Installment Three:

The Stranger In Me

Part 3

Maggie shot up in bed at the scream that penetrated her sleep. The first night of proper sleep and she found herself woken up by a scream that wasn't her own.

Realizing that the scream wasn't hers left her with little options on who it had come from. Without thought Maggie rolled off of her bed, hitting her knee against her bedside dresser as she did so. Her side protested against her sudden movement and cramped up. It felt as if the skin tore in half. Maggie bit the inside of her lip and kept quiet as she crawled the last bit of distance that was left between her bed and Bianca's.

"Bianca…" Maggie whispered as she moved to lean over the bed wincing as she put weight on the leg she had just knocked into the wooden surface of the dresser.

"No…please…stop…"

Maggie closed her eyes for a moment her hand poised over Bianca's shoulder.

Bianca was dreaming of him.

Maggie felt her heart rate double while her stomach revolted; nausea taking hold of her.

"Please…don't…" Bianca begged as she tossed and turned in her bed, the sheets sticking to her soaked skin.

"Bianca…" Maggie shook herself out of her own daze and put her hand to Bianca's shoulder and shook gently.

Nothing…

Bianca's head snapped from one side to the other her pleas had quieted and Maggie wondered if that was a good thing.

"Bianca please wake up honey…it's a dream. It's a dream. He can't hurt you anymore…I promise." Maggie whispered as she brushed gently at Bianca's cheek. "He'll never hurt you again…" Maggie swore as tears fell from her eyes. "I promise…" Maggie felt her breath catch in her chest.

Not now….Maggie forced herself to remove herself from her own mind and focus on Bianca.

"Mag…Maggie…?" Bianca's groggy voice made Maggie smile.

Maggie leaned her head down on the edge of the bed after slipping back to kneel alongside Bianca's bed. A whoosh of air left her lungs as she let her shoulders sag in relief.

"Wha….what's wrong? Are you okay?" Bianca quickly shook herself and rubbed at her eyes. Maggie was awake, she was calling her name, what happened? Was she okay? What did she need?

Bianca moved to turn on the light that rested atop the dresser that made up the distance between their beds. Once the light was on and her eyes had adjusted to the light she was surprised to find Maggie kneeling beside her bed.

"Maggie…oh my god…what's wrong?" Bianca quickly moved to the edge of the bed, and lying on her side took a hold of Maggie's hands that were clenching the sheets of her bed. "Maggie?"

No answer except the sound of Maggie sniffling.

Bianca ran her hand through Maggie's hair, hoping the older woman would look up at her. She didn't.

"Maggie, please what's wrong?" Again no answer it was as if Maggie didn't even hear her. "You're scaring me…please, what's wrong?" If Maggie didn't answer her right now she was going to get David.

"I'm soo sorry…" Maggie whispered as she lifted her head up from Bianca's bed and met Bianca's eyes her own flooded with tears.

"For what?" Bianca asked, confusion riddling her voice and face. "What could you possibly be sorry for, Maggie?" Bianca ran her hand across Maggie's cheek whipping away the older woman's tears.

Maggie just shook her head and burrowed her face back into Bianca's mattress.

With no further explanation Bianca rolled over to look at her own dresser to check the time. It was nearly three in the morning.

They had come back to the suite around ten in the evening as it poured outside. At some point while they were all enjoying dinner the storm had rolled in.

It was apparently nothing new for the two locals but the storm had scared Bianca, with a flash of lightning and the sound of rumbling thunder, Bianca admitted that it still did. Maggie had known immediately what was bothering her when they returned to the suite and Bianca remembered falling asleep with Maggie holding her.

That had been nearly four hours ago.

What had happened between then and now? What had upset Maggie so much?

Okay…it was time to pull it all together.

Maggie took a deep several deep breaths and stemmed the flow of her tears. No matter what she did she could not take back what her brother…what Michael had done to Bianca. She could only be there for Bianca now and give her the comfort, safety, respect, and love she deserved.

"Can I sleep with you?" Maggie hiccupped as she looked up at Bianca's back. Well, that wasn't what she had been aiming for but Maggie would take it, she wanted to be close to Bianca. If she was honest she needed to be close to her.

