Now or Never

A/N: Thanks again to everyone whose read and reviewed, many thanks the encouragement to keep going is high motivation. Keep them coming! Sorry that this update took so long but this chapter was harder to write than I thought it would be. It took awhile for the creative juices to start flowing again.

....6 months later.................

Anna's life was routine now, work at the hospital then home. She had no social life fearing that being out in the open would make her easier to spot, more likely to been seen by people she didn't want seeing her. Giving Max opportunity to strike was the last thing she wanted to do, but as the months had passed she felt safer and more secure there. There had been no more phone calls and no threats; maybe he only had been able to get a hold of a phone number and nothing more. Anna hoped that she had seen the last of a soon-to-be ex-husband.

There were dinner dates of course with Doug and Carol and some nights of babysitting Tess and Kate for them so that they themselves could go out on the town and enjoy a couple's night with out the children. After everything that they had done for her, Anna was more than willing to watch the girls for a few hours on a Friday night.

She had been sitting on Doug and Carol's couch now, the girls fast asleep, reading one of the annals that she needed to catch up on, for a couple of hours now. She glanced up at the clock, seeing that it was getting late and Doug and Carol would be home anytime now. She set the journal down and went upstairs quietly checking on the girls before walking back downstairs. Out of habit, she double-checked to make sure the doors were locked and that the house was as secure as it could be.

She settled back down, reading as a flash of lightening illuminated the sky followed by the loud boom of thunder. She could hear the rain starting to fall against the patio outside the door. As another bolt made the lights in the house flicker she could see the giant raindrops hitting the patio now, a downpour accompanied the storm. She curled her long legs up under her trying to concentrate on reading. She sat there for a few minutes listening to the storm moving thru wondering if she should go and find some candles or a flashlight in case the power did go completely out. With the flickering lights now, she was not sure if it would stay on thru the rest of the storm.

She heard a rattling now at the front door and a rain soaked Doug with his jacket over Carol's head enter the kitchen area. She got up and headed in getting the both a cup of hot coffee.

"How was your evening?" Anna asked setting the cups down for them.

"We had a wonder time, that is until we got drenched walking in the park. Guess that's what I get for planning a moonlight romantic stroll." Doug said looking at Carol softly.

Anna laughed softly, "I'm glad you two had a chance to have some good wet fun. You can't say that it wasn't," Anna made the quote motion with her hands now, "clean fun."

Carol laughed now, "Yes my romantic man, trying to sweep me off my feet, ended up making me look like a drowned rat."

Anna automatically with out thinking about it much reached back to laundry basket handing Carol a towel, "well here have some coffee warm up since you are both soaked." She tossed the towel now to Doug. "Maybe it will let up enough so that I don't drown when I go to go home." She smiled at them both as she started to gather up what she had brought. "The girls were angels, good as gold, ate dinner with no troubles, bathed and tucked in. I love watching them for you."

"Why is it that they are angels for everyone else, but little hellions for us?" Carol asked looking at Doug with a smile on her face.

"Ah that's because Auntie Anna spoils them whenever she gets the chance." Anna said, "I know I shouldn't but it's rather fun."

Carol smiled at Anna, "you are family to us." She said softly, "Aunt Anna can spoil them all she wants. God knows there Daddy spoils them."

"I do not." Doug chirped in.

"Those little girls have you wrapped around their fingers Doug." Carol said smiling at him.

Anna just laughed softly, "okay well it's getting late I should be heading home. You know you can call me anytime you need me to watch them for you."

"Yes, thank you Anna." Carol said, "It's nice to have someone that the girls like to keep an eye on them so that we can have a peaceful dinner."

"Let me walk you out." Doug said getting up from the kitchen table.

The rain was letting up a little now, "I got it Doug," Anna said picking up her things and heading for the door, "no sense in us both getting wet, or in your case wet again. Have a good night; I'm glad you had fun." She said.

"Thanks again Anna." Anna heard Carol call as she darted out the door. Doug followed Carol's voice, "call me when you get home." Anna darted now for her car once in she gave a quick wave as she started the car and headed for home. The roads were wet now and it took her a little longer than normal to get home with all the standing water. She drove carefully down the street to her apartment parking her rodeo in its normal spot. She glanced around not seeing anything to out of the ordinary as she ran for the door among the giant raindrops shaking her head, as she pulled out the outside door key. It was nice living in a secure building but when it rained, it was also a pain.

"I was wondering when you'd get back." She heard a voice say from behind her. Anna knew who with out turning around whom it was and her hands started to shake now. She thought about turning around but she knew that if she just turned the key and shot thru the door once it closed he would not be getting inside. Then she could call Doug, the police or anyone else who would listen to her.

Anna was amazed at how well she held it together as she turned the key and darted thru the door pushing it shut behind her. What she did not count on was his foot blocking her from shutting the door all the way. Anna kicked at the foot in the door trying to get him to move it but Max pushed against the door. He had always been stronger than she had and she knew she was on the losing end of the battle but she was not about to give up. She put her weight into keeping the door from opening any further than it was hoping that one of the people in the building who work swing would be coming home any minute now and that would either scare him away or get him to relent long enough that she could get to her apartment.

