Wicked Hurt, Sweetest Love Chapter 4: It's Not Always Easy, a morganville vampires fanfic

A/N:

Hi guys! I know its been a while ,but life has not been kind to lately me. I had the chapter almost completely finished then someone stole my wallet that had my flash drive in. So I wound up having to rewrite the entire chapter among other things. So anyway here it is. This chapter's writing maybe a little shaky but i hope you enjoy it anyway!

So Go Read. What are you waiting for! LOL

Shane's POV

I stood there in shock staring down at the pregnancy test that Claire had just handed me. It was positive. Claire was pregnant and there was no getting around it. Usually this was supposed to be one of the happiest moments in a guy's life and I should have been overjoyed that the woman I love is having my baby, but I wasn't. I was terrified.

It was one of those sobering moments when you realize that you fucked up and that your life's going to change forever and there's nothing you could do about it. Don't get me wrong, I love Claire, but this was just something neither one of us was ready for. A baby, a living breathing human being, another life that I was going to have to be responsible for.

I mean shit, I could barely take care of Claire and myself, let alone a child.

"Shane?" Claire asked and the sounds of worry emanating from her voice, tore me from my current state of panic.

"I just…I think I need to sit down," I said and backed up until the backs of my legs met with the solid structure of the bed, then feeling as though my legs could no longer hold me up, I sat down heavily.

I lay the pregnancy test down on the bed beside me, then put my head down in my hands and tried to pull myself together, for Claire. Because I knew she needed me right then, to be strong and tell her everything would be okay, But how could I look her in the eye and tell her that when I wasn't sure of it myself.

I heard her soft footsteps as she walked over to where I sat. She put her hand on the back of my head and ran her fingers through the hair there, in what should have been a comforting way, but instead it terrified me even more because I knew she was standing there waiting for me to say something, anything to ease her mind.

I looked up at her and saw her tear stained cheeks and the fresh tears forming in her eyes and nearly lost my composer. Seeing her so scared and vulnerable and knowing that whatever I said had to be the right thing, because saying the wrong thing right now could destroy her, was killing me.

"Shane say something…Please, You're scaring me," She pleaded.

"Come here," I said pulling her down onto my lap and wrapping an arm around her. I moved a stray piece of hair that had fallen into her face to the spot behind her ear and wiped the tears from her eyes, then leaned in and kissed her lips gently.

"I love you," I told her as I broke the kiss and leaned my forehead against hers.

"I love you too," she responded and her body relaxed against mine.

"It will be okay, okay. We'll get through this together." I assured her.

She gave me a half hearted smile as more tears fell from her eyes and she buried her face in the junction between my neck and shoulder.

I wrapped my other arm around her too and pulled her closer. I could feel a lump begin to form in my throat and knew that the tears would come soon.

Fuck! I'm crying. I'm a grown man and I'm crying like a two year old… Claire needs me to be strong. I can't fall to pieces. Get it together man.

I momentarily took my arm from around Claire and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and then placed my arm gently back around her.

Fuck it! I thought and then let my own tears flow.

"Claire I am so going to kick your ass, you lying little hooker," Eve said as she burst in the door, completely oblivious to what was going on.

I gave her a look that stopped her dead in her tracks and for the first time she realized something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" She mouthed, a frown playing at the edges of her mouth.

"Not now," I mouthed back and shook my head letting her know I was serious.

"Can I help?"

I knew that she was just worried about Claire, but it was getting really annoying that she couldn't take a hint and leave so that we could have our privacy.

"No…Go…Later," I mouthed back and waved her out of the room.

She closed the door as she left and I turned my attention back to Claire.

A few minutes passed before either one of us spoke again. Claire was the first one to break the silence.

"I'm scared Shane. I don't know if I can do this. I don't know how to be a mother," she said the words as if they were a struggle for her to get out.

"Well don't look at me. I'm not exactly the poster child for the perfect family," I said and looked away. I just couldn't look into those beautiful eyes knowing that if this kid had any issues it would be because of me, the guy who could be the poster child for world's most screwed up family. She means everything to me and I couldn't bear the thought of ever letting her down…of disappointing her.

"But I'd say your family comes pretty close."

"Sure, whatever…my family is by no means perfect," she disagreed.

"You don't have anything to worry about, Claire. You had two great role models and you'll be wonderful mother. It's me that needs to worry. I'm a world class screw up with an abusive Jackhole, vampire hating father, turned vampire. I mean who are we kidding I should come with my own personal warning label," I said still not fully looking her in the eye.

"Shane, look at me," she demanded with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

I slowly lifted my head until my eyes met hers.

"Don't ever let me hear you talk that way about yourself again, okay," She said with a look of complete seriousness, and grabbed hold of my chin as I tried to look down again.

"Just because your father was, well the WAY he was…doesn't mean you'll be anything like him. I know you. You are a good guy and you'll be a good father." She let go of my chin and kissed my lips softly.

She tried to break the kiss, but I wasn't ready to let her go just yet. So I held on to her and kissed her deeply and more fierce. She didn't protest, instead her kisses came back just as deep as and even more fierce than mine. I felt like I was drowning and the only thing that could save me was this moment…her kiss.

I could have stayed like that and kissed her forever, but the world had other plans because just then there was a knock at the door. So we broke the kiss and sat there trying to catch our breath. I was more than a little pissed and very annoyed.

Had Eve really not gotten the hint? It didn't take a rocket scientist to know we needed some alone time.

Claire slid off of my lap and on to the bed then I got up and begrudgingly walked over to answer the door. When I opened it I was surprised to see Michael standing there, but never the less I was still pissed off about being interrupted. Claire and I still had a lot to talk about and we didn't want to do it with people running in and out every five seconds asking if we're okay.

"Can I help you?" I asked sounding every bit as annoyed as I felt.

"Well, I was bringing Claire her cell. If that's okay with you? It's been ringing nonstop since we got home. I'm pretty sure it's her mom." He peeked over my shoulder at Claire and then continued.

"You might want to call her back Claire. She seemed really worried about you when we left. It might ease her mind."

"Okay I will. Thanks Mike." She turned and smiled at him a little too sweetly, then quickly turned away.

"Is she okay?"He asked quietly.

I wanted to shout. "Does she look okay to you? Are her puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks not a big enough hint to you that everything is not okay, Mike. Huh?"

But instead, I said, "Yeah…Look, not to be a dick, but we need some time alone, Man. So thanks for bringing up her phone. But if you don't mind… we'd like some privacy. We'll be down in a little while. Alright?" I took the phone from his hand and stepped back to close the door.

"You're welcome." I heard him say as I let the door shut.

I walked over and sat down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Claire I think Michael's right. You should call your mom. She was worried when we left and if she Has been calling nonstop since we got here, it might be a good idea to call her before she does something stupid…like try to drive over here in the middle of the night to see if your okay."

She sat there for a few seconds before turning toward me.

"I don't think I can talk to her right now." She looked and sounded more scared than she had earlier.

I reached out and wiped away a tear that had fallen from her eyes.

"You know you don't have to tell her about the baby yet and you probably shouldn't until you've seen a doctor and we're absolutely sure."

"I know…I just don't think I could take hearing her voice right now without falling apart," she closed her eyes and more tears rolled down her cheeks. Then she wiped them away and shook her head as if trying to shake away a bad thought that was just too hard for her to deal with right now.

"I just know that she's going to say something about being proud of me and I'm going to lose it. Then she's going to ask how I'm feeling , tell me that she's worried about me and I'm going to have to lie to her," she said, then lowered her gaze from mine and began pulling at the threads in her comforter.

It was a nervous habit of hers and it was something that didn't usually bother me. Actually under normal circumstances I would have thought it was cute, but right now it made me feel horrible, Because it's partly my fault that she's scared. I got her pregnant. The baby that's growing inside her is half me and it's that baby that's got her feeling this way and causing her to have to lie to her Mother. So yeah I feel pretty shitty right now.

