AN: Thank you for the reviews and for adding the story to your alerts/favorites! As always, special thanks to Brina for reading and discussing the chapter with me. You are awesome.

"Don has always been there for me. He's always the first person I call when something happens," Kristina said with a smile.

"Do you have an example of a time when something bad happened and you called him?" Dr. Greene asked.

Kristina laughed. "I've got about a million. But there was one time back in college that I will never forget."

"Why don't you tell me about it?"

Kristina sighed and then began to tell yet another story about her relationship with Don.

"H-hello?"

"Don? I-it's Kris…"

Flack immediately shot up in bed. He did not like the fear in her voice. "Kris? What's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?"

"No. Can you come get me?" Kristina asked through her tears.

"Of course. Where are you?" Don replied as he got out of the bed. As he was getting dressed, he listened to Kristina tell him where she was. Apparently she'd gone to a frat party and something had happened. She sounded really scared and that worried him.

"Okay Kris, whatever you do, don't leave. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Forty-five minutes later, Flack had gotten Kristina and taken her back to his apartment. They had been silent the entire car ride, but he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Kris what the hell happened to you?" he asked. She had a black eye and a busted lip.

"Um, well a friend and I went to this party. She met a guy and went home with him. They offered to take me home, but I wanted to stay for a little longer. After they left, this guy came up and started talking to me. He was cute and I flirted with him. He started bringing me drinks and I didn't think anything of it because he was so nice. I started to feel sick and the next thing I know, I wake up looking like this."

Flack sat there in stunned silence. His first response was to go back to that house, find the guy responsible for this, and beat the shit out of him. Flack knew that this wouldn't be beneficial for Kristina though, and right now she was his number one priority. There was one question nagging at him though. He didn't want to ask it, but knew that it was necessary.

"Kris… did he rape you?" His heart broke at the look on her face. Fresh tears started to fall as she shook her head. Relief started to wash over him until she opened her mouth to speak.

"I d-don't know."

"Okay we need to get you to the hospital now," Flack said as he stood up.

"No Don, please."

"Kris you may have been raped. And even if you weren't, you were still drugged and beaten up. You need to go to the hospital and then file a police report. We need to catch the guy that did this."

Kristina sighed. She knew Don was right. "Fine, I'll go."

Kristina was quiet for a moment. The memory of that night was painful for her and she was trying not to cry.

"What happened after you went to the hospital? Did they find the man?" Dr. Greene asked.

"Yeah. Thankfully I wasn't raped. And I remembered what he looked like. The cops took the sketch back to the house and showed it around. He was a member of the fraternity and was arrested. I have no idea where he is now."

"Well, that's great to hear," Dr. Greene said. She heard the timer go off and glanced at the clock. "Alright, well our time is up for today. I think you're making great progress Kristina. You're responding very well to the treatment."

"Thank you. I am feeling much better."

"That's excellent. Well, I will see you next week," Dr. Greene said with a smile as she stood up.

Kristina stood up as well and smiled. "See you then." She turned and walked out of the office and back to Don.

"Hey Kris, can I ask you somethin?"

"You just did," Kristina teased. She grinned at the look Flack gave her.

"Kris I'm bein serious."

"Okay. What's your question?" Kristina asked.

"Why do you drink?"

Kristina thought for a moment. She and Flack were sitting at her kitchen table. They had just finished eating dinner and were now wasting time before they went to meet Danny and Lindsay at Sullivan's.

"I drink, because I want it to take the pain away. I want it to make me feel better. But it never does."

Flack sighed and looked Kristina straight in the eyes. "I think you should get help for the drinking."

"I know. Sam does too. She offered to take me whenever I'm ready," Kristina told him.

"That's great. Well I'm not going to push the subject any further. Just tell you that I'm really proud of you for getting the help you needed."

Kristina blushed. "Thank you Don. You are an amazing boyfriend you know that? I love you."

"I love you too Kris." He leaned over and gave her a kiss before checking his watch. "I think we've wasted enough time here. You ready to get goin?"

"Of course I am. Let's go."

The couple got up and walked out of the apartment, ready for a fun evening with their closest friends.

"God Don it's okay!" Kristina yelled as she walked through the door. Flack slammed the door shut behind them.

"No it's not okay Kris! You know you have a problem! Yet you proceeded to get trashed tonight!"

In that moment, Kristina turned on him. "I am not trashed! Buzzed, yes! Tipsy, maybe! We went out to meet our friends! I wanted to have fun and enjoy myself! I chose to have a few drinks! My 'problem' has nothing to do with it! I told you before that I got drunk all those times to make the pain go away! I have no pain right now! I was drinking for fun!!"

"God dammit Kristina! It doesn't matter when you're an alcoholic! Drinking is drinking! You can't control yourself! Why don't you understand that?!" Flack shouted.

Kristina stood silent for a moment, then walked over to the door and opened it.

"Get! Out!" she said through gritted teeth.

Flack was stunned. "B-but Kris…"

"No!" she shouted interrupting him. "You have an apartment. Go to it. You are not staying here."

Flack opened and closed his mouth for several minutes. He wanted to say something, but didn't know how to say it. Defeated, he walked out the door. He turned and took one last look at Kristina before she slammed the door shut.

Kristina went into her bedroom. She knew that Flack was still standing outside her door. Knowing him he would probably be there all night. She also knew that there was someone who would completely understand what she was going through. Without hesitating Kristina walked into the living room and called the one person she knew would help her get through this.

Kristina was awoken the next morning by the sound of someone pounding on her front door. She jumped out of bed, determined to stop the annoying sounds. Angrily, she opened the door and was about to yell at the person when she saw who it was.

"Sam!" Kristina reached out and hugged her best friend.

"Geez Kris, why do you seem so surprised to see me? You called me last night, remember?" Sam said with a laugh.

Kristina stepped back smiling. "I know, but I didn't expect you to show up this early. I thought you were Don."

"Aww, now why do you have to break my heart like that? I look nothing like my brother," Sam teased.

Now it was Kristina's turn to laugh. "I know. I just figured maybe he would try and make up for last night."

"Well he wanted to. He was asleep at your door when I got here. I sent him home. Told him we would be busy today. Now let's get you dressed. If we don't hurry we'll be late."

Thirty minutes later, Kristina and Sam were walking into the small conference room of a church. There were a few people there already, milling about and talking to one another. The two friends sat next to each other in the small circle of chairs. Within ten minutes every chair was full.

Kristina was nervous. She didn't pay attention, when someone stood up and started the meeting. She didn't hear them ask if there was anyone new present. She sat there until she felt Sam nudge her elbow.

Kristina glanced around the small room. Looking at Sam for one last vote of confidence, she stood up and faced the group.

"Hello. My name is Kristina. And I'm an alcoholic."