She could hear him sing her name, in that taunting sing-song way, "A-zu-ce-na . . . A-zu-ce-na . . ."

She pushed through the pain of her injuries. Every breath she took felt like her lungs were on fire and her racing heart felt as if it would beat out of her chest. She could hear their bare feet slapping against the wet cement of the corridor. She looked to her right, Steve was keeping pace with her.

She heard him again. This time, the image of his bloody face flashed through her mind; the blood seeping from his broken nose and anger flaring in his eyes. She pushed everything from her mind and focused on the corridor, it was coming to a T. She glanced over at Steve, "Which way?"

He pointed left, and she continued to push herself through the damp passageway. They rounded the corner and entered total darkness. She continued to run; but slowed her pace a bit because of the darkness. That's when she noticed Steve wasn't by her side; she couldn't hear him, "Steve? Steve?"

She reached out in the darkness, and her hands landed on another human being. As she continued to reach for the person, the musky scent filled her nostrils. She screamed, "Steve!"

There was a flash of light and she could see Wood's face. She backpedaled, and then turned to run. The instant she turned around, at the end of the corridor, she could see Steve. His hands were chained above his head again; his toes barely touching the ground. WoFat stood next to him, blood running down his face. WoFat started running towards her and Woods reached out and grabbed her from behind. . .

Azucena bolted upright in bed; she was covered in sweat and her breathing was ragged and quick. She quickly glanced around the room, with the help of the moonlight she could see that it was empty. Woods and WoFat were nowhere to be found. She put her hand to her chest and fell back onto the bed. She stared at the ceiling as she tried to regulate her breathing. Her heart continued to thump in her chest.

She was thankful this time she hadn't scream out. If she had, it would have been horrifically embarrassing. But the dream itself was too real. The feeling of Wood's hands on her made her skin crawl. In every other dream she had lately, he never made contact with her. She was trapped, but always woke before WoFat or Woods could get her. This time was different. It took longer than normal for her heartrate to calm down and when it finally did, her hands were still shaking.

She looked over at the alarm clock, it read 4:30. She laid in bed and knew there wasn't a chance she was going to fall back asleep. This one had been too real.

She quietly pulled back the covers, tied her hair up into a messy bun, found her iPod, and quietly opened the door of her room. Without turning on any lights, she silently padded down the hallway. As she passed by Steve's door to the stairway his sleepy voice broke the silence, "You okay?"

She whispered back, hoping not to wake Deb or Mary, "Yeah, go back to sleep."

She heard him lower his head back to his pillow and she nimbly maneuvered the stairs in the dark. Once she was in the kitchen, she turned the light on above the stove and started the electric teapot. As the water warmed, she quietly collected all the ingredients for cinnamon rolls and went to work. She would work out her frustrations on the dough.

#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#

One of the side effects of age is requiring less sleep. Deb had been awake since 3:00, but that was partly because of the time zone change. She had turned on the lamp next to her bed, picked up her current paperback, and just read while the rest of the house slept.

Deb heard the young girl gasp through the paper-thin walls and then she heard her fall back onto the mattress. Things were silent afterwards. Deb imagined after everything she had been told and overheard about the young woman's most recent experience, sleep did not come easily to her.

She continued to read her book and eventually she heard movement in the room next door. She could tell Azucena was trying her hardest to be quiet and honestly, Deb wouldn't have heard her if she had been asleep. She heard the bedroom door open. Deb knew Steve would hear her movements, the young man could hear a pin drop at a monster truck rally. Deb went back to her book, but kept her ears open.

#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#

She left the pan holding the cinnamon rolls on the island, allowing them to rise. She took her second cup of tea and quietly wandered down to the chairs by the beach. It was still dark out, but the rays of the sun were just starting to peak over the water on the horizon. Azucena curled up in one of the chairs, her legs pulled up under her and her hands clutching the tea to her chest. This had become her morning routine over the past few weeks.

She closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh, salty air. Working with the dough had calmed her; she could feel the need for sleep clawing at the back of her mind. She let the sound of the wind through the trees and the lapping of the waves along the shore relax her. Estoy segura.