I reached out and put my hand on top of hers, stopping her from pulling at the threads in the comforter, Then gently lifted her chin with the other hand until her eyes were level with mine.

"We're only doing this until we know for sure. I just don't think we should upset your mom if it turns out your not pregnant." I let go of her chin but held her gaze with mine.

"I know your right Shane. We shouldn't tell her until we're absolutely positive, But I have to tell you babe all arrows are pointing in that direction. You've seen the pregnancy test, it was positive and I'm five weeks late, my emotions have been all over the place and I've been nauseous and puking my guts up, all day. Plus I just feel it. I know that I am."

I was already pretty sure that she was right, that she was pregnant, but when she said the words, I knew that there was no chance that that pregnancy test was wrong. When Claire got a feeling about something she was rarely ever wrong and seeing as how this was something that was happening within her own body I was pretty sure that she was right on the mark about this one. I also knew that she needed to call her mother even if she really didn't want to. Her mother had just lost her husband and she was probably going out of her mind with worry about Claire who had left the funeral reception so abruptly.

"And I'm sure you are right about that. Your probably are pregnant. I mean, what do I know? I'm a guy I don't know what it feels like to be pregnant, but what I do know is that you need to call your mom and give her some piece of mind. She just lost her husband and you are all that she has left. She is obviously worried sick about you," I said and flipped open the phone and looked at her missed calls list, then turned it to her.

"I mean there have to be at least 10 missed calls here just from her."

"Oh my God," Claire exclaimed and snatched the phone from my hand.

"I thought Michael was exaggerating, but damn if she hasn't been calling all night," she said staring at the phone in disbelief.

"Look, I really do think that we should wait to tell her about the baby until we see the doctor. But if you feel like you should tell her now that's okay too. I'll be right here and I promise I won't leave unless you tell me to."

"Okay I'll call her, but I won't tell her about the baby, because I think that that's something I should really tell her in person, AFTER we go see the doctor,' She said, with emphasis on the after, letting me know that she agreed with my previous statement.

"WE will tell her in person. We made this baby together and I will be right there by your side when WE tell her," I told her with complete seriousness.

"I love you so much," She said and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"I love too baby. I never thought I could love someone so much until I met you," I assured her, then leaned in and kissed her lips gently

"Now call your mom," I said breaking the kiss, and gave her a sly grin.

"Fine," She said with a sigh and then dialed her mom's number.

It wasn't long before her Mother answered.

"Hi, Mom," Claire said and then stretched out on the bed.

I pointed to the desk letting her know where I would be, then stood up walked over there, sat down and turned on the computer.

She wasn't telling her Mom about the baby yet so I figured I would give her the illusion of privacy while I looked up a few things about pregnancy on the Web. I promised her I'd stay with her while she was talking to her Mom and that is exactly what I intended to do. This way I could learn a few things that might help her with her morning sickness and I would only be a few feet away if she needed me.

Claire's POV

When I'd finished the phone call with my mom, I sat up slowly and looked over to where Shane sat at my desk staring very intently at the computer screen. Curious, I stood and walked over to where he sat. I draped my arms over his shoulders and nuzzled his neck, then looked up at the screen and was pleasantly surprised at what I saw there. He was on a website researching Home Remedies for Morning Sickness.

Awe, that is so sweet. Look at my man, searching for ways to help me feel better. I knew there was a reason I loved him.

"Awe baby, you are so sweet. Thank you," I cooed.

"No problem, but if you tell anyone I'll have to kill you," he teased.

"Your secret is safe with me," I said, doing a lock and key motion over my lips.

"Come here."

I walked around to the front of him and he gently pulled me down on to his lap.

"So I'm guessing you made it through the conversation with your mom without falling apart, since you seem to still be in one piece," Shane asked, then moved my hair back and began kissing my neck.

"Yes, it wasn't as hard to hear her voice as I thought it would be. It was actually nice…Comforting even. I'm glad we decided not to tell her until after we see the doctor. It will give a chance to process this first and I think that it's a good thing that only the two of us will know for a while."

"Yeah…So, I know we don't know for sure yet, but I found this website all about pregnancy and as you can see it has this section called Home Remedies for Morning Sickness. I thought maybe we could try some of them out," He said sounding proud of himself.

"Sounds like a plan. If any of those things will help me feel better I am all for it."

"Did I do good?" He asked searching for approval.

"You did real good baby," I assured him, then looked over my shoulder, smiled and gave him a much-deserved kiss.

"I'll call and make an appointment with the doctor in the morning," I informed him.

"Okay and I'll call work and tell them I'm not coming in," He said and then hesitated before going on, "A-About not telling anyone… I actually do think we should tell Michael and Eve."

"When?"

"Tonight. They both walked in here. They know something's up and they are worried about us. I think that it's only fair that we tell them," He replied.

"Of course...I don't know what I was thinking. They are best friends and they'll understand. Besides, we can use all of the support that we can get right now," I said , then leaned back against him, and laid my head on his shoulder.

He lightly kissed the top of my head and wrapped his arms around me.

"So, that's settled then. We're telling them."

"Yep."

"Well let's go," He said and then released his grip on me.

"What, right now?" I said, then turned and looked up at him. I hadn't expected him to want go at this very moment.

One of his brows rose as he looked at me quizzically and said, "Yeah…rip the band-aid off quickly, I always say."

"Since when do you say that?" I asked and then raised my brow in much the same way as he had, because I had never once heard him say that.

"Since now, get up, let's go."

I stood up then turned around to face him and held out my hand. In a, 'we're in this together', type of gesture. He took it, then stood up, pulled me into his arms and kissed me long and deep. That single kiss told me what I already knew. That, yes, we are in this together, not just now, but… forever.

However, the kiss was cut short because I was suddenly hit by a wave of nausea and had to pull away. Shane gave me a look of confusion that quickly turned into a look of understanding as I clamped my hand over my mouth, backed away, then turned and ran out of the room.

"Damn it!" I thought I heard Shane yell behind me.

I ran up the hall and into the bathroom, passing someone on the way. I wasn't sure if it was Michael or Eve because I was pre occupied at the moment, with trying to make it to bathroom and not puke all over myself and the floor.

Without shutting the door, I ran over to the toilet, dropped to my knees, lifted the lid and began to expel the contents of my stomach.

I didn't hear Shane walk in or close the door, but the next thing I knew, he was standing behind me holding back my hair.

"This sucks," I said between heaves.

"I'm sorry, baby."

It didn't take long for the vomiting to turn into dry heaves, because I had been throwing up all day and had barely eaten anything. When the heaving finally stopped, I flushed the toilet, sat back on my haunches and waited for my stomach to settle. Shane gave me a towel to wipe my mouth with then sat down next to me and wrapped me in his arms.

"You okay now?" He asked concerned.

"Yeah, but I have no idea why they call it morning sickness when it lasts all day," I said and let myself relax against him.

"I don't know, but I'm about to go find the guy who named it that and let him know just how wrong he was."

I gave a half-hearted laugh then said, "I guess we better go talk to Michael and Eve, now."

"We don't have to do it right now. We can do it in the morning, after you've gotten some rest and eaten something. Maybe you'll feel more up to it," He offered.

"No, You were right earlier, Shane. It's better to rip the band-aid off quickly," I said reminding him of the words he had used earlier.

"We should do this tonight. I'm feeling better now anyways," I assured him, "We should get this over with."

His arms slipped from around me as he stood up, then offered me a hand. I looked into his eyes then took it and he pulled me to my feet.

"Let's do this," he said, then started to turn and open the door.

"Not yet."

"But you just said that you wanted to tell them now," He said, sounding confused.

"I gotta brush my teeth first," I informed him, with a smile.

He nodded with understanding then let go of my hand. I quickly went over to the sink and began to brush my teeth. Shane leaned back against the door and patiently waited for me to finish. When I was finished I splashed my face with water, ran my hands through my hair a couple of time, then turned back to him and he held out his hand.

