After Peter had ended the call, Olivia stood up off of the floor, shuddering as a slight breeze tickled across her skin. Looking down, she saw that she was completely naked. Suddenly she remembered that she'd fallen asleep in her towel, which must've come off while she was thrashing about during her nightmare.

In the shallow light, she could see dark stripes against the ivory skin of her breasts in the perfect shape of fingers. Olivia breathed in sharply and averted her gaze towards the wall, covering herself with her arm like she'd done before her shower. Hastily she kneeled in front of her dresser and drew out a large t-shirt from her bottom drawer. She pulled it over her head, the hem of it hitting her mid-thigh, and slipped on some cotton panties.

Grabbing a light blanket from her closet, she wrapped it around her body and made her way to the couch to wait for Peter. A few minutes later she heard his light tap at the door and a key turning inside the lock. She was glad she'd given it to him in that moment, because she really had no energy to get up and answer the door.

Even though she'd slept a long time, she still felt drained of every ounce of vigor in her body. She assumed her slumber hadn't been very deep—her subconscious still on high alert for potential dangers.

When Peter walked in, he immediately shut the door behind him and locked it. The atmosphere in her apartment was thickly laced with fear, making him want to fold her into his arms and tell her that everything would be okay.

"Hey," he greeted tenderly, taking off his coat and shoes in the entryway. He was wearing a fitted gray t-shirt and black sweats, looking as handsome as ever without even trying.

"Hi," she replied.

The second he rid himself of his outside-wear he walked straight towards Olivia. When he passed the kitchen his eyes wandered to the table where he saw a half-eaten Poptart on top of the wrapper. Was that all she'd eaten?

Olivia watched him stare at her barely-nibbled-on snack as a worried look washed over his face. She expected him to say something, but instead he turned his gaze back to her and continued to walk towards the couch.

When he sat down next to her, leaving a considerable amount of space, Olivia was disappointed. Immediately she scooted closer to him and snuggled herself into his chest, his arms wrapping tightly around her and rubbing her back. For the first time since he'd left, she felt safe.

Just one night, Olivia thought.

"What's just one night?" Peter queried.

Wait, had she said that out loud? Great. "Nothing. Never mind."

When Peter pulled her away from his body to look her square in the eyes, she had to swallow a moan of protest.

"Olivia. Please."

Olivia chewed on her bottom lip. Peter deserved to know the truth, but it was still hard for her to admit.

"This is just one night. Me letting myself be weak. Me needing you."

Peter looked at her perplexedly for a moment, and then all at once, everything clicked. She'd been reluctant to have him here comforting and taking care of her because she was afraid he'd see her as weak from now on. To Olivia, that was the world's worst insult.

Taking her face in his hands, he looked at her intently, all humor removed from his face. "You are not weak. Not in the slightest, Olivia. You have been and always will be the strongest most driven woman I have ever met. Needing someone to lean on after a traumatic experience doesn't mean you're weak—it means you're human. For once in your life take down that wall around your heart and let me in. I don't care if you cry, scream, throw things—my perception of you will not change. Let me be here for you, Liv."

Olivia was left speechless by his sweet words. She could see the sincerity in his piercing blue eyes, and undoubtedly knew that he'd meant everything he'd just spoken. As she stared at the wonderful man before her, whom she cared for so deeply, she felt the cage around her heart open up a little, which was all it took for her to lose it.

She made tight fists in his t-shirt, her face flat against his chest as she sobbed violently. Peter tucked her head under his chin and slightly rocked her back and forth in a soothing manner. He hated seeing her so distressed, but was relieved that she was finally letting it all out. She'd been a shaken up bottle of soda ready to explode at any moment, and he was glad that he was there for her as everything came crashing down.

"He's everywhere, Peter," she wept. "Everywhere I look, every time I close my eyes, no matter what I do, he's there. And his presence will continue to haunt me until he's behind bars. But what if the trial isn't for another year? I cannot live like this that long. I don't know what to do."

Olivia's nearly unintelligible words were like an arrow straight through his heart. He kept silent for a while longer while he contemplated what to say next.

