It was like a fog. Denser than any fog Lucy had ever seen. Black and cold. Moving through it, she knew she was about to be out of it. When she felt it getting lighter, she started to sit up.

Pain ran through her and she woke. As she did, Kevin's voice startled her. "Lucy?"

Wincing, she realized that she'd sat up in her sleep. Gripping his hand, she stopped moving. "I'm okay."

"Lay down."

Shaking her head slightly, she used his arm to pull herself to a sitting position. Taking as deep a breath as her ribs would allow, she looked around.

Kevin watched her as she completely woke and remembered where she was. And why.

Her left eye still didn't want to open, but her right eye met his for a moment. "Hurts."

"I know. Lie back down." Slowly, he moved to sit on the bed beside her. "Lucy, when you're ready, you.. there's .. the police need a statement."

Lucy sighed and closed her eyes. "I don't want to." Before Kevin could reply she continued. "I know I have to. I just don't want to."

Not sure how she was going to react, Kevin reached out and touched her face. At first she hesitated, but then she leaned her face into his hand. He caressed her cheek for a moment, then slid his hand into her hair.

"I want to take a shower." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she fought tears. "I need to take a shower."

Almost physically feeling her pain, Kevin closed his eyes for a moment. "Livvie's bringing you something to wear."

She began to squirm, pulling her hands away from him and hugging herself.

Kevin was watching her so intently, he almost didn't hear her.

"Is she okay? I know I really scared her."

"She's fine, Lucy. I spoke to her last night. She said she'd be here early."

Nodding slightly, she shivered. "I'm cold."

Pulling the blanket up to her, Kevin shifted so he was actually sitting behind her. The hospital gown she was wearing was open in the back and he could see bruises all the way down her back. He reached out to pull her into his arms, but she resisted.

"Don't. I.." Stopping, she started to cry. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." He leaned a little closer to her, but was careful to give her some room. "Don't apologize for how you feel. But you have to tell me, because I don't know what to do for you." He didn't move forward enough for her to look at him because he was afraid he'd cry if his eyes met hers. It was tearing him apart that she was in so much pain, and he couldn't do anything for her.

"I'm.. I'm cold. I want you to hold me, but...I don't want to be touched. I know it doesn't make sense."

"Yes, it does." Reaching to the chair, he took his jacket off the back of it and wrapped it around her. "Better?"

She nodded and pulled the jacket tightly around her. Before either of them could say anything, a soft tap on the door startled her. The door opened to reveal Detective Richards.

Kevin stood and looked at the detective for a moment before he turned to Lucy. "You can do this."

She reached for his hand and pulled him closer to her. Taking a deep breath, he looked in her eyes. "I can't stay."

"Doc.. I." Her eyes filled with tears and she looked so hurt it was all Kevin could do to not tell her everything. But he couldn't, and he knew it.

Squeezing her hands, he leaned over to kiss her head gently. "I can't stay, but I'll be right outside. Promise. I'll be back as soon as you're finished."

She nodded, and he gently pulled his hand from hers. As he passed the detective, she looked at him. "I want to talk to you, too."

Nodding, Kevin went out into the hallway.

Mac approached Kevin. "I've already called Dara. She's getting a judge to issue a warrant as soon as Lucy signs the statement."

"Mac," Kevin started at the door to Lucy's room. "We need to wait to see what Lucy wants. I mean, after she knows everything."

"You think she'd. what? Not press charges?"

Shaking his head, Kevin began to pace the hallway. "I'm not saying she won't. But it should be her decision."

For a moment, Mac just stared at Kevin. "Let me know after you talk to her."

Kevin was quiet for a moment, then he finally turned to Mac. "I'm just realizing how far this has gone. Mac, how do you think she's going to feel when she finds out how many people know about this? I mean, this is her life we're busy making these decisions about."

"Kevin, we all want to nail this guy for what he did to her."

"That my point, Mac! He did it to her. I think she should have some say in what comes next!"

Sighing, Mac nodded. "After she knows everything."

