A few months later...

Crystal sat at her desk that faced the bay window, looking out into the backyard, which was really the woods. Topanga Valley was beyond beautiful. Miles upon miles of woods, hiking trails, streams, and hills. The soil had a reddish clay color to it, and the trees were massive. When Crystal first arrived, she spent days exploring, taking her time, walking around and taking in all the wilderness. Somehow removed from all the craziness, was exactly what she needed.

Town was a few miles away, and had a super market, strip mall, post office, a few local businesses, including her doctor's office, and a few restaurants. Max, an older middle aged man who owned the bungalows had met Crystal when she first visited with Jessica. He was very friendly, and had shown her around the bungalow. There was a deck that wrapped around the tiny building. A living room, tiny kitchen, loft area, bedroom, and bathroom. The place was mostly furnished, with sand colored floorboards, and high ceilings. They all sat on the patio furniture, and spoke about the agency and hotline. Max himself had lost his wife to sexual assault a few years ago by her uncle. He spoke about how after losing her he started up the hotline, and showed her the paperwork, of the stats. He broke everything down for her, and said they would love to work with her and have her onboard with them. By the end of the weekend, Crystal agreed to move out there. After the recent leak to the press, she knew she needed to distance herself from her life back in Florida as quickly as possible. She had met a few of her neighbors, all friendly, and very welcoming. Two worked for the agency, nice women who were a little older than her. One named Gina, and the other named Cora.

Gina had gotten out of an abusive marriage, while Cora had been the victim of rape while working as a school teacher in Texas. Both were very warm, and friendly. They came over the first night Crystal moved in with baked goods, and spent the evening chatting with her. It took a few days, but she ended up opening up and talking about her attack. Both women listened over dinner they had brought over, as Crystal poured her heart out, embarrassed, as well as ashamed. Cora, who was nursing a glass of wine sighed.

"I figured. I saw all the news coverage when Versace. When Max said you were coming I looked it up again. Sorta got swept under the rug after the princess died."

Gina, who was sitting on her sofa motioned to Crystal's pregnant stomach.

"You got pregnant from the rape?"

Crystal stared down at her stomach which was slowly starting to take shape. Suddenly, her shame seemed to flicker for a moment. Now that she was showing slightly, more and more people were starting to ask her when she was due, what she was having, and if the father was excited? Sighing, she rubbed her stomach and nodded.

"Yeah, Cunanan is the father."

"Anybody know?"

"Handful of people. My mother tried leaking it to the press but I haven't given any comment. Hopefully this is far enough away that I don't have to ever go back there...just trying to start over."

"Forgive me for asking, and you don't have to answer...but are you putting it up for adoption?"

Crystal sighed and shook her head.

"I thought it over. I'm close with my grandmother, and she believes I should. A closed adoption, make sure he goes to a good family, people who want and will love him. She told me this is going to be a constant reminder of the attack...and I gotta be honest, I'm frightened he'll look just like Cunanan, but...after everything that I've been through...he's held on. He's been my hope, and what's kept me sane. Yes he was conceived in rape, by a terrible awful, sick man who nearly killed me, but he's half mine. He's my baby, and every time I feel scared, or overwhelmed...I feel my stomach and feel him kick, and everything seems like it's going to be all right."

Both women smiled, before Gina motioned to her stomach.

"Well I think you are amazing...you're young, but you're a fighter. Now...did I hear you say he?"

Smiling, Crystal nodded.

"Yes."

"A boy huh?! That's wonderful!"

"Got any names picked out?"

"None yet, but we'll see."

Gina held up her wine, as did Cora. Crystal picked up her sparking water, before smiling. Gina toasted them.

"To this little boy, I'm sure he'll be a heartbreaker growing up...but the gentlemen we all wished we could have dated when we were younger."

Laughing, Crystal clinked glasses together with them.

Present

Crystal had just gotten off a two hour call with a young woman who used the name "Nancy" Crystal used the name "Amy" She was a complete hysterical mess for the first hour, before finally opening up enough to talk about her boyfriend who hit her. Crystal was beginning to get used to calls like this, and used her folder, binder, and text book to speak with her. She always listened, and tried to say the words she had been trained to say, as well as the ones she wished she could have been told when she first woke up in the hospital. She even got the girl to laugh a little, and gave her several shelter addresses and well as numbers. She promised to call again, and hung up.

