Abby slept through the night and only rose once or twice when somebody came into the room but not enough to actually wake up.

She did wake up with a headache from hell in the morning and when she tried to reach for the cup of water on the nightstand, the throbbing behind her eyes exploded in hot pain. With a whimper she curled in on herself and tried to ride out the pain, praying that she didn't have to throw up, she wouldn't survive throwing up. She clung to that thought and after a few shallow breaths the pain in her head eased off to a bearable level.

She must have set off some kind of alarm because a nurse came into the room to check on her. She helped her with the water and she even had something for the pain for her.

"The doctor wants to see you soon," the nurse informed her. "And the police wants to talk to you as well."

Abby just registered the words without actually getting the meaning.

"But if nothing comes up, you can go home in the afternoon," the nurse continued.

Home sounded good, she wanted to see Haley. Only with a delay, Abby remembered that she wasn't in New York. Haley must be worried sick by now.

"Where's my phone?"

Her vision was still kind of blurry but good enough to type a short message to Haley. That she was fine and would be able to leave the hospital today. Her brain had processed that part of the information but when Haley asked when she would be home, Abby paused. She didn't have a flight booked and she didn't even know if she was allowed to fly in her condition. So she answered that she wasn't sure yet but that she would be home soon. She waited to call Stiles until she had spoken with the doctor, though.

Abby dozed off again but this time it was a more restful sleep and when she woke up because her doctor had entered the room, she actually felt better. Not good but better. Good enough to talk to the police who still wanted to get her statement. Her doctor told her that she didn't have to give that now if she didn't feel up for it but he promised to send in the officer once he was done with Abby when she assured him that it was fine.

Turned out that she had a concussion, no surprise there, bruises and a nasty abrasion on her face but she was good to go. But she should take it easy the next few days. And no flying, her doctor told her in a stern voice when she asked about that. She was allowed to travel by car if she must and had a driver. But only in short stages and with plenty of rest over the night.

"You were lucky," he informed her. "He could have broken your skull or spine. Don't jeopardize it."

She nodded to that, which spiked the pain in her neck again, but she wouldn't risk her health just to get back home a day sooner. At least not as long as she knew that Haley was safe.

"I'll send in the officer, then." The doctor gave her a smile and then he left. A second later a police officer entered the room. It was a young woman which made Abby breathe a bit easier. At least she would understand. That they even bothered with getting her statement right here and didn't make her come to the station was kind of a miracle and she had the suspicion that it had to do with the fact that Mr. Miller was involved. Abby wouldn't be surprised if he was using his status as a lawyer to push things along. After he had seen how Rick had tried to force her into signing the papers, Mr. Miller had been really nice to her and he had promised to send her everything about the inheritance.

"Did you get him?" Abby asked before the officer even had the time to introduce herself.

"We had your brother-in-law in for questioning," she said. But this was nothing they could keep him for, Abby understood that. But with Mr. Miller as a witness, backed up with camera footage from the parking lot, and with Abby's statement, there was no doubt that he had been assaulting her.

"This will go to court and he will get convicted," the officer assured her. "But until then I highly recommend that you file a restraining order to protect you and your daughter."

Abby hadn't thought about that but it sounded like a good idea. Even if she was pretty sure that Rick didn't know where she lived. Where she worked, however, was easy to find out. It would only take a quick google search.

The officer had the necessary forms with her, also something Abby doubted was normal procedure. Her head was throbbing and her vision blurry, but the officer went through the papers with her and in the end, Abby just had to sign it. A second of paranoia hit her and she squinted at the top of the page to make sure that she was signing what she thought she was signing.

When the officer left, Abby sank back into her pillow, completely exhausted. She might even have dozed off again but then her phone startled her awake.

"Hello?" She asked into the phone without even bothering with squinting at the screen to see who was calling her.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Stiles asked. "They didn't tell us much last night and Haley is worried."

Abby gave him an update in short sentences, her voice clipped and strained to her own ears. How she was supposed to leave the hospital in a few hours was beyond her. And she had no idea where to go.

"I can book you a room," Stiles offered. She hadn't even noticed that she had said that part out loud. "And a flight back, if you want."

"Doc says I'm not allowed to fly." Abby sank back into her pillow with a groan and closed her eyes. Her head didn't like thinking very much at the moment. She just wanted to sleep.

"Do you have family around there to look after you?" Stiles asked. Abby almost laughed at that. The only family she had around here was Rick. She didn't have anybody aside from her parents but they were in Wyoming. And they didn't really have the money to fly across the country to get to her. Where would be the point in that anyway? Then her parents would be stranded here with her. While she was still thinking about that, Stiles had kept talking.

"... send Derek." She caught the end of a sentence.

"What?"