"Right. I've been telling her that I want to help her, but.."

"You do."

"I'm doing a great job, right? Lying to her-"

"Kevin, stop. You're protecting her."

"No, Mac. I'm not. I'm protecting myself, I'm protecting the hospital, I'm even protecting that son of a bitch. The one person I'm not doing a damn thing for is her!"

Mac wasn't sure if Kevin was going to go into a rage or start crying. So he moved closer to Kevin and stared at him. "You're doing everything for her, mate. You know that if you'd told her everything that son of a bitch could have walked away from what he did! And you're going to tell her. As soon as she's done, you can tell her everything."

Shaking his head, Kevin leaned against the wall. "I just....I don't know if I can help her."

"What do you mean? I think you're the only one who can." Mac finally smiled. "I'm not blind, Kevin. I knew you weren't ready to tell me, but I have a pretty good idea about what's going on between the two of you."

Kevin almost smiled. "Obvious, am I?"

"Oh, I don't know. Just the fact that every time I talk to you her name comes up, and you get this really funny look on your face.. It's either love or indigestion." Mac shrugged. "Of course, in my life, they're one and the same." He snapped his finger and pointed at Kevin. "That's the look."

Now Kevin did smile. "It's love. I love her, Mac, and this time I'm not going to let her go."

"Good." Mac smiled back at him. "So go in there and help her get through this."


"And then he just left?" Detective Richards kept her voice low.

Lucy nodded. "Yes. He just walked out the door." Her eyes were staring at the buttons on Kevin's jacket as she held it around her.

"What did you do then?"

Lucy just shook her head.

"Lucy, I know this is hard."

"How could you know? Because you've talked to a bunch of women like me?" Tears ran down Lucy's face along with fresh blood from her nose.

Wiping her face angrily, she stared at the detective. "You couldn't possibly know. Because I DON'T KNOW!" She shifted, but it hurt and she winced. "I don't know what I'm doing right now, let alone what I was doing or not doing then." The sympathy she saw in the other woman's eyes made her angrier. "I didn't do anything, okay? I couldn't. I couldn't move, I couldn't think, and I would probably still be there if Livvie hadn't shown up at my house. Is that what you want to hear?" Turning slowly, Lucy pulled the jacket around her tighter and lay on her side.

Sighing, the detective approached the bed. "That's all I need. I have to get your doctor's report, and I'll be in touch in a few days."

Unable to answer her, Lucy nodded.

"If you think of anything else, call me." Laying her business card on the table next to the bed, the detective left the room.

Mac and Kevin turned when the detective entered the hallway.

"Detective Richards, I need to talk to you."

"Commissioner Scorpio?" She was confused. "Is there a problem?"

"No, not the way you're thinking." He gestured towards Lucy's door. "She's a good friend of mine. And there is a development you need to be aware of." Turning to Kevin, he nodded. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Leaving them in the hallway, Kevin took a deep breath and went back into Lucy's room.

Lucy was in the same position. On her side, facing the far wall.

Before he could speak, she whispered his name.

Sitting beside her, he touched her shoulder. "We need to talk about something."

"You don't have to." Her voice was quiet, and her words puzzled him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you don't have to shrink me."

"Lucy, I don't want to shrink you. I want to help you. But I have to tell you something."

"We don't have to talk about.....it." Her voice was soft.

Gently, he touched her hair. "This is so hard."

"You don't have to." Slowly, ignoring her body's protests, she rolled over and looked at him. "I don't want to talk about it, okay? I'm okay with you not wanting to hear it."

"What do you mean?"

"It's okay. I didn't want to be here. I understand you didn't want to be, either."

"I didn't want to be.." Kevin stared at her, but her eyes dropped from his. Taking her hand, he sighed. "Lucy, do you honestly believe I would have left you like that if I had a choice?"

She shook her head, but her eyes still wouldn't meet his.

Tears came to Kevin's eyes and he took both of her hands. "I should have told you. I never should have waited."

