A/N: Thanks for reading. Let us hear from you on what you think. Things are about to get exciting for Denise and Frank in the next few chapters. Reviews will result in faster updates. We don't own anything but the typos. LOL.

Jeremy did as his mother said and drove her to the LeBlanc house, she got out of the car and went to the door and knocked, after a moment Roxy appeared at the door. "Hey Denise, how are you feeling?" she asked smiling at her friend.

"I've been better," Denise said. It was clear she wasn't happy. "I heard some rumors about an issue with you and Frank. I'd like to hear your side of it."

"Oh that, we just had a disagreement that's all," Roxy replied.

"What kind of disagreement?" Denise asked sitting down on the chair near the door.

"Frank blamed me for you getting upset the other day when all I was doing was trying to help and I defended myself. Denise, what's wrong?" she asked.

"What's wrong? There's a lot wrong, Roxy. Let's start with you pushing Frank out of the way when I was clearly terrified of you and grabbing onto me yourself," Denise said her upset growing.

"Denise I was only trying to help, Frank was just standing there," she defended her actions.

"Wouldn't you think that perhaps my husband of 20 years might have a better idea on how to handle that situation than you would?" Denise asked.

"Denise, he was just standing there, he wasn't doing anything to help you, so I stepped in," she said now getting upset at Denise.

"Actually, and I might have been panicked but I remember a lot of it he was trying to keep you from touching me," Denise replied. "Because sometimes even his touch was repulsive enough to make me throw up."

"Denise what do you want me to say?" she asked angry.

"I don't know, Roxy," Denise sighed. "I guess I want you to tell me why I spent the last half hour before coming here comforting Frank because of things you said to him. He's got enough stress on him, he doesn't need anymore."

"Denise, I have never liked Frank, he may have not put those marks on you but he sure as heck knows how to make emotional scars, he has always been emotionally abusive to you, I don't see why you put up with him," she stated simply. "And for another thing I swear he is made of stone, he acts like a manikin all the time, I'm surprised you could tell what he is feeling," she added.

"Okay, Roxy, I've always considered you a friend, but that last remark tops it!" Denise snapped. "Frank feels more deeply than anyone I have ever met. That's why he's so strict, because he can't show that to people who won't understand. This rape is killing him, he thinks it's his fault, and you made that worse!"

"You know what Denise you could have fought, you could have prevented this," Roxy shot back not realizing she had really hurt Denise.

That was too much for her, Denise could fight defending Frank but she couldn't fight for herself, because Roxy was right. She started to cry, hard, too hard for someone who'd only recently been operated on for lung damage.

Roxy realized now she had gone too far. "Oh, Denise, I'm sorry, please calm down. I didn't mean it," she said putting a hand on Denise's shoulder trying to calm her down, she felt terrible now.

"You're right," Denise cried gasping for air. "I...should...I did this to Frank...to me...to..." She moaned as if in great pain and let her body fall to the floor.

Roxy got scared, she bent down. "Denise, please calm down, do you want me to call Jeremy or Frank?" she asked panicking.

She then saw that Jeremy was in the driveway, she ran out to get him "Jeremy I need you quick," she said.

"What did you do?" he asked running to his mother. "Mom? Mom, it's Jeremy." He knelt by her and tried to get his arms around her.

Jeremy took his distraught mother in his arms and rocked her, he done this for a while but she continued to cry and shake violently.

"Mommy, please," he said like a little child. "Please, stop."

She didn't stop, she was only getting worse.

"Call my dad," Jeremy told Roxy. "Now!"

Roxy ran to the phone and dialed called Frank, it rang three times then he picked up. "Colonel Sherwood," he answered.

"Frank, it's Roxy LeBlanc," Roxy said. She was nervous. "Denise is here and she needs you. She's really upset and Jeremy can't make her stop crying."

Frank sighed angrily. "I'll be right there," he replied hanging up and going as fast as he could to Roxy's.

Jeremy had carried his mother to Roxy's bedroom where he was watching as Roxy coaxed Denise to sleep in her arms, she was whimpering but had calmed a bit, more from weakness than calmness. "Frank, I want Frank."

"He is on his way sweetie, just try and stay calm he will be here any minute," Roxy said wanting to keep her calm.

Frank arrived just then and was led to the back of the house by Finn. "She's in here Colonel Sherwood. Please make her happy again. I love her when she smiles."

"What happened?" Frank asked moving closer to her.

"She came over here and we got into an argument and she got upset," Roxy told him.

"An argument about what?" Frank asked getting angry quickly

"The scuffle you and I had at the hospital," she replied. "I'm sorry Frank, I didn't mean to upset her."

"Well, doesn't look like that worked too well," Frank said. "Excuse us please. Jeremy, go with her. Leave your mom with me." Frank sat beside her, "You okay, Dee?"

