Karen knocked on the door of Grace's apartment, hoping that she was home. They hadn't spoken in a very long time and she was ready to mend their friendship. She loved Will and Jack, but she needed her Gracie back. There was no answer so she knocked again, harder than before. The do swung open within a moment and she jumped at the sudden motion. Grace stood before her in a pair of pajamas, her eyes widened.

"Hi, honey."

"Karen, what are you doing here?" She smiled, nervously, before shrugging.

"I guess I just missed you. How are things? How's Leo?"

"He's working the night shift tonight. We're fine." They stared at each other for a moment before Grace rushed forward and enveloped Karen in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Karen. If I would have known then I never would have treated you that way. I hate myself for it. I'm sorry."

"Oh, honey, no." Grace cried on her shoulder and their embrace strengthened. "How could I have expected you to know? I don't blame you."

"You don't know how sorry I am." Karen pulled away from the hug and held her by the shoulders. "Please forgive me."

"I do, Gracie. I just want our friendship back. I want to come back to work."

"You want to come in?"

"I'd like that." Her hand was taken and Karen was led into Grace's apartment. She ended up spending the night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Karen walked down the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop that she had visited with Grace. Their friendship seemed to pick up where it had left off and their problems were forgotten, painted over. She was so glad that none of her friends judged her and they were all extremely supportive of her inner struggle. They didn't treat her any differently than before, only with a deeper understanding.

She walked into the building where Will worked and stepped into the elevator. It wasn't often that she visited him at work, but she wanted to surprise him. He was up for making partner of the firm and she wanted to make sure that everyone was treating him nicely. At least that was the story she told herself. The truth was she was dying to see him. Even though they lived together and she had only seen him five hours before, she wanted to look at him. She wanted to take his hand in hers and look into his eyes.

She knocked on the door of his office before opening it. She smiled brightly when she saw his face, looking up at her. He looked exhausted and his eyes were red. She stepped into the office and closed the door behind her before walking over to him and sitting on the edge of his desk.

"Honey, you look…rough. What's going on?"

"I came in this morning and they threw a ton of work at me. Apparently, the way to make partner is to kiss ass. It took me four and a half hours to finish all of that." He ran a hand through his hair before meeting her sympathetic eyes. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going back to work today."

"Well, Grace and I had lunch and she said I could have the rest of the day off. Plus, I wanted to see you." He smiled and placed a hand on her thigh. She returned the smile.

"Kiss me." She leaned down and pressed her lips against his. He slid his hand higher up her thigh as he deepened the kiss. She sighed when his hand disappeared in between her legs. She pushed her tongue into his mouth and caressed his face with her hand.

"This is not the way to make partner." They jumped apart as one of Will's colleagues spoke. They hadn't heard him enter the room, as distracted as they were. "Besides, I thought you were gay."

"I am." Karen smiled to herself and looked to the floor. What she felt with him was certainly never gay. She couldn't look at the other man without smiling so she continued to stare at the floor.

"Hey, Ted, get in here." The colleague called out to another lawyer at the firm. He obviously wanted to share the scene with a friend, someone whom Will was barely familiar with.

"Stop that."

"She's your client right?" She still couldn't look up, not even to defend him. Suddenly, another man walked into the room and stood in front of Will. He was told the story and began to laugh as well. But Karen knew the voice. Her gaze snapped from the ground to the face of the second man, Ted. It was him. His grey eyes, the hair, the face. She felt lightheaded, and her knees began to buckle. He gave her a sickening glare before he and the other man left.

"They are such asses. Now where were we?" He leaned down to kiss her again, but she quickly pushed him away.

"Stop it."

"What's wrong?"

"How do you know that guy?"

"He works in the filing room. Why, what's wrong?"

"That was him." He gave her a look of confusion and she licked her lips. "Honey, that Ted guy was him."

"What about him?" He was still clearly confused. He had known Ted for a year or so and he still knew nothing about him. Was there something special that he should know about?

"That's the guy who raped me." Her voice was soft and fearful. She couldn't believe that she had been standing in the same room with him, again. All of her old fears had resurfaced and she desperately needed a drink.

"Oh my gosh. Are you sure?" She rolled her eyes and scrunched her nose in anger.

"Honey, do you think I wouldn't know?" His thoughts were scattered all over his mind. He took her in his arms and held her close. "I need to get out of here." She tried to walk away, but he wouldn't let her get very far before he grabbed her hand.

"You're not going anywhere by yourself. I'll pack my briefcase and I'll go home with you." She nodded as he walked behind his desk to perform his task. Meanwhile, she looked out the window of his office to find Ted, staring at her. She cringed as he winked and raised his eyebrows before walking away. She wanted to cry. So many emotions were slapping her from all different directions that she didn't know what to do.

"Are you ready?" She jumped as Will's hand enveloped hers. She nodded and he turned off the lights of his office before they walked to the elevator.