Sam went towards the Northwest entrance and saw Mike at the door. "Excuse me, Mike, have you seen..."

"Young woman about 5'5" with a small bag? She just ran through the doors not 2 minutes ago, Mr. Seaborn"

His face relaxed and he smiled. "Thanks, Mike. I really appreciate it."

Mike nodded as he ran out the door.

He saw her at the far end of the path, nearly to the street. He took off, calling her as she ran. He had no idea that she wasn't hearing him.

The only thing she heard was the sharp click of dress shoes on the walk as someone ran after her. Kate just kept running. Her only focus was escape. 'I have to get away. He's going to come after me and I'll get beaten worse than when I was 13. I don't want to be hit again. I only wanted to see Sam for dinner, that's all I wanted. One night where I wouldn't be alone. I have to get away from here.' The exhaustion and the blinding tears closing off her vision forced her to slow as she got closer to the fence.

He watched her pace slow and did the same. The last thing he wanted was to add to her fright. He watched as she dropped her bag and leaned against the fence facing the street. He was no more than 8 feet from her when he began to hear it, sounds he'd heard so long ago and had never wanted to hear coming from her again. He stepped onto the lawn and began to slowly and quietly close the distance between them. He could only hope that she wouldn't run away from him as well. The sound only got worse the closer he got. Great, heavy, soul-shattering sobs.

She could only pray that whoever was following her would be kind and not beat her so badly that people would notice. She was terrified of what would happen if it was noticeable. This was a nightmare, a horrific tape loop of her life that no one would turn off. It was just too much for her; her feelings were far too strong to hold in and her body too weak to fight back any longer.

Her body shook violently as she cried out of fear and want. All these years, she wished so hard for someone to just tell her that it would be OK, that she'd be protected, that nothing would hurt her. But the part of her mind that was numbingly realistic that told her none of those things would ever happen.

She would go home alone, tend to whatever cuts, bruises and other injuries she'd receive and cry herself to sleep, like so many times before. She'd lock all this away, both the nightmares and her feelings for Sam, and they'd never be seen in daylight again. She would continue to live the way she always had; broken-hearted, broken-spirited, shy and alone.

She felt a light touch on her shoulder, and he winced as she jerked away violently. "Please d-don't hit me, please. I'm so very s-sorry. J-Just tell me what to do and I'll f-fix it, I promise, I-I'll fix it. J-Just please don't h-hit me," she whimpered. She sounded like a terrified little girl, and it broke his heart to hear her like this.

"Little sprite, it's just me. It's Sam. I won't hit you. I just want you to feel safe. I won't hurt you. I could never hurt you." He stifled his reaction as she turned to face him.

Her face was bright red under the streetlights and he could see the silver sheen of the tears on her face that showed no sign of stopping. He felt sadness hit him in the stomach when he saw her eyes. They were nearly brown and the deep fear and sorrow that he saw there frightened him. "Come here," he whispered as he held his arms out to her.

Kate whimpered as she stepped toward him. Sam brought her close in a comforting embrace. He stroked her hair as he spoke. "Angel mine, don't cry. I'm here now. Shhh. Hush, my precious. I won't let anything hurt you." He held her close and continued to whisper endearments and reassurances as she cried like a broken child. Now he understood what Abbey had meant when she told him that he didn't realize how deep her fragility and shyness ran and knew that she was right.

He felt her whisper something against his chest. He pulled back and quietly asked, "I didn't hear you, Katie. What did you say?"

She was scared to repeat it. She didn't want him getting upset with her as well.

Dropping her head slightly she spoke, "I said I'm sorry that I ruined dinner. I'll just take my things and go back to my apartment."

He knew she'd do this; blame herself for the fact that they couldn't go to dinner. He wiped the tears off her cheeks as he gave her a gentle smile. "You didn't ruin dinner. The building collapse ruined dinner. Actually, I was afraid to tell you."

She giggled quietly and he reveled in the sound. "Why?"

"I didn't want to disappoint you. I knew that you were looking forward to this, and I was worried that you'd be upset with me."

"Don't worry about it, Sam. It's not important."

In a slightly raised tone, he countered her comment. "It is important, Kate. It's important to me." He continued on in a quieter tone. "You've told me about the things that happened in your life. How you were denied things and all of the broken promises you dealt with. I don't want to be like that. You're so kind and giving, but it's high time that things be given to you. That promises made to you are kept. Why don't we do this? We'll go to my place since it's closer, order in and you'll crash in the guest room tonight, OK?"

She looked up at him and gave a small smile. "OK."

"Come with me. We'll get my car and we'll be home in a minute."

With tears still in her eyes, she gave him a grateful look and picked up her bag. He kissed her forehead and took her hand as they walked towards the lots.

What they didn't realize was that someone had taken photos and would torpedo this the same way one of their colleagues torpedoed his friendship with Laurie.