this chapter is much more intense than the others. i feel as if the story is tapering off a bit, i apologize. :/ my muse has ran away it seems. thoughts/comments are always welcome.

"I can't believe you pulled this off." Mackenzie dropped her bag on the floor, taking in the scenery and the cottage before her.

"What's not to believe?" Will chuckled. "I called a few people, rented the place, we got on a plane and now we are here."

"But work? How long...?"

"We have a good chunk of time here."

"What do we do?" Mackenzie gasped. "I've never been without the TV or Internet in a long time. How will I know what's going on?"

"We can use our phones, but just remember that you are here to relax, to detox, to do whatever you want that doesn't involve work."

"So what's on the agenda today?"

"Whatever you want." He smiled and fell onto the couch.

They spent most of the day relaxing. Mackenzie went for a walk through the woods, admiring the change of scenery. In New York it was always so busy and she never took the time to appreciate the sun and the fresh air. But this was beyond perfect.

When she returned, she decided to take a quick cat nap on the couch. Will had gone into town to get some supplies and food.

When he returned he found her fast asleep. It was almost 7 pm, and he knew that he had to get dinner going. He wanted a more simple dinner for this night, only because it was late and he was tired, Mackenzie was clearly tired and they would have an entire week to cook whatever try wanted.

When the frozen pizza had finally came out of the oven, he served both himself and Mackenzie. Grabbing a couple of beers an headed into the living room. He sat down where her knees bent into the back of the couch, her face was pressed up into the corner of the armrest and the back of the couch in an uncomfortable position. He gently shook her shoulder to wake her.

"Mackenzie," he gave her a few moments. "Wake up."

There wasn't any movement coming from her body, so he tried once more, "Mac. Come on," and this time he was a little more rough with the shoulder shake. "Get up."

And suddenly she was sitting up, quicker than Will has ever seen before. Panic etched across her face and she looked like she was ready for a fight.

"Kenz, it's me."

"Will?" Her defenses completely fell. You could visibly see her body relax.

"I didn't mean to startle you." He placed a hand on her back and rubbed it up and down.

"It's okay- I was having a bad dream. It's okay." She affirmed.

"You want to talk about it?" He handed her the paper plate with pizza.

"Not really." She studied her food.

"Sorry this isn't the best dinner," he felt bad for picking this now that it was served. "I promise to make whatever you want tomorrow."

"Okay." She replied, still not looking at him.

"There's something we need to figure out," Will started. "There is only one bed, it's a king, but just one bed."

Mackenzie knew that Will meant to harm to her and would never hurt her. But sharing a bed right now wasn't something she was ready to do. The last time she shared a bed with him was one of the nights that Brian had raped her. He seemed to be always a quick phone call away - and when she couldn't sleep, Will was always the one who could soothe her into a slumber.

She had just gotten into her apartment, dropping her bags off at the door. She left her shoes on as she made her way into the kitchen, something she hardly ever did, but she was thirsty. And after you have a drink with your co-workers and walk a few blocks to your home, you can develop a dry throat. Her apartment was still dark, the kitchen lit up with only the digital clock on the stove, promising her sleep would still be a few hours away. She drank the water quickly and went to her bedroom to change. When she came back out to the living room, she flipped on the light switch.

"Hello Mac." A deep voice came from her couch.

"Jesus Christ Brian." Mackenzie's hand flew to her chest to try and calm her rapidly beating heart.

"You ignored me for a week."

"You know that it's completely over and there will never be anything between us. Even if you succeed in getting on my show - with me or with Will - you and I will never be again." Mackenzie sternly said.

"You know what I think?" Brian got up and walked over to her.

"What?" She swallowed.

"I think that what you think doesn't matter at all."

"Don't be ridiculous." Mackenzie started to move away but was stopped when his hand grabbed hers.

"This will be easier if you just do as I say."

"Brian," Mackenzie tried not to panic, tried to pull back her hand. But he was stronger than her and he was determined to get what he wanted.

"Just do as I say."

"I won't let you do this." Mackenzie jerked back and tried to kick him.

"Physical violence will be awarded with physical violence." And he quickly pulled back his fist and let it connect to her face.

Mackenzie let out a scream as her hands tried to cover her face, but his grip remained on her. He gripped her arms tightly, binding them to her body as he pushed her against the wall. He grabbed her waistband and pulled quickly with one hand, causing her shorts and underwear to fall to her ankles.

"If you so much as scream," Brian unbuckled and unzipped his pants. "I will kill you right here."

"Please no," Mackenzie whispered. "Please." She hoped her sobs could be heard through the cheap apartment walls. But know that the 80 year-old couple was asleep meant that she'd be on her own, even if she did scream.

She closed her eyes as hard as she could, hoping that the pain she felt by doing this would overbear the pain she felt as Brian slammed into her over and over again. His hands were on the wall on either side of her head, caging her in. When her knees started to give out, he put one hand around her throat and gripped tightly. Her eyes shot open as he did this, even more panic forcing itself to burst from her.

He quickly finished his job, pulling his pants back up and straightening out his shirt.

"I'll see you later." And with that, Brian walked out of her apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Mackenzie fell to the floor, breaking down and crying hysterically until she thought there was nothing left to get out.

She went to bed after she cleaned herself up. But as she laid in bed all she could think about was how Brian was able to get into her place to begin with. So she did he only thing that she knew would help her get to sleep.

"Will?"

"Can't sleep?" He sighed. He knew the feeling all too well.

"I can take the couch tonight." Mackenzie swallowed her pizza. She knew that they could share the bed, that it would be okay and that no one would think anything of it. But she wasn't sure when this whole thing with Brian would end and she was partly afraid to lose her midnight emergency call. If something happened between her and Will, anything at all, she wouldn't have Will to come to her rescue when she really needed him.

"Don't be silly, let me take the couch."

"Billy," she finally looked at him. "I got this, okay? Please just let me stay out here tonight."

"Okay," he held up his hands in defense. "I'm just here to make you happy."

"Thank you." She smiled. Not as genuine as it could be, but Will would take it.