"I said that Haley can stay with us for as long as you need," Stiles repeated. "And that I can send Derek to get you."

"I don't …," she started but didn't know how to end the sentence. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see Haley as quickly as possible. But most of all, she didn't want to think right now. Everything hurt, she was alone and she couldn't think straight. Tears welled up in her eyes but she fought against them. She needed to sort this out.

"Okay, this is what we'll do." Stiles took over and a part of her was just grateful that he took charge. "I'll book you a room, you can rest up there. Then I'm going to book a flight for Derek, he'll be there as soon as possible. And tomorrow he'll drive you home. Sounds like a plan?"

There were lots of open questions to his plan, mainly who would pay for all that, Abby didn't have the money, and why would Derek even do something like that for her? Stiles hadn't even asked him yet. But Abby was too tired to think about that now so she just agreed with Stiles' plan and finished the call. Then she curled in on herself and slept a bit more.

They did kick her out of the hospital in the afternoon but by then she had the address of a hotel with a room waiting for her. Derek would arrive later that evening.

Abby took a cab to the hotel and she used the ride to update Haley. She already knew about the rescue plan and Haley was telling her in detail how Derek had reacted to the information that his flight would go in a few hours. It did make Abby feel guilty but she didn't have the strength to call it off. At least Haley seemed to have fun.

At the hotel, she got some strange looks and the receptionist had a forced smile on his lips when he checked her in. He did become a bit more friendly once he found out that the room was already paid for. Only when Abby was in her room, nothing too fancy but clean and comfortable, she realized what she must look like. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, it was all she had, the rest was at Rick's, her face was battered and she still was mostly out of it. She wondered if the receptionist's money was on drugs or an abusive boyfriend, most likely both, but Abby didn't really care about what he was thinking.

Exhaustion was already catching up on her but the shower just looked too inviting. The hospital stench was clogging her nose and suddenly she needed to get rid of that. She almost past out in the shower but that was totally worth it. Only when the hot water started to loosen up her tense muscles she noticed how stiff she had been.

Feeling clean again, Abby put on the bathrobe the hotel provided, it was the only clean item of clothing she had, and then she stretched out on the bed. It was as comfy as it looked and Abby let herself drift for a little while.

She was about to fall asleep for real when her phone started to ring. This time she checked the name on the screen. Lisa.

Abby closed her eyes, she was not in the mood for this, but in the end, she answered.

"What have you done to my husband?" Lisa yelled the second Abby accepted the call.

"What have I done?" Abby echoed. Exhaustion forgotten, she sat up straighter.

"The police was here," Lisa said, still sounding pissed. "They took him in for questioning. The neighbors saw it."

"The neighbors saw …" Abby almost laughed at the ridiculousness of that statement. "I'm the one with a concussion. I'm the one who spent the night in the hospital. And you're worried about the neighbors?"

That seemed to throw her off the loop.

"Concussion? What?" Lisa asked, clearly confused.

"What did he tell you?" Abby asked, curious now. She doubted that Rick had told her the truth.

"You attacked him and he had to defend himself," Lisa answered but she didn't sound so sure any longer. "And now you're blaming him. Playing the victim."

"Believe what you want." Abby didn't really care. What was the point of arguing with her? But then she remembered something the police officer had said. "They have on tape how he grabbed me from behind and smashed my head into the hood of a car. If you call that self-defense …" And with that, she ended the call.

By now her head was pulsing with her heart-beat and hot lances of pain were piercing her eyes from behind. Abby took some of the painkillers they had given her in the hospital and then she crawled under the covers. It was only five in the afternoon but sleep sounded like a good idea. Just a short nap before she would think about the next steps. Dinner would probably be a good idea at some point but in a more long-term planning, she needed to make sure that Haley was safe. But first a nap. Abby snuggled deeper under the covers.

She slept through until four in the morning. For a moment she was lying in the strange bed and tried to figure out where she was. Everything about her stay at the hospital was kind of fuzzy but she remembered clearly her visit to the lawyer with Rick.

The way he had flipped out … only now Abby realized how lucky she had been with getting away with a concussion. He could have killed her. Over some money.

She just hoped that distance alone would keep him from coming after her. Now, with her head more clear, she realized that she had been worried over nothing with the ticket. Those were personalized, Rick couldn't just use it. Embarrassed over that unnecessary freak-out Abby shook her head.

When she checked her phone, she found two messages from Derek.

Just arrived at the hotel, you still up? He had sent that one around eleven last night and then, half an hour later: Apparently not. Breakfast in the morning? Just let me know when you're up

Abby doubted that he wanted to get woken up at four in the morning but breakfast sounded like a good idea. To kill the time, Abby got comfortable again and turned on the TV. On low and with her head under the covers, the light and sound didn't bother her too much but it was good to fill the silence.