The presumption that she was pregnant, changed everything.

It was no longer her own life and that of Kip that were at stake, but also that of the little boy or girl that was growing inside her. By now a small bump was palpable, but she knew she was the only one who would notice that.

Still it was just a matter of time before Maddox would find out about it and Dana knew she had to decrease the distance between them that he permitted with grinding teeth by now. She had to do it for her little one. She had to please Maddox, had to keep him satisfied. The idea that she would have to allow him to touch her again, made her feel sick, but she tried to convince herself that she would do it to protect her unborn child. She would consider herself as a prostitute; someone renting her body to survive. After all, that was what she was doing. And if others could endure such horror, why wouldn't she?

Maddox and she had to start over – and this time for real. Up to now there had only been small touches and whispered words, but Dana had to give him more. She had to convince him that she loved him – and she really thought she could succeed as long as she wasn't reminding him of Juice. Maddox lived inside a web of lies he had created himself, really believing that what he felt for her, was love. She had to use that while he was using her – it was the only way to find out where they were and how they could get away. For two months she had kept her distance, had she pretended to deal with things and now it was time for a change. The thought that she was the one having a plan now, that she was controlling this, gave her the strength to pull through.

Dana walked to his office. The dinners were always very tensed and she was afraid that she would back down if she waited until it was over. However, how he would react as she disturbed him now, was hard to tell. After all this time she still had no clue how he was making all this big money and what he was doing behind that desk.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. While waiting until his footsteps neared, she wondered if she should stare shyly at the ground or that she should look him right in the eye. In the end she chose the last option; she didn't want to create the impression that she was playing with him, even though he should know that deep down.

The door opened. His face had an annoyed expression because she had interrupted his activities, but as soon as he saw her, the look in his eyes became softer.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," she hesitated. Still a bit nervous, she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. "I wondered... if you would like to take a walk with me?"

His shoulders tensed, she could feel his suspicion. Her heartbeat increased, her hands became clammy. Was she doing the wrong thing?

"Okay," he said shortly, with less enthusiasm than she had expected. A shiver crept through her body and she took a step backwards. Maybe this hadn't been a good timing at all.

Maddox closed the door of his office, locked it and put away the key. Snooping around in his room was still something she planned to do, but she was afraid she would only get once chance and before she could catch the key, he had to trust her more than he did now.

Without saying anything, they walked outside, to the border of the island where the coastline was interrupted by a rocky beach. The wind blew her hair around her head, but it wasn't so windy they wouldn't be able to talk.

"I wanted to thank you," she said after a while. She didn't dare to look at him and stared at the sand below her as she walked on. "For giving me space to deal with things. For not... for not forcing me into things." It was hard to let these words slip her lips. There wasn't much left of her ego, but claiming that she was him grateful, was still a big step.

Maddox stood still, holding out his hand so he touched her side. She stood still as well.

"I still regret it, Dana, how I treated you." His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "I don't know how to fix things between us. But when you told me you no longer loved me... something dark awakened inside me. Something your love had always suppressed."

Dana looked up at him and saw that he meant every word he said. That was the tricky thing about Maddox; he had two faces. She hadn't realized that before, but right now it was clear as day.

"I shouldn't have told you that," she said quietly. "I should have given us another chance."

Something in Maddox's eyes changed. Relief, as if he had waited for months until she would admit this. His fingers were trembling as he moved his hand to her cheek and she breathed in sharply as the tips of his fingers caressed her skin.

"It's okay," he said. "We have another chance now, right?"

Dana shivered, but she kept looking at him. "Yeah..."

A smile crossed his lips. His thumb stroked her cheek and it took every ounce of will power not to turn her face away. She thought about the baby inside her that she had to protect and she dove into her memories to find the one where Juice had been caressing her like this. A pang of loss plagued her stomach and her eyes started to burn, but she blinked the tears away.

Come on. Now it's your turn.

A shaky sigh escaped her lips as she cupped his jaw with her hand. With her thumb she brushed his bottom lip. Maddox caught her glance. The insecurity she read in his eyes, confused her. Since the beginning of their relationship he had been confident – to the point of arrogance.

But she had bruised his ego, she had smashed it to pieces. Giving her a second chance was something he had never done before, with no one. He wanted this so badly that it made him feel insecure; not knowing what to expect from it.

"I missed you, Dana."

Again a shiver ran down her spine. It felt like she heard Juice's voice.

"I missed you too," she mumbled, and with her thoughts still with Juice she added: "I'm sorry I left."

Dana brought her face closer to Maddox's. Despite the many times she had kissed him, his lips didn't feel familiar. His tongue glided across her lip and despite the fact that she was cringing, she opened her mouth to let him in and kissed him back. It hurt, deep inside her. As if Juice's soul had been glued to hers and Maddox was ripping it away little by little, until he had completely claimed her again.

Until she had permitted him to reclaim her completely.