A/N: Sorry about the delay. I've been working on my other fanfics. I'm not really sure about this part. I know I always say that, but I really feel like this one is all over the place. I had such trouble with the Nick/Tess convo! I'm not sure if I've gone in the right direction. I guess I will know by the way the feedback swings, eh?.

Disclaimer: I own no one.

Part 6

It was late, almost 11pm. Tess and Nick had switched Nick's ute with the car that Blade had organised, and were now on their way to safety. They had no idea where they were headed. All they knew was that they were on a road which could lead them anywhere.

Nick looked over at Tess. She was staring out the window, gazing up at the stars.

He smiled. Tess and her stars. Some things never changed.

He wondered what she was thinking about. She'd told him that she loved Chris, but how had she found it so easy just to pack up and leave so soon after digging her heals in about . He distinctly recalled her telling him that Chris was going to change, and that he loved her. How could she just turn her back on that supposed love? It puzzled him.

Was she acting on impulse, sneaking out that window of opportunity while it was still in existence? She had always been good running away, packing up and moving on. Maybe it was just something she did in life.

Nick never thought that he would be running with her though. Tess had always run from him, from a relationship with him. But now they were in it together. Heading off to god knows where, to do god knows what. It was ironic.

Then it struck him. It hadn't been easy for Tess to run from Chris. It had taken a death threat to get her to run, get her to leave Chris. She had stuck by Chris for a long time, even though she was being hurt inside and out.

Nick didn't understand how Tess had found it so easy to run from him, but found it so difficult to run from a man who treated her like something he had stood in.

"Tess," Nick began. "Can I ask you something?"

Tess glanced at Nick, "Alright," then looked out the window again.

"Why did it take you such a long time to get out?"

"You know why, Nick. I've already told you that I love him," Was Tess' reply.

"Did you love me?"

Tess' head spun around, she was looking at him now, "What?"

"Well you used to tell me that you loved me, Tess"

"You know I did, Nick," Tess said softly. "But I don't see the relevance."

"Well why is it that you ran so quickly from me, but stayed with a bastard like Chris for so long?"

Tess shook her head, "It was different with you."

"How?"

"It just was, Nick. Your mother was always breathing down our necks, waiting for me to slip up, waiting to pounce on me when I put one foot wrong," Tess said sharply.

"So having an intimidating woman breathing down your neck made you run, but having Chris beat the living daylights out of you-"

"Nick," Tess put her hand up to silence him. "I really don't feel like talking about this, okay. It's over now, so can we just move on?"

"I just want to know what made you finally decide to run, Tess?" Nick continued to press her. He was curious as to the way her mind worked these days.

Tess sighed, "Because of you, Nick, okay. It's fine that he hurt me... I could live with that. I was used to it. It was this cycle. Nothing I couldn't handle. But knowing that he might hurt someone else that I care about..." she trailed off for a moment. "I've already lost my sister, Nick. I don't want to lose anyone else close to me. Chris is capable of a lot of things, and I was scared that if I didn't get you away... he'd kill you"

Nick nodded. It's all he could do. He knew Tess was scared, but he hadn't realised how scared she was until that very moment. He could hear the shaking of her voice as each syllable passed her lips. She was terrified of her husband. Her soon to be ex-husband.

"Tess I didn't mean to bring up the past... I'm just trying to understand your logic," Nick said softly, whilst glancing her way.

"It's fine," Tess whispered. They both knew that it wasn't fine though. Both were feeling very uncomfortable talking about the past.

Nick wondered how Tess had been reeled in by Chris. He remembered the early stages of the couple's relationship. They had met on the side of the road in Fisher, when Tess' car had broken down. It wasn't long after Nick and Tess had called it quits. It had all seemed so innocent back then. So normal.

Although Nick had taken an instant disliking to Chris he could never have predicted the way things would work out. If he'd known, he would have done something.

Letting Tess go was the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. Watching her be happy with someone else was the second hardest thing he had done in his life. But he'd been fooled. Maybe she was happy in the beginning, but she wasn't anymore. Chris had manipulated her, and twisted her way of thinking. She wasn't the same woman anymore. She wasn't the same Tess.

Everyone else loved Chris from the start too. As it turned out, he was a mate of Alex's father, Bryce. Knowing this brought Alex and Chris together and a friendship grew. The pair got on like a house on fire.

He shook his head at the thought of Chris' smoothness. He was so slick, so cunning. Everyone had been fooled, hadn't they? No one could have imagined what life would be like this far down the track.

Nick glanced at Tess again. He took comfort in the thought that she was safe now. She had suffered enough. Nick didn't care what he had to do to protect her and Charlotte. He would do it.