A/N So, here is a filler chapter cliffhanger ) I will have more soon...**
Bea sat, sunk into the couch, knees touching Allie's, the young girl asleep on her shoulder. They had all sat together, Maude and Kaz included to watch a matinee. Bea and Allie sat together out of necessity and Bea was not complaining.
It had been two weeks since Bea had been an undercover stylist. Almost a month since they met. What a month it had been, the last couple weeks especially. Bea had only grown closer to the young blonde, with every conversation.
They talked about the weather, the bloody heat. They had shared stories of their pasts, the good, the bad and for both, mostly ugly. Except Debbie. Debbie was the most beautiful thing in her world.
Allie was beautiful as well, on the inside as much as the out. Maybe more. Every look, every "accidental" brushing of their hands sparked things inside Bea she didn't know existed. Well, she had seen things on the telly, but she thought it was as real as reality TV. Then along came Allie.
Whenever she wasn't cutting hair, or talking life and love with the other women, she was spending time with Allie. Each moment more intense than the one before it. Which is why she still sat, long after the movie had ended and Allie's light snores tickled her senses. How could even snoring be cute?
She was almost asleep herself when Maude startled her. "Bea, what are you doing here so late? Isn't your husband home tonight?"
Bea jerked up, waking Allie in the process, who mumbled, something sweet probably. "What time is it?"
"Almost five, love."
Bea shot up, "I got to go. He's going to be pissed, yeah?"
"Just stay here," Allie stated, like that wasn't the obvious choice if Bea only could.
"I cant yet." When Allie snorted in disgust, Bea didn't let her begin. "I cant leave him until i can get custody of her. I cant fight him."
"We can fight this. Right, Maude?" Allie plead, trying to gain support for her cause.
Bea had the same cause, just a different approach. Harry knew the system, he had friends in high places, at least higher than Bea did. "It's not the right time."
"Piss off. The right time? When will the right time be, when he bloody kills ya? Do you even want to leave him? Or are you going to let him bury you?"
That cut right into Bea's soul. "Fuck, Allie, I cant do this with you right now. I got to get home."
"Yeah, you go be the beaten fucking housewife."
Allie was up the stairs and gone before Bea made it to the front door. Bea looked back at Maude. "Take care of her, please?"
"Bloody hell, I'm taking you home, you are going to need the ride, you are already late."
"Thanks, Maude. One day I will pay-"
"You dent have to pay me anything, love. I just need you to be healthy, to fight for yourself and your daughter." Maude explained as they walked to the van.
"Everything i do is for my daughter." When Maude didn't respond, just started the van and backed out, Bea's temperature began to rise. "I fight for my daughter."
"Do you really? Is allowing yourself to be a victim really fighting for her? What happens when hitting you is not enough?"
"He would never!" They would have lived on the streets before she let Harry hurt Debbie, but since he didn't, it is amazing and heartbreaking what a mother will go through to provide for her child. Her offspring, her flesh and blood.
"When you met him, did you think he would hit you?"
"No, of course not, but-"
"But nothing, love. Once someone resorts to violence, they are capable of resorting to violence. Tread with caution after that."
Bea didn't say anything else except to give her address to Maude, who didn't speak again until they neared their destination. "Are you sure you really want to do this? You don't have to you know. I know people, there were plenty of witnesses who saw your condition.
"How could I prove it's Harry? No one has ever seen him hit me. That is what the lawyer said that I called after the second time."
"Really? Some rat bastard told you that? There is plenty of evidence you don't leave the house, well at least you didn't. Someone could have saved you, we can still save you."
Bea's heart clenched, but she had a plan, and ambushing Harry was not it. She needed this to be as amicable as possible if she ever hoped to share parenting with this man. Debbie loved her father, had no reason not to. "I can't, Maude. Just give Allie a hug for me, okay?"
"Are you sure?" Maude pulled in front of the brownstone.
"No, but I have to be. I have to give him a chance to do this right."
"He doesn't deserve another chance. He lost that the first time he hit you."
Bea flung the passenger door open. She couldn't listen to this anymore. Maude made too much sense, and Bea couldn't waver. Not when it came to Debbie.
No one was going to give custody to a woman without a place to raise her child, and Bea would die before Debbie went to Harry alone. There was no proof her attacker was Harry. He had stuck to places Debbie couldn't see when their daughter was home. It was only with Debbie gone that he had become less cautious with his attacks.
She took a deep breath, and looked back at Maude. "I got to go."
Bea took big steps at first to get away from Maude's disappointed eyes, then smaller ones the closer to the front door she got. She took one last deep breath before grabbing the door knob. Twisting it and pushing the door open, she barely saw the fist before impact. Then all went black.