"Can we go home?" she asked tears still streaming down her face.

"I think we should let you rest, tell me what happened," he said kissing her hand

"I came over here to talk to her about the fight you two had and we started arguing, she said that I let the rape happen so I could get attention and I should have stopped them I lost it," she said. "But she is right, I should have been able to defend myself, I took courses, I just froze," she said remembering the fight

"It's okay, honey," Frank soothed. "You couldn't fight two men with guns. You'd have been killed." He lifted her into his lap and rocked her.

"She's right Frank," she said trying hard to keep her eyes open.

"Who's right, Angel?" Frank said kissing her temple

"Roxy, she's right, I could have defended myself," she said beginning to get drowsy but trying to fight it.

"No, Denise, I'd have lost you," Frank said. "I'd have lost you and that would have killed me."

"I'm sorry," she said and her eyes finally closed and she drifted off to sleep in Franks arms.

Frank lifted her and carried her to Jeremy. "Take her home," he ordered his son and handed Denise to the boy. "I'll be right behind you."

Jeremy left with his mother in his arms and took her home, Frank stayed behind.

He turned and fixed his steel blue eyes in Roxy's direction. "I need to know everything that was said in this house tonight. That's the only way I can know what kind of notion she's going to get into her head next, like the one there now, about her fighting off two armed rapists!"

"She came over and was telling me off over you and I told her I was just trying to help and she said you were trying to shield her from me that night I came over and I told her I wanted to help cause it looked like you needed help calming her and she went crazy on me, the next thing I know she is hysterical, Frank I'm sorry I didn't mean for this to happen," she said trying to make him believe her.

"I know that," Frank sighed. "Mrs. LeBlanc, I honestly do not think there is anyone in her life that loves Denise, aside from Jeremy and me, more than you do. I know you wanted to help her, she told me how you protected her when Jeremy hurt her, and in spite of what you'd think of my reaction you were holding and keeping her calm tonight and I thank you for that. You really want to help her, don't you?"

"I really do, Frank. I hate seeing her like this," she told him honestly.

"Then I need you trust me, I've been with her through so many things she's never told anyone about, I know how to help her through this and more than that I know how to read her, I know she's going to break down before she does. I know that in 24 minutes and 16 seconds she'll wake up and if I'm not there she'll meltdown. You know how to protect yourself, and I am so sorry you have to know those things, and I'm glad you taught her, I am...but she'd have died, Roxy. Those men had guns, if she'd fought, she'd have died. I'm so glad that she froze which is what I taught her to do, drop to the ground and stay still, they can't hit you if they can't find you."

"Okay Frank, I'm sorry I said those things to her, I hope she will forgive me," she sighed "Go, go home to your wife, she needs you," she said smiling at him.

"That's another thing about Denise," Frank said rising. "She'll forgive anyone for anything no matter how bad it is. She'll even forgive those animals for hurting her, but I won't. And you won't either, will you, Roxy?"

"Hell no! Let's just say they better hope I don't ever find out who they are," she said.

"There were two, if we do find out, make sure you share," Frank said as he left Roxy standing there somewhat puzzled at who exactly that man was.

Frank drove home; he went inside and found Jeremy on the couch staring blankly at the ceiling.

He went to his son and knelt beside him, "Jeremy?"

Jeremy sighed "Yeah," he asked looking at his father.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently touching Jeremy's shoulder.

"I have never seen mom so upset dad, that scared me worse than the stuff I've seen in Iraq," he answered.

"Jeremy, there's something I didn't tell you about your mother's attack," Frank said. "I think you need to know so you can understand."

"What is it?" he asked concerned.

"She wasn't just attacked, Son. She was raped, by two men, maybe three," Frank said choking up remembering Denise lying on the ground so badly broken. "And she'd been hurt like that before, not all the way but part way when she was very young so it's harder for her to move past it than if it was something more simple, like a mugging. If she was beaten, she'd be afraid, sure, but this was brutal and it was targeted. They didn't set out to rap A woman; they set out to rape YOUR mother."

"Do we know who it is?" he asked not believing what he was hearing.

"No we don't," Frank sighed. "We might never know who it was. But it's really important that we don't show her how angry we are at the men who did this. It's all right for me to tell you or Mrs. LeBlanc that I want to kill them, but it is not all right to say that in front of your mother, do you understand? That'll frighten her, she already equates men with violence Jeremy, we can't make that a truth in her eyes when it comes to us."

"Okay, I won't say anything or do anything to upset her," he said.

"Thanks," Frank replied. "I'm going to go be with her for a while. Thank you for helping her. I'm proud of you."

Coming in Chapter 8: Denise learns she walked away with more than she bargained for following the assault, and in that, she shows Frank what's she's made of when he reacts stronger than she does from the devastating news.