For the first few seconds after waking up Billy forgot where he was as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the hotel room, it didn't take long though for the events of last night to come rushing back as he looked down at the broken woman sleeping in his arms.

Biting his bottom lip his chest physically ached as his mind struggled to comprehend everything her and Jack had been through and everything they were still going through; he couldn't even begin to imagine how you start to pick up the pieces of your life after something so unthinkable.

As much as he understood Phyllis's feelings towards Jack and how complicated they were he couldn't help but feel for his brother, Jack hadn't done anything wrong, he had been a victim in all of this too yet because he shared a face with the man who had brought so much pain into their lives, he was a constant living, breathing reminder of everything Phyllis was trying to forget. How did you even start to come back from that, to trust that everything is as it seems and that you are safe, loved and protected.

Shaking his head, he looked down at her sleeping form, her face was pale, her eyes just two dark circles like craters on the moon and her cheeks were bright with last night's tear tracks but, despite all of that her features were relaxed, as if for the first time in months sharing her secret had given her a peace she had been struggling to find.

Looking over at the window he figured it must still be early as the darkness of night was still wrapped around the building, daylight not even creeping into the edges of the blackness yet.

Readjusting his position slightly he decided to try and get some more sleep, hopeful that if she also managed to get as much rest as her body allowed that today would be a better day. And that knowing she had someone to talk to, someone that was completely in her corner would help relieve some of the burden she had been carrying.

He wasn't sure how much longer he had slept after that, in the hotel room with no clocks and his phone battery now dead time had become an almost abstract concept, he did however realize that at least a few hours must have passed as he winced against the bright sunlight now streaming in through the window.

Standing up he stretched the kinks out of back, sleeping on the floor seemed like a good idea at the time but he was likely going to spend the rest of the day paying for it.

"Phyllis," he called out softly, wondering if she was in the shower as the silence from inside answered in the negative.

Wondering how he had managed to sleep through her waking up, getting dressed and leaving the room, searching around for a phone charger, needing to reconnect with the outside world. After finally locating one he passed the time by making himself a coffee, sitting down on the couch he tried not to let his mind wander to all those worst case scenarios that could have happened over the last year.

His brother had been kidnapped and he hadn't even known.

An imposter had infiltrated their lives and violated his sister-in-law in ways he doubted she would ever fully recover from and they had all been completely unaware, and as far as he knew the rest of his family was still in the dark.

He wanted to scream out the truth, to make Victor pay, to see him rot inside a jail cell for the rest of his miserable life for the pain he had brought down on the people he cared about but he knew he couldn't do anything right now, that it wasn't his story to tell.

He knew that Phyllis and to some extent Jack needed to be in control of what happened going forward, especially when they had already had so much taken from them, they deserved that much.

Just as he took the first sip of coffee his phone pinged to life, the screen lighting up as message after message started to come through.

There were 4 from Victoria.

A couple from Jack.

One from his mother.

And finally, a message from the woman he couldn't get off of his mind, opening it first he read the words a few times, it was short and to the point, she thanked him for last night, apologized for falling asleep on him and explained that she had left early to meet Summer at The Underground.

Relieved that she at least seemed ok, he decided to stay here and finish his coffee before heading back to try and explain to Victoria where he had spent the night, because if he knew her as well as he thought he did then he knew she would not let him get away with half-answers.

Walking into The Underground she looked around at the new décor and whistled. "I really like what you've done with the place."

"Thanks," Nick replied, stepping out from behind the bar.

"You look good," he observed, genuinely meaning it as he took in her relaxed features and refreshed look.

Phyllis tilted her head and smiled. "I feel good, I managed a full night's sleep last night," she explained.

"Listen about yesterday," Nick began, not wanting to bring a dark cloud over her good mood but needing her to know he was sorry. "I don't know what it was I said but I am sorry for upsetting you, I never meant too and … I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Phyllis sighed. "I shouldn't have overreacted like I did, I was running on empty Nick, but things are different today, it's amazing what a good night's sleep can do to you," she laughed gently, sitting down on one of the barstools.

Nick leaned against the bar; his body turned towards hers "That's the thing I don't understand though, what it was that caused you to react to that."

"Nick, please, can we just leave it?" Phyllis pleaded.

"I wish I could," Nick breathed. "But something is going on with you, I can see it in your eyes, hear it in your voice and I can't help but worry that my father is involved somehow, Victoria told me what happened between him and Jack and how Jack blames him and then yesterday when I mentioned his name you looked ready to commit murder," he worried.

Phyllis closed her eyes. "Do you have any coffee in this place?"

"It's a bar … of course we have coffee," Nick said with a sharp intake of breath, mentally kicking himself as she started to close herself off to him.