"Liv, it's barely been a day since all of this happened to you. Of course you're going to feel scared and disturbed, it'd be strange if you didn't." Peter tightened his hold around her, his voice getting softer as he spoke his last sentences. "I know that you've never felt this way before, never needed someone to lean on, but I promise you that it will get better each day. But right now, all you need to do is trust me and let me take care of you. This isn't something you can just push through and get over like you do with everything else—this is something you have to face. But we can face it together, if you let me in."

Olivia still clung to his shirt as her sobs slowly calmed into spasms of hiccupped breathing. Though she believed everything he said about it being normal to need someone after an experience like this, it was still hard for her to depend on another person. She'd been independent since she was 14, never relying on a single sole since.

But now she had Peter, who was the best friend she'd ever had and the one person she trusted completely. Pushing her hesitations aside for the first time in 25 years, Olivia finally released her caged heart, allowing Peter take it gently into his hands where she unquestionably knew it'd be safe.

"I need you, Peter. I need you to help me through this. I can't do this alone," She admitted.

Peter felt like doing cartwheels all over her living room, and just might have gone for it if he could actually do a cartwheel. He'd been trying to get Olivia to open up to him for years, and now she was finally letting him see her completely, all masks and walls stripped away. He'd only ever caught glimpses of this side of Olivia throughout the years, and each time she'd close herself back up, just like she'd done when she'd told him she wanted to be alone merely hours before.

But now she'd finally realized that there were certain things in life that shouldn't be faced alone, especially when she had someone who cared for her and would keep her safe, even if it meant putting his own life in jeopardy. And him holding and comforting her at this moment didn't mean she was weak—it meant she was lucky.

"That's why I'm here, Liv. I'm not going anywhere. Not now, not ever."

"I know," she murmured, moving her face up to nuzzle his neck. She wanted to kiss, touch, and make love to him, but she felt so sheltered and content, and all she had the energy to do was fall into a deep, satisfied sleep.

Peter smiled against her hair as she brushed his nose along her neck, so happy that she finally knew he would never leave her. He planted a light kiss on her head, and overflowing with emotions, blurted out:

"I love you, Olivia."

He waited anxiously for her to respond, but her rhythmic breathing and lifeless body made him realize that she had fallen asleep. He let out a light, breathy laugh and shook his head, always humored at how fast Olivia could fall asleep, considering how on edge and guarded she always was. Even though she had already slept for 10 hours, he wasn't the least bit surprised that she was sleeping right now. He was sure her slumber had been light and unpleasant, considering how paranoid she'd been on top of being stuck in that horrid nightmare. But now that he was here, she could finally get the sleep that she so badly needed.

Standing up from the couch with Olivia limp in his arms, he carried her to her room and stopped in his tracks when he saw the scene before him. Her pillows and comforter were at opposite ends of the room, her sheets knotted up as tightly as a braided rope.

"Jesus," Peter muttered to himself, not sure what to do with the sleeping woman in his arms. Then he remembered her guest bedroom where Rachel and Ella had stayed, and carried her to it.

As he laid her down under the covers and brushed his lips against her cheek, she gave a contended sigh, the corners of her lips turning up in a slight smile. He wanted nothing more than to curl up next to her and hold her close to him all night, but needed to make sure she was okay with it before he got too ahead of himself. He'd gotten this far—he couldn't risk ruining any chance he had with her.

Peter tiptoed out of the room and headed back towards Olivia's bedroom. He picked up her pillows and comforter, and was confused when he found them to be damp. He set them down on her bed and ran his hand along her sheets, finding them slightly moist, as well. It then came to his attention that she'd probably thrashed about during her nightmare so aggressively that she'd broken into a heavy sweat. God, could she ever catch a break?

He spent a good hour untangling her sheets, and then gathered them and her pillowcases together to throw into the wash. Her comforter would need to be sent to the dry cleaners, which he added to his list of things to do, along with grocery shopping.

Even though Olivia was allowing him to take care of her, he knew that she was going to press the protest button when he told her his plans, but that was just too damn bad. She needed to learn how to let other people do nice things for her for once in her life.

After he'd made her bed up with fresh sheets and pillows, he decided he might as well try to get some sleep. He poked his head into Olivia's guest bedroom and smiled when he saw she was still sleeping hard.

He found a large blanket and an extra pillow in her hall closet, and brought them over to the couch where he flopped down exhaustedly. He buried his face in the pillow, which smelled exactly like Olivia, and drifted off.