1Lisa's legs pumped harder and she ran faster than she ever had before, despite the fact that she was five months gestating.

She knew she wouldn't be able to outrun Jackson, which was why she had hopped down the embankment leading into the forest. The trees would provide cover for her to hide in, and if all else failed, to its left stood a rocky formation in which she could always curl up in.

She heard him racing after her and panicked as she tried to speed up. It reminded her horribly of the dreams children always had of outrunning your inevitable murderer.

He advanced up on her and grabbed her shoulder. She stumbled and fell, taking him down with her. His hand slid to her ankle and she tried to pull away and keep running. "Let me go!" she moaned. He swore at her.

His fist collided with her jaw and a metallic taste filled her mouth as she bit down hard on her tongue. Filled with a defensive anger, she kicked Jackson hard in the chest. The action left him winded and her free. She scrambled to her feet and was off.

She was into the cover of the thick woods as Jackson caught his breath and continued to sprint after her. She managed to get herself up into a tree. This could either be suicide or sanctuary, depending on if he saw her or not. She didn't think he did, as the rough bark and jagged branches clawed at her body. She kept pushing through the growth of the tree until she was pretty sure that she was concealed.

I haven';t changed much. First I stab him with a Frankenstein pen and now I play Tarzan and hide in a giant cedar tree.

She held her breath regardless as Jackson lividly pushed through the woods. She noted with an uncharacteristically smug smirk that he didn't even bother looking up. It made sense. Why would he think for a moment that a five-month pregnant woman with multiple bodily injuries who had never climbed a tree before in her life would be sitting up in the branches? She hardly believed it herself.

Lisa clapped a hand over her mouth as he paced underneath. She jumped as he shouted, "I'll find you! Give yourself up now, Leese! You'll be in a hell of a lot more pain if I find you first!"

She half expected him to pull the old hide and go seek favorite, "Haha, I found you!" to get her to give herself up. But he didn't.

Finally, she heard the crunching of leaves as he stormed out of the woods. The squishing of wet sand as he jogged back up the embankment. Distantly, she heard the slamming of a car door and the whine of the engine as it sprang to life. Tears of joy filled her eyes.

I did it. I beat him! She waited another moment before hopping painfully down and hobbling back up to the 7-11. She peeked around the corner into the parking lot before going inside, worried and paranoid that he might still be there regardless. He wasn't. She got inside and spoke to the cashier.

"Please," she slumped on the counter. "I need your help."

The young girl looked up at the frazzled woman before her. Her blue eyes widened. "Oh my God. You're Lisa Reisert." Lisa nodded. "Everybody's looking for you. Are you okay?"

Lisa nodded again. "I'm just tired, hungry, and in pain. Please, just call me a cab so I can go home." The girl nodded and dialed the number for a Little Yellow Taxi. Then she called the police.

"We'll come get you," they offered.

"Only if I can go back to Stars Hollow," Lisa bargained. "I need my husband and my friends. I'm not going with you otherwise."

"We'll take you there," they agreed. "Let you get checked by the doctor, cleaned up, fed, and get some rest. Then we'll ask you some questions." She agreed disinterestedly to this and hung up. The girl at the counter pulled off her smock and took Lisa's hand.

"Come on," she offered. "I'll take you in back and get you some food and clean clothes."

Lisa had never felt more grateful in her life. "Thank you. That's so nice. But the desk?"

She was already apparently two leaps ahead of Lisa. "Marco! Take checker!" A middle-aged Hispanic man nodded and darted out from the staff room without even a glance to Lisa.

The girl set down Lisa on a comfortable but worn plaid couch and headed to the refrigerator. Lisa checked her nametag. Anna. What a cute name.

Anna came back with a glass of milk and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "Here."

"This isn't your lunch, is it?"

Anna smiled. "It is, but take it. You need it." She eyed Lisa's stomach and smiled broader. "How far along are you?"

"Maybe I'm not pregnant," Lisa joked. "Maybe I'm just fat."

"Then the news alerts would have lied," Anna laughed. "Seriously."

"Five months," Lisa patted her stomach maternally and downed the milk. "I can't wait. I just hope the baby is ok, after all of this..." She crammed the sandwich hungrily into her mouth.

Anna patted her hand. "With the grace of God, she will be."

Lisa smiled, suddenly calmed. She glanced at the girl's crucifix necklace. "That looks kind of like my old one. You're a Christian?"

"Yes. I'm guessing you are as well?"

"I've been kind of separated from God lately."

"Like, you feel that He's not with you anymore, after everything that's happened."

"Exactly."

"But, Lisa," Anna put an arm around her shoulders. "Look around you. Your baby is still alive. You're alive. You're saved."

"Yeah," Lisa began crying again, her happy tears coursing down her dirty face. "I am."