Down the hall way Nicky and Red walked towards Healy's door. Red knocked twice and they heard a 'come in.' Red walked in first and Nicky followed closely behind as if she were afraid of what she would find inside the office.

"Good evening, Red, Nichol. How are you both doing?" Healy asked as cheerful as his job required him to be.

"We are getting better. Well, I am. Nicky is pretty traumatized considering what happened to me." Red gave Nicky look out of the corner of her eye and, not to her surprise, Nicky hadn't taken her eyes off of Red since they entered the room. She looked terrified.

"Yes I can see that." Healy said kind of hesitant looking at Nicky. "Are you okay, Nichols?" Healy questioned, genuinely concerned. Nicky still did not take her eyes off of Red. "Maybe some counseling sessions would be good for you, huh? Talk through what happened?" Nicky's eyes grew twice in size at his last sentence. Red knew she had to change the subject quickly.

"I'm taking care of her, there's no need for anything else. But anyway, Healy why we are here, is because I have made a cake for…" She hesitated, seeing Nicky was not in a good way already. "the man who saved my life." But he did the exact opposite of that didn't he. He almost killed me, twice, she thought looking at Nicky.

"Oh that's wonderful, Red. That's a great step in the recovery direction. Well I'll make sure he gets it." Healy said politely.

"Oh and one more thing, Healy. Could you make sure he gets all of it? It's so small I don't want him to think I ate any of it, it'd come off as too greedy. And please, whatever you do, don't let him know it came from me. I want it to be kept a secret." Red didn't know what she was saying. All she could think about was how Nicky looked more and more like she was about to burst into tears, she knew she they had to get out of there quickly.

"Of course. Well you two have a good rest of your evening." He nodded as a good bye and they both silently exited, Red leading Nicky out by the hand.

Red walked them all the way back to Nicky's cube where she went to sit on Nicky's bed and sat down. Nicky stayed in the doorway. Red patted the bed next to her signaling Nicky to come and sit by her. Nicky shook her head 'no.'

"Ok." Red said gently.

Red got up and took Nicky by the hand again and lead them to her own cube. Again Nicky stopped in the door way and Red sat on the bed. No one else was in the cube so Red didn't know why Nicky stopped this time. Red patted the bed's empty space that was next to her and Nicky came over and sat down. She starred at her hands which were balled in fists, not tight as if she were mad, but loose as though she had no control.

She just stared at them, she was so still.

"What is it?" Red finally asked after several silent moments.

Silence.

"Talk to me." Red whispered.

Silence.

Just as Red was about to speak again, Nicky uttered a word.

"Uniform."

"Oh." Red realized after a moment of thinking about it that Healy and Piscatella wore the same uniform.

Silence.

"I'm sorry." Red comforted.

"You put it on you." Nicky said a little random sounding.

"What do you mean?" Red asked and noticed that Nicky was speaking as though she had a hard time with English.

"You told Healy you baked the cake. You told him to tell him that it came from you. You didn't mention me even though it was my idea and I did half the work." Nicky sounded like a little girl. A scared and lost little girl.

"Yes, I did." Red whispered.

"Why? Because now when they find him dead it'll be your fault. All your fault." Nicky concluded sadly.

"Because I love you." Red put simply.

"You know what could happen to you. You could get sent to max, an extension on your sentence, put to death…" Nicky teared up on the last thought.

"Because I love you." Red repeated.

"No. No one can love me that much." Nicky mumbled.

"I do." Red whispered reaching a hand up to Nicky's hair and holding her face. Nicky flinched.

Red grabbed her by the shoulders. Nicky was squirming to get out of Red's grasp. The more Nicky tried to escape the harder Red's grip would become. Red pinned Nicky down on the bed and Nicky was fighting.

"Let me go." Nicky demanded.

"No." Red struggled to keep her down.

Red made sure Nicky was on the bed laying on her side. The way Red was half way on top of her there was no way Nicky could get up.

"Leave me alone. Stop it." Nicky pleaded.

And as Red's heart was breaking she kept saying, "No."

Red had her chest on Nicky's right shoulder and she had her arm around Nicky's chest. Red cuddled her all the while Nicky wanted to be free.

"Please let me go." Nicky sounded very terrified.

"I love you." Red whispered in her ear.

"Leave me alone." Nicky struggled.

"I love you." She whispered again.

"Please…" Nicky started to cry.

"I love you."

Nicky's rapid movements all of a sudden ceased.

"I love you. I love you. I love you." Red kept softly repeating and at this point it seemed that with each phrase, Nicky relaxed more and more. "I love you."

Nicky turned her head to her right just slightly, excepting to see the face of Piscatella. But instead she saw Red looking at her as if Nicky was her newborn baby being placed in her arms for the very first time.

"It's just me. It's me." Red teared.

"Mommy." Nicky whispered barley above an audible level.

"Yes, it's me." At the sound of Red's words, Nicky turned over to her other side so her and Red were facing each other. Nicky moved closer to Red and she wrapped her arms around her tight. Very tight. Red returned the embrace and let a few tears escape from underneath her closed eye lids.

"I wish I could take it all away, Nicky." Red said against Nicky's shoulder.

"You are." Nicky said softly.

"I love you." Red said again.

"I love you." Nicky returned.

They stayed like that for a long while, just hugging and cuddling, Red giving her more comfort than Nicky would ever be able to express to her.

Nicky was facing the wall so she couldn't see but Red was facing the outside and could see a shadow through her closed eyes. She opened them and did everything she could not to utter a sound. Piscatella was looming over them, like a grim reaper would. Just standing there, tall and dark, observing them, not saying a word, with a death stare in his eyes. Red looked him in the eyes for a solid minute and then he walked away.

Red squeezed Nicky tighter.

"I love you."