Taking her headset off, she pressed the blinking light to the main office, stating she was logging off for the night. The friendly voice on the other end thanked her. She pressed the button, hanging up. She smiled, setting down the phone and wrapping up her headset. She closed her binder, folder, and book. She sat there, staring out the bay window before smiling. Her eyes drifted over to the calendar, her due date was three weeks away and circled. She smiled, rubbing her huge stomach. It was getting harder and harder to move around. Some days she couldn't help but laugh as she struggled to slip on her sandals. She had made a quiet, but lovely life for herself in Topanga. Gina and Cora were her best friends, and the three usually rotated dinner a few nights a week. They would usually go into town, shopping, going to the market, the movies, or being someone to hold her hand during the lamaze classes, or doctor appointments. Having them around, made it so much easier. Her grandmother had visited twice since her move, and had absolutely loved the area.

She was planning on flying out again after the baby was born. Her last visit, before she left, she looked at Crystal's huge stomach and sighed.

"The tabloids won't give it up...they are still trying to find you. What if they do?"

"Then they do. I owe nobody anything."

"The press can make it very hard for you...and this baby, trying to raise it. Being a single mother after everything you've been through...you have no idea..."

With that Crystal raised her hand and simply cut her off calmly smiling and shook her head.

"If the press find out, I'll figure something out. I'm being smart...and that no good mother of mine won't win this time. If the world finds out who his father is...then so be it. It's my job making sure he'll never turn up like Andrew."

Her grandmother sighed before nodding.

"I know..."

With that she kissed her on the cheek, and helped her out to the taxi.

That night she went into her bedroom where she was setting up the crib. Gina and Cora were helping her with everything, and in a few days were throwing a small baby shower with some of the women from the area who worked for the hotline and lived in the area. Standing there, feeling her stomach she smiled at the stuffed elephant she had bought a few months ago after spotting it in the store window downstairs and smirked. Holding the small of her back, she walked out as the baby inside her began doing frenzied kicks inside of her. That's when she sat down on the small sofa, and took a notebook out, starting to try and make a list of names she might like...

Jeffery, Adam, Christopher, Ben...

Smiling, she felt at ease in her tiny little home, surrounded by the wilderness, and for the first time in forever finally feeling as if she was home.

Today, she had stopped working early, and was planning on having lunch and soaking in the tub for a good hour. Her feet and back ached despite the chair she got, and got up rubbing her stomach. The doctors said everything was going smoothly, and she was hoping to delivery naturally at the local hospital.

She thought of Andrew a lot, she had forced herself to stop trying to look up the case. She knew it wasn't good for her or the baby. Instead, there was a shoebox at the top of her closet with a few newspaper clippings. She knew she was going to have to toss them as soon as the baby was born. Still, every once in awhile she found herself sitting Indian style on her bed, opening the box, and looking through everything, unable to believe this was just a few months ago. As always she would stop at the black and white photo of Andrew's yearbook. Him bare chested, uniform photo open, tie pushed to the side, hands on his hips, smiling, looking handsome.

This was the man she had met at the bar, the man who had attacked her, raped her, impregranted her, and nearly beat her to death.

It was also the father of her child.

She was having his son, and the more her stomach grew larger and larger, the more she knew deep in her heart this baby was going to look just like him. Handsome, exotic, and charming. It scared her to death. She was still having dreams about him, no longer nightmares, just very vivid dreams where either they all ready had the baby, or he was making love to her. She never told Jessica this whenever she came to see her, or her doctors. Instead she kept it buried deep inside of her, not wanting the ugly truth to come out. They weren't all the time, but real enough to make her swear she could still smell him whenever she woke up gasping for breath. These dreams made her feel dirty, and ashamed...so she never spoke of them.

Today, she rubbed her stomach, humming softly to the baby when the door bell rang, breaking her out of her trance. Raising an eyebrow, she knew Gina wasn't due to visit with dinner until six. Waddling, she walked across the hardwood floors to the front door. Opening it, the door swung open and she stared at an older woman with short brown hair, dark eyes, and a tried smile. In the back of her mind, she knew she had seen this woman before but just couldn't place it.

"Hello?"

"Hello...I'm sorry to bother you, but...my name is Marry Ann Cunanan...I'm Andrew's mother."