Sorry for a bit of the delay in updating, but with the holidays and everything it all got a bit slowed down! Speaking of, Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans :) Hope you all had a wonderful day.

Also, thank you SO much for the reviews. I really really appreciate them.

Anyway, onto Chapter 2. Enjoy!

-K

Chapter 2

Charlotte King needs to feel in control. Whether at work or home, she is the decision maker. She calls the shots. Of course she would have a lot more friends if she could loosen up even the slightest bit, but she values respect more than friendship.

Lee McHenry was an average man at best. Average height, average weight, average looking…there was nothing particularly special about him. Maybe if he was just a little bit tougher looking…a little bit more threatening…maybe then she wouldn't have felt so pathetic for not having the strength to fight him.

Why couldn't I fight him off? She asks herself for what must be the thousandth time. She replays the scene over and over again in her head, trying to figure out how she could have stopped him before he pinned her down. Could she have screamed louder, or fought harder? In her heart she knows that she did all she could, but somehow has a hard time believing it.

"Char, I gotta tell you. I am so glad I didn't know you when you were on drugs because it is brutal out there!" Cooper walks into his wife's office, interrupting her train of thought.

"Real nice, Coop." She replies dryly, a bit agitated that he came after her. Cooper knows that she likes to be alone when she's upset.

"Sorry, that was rude, wasn't it?" He held up his hand, stopping her before she could get a chance to speak. "Don't even answer that. It was, I know. I'm sorry." He sighs, "But really, I don't care what kind of drugs Amelia's on, that was way out of line." He paced back and forth. "I know we're supposed to be supportive and caring, but honestly, I'm kinda pissed off!" He stopped for a moment, looking over at his wife. "I mean, why would she say things like that?"

"Not a drug in the world that's powerful enough to force you to say something you don't want to say." Charlotte's tone lacked any touch of emotion. "Just because she'd never say those things sober doesn't mean she's never thought about it."

Cooper sighed, defeated. "This sucks."

"She'll be alright." She shrugged. "Get her the help she needs, she'll be apologizing for all of this before you know it. She's got a good support system, that's key."

"You make it seem so easy."

She cocked her eyebrow, looking over at him. Staying off pills has continued to be one of the greatest battles of her life. She fight each and everyday to resist the temptation to start up again. "Yeah, well, I make a lot of things seem easy." She sighed. "Fool a lot of people."

"Char…" Cooper finally started to realize that his wife was upset. "You okay?" He asked delicately, knowing how much she hated that particular question.

"Fine." Her tone was flat and unconvincing.

Cooper smiled sadly. "Okay." He had learned that pushing Charlotte to talk if she wasn't ready would get him nowhere. "Well, I should probably go back out there. See what other surprises our resident addict has in store for us."

"Enjoy yourself." She rolled her eyes, studying her computer screen.

He nodded. "Okay, then…" He took a few steps closer to the door, but stopped before he could even reach the handle. "I can't do this."

Charlotte looked up at her husband, un-amused. "Need me to walk you back?" She asked sarcastically.

"How can I go out there…how can I give all my love and support to Amelia while you're sitting in here, obviously upset?" He sighed. "You're my priority, Charlotte. You're my number one, not her."

"Coop…" Charlotte began.

"Please just let me help you. Please, just – "

"Coop." Charlotte interrupted.

"Yeah?"

She tried to compose her thoughts. "It was right there." She stared at the spot Cooper was standing. "Right where you're standin'."

Cooper looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry?"

"I know the spot because I was looking up at the ceiling," She looked up. "Right where that little crack is up there, you see it? Once I realized I couldn't fight anymore, I had to focus on something…other than him."

"Charlotte…" He understood now what she was referring to.

"I tried so hard to fight him, Coop. I gave it all I had, but I was so tired…" She trailed off. "It had just been such a long day and maybe if I…if I had all my strength I could've taken him."

Cooper moved closer to his wife, kneeling beside her, resting his hand on her knee.

"I play it over and over again in my head and I just think maybe if I wasn't so tired…" She repeated.

"Hey." He took her hand. "Look at me." No response. "Charlotte, look at me." He could see the tears welling in her eyes. "You couldn't have fought any harder than you did. I mean, look at you, 90 pounds soaking wet…I didn't know you had that kind of fight in you." He saw her crack a small smile, and it made him smile too. "You could take me down for sure."

"Damn right I could." She held onto his hand.

"It's just…It's too much. It's too damn much." Charlotte shook her head. "I may hate her right now, but I'm still worried sick about Amelia. She's got a real long road ahead of her." She paused. "…and I just didn't want think about this right now…not with everything else going on." Her voice cracked. "It's too much, Cooper."

"I know." He whispered, taking her into his arms. "I know it is."

She leaned into him, allowing a few stray tears to fall.

"But I'm here, okay? I'm right here." He soothed. "You don't always have to be the strong one. I know you like it. I know it makes you feel safe, and so I'm okay with it…I let you do it. But you can let people help you sometimes." He held her close. "Its nothing to be ashamed of."

She clung to him now, overwrought with emotion. She realized that at some point he had moved onto her chair and was now holding her in his lap. "I'm trying. I swear to you I'm trying."

"I know." He kissed the top of her head. "You'll get there."

"Promise me you'll be patient."

"Promise me you'll stop blaming yourself for what happened to you." He retorted.

She pulled away, looking at him. "You know that ain't fair, I asked you first." She waited for him to smile, or say anything for that matter. "Alright, fine. I promise."

"I need you to say it."

She looked at him for a while. "It wasn't my fault." She finally spoke. "'Course it wasn't my fault. I save lives. I help people. I'm a good person, I mean…I'm a little rough around the edges, I know, but I'm not so bad." She paused. "I care about people, I do. And I didn't deserve to be…well, I didn't deserve what happened to me. No one does."

Cooper smiled. "That's my girl." He kissed her. "And I promise I'll be patient. I'm good at that."

"Thank you." She leaned into him again, feeling herself relax. "So…do you think I'm damaged?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Who the hell isn't?"

"Fair enough." She nodded. "Think I'm a bitch?"

"I think we've had enough questions for today." He grinned.