"Have you heard from Summer?" she asked, as Nick moved back behind the bar and started up the coffee machine. "Only I was supposed to meet her here and she's late."

"No," Nick answered with a shake of the head. "I haven't heard from her since the day before yesterday."

For the next few seconds, the only sound came from the clinking of the coffee machine as Nick maneuvered his way around it. "One double shot latte."

"What, no pretty latte art," she laughed as he placed the cup in front of her.

Picking up the stirrer he drew a heart in the foam. "I'm still working on my technical skills, but it tastes good."

Taking a sip, she raised her eyebrows in appreciation. "Not bad … for a beginner."

The ringing of Nick's cellphone interrupted the moment, a few short words were exchanged before he hung up and smiled apologetically at her. "That was the delivery guys, they are waiting out the back in the loading bay."

"You do what you have to do, I'm going to see where our beautiful daughter has got to," she explained, taking her phone from her bag only to see she already had a text message from Summer.

"Grandpa needed help with something, raincheck?" Phyllis raged, bleeding the simple message out loud she threw her phone against the floor, watching as it bounced before landing face down.

The door opened causing her to jump slightly.

"It's only me," Billy reassured her, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, leaning down and picking up her phone, there was small crack down the screen that ran straight through the picture of her and Jack that she had set as her lock screen, laughing bitterly she laughed, taking in how it looked like someone had ripped the picture through the middle, a twisted physical reminder of how her life was right now.

Billy pulled out a bar stool and sat down next to her. "I'm just checking in," he admitted.

"Thanks … but I'm ok, honestly," she assured him.

"What did that phone ever do to you?" Billy wondered, looking down at the broken screen.

Phyllis sighed; she knew there was no point hiding from him now, not when he knew everything. "I was supposed to be meeting Summer here but apparently Victor clicked his fingers, so she has to go running."

"I'm sorry," Billy apologized.

"I need him out of her life," Phyllis whispered. "Out of all of our lives.

"Billy," Nick greeted, walking back into the bar.

Billy looked towards Phyllis not sure how much he should share.

"He was checking up on me," Phyllis shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee. "When I left you yesterday … Billy saw me … as I told you I had a migraine and … it made me sick … I guess he just wanted to see if I was ok," she sighed.

Nick's eyes drifted between the pair, immediately sensing that there was more to the story than she was telling him. "Ok."

"Ok," Phyllis echoed.

"If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to," Nick started, his eyes settling on Phyllis as she played nervously with the phone, her finger running down the crack in the screen, hissing slightly as the glass cut her finger.

Billy watched her stare down at the blood, concern overriding anything else right now as he grabbed a napkin from the bar and wrapped it around her finger, bright red spots staining the whiteness.

"Phyllis," he worried.

"I'm ok," she tried to reassure him, her voice distant and floating as she swayed slightly in the chair.

Billy reached out to steady her. "No, you're not."

"I agree," Nick added, coming around the bar and placing his hand on her other shoulder. "Why don't we go and sit down over here," he suggested, motioning to a comfortable leather booth.

Nick and Billy both helped her towards the booth as they shared a concerned look, watching as she seemed to get lost inside her head, tormented by something only she could see as she looked down at the napkin as blood continued to seep through it.

"You need to put pressure in it," Billy instructed.

"Ok," she stammered, sounding lost and confused.

Nick could see that look that passed between Phyllis and Billy, he could feel the concern in the other man's eyes and see the pain in her ex-wife's lost look. "Why do I feel like I am the only one on the outside here," he observed. "What is going on, Billy, please," Nick begged, needing to know what it was that had the mother of his child so broken.

Phyllis lifted her eyes to look at Billy, almost as if she was asking his permission.

"It's not my story to tell," he softly pointed out.

"What's not your story to tell?" Nick panicked, resting his hands under his legs to stop himself from fidgeting with them. "Are you sick? I mean the headaches and …."

"I'm not sick," Phyllis said, cutting him off. "I almost wish it was the simple," she quietly admitted, her voice shaking and uneven.

Nausea started to roll in his stomach as Nick watched her swallow painfully, her eyes bright with unshed tears as she seemed to be fighting internal battle. "Phyllis, please talk to me."

"I can't," she breathed. "It wouldn't be fair … to put you in that position … to …"

"Maybe you should let me decide what is and isn't fair to me," Nick countered.

Billy leaned down so that his lips were just inches from her ear. "Nick's right, he needs to know Phyllis and you need to tell him."

"Ok," she agreed, realizing that Billy was right, and Nick deserved to be given a chance to make up his own mind, even though deep down she was terrified it could mean losing his friendship.

Taking a long deep breath, she stared at hands as if the power of her mind could force them to stop shaking. "I … can't …" she gulped, her headache returning with a vengeance as she massaged the sides of her head.