His words confused her, but he continued.

"I was trying to do the right thing, Lucy, and I'm sorry. I tried to do this the right way, all I ended up doing was hurting you."

"Doc, what are you talking about? You didn't hurt me."

"Yes, I did. I should have told you. Instead, I left you when you needed me, and you thought I had run out on you."

"No. I didn't think you'd run out on me."

"Then what did you think? You thought I'd left you in here because.....why?"

Lucy had been thinking about his words. "You should have told me what?"

He stared at her, and her eyes met his.

"Doc, you're scaring me."

He sighed again. "I've known since yesterday, but I couldn't tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"I know who he is, Lucy." His eyes met hers, and he waited for her response.

"You know who.." She knew what he meant, but she couldn't say it.

"I know who did this to you and.. I couldn't tell you."

"You couldn't.." Pulling on his hands, she sat up to face him. "You couldn't tell me who he is? Why not? Don't you think I have a right to know who he is?"

"Yes! I wanted to tell you last night. But I couldn't." The way her entire body began to tremble scared Kevin, and he squeezed her hands tighter. "This was because of me, Lucy. He followed me to your house. You were right. He was after me. He thought I. I don't even know what he thought. But he's.. he's one of my patients."

Closing her eyes, she started to cry. "You've known all along."

"I figured it out when you started to tell me about him. But I thought he'd. He told me he'd hurt someone. I thought he'd hurt his wife."

"Mandy." Opening her eyes, she looked at him. "What about her?"

Kevin shrugged. "As far as I know, she's safe. She was leaving town. When he showed up at my office, I thought he'd found her. I never dreamt he'd.. that you were...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Kevin..." Pulling one of her hands away from his, she touched his face. "This isn't your fault. I just don't understand why you didn't tell me."

Leaning his face into her hand, he sighed. "Because he's a patient. Anything he said to me was considered-"

"Confidential." She finished for him. "But I...he... I wouldn't have told anyone if you'd told me."

"I know." Kevin slid closer to her. "But I had to do this right, Lucy. There were papers that had to be filed. We couldn't run the risk of there being ANY way his lawyer could get him out of this."

"We?" She looked at him, and he realized that wasn't how he wanted to tell her how many people knew.

When he didn't answer, she was afraid of what he didn't want to say to her. "We. Kevin, who... how many.....WHO KNOWS, KEVIN! You couldn't tell me, how many people COULD you tell?"

"Scott knows. Gail, Lee, Alan, and Ian."

"They all know everything?"

Kevin nodded.

She began to cry harder. "I don't....I don't want to think about this." Shaking her head again, she pulled away from him.

"Lucy,"

"I'm okay. I just... everybody knows. Everybody knew who did this to me BEFORE I DID!"

"I'm sorry. I wanted to do the right thing. All I did was screw up. I'm sorry, Lucy."

"I know. I'm not.. I just... What's his name?"

"Trent Davis."

"Trent Davis. That's good, you know? At least I can put a name to his face. I guess that's more than I knew twenty minutes ago." She slid off the other side of the bed to stand. But she ended up leaning on the bed to get on her feet. Holding on to the bed, she continued to ramble as she made her way around the bed. "I mean, I like to at least know the name of every guy that's.. I've.. he....Okay, not every guy. There are probably one or two that I didn't know, or can't remember, but I like to try, you know? It makes it better, somehow. To at least know his name."

Standing, Kevin moved towards her. "Lucy," He had no idea what to say to her. When he reached her, she stepped back, and he stopped.

Pulling his jacket tighter around her body, she stared at him. Her eyes met his for a moment, then she closed her eyes and sighed. "It doesn't make it much better." She whispered before she shook her head and looked at him again.

This time she stepped closer to him and leaned her forehead against his chest. As he started to put his arms around her, she pulled away a little. "Don't. I just......"

Dropping his arms to his side, he stood still while she leaned on him. She reached for his hand and held on to it as she made her way to the bathroom. "I need a shower. I have to get. I need to.." Kevin held her hand and helped her across the room. "Are you sure you can stand up on your own?"