"You ready?"He asked calmly

"As ready as I'll ever be," I said and then took his hand.

He smiled, but it wasn't his usual smile. It was half-hearted at best, a little sad and it didn't reach his eyes. Still he pulled me too him and gave my lips a quick kiss, before He opened the door, turned off the light and led me out into the hallway.

I knew this wasn't going to be easy, it would be a hell of a lot easier then telling my mom but still not easy. As we walked down the stairs to tell our friends the news I began to wonder, if I would ever see Shane's grin again, the one I loved so much. The one that made my heart melt and my knees go a little weak or would it forever be replaced by this unfamiliar, sad smile that looked completely out of place and broke my heart.

We walked into the living room a few seconds later and Michael and Eve were sitting in the dark watching what appeared to be a horror movie. Eve was curled up with a blanket on the couch and Michael was sitting in his favorite chair. The movie must have been good because their eyes were glued to the screen and they hadn't noticed us standing there.

My eyes were still adjusting to the dark, but when I looked over at Shane I could see his face clearly because of the light from the Television. From the look he was giving me I could tell he was just as tempted as I was to turn around, go back upstairs and leave this until the morning, but instead he walked over and flipped on the lamp.

Eve gasped when the lights came on and both of their heads whipped around in my direction. It was probably because of what I knew that I was about to tell them, but suddenly I felt very uncomfortable. I had their full attention and I wasn't sure I wanted it. What I really felt like doing was to turn around and run screaming from the room, but I didn't. Instead, I just stood there like a deer caught in head lights.

"Can we talk to you guys for a few minutes?" Shane asked as he walked back over and took my hand in his.

He gave it a little squeeze letting me know that everything would be okay and somehow I knew it would be.

"Yeah…Sure…sounds serious. Come sit down," She said and scooted over to make room for us on the couch.

She didn't know just how right she was.

Shane led me over to the couch where I sat down and he sat down beside me. I looked up at Eve and Michael who were watching us expectantly and for a second I didn't think I was going to able to tell them. My mouth suddenly felt very dry and the words seemed to be stuck in the back of my throat.

Come on Claire. You can do this. They are your Best friends. It's just two words: I'm pregnant. Rip the band-aid of quickly. Yeah…Well, it might sound easy but it still hurts like a bitch while you're doing it.

"Okay so I guess the only way to say this is to say it so I'm just going say it," I gushed.

Smooth Claire…Well you might want to say it idiot.

"Okay so are you going to say it or are we going to have to guess?"Eve asked, impatiently.

"I'm pregnant," I said and waited for their reaction.

"O-Oh…um…how did this happen?"Eve asked, still trying to process what I had just told her.

"Yeah…how?"Michael asked obviously still processing it himself.

"I'm sure if you think about it long enough you can figure it out. But don't strain yourself. I'm sure there is a pamphlet you can read," Shane answered, with one of his usual smart assed remarks.

"Shut up asshole, I know the mechanics of it. I just meant how could it happen? Didn't you guys use anything?"

"Yeah we did, but nothings fool proof Eve, you know that." I said, sounding as tired as I suddenly felt.

"Yeah…Well, how do you guys feel about it?"

"Let's see, I've gone from being scared, to not knowing how I feel about, to puking my guts up, to panicking, to being scared all over again and that's just since I found out this evening," I confessed.

"How did you guys find out? Are you sure? Have you even taken a pregnancy test yet?"Eve asked, without pausing to take a breath.

"No Eve, before we came down here we consulted our Magic 8 Ball," I said incredulously, " Yes, I took a pregnancy test and it was positive, so I told Shane and now, we're telling you."

"Are you sure it's not a false positive?" Eve asked.

"Well, I'm also five weeks late and with all of the other symptoms I've been having, we're pretty sure that the test was right. But we won't know for sure until we go see the doctor," informed her.

"When do you plan on doing that?"She asked, curiously.

"We don't have an appointment yet, but I plan on calling in the morning. So, hopefully tomorrow."

"I don't work tomorrow. Can I come?"She asked, then rambled on, "Michael's going to be busy tomorrow and I know that Shane will be there with you and you don't need me there, but I would still like to be there if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind, I'd actually love for you to come," I said, then turned my attention to Shane, "You don't mind do you babe?"

"No." Shane, answered.

"I don't know what they are going to do tomorrow. It will probably be boring, but you are welcome to come, if we get an appointment."

"Oh believe me you'll get an appointment, I'm sure there are not that many pregnant women in Morganville," Eve said.

I felt the couch move as Shane stood up.

"Where are you going?"I asked him.

"To fix you something to eat," he informed me.

"I'm not hungry."

"Claire, you're pregnant, you've been throwing up all day and you've barely eaten anything. I just want you try to eat something and keep it down. Okay, for me…Please?"He pleaded.

"I'll try," I agreed, then turn back to Eve, as he backed way and turned to go into the kitchen.

"I'm going to go help Shane, I'll be back in a minute," he said, then stood up, kissed Eve and walked out of the room in the direction of the kitchen.

"Claire, I know that you must be so scared right now," She said, after Michael was out of ear shot, "and I don't want you to think that I'm not happy for you, because I am, it's just a lot to process, but I want you to know that I am always here for you, Shane and the baby. You are my best friend and I love you. Okay."

"Okay, thank you, Eve, that means a lot to me, and I love you too," I said and hugged her.

"So, do you want to watch the movie?"She asked, letting go.

"Sure…what are we watching?"I asked.

"Rosemary's Baby," Eve said, with a serious look on her face.

"Seriously, After I just told you that I'm pregnant and I'm freaked out about it, you want me to watch Rosemary's baby?" I asked Incredulously, " Do you want me to have nightmares for the rest of my pregnancy."

"I'm just kidding," She admitted and started to laugh, "You should have seen your face."

"Eve, you are such a bitch," I said and playfully jabbed her in the arm with my elbow.

"I know, but you love me anyway," she said, still laughing.

"I'm not so sure about that," I teased.

"Hey you already said it, you can't take it back."

"Fine, so what are we actually watching?"

"Last on the Left the remake," Eve offered.

"Is it good?"

"Yeah, so far, but it's really fucked up."

"Sounds, good to me."

"Well what are you waiting for? Turn off the lights."Eve instructed.

I reached behind me and turned off the lamp and Eve pressed play on the DVD remote. The movie turned out to be just as fucked up as Eve had said but not the least bit scary.

Three weeks and four days had passed since I found I was pregnant. We had gone to the doctor the next day as planed and found out that I was indeed pregnant, in fact I had been nine weeks along. The doctor had done an ultra sound the very same day and we were able to hear the heart beat, which was probably the most exciting part of the whole visit.

The last three weeks and four days had not been fun for me though, I had had really bad morning sickness every and today was the first day I had actually felt like going out, So Shane Eve and I was sitting on the couch trying to decide what we wanted to do. Shane had called Michael to see if he had any Ideas and he said that he had one but he would have to tell us about it when he got home.

"Come on guys we have to think of something. I'm going to go crazy if I have to stay in this house for one more day," I complained.

"I know baby, but this IS Morganville, land of the undead and night life is pretty much nonexistent if you're human," Shane said.

"Yeah and it pretty much sucks."

"Well Michael did tell me that he had something planned for tonight, so let's just wait until he gets here and see what it is."

"My baby always comes through," Eve interjected.

"Let's hope so," I said then lay my head on Shane's lap.

Just then Michael walked in the door looking very proud of his self.

"So what are these AWESOME plans you've made for us dude?" Shane asked.

"Well, there's this place called Crimson Knights opening tonight. This guys I know owns the place and he said he'll put our names on the list and we can get in no cover charge," Michael said excitedly.

"And what kind of place is this?"

"It's like a Dance club slash Karaoke bar slash restaurant."

"Sounds like fun, "I said, and sat up. Maybe it was because I hadn't been out of the house in a while but it really did sound like a fun place to go.

