I like to name my stories after songs. This one was inspired by Don't Close Your Heart by HIM. I thought it was fitting. Check out the lyrics.

John was sitting at the table, eating his salad, as a gentle voice asked "May I sit there?"

He lifted his head and looked right into Anna's gentle, blue eyes. He swallowed.

"Sure. If Thomas is okay with it."

"Thomas can kiss my ass," Anna replied quietly and smiled. Then she sat down next to John, close to him. Very close to him. "We didn't finish our conversation before."

"No, we didn't." John agreed. He looked around, spotting Mary watching them. "Is it really alright that you're sitting with me?"

"For sure, we are not in college anymore," Anna replied. "John ... I want you to tell me how you ... you said you knew signs of ... you know." She swallowed and stared down at her plate.

"Indeed," John said softly. "My father has beaten my mother for three years."

"Oh gosh," Anna whispered.

"I was thirteen when it started and I had no clue," John sighed. "I would come home and find mum crying ... or with a new bruise. She always had an explanation for everything, the blue eye, the haematoma on her arms. It went on for such a long time and once I was old enough to realise what was happening, I went to the police. Dad was locked away because of me and instead of being thankful, my mother was mad at me."

"Really?" Anna whispered. "I am so sorry ..."

"I was sixteen, Anna. She kicked me out, telling me I had destroyed her life." He laughed dryly. "I had destroyed her life, not my father. We didn't speak for years but when I was around twenty-one, she called me." He smiled. "She had married again and my stepfather treated her differently. He treated her like she deserved it, was kind and loving and ... not violent at all. She apologised to me and we met each other again, making up. My mum is still married to him and very happy."

"That's wonderful," Anna said softly.

John looked at Anna. "Yes," he said, "it is. Do you know why I told you that?"

Anna shook her head softly.

"Well, I think you do," John said quietly. "A hint from someone who has seen this for many times during three years - a scarf hides bruises on the neck better than make up does."

All colour vanished from Anna's face and without another word she took her food and went back to Mary.

"Was he rude you?" Mary chuckled as Anna let herself fall down next to her friend.

"Not at all, no," Anna said. "I don't think he can be rude."

"He probably can't," Mary spoke quietly. "So, why are you so pale?"

"What? Nothing!"

"He said something, didn't he?" Mary gasped. "He didn't - you know -?"

"I don't know, what do you mean?" Anna looked at her friend, who rolled her eyes.

"He didn't say something inappropriate to you? About your body or anything?"

"Like how much he'd like to touch my tits?" Anna asked, referring to a man who had once worked with them and permanently hit on Anna in the most disgusting way.

"Yeah ... like that." Mary shook herself. "Brr. Don't remind me of that smeary Alex guy ..."

"Sorry. But no, he didn't talk about my tits. He wasn't inappropriate, really."

"But he told you a lot. I saw him talking all the time. Anna! I'm your best friend!"

"At least you think so," Anna replied and Mary groaned.

"Am I not?"

"You are, Mary, but I cannot tell you. I'm afraid it is rather private and I don't think he'd want people to know."

"That can only mean one thing ..." Mary said with a knowing look and Anna rolled her eyes.

"Fine, he ... he told me how he hurt his leg."

"Oh. That I don't care about."

"See," Anna mumbled softly. Speaking of his leg, she had no idea what had happened to him. She only knew that he walked slower that others and with a limp. He had a hurt right knee, that she knew from Mary, who of course knew it from her father, but that was all she knew.

"So he's nice?" Mary asked innocently and Anna eyed her friend.

"Yes, he is. Why, are you interested in him?"

"No, no. I'm not," Mary replied lightly. "Not in that way anyway."

"You are weird," Anna said and continued eating.

Mary smiled at her friend gently.

Robert had asked him to their bar. Apparently he wanted to talk to him urgently about something that they couldn't talk about at the company.

John had asked him what it was about but Robert had not wanted to tell him, so he suspected that it was about Anna.

Anxiously he waited, a non alcoholic beer before him.

And after twenty minutes his waiting had come to an end. The door went open but not Robert entered. His daughter Mary approached him.

John shifted lightly. Mary made him nervous. She was always watching him with something that Matthew and Tom called "resting bitch face" ... and that was exactly how she looked at him now.