Bianca quickly turned back towards Maggie and nodded her head while clearing her throat. "Of course…there's plenty of room."

Bianca soon realized the sheets were rather damp. Was the heat on high enough to cause it? Or had it been another nightmare?

As Bianca moved over to allow Maggie onto her bed she realized it had been another nightmare.

When were these going to go away?

Everyone said that it was going to take time, that was all well and good for them but she wanted them to go away now. She was tired of living in fear of that man. She had to deal with him while awake, her dreams should be her sanctuary from him, yet they weren't.

"Did I wake you?" Bianca then thought of the position Maggie had been in when she woke up. "Oh god, Maggie did I push you off the bed? I'm sooo sorry…! Are you hurt?" Bianca lay on her side moving to check and see if Maggie was bruised and battered from the fall. Maggie only hissed when she touched just above her hip on her right side. Bianca was going to inspect more but stopped when she heard Maggie's watery chuckle.

"No, and no need to be sorry, and no again." Maggie chuckled. "You did however kick me a few times." Maggie admitted as she turned off the light and turned to lie on her side facing Bianca, a mirror image of the younger woman. "I moved to my own bed around midnight."

"Oh…" Bianca nodded slowly. "I'm sorry that I woke you." Bianca looked down ashamed to have woken up the already stricken young woman.

Maggie had admitted during dinner that she hadn't been sleeping well and her appetite had been light since she had gotten the phone call about her mother. Both Bianca and Billy had tried to reassure Maggie that it was normal for such things to happen and that it'd get better.

During dinner Maggie had opened up more about her past to Bianca. The stories both Maggie and Billy told about Maggie and Frankie's childhood left Bianca in wonder of how Maggie had come out of it the way she had. Frankie…hadn't been as fortunate as Maggie to come out on the other side as sure and confident. If those were even the right adjectives…

Frankie had her own confidences and her own fears while Maggie had a different set. It was almost like where Maggie's confidences ended Frankie's began and vice versa. Billy apparently had noticed this as he grew up with the twins and they soon began talking about it as if Maggie weren't there.

That was, until Maggie cleared her throat and asked if the two of them would like to be alone. It had broken the tension and brought on a whole new set of stories and conversations that stemmed away from the darker parts of Maggie's late childhood and teenager years.

"Don't worry about it…" Maggie insisted as she took a hold of Bianca's hand and kissed the younger girls knuckles before resting the cherished hand down on the mattress between them.

Bianca smiled and moved to take Maggie's hand once again, stiffening at the rumbling thunder outside their suite. Maggie just held Bianca's hand, allowing the brunette to squeeze it until her body was once again as relaxed as it could be.

"It's all right…you just squeeze as hard as you need to, okay?" Maggie whispered as she ran her thumb over the side of Bianca's wrist.

Bianca nodded and smiled thankfully at Maggie. When the storm outside seemed to calm down Bianca felt her own body relax slightly and noticed that Maggie had moved closer and was rubbing her hand comfortingly up and down her arm.

Bianca shook her head at the strength of the woman before her. No matter how strong Maggie insisted she was herself, she knew Maggie was just as strong if not stronger. Bianca also knew that as strong as Maggie was she needed someone else to be strong for her now. Bianca was more than willing to be strong enough for the both of them. Maggie had been strong enough for the both of them for so long, too long. Now it was her turn to return the favor and maybe after this they'd finally get a break.

Bianca yawned and laid her head down on the pillow, her eyes holding Maggie's as the older woman mirrored her yawn.

"Love you Maggie…" Bianca whispered as her eyes fluttered closed.

Maggie watched as Bianca's breathing evened out before she closed her own eyes.

"Goodnight, B…I…I love you too."


Bianca woke up to the sound of a random DJ announcing the next time tickets to some show/concert would be offered up as a prize to the hundredth caller.

The second thing Bianca realized as she woke up was that she was alone.

Totally and completely alone.

Leaning up slightly and remaining silent, the alarm clock turned off with a disgruntled flick, Bianca realized that Maggie wasn't in the bathroom either.

Curious, Bianca quickly got up from bed and looked at the time on her alarm clock. The neon lights read 10:00am.

