On Monday, Abby went back to work as usual. She did, however, keep an eye on the traffic around her but she didn't spot Rick anywhere. He knew where she worked so it would be rather pointless to follow her there but she just couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling.

After what had happened last week, everybody had agreed that Abby shouldn't go to viewings alone any longer. She didn't like it but she had to admit that she felt better knowing that she wouldn't have to face Rick alone in case he showed up again.

When she came into the office, Karen wasn't in and the whole office just felt too big and too empty. It was rather big for two people to begin with, it was just huge for one person alone. At least today it felt like that. Abby put her purse in her chair and went to get the coffee maker going. She opened the cupboard and reached for the coffee but her hand closed around thin air. She had been on autopilot but now Abby paused to actually look into the cupboard. The can with the coffee was there but pushed all the way to the back.

"How did that happen?" Abby wondered. She had to go up to her toes and was still barely able to reach the can. Last week she had been here with Erica but for the life of her, she couldn't remember if she had put the can back herself or if Erica had done that. Was Erica even tall enough to put it in the back like that? And why would she do that? It didn't make sense.

Abby did start the coffee maker but while it was doing its thing, she went through the whole office with her pepper spray in hand. If somebody saw her, they would be laughing at how paranoid she was but on the other hand, it wouldn't be paranoia if somebody was here to witness her, right?

She was alone. Nobody was hiding in the bathroom or the small storage room they had in the back. She had even checked under Karen's desk.

There was nobody in the office and so far she hadn't found anything else out of the ordinary. So maybe it had been Erica who had put the can back into the cupboard. With a little to much force and it had slid to the back. Maybe.

Still with an uneasy feeling in her stomach, Abby took her cup of coffee to her desk and started the computer.

Usually, she enjoyed the quiet. It helped her to get some work done but today, the silence was unnerving. Abby couldn't focus on the screen and by now she had read this email at least three times and still didn't have a clue what it was saying.

Today Stiles would be the one to keep her company over her lunch break and after that, she had a viewing scheduled. She had half a mind to call Stiles if he could come by early. But that would be silly. Everything was fine. But still, she couldn't get that stupid can of coffee out of her mind. What if Rick had been here? It was still a miracle how he'd managed to show up at the viewing the other day but there had been no forced entry, neither last week nor today, she had just checked. The door had been locked, she had opened it with her key like usual.

Everything was fine.

Except that it wasn't.

With a frustrated sigh, Abby pushed her chair away from her desk. This was going nowhere.

When the phone rang, she yelped and almost fell out of her chair.

"Dammit." Abby cursed but got herself under control quickly enough to answer the call.

"You're in, good," said a female voice at the other end but it took Abby a moment to recognize it as Karen's. "Would have bet money that you would be late again."

"Hello to you too," Abby said with sarcasm dripping off her voice. "I was wondering when you'd be back, your clients are asking for you."

"I won't be back," Karen stated as if Abby should have known that little fact. "I handed in my two weeks notice last week. The incident with your client …" She emphasized that word as if it was something dirty. "Showed me that I can't take abuse like that any longer. I was thinking about it for a while now and that was the last straw."

"Oh, okay." Abby didn't know what to say to that. Derek hadn't even talked to her. He'd just stood there and had stared her down. If that counted as abuse Abby had to wonder about the clients Karen had been working with. Sure, she liked to pick the good ones for herself but Abby had encountered rude clients more often than she cared to count. She had been yelled at and insulted, some had even slapped her butt or had tried to grope her. Not that often, maybe she had been lucky but it did happen. Thinking back Abby should have bought that pepper spray ages ago but so far she had been able to handle situations like that without things like pepper spray.

"I was just wondering if you would be in around noon?" Karen continued.

"I have a viewing at two but I'll be here until then. Why?"

"I just want to come in and get my things. I was on sick leave last week and I'm going to use up my vacation days this week so I won't be in again. Why not get my stuff now?" She was talking as if that idea was a genius move but Abby just rolled her eyes.

"I meant why I have to be here when you get your things?"

"Oh, I don't have a key."

"Why did you hand over your key before you got your stuff?" Abby wondered but couldn't help the dread pooling in her guts. Where was that key now?

"I was out shopping the other day when somebody just ambushed me from behind. He took my purse and ran off." Karen told the story as if she was telling it at a cocktail party. "Do you know what a hassle it was to cancel all my credit cards?"

"I can imagine," Abby said in a toneless voice. Suddenly, she felt numb all over. "And your key to the office was in there as well?"

