"NIKOLAS!" Elizabeth screamed, willing him to wake up. He had hit his head very hard on the cement floor, and a nice bruise was already forming on his left eye. What frightened her most was that she was all alone to deal with Tom.

"I think he's out of sorts right now," Tom told her. He moved closer to her and she cringed. "Hey, now that's not nice. Why can't we all just get along?"

"Go to hell," Elizabeth said as she gave him the best glare she could muster. Nikolas was right; she had to fight. She would not let Tom get to her again. She just wouldn't allow it. For Lucky, she told herself. In memory of Lucky I will not let him do this to me.

Tom definitely had other plans. He was an inch away from her face and she was up against the wall. Instead of letting him force her to the ground, Elizabeth stood up and kneed him right where it hurt men the most.

Tom doubled over in pain, wincing and screaming like a girl. "You're gonna pay for that you bitch!" he yelled at her through his anguished shrieks. "You will regret this," he warned her as he made his way upstairs.

Elizabeth looked down at Nikolas, who was starting to stir. She had won. For now. At what cost had her victory in this battle come?

***********

"You're still here," Jamal commented as he entered the bike shop and found his best friend working on a customer's bike.

"Yeah, I had nothing else to do, so I thought I would finish up this bike," Jack replied.

"It doesn't have to be done until tomorrow."

"Well it would be one less thing I have to worry about tomorrow."

Jamal stared at Jack suspiciously. Finally he grabbed the wrench from Jack's hand. "What is up with you?"

"What, can't a guy work late for no good reason without his best friend getting all over him about it?"

"No," came the simple reply. "Look, man, stop pretending with me. I know you miss Livvie. Just like I miss Ali."

Jack snatched his wrench back and looked up at Jamal. "It's completely different, Jamal."

"No, it's the exact same thing."

"No, it's not, and I'm not going to fight with you about it."

"That's cool with me, we don't have to fight. But it's still the same thing."

"No. You have a chance with Alison, okay? She still thinks of you as one of her best friends, and she even told you that a part of her would always love you. Right now she is hurting because of Rafe, but when she gets past that, and she will, she will realize that it has been you all along. And Livvie? She's married to Rafe, she's pregnant with his child, but she still hopes that one day, we can be friends."

"You deserve better than that, bro."

"Well that's all I'm getting."

"Look, forget about this bike okay, you can finish it up tomorrow. Why don't we go down to the Recovery Room and join Ian and Frank in a round or something? We can all be miserable bachelors together."

Jack sighed and shook his head. "You are the most stubborn person I have ever met."

"Yeah, next to you."

Jack chuckled as he grabbed his coat and followed Jamal out the door. Thank God for small favors.

******

It just wasn't fair. She had waited so long for Rafe to come back to her. The time she waited felt like eternity. And now, here she was- Rafe finally home to here. Yet she didn't remember who he was. On top of that, he was with Livvie Lockhart, her former best friend and current worst enemy.

She sighed in frustration as she thought of the night before in the recovery room. She had had a huge headache after the fight last night, that all she wanted was to be alone afterwards. Jamal had been extremely nice after the fight. She had wanted to be alone, to think about Rafe, and he understood. He offered to walk her home, but she insisted on not going there. He then offered to take her to dinner, to a movie, anywhere to get her mind of off Rafe. She had politely turned him down, telling him she wanted to think about Rafe, alone. He respected her desires and did so.

How in the world had her life gotten so screwed up? Just a few months ago, it was perfect. Absolutely perfect. It was like heaven. She had fallen in love with an angel. They had gotten married. They made love. They were always together, happy. They were very happy back then. Rafe had not wanted to leave her, had not wanted to go back to heaven.

He wanted to stay down here on earth with her. Reluctantly, his wishes weren't granted then, so he had to go back up and leave her alone down her. She had been miserable without him. Yet suddenly, there he was, in her hospital room. He had woken her up with a kiss. The sweetest kiss of her life, it had been. Her Rafe had returned to her. She had gotten so excited that day, amazed that the moment she had been waiting for actually happened. But then, everything crumbled after that. Rafe had returned, but he didn't remember her. That was so puzzling to her. What had caused Rafe's memory to disappear? He did come back for her, he just didn't know it. What was it she had to do in order to get those memories back? She absolutely couldn't stand the fact that he was back here, and he couldn't remember. She was dying to know what happened to him. How he had returned to her. If only she could tell him, that he was an angel. She wondered if that bit of information would help trigger something. He would probably think she was crazy. She just didn't understand how he was here, but not with her, with Livvie. And now, to make things worse, Livvie was probably pregnant with Rafe's child. How much worse would things get before they got better? If ever?

It was then it happened. Suddenly, she was ripped off the bench she had been sitting on by a strong hand. She screamed, her entire body absolutely terrified. Her scream was silenced, as the firm hand covered her mouth, muffling her. She cried silently inside. She was thrust fiercely off the bench, and tossed violently onto the ground. Her head hit the hard cement below her. For a few moments, she was in a state a shock, but she immediately struggled to get back on her feet- desperately. She had to get away... but the man behind her stopped her, quickly. He grabbed her, seizing her tightly. Her head was spinning wildly, and she felt horribly sick inside. Sheer terror ran through her entire body, as she felt her clothes getting ripped off her wildly. He had her pinned against him, and he started kissing her body hungrily. She screamed silently in absolute fear. Her body was shaking, and her heart was pounding louder then ever before. She tried to scream for help, and struggled to get away, yet it was all impossible. She shuttered as she felt his drunken breath press against hers. She struggled, and struggled, yet he seemed to be overpowering her, she felt a tear in her dress, as he pushed her back down to the ground, she hit hard, and her head pounded wildly. She layed there, helpless inside and out as he started caressing her, kissing her violently. There was nothing she could do, absolutely nothing.

And suddenly, she felt a huge weight get lifted from above her. She laid there paralyzed for a few moments, in absolute shock. Her body was numb, and she was to terrified to move. Someone grabbed her, suddenly, and she shrieked as loud as she could. She started hitting him, her eyes wide with fear, she clawed at him, desperate to get away from him.

"Allison!" Rafe cried, he shook her gently, "Allison, it's me- I'm here. He's gone, Allison!" he was trying to get through to her. She looked up at him, in shock.