"See I told you, my baby always came through," Eve said then got up and walked over and kissed Michael.

"Wait, this guy, is he breathing or non breathing?" Shane asked Michael point blank.

"Uh-Oh…Please be breathing. Please be breathing," I chanted to myself. I really wanted to go and I knew that if Michael told Shane the place was ran by vampires, which most places in Morganville were, there would be slim to no chance of me getting out of the house tonight.

"Non Breathing, But-"

"No, buts," Shane interrupted, "Hell no. There is no way I'm taking my pregnant girlfriend to a free-for-all at the Vampire buffet, where we're the hottest thing on the fucking menu. I don't think so," Shane argued.

"Look, I promise Claire will be safe, you and I will be there and if any one breathing or non breathing so much as looks at her funny, I'll break their legs."Michael, said in a joking voice but I knew he was dead serious.

"I don't know," Shane said.

"Please, Shane…I've been sick and cooped up in this house for the last three weeks and four days, and today is the first day I've felt good. I just need to get out of here for a little while, we don't have to stay long," I pleaded

"Fine," Shane said, giving in.

"Okay, well, you guys better get upstairs, take a shower, get dressed, or whatever it is you have to do, because we are leaving here at 9:15. They are expecting a big turn out and it's going to be hard to get in as it is. I'm not taking any chances."

Shane stood up and pulled me to my feet, then he, Eve, Michael and I all went up stairs to get ready for the night.

We had arrived at Crimson Knight's at around 9:30p.m., and just as Michael said, it was packed and the line to get in was horrendous. Lucky for us Michael was friends with the owner and we didn't have to wait in line. Michael walked right up to the tough looking bouncer guy guarding the entrance whispered something in his ear and he stepped aside and let us in, which prompted a bunch of angry glares and not so nice words from the people standing there actually waiting their turn to get in.

I could feel the tension radiating off Shane as Michael led us through the door. For one he had a death grip on my hand and for two he was clenching his jaw and had a look on his face that said he would kill anyone who came within two feet of us.

"Shane you're hurting my hand," I said, loud enough for him to hear me over the music.

"Sorry," He replied, and loosened his grip on my hand.

"It's Okay, but would you relax, please? We came here to have fun, so let's have fun," I said after I stopped walking and turned to face him.

He looked down at me and I could see the uneasiness in his eyes.

Eve and Michael had stopped too and were watching us.

"I know but I have this feeling that I can't shake," he said, his voice sounding strained.

"Look, I know you have this feeling like something bad is going to happen, but it's not. We," I said, then took his hand and put it on my stomach, "are going to be okay. Okay," I assured him.

"Yeah, Shane chill out. You have nothing to worry. We are all okay and we will all be okay when we leave here. So do me a favor, loosen up and have a good time. I know I plan too," Eve interjected.

I could still see the worry in his eyes and could tell he was unsure about the whole situation, but I knew with him and Michael here nothing would go wrong and I felt as safe here as I did anywhere else.

"Please…For me." I pleaded.

"Okay, fine," he said, giving in.

"Good, I really didn't want to have to kick your ass," Eve teased, "Now let's go get drinks."

"Sounds good to me," I agreed.

"Well what are we waiting," Michael said, finally joining in to the conversation, "The bars over there."

He pointed toward the wall opposite of where we were standing and we all started walking that way, with Michael and Eve in the lead.

"No alcohol for you missy," Eve shouted, over her shoulder.

"Duh, Eve. I know I'm pregnant. Nothing but water for me," I said, but I knew Eve's comment had just as much to do with my age as it did with the fact that I was pregnant.

When we finally made it across the room we sat down at the bar and ordered our drinks, beer for Michael, Eve and Shane and water for me. We sat there for a while, talked, and watched people sing karaoke. I had to admit there a few good ones, though most who tried and failed miserably, but they were having fun and that's all that mattered.

I thought I heard someone call my name and when I looked over I saw my cousin Randi walking towards us, with another girl I didn't recognize. For some reason I had thought she had gone back home but I guess she had decided to stay and apparently she had made a new friend.

"Hi Claire," Randi, said excitedly.

"Hi. I didn't know that you were still in town," I replied, and sounded a little more shocked than I had intended.

When my mother had told that aunt Linda and Uncle Jack had left I'd assumed that meant that Randi had gone with them…Apparently not.

"Yeah, I decided to stay for a while."

Oh God, she couldn't stay. The last thing I need right now is an extra person to worry about keeping safe from the vampires of Morganville.

"Are still staying with my mom?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"No, I'm staying with Nikki. She's really cool, " She announced and pointed to the Goth looking girl beside her who could have been Eve's twin.

"Yeah that's me cool Nikki, Hi," She added, with a small wave to everyone.

"Hi," Every one greeted her simultaneously.

"Anyways… I met her the day I got here. At the grocery store when I went to get some more food for your dads (Pause)Well you know," Randi said, then dropped her eyes to the floor.

"Yeah, I know."

This cannot be happening. Of all places for my cousin to decide to move to, It Had to be Morganville. Great, just fucking great. And she's staying with someone she barely knows. I've never even seen her before. How is that possible? Morganville isn't THAT big.

"So I was thinking since I'm going to stay for a while I should get a Job and check out the Campus."

"Yeah, that…that sounds like a good Idea," I stammered.

I wanted to scream at her to get the hell out of here now while she could, that Morganville was crawling with vampires and the only reason we were still here is because we were being forced to stay by Morganville's Founder and Queen Bee, Amelie. But that would have only caused a scene and the last thing I wanted to do was draw attention to us in a club that I was pretty sure was run by vampires.

"I though so. I've missed you Claire and I thought that if I stayed it would give us a chance to spend some time together."

"I've missed you too Randi and I'm Glad you're staying…I really am…Okay," I said sincerely.

Part of me wanted her to stay even though I knew it could be hazard to her health in a literal sense. But the other part of her really wished she would go, because I didn't think I could take it if anything happened to her.

I hopped down off the bar stool and gave her a hug and she returned it with a hug that was so tight I could hardly breathe, when she released me I took a deep breath and turned to My friends.

"You've met Michael and Eve and My boyfriend Shane," I said and pointed to each one of them just in case she had for gotten who was who.

"Yes of course we've met," Eve responded cheerfully, "She had an interesting conversation about you while you were knocked out cold on your mothers couch."

I didn't like the mischievous look they shared with each other and I was going to have to ask Eve Just what my cousin had told her later.

"Now that you mention it…Did you ever find out what had feeling so sick that day?" Randi asked, steering the conversation in a different direction

I didn't know whether I should tell her about the pregnancy yet, because I hadn't even told my Mom and I didn't want her finding out from someone one else before I had the chance to talk to her. I didn't want to lie to Randi though and she had been really good about keeping my secrets in the past, so I decided that there was no harm in telling her. But before I did, I looked over at Shane to make sure it was alright and he nodded his head yes letting me know that it was.

"Actually yes I did. I'm pregnant."

"Nuh uh… really?" she asked, in disbelief.

"Yeah, I am," I said and waited for her to tell me how I was too young for this and how horrible it was.

Instead she smiled and hugged me.

"You know what this means right?"She asked as she stepped back.

"What?"I asked confused.

"We have to celebrate," She announced and looked genuinely happy for me.

"Huh?"

I knew I wasn't being very articulate at that moment but I was stunned. It that was the first time since I had found out that I was pregnant, that I'd gotten that kind of reaction from anyone. Granted only a total of five people knew: Shane, Michael, Eve and Dr. Mckennly and his nurse. Shane had freaked out and Michael and Eve had taken the parental approach to the whole situation. This was the first time anyone had wanted to celebrate my pregnancy and I was surprised at how good it made me feel.

"Celebrate. You know that thing that you do when you get good news."

"Okay, so how do you want to celebrate?"I asked , still a little in shock.