Billy could see that she was in actual physical pain and once again he wanted nothing more than to find Victor Newman and make him pay. "Phyllis, do you want me to tell him," he offered, willing to do whatever he could to spare her any more pain.

Not trusting herself to speak, Phyllis just nodded.

Once he had her permission Billy moved around in the booth so that he was looking directly at Nick. "What I am about to tell you is hard to hear, I understand that, but she wants you to know and I think you deserve to know exactly what kind of man your father is the damage the chain of events he set in actions has caused and is still causing to this very day."

"My father," Nick stuttered, his greatest fear confirmed as the youngest Abbott sibling confirmed what had been keeping up at night, that his own father, a man he looked up to had done something to the woman he once loved and still considered a very important part of his life.

Billy nodded. "Yes. Your father."

"Ok," Nick took a deep breath, as if he was mentally and physically preparing himself for what was about to come.

"I am going to tell you everything I know, I need you to listen and not react until I have finished, I need you to understand that this is hard for me to explain but above all I need you to promise that you will not say do anything until I have finished telling you," Billy asked of him, his voice laced with sympathy as he thought about how much the revelation he was about to hear would hurt the other man.

He knew because hearing what Phyllis had been through had nearly destroyed him, and he didn't share the history with her that Nick did, he didn't share a child with her.

"I promise," Nick finally agreed.

Not sure where to start Billy decided that the cold, harsh facts was the best place. "Does the name Marco Anicelli mean anything to you?"

"Yes, he was the man that was wanted a short while back," he remembered, trying to once again picture the e-fit in his head.

"That picture, the one that they used was a lie, a lie planted by someone who knew the real Marco because the real Marco, the one that was brought to Genoa City by your father had a different face, he had Jack's face and for months he pretended to be him …"

As Billy continued the story Nick could barely breathe, his heart felt like it was hammering in his chest as he felt his palms start to sweat, at first, he hadn't wanted to believe it, there was no way his father could do something so cruel, something so unspeakable.

One look into Phyllis's eyes, into the tortured maelstrom of emotions that was swirling within her usually bright green orbs was all it took to convince him that every word Billy was saying was true, that his father really was a monster.

It wasn't until he heard her voice that he realized Billy had finished speaking, looking up he saw them both staring at him, waiting for his reaction.

"Nick, say something, please," Phyllis pleaded, her voice barely audible over the hammering of his own heart.

Nick looked down at his hands, too ashamed of his own father's actions to meet her eyes right now. "I'm sorry," he finally spoke.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Phyllis tried to reassure him, hating that Nick's first response was to blame himself.

Finally, Nick lifted his eyes to meet her, rage and concern fighting for control of him as he wanted to find his father and make him, pay whilst simultaneously wrapping his arms around her and never letting her go.

"What my father did to you … Phyllis … how can you even look at me right now, he brought that man into your life, into our daughter's life and sat back as he took advantage of you, played with, used you, raped …"

He knew the minute the word was out of his mouth that he shouldn't have said it, that she wasn't ready to hear it right now as he watched her face pale.

Phyllis knew Nick was right, she knew that was exactly what had happened to her but she hadn't allowed herself to use that word or to even think for fear that if she did she might never be able to pick herself up.

"I'm gonna be sick," she mumbled, pushing herself to her feet and heading in the direction of the ladies' bathroom.

"I'm such an idiot," Nick raged at himself as he watched her go.

Billy knew the other man hadn't meant to upset her like he had, that he had been so consumed by emotion that he had not considered his words before speaking. "No, you're not, it's hard to know what to say in a situation like this, I doubt there's any guidebook for it either."

"How long have you known?" Nick wanted to know.

"She finally told me last night, but I knew something was wrong a long time before that," Billy replied.

"So, did I," Nick sighed. "What do we do now?"

Phyllis walked back into the room, causing both men to stop and look at her. "Nothing, we do nothing."

"He can't get away with this," Nick declared. "Phyllis what he did is a crime, he needs to pay, you need to make him pay."

"I need to get my life back," Phyllis countered.

"And you will when my father is behind bars," Nick reasoned.

Phyllis could see from the way his whole body was shaking that he was barely managing to contain his anger. "You are not to blame for this, don't ever think you are," she tried, reaching out and taking his hands in hers, needing him to know that he was not his father, that he would never be his father.

Nick shook his head, his blue eyes wide. "No. But he is and he needs to pay … I'm sorry Phyllis, I am so, so sorry but he can't get away with this … he can't … what he did to you … he has to pay."

As she watched Nick leave, she felt powerless to stop the chain of events that was no doubt about to be set in motion. "What have I done," she cried, practically collapsing into Billy's arms as he held her close.

"What have I done," she repeated, her words barely audible over quiet, broken sobs.