"Chris, wake up, please,"Chris heard a shaken voice say. He opened his eyes and saw Stephanie standing over him. There was a heavy pounding at the door, and he flicked a lamp on. The younger female was shaking with fear, one arm wrapped around her ribs to minimize the pain.

"Whats wrong Steph?" He asked, sitting up in bed, and motioning her to sit down next to him, as he moved over.

"Hunter's here......it's him pounding at the door, please Chris, don't let him hurt me," Stephanie begged him.

"Hey, it's okay, just stay here, i'll be back in a minute," Chris walked out of the room and opened the door, to see Hunter, drenched with rain, and really pissed off. In the blink of an eye, he rammed past Chris, and strode into his wife's room. Chris took the oppourtunity to get him before he found Stephanie in his room, and caught him from behind with a heavy blow to the head, and pulled a gun on him that he carried for protection after what had happened a few days ago.

"You get the fuck away from this house and stay away from this house, or i'll put a fucking bullet through your head," Chris fumed, shaking with anger. Hunter backed away from him, and reluctantly left the property, before turning to face Chris.

"You just wait. Once your little holiday is finished, and she comes back home, she'll be coming back to me, and i'll make sure of it, and the more stuff she tells you, the worse im going to abuse her, and i've got Vince wrapped around my little finger, so he'll belive me when I say I would never hurt her."

Chris turned around and bolted the door tightly, walking back to his room to find Stephanie wrapped in the blankets, shaking violently. Hunter had come so close to hurting her again, and she was scared to death. She flinched as Chris lay a hand on her shoulder, and he pulled it away, trying not to frighten her any more than she was at the moment.

"You want to go back to bed and get some sleep before tommorow??" He asked cautiously.

Stephanie shook her head, and he sat down next to her.

"Hunter might come back..........he might get in through the window, he's so mad he would kill me right about now," She said quietly.

"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" He questioned, and she nodded tiredly, lying down on the bed. Chris turned out the lamp, and gently pulled the covers over both of them. After a little while, neither of them had fallen asleep, and Stephanie kept moving, trying to get comfortable. Chris shyly slid his hand over her side, pulling her against him until her felt her back against his chest, and he rested his hand on her stomach. She snuggled into his embrace, and both of them fell asleep minutes later.