"Well, if you hadn't noticed no one is up there on that stage. So You, Nikki, Eve and I are going to go up there and show them how to really rock this place and you cousin are going to have the time of your life do it. Then we are going to get out on the dance floor and dance until our legs all off or they kick us out whichever comes first ,"She announced, sounding more excited than Eve on Halloween.

"How did I get dragged into this?"Eve inquired.

"Because you my dear are her best friend and therefore, it is your duty to be on that stage singing your ass off and making sure she has a good time tonight." She informed Eve.

"Wouldn't that be your duty since you're her cousin," Eve countered.

"No, actually it's my duty to see to it that you don't shirk on your duty, now get up and let's go up there."

"Wait a minute. Who said I was going up there?"

"Yeah maybe this isn't such a good idea," Shane Interjected.

I guess he had finally decided it was time to step in. Shane had had his reservations about us being here at all and I was hoping that his paranoia would help me out of my current predicament. No such luck.

"Look, If I have to go up there, she's taking her little ass up there too," Eve said, and stood up.

"Well maybe I don't want to go," I protested.

"Too bad… You're going. And you Daddy to be and Your friend here," Randi, turned her attention to Michael and Shane, "are going to go stand up front and watch with your tongues hanging out."

"OOOO…Bossy. I like that. Claire did I ever tell you how much I like your cousin?"Eve asked, Gulped down there rest of her beer, whipped her mouth with the back of her hand and grinned evilly.

"Let's do this," Randi said, with a grin to match Eve's.

"Lead the way," Eve replied.

"You in?" Randi asked and turned to Nikki.

"Sure."

Then Randi grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the stage. Shane, Michael, Eve and Nikki followed close behind us. I still didn't know if I wanted to do this but it looked like I had no choice. I was going up on stage whether I wanted to or not.

I wanted to look back to see where Shane was but I didn't dare risk it, because I knew with Randi pulling me, if I did, I was sure to trip and fall.

Randi finally let go once we reached the stairs at the side of the stage. She walked over to the DJ, I'm guessing to tell him what we were going to sing, then walked back over to us, with a look on her face that said she was up to something.

"What did you do?"I asked, not really wanting to know.

"Don't worry about it, let's go," She said, then started to walk passed me.

"Oh, I'm worried," I said, then followed her up the stairs.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

"Oh, By the way. Claire you're singing the lead and Eve, Nikki and I will sing back up," She informed us, as we were about to walk on to the stage.

"What…No Way!"I exclaimed, but it was already too late.

I looked back thinking I could make a run for it but Eve and Nikki was right behind me and there was no way out.

"What if I don't know the words."

"Trust me, You'll know the words," she said, an amused grin spread across her face, then she turned and walked up on stage and took her place.

I stood there for a second thinking of all the possible ways that I could get revenge and then in defeat followed her out on to the stage.

We all took our places and it wasn't long before the D.J. cued up the music and I realized why Randi had said that I wouldn't have a problem with a words. Because I knew them by heart, the music that was flowing out of the speakers was the background music to the song, Me& U By Cassie, the song that she and I were supposed to sing in our high school talent show, but I chickened out.

I didn't have time to think, it was either sing or stand there and look stupid I chose the latter. I looked out to the crowed found Shane and began to sing the words to him as if he was the only one in the room.

"Me & U"

You've been waiting so long
I'm here to answer your call
I know that I shouldn't have had you waiting at all
I've been so busy, but I've been thinking about what I wanna do with you

I know them other guys, they been talking bout the way I do what I do
They heard I was good, they wanna see if it's true
They know you're the one I wanna give it to
I can see you want me too
Now, it's me and you

It's me and you, now
I've been waiting (Waiting)
Think I wanna make that move, now
Baby, tell me if you like it (Tell me if you like it)
It's me and you, now
I've been waiting
Think I wanna make that move, now
Baby, tell me how you like it

I was waiting for you to tell me you were ready
I know what to do, if only you would let me
As long as you're cool with it, I'll treat you right
Here is where you wanna be

I know them other guys, they been talking bout the way I do what I do
They heard I was good, they wanna see if it's true
They know you're the one I wanna give it to
I can see you want me too
And now, it's me and you

It's me and you now (Baby, it's me and you)
I've been waiting
Think I wanna make that move, now (Thinking bout making that move)
Baby, tell me if you like it (Tell me if you like it)
It's me and you, now (Uh-huh)
I've been waiting (Hey)
Think I wanna make that move, now (Wanna make a move)
Baby, tell me how you like it (Yea)

Baby, I'll love you all the way down
Get you right where you like it, I promise you'll like it (I swear)
Just relax and let me make that move (It's our secret thang)
Keep it between me and you

It's me and you, now (Oh Yea-a)
I've been waiting
Think I wanna make that move, now (Move now)
Baby, tell me if you like (Tell me if you like it)
It's me and you, now (Yea)
I've been waiting
Think I wanna make that move, now (Gonna make a move now)
Baby, tell me how you like it
It's me and you

Baby ill love you all the way down
Get you right where you like it
I promise you'll like it(i swear)
Just relax and let me make a move(it's now secret)

It didn't take long for me to really get into the song and let go of my inhibitions. I began dancing around the stage doing some of the moves from the Cassie video and few I added just for the hell of it. I was having the time of my life and when the song ended; I was ready for more and apparently so was the crowd, because we got a standing ovation and a few shouts for an encore.

I had to remind myself that I was pregnant and it was time for a break, So instead of giving the crowd what they wanted we thanked them and left the stage.

"That was awesome," Eve said, as we walked down the stage stairs.

"Claire I knew you had it in you. After hearing you sing a few weeks ago. I knew I had to get you to do this," Randi Gushed, "You never got to singing this song in the high school talent show like we planned, so when I saw you here tonight I thought, why not."

"I needed that. Thank you," I said, gave her a quick side hug then continued down the aisle toward the where Shane and Michael were seated."I'm going to get a drink," Randi informed me.

"I'll go with you," Nikki offered.

"How about you Eve," Randi asked.

"No I'll stay with Claire."

"Okay, we'll see you guys later," Randi said, before her and Nikki made a Beeline toward the bar.

"What happened to dancing," Eve asked.

"She'll be back, you can count on it," I told Eve, as My eyes scanned the room for Shane and Michael.

"Over there," Eve shouted and pointed to the table at the end of the aisle.

Apparently when the song was over and the crowd at thinned out they had decided to and find us a table. I took a few steps in that direction and when Shane saw me, he stood up, smiled and began to walk toward me as I walked toward him. I was almost to him, when someone stepped in to my path. It was a man I never seen before, he was big, he looked tough and he was looking at me as if I was something to eat. I could tell he wasn't a vampire but that didn't make him any less frightening.

"Hi there," he drawled out, then took a step in my direction

"Hi," I said, anxious to get to Shane and be out from under this man's hungry gaze.

"You're a pretty little thing aren't you," He continued, then reached out and trailed a finger down the side of my face.

He was standing so close to me that I could smell the whiskey on his breath and it made me want to puke. I looked nervously around for Shane but he had disappeared and so had Eve. I had thought she was right behind me but apparently not.

"You want to come back to my hotel room with me and try out a couple of those moves you were singing about on stage," He said suggestively.

"No, I'm going to go and find my friends now," I said and tried to step past him, but as I did he grabbed my arm.

"I don't think so. You're not going anywhere."

"Well, I Do. Now let go of me before I scream and get the attention of everyone In here," I said, in the toughest voice I could manage.

"You wouldn't do that. I was the way you looked at me when you were up there. You were singing that song to me," he said and his words were slurred from the alcohol.

"Actually, she was singing it to me. So, take your fucking hands off of her asshole before I let my fists do the talking," Shane demanded, and grabbed the man by the arm that he was holding on to me with.

"And what's it to you?" He asked, sounding surprised by Shane's sudden appearance.

"She's my girlfriend, So take your fucking hands off her before I get really pissed off."

I could hear the venom in Shane's, but the guy obviously wasn't taking Shane seriously.

"Is that supposed to scare me boy?" He asked.

