You don't have to do this," Kelly protested, as they pulled up into the parking spot. "I would have been fine at Aunt Dorian's."

Joey shook his head. "I'll feel better with you here and besides, you get great deals when you book at the last minute. " He smiled at her, desperately trying to win a smile in return.

"Thanks," she said softly.

"You don't have to thank me," he said, as he retrieved her bag from the car. "Come on, let's go."

"You don't have to escort me. I think I can find the room. You've already done enough, really." She hated feeling helpless like this.

Joey stared at her for a minute. "I'm not leaving you here," he stated, as he realized she was under the impression she was being dropped off. "I'm staying with you."

"Joey," Kelly started…

"No discussion. There is no way I'm leaving you alone right now. You said yourself that Scott gets upset when things don't go his way. What do you think he's gonna do when you don't come home?"

"I know exactly what he's gonna do," Kelly stammered, "He's going to come looking for me. That's why you can't be here."

"No," Joey said, looking directly into her eyes, "that's exactly why I'm going to be here."

Kelly sat on the bed and looked around the room. Joey was right—the place was really nice. The furnishings were sleek and modern and the beds were covered in luxury linens. If she allowed herself to forget, even for a moment, she could imagine she was here with Joey for a completely different reason.

As she heard the door handle rattle, she felt herself tense, but seeing Joey enter, she immediately relaxed. "I talked to the guy at the front desk and explained the situation. No one will be given your information. No one will be told we're here."

Kelly nodded. "This is really unnecessary, Joey."

"No," he said, cutting her off. "It's not. I need you to trust me on this, Kelly."

"The way you trusted me about Aubrey?" As soon as she said it, she regretted it. This certainly wasn't the time to be throwing the Aubrey situation in Joey's face. He was just trying to help her and she knew it. She just…she couldn't help feeling that he wasn't listening to her. Scott had been there for her when Joey wasn't, and he had his faults, but Joey had to understand that, at the time, Scott had filled a need for her.

"Kelly, I" Joey started to speak, to explain…

"I'm sorry," Kelly said quickly, "That just came out. I'm just so…I'm so tired of being angry and upset and of not telling you any of it. I was so damn angry at you when I left."

Joey sat down on the bed silently, letting her talk. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she sat on the bed across on the bed across from him, facing him.

"When I left Llanview, I was determined to be ok without you. I saw that you weren't going to listen to me about Aubrey and as much as I hated knowing what she was going to do to you, I had to let it go. I had to walk away—for me. When I met Scott, he was amazing. He said all the right things. He was kind and compassionate. He listened and he was so interested in every aspect of my life. He told me I was beautiful and he sent me flowers and he made me feel like the most special person in the world."

Joey nodded. "Did you love him?"

Kelly paused, "Maybe…kind of. I don't know," she admitted. "I think I wanted to. I really did. I wanted to believe that I could have a life with him and be happy and just forget about what I walked away from here, but I couldn't. Sometimes it would be a song…sometimes it was the way a couple laughed when they walked down the street, and sometimes it was just a memory that popped into my head, but somehow, some way….you always crept into my mind." She looked up at him. "The more Scott pushed me to commit to him, the more I thought about you. We'd get into these fights about me not wanting the same things and he'd get angrier each time."

Joey still didn't speak. As long as she was talking to him, he wasn't going to stop her.

"One night, I came home and he was waiting for me. He told me that he was tired of waiting of me to make up my mind. He said that if I didn't want to marry him, that I needed to tell him. That I needed to stop wasting his time. I told him I wasn't ready to make a commitment like that and he lost it. He just lost it. I said I was leaving and I tried to, but…" She stopped for a moment, taking a breath.

"Was that the first time?" Joey asked quietly.

"He didn't hit me," she whispered, "He just grabbed my arm so tight I thought he was going to break it. I remember he said that I didn't have the right to jerk him around like that..to mess with his feelings. He was just so angry."

Joey watched her as she spoke. Her eyes filled with fear as if she were literally reliving the moment with each word she spoke.

"Anyway," she said, regaining her composure somewhat, "After that, it just got worse. He'd come home and start drinking and he'd get angry. We'd fight. He'd yell and it would usually end up with him throwing something at me or grabbing me or something." Kelly looked away from Joey. "I know what you're thinking."

Joey reached out to her. "What do you think I'm thinking?"

"You're thinking that it's pathetic that I stayed. You're thinking I should have left the first time…that I never should have let it get this far." She knew Joey well enough to know that he had no tolerance for this type of behavior.

"Hey," he said, gently turning her chin towards him, "I'm not blaming any of this on you. Do I wish you had left this jackass a long time ago? Sure. But that doesn't give him any right to continue treating you like this."