"Yes. Along with my keys for the house and the car. I had to wait for almost two hours until Terry came out to unlock my car. I'm using the spare key right now. And we have to get a new set of keys for the house, it's a nightmare."

"Did you tell corporate that you lost your key?"

"I didn't lose it, it got stolen," Karen corrected her. "And why bother? I quit and there was nothing in my purse indicating where I work. I bet the thief just took the money and threw away the rest."

Abby highly doubted that this had just been ordinary theft. It was too much of a coincidence. The thief hadn't been after the money, he had been after the key. And he'd gotten it.

Rick had a key to the office and he'd used it. Abby just knew. Whatever Karen was talking about right now it washed right over her and when Karen once again asked if she would be in around noon, Abby just confirmed it again. Karen ended the call way too cheerfully and then Abby just sat there.

The office wasn't safe. It should be safe but it wasn't, not any longer. Abby had accepted that she couldn't go home, that she couldn't just walk around outside but this office was supposed to be safe.

It wasn't.

Without even thinking Abby reached for her phone.

"Rick has a key to the office," she said the second Lydia picked up.

"What?" Lydia barked out. "Give me a second."

Distantly Abby heard other voices and Lydia saying that she needed to take this but when she was back, all the background noises were gone.

"Where are you?" Lydia asked. Abby almost cried in relief that there was not a hint of doubt in her voice, she didn't even ask if Abby was sure and how it was even possible for Rick to have a key. Lydia just took it as a fact and worked with that.

"In the office," Abby confirmed. "I doubt he's going to come in while I'm here." He hadn't before, why should he now? On the other hand, if he wanted to catch her alone, this was his best chance.

"Stiles was supposed to come over for lunch, right?" Lydia was already calculating something in her head. "I'll call him, he or Derek will be there as quickly as possible."

"You don't have to …," Abby started but she couldn't deny that she didn't want to be alone here ever again. How could she have been this stupid?

"Don't worry about that, we're all here for you," Lydia assured her and it did help. "Okay, what happened?"

Abby told her what she'd just heard from Karen. Spoken out loud it sounded ridiculous. Karen's purse got stolen, there was no reason to believe that it had been Rick. It could just be coincidence. But he had been at the viewing and there was still that damn can of coffee.

"I would say lock the door but there's no point in that, isn't it?" Lydia joked and it did tickle a chuckle out of Abby. "Hold up there, somebody will be with you in no time. And when we get home, we're going to think of something."

Stiles was there half an hour later. He had confirmed that he was on his way only minutes after Abby had ended her call with Lydia but Abby only breathed easier when Stiles texted her that he was there. The entrance had three steps and no ramp so Abby went outside to help him up those stairs.

"If you ever get your own office, make sure that it's wheelchair friendly," Stiles greeted her when she came outside. There were only three steps which she took multiple times a day without even thinking and here was Stiles who needed her help to get over them.

"Tell me what to do." Abby tried to sound confident but she had no idea how to help Stiles here. She didn't want to jostle him around or even throw him out of his chair. Plus, his bad day was still fresh on her mind, she didn't want to cause another episode.

Stiles turned around so that his back wheels were touching the first step.

"Grab my handles and help me to tilt," he instructed her.

She had seen him balancing on his back wheels often but when she grabbed the handles now, she was convinced that he would lose his balance and just fall out of his chair. She had no idea what to do then.

They did manage to get up those three steps but Abby was just glad that they had made it in one piece. Stiles had helped quite a lot, she had barely done anything.

"You could have done it on your own, couldn't you?" Abby held the door open for him but she knew that he could manage doors without a problem.

"Took your mind off other things." Stiles threw her a grin when he rolled past her. "Your steps have a good height for me, I can almost just roll over them. I do need help with steeper ones."

"You're a bastard, you know that?"

"It's been said." Stiles shrugged.

Back in the office, Abby wasn't sure what to do next. It was still fairly early in the morning and she had work to do but with Stiles around it felt wrong to just go back to work.

"Don't worry about me, I brought my laptop, I can occupy myself." He had a look around the office. "That Karen's desk?" He pointed at the one not in use right now.

"Yes, at least until she clears it out. She quit."

"Lydia mentioned something like that." Stiles pushed Karen's chair aside and put a flat bag on the desk, his laptop, Abby assumed. "And that Rick got her key."

"Yeah." Abby went over to the kitchen, she needed more coffee for this. "I think that he's been in here. Went through my schedule. Coffee?"

"Always."

Abby had another look around the office. Even with Stiles around it felt empty. And for sure it was not a place she felt comfortable at any longer. Maybe it was time for a change.