"It should, Now let her go," Shane said his voice even more venomous than before.

This time the guy must have realized just how serious Shane was because he let go of my arm like it was on fire. However, Shane did not let go of his.

"If you go anywhere near her again tonight, I don't care if you are older than me, I'll kick your ass so hard, you'll wish you'd never been born." Shane's voice was lethal and I knew he meant what he said and that scared me more than having that creep's hand on me did.

"Come on Shane, he's not worth it. Let's go find Michael and Eve…please," I pleaded, not wanting Shane to get himself into something that we both might regret later.

He thought about it for a second then let the man go.

"Fine… Come on," He, said to me, then turned back to the man, "You better be glad that she asked me to leave, because I would so love to kick your ass right now."

Shane inspected my arm to make sure I was okay, then took my hand and led me out of the crowd and over to our table. It appeared that Michael and Eve hadn't noticed our little scuffle but when they saw our faces they knew immediately something was wrong.

"What happened?"Eve asked.

"Some asshole grabbed Claire and I almost had to Kick his ass," Shane responded, anger still present in his voice.

"Are you okay?" Eve asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, then sat down in the seat across from Eve, "The guy was drunk and he grabbed me but, Shane interceded and everything is okay."

"What do you mean he grabbed you?"Michael asked, sounding every bit as pissed as Shane looked.

"He grabbed my arm and wouldn't let me by."

"Where is he?"he hissed.

I knew that I had to say something to calm Michael down, he was a vampire and the guy was not and I knew that if Michael went after him he wouldn't have a pulse tomorrow.

"Michael…there's no need to go after him. Shane took care of it and I pretty sure the guy won't be bothering me anymore," I assured him.

"Claire you're pregnant and even if you weren't, that's not cool," Michael argued.

"Yeah and you're a hundred times stronger than him and that's not fair, so just leave it alone. I love it that you guys want to protect me but I'm okay. Shane scared the crap out of him and I'm sure he's long gone."

"Fine, but if you see him again, you better let one of us know."

"I will I promise, "I agreed," Now can we please go back to having fun and forget about that guy."

"Yeah, sure Claire."

"Shane, will you dance with me?" I asked, "Better yet why don't we all go dance."

"Sounds good to me," Eve said, then stood, held out a hand to Michael and he took it.

I did the same only I held my hand out to Shane, he took it, then he and Michael followed Eve and Me out onto the dance floor. We fell into a steady rhythm and it felt good to have Shane's hands on my body as he pressed himself against and we began to grind and move the beat of the music. Michael and Eve we're doing the same and soon we lost ourselves in the wonder of the night forgetting all about the man who had tried ruin it.

It wasn't until the D.J. announced that the club was about to close that we realized how late it was. We stopped dancing and slowly found our way to the side of the room. Sometime during the night Randi and Nikki had found their way back over to us and now all six of stood by the door getting ready to leave.

"I think tonight is finally catching up to me, I suddenly feel so tired," I said, yawning.

"Well, it is two o'clock in the morning baby, and you're pregnant. I'm surprised you lasted this long," Shane replied, Then leaned down and gave my lips a quick kiss.

"Me too. My feet are killing me," I complained.

"Do you want me to carry you to the car?" Shane asked

"No, babe that's okay. I can walk," I said, then smiled and added, "But, you can give me a foot rub when we get home."

"Maybe," he replied, with a smile of his own, "So, let's get you out of here and get you to bed and you MIGHT, just get that foot rub."

With that, I turned to our friends, who were standing there watching and said, "You heard him guys, let's get out of here."

"It's a long walk. You guys stay here and I'll go get the car," Michael said, then turn to Eve, "I'll be right back."

He gave her a quick kiss and then turned and walked out of the door.

"Do you think it would be okay if we caught a ride home with you guys tonight?"Randi, asked.

I turned and looked at my friends to get their approval, which they gave, and then turned back to Randi.

"Sure. That's fine," I told her.

"It shouldn't take long for Michael to go get the car. Let's go wait outside," Eve suggested.

"Alright," Shane agreed, then looked down at me, "You ready baby?"

"Definitely."

Shane put his arm around my shoulders and with Eve leading the way we all started out the door.

"Wait," I said, feeling a sudden urgency to pee.

Shane and Eve came to an abrupt halt in the doorway then turned back to me.

"What is it?"Shane asked, Sounding confused and concerned in the same breath.

"I have to pee," I told him, a little embarrassed.

"Can you wait until we get home?" Eve, asked impatiently.

"No, I feel like my bladder is going to explode," I said, trying hard not to do the potty dance.

"Then go, Just hurry, Because Michael will be back any minute."

"It's not like he can't wait Eve," Shane said, then turned to me without waiting for a response from Eve, "Do you want me to go with you and wait outside the door?"

"No go wait outside with them. I'll be okay," I assured him.

"Fine, I'll wait with them. But we're waiting inside," was his response.

I knew that he was worried about me going off alone and I knew that I would not get him to budge on this subject. So I kept my mouth shut as we all turned around and went back inside.

We stopped by a table at the entrance and I turned to Shane and gave himquick kiss before dashing off to the restroom.

When I finally made it to the bathroom and pushed open the door the lights were off.

Shit.

I reached in and felt around on the wall for a light switch, which didn't take long to find, then I turned on the lights and walked inside. The bathroom was huge, empty of course and eerily quiet. I suddenly wished I had taken up Shane on his offer to come with me and wait outside the door. But I hadn't and there was no way I was going back out there to tell him and everyone else that I was too scared to go to the bathroom by myself. I would just have to make this quick.

I hurried over to the stalls and went down the rows peeking into each one to make sure no one was hiding inside them waiting to jump out, then went back to the third one down opened it and went inside. I closed the stall behind me and locked it, then pulled a protective seat cover out of the package and placed it on the toilet before sitting down to pee. There was no way my bare ass was touching these toilet seats.

At some point I had started to sing to fill the scary silence in the bathroom and was still singing when I walked out of the stall. I walked over to the sink and washed my hands. It wasn't until the water was off and I was reaching for the paper towel that I realized wasn't alone. The man who had who had harassed me earlier was standing in the doorway, watching me and blocking the only exit. I was trapped. I stopped mid reached and turned toward him.

Now that we were facing each other and he knew that I had seen him, he began to walk toward me and clap in a way that I found unsettling. I began to back up, but soon found that my back was literally against the wall and I had no way out.

"Now, THAT was worth waiting for," he said, and stopped a few feet away from me, then trailed his eyes down my body and then up again, letting them linger on my breasts before finally bringing them to stop at my eyes.

"I bet you have a tight little pussy…this should be fun," he eyed me lustfully and licked his lips, then took a few steps toward me, closing the small space between us.

My mouth went dry and my throat clenched in fear, because it was pretty clear what he intended to do. But I refused to let him see just how scared I was.

"Stay the hell away from me," I said in my most threatening voice, my fists balled up at my sides.

"Or what?"He asked with a menacing smirk, "What you gonna do now that you don't have your boyfriend here to save you?"

"Get the fuck out of my way and let me out of here," I said and took a step forward.

To my surprise he laughed.

"Such a big mouth for such a little girl, we'll just have to see if we can fix that," he said and the reached behind his back.

I knew that this would be my only chance of getting out of this bathroom so I took it.

"I said get the fuck out of my way!" I shouted and I tried to push past him as hard as I could.

I didn't get far, because he grabbed me and pulled me to him, (Me facing away from him), wrapped his arm around me tightly and pressed something cold and metal to my throat. I knew instantly it was the blade of a knife.

"Please," I pleaded, "Don't hurt me."

All I could think about was the baby and I knew I had to do everything I could to keep that blade away from stomach.

I was debating on whether to tell him that I was pregnant or to just scream, when he pulled roughly over to the mirror and said, "I figured that this would change your tone."

"And let me warn you now, if you even so much as think about screaming I'll slice this pretty little face up," He said to my reflection in the mirror, then moved the knife from my neck to the side of my face, dug the tip of it into my skin and drew blood to make a point, which I got immediately.