"I have to." She looked at him. "I feel... I need.." Tears slid down her face, and she shrugged. "I feel so dirty. I don't know if I'll ever feel.... Clean again, but I have to try, you know?"

He didn't trust his voice to talk to her, so he nodded. Before she went inside the bathroom, he touched her face. "Listen to me for a minute. There are a couple more things you need to know."

"Are these things I want to know?"

"Yes."

She leaned on the doorjamb and looked at him.

"I checked his medical records. You don't have to worry about that."

"What?"

"He doesn't have AIDS, or Hepatitis, or anything like that."

Her body physically relaxed, and Kevin thought she was going to fall. But she didn't, and she shook her head. "That's good. I mean, I was trying not to think about it, but I....I was thinking about it."

"I know."

Holding her ribs, she sighed. "What's the other thing?"

"This has been.... I assumed....I shouldn't have. I need to know what you want."

"What I want?"

He took her hand and held it. "I need to know if you want to press charges."

Staring at the floor, she whispered so softly Kevin almost didn't hear her. "What will it accomplish if I do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean is it worth telling everybody..." She thought about it. "I guess half of everybody already knows, so it's not that big of a deal, right?"

Her words were sarcastic, and Kevin turned away from her.

"I'm sorry. That came out nasty, and I didn't mean for it to."

"You're right. I've been making decisions for you-"

"You've been trying to look out for me, and I know that. Right now, I don't know what I want. But I do know myself well enough to know that at some point I'm going to want him to pay for what he did." Closing her eyes, she bit her lip. Then she nodded and looked at him. "Go ahead. Whatever needs to be done. I... Mac's waiting to hear from you, isn't he."

"Yeah." Responding to her, he kept his voice to almost a whisper.

"Tell him.... Tell him to go ahead. And tell him thanks."

Nodding, Kevin moved closer to her slowly. He touched her face and leaned his face against her head. The hand he was holding clenched his, and he felt her other hand grip his shirt. Not moving to touch her, he kissed the side of her head. "I love you."

"I know. I love you, too. I just... I need... I don't know what I need."

Her voice cracked, and he whispered in her ear. "You need time, Lucy. That's all."

They stood that way for a moment, then Lucy pulled away from him. Slowly, she backed into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.


After he heard the water running, Kevin picked up the phone and paged Mac. It was only about 5 minutes later, he heard a soft tap on the door. When he opened it, Kevin saw Mac and Detective Richards standing in the hallway.

Keeping his voice low, Kevin nodded. "She said for you to go ahead."

"I'll get the medical reports and the police reports over to Dara. We can get a warrant before he gets out of Mercy."

Richards looked at Mac, who sighed. "I know this is your investigation, but I have a personal interest in this case."

"I know. I just wish someone had clued me in on this guy before he was transferred."

Before either man could respond, she continued. "I know why you couldn't, but it would have been nice. Now I have to wait until I get the warrant before I can even talk to him."

Mac checked his watch. "Then go ahead and head over there and wait for my call. I'll go to Dara now and get the warrant."

"Okay." She nodded, then gestured towards the bathroom door. "How is she?"

Kevin sighed. "It's going to take her some time. But she'll get through it. Karen said she's going to release her today. I would appreciate it if Cassandra would come by and talk to her at the house."

"She usually follows up, but I'll call her and double check."

Richards looked at her watch. "I have a few things to do, but I'll be at Mercy in about two hours."

"That should be perfect. I'll have the warrant run over to you as soon as it's in my hand." Mac looked at Kevin. "You need something else, call me, okay?"

Kevin nodded and walked back to the chair and sat in it. Watching Mac and Richards leave, he sighed and leaned back in the chair.