Kelly felt a tear escape down her cheek, but quickly brushed it away, "I know. He isn't a violent person, and normally he's a really sweet guy. After our fights, he really does feel terrible about it," she explained, realizing how trivial the excuses sounded.

"Not nearly terrible enough," Joey said. "Listen, Kelly. I think it's important that you get out of there now. In the morning, we'll book a flight. I'll go with you. We can go, get your things, and be out of there in a few hours."

Kelly furiously shook her head. "That's a bad idea. If I show up at home with another man, he'll go ballistic."

"You're not going back in that house alone," Joey told her. "Before…what you said about being angry with me." Joey stopped to look into her eyes. "You were angry because I wasn't there for you…I wasn't there for you the way you wanted me to be. Let me be there now. Let me help you through this."

She knew it wouldn't be easy. Scott would be furious. It would be an ugly scene, but she was so tired…tired of being afraid of saying the wrong thing…of wearing the wrong thing…of looking the wrong way. She was just so tired.

It was as if he sensed her resignation as he sat beside her on the bed and took her hand in his. He lowered his head, making sure to catch her gaze. "I'm here now, Kelly. Isn't that worth something?"

She nodded, feeling the tears flowing again. Leaning in to him, she allowed all the emotions she'd been bottling up for what seemed like years to escape. Her body shook with sobs that had been stifled. Joey simply held her and let her cry. Tonight he was her shoulder to cry on, and he wasn't going to let her down.

Joey glanced over at the small alarm clock on the bedside table. 2:00—He was fairly certain he'd seen every hour come in. Sleeping in new places had never been his thing. Kelly had fallen asleep hours ago, he thought out of sheer and total exhaustion. The thought of what she'd been going through haunted him. He blamed himself for not keeping better contact with her. If he'd called more..if he'd talked to her…surely he would have noticed. Surely he would have picked up on the signs that something wasn't right. Running his hand over his face, he wondered what he could have done differently. The truth was there was very little he wouldn't change, if given the chance. His marriage to Aubrey had been a disaster—if it weren't for that, he and Kelly might have been able to have a shot at something.

He glanced over in Kelly's direction thinking as he heard the covers on the other bed rustle. She stilled again and he went back to his guilt. He certainly had plenty to think about. His guilt had kept him awake many nights. Another small noise from Kelly's direction distracted him. As he watched her, he noticed her back shake a bit. "Kelly," he whispered softly.

The noise stopped, instead replaced by frantic movement. Turning towards him, she whispered, "I didn't realize you were awake."

Joey reached up to turn on the overhead lamp and immediately noticed she'd been crying. "Hey…what's wrong?" He stood from the bed and walked over to sit beside her.

Kelly felt silly and stupid. "I'm sorry. I thought you were asleep," she sniffled. "I didn't want to bother you with all this. You've already done more than enough."

"It's ok," Joey said softly, stroking her hair. "Tell me what's going on."

"Just feeling sorry for myself basically," Kelly explained, wiping her face to catch the most recent barrage of tears. "I mean, I was just thinking about how pathetic I must look to you. I mean, my whole life is one screw up after another."

Joey shook his head, "I don't think that at all."

"Well you should," she scoffed before continuing, "Think about it..my mother…she spent most of her adult life in a mental institution…then there was the wild life that I supposedly had in Paris that never really happened, then you've got the whole Blair situation, only to be followed by the situation with Ace and…" Kelly took a breath. Saying it…repeating each life tragedy one after another did make it all sound kind of daunting. No wonder she had issues.

"Kelly, it's not like my life has been perfect. Everyone has their problems. No family is perfect. Have you checked out the Buchanans lately?" He smiled.

"I know, but I mean…I left town to get a fresh start. I wanted a new life and I come back to town with this." Kelly shut her eyes and leaned her head against the headboard. "I must attract this stuff somehow. Nobody can be this unlucky."

"No. Bad things just happen to you. You haven't done anything to make these things happen. In fact, in spite of it all, I think you've turned out pretty incredible." Joey looked at her.

Kelly wasn't buying it.

"Come on, Kel. It's true. You're warm and caring and smart. You're a great mother to Zane and you're loyal to your family and your friends. God knows you gave me every chance in the world to listen to you during the whole thing with Aubrey. I shot you down so many times and yet you still kept trying. You just wouldn't give up on me."

"I couldn't," she admitted softly. "I could never give up on you."

"Same here," he smiled. "That's what I'm trying to tell you now. I'm not giving up on you. No matter how bad it is. No matter how bad it sounds. No matter what Scott says or does when we go up there. I'm not giving up on you."