He got up as Mary had reached the table.

"Stay, you don't have to stand up," Mary replied. "I can pull out my own chair."

John sat back down, watching her. "Robert isn't coming then?"

"No. I told him he should ask you out. I need to talk to you, John. About Anna."

"I thought so."

"What can I bring you to drink?" a waitress asked Mary, whose eyes wandered down, hung on John's pint for a few seconds, then she looked back up at at the waitress. She ordered a coke and as soon as the waitress went away, Mary spoke up.

"We need to save her from her husband."

"So you do know," John said and Mary laughed bitterly.

"Of course. I wish she would tell me, but everytime I say something about her wounds, she tells me stories about how she apparently got them. In the beginning I tried and tried to make her talk but she wouldn't, so I gave up one day. But then I realised that you have noticed as well."

"I did, yes."

"May I ask you how you did?"

"My mother was abused by my father when I was a teenager," John replied and looked into his beer. "I had no idea what was happening to her until I came home from school earlier than usual and saw him beating her up. I said nothing, only watched my mum during the following days. She always tried to hide the bruises and if someone saw them, she told them stories that weren't true. Then I started to watch my dad and he was way too sweet to mum. He bought flowers for her and kissed her told her how much he loved her ..."

"Ugh," Mary made.

"Exactly. But this way she stayed with him and fell in love with him again. One day he hit her again. I didn't see it but I came home from school and found my mum on the floor, crying and cleaning up shards of a porcelain figure he had crashed. As she looked at me I saw the bloody stains on her face and I knew. She told me that she had slipped and fallen. For months it continued ... Once she told me that her friend's kid had thrown a toy block at her. Or that she had run against an open door."

"I've heard that one," Mary mumbled.

"Indeed. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has noticed."

"I think we are not the only one," Mary said lowly. "Mrs. Hughes has noticed, I'm sure of it. And sometimes I think that Thomas has too but he doesn't really know what to say. As for Baxley, they always look at Anna very pitying."

"I never noticed that," John said quietly. Phyllis and Joseph knew as well?

"Of course you haven't, your eyes are on Anna all the time after all," Mary chuckled and John groaned lightly.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Please. You stare at her like a stalker."

John swallowed. "It's actually that bad?"

"Hm, maybe I noticed it cause I sit next to Anna and she always intends to sit exactly opposite of you." Mary crossed her arms. "But yes, it is actually that bad. At first I thought you were a creep but you're my dad's friend. Also you don't look at her like a creep, you look worried. And sometimes really gently."

"So while I observe Anna, you are observing me?" John chuckled. "Alright, I admit that Anna has enchanted me from the very first day. I introduced myself to her, Gwen and Thomas and while Gwen and Thomas weren't really interested, Anna smiled at me, reached out her hand to me and introduced herself."

"Aww. Typical Anna."

John nodded. "And that wasn't everything ... she continued smiling at me and she still does. We both sit there, eating, and suddenly she looks at me and smiles. And ... this may sound stupid now, but everytime she smiles at me, my day is getting better. She's like an angel who keeps making my days."

Mary smiled. "Aww," she made again. "Too bad she's married, huh?"

"What? I didn't - no!" he called. "I didn't mean it like that, Mary."

"Of course not," Mary said. "So, shall we go to the police and tell them about Oliver?"

"I hate to say no but we can't," John said. "She has to go herself. It won't help if we do and she could hate us afterwards."

"Why would she hate us?" Mary wanted to know, whereon John told her about his mother's reaction after he had reported his father to the police. "Hm," Mary made. "You're right. I don't think she would hate us but she'd definitely be mad. She loves Oliver after all ..." Mary eyed John. "So ... are you going to court her?"

"What?" John asked, stunned.

"We need her to leave Oliver. And if she doesn't do it because he is hitting her, then maybe she'd leave him for another man."

"You are a good friend if you want Anna to fall into the arms of any Tom, Rick or Harry who comes along."