Lucy stood in the shower and stared at the walls, which were a golden tile. She decided that she hated it. If she had known she was going to spend so much time in the luxury suite at the hospital when she designed it, she would have gone with a softer tone. Not so much yellow. Becoming more critical of her own taste in design, she looked around at the fixtures and the rails along the side. Finally her eyes dropped to the floor, and the sight of her own blood washing from her body stopped her mind from wandering. Forced to think about what had happened to her, Lucy grabbed the rail to keep herself from falling. She'd successfully avoided looking in the mirror to avoid seeing the bruises on her face, but she couldn't avoid the bruises which covered her ribs and thighs.

Her entire body began to tremble, and suddenly her legs refused to support her. Using the rail to stay on her feet, Lucy leaned down until she was sitting on the handicap access seat in the back of the shower. Once she was there, she began to cry. In the solitude of the shower, Lucy stopped fighting the hysteria that had been threatening to overwhelm her. Knowing Kevin was right outside waiting for her, she left the water running so he couldn't hear her sobs. All she wanted to do was be alone and cry.


Livvie tapped on the door before she inched it open. Kevin stood and looked at her. "You look like you didn't get a whole lot of sleep."

"Actually, I did. Jack and Victor cleaned....what the cleaning crew wouldn't. They insisted I got some sleep. I'm just worried about Lucy. How is she?"

"At the moment, she's in the shower. It's a step in the right direction. Karen should be here any minute to check her over again before she releases her."

Nodding, Livvie handed Kevin the bag containing the clothes she'd brought for Lucy. "Do they have any idea who it was?"

Kevin sighed. "Yeah. They know. I guess I can tell you now. He was one of my patients."

"What? One of your patients? Why?"

"A lot of reasons that really don't matter at this point. The police are going to arrest him."

"Good." Livvie sighed.

"Livvie," Kevin wasn't sure how to start. "This hasn't been easy for you. I appreciate everything you've done."

"Dad, I wanted to help. I mean, it wasn't like I could do anything else."

"You did a lot." Kevin hugged Livvie. "And I'm sorry you ended up doing it." He sighed, letting her go.

Another knock on the door caused Livvie and Kevin to turn and find Karen entering the room. "Where is she?"

Kevin pointed to the bathroom.

Karen stared at the door for a minute. "I need to examine her before I release her." Making a decision, Karen knocked on the door. "Lucy?"

There was no answer, and Karen looked at Kevin. Now Kevin was worried, and he approached the door himself and knocked.

"Lucy?" Kevin and Karen stared at each other, neither liking the silence that answered them.

Turning the doorknob, Karen opened the door a crack and called Lucy's name again.

Hearing the door open, Lucy pulled herself to her feet and ran her face under the water. "I'll be out in a minute."

"I just wanted to take a quick look at you before I released you." Karen's voice was soft. "There's a clean gown in the drawer, I'll wait outside for you."

"Okay." After the door closed again, Lucy sighed. She knew it was time to get herself together and make a move. Picking up the small trial size soap, she opened it. The scent of the Jax brand was familiar, and comforting. She remembered there were cases of the trial size soap, shampoo and conditioner under the sink, and for a
moment she wondered if she'd need every bit of it to wash the feeling from her body.

Karen looked at Kevin and Livvie, not knowing what to say.

Standing behind Livvie, Kevin took her shoulders and sighed. "Karen, what are the follow up instructions for her?"

"Just to take it easy. I already sent a couple scripts to the pharmacy for her, they should be here any minute. I'd like to see her in a week or so, just to check the bruises. And.." Karen hesitated for a moment. "She should follow up with." Staring at them, Karen realized that they both knew already, and she wasn't revealing
anything to either of them. "with her gynecologist. Just to be sure."

Kevin's eyes dropped, and his hands on Livvie's shoulders tightened.

Karen continued. "And I think you're more qualified to know what kind of counseling she's going to need."

"Qualified." Kevin almost laughed. "I don't feel qualified."

"You know her better than anyone, and you're trained to help people-"

"When I'm objective!" Kevin almost shouted at Karen, then he realized that Lucy could probably hear him. "I'm hardly objective, Karen."

