A/N: Gah! I just put up the last chapter, twice! Oops! I think I fixed it, now. I won't be updating on September 26th because I updated twice today (the 25th) unless I have a really good idea or way too much time on my hands. Thanks to Linwe Melwasul, JoonSanders, and XxbluemoonxX for your reviews that totally rocked my socks off. The chapter is dedicated, once again, to the most fabulous Nikki, who's at bandcamp. Enjoy!

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Nick adjusted his sunglasses and, feeling relieved that he didn't look like his two companions, sat down at the table. Greg was wearing large Versace lenses over his brown eyes, his hair had been dyed black with one-wash dye, and his clothes were nothing short of comical. He had bought the very shirt that he had almost convinced Archie into buying, with its hideous purple and green plaid fabric. He was wearing jeans, but they had an assortment of odd patches on them. Nick counted four My Little Pony ones alone before Greg had taken a seat.

Catherine had also done her hair black with the same dye as Greg's, and she'd applied a darker foundation than she would normally have, all over her skin. She was wearing an authentic Japanese kimono, and her hair was in an elaborate knot held in place with chopsticks. She was the epitome of Japanese geisha-ness, and she was sitting at a table with an equally strange Greg and Nick, who looked out of place in the group being so normal.

"Talk about going incognito," Nick thought to himself. "Cath and Greg will probably attract more attention than if we had just gone as ourselves. I hope Ecklie and Sara are too absorbed with each other to notice us."

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Ecklie and Sara were looking across the table, over the romantic centerpiece of candles, at each other. "Valentine's Day is so nice," Sara thought. "This restaurant is so romantic; it's really decorated for the occasion." Indeed, the restaurant had outdone itself with pink hearts decorating the walls, roses in vases in the centerpiece of every table, and every table for two lit by candles.

Conrad was having similar thoughts, but his were marred by images of Sara that would float across his mind periodically. He smiled slightly at the beautiful girl sitting across from him, and struck up a conversation.

Once the couple had eaten, making pauses to feed each other food of their own plates and talk in sappy voices, Ecklie paid the bill and left a generous tip, the offered his arm to Sara and together they walked out the door.

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"There they go," murmured Catherine, standing quickly. She had already had the bill sent to Sam Braun, and she and the boys tailed the smiling couple to the door.

"Let me give you a ride home," Ecklie simpered, "A beautiful girl like you, it might be dangerous for you to walk home at night."

Sara blushed, feeling relieved that Ecklie had gotten his driver's license the previous week. "Thanks, Conrad."

Ecklie smiled as they reached his car. He cupped Sara's face in his hands and kissed her warmly. Then he moved closer, deepening the kiss. Sara was pressed against the car, unable to move because one of Ecklie's arms had wound tightly around her, his hand clutching her arm and restricting her movement.

Sara thought nothing of this handicap, and leaned forward eagerly; kissing Ecklie with a lust that only she could understand. Next to the restaurant, Greg and Nick blanched. It was hard to tell whether Sara was enjoying this attention or not.

Ecklie took his hand away from her face and moved it downwards, sliding Sara's short skirt up her leg. She struggled for a moment, then his hand left her thigh. Her heart stopped as she heard the unmistakable sounds of a belt buckle being undone. Sara broke the kiss, trying to push away but his death grip on her was too tight. His hand was back, sliding her skirt up. One finger was moving along the top of her panties. Sara screamed. She brought a knee up and hit Ecklie squarely where young men really shouldn't be hit.

Catherine, Nick, and Greg were already sprinting across the parking lot toward the scene. Ecklie was still forcing himself on Sara, throwing her across the hood of his car and pinning her arms with his knees. He was stifling her screams with one hand, taking her panties off with the other.

Sara heard footsteps, just as the edges of her vision began to fuzz, and she felt Ecklie slide her panties down her leg just a little, not enough so that anything was showing, but enough to make her struggle harder. The weight on her chest became too much, and the hand on her mouth was too tight. The blackness obscured her vision, and she was falling down, drowning in a pool of shadows, screaming without making a sound. The darkness all around was sucking her in, and then she wasn't aware of anything.

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Nick pulled Ecklie violently off of Sara, and punched him squarely in the jaw. Catherine ran to Sara's side and checked her pulse, pulling her panties up and her skirt down once she made sure that her friend was still alive.

Greg was beating every inch of Ecklie in reach, Nick alongside him, doing the same. It was almost as if this was enough to bring them back together, friends again, united for the good of the girl they loved. Nick put a hand on Greg's arm, looking him in the eyes. "You can stop now," he said slowly. Greg had his hand over Ecklie's windpipe and was applying pressure steadily. Ecklie had lost consciousness, and he was bleeding from his mouth and nose. Catherine hurried over; making sure that Ecklie would live and would wake up before daybreak.

She rushed over to Sara and hoisted the smaller girl on her back, her thin muscles straining with the effort.

"Get my cell phone," she grunted at Nick, who reached into her purse, discarded next to Ecklie's bleeding body, and held up the phone. "Speed dial, one," she said, "Tell Sam to come pick us up in front of La Chaussette!"

A shiny black limo pulled up about ten minutes later, and the four teens, Catherine carrying Sara, got in. There, in the flesh, was Sam Braun. Greg and Nick stared in wonder at the Vegas tycoon.

"Mogs, are you all right? What happened?" Genuine concern was in the man's voice, and he listened intently as Catherine related to him the whole story of Ecklie and the Valentine's Day date gone rotten.

"Call your parents," Sam said, "I think it's best if you all stay with me tonight. It's late, and I have doctors who can take care of her." He indicated Sara's unconscious form on the seat beside Catherine.

In turn, each teen called their parents and explained the situation, Catherine taking the job of calling the Petersons and saying Sara was spending the night with her. "If she wants to tell them, she can when she wakes up," Catherine thought.

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February 15th was a Tuesday, but school had been canceled for the teachers' first-aid training, and the four freshmen soon left the company of Sam and Catherine to go to their own homes, Sara last of all, who thanked Catherine many times before leaving the house with her foster mother.

"Y'know what, Sam?" Catherine asked as the door shut behind her friend. Sam looked down with a questioning look on his face. "She's a braver girl than me. If that had happened with me and some guy, I don't think I would've woken up."

"Mogs, I know you're stronger than that," Sam said, putting an arm around her skinny shoulders. He couldn't help but wonder, however, what kind of world he was giving to this girl who was so near to his heart. He knew he wouldn't always be around to pick her up and cover for her, but he hoped that the day would never come when she was in so much trouble that he could do nothing. Sam Braun, famous Las Vegas millionaire, sighed morosely and wished, for once in his life, that he had more power and persuasion, just for the one child he ever loved.

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A/N: Not quite sure what it is, exactly, that Sam calls Cath, but it always sounded like "Mogs" to me, so that's what I put. I hope you liked this chapter as much as I did, I hate making Ecklie so evil, but it had to be done for the good of the story. There'll be some characters reflecting on it next chapter. And, to Silver Hair Wolf, who'll be reading this soon, sorry I couldn't put Natasha in this one. I don't think she's one to follow around a girl she barely knows. Ta!

Maddy