"Hello Helen, how are you feeling?" Doctor Weatherill asked.

Helen was curled up in her hospital bed, shaking and covered in bruises.

"I…" She couldn't speak, she was so frightened.

"It's alright, you're safe now, now, I'm going to get a nurse to look after you, her name is Stella and…she knows what you're going through."

"I…doubt it." Helen answered in a whisper.

"Trust me, she does, she's the best person here to look after you. She'll be along very soon."

Ten minutes later, Stella came scurrying down into the ward, she stopped to ask Marian who she was looking after and then walked over to Helen's bed, right at the end of the ward.

"You must be Helen?" She asked.

"Yes." Helen replied.

"I'm Stella, Doctor Weatherill told me what happened. I'm so sorry, it's such an awful thing to happen, but don't worry, you're safe now and the police will catch the man that did this to you…"

"Stop it! Just stop!" Helen snapped, suddenly even more scared than before, "you don't know what it's like, you're helpless and you can't move, you just freeze it's so awful. The doctor said you knew what it was like but you don't! None of you do!" And she burst out crying.

Stella put a comforting arm around her.

"I do Helen, more than you might think but I really do." She tried to convince the girl, her voice wobbling.

"NO YOU DON'T!" She shouted in devastation, she'd got herself so worked up, tears of anger and fright rolling down her bright red cheeks, "WERE YOU RAPED AND TOO SCARED TO ADMIT IT?"

Stella swallowed, close to tears herself.

"Yes, yes I was!" She paused for a moment, "And I felt like my life was completely falling apart and that no-one understood me…I'd never felt so alone in my whole life." She was trembling.

Helen rolled over and sat up slowly, Stella helped her gently.

"I'm really sorry Stella, I didn't know, I know what you mean, I don't know how I could ever get a normal life again…"

"You're petrified, I was the same, you only shouted because you're so scared, don't worry, I had a go at my friends when it happened to me and I thought I wouldn't get back to normal, but I did as best I could." Stella suddenly realised that it was visiting time, "is no-one coming to visit you?"

Helen shook her head, looking sad.

"I have no family left, I grew up in an orphanage and I never really fitted in, I had no friends and the staff ignored me as much as they could. I won't have any visitors."

"Oh you poor girl, look, I've been specially assigned to you, all I have to do is my ward rounds and some days I'm in Casualty too but I'll see you everyday."

"Thank you…Stella, did they ever catch the man that attacked you?" Helen asked.

"They did…but not because of me." Stella answered.

"What do you mean?"

She took a deep breath.

"I didn't want to report it at first, but the doctor said I should so I did and the police said it was my fault. Then they said they would follow it up and the man came and threatened me and said I was lying too. It was all so difficult and the case wasn't going well so eventually I decided to drop it, then someone beat my attacker up because he'd attacked their daughter so he ended up here, at The Royal and then the police came and arrested them."

"The police didn't believe you?" Helen sounded shocked.

"They didn't, they said I was drunk and wearing stupid clothes, I was on my way home from a fancy dress party, they said I got what I deserved, and I guess they were right."

"No Stella, these men never had the right to do to us what they did, they should be punished, it's obvious isn't it, he took advantage of you because you couldn't defend yourself."

Helen reached out and took Stella's hand, she squeezed it tight, they were both glad they had someone to talk to who understood.