"No, but you know her, Kevin. And you want to help her. And before she comes out, you and I need to talk about when you're going to go down to the lab."

"Lab?" Kevin was confused.

"We talked about this last night?" Karen stared at him, really not wanting to spell it out in front of his daughter.

Kevin realized she was talking about the sample to match the DNA. "I can come by tomorrow. Today, I just want to focus on her."

Nodding, Karen checked her watch and sighed. "I really don't want to rush her, but I have other patients."

Before Kevin could reply, the door opened, and Lucy appeared. She still had his jacket around her over the hospital gown. For a moment, she held onto the doorjamb and stared at them.

It felt like every step took more out of Lucy than she had. When she'd opened the bathroom door, she'd been surprised to see Livvie standing beside Kevin. The expression on Livvie's face when she looked at Lucy made Lucy wish the bruises would go away quickly. Forcing herself to take a step, Lucy moved towards Livvie and hugged her. "I'm okay."

Livvie started to hug Lucy, but when she stiffened, Livvie loosened her grip on her.

"I'm sorry I scared you." Lucy whispered, and Livvie pulled away, shaking her head.

"I wish I'd gotten there sooner."

Kevin and Lucy both shook their heads. "No," Lucy squeezed Livvie's hand. "You don't. The guy was nuts, Livvie. You wouldn't have scared him off, you would have gotten hurt. I'm grateful that you got there when you did, but I will always thank the Universe that you didn't get there while he was still there."

It hit Kevin how close Livvie had been to also being hurt by Trent, and he started to shake. Moving closer to them, he put one arm around Livvie and pulled his daughter to him. He stared at Lucy, wanting to reach out to her, but not knowing what she would do.

Lucy wanted to go to him, but she couldn't force herself to move. His arms around her were all she wanted, but she wasn't ready. Instead she turned to Karen.

Karen moved towards Lucy. "If Kevin and Livvie will give us a minute, they can take you home."

Nodding, Kevin led Livvie to the hallway. Closing the door behind them, Kevin stopped and looked at Livvie. "I forgot.. I know I promised you.." He walked to the Nurses' Station and picked up the phone. When Victor answered the phone, Kevin simply said "It's me."

"Kevin! How is Lucy?"

"She's... better. Karen's going to release her in a few minutes. Look, I know you've already done a lot, but."

"Nonsense! I'd do anything for her, and you know it." Victor thought about what Kevin said. "Jack and I are headed for the grocery store as we speak. Her refrigerator is empty."

"Victor, she's Lucy. If Serena isn't there, her fridge is always empty. But I didn't think about the fact that she wouldn't be able to get out. Thanks."

"But I gather there is something else you need me to do?"

"Yeah. Livvie took my car to Lucy's yesterday. She brought Lucy here and.."

"Livvie told me." Victor knew Kevin was having a hard time. "We'll head there instead. Livvie and Jack can take my car, and I'll take care of Livvie's."

"Thanks, Victor."

Hanging up the phone, he turned to Livvie. "Victor's on his way here. You and Jack can take his car, but I do need another favor."

"What?" Livvie stared at him.

"Here." Pulling out his wallet, Kevin wrote a number on the back of one of his cards and handed the card and his ATM card to Livvie. "I need you and Jack to run by the grocery store. Victor's going to take car of your car, and you can take Victor's. My pin is on the back of the card."

Looking at it, Livvie couldn't help herself. She laughed.

"What?"

"I guess Eve never figured it out." At Kevin's questioning expression, Livvie turned the card around and held it up. "Lucy's birthday?"

Returning her smile, he shrugged. "I told myself every time I used it for three years that I was going to change it. Just never got around to it. I guess that should have told me something, right?"

"Dad, I haven't known you that long, but I think there are a LOT of things that should have told you something." Livvie stared at him. "Have you heard from Eve?"

"No." Kevin sighed. "And to be honest, it doesn't matter at this point. When she's ready, she'll come back. And I guess she'll find out what's going on."

"Good."