The sound of the cell phone roused them from sleep. Joey leaned to the side of the bed, realizing for the first time that Kelly lay curled up beside him. He couldn't help but smile as he checked for his phone.

Kelly stirred, "Oh…that's mine," she said, reaching for her purse, on the chair beside the bed. She quickly checked the screen and furrowed her brow.

"What is it?" Joey asked, noting her change in expression.

"It's Scott," she said, looking up at Joey. "Honestly, I'm surprised it took him this long to call. I need to call him back."

"Don't," Joey said, reaching out to touch her hand and stop her. "You don't have to answer to him."

"It will be easier if I just call him and tell him that I'm coming home today. At least then it won't be like we just show up and take him by surprise. That would be even worse."

Joey thought about it for a moment. "Ok, if you think it's best."

Kelly nodded. "I do…" As she moved to dial, she looked up at Joey.

"I'm coming with you, ok?" Joey said looking at her, "You just remember that. You don't have anything to be afraid of."

"No records of anyone by that name," Scott said into the phone, his face clearly annoyed, "Ok, thanks." He clicked the button on the cell phone and sat it down hard on the phone. "Where the hell are you, Kelly?" he muttered aloud.

The buzzing of the phone caused it to scamper across the table. Scott grabbed it, answering it quickly when Kelly's name appeared on the caller ID. "Where the hell are you?," he said in lieu of a greeting. "I've been calling you all morning."

"Sorry," Kelly said, trying to place her hand over the receiving in an attempt to muffle his harsh words. One look at Joey's face told her it was useless.

Joey felt his blood pressure rising. The fact that he spoke to Kelly that way was bad enough, but knowing that he put his hands on her was enough to make him want to be sick.

"I'm sorry," Kelly said quietly, "I didn't hear the phone."

"Whatever," Scott said, "You didn't answer my question. Where the hell are you?" He took a sip of coffee.

"I'm in Llanview actually. I came to see my family for a little while."

Scott was silent for a minute. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to see your family?" he asked, obviously suspicious. "This was an awful sudden trip."

Kelly literally felt as if she were shaking. She looked over at Joey.

"It's ok," Joey whispered, trying to help her stay calm.

Scott's face grew serious. "Who was that?" he said, his voice raised and curt.

"What?" Kelly said as she felt her heartbeat race. "That was just the tv."

"That wasn't the tv. That was a man's voice? Who's there with you? Is that why you left? You thought you'd go whore around behind my back?"

Kelly felt the tears fall down her face, "Scott…I told you..I"

"Save it," he screamed, "Come home…Now! We'll deal with it then. I'll fix it so that you won't be quite so appealing from now on."

Before Kelly could answer, Joey grabbed the phone from her hand, slamming it shut. "Enough," he said looking at her. "You're not listening to any more of that."

Kelly's eyes were full of tears. She was shaking. She felt completely and totally out of control.

As angry as Joey was at Scott, he was equally concerned about her. "Come here," he said softly, gathering her into his arms, trying desperately to calm her shivering, soothing her jagged breaths with calming strokes on her back. "It's going to be ok. I promise you. He will never touch you again."

Kelly shook her head. "You don't know how he can get Joey," she said through the tears. "I don't want to get you caught up in this whole thing."

"Hey," he said, backing away from her slightly. "Too late. I'm all in."

Joey glanced over at her. She'd barely said three words since they left the hotel. He could tell she was nervous. She always got quiet when she was anxious about something. All the signs were there…the silence, the fidgeting, the taut facial expressions. Sometimes knowing someone so well was not such a good thing…sometimes you knew too much.

Casually removing one hand from the wheel, he reached over to take her hand. "It's going to be ok," he said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Kelly met his gaze and sighed. She had tried so hard to appear ok, yet Joey knew all her secrets—her little signals that she was anything but ok. "Was I that obvious?" she asked, forcing a smile.

"Not to a novice," he smiled, "but to a trained expert like myself, you're pretty transparent." Joey squeezed her hand again, "But it will be ok. I promise. We're going to go in there, get your things, and get your out of this whole mess."

Kelly closed her eyes. She wished she truly believed it would be that simple, but Joey didn't know how he could be. How angry he could really get…"Joey," she began slowly, "What if he…What if he won't let me…"

Joey shook his head, "He doesn't have a choice," he said bluntly. "I'm here now and I'm not going to sit back and watch you stay in a situation like this. He's going to see that you're not alone and he'll back off."

"And if he doesn't," she said quietly, looking at Joey.

Joey sighed, "If he doesn't, he'll wish he did."