#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#

Deb stood at the kitchen window waiting for the coffee to finish brewing, when she heard Steve's footfalls on the stairs. He appeared in his swim trunks with a towel, "Good morning Steven."

"Morning Aunt Deb." He walked over and kissed her on the cheek, "She down on the beach?"

"Yeah, curled up in a position I wouldn't exactly describe as comfortable."

"I swear the kid is a contortionist." Responded Steve, as he pulled two coffee mugs down from the cabinets. He placed them in front of the coffee pot and waited.

"She doesn't sleep well, does she?"

"No, not after everything she went through."

"What about you? You witnessed it. How are you sleeping?"

He was uncomfortable sharing details of everything with Aunt Deb, she wore her heart on her sleeve and she would worry, "I'm doing better. Occasionally, I will have an off night and it all floods my dreams and I wake up in a cold sweat. I haven't had one of those nights in a while."

"Do you guys talk about it?"

"The dreams or what happened?" questioned Steve.

"Both."

"In the beginning, she would wake up screaming from the dreams. The terror that ran through her body was real. Her teeth would chatter, she would shake, and she couldn't catch her breath. We talked about the dreams then, both of us." Steve reflected, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Most nights, she doesn't wake up screaming anymore. She either sleeps the night through or she wakes herself up. She doesn't really talk about what happened, she's pushing it away. It's not healthy, but I can understand it. She is shutting it down and locking it away."

"It's eventually going to resurface if she doesn't deal with it." Offered Deb.

"I know that, and you know that, but you can't make someone talk about something they don't want to."

"Very true." Responded Deb, as the coffee finished brewing. Steve poured two cups and handed one to Deb. They both walked down towards the beach; Steve intentionally shuffled his feet. Deb looked over at him and then realized he was doing it so he wouldn't startle Azucena.

"Morning" Steve hollered in her direction. Her body twitched, and she began to stretch towards the sky with one arm. He realized he had woken her.

"Good morning." Azucena called over her shoulder. She switched her teacup to her other hand and stretched the newly freed arm to the sky. Deb took a seat in the chair next to Azucena. Steve draped his towel over the corner of Azucena's chair. "Wanna go for a run with me when I get done swimming?"

"Yeah." She yawned, "That would be nice."

Steve waded into the water and took off. Deb looked over to the young woman, "Did you make those cinnamon rolls rising on the counter?"

"Yes Ma'am." Answered Azucena, she sipped her lukewarm tea.

"Is there anything you can't make?" asked Deb, genuinely interested in the young woman's talents.

"Beans and rice."

"What?" questioned Deb.

"My mom would make beans and rice when I was a kid. It was a comfort food. It's not like it is some fancy dish to make, but I can't make it like she could. Every time I make it, it's missing something. I have tinkered with it for years and I can't get the recipe right." Shared Azucena. She was surprised with herself, she didn't expect to be that honest with Deb. However, it just came out and she couldn't stop it.

"You miss her." Stated Deb.

"No more than Steve or Mary, I suppose; but yeah, I do." She paused, and then she looked over to Deb and asked in a soft voice, "What was my dad like?"

Deb paused, she missed her brother. He would have been over the moon to find out he had another daughter. "John was a wonderful man. He wore his heart on his sleeve and he was just a genuinely nice person. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it."

"Did he always want to be a cop?"

"Yes, he always wanted to make sure the world was a safe place."

"Was he older than you or younger?"

"He was the oldest and he was fiercely protective of me." She paused, and shared an observation, "Just like I see how protective Steve is of you."

"Steve is a good man."

"He is worried about you." Pushed Deb.

"I worry about him." she shared, the honesty flowing out of her. "What WoFat did to me was terrible, but Steve had to witness it. I don't think anything could be worse than that."

"I think you both went through a horrific ordeal and the road to recovery will be a long one for the both of you." Deb paused, she reached her hand out to the young woman's arm and gently held her arm. "Please take care of each other and don't be afraid to talk about it. You both won't get better until you address it."

Azucena didn't know what to say. She placed her hand over Deb's and softly said, "Thank you."