Olivia woke with a start, feeling the cold press of steel against her neck once more. Looking wildly around the room, she saw no one there and she burst into tears. Peter was still in Chicago, she remembered. It's only been two days since I came home. Looking at the clock, she saw it was two in the morning, and knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Hoping she wasn't overstepping, she pulled her cellphone close to her heart, breathing deeply as she dialed.

"Hello?"

Her voice was groggy and sounded upset. "Grace, it's Liv."

"Honey, is everything okay?"

The instant concern in her voice brought fresh tears to her eyes. "I had a nightmare. I could feel the knife tearing my skin, piercing my neck. I-I…" Her voice gave out to her tears and she wept softly into the phone.

"You're all right, Liv. He's not there now; no one is. No one can hurt you in your own home. Do you want me to read to you, until you fall asleep? That seemed to relax you in the hospital."

"You'd do that for me?" It still didn't seem possible that she had a friend in Grace.

"Of course I would, honey. You need someone to look after you until Peter and Noah come home, and who better than me? I rule through a different kind of fear and can run off anyone who even looks at you the wrong way." Liv suppressed a giggle and Grace laughed lightly. "Now, where do I begin?"

"We were going to begin Danielle Steel tonight."

"Okay. Put me on speaker phone and I'll start reading until you're asleep once more." Liv set the phone on the pillow next to her and settled back into bed.

The next time she woke up, it was to her alarm blaring. Liv sat up and rubbed her eyes, trying to chase away the bone deep exhaustion that still ate at her brain. Stumbling over to her closet, she pulled out the outfit Mel had bought her, not wanting to put anything tight on her stomach yet.

After picking out underwear, she padded over to the bathroom and peeled off her loose nightgown before stepping into the shower and letting the warm water wash across her back. Carefully, she turned slightly to wet a washcloth and then ran it over the wounds on her stomach, hissing slightly as a dull ache filled her body. Bending, she picked up her shampoo and quickly washed her hair, trying not to cry out as the lifting motion pulled at the newly forming scars.

As she dried off, she thought about the day ahead of her. Liv knew she'd have quite a bit of paperwork to catch up on and too many files to review. Pulling her clothes around her like armor, she tried to set her face into the usual expression of the happy and calm she usually wore. It wouldn't come, so she settled for a flat, blank, stare.

Liv tried to style her hair in such a way that it would cover the hideous bruise on her forehead and found she could hide most of it. Allowing herself a small smile, she stepped out of the bathroom only to hear her phone ring. She ran over to the bedside phone and picked it up. "Hello?"

"my lovely one. How's the head this morning?"

"Peter! I'm feeling much better now that you called. Are the negotiations going well?"

"As well as can be expected. We're waiting for a table, so I thought I'd see if you were still home. I miss you."

"I miss you, too, honey. I never had the chance to see you off for this trip. When are you coming back to me and Noah?"

"If things go better than planned, in a week. Otherwise, it won't be for another twelve days. Damn, I have to get going. They're seating us now. I love you, Liv."

"I love you, too, Peter." She hung up and fought to keep from crying. She had to stay strong, for her family. Squaring her shoulders, she made her way out and opened the front door to get the newspaper, next to the paper, was a medium sized cardboard box. Her name was scrawled across the top and she felt her heart sink.

To Be Continued.

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