Valerie couldn't stop smiling. She moved things around in her new room, happy to be able to change anything she wanted. She'd soon be making enough money to buy a couple of things to finish fixing it up; Brandon and Company were hiring her and Brenda to help with the remodeling. It was going to be hard, dirty work but she and Brenda were both looking forward to it.

Valerie was concerned about Brenda having to spend so much time with both David and Dylan, but when she'd asked her friend about it she'd said things would work out; Valerie hoped she was right. She looked at a framed picture of herself and Brenda sitting on the dresser Cindy had given her. They were so young in the picture; both girls were missing an opposite front tooth. Thinking about happier times, she pulled her pajamas out of the dresser and got ready for a shower.

Since Brenda and Brandon were at the Walsh house, Valerie walked out of her room in her underwear-and walked right into Brandon. "Brandon!" she shrieked, jumping.

Brandon's hands caught her arms, steadying her. "Hey, sorry," he told her. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Heart racing, Valerie took a deep breath. "What are you doing here? I thought you and Brenda were going to stay one more night with Jim and Cindy."

"We are, but I forgot my books here and had to come by and get them."

His hands were still on her arms, his thumbs rubbing her skin. She didn't think he noticed, but it was all she could think about. "Oh," she said lamely. "I was just going to, uh…take a shower."

Brandon tried to keep his eyes on her face, but he couldn't stop them from moving lower. "I can see that," he said huskily. He cleared his throat, quickly moving his eyes back to hers. "I didn't mean to get in your way."

Valerie froze. "Could you turn around?" she asked him suddenly. "I'm a little embarrassed.

"Sure," Brandon said, nodding. He turned his head but noticed a mark on her stomach as he did. Valerie was wrapping her towel around herself when he looked back.

"Hey," she said, her eyes flashing a warning. "Turn around Brandon."

"What was that?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

"What was what?" she asked defiantly.

"What was that on your stomach, Valerie?" he said lowly.

She started to back away from him. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said flippantly, dismissing him. "I'm going to take a shower now."

"Valerie," Brandon growled. "Let me see it."

Tears filled Valerie's eyes. "Leave me alone, Brandon, I mean it."

Brandon reached out and caught her hand, stopping her and stepping closer. She tilted her head back to look at him and he saw fear in her eyes. "You don't have to be afraid of me," he whispered, pushing a piece of her hair out of her face.

Valerie closed her eyes and a tear escaped from the corners of them. "I'm not afraid of you."

"You are too," he said, frowning. "Valerie, you can show me. You can talk to me about it."

She shook her head, opening her eyes to look at him. "There's nothing to talk about Brandon."

Brandon held her gaze, his unwavering. "Please?" he begged her softly.

Dropping her head, Valerie stepped back. She slowly lowered the towel, allowing Brandon to see her body. All of the breath left his lungs when he found scar after scar marring her skin. Full words were carved into her flesh, and some of the marks looked fresh. "Valerie," he said hoarsely, tears in his own eyes. "My God, what happened to you? Who did this?"

Valerie met his gaze. "My father," she said simply, chin quivering.

"No," he whispered, looking at the marks again. "Oh, no."

The dam broke and deep sobs wracked Valerie's body. Brandon pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay, baby," he whispered, hugging her tightly. "It's okay now."

"It will never be okay, Brandon," Valerie said, not lifting her face up. "They'll never go away," she cried.

Brandon closed his eyes, his heart aching for her. "I promise, Val, we'll think of some way to fix it."

Valerie pulled her head away, staring at him. "How, Brandon? They're everywhere. Sometimes I can still feel the knife…" She broke off and shuddered.

"Don't think about it," Brandon told her, wiping the tears from her face. "I'll fix it. I don't know how yet, but I will. I promise you."

Valerie nodded, staring into his eyes. "Please don't tell anyone, okay? Not even Brenda? Please?"

"I won't say anything," he promised. He longed to erase the pain from her face but didn't know what to do.

Valerie nodded, stepping away. "I'm sorry," she said, wiping tears away, embarrassed. "I know how awful all of this must look."

"You're beautiful," Brandon told her. It was true; even crying, Valerie Malone was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever known. "You're so beautiful you make my heart stop."

Valerie drew in a breath, shocked. "Brandon, you don't have to…you don't have to try to make me feel better. It's okay."

"It's not okay," he said, fiercely, pulling her back to him. "And I said it because I meant it." He slowly lowered his lips, brushing them against hers. He pulled back to look at her. "I feel like I'm on fire when I'm around you."

Valerie sighed and put her head against his chest. "Thank you." Brandon suddenly picked her up, and she gasped. "What are you doing?" she asked as he carried her toward the bathroom.

"You need a shower, right?"

"Brandon," she said, confused.

"Shh," he told her softly, setting her down in front of the shower. "Let me."

Valerie stared into his eyes for a moment. "Okay," she finally said softly.

Brandon nodded slightly, then started the water and took off his shirt. Valerie's eyes traced the curve of the muscles in this chest and stomach, unable to tear her gaze away. Brandon reached around her and undid the clasp of her bra, pulling it off slowly. He then gently rolled her panties down her legs. She put her hand on his shoulder and stepped out of them, then stood straight up and met his eyes.

Moving her toward the shower, he opened the curtain and held her hand as she stepped into it. Getting into the shower with his pants on, he found the shampoo and lathered and rinsed her hair, never taking his eyes off of hers.

Taking the wash cloth and soap from her, he started at her neck, then slowly rubbed the cloth over her body, pausing at her chest for a moment. Eyes still never leaving hers, he bent down and kissed the scars he found there. Valerie's heart began beating faster at the touch of his lips.

He moved the washcloth lower, stopping at every scar and kissing it. Tears fell from Valerie's eyes, mixing with the water. Brandon tenderly washed and kissed every inch of her body, then pulled her out of the shower and wrapped her in her towel. He slowly dressed her, again finding her scars and kissing them, then picked her up and carried her to her bedroom.

He laid her gently on the bed, then pulled the cover up around her. He left the room for a moment, then came back in with his pajama bottoms on. "Scoot over," he told her, and she did, smiling slightly.

"I'm going to stay here tonight," he told her, watching her eyes. "I'm going to sleep in this bed, and I'm going to hold you all night long. If you want to talk about anything, wake me up. If you get scared, wake me up. Is that okay?"

"Brandon, you don't have to do this," she told him. "I'm a big girl. I've been handling it."

Brandon sighed and kissed her forehead. "Just because you can handle something yourself," he told her, "doesn't mean you should." With that, he leaned over and turned out her light, putting his arms around her.

Lying next to Brandon with his arms around her, Valerie fell into the best sleep she'd had in over a year, finally feeling safe.