Bianca quickly slipped on a robe hanging from the closet.

The younger woman confirmed that Maggie was indeed not in the bathroom of their room and her shoes and purse were no longer lying beside her dresser. Confused and slightly hurt and irritated Bianca moved into the main room of the suite.

Once in the doorway Bianca saw David sitting at the kitchen counter with a mug of coffee and the morning paper.

David turned at the sound of the opening door and smiled in greeting while Bianca moved to quickly tie up her robe.

"Good morning, Bianca. Would you like some coffee?"

Bianca shook her head as she cleared her throat, "No…no thanks David. I'll just have some juice if we still have."

"Yes, I think there's still some apple juice left, here you sit I'll get you a glass." David offered Bianca his seat as he moved swiftly into the kitchenette area and pulled the small carton of apple juice from the fridge to poor Bianca the remnants of it.

"Here you go…" David handed Bianca the glass with a smile. "…would you like something to eat? We still have some eggs and bread. I can make you some scrambled eggs and toast?" David offered as he stood on the opposite side of the kitchen counter from the young woman.

Bianca smiled as she took the glass from David. "Yes, that would be lovely, thank you…" Bianca took a sip of the apple juice while moving to take the seat next to David's.

"Not a problem, scrambled eggs and toast coming right up." David turned back towards the stove and fridge to start Bianca's breakfast order.

Bianca looked around the suite expecting to see Maggie pop up from around the corner or maybe walk back inside from the porch that connected to the main living area and David's master bedroom of the suite. When Maggie remained absent Bianca turned to David for answers.

"David…where's Maggie?" Bianca asked as she watched David scramble the eggs he had cracked into a mug.

"Hmm…? What was that, I'm sorry…" David turned on the burner of the stove and poured the eggs into the pan as he turned towards Bianca.

"Its fine, I was just wondering where Maggie is…" Bianca explained as she took another sip from her glass, grateful that her stomach was settled.

On arriving home during the storm Bianca had feared she'd get sick but after her restful night last night, well that is after her nightmare, she felt much better.

"Oh…Maggie…" Bianca noticed that he seemed nervous. "She had to take care of a few things. She should be back in a few hours."

Bianca raised a brow.

Something was up. Since she had arrived both David and Maggie had been nervous around her whenever she asked them if there was something she needed to know, or where Maggie was or who that man was that had showed up after David had left yesterday at the cemetery. Maggie had gone pale and quickly changed the subject at dinner last night. Bianca was just grateful that Billy was just as unaware as she was, as he had asked the question himself.

"David…" Bianca called, putting her glass down on the counter and leaning forward.

"Yes?" David remained with his back turned towards her as he cooked.

"What is it that you're hiding?" Bianca smiled internally when David proved he was hiding something by his subtle shift in weight from one foot to the other.

Bianca watched as his fingers closed one at a time to make a fist before quickly shooting back out as if he'd never made the fist to begin with. It was something he tended to do when he didn't want to talk about something important.

"What are you talking about?" David asked as he looked at Bianca over his shoulder.

"David, don't try to deny it. You and Maggie are both keeping something from me. I just…" Bianca sighed. "I want to make sure that she's okay."

"She's fine," He answered too quickly for her liking. At her raised brown David sighed. "She'll be fine."

"David, what happened? What did I miss? Is this about her father?" Bianca asked, questions just flying from her.

David tensed and took a deep breath. "Yes it is."

It wasn't lying, it wasn't. So what if Bianca assumed that this meant Maggie was upset over Richard Stone showing up at the reading of her mother's will? It was better than the alternative! It wasn't his place to tell Bianca, if Bianca was ever to know at all.

Bianca didn't know what was worse for Maggie, knowing that Richard Stone was alive or that he was alive and trying to talk to her.

Bianca frowned. No wonder why Maggie didn't want to talk to her about it. Her father, the man that left her, Frankie, and Gwen all those years ago was back and after money and her property. That much she had been able to get out of David the first day she was here.

It just…it had to be hard.

Bianca sighed. She had known all along it was about him. It had to be.

Bianca just hoped that Maggie realized she could talk to her about this. It wasn't Maggie's fault that her father was an asshole.

End Part Three