The pain of the knife digging into my skin brought tears to my eyes and I wanted to scream. But I knew that he meant what he said and I didn't want to take the chance that he really might hurt me or worse do something to endanger the life of my unborn child.

"Please… Stop," I begged, "You're hurting me."

"That's the point," he replied, coldly , "This way don't forget to keep your mouth shut and there's the added bonus of you all ways having something to remember me by."

He was referring to the scar that I'm sure would be left there and the last thing I wanted was reminder of this night. I'm sure he knew that but it was his sick way of leaving his mark on me. At least his words had let me know that he'd planned to leave me alive after he was through raping me. And at least I could hold on to the fact that I would live to see Shane's face again, so I decided to keep mouth shut about the pregnancy and take whatever he had to dish out, as long as he stayed away from my stomach.

"Mmm… I can see why that boyfriend of yours is so protective of you. You're absolutely mouth watering," He said and turned his attention back to my body.

He moved the knife from my face down my body to the hem of my dress and raised it up to expose my panties.

"I bet you taste as sweet as you look," he added, and tapped the knife against the front of my panties.

"They'll have to come and clean the bathroom. They'll find us in here," I said, hoping it was true.

"Huh-uh, they've already been back here to clean. No one is coming to save you. It's just you and me," he replied, with a laugh.

I suddenly remembered that the lights had been turned out when I had walked in here and silently cursed myself for being so stupid.

SHIT! How could you have been so dumb Claire.

"My friends are probably wondering where I'm at and they are probably headed this way," I tried again.

I knew that that was probably true. I just hoped they'd come to find me sooner rather than later.

"Well, I'll just have to hurry then wont I," He said and looked up into my eyes.

"DAMN IT!" I cursed myself silently again.

He ran the knife back up to my stomach and I swallowed hard hopping that he wouldn't change his mind and decide to stab me.

"Decisions, decisions…I can't decide whether to fuck you from behind or, "He said then turned me around roughly, and put the point of the knife under my chin, "fuck you from the front so I'll have a great view of those beautiful tits bouncing up and down as I fuck the hell out of you."

He ran the knife up to my breasts and smiled at me menacingly. I felt the anger and fear begin to build inside me, because I knew there was nothing I could do to stop him. This sick fuck was going to rape me and the thought of him inside me made me want to vomit.

I did the only I could I spit in his face and told him exactly what I thought of him.

"Fuck you, you sick bastard," I spat.

"Bitch!"He snapped, then punched me twice in the face, with the hand that wasn't holding the knife.

The force of his punches snapped my head back and I could taste the blood in my mouth. I knew that he had busted my lip and that my nose was bleeding because they hurt like hell and I could feel the blood as it dripped down my upper lip and into my mouth.

"Oh I'm going to enjoy this," he said, then roughly turned me back around, bent me over the counter and pushed my legs apart with his foot.

A wave of defeat swept over me and my tears began to flow. The only thing left to do was beg and I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction.

He held my hands tightly behind my back with one hand and with the other he laid the knife down on the counter. I felt him reach down, pull my dress up, push my panties aside and run a finger along the slit of my vagina.

I gasped and he laughed, then as I looked up I saw him slip the finger that he had touched me with into his mouth and the sight of it almost made me lose my stomach.

He moaned like it was the best thing he'd ever tasted then said, "I was right. You do taste as sweet as you look. Now let's see if you are as tight as you are sweet."

He positioned himself behind me and as I heard his pants unzip I closed my eyes and tried to think of something…anything else besides what was about to happen. I waited for the penetration with tears streaming down my face, but it never came, instead I heard Randi's angry voice.

"Let her go," She yelled and I looked over to see that she had him in a head lock and was holding the knife to his throat, that he had laid down on the counter earlier.

When he didn't comply she yelled at him in a more threatening voice, "I said let her go NOW ass face!"

He let go of my wrists and stepped back and I immediately pulled down the back of my dress, stood straight up and started for the door. I had to get out of there.

I couldn't breathe. It felt like the walls were closing in around me and I had to escape. I was so focused on getting out of there that Eve's voice barely registered when she told Nikki to go after me as I ran out of the door.

"Nikki follow Claire and make sure that she's okay. Randi and I are going to teach this asshole a lesson."

Once I was out in the hallway I walked over to the wall adjacent the bathroom, leaned back against it, wrapped my arms around myself and tried to calm down and catch my breath.

Nikki came over to me and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Uh-huh," I lied.

I was definitely NOT okay. I felt like I could crack at any second and I knew that she could tell.

"I know that everything seems so fucked up right now because of what you just went through, but it will all be okay again I promise."

She said it like she knew exactly what I was feeling. It was like she was speaking from experience and I somehow knew that she was and in a weird way that made me feel closer to her. Her words brought everything I had been feeling to the surface and everything that had happened hit me all at once and a rush of emotions came flooding out in the form of sobs.

She reached out and tried to pull me into a comforting hug and I let her, because even though I didn't know her I felt an odd closeness to her and glad that she was there.

Sometime after my break down Nikki had helped me into the men's room to clean up, since Randi and Eve were still in the other bathroom, 'teaching,' the guy who had tried to attack me a lesson.

As we walked back out into the hall,the door to the women's restroom swung open also and Eve and Randi walked out. Eve took one look at me and threw her arms around me.

"Claire I'm so sorry," she gushed, "After what you told me happened earlier I never should have let you come back here alone. I should have insisted on coming with you."

"It's okay. It's not your fault," I assured her.

She released me from the hug, stepped back and inspected my face.

"Shane's going to freak," she warned.

"I know."

"It was him wasn't it…the guy from earlier?"She asked.

"Yes," I admitted, "but it's not your fault. You didn't know he was still here and neither did I."

"Wait, you mean that sicko tried something earlier?" Randi asked, surprised.

"Yes."

"He grabbed her and Shane threatened him, but he obviously didn't get the message," Eve informed her, guilt and anger distorted her features.

"Well, I'm sure he got the message this time. After the way you racked in the balls I'll be surprised if he'll be able to get up and walk out of there, let alone enjoy any kind of sex for the rest of his life. I doubt he'll be trying to rape anyone else or be coming after you again anytime soon."

"After you tell Shane I'm sure that there won't be anything left to come after you," Eve assured me.

"Oh my god, I have to tell Shane," I said on the edge of hysterics, "How am I going to do that? I can't…I just can't. He's going to kill him. Shane's going to come back here and he's going to kill him and then he's going to go to jail.

"I wouldn't blame Shane if he wanted to kill him, because after I walked in there and saw what he was trying to do to you, I wanted to kill him too," Eve informed me, a glint of anger in her eyes.

"Who am I going to want to kill and why?" Shane as he walked into the hallway behind me.

I took a deep breath, then slowly turned around and met Shane's gaze. When he saw my face his jaw clenched and his fists balled up at his sides. I could feel the anger radiating off of him as he stood there not saying a word and took in the sight of me.

"She's right I'm going to kill whoever the fuck did that to you?"He spoke through clenched teeth.

He was livid, the look in his eyes was lethal and I knew by the sound of his voice that he had meant what he said.

I must have looked so pitiful standing there in front of him, with my busted lip, and bruised face and not to mention the blood stain on the front of my dress, because his face softened and he walked over to me and wrapped me in his arms.

"Who did this to you?" he asked lowering his voice, but the anger was still present.

"It was the guy from…from earlier," I told him in a shaky voice.

I was on the verge of breaking down again, but I knew that I couldn't, because if I did it would only piss Shane off more and make things a whole lot worse.

He took a step back and looked me over as if inspecting me to make sure I was still in one piece.

"Are you (pause) okay?"He asked, his eyes left mine and went down to my stomach, before coming back up and meeting my gaze again and I knew that he was including our baby in the question.

"Yes , we're both fine," I assured him.

