Grace was relieved when she saw Oliver's car return. She hadn't left the window since breakfast. Annie was due home from school within the next couple of hours and she held her breath hoping Oliver would return before then. Still, she waited even once the car was parked to see if he would come upstairs. Lack of energy returned and she had little intention of leaving the room today. The other part of it was the fear of finding out what Oliver had done to Victor — and then what he'd do to her. As gentle as he'd been with her overnight, she didn't trust his temper wouldn't turn.

To both her relief and chagrin, she indeed heard Oliver's footsteps coming toward their room. Nerves got the better of her. With one leap she moved to the bed and pulled the blankets up to her shoulders. Facing the wall, she wasn't able to see his expression when he opened the door. Judging by his heavy steps and loud breathing, she knew he was in a bad mood.

He came around to her side of the bed, pushing her legs back to sit next to her on the edge.

"Grace?" he said softly, taking her hand. "Wake up."

She fluttered her eyes, hoping the tears that had formed would be blinked back in the process. "Where were you?"

"You know where I was," he said.

"Okay…" She sat up a bit, feigning fogginess. "What happened?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"… Do I?"

Standing again, beginning to pace, Oliver said, "I didn't hurt him. Lord, help me, I wanted to maim him."

Grace's voice shook as she asked, "What did you do?"

Anger became evident in his voice. "I warned him to keep the hell away from you."

"Good."

She watched him pace for a few minutes, not daring to say anything else. She knew she was lucky to have made it this far, although she feared the moment he would inevitably explode. When it came down to it, Victor was not at fault. Only for perpetuating it. In good conscience, she couldn't let him go on blaming Victor for the whole. What's more, he couldn't go on ignoring the fact.

"I want to apologize for my part in all of this. I'd love to tell you he forced himself on me but I can't."

After several seconds, Oliver said without looking at her, "Grace..."

When he failed to continue, she asked, "What is it?"

"There's something I need to know."

"... Yes?"

"Was it... just the one time. I mean, with him or anyone else."

"Yes. I told you. And I promise you."

"Good," he said, though apprehension was evident in his voice.

Grace sighed, forcing herself to keep her composure. "I don't expect you to take my word for anything right now. I know I've hurt you and seeing you like this pains me."

Oliver shrugged, his back still to her. "I had it coming. I've certainly hurt you enough the last couple of years. I deserve it."

"No," she said as she sat up. Cautiously, she rested one of her hands on his shoulder. "You don't. It didn't solve anything, just made it worse."

"But that's just it. It made everything better."

"I beg your pardon?"

Finally turning his head, he said, "Obviously it helped you… or something. What I mean is, we've been working things out, more or less. I feel we have. Maybe it isn't perfect but it's better. How can I deny Victor's role in this?"

"Listen to me, Oliver," Grace said, sitting next to him now. "The only thing Victor succeeded in doing was making me sick with guilt. Annie is the reason we're working things out. Don't let me get away with this."

"I'm not."

"It certainly feels like it. You've hardly yelled at me, you had me here with you all night, you told off Victor, and now you're telling me you're the one at fault."

He looked away without responding.

"I need you to be honest with me. I need you to tell me how angry you are and I need you to tell me where I stand in this house. It's foolish to go on pretending. It's not fair to either of us and especially not Annie."

"I am angry. I'm angry at myself. I drove you away. I pushed and pushed. Even wondered sometimes why you hadn't found someone else. The more I think about it the more I feel like I've been waiting for this day. Damn it, I don't know! Nothing is clear right now."

"Well…" Grace said quietly. "I can't rush you, then. But we can't pretend everything is okay. I'm not saying we need to tell Annie all that's happened. She knows enough. But we can't go on as though nothing happened."

"Are you saying you want to leave?"

"No, of course not."

"Then why are you pressing the issue?" Oliver questioned.

"Because I'm terrified things will go back to how they were. I can't do it again, Oliver, I can't. It was too much. As much as I feel it's what I deserve now, I also know I'm going to crumble under the stress of our constant arguing. I love you and I can't stand what we've become."

"… I love you, too, Grace. Really, I do. That's one thing I do know."

These were the words that broke her down. She clung to him as she pleaded, "You do?"

Catching her, he said, "I don't think all of this would be bothering me if it didn't. I… I don't want you to leave. I want to fix this."

"You do?" she cried again.

"I do."

"I don't deserve you," she said into his shirt. "I was sure this would be the end."

"I've surprised myself if I'm being honest. But I'm realizing how close I came to losing you for good. I don't want that to happen. I don't know what I would do without you. I was a damned fool to push you away Victor or no Victor. I wish I could explain myself."

"Forget it. At least for now," Grace said as she sat up. "All that's happened… it happened. Neither of us can undo what we said or did. I have my regrets and you have yours. We need to put our energy into figuring out how to go on from here."

"I agree," he said, taking hold of her hand.

"Most importantly, what do you propose we do about Annie? We've put her through absolute hell."

"I wish I knew."

"I know I'll need to talk to her again if she will speak to me at all. You've been more forgiving than she has."

"Do you want me to talk to her about it?"

After a pause, Grace answered, "I don't know. It will have to be you if she won't have a word with me. I haven't a clue where to begin. Gosh, how did I get myself into this mess?"

"How did any of this happen?" Oliver replied, unable to contain the bitterness in his tone.

"We've been selfish."

"I should never have gotten married," Oliver said as he stood. "And I don't mean I never should have married you. I mean I never should have allowed myself to fall for you or anyone. It's like I said a while back. I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Business? Business I know. There isn't anything I can't fix."

Grace remained seated. "We were happy for a while, weren't we?" she said. "In the beginning?"

"In the beginning," he repeated.

"Let's try to get those days back… Annie is growing up so fast and we've missed the last year, probably more, because we were too busy with ourselves. I don't want to miss anymore."

"Neither do I," he agreed. "Sometimes I look at her and I don't believe it's Annie."

With a sniff, Grace nodded. "I know what you mean."

"I don't know how but we'll make it up to her."

Again, she nodded. "Did she say anything at breakfast about her after school plans?"

"I didn't see her," Oliver answered. "I was on a mission."

"I might try and meet her there. It gives me a fighting chance for a conversation."

"Good idea. Then I'll talk to her tonight. Assure her everything is fine between you and me."

"… Is it fine?"

Taking a long deep breath, Oliver reached for then lit a cigar. After the first puff, he answered, "We will be. Eventually. We have to be."

Grace stood, walking over to where he was standing in front of the window and put his arm around her. "Do you think we can?"

After several seconds, he said, "God, I hope so."

With that, they stood in the silence that filled the room. Not necessarily uncomfortable, although it was ambiguous. They kept their focus on what was going on outside. Squirrels scavenging, the reflection of the sun catching on cars driving down Fifth Avenue a short distance away. Time stood still for a moment inside the house while the rest of the world carried on with theirs. While it was easy to speak of change, the process of getting there scared them. Everything was at stake with little room left for error.

If only someone could tell them where they were supposed to start, each of them thought in their own way. That would make a world of difference. Alas, they were on their own.