"Mal?" Evie spoke softly into the quiet room. She didn't approach her friend in fear of making the situation worse and because her mind was in shock over the new information.

Mal's wild eyes met Evie's but she couldn't focus on anything other than her nightmare. She was frozen in the world just as she had been that night.

"Come on, you need to breathe." Evie could see the beginning of a full blown panic attack starting. She walked slowly in Mal's direction. She had both hands out in front of her to make sure Mal could see them. Her heart broke when she realized all the steps she had to take to not scare the girl in front of her, but she would do it for the rest of her life if it meant Mal would feel safe.

"I'm going to grab your right hand." Evie always spoke before she touched Mal. She didn't want to lose her farther into the haze. "I'm not going to hurt you." She could feel the tension in the muscles of her friend's hand and quickly reassured her. She squeezed it gently and brought it to her chest. "Follow my breathing. In and out." She instructed gently.

"E?" Mal's voice was hoarse.

Evie exhaled in relief and felt all the energy leave her body. She flopped down on the bed as graceful as she could.

"Do you need anything?" Evie put Mal's needs over her own. It was easier to pretend everything in her life was okay if she focused on someone else.

"No," Mal looked down at the blanket. She hated the mess her life had become.

"Mal, you mentioned something while you were sleeping. I need to know if it's true." Evie knew that she was walking herself in dangerous territory but her mind wouldn't let her forget it.

Mal looked up slightly frightened at what she would've said. "Please." She shut her eyes to fight off remembering her nightmare.

"Just this one question and then we can forget about it and do what you want." Evie compromised. Her mind wouldn't focus on anything other than the one name. She took a deep breath when Mal nodded. "You said Patrick in your sleep. Patchy's son? It was him, wasn't it?"

Mal's eyes went wide and she started to hyperventilate. She had purposely left out the name of her attacker because she thought admitting it would mean that she wasn't forgetting it ever happened. "E, please." She begged again.

"Just nod your head." Evie coaxed again. She knew the answer, but until it was confirmed, her mind could convince her she was wrong.

Mal took a steadying breath and closed her eyes so she didn't have to see Evie's reaction. She was already filled with shame at not being able to stop him. She couldn't deal with Evie's look of disgust at her. She nodded her head slightly and hunched over into herself.

"Mal, look at me please." Evie wanted to, no, she needed to reassure Mal that everything was safe here. She knew on the Isle, admitting someone had gotten the upper hand meant danger lurking around. She knew that overpowering the daughter of the Mistress of All Evil would cause Mal's life to be in danger.

Mal refused to open her eyes. She knew it was more than likely going to cause her to see a flashback in her mind, but she had already dealt with one of the worst things in this world, she never dealt with the disappointment of her best friend.

"Mal, you are so strong." Evie knew what Mal had on her mind. She didn't think of Mal as a disappointment. She wanted to praise her for living through that, getting pregnant as a result, and handling everything with moving to a city that has a vendetta against the kids of the Isle because of their parents.

"You have proven yourself strong so many times in your life. Do you remember when you got the paints and Maleficent kept you hidden for days? Do you remember sneaking out because Carlos needed some help with his chores and you missed your training to be like Maleficent? Do you remember the time Jafar got so mad at Jay for not stealing something of value and you stole something from your mother so he wouldn't get a worse beating than he was already going to get? Do you remember all the times you were there for me? All of the food you have given me through the tower window because Evil Queen withheld food from me had been my lifeline. The fabric you have gotten so that I could make clothes was the best part of being on that hellhole of an island." Evie tried to get Mal out of her own head. She knew a mental collapse in itself would be more detrimental to the situation that was already delicate.

"I was walking back from the pirate's territory. I was in my own world. I didn't hear him. It was too late when my brain caught up with what was happening it was too late. He already had the knife at my neck. I tried to fight him off as best as I could, but it was useless. Every time I tried to twist away, he dug the knife in a little further. He already had me at his mercy but then he mentioned hurting…" Mal stopped. She didn't want Evie to have any reason to blame herself. It was only her fault. She was distracted in enemy territory. She could've fought harder. She should've…

Mal's eyes flew open when she heard a slight shuffling from across the room. Her eyes were wild with fear and her body was shaking when she saw someone else in the room. She turned back to Evie in betrayal. She had just admitted her attacker for the first time since it happened.

"Mal please let me explain!" Evie could see the wheels turning in her head. She could practically see the mask Mal put on when she was protecting herself. "Do you remember trying to strangle Ben?" She knew there was no way to get her to see anything different once she had her mind made up.

Mal flicked her eyes to Ben in confusion. She really needed to stop compartmentalizing to the point of forgetting moments of time completely. She shook her head.

"You had a terror and thought that Ben was a threat. You started to choke him. I had to pry you off of him and when you realized what you had done, you thought you were just like Maleficent. After you went back to sleep, I went to find Ben and explain the situation as best I could." Evie left out the part where she told Ben about the assault.

"I'm okay." Ben offered when Mal looked at him in terror. He didn't want to cause her anymore problems, especially after spending so much time judging her for not telling the father. "I wanted to make sure you are okay." He didn't mention hearing anything.

"He's leaving," Evie didn't want to risk Ben slipping up and she couldn't lie to Mal if she asked. "Aren't you, Ben?" She pointed the last part at Ben.

Ben rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't want to leave but he didn't want to make Mal uncomfortable. "Actually, can I stay for a little bit?" He avoided Evie's glare and stared in Mal's eyes.

"I…" Mal didn't know what to say. She didn't want anyone in her face, but if she had choked him, she didn't want to ruin her chances of staying.

"Mal, it's okay. He has an important meeting to get to." Evie pointed her eyes at the back of Ben's head. They had an agreement and here he was not following it.

"She's right. I have an important thing to discuss with my guards about arresting a Patrick from the Isle."