"Ah, but it isn't like that, is it?" Mary smiled. "You like her. You called her an angel. And I know she likes you too, I've known her for almost ten years now. She started at the company with nineteen and I was only sixteen. We met at the first Christmas party she was at, as my dad always took us girls along. I was really pissed at Edith back then, for something I can't even remember, and Anna started talking to me. She was the only one who was und twenty back then, so she didn't really have anyone to talk to. We started chatting about siblings and boys and everything that came to our minds and ever since then we've been friends. What I'm trying to say is, John, I know Anna really, really well. And she doesn't simply smile at any Tom, Dick or Harry. She likes you too, John."

"But I cannot court her. She is married."

"Yes, to a violent man," Mary said. "Please, John, help me ... I have spent nights awake thinking of how I could save Anna. I've thought about talking to Oliver. I've thought about kidnapping Anna and bring her far away. No joke, I really did." Mary stared down at her hands. "And ... I've thought about worse even. About hiring a hitman."

"What made you change your mind?"

Mary grimaced. "Really, John? Do I look like someone who could just live with the fact that a man died because of me?"

"No. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"It's okay. But will you help me?"

"It won't work anyway. So yes, I'll help you," John decided. Courting Anna. That was a weird idea and it wouldn't work for sure. Why would Anna want to be with him? She was married to a handsome man, why should she leave him for a crippled man twenty years older than her?

"Do it subtly," Mary interrupted his thoughts. "She can't know about it."

"What do you think I had in mind, buying her a bouquet of flowers tomorrow?" John asked sarcastically and Mary laughed.

"No. you're a smart man." Then she started to grin. "She likes chocolate."

"That's a good information," John said. "What else?"

"She loves music. All kind of music, she has a really open taste. I've never heard her say that she didn't like a song. She loves autumn, the colours but also the temperature. She loves to wrap herself in a warm blanket like a burrito and drink hot chocolate while reading a book. Oh and she loves reading. Thrillers, mystery, romance, crime, fantasy, ... Everything."

"Maybe you should court her," John suggested and Mary chuckled.

"Nah, I'm not her type. Haha. But now that you mention it, I don't even think she has a type. She basically likes people for their character, not their looks. I am telling you, you could have three eyes and she would still smile at you."

John sighed quietly. "She sounds so special."

He didn't particularly think that courting her was a good idea and especially he didn't think that it would work. But he would try everything to free Anna from her husband, no matter how crazy the idea.

"Believe me," Mary said quietly, "she is special."

They had finished their project, but, just as Anna had foretold, Robert had given them a new one. He had liked their design of the supplement and asked them for a new one right away, telling them what he wanted to see and what not. This time John went into Anna's office, which she shared with Daisy and William, to talk to her about the new label.

"I hope we are all right," John said lowly, making sure Daisy and William were both busy working and did not listen to them.

"What do you mean?" Anna asked.

"Yesterday," John said quietly. "I overstepped a line. I'm deeply sorry."

"It's okay," Anna mumbled. "Of course we are fine."

"Are you leaving earlier today?" he asked carefully and Anna looked at him.

"Yes ... how did you guess?"

"The parcel in your bag. Is it Lauren's birthday?"

Anna started to smile. "Yes, it is! My angel is turning five today."

"That's great. October tenth is a good date."

Anna laughed softly. "She'll hate it in the future. October is such a weird month, like it's not exactly cold yet but it's not warm anymore either. Everyone is sick and she will only get Halloween themed birthday gifts."

"I don't think so." John smiled lightly. "I do like the weather in October. Especially the colder days, when I can just sit in front of my fireplace and read a book."

He wasn't lying, he really liked that. He felt like he was exploiting Mary's information but was it really exploiting if he felt the same? And Anna made it happy, so why shouldn't he say these things?

"That's exactly what I like too! I actually love winter, the snow and Christmas and cookies ..."

"Hot chocolate," John suggested and Anna's eyes started to shine as a smile started to spread all over her face. "Yes!"

John smiled back at her and as their eyes met, his heart took a leap.

She was beautiful. She was gorgeous. She was enchanting. He had never met a woman like her, beautiful on the inside and on the outside. Was it really right, what he was doing? Trying to woo her to make her leave her husband?

The day before he had hated the idea to do it, especially with Mary's help. And slowly he started to realise why - if he was courting Anna, Mary should not help him with it. And if he was courting Anna, then not because he wanted her to get away from Oliver, not only.

If he was courting Anna, then because he was falling for her. And now he started to believe that he already had.