"Livvie, there's nothing good about this. But Eve's gone because Eve wants to be. And I'm finished trying to protect Eve's feelings at Lucy's expense."

"I'm glad." At Kevin's stare, Livvie sighed. "I don't care about Eve one way or the other. But I know how much you and Lucy love each other. And I also know how crazy it was making both of you to pretend nothing was going on between you."

"We were that obvious?"

Nodding, Livvie eyed the clock behind him on the wall. "I'm going to go downstairs and meet Victor and Jack. We'll go to the store and take everything to Lucy's."

"Thanks." Kevin hugged her again. "I'll see you later."

After Livvie had disappeared into the elevator, Kevin walked back down the hall to pace in front of Lucy's room.

Lucy stared at Karen and waited for her to speak.

"Lucy, I just want to make sure we caught all your injuries. I don't need to examine you again, it wouldn't accomplish anything, and I know you're... sore."

Relieved, Lucy nodded. "How long.. I mean... when can.."

Karen tried to figure out what Lucy was trying to say. She'd never seen Lucy so unable to get out what she was trying to say, and she knew that wasn't a good sign. "You're going to be sore for a week or so. The bruises should fade, but you have some pretty deep ones. They're going to hurt. There are some minor internal injuries, but they'll heal. I would recommend against sex for at least a week."

Closing her eyes, Lucy sighed. She knew it would pass, but the thought of making love, even to Kevin, wasn't something she wanted to contemplate.

"Does this mean I can go home now?"

"Yes. Your scripts are on the way. As soon as they get here you can go. I just ordered you a muscle relaxer for pain. If you have any trouble sleeping, I'm sure Kevin can get you something." Karen looked at Lucy for a moment. "Lucy, if you need anything, give me a call."

"Thanks, Karen. I appreciate it." As Karen left the room, Lucy picked up the bag of clothes and began to get dressed.


Trent paced in his room, wondering what was going to happen to him. He'd been arrested before, but he'd always known that Mandy would come to him. She always did. She understood him, and she loved him. This time it wasn't Mandy. He realized that he'd hurt a woman he didn't know, and he had no idea what this woman was going to do. Reaching for his own throat, Trent carefully touched the deep bruises that wrapped around him. For a moment, he wished Kevin had finished the job he'd started. That way no one else would get hurt. And, if he had to be honest with himself, he deserved it for what he'd done to her.

The door opened, and he turned to see his mother.

Crossing the room, she went to Trent and stared at him. "What happened?"

"She left me, Mom." He sighed. "She left me and I don't know where she is."

Maria Davis pulled her son into her arms and held him. "That woman just never understood you, honey. I knew that. She never really understood the problems you have."

"I have a lot of problems, Mom. I have a lot more now."

"It's okay. We'll take care of it." Her eyes caught the bruises around Trent's throat. "What happened to you?"

"I'm okay."

"I didn't ask if you were okay. I asked you what happened to you."

Knowing his mother would help him, Trent told his mother what Kevin had done to him.


Kevin tapped on Lucy's door and opened it. She was wearing the baby blue sundress Livvie had brought her, but she still had Kevin's jacket wrapped around her.

Staring at her, Kevin had no idea what to say to her. In all the time he'd known her, through everything they'd been through together, he couldn't remember a time he'd ever seen her look so.. the words small and vulnerable came to his mind.

Lucy's first instinct had been, as it always was, to run to him when he entered the room. But her skin was still crawling, and even the thought of Kevin's hands on her was too much. Even as her eyes searched his for an answer, she knew he didn't have any.

"Are you ready to go home?" He kept his voice low.

"More than ready." She sighed. "Doc, I don't want you to think I'm shutting you out. I'm not. I just.." Her eyes dropped to the ground. "I don't know what I'm doing."

Moving closer to her, Kevin reached for her hands. "You'll figure it out." When he hands took hers, she squeezed them to tightly, her knuckles turned white. They were still standing there holding hands when the orderly arrived with the wheel chair to take her to the car.