There was no one that seemed to be coming to her rescue and Max was wearing her down, the pushing on the door was getting to be to where she could not hold him out any longer. She flipped open her cell phone her back pushing frantically trying to hold her ground keeping the door from moving anymore.

"Pick up Doug." She muttered, "Stop Max." She said putting more force behind her voice. "You're not coming in."

"Ross residence," She heard in the phone. While from the other side of the door she heard him, telling her that he was coming in whether she wanted him to or not, that he had every right to see his wife that they needed to talk about this.

"Doug its Anna," She said loud enough that Max would hear that she was calling someone, hoping that he would get the hint and back off, but it did not seem to be working, "Max is here I need some help."

"Anna where are you?"

"I'm in the apartment building out in the main hallway. I thought I could get inside," she was talking a million miles an hour now, "he's here at the front door trying to get in." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Max put his fingers in the doorframe holding onto the door now. She grabbed her keys not thinking but reacting she stabbed at him with her keys jabbing them into his flesh. As his hand went back so did his foot blood dripping from Anna's hand from the inflicted wound. She heard him cussing but she slammed the door shut. "I just stabbed him with my keys, the doors shut." Anna could hear him now as he started banging on the door. She ran as fast as she could up the stairs and for her apartment getting inside and locking the door behind her.

"I'm calling the cops." Doug motioned for Carol to hand him his cell phone.

Anna heard gunshots being fired from downstairs, it was not the same as when she was in Chicago, and it sounded now more like a shotgun going off rather than a small handgun.

"Tell them to hurry." Anna said moving further into the apartment. "Doug he's shooting." She said trying to find a spot that was back far enough in the apartment that if he shot thru the door she would not be in the line of fire. She was terrified now.

"I'm getting you help, get away from the door, get back as far as you can out of the line of fire." Doug said to her trying to keep himself calm so not to upset her even more than she already was.

Doug watched as Carol called the cops not handing the phone off to Doug but calling herself. She rattled off Anna's address to the SPD, telling them everything that she was hearing Doug saying to Anna. She was worried about Anna, knowing that Max was a very dangerous man, with the intent of hurting her.

"Anna they are coming, get back from the door, get behind something." Doug said hoping that would slow down any stray bullets from hitting her.

Anna moved deeper into the apartment now into the bedroom hiding the best she could she had nothing to really get behind, "get behind what Doug." She panicked, "there's nothing in here to hide behind." She crawled along the floor now staying low. The phone was her only connection to the outside world and it was his voice that was the only thing keeping her from going hysterical now.

"Anything Anna," Doug said hearing how frantic she was becoming with the passing seconds, "get down beside the bed, hid under the bed."

Anna moved doing as he told her, hands shaking now hearing the shots getting louder, he had gotten inside the building. She could hear Max yelling out in the hallway. She lowered her voice, "Doug he's outside. I can hear him in the hallway." She was losing control of her fear fast now.

"Just stay put Anna. They will be there soon." Doug was worried about her. He picked up his keys from the table now.

Carol put her hand on his arm, as if she was trying to keep him from going, knowing that he would go no matter what she said or did. Doug had always never tolerated anyone beating up on a woman. Abuse was something that he could not tolerate. She knew the reasons why, but it didn't make her feel any more at ease watching him leave to go help Anna while Max was firing a weapon.

Doug was out the door with out a second thought. All he knew was that Anna was in trouble. They had brought her to Seattle to escape this but it had managed to follow her. She had, had six months of a normal life, and granted she had always been looking over her shoulder, but she had settled in and now her world was being threatened. Doug knew that if given a chance Max would end it all right there and then. Doug could not let that happen he did not know what he would do but knew that he needed to do something. He flew across town keeping Anna on the line. As long as he could hear her, he knew that she was all right for the time being.

He parked his car out in the lot of her building. "Anna are you still okay?"

"Yeah," her voice shaky, she could still hear the gunfire out in the hallway. When an eerie silence filled the building, she did not know what was going on. Then the sound started again. This time she could hear the banging on her door. He was right outside her door now pounding on it. She closed her eyes and said a soft quiet prayer hoping that she would come out of this alive. Something was going to happen; she could feel it in the pit of her stomach. The window, she looked over at the window.

If she landed right, the fall would not be that bad. She was only on the second story. She debated jumping out her own window. There was no other way out if he was outside her door trying to get in. She got up and ran struggling to pull the window open pulling the screen inside so that she could get out it. She tossed it back further into the room the pounding getting louder. She did not know if it was Max trying to break down her door or her heart in her head. She threw her leg up scrambling to get out the window. She heard the door give way. Just a few more feet and she would be out the window. She could not go headfirst that would kill her and she knew it. She got both her legs up as she caught a glimpse of Max now inside. It was now or never. He turned seeing her as their eyes locked. For both of them it was now or never.