Well over an hour had passed since she had been taken into a private room. Doctors came and went and no one would tell him a thing. He was furious. Finally a doctor approached him. "You Almeida?"

"Yes, Tony Almeida."

"Michelle is asking for you. You can see her, but only for a few minutes, then she needs to rest."

"What is wrong? What did you find?"

"She is stubborn. She will not allow a rape kit and it is hard to get anything out of her. We performed ultrasounds and some other tests to check for internal bleeding but she is very lucky. She has a 5 inch deep stab wound on her leg that we have stitched. As you have already seen, she is badly bruised and battered. I have given her medication to bring her blood pressure down. She needs sleep."

Tony nodded his head. "She was pretty clear that she hadn't been actually raped. I know a lot of other things happened but..."

"I know Tony but I find it hard to believe in the condition she was left in that it did not happen. I can't force her to take one but maybe you could try talking to her?"

Tony thanked the doctor and headed into the room. He wanted to believe Michelle, he did believe Michelle – she had admitted to the unthinkable things she had been made to do multiple times, surely she would have just told him if that had also happened.

She looked over at him with lazy eyes. She seemed calmer now that everyone else had left the room. "I did as you asked Tony. I got checked out and I'm ok."

Tony scrunched his face. "Not exactly Chelle, you have been through a lot and you really need your rest." He pulled up a chair next to her. "They told me you still refused the rape kit."

"I told you I didn't sleep with him Tony, I don't need one."

"Everyone seems to think that you do. I believe you but if that is the truth then why not let them just do one so everyone can clear it and put it behind them?

Michelle started to cry. She went to speak half a dozen times but couldn't seem to find the words.

He took her hand. "He did do more to you then you are saying didn't he?"

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, unwilling to see the reaction on his face. "Yes."

His heart started to pound harder and harder. "It is just me here Chelle, you can tell me."

"His hands Tony, his hands."

Tony nodded his head; he had already come to that conclusion. "Did he use force Chelle? Did he hurt you whilst he was doing it?"

"Yea" The tears were streaming down her face now.

He stood over her and wiped away the tears. "I am so sorry baby, I am just so so sorry. You didn't deserve any of this. If I had just taken you home with me last night like I wanted to then Mark would never have been able to do this to you."

Michelle looked at him in shock. "Mark?"

"I know it was Mark, Chapelle told me when they came to the hotel."

Michelle started to sit up. "Chapelle knows? Everyone knows? I have to get out of here. YOU have to get out of her Tony. He is going to come for you."

"Mark won't get anywhere near us Chelle. CTU is hunting him down now. He will be in jail before you know it."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me you knew. You don't understand what he is capable of Tony."

"I'm sorry, I just...why didn't you just tell me? I can protect myself from Mark. If I had known then I could have protected you. I could have had him locked up at CTU this morning." He knew the minute the words rolled off his tongue they were not going to go down well.

"So it is my fault he got away? I didn't say anything Tony because he threatened to kill you if I breathed a word. I stayed to true to that, I did the fucking medical test, I did what you asked and yet you couldn't just leave things alone. Now he is going to think I told and we are both going to cop it."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that Chelle. God, please, you have to understand this from my side. Knowing what you have been through, how you are feeling all just to protect me. How could you possibly do that for me, especially after the way I acted last night? Don't you understand you are too special? I don't even understand what I have to do with Mark? I didn't even know the prick?"

Michelle stared at him. "He hassled me the whole time I was at Division to go out and I wouldn't. Then last night he heard about us....us kissing and I guess he figures you are the reason why I wouldn't go out with him."

Tony couldn't think of a time that he had been angrier, "What so he just fucking forces himself on you? He just decided to take what he wanted anyway?"

Michelle put her head down and spoke softly. "He didn't get what he wanted Tony."

Tony couldn't believe it. "Are you kidding me? 3 times he made you....he used his hands to..."

Michelle got out of the bed and stood on the other side to Tony. She yelled at him, she yelled like she had wanted to for hours. "You make it sound like it was a nice thing that happened between us. Shit Tony, he beat the fuck out of me to make me do it. He had to hold a gun to my head to make me stay still whilst he....whatever you know what I'm talking about. You think that sounds like me happily giving him what he wanted? You think I'm looking for a 2nd date or something?"

Tony stood shocked to his core as he watched Michelle detach herself from the machines and limp to find her clothes. He couldn't move even though he wanted to. All he could picture was his Michelle on her back with a gun at her head with that pricks hands all over her. And now he had just made her feel ten times worse because he couldn't keep his temper under control. She had been through all of that for him and now he had made her feel this way. He had to make his feet move and his mouth find the right words or he was going to lose her forever. He caught up to her at the closet where she was pulling his shirt out of a bag. He turned her around and stood up so closely to her that she could feel his breath on her face. He cupped her cheeks with his hands. "Listen to me Michelle, I need you to really hear what I am saying. I didn't mean that to come out the way I said, I'm sorry. I don't think I have ever been more scared in my life as I have been today and I just don't know how to handle it, but I'm trying. I feel sick, so fucking sick you have no idea just thinking about what you went through and then that makes me think about how you must feel being the one that actually went through it. It kills me inside baby. I love you. Don't you know that?"

She shook her head slowly. "I didn't know that."

"Chelle I don't just love you, I'm in love with you...more...more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone. I don't want a minute to pass without you next to me. I want to hold you, I want to take away all of your pain, I want to make you ok, I want to make you feel safe to be touched again."

Michelle pushed her face into his shoulder and hugged him. She held on as tight as she possibly could. When she felt his arms wrap around her and his fingers run through her hair she openly cried. "I love you Tony. I love you. Please help me."

"I will baby." He gripped her as hard as he could, trying so careful to avoid any of her bruises. This is what he had needed, that was what he had needed to hear. Now he could have the strength to do whatever it took to make her ok, he would protect her and another man would never lay a finger on her again. They stayed wrapped up in each other's arms for minutes until the doctor walked in on them.

Michelle broke away and turned to the doctor. "I need to be able to leave. I can't stay here."

The doctor looked at Tony and then back at Michelle. "You need rest Michelle."

Tony stepped forward. "Can I take her home? I will make sure she rests and gets lots of sleep. I'll bring her back for check-ups, whatever you want, please just let her leave with me so she can feel safe and get the rest she needs?"

After some negotiation the doctor finally agreed to allow Michelle to leave, although he wasn't happy about it. He left to fill the paper work out for them.

Tony smiled and took her back in his arms. "Come home with me baby, let me look after you."

"We can't go to your place Tony, what if Mark knows where you live?"

"I'll take you to my brother's apartment then. He won't mind and he will keep out of our way. You won't even have to think about Mark then, ok? Besides I am sure CTU will have him before the day is done."

Michelle agreed and let Tony help her put his shirt back on with her pants.

Thanks for reading...please review if you want me to keep going...