A week has gone by and I've still not been arrested. I'm so lucky that she didn't remember anything. It's bad news for you though Stephanie, because I can't take any risks with you remembering what you saw. The first chance I get you're dead. But how am I going to get a chance and when? Not until she's out of the hospital, obviously. Just don't remember anything until then Stephanie, please.

Stephanie woke up slowly with the usual headache. Day by day they were getting less painful but the doctor had said that they would continue for some time even after she was sent home. She tried to focus on the person at her bedside. She saw that it wasn't Paul, it was Shane. He was looking at Stephanie and saw her eyes opening. "Hi Steph, I have good news. Paul finally agreed that the girls can come down and see you. Marissa is on a flight with them now."

As he spoke something stirred in Stephanie's memory between the pain and the tiredness but she couldn't figure out what it was. Something about Shane? Why did Shane speaking to her make her feel strange like that? She didn't know. It was the first time that she had thought that she might remember something about that Monday night and it was something to do with Shane. Oh God, she panicked, what if it was Shane who did this to me. I need Paul!

"Where's Paul?" She asked sleepily.

"Bathroom break, he's been in here all morning waiting for you to wake up."

Stephanie felt terrified as she thought, If Shane did this I'm now stuck in here alone with him and I'm too out of it on this morphine or whatever it is to do anything. What if he does something to me now? Oh God, I need someone else in here. Please don't tell me my brother wants to kill me.

"Where's dad?" She asked next.

"I'm not sure. I think he's making a call or something. Are you okay? You've gone pale." Shane leaned over to place a hand on Stephanie's forehead to see if she was too warm and was surprised as she tried to recoil away from him. "Steph? What's wrong with you?"

Paul chose this moment to walk back into the room and saw Shane leaning over Stephanie and heard her saying, "Don't touch me!" as loudly as she could manage in her weakened state.

Paul was on Shane in an instant, dragging him away from the bed and yelling, "What the fuck are you doing to her?"

"Nothing!" Shane yelled back. "She was acting strange so I leaned over to try and check if she was too hot or something and she freaked out!"

Paul nearly threw his brother in law out of the room as he yelled back, "Get out of here! If she's about to tell me that you did something to her I'm going to kill you myself!"

"I didn't do anything to her," Shane insisted from outside the doorway. "She's my sister for God's sake"

By the time Shane finished his sentence Paul was already sitting by Stephanie's side and holding her hand, "Steph did you remember something?"

"No, I don't know," she mumbled. "Something about Shane maybe."

Paul's face began to turn red with anger, "Did he do this to you?"

"I don't remember. I just, something strange happened when he spoke to me before but... I don't know."

"We know that Shane called you not long before you were attacked. Was that what you remembered?"

"I don't know Paul, it's gone," Stephanie said sadly, closing her eyes.

"I'll be right back baby." Paul got up and left the room. He found Shane sitting on a plastic chair further along the hallway with his head in his hands. Paul walked up to him and hauled him to his feet, "The cops think that this was you. They keep coming in here questioning you and now this. Give me a reason not to..."

Shane raised his hands defensively and did not attempt to fight his brother in law off. "This fucking wasn't me! They cops keep questioning you too and I don't throw threats at you!"

"Steph doesn't freak out when she sees me though does she?" Paul growled.

"You think I know how to answer that? I don't."

"You don't go into that room again unless I'm in there," Paul insisted. "If she remembers that this was you..."

"It wasn't me Paul."

Paul stormed away and went back to be with his wife.

"Girls, you can go in but you've got to be quiet, okay? No screaming and shouting and no jumping on mommy because you might hurt her." The three girls all agreed and Paul and Marissa followed them into Stephanie's room.

Linda and Vince stood and left the bedside and Vince said, "We'll leave you to it for a while. We don't want to all crowd her."

Paul nodded and watched as Stephanie kissed Aurora, their oldest child and Murphy who was next in line but their youngest daughter Vaughn couldn't reach as she was too small. Stephanie asked Paul to lift her onto the bed and as he did so he said, "Sit still next to mommy and be a good girl, okay?" He put Vaughn down next to Stephanie and noticed that his wife was already crying as she kissed Vaughn and began to chat to the girls.

Marissa sat down next to Stephanie on the other side of the bed and waited for a gap in the girls chatter to say, "Hi Steph."

"Marissa, thank you so much for bringing the girls down here..."

Paul added, "And for having them all week. I don't know what we would have done without you."

"You're welcome, of course," Marissa smiled. "My God Steph look at you... And this is after a week, you're lucky to be..." She realised that wasn't a sensible thing to say with the girls there. She looked at Paul and he motioned with his head for her to join him outside of the room. They left Stephanie with the girls and walked outside. "She still looks awful Paul. What kind of bastard could do this to her? I mean Stephanie of all people, just why?"

Paul resisted mentioning what had happened earlier with Shane and said, "I think her memory is coming back. She nearly remembered something earlier but it went away again. Me and Linda and Vince have been trying to help her remember again all day but it's no good."

"Well, that's good at least, that something started to come back I mean. It's a shame we don't have the death penalty for things like this."

"If I get my hands on whoever this was before the cops do it will be the death penalty," Paul insisted, the coldness in his eyes confirming that he meant exactly what he said.

"Thanks for the call," Officer Henry said and with that he put the phone down and turned to his partner. "Scratch one off of the list. It wasn't the ex girlfriend. She was out with four other people that Monday night and they've all verified it. It's the husband."

"Brother, definitely," Williams countered. "But we're out of options unless Stephanie remembers something."

I'm fucked. I'm way beyond fucked. It's coming any day now. Just get her out of this place and give me one chance. One chance is all I need. I've got to kill her even if there's a risk of getting caught. Attempted homicide or homicide, what's the difference? At least if I kill her I might, just might, get away with all of this.