesitated for a brief second before dropping her hand. "I'm sorry," Ashley said quietly. "It's okay." She hugged herself, suddenly exhausted from the gamut of emotions and physical pain her body had just gone through.

"I just want to go home." "I'll accompany you home." Her lips pressed in a firm line. Ashley wasn't going to let her argue with her, and that was fine with her. Spencer didn't think she had the strength to wrestle a kitten, let alone go toe to toe with Ashley Davies. "You will pack up a few essentials and we'll go back to my place." "Your place?" She arched an eyebrow, her own intrinsic sense of independence making itself known.

"You don't honestly think I'll let you stay alone after what happened tonight, did you?" Spencer rolled her eyes at her, the gesture somewhat lessened by the surrounding scrapes, cuts, and bruises marring her features. "Ashley, I can take care of myself, alright? I grew up on the rough side of town." "So did I," she added in a frosty voice.

"That's how I know how dangerous some people can be. I don't think Madison would willingly kill someone, but if she's in touch with drug dealers…" she shook her head in frustration, trying to convince her. "You don't know the length these people would go for some coke or meth. I wouldn't put it beyond them to…" Ashley voice trailed off. "Look, Spencer, just come home with me, alright? My place is big enough for both of us.

You can stay in one of the guest bedrooms. I daresay you'll feel comfortable." She chewed on her lip. "Spencer, I want you to be safe," Ashley insisted, sounding desperate. "Please, for me. It's my fault this entire thing occurred in the first place. I don't want anything else to happen to you because of me."

"Alright," she finally conceded, convinced more by the bright, sincere spark lighting up her Brown eyes than her words alone. "But only until the hearing." she nodded in obvious relief and started the car. Ashley didn't speak again on the way back home. But somehow she felt better, calmer…somehow her presence was more than enough to calm her down.