Vic had never been more relieved to wake up and find a note from Shaun on the kitchen counter as she had been this morning. He was being sent out of town again for a least a week, this time to supervise the installation of some new equipment at their operation on the Alaskan North Slope. A week away from him was just what she needed to be able to finish healing and regroup. Their conversation the previous day had gone from bad to worse and by the time it had finally wound down she barely had the strength to eat a little something and then go back upstairs to bed. She hadn't even had a chance to call Walt back. Well, she'd get to that today. Shaun must have been pretty stealthy while packing this morning. Normally he wakes her up rummaging around in the closet and bathroom to get ready for one of his trips but she hadn't heard a thing this time.

She took a long, hot shower which really helped her to feel like herself again. One look in the mirror however revealed that the dark circles and bruising left from the ordeal at Chance's weren't going to go away as quickly as she would have liked. She's never wanted to be seen as a victim but it's hard to avoid it when you bear marks like these. Well, long sleeves and sunglasses would help hide a little and it was the best she could do if she wanted to get out of the house, which she did immensely. She had things that needed to be taken care of. First on the list was an attorney. Unfortunately not the DA, the public defender's office nor the high dollar defense attorneys she had occassion to work with would fit the bill. She knew Cady specializes in family law but Vic considered her off limits for this one. Yeah, Vic knew all about attorney / client privilege but she was not willing to take a chance on Walt finding out what was going on, at least not until she was ready for him to know. He needed to be kept completely out of the loop until then. Besides, Cady needed to be able to focus every ounce of her energy on Henry's case. Until then, Vic was going to try to help keep Cady's distractions to a minimum. Omar could probably give her a good recommendation considering his marital track record but he didn't really need to know what was going on either. She had only just gotten him to back off and leave her alone. If he knew she wanted to speak with a divorce lawyer he would get interested in her all over again. That was a hassle she just didn't need right now. Besides, there was a pretty good chance he would let it slip to Walt. The only person she could ask that she could trust to keep it a secret was Henry and he had never gotten close enough to marriage to ever even imagine needing legal advice regarding a divorce, but, of all the possibilities, he was her best option.

She was relieved to see a mostly empty parking lot at the Red Pony .

"Vic, I am surprised to see you. To what do I owe this pleasure?

"I need some help."

"How may I be of service?"

"I need to find a good divorce lawyer. Okay, not a good divorce lawyer, I want a shark, someone not afraid to go in for the kill."

"Sounds serious."

"It is."

"There is no hope for reconciliation?"

"Look Henry, I don't think it's any big secret that Shaun and I have had our differences, but this time I'm done. He's gone too far for us to go back."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know."

"Have you spoken to Walt about this?"

"NO, and I don't intend to."

"Okay, he will not hear anything about it from me."

"I was kinda counting on that Henry. You respect people's privacy more than most and Walt trusts you completely, which is good enough for me."

"Lucky for you Vic, people will talk to their bartender about all kinds of things they refuse to share with anyone else. I think I can help you with what you are needing."

Vic was on her way to Sheridan with a business card in her back pocket. Henry had actually been helpful in finding an attorney there who might be a good fit. She was glad it wasn't someone from an office in Durant. She hadn't really wanted to risk being seen by anyone she knew. That was totally unlikely where she was headed. She had called from Durant and luckily they had a cancellation. She barely had enough time to get there. She pulled into the parking lot and went inside. She gave the secretary her name and sat down in the waiting area. The secretary picked up her phone and punched a button, "Ms. Moretti is here." She stood after hanging up the handset. "Follow me please."

Vic stood, glad it was a short wait. She wanted to get this show on the road. They went down a narrow hallway without any windows and stopped at a closed door on the left side. The secretary opened the door and showed her into a lush office filled with dark wood furniture and a floor to celing bookcase along one wall.

"Ms. Moretti, please come in."

Vic found herself looking into the very blue eyes of Judy Wallace, Attorney-at-law. She extended her hand to Vic's and shook it before taking her chair behind the desk, "Please have a seat. Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes please."

Judy nodded to her secretary who quickly produced a steaming cup of dark roast. It smelled delicious.

"Now Ms. Moretti, how can I help you today?"

Vic removed her sunglasses and hung them on her shirt. She looked back up and seeing the look in the lawyer's eyes immediately regretted that particular habit.

"Oh no, my husband didn't do this."

Judy crossed her hands and set placed them on her desk, "Okay." She didn't look like she was buying it.

"We were taken hostage a few days ago while taking a trip to Jackson Hole."

Judy continued her steady stare, "Why don't you start at the beginning Ms. Moretti."

I was never totally satisfied with Shaun filing for divorce, I wanted Vic to be the one to do it. So I changed it in my story. Author's prerogative I suppose :)