He pulled me back into his arms and kissed the top of my head.

"I love you so much," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

"I love you too."

"So (pause) Where is he?" he asked.

"In there," I said and pointed to the women's restroom.

"Okay, tell me what happened and tell me everything, because I want to be just the right amount of pissed off when I go in there to kick this guys ass," he said, and clipped off the last words.

And I did just that. I told him everything, every last gory detail of what that asshole had done to me and when I was finished Shane was more than pissed and the look in his eyes made me glad I wasn't the guy laying in that bathroom, because he was about to have his ass handed to him.

"Go wait in the car with Eve and everyone else. I'll be out there in a second," He said, his voice sounding deadly.

"No Shane… Please," I pleaded, "Whatever, you do don't kill him. You're not going to kill him are you?"

"No," He answered, after giving it some thought, "But I'm going to make him wish he was dead."

"Wait," I said, then turned to Randi and Eve, "Where is the knife?"

"Right here," Randi Said, and patted her purse with her hand, "He'll be alright. I'll stay too make sure things don't get out of hand, just go to the car with Eve and Nikki okay."

"Okay," I finally agreed, then allowed Eve and Nikki to lead me out of the hallway and outside to the car, because I knew one way or the other Shane was going to his way and it was better that it be under the watchful eyes of the cousin I trusted.

The car ride home was silent, everyone was exhausted and no one wanted to talk about what had happened. Neither Shane nor Randi had offered anything about what they had had done to the guy in the bathroom and I wasn't sure I even wanted to know. We finally made it home at around four in the morning, after dropping Randi and Nikki off at their house across town, and I headed straight for the shower.

Even though I was no longer there, trapped in the bathroom with my attacker, I could still feel his disgusting hands all over me and it made my skin crawl. I scrubbed until my skin was red and still I couldn't scrub him or the memories away. This time I trapped in my own personal hell and there was no way out.

At some time I had had another breakdown in the shower, but I was sure no one had heard no one had heard me crying over the sounds of the running water. Once I had calmed myself down enough I finished my shower, got dressed in my pajamas and walked back to my room. When I got there I found Shane sitting on my bed waiting for me. I paused for a minute in the doorway and then continued in.

"Hey," he said and stood.

"Hey."

"Claire, are you okay?" he asked.

The look in his eyes told me that he already knew the answer to that question, but I lied any way.

"Yeah," I said, and it was the second time that night that I had told someone I was okay when I wasn't.

"Don't lie to me. I heard you crying when you were in the shower and I know you're not okay," he said, his eyes and his voice full of concern and worry.

I thought I had been quiet, but apparently not quiet enough, because he had heard me and I knew that it must have hurt him to hear me crying like that and I also knew that he was waiting for my response to what he had just told me, but I didn't know what to say.

"Oh," was all I finally managed say, then walked past him to the bed and began to pull back the covers.

"Do you want to talk about it?"He asked.

I knew that he had turned toward me and was talking to my back, so I turned back to him before answering.

"No…Not really, I just want to go to bed," I said quietly, hoping he'd understand.

"Okay."

"Will you do something for me?"I asked and looked up into his eyes.

"Yeah …Sure, anything. What is it?"

"Will you lay next to me," I said then looked away and continued, "but not touch me unless I ask you too…I need to know that you're there. I just…I don't want to be touched right now."

He didn't say anything so looked i up at him and asked," Is that okay?"

"Yeah, baby whatever you need," he said, and gave me that a sad smile again, that didn't reach his eyes, "You get into bed and I'll turn out the light."

I crawled into the bed and under the covers and waited for Shane to turn out the light before turning on to my side and closing my eyes. I felt the bed shift as he got in and as promised he just lay there and didn't touch me, but I felt his eyes on me and I knew that he was watching and hoping that I would say that it was okay for him to hold me, but I never did and we both just laid until I finally fell asleep.

Shane's POV

I was ripped from my sleep in the early morning hours by Claire's screams. It took me a second to realize what was going. Claire was having a nightmare and it must have been a bad one, because she was thrashing around, screaming and crying out for me. I rolled over and turned on the lamp and then rolled back over and began to shake Claire gently, trying to wake her up.

"Claire!" I shouted, "Claire, wake up!"

"No…No…Please…no!"She screamed, and I knew right then, who and what she was dreaming about.

"Claire!"I shouted again.

Her eyes shot open

"Shane?"she asked, seeing me but still distraught from the dream.

"Yeah baby, it's me. You're safe now. No one can hurt you."

"Oh god, Shane," she sobbed and sat up and through her arms around me.

I wrapped mine around her and held her until she calmed down.

"It was so horrible, I was back there, trapped in that bathroom with him and there was no one there to help me," She said.

"You're not there anymore, baby, I'm here and I'll never let anyone you ever again," I promised, "I should have killed him Claire."

"No, Shane. I'm glad you didn't," She said and pulled back and looked into my eyes, "because we need you Shane, me and the baby, and if you had killed him, you'd go to jail, and I don't think I could handle that right now."

"You mean everything to me and it kills me to see you like this," I admitted, then pulled her back into my arms, "You know, it's still early, maybe you should go back to sleep and get some rest."

"No, I don't think I could go back to sleep right now ,even if I wanted to."

"It's just now seven o'clock," I said, looked over at the clock and let go of her, "You've only had two hours of sleep and you're pregnant. After what you went through ,that can't be good for you. Maybe you should at least try."

"I think maybe I could use a drink of water first or maybe some milk," She said, and cleared her throat.

"Okay, I'll go get it for you, but you lay down and rest," I insisted.

"No, I'll go with you."

"Alright, come on," I said, pulled back the covers and then stood up.

I knew she didn't want to be alone right and I wasn't going to force it, so I took her hand and helped her out of bed and then we both walked over to the door. I opened it and let Claire through then walked out after her and shut the door behind us.

It was cold in the hallway and I as we walked towards the stairs I began to wish he had put on a shirt, but I wasn't about to go back, Claire needed to get back up here to bed and beside it would only take a couple of minutes to get her something to drink.

We're almost to the bottom of the stairs when someone knocked loudly on the front door. Claire grabbed my hand and jumped down the last stair to where I stood.

"Who could that be, it's so early," Claire said, sounding scared.

"I don't know, but stay right here. I'll be right back," I instructed.

"No, where are you going?"

"I'm just going to look out the window. I'll be right back, I promise."I assured her.

I walked over to the window that had the best view of the front door, moved the curtain to the side just enough to see out. The sun hadn't completely come up yet, so there the figures at the door were shadowed, but I could still tell that they were the cops. I had gut feeling that they had come for me and I didn't know how I was going to tell Claire. She was already so stressed out and she had just told me that she didn't think I could take it if I had to go to jail. I let the curtain fall closed, then walked back over to her and prayed that I was wrong and that she wouldn't have to see me carted off to jail in hand cuffs, while she was in the state that she was in.

"Who was it?" she asked, and I noticed that Eve and Michael had Joined at the bottom of the stairs.

"It's the police," I said, and swallowed nervously.

"You think there here for you don't you?" she asked, and fear was present in her voice. She'd read me like a book.

"Yes."

"Police! Open up!" One of them shouted loudly, while banging on the door, "We know you're in there!"

"Guess I better go answer the door," I said, excepting my fate.

"Shane…No," she pleaded, tears sparkling in her eyes

"I have to baby," I said and kissed her forehead, the one spot on her face that wasn't bruised, then turned and walked towards the front door.

I heard their footsteps as Claire, Michael and Eve followed behind me. When I reached the front door, I put my hand on the knob and took a deep breath before opening it. Two men in police uniforms stood there staring back at me and I didn't recognize either of them.

"Shane Collins?" One of them asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"You are under arrest for the assault and battery of Lee Wilcox," The other informed me and pulled out as he pulled out a pair of shiny silver handcuff.

E/N:

Hope you huys enjoyed the chapter. Another one should be coming soon. Let me know what you think. Review! Review! Review!