“UH HUH!” The little boy squirmed and giggled.

“Are you ready for dinner now?” Justin flipped Steven over and set him gently on the floor.

“Yeah!” He ran to his seat at the table and climbed up into his chair.

Justin sat down between Steven and Jon, pulling Jon against his side and kissing the top of his head, “I’m glad you’re here buddy.”

Jon rubbed the top of his head, “JUSTIN!”

Justin chuckled, “Sorry buddy.”

Justin’s mother and Paul sat at one end of the table and his father and Lisa sat at the other, with the boys all together in the middle. Smiling, Justin looked from one end of the table to the other, “Momma, Daddy, Lisa, Dad this means so much to me to have all of you here. I know that coming to my house for Christmas may not be everyone’s idea of a good time...”

Justin’s father leaned forward and smiled at his oldest son, “We wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else son.”

“Still, it means a lot to me, thank you.”

Lynn was smiling brightly, “So who would like to say grace? Jon, would you like to do it?”

“Ok.” He sat a little straighter and bowed his head, “God bless all of our family and our friends, JC, Joey, Lance, Chris, Stasia, Lyn, and especially Morgan.”

Steven looked frantically at Jon, “But Mor-in isn't Jus-sin's friend anymore!”

Justin looked confused, “What do you mean Steve? Of course Morgan is still my friend!”

Steven rolled up onto his knees on his chair, “But Jus-sin you and Mor-in were KISSIN’ she is your GIRLFRIEND! Isn’t she?” He looked at his older brother with confused eyes. Everyone at the table froze in mid-motion, turning their eyes to Justin’s flushed face.

Lynn raised an eyebrow, “Justin is there something that you want to share with your family about you and Morgan?”

Justin coughed nervously, “Umm well...you see...ah, the thing is...I ah...Morgan and I umm...”

“WERE KISSIN’!” Steven interjected.

Justin swallowed hard, “Thanks Steve... yeah, Morgan and I have decided that we want to try the more than friends thing.” he grabbed his water glass and took a long swallow.

“It's about time Justin! I thought you two were NEVER going to get together!" Lynn said smiling at her son.

“So you finally convinced her huh, son?”

“Yeah Dad I guess I did.”

Paul leaned forward, “So why didn’t you tell us?”

“I didn’t NOT tell you. It just sort of...happened. We finally just realized we WANTED to be together

Pulling the Stasia’s black gown off of the dresser Morgan clutched it to her chest and began sobbing. Her legs crumpled beneath her. Her body shook and she wiped at her face with the back of her hand. South had been gone for days and Morgan had not left the apartment, she had not turned on the lights, she had not changed out of her pajamas and she had not really eaten. It had been three days before she realized she hadn’t eaten anything.

She had made herself a sandwich and had only been able to take a few bites before feeling sick. There were at least six half eaten sandwiches on plates in the refrigerator.

Looking around the dark room she saw her phone laying on the ground, partially under the bed. She opened it and retrieved her voice mail messages.

“Hey Woman! Merry Christmas! I missed opening gifts with you last night. You are NOT going to believe what happened! JC asked Lyn to marry him! Can you believe it? They are getting married in Ireland in like three weeks...or two weeks or something I don’t know, but it’s gonna be a blast. We are going to have so much fun! I can’t remember if you’ve ever been to Ireland...as a matter of fact, have I ever been there? I dunno. Anyway...I was thinking, maybe I’ll come up to visit you in a few days, we can celebrate Christmas then. Call me soon. I love you.” Sobs racked her body again and she crawled back up into her bed.

As she lay there sobbing she shook her head, “STOP IT! Stop your crying! You’re fine. Nothing happened.” She sat up and ran her hands over her face, “OK, ok...you need to distract yourself. You need to be normal. Everything is normal. Everything is fine.”

Getting out of bed, Morgan made her way to the the living room. She began to reach for the lamp, and then pulled her hand back, without turning on the light. She turned on the TV and stared blankly at the VH1 VJ. She pushed her hair back with both hands and settled back into the couch. Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas is You video played and Morgan blinked rapidly, trying to focus on the television.

Reaching for the glass of water on the coffee table, Morgan realized her hand was shaking. She set the glass back down and looked up at the TV as her friends flashed up on the screen.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas
Happy Holidays
We've been waiting all year for this night
And the snow is glistening on the trees outside
And all the stockings are hung by the firseide

Her breathing was shallow and her hands began shaking violently. When Justin’s happy face filled the screen as he hugged the little girl in front of him, Morgan began gasping for air, trying to fight the sob building up in her chest. “He is never going to forgive me.” The floodgate opened again and the sobs overtook her entire body.

Morgan was hanging over the edge of a cliff, her fingertips were bloody from trying to cling to the rocks. She was screaming and begging Justin to help her. He was running as fast and as hard as he could, his feet were slipping on the gravel. As he slid to a halt at the edge of the of the cliff, he dove on his stomach, sliding, trying to grab Morgan’s hands, just as her grasp gave out and she fell into the black pit below. Justin screamed, “MOOOORGAAAAAN!”

“Jus-sin! Jus-sin!” Steven was next to the bed, shaking his brother’s arm.

Justin sat bolt upright and starred at his brother, “Steve?”

“Jus-sin, were you havin’ a bad dream?” Steven rubbed his brother’s arm.

Justin blinked rapidly and pushed the cold sweat off of his forehead. He pulled Steven into his arms and his breath caught in his throat, “Yeah Steve, I had a HORRIBLE dream.”

Steven snuggled into the bed with Justin and rubbed his forehead with little hand, “It’s K, Jus-sin. I’m here.”

Justin hugged him very tightly and kissed his forehead, “Thanks buddy. I’m ok.” His heart was still thundering in his chest, his dream had felt far too real and had forced him to remember the fact that he had not been able to talk to Morgan in days. Justin looked at the clock next to the bed, it was 8:30 in the morning. It had now been 10 days since he last talked to Morgan. Even when they were fighting he talked to her more than that, even if it was only to have her hang up on him at least he would hear her voice picking up the phone.

He kissed Steve on the forehead and reached for his cell phone. Grabbing his bag and digging out his phone book he found the number he wanted and dialed quickly.

“Hello?” South popped a piece of poptart into her mouth and adjusted her pajama bottoms, which had managed to get twisted around her leg as she reached for the phone..

“Laura?”

She leaned back against Jack’s side and motioned for him to pause the DVD, “Yeah. Who’s this?”

“It’s Justin. I was wondering if I could talk to Morgan.”

“If you could....” South’s heart rate quickened and she pushed away from Jack, turning her terrified eye to him. He raised an eyebrow and she covered her mouth with her hand for a moment, “Justin, she went to the store with my brother.” Jack’s eyebrow’s drew together in confusion and South began shaking, “I’ll have her call you.”

“Thanks. I was just a little surprised she hadn’t called.”

“Yeah...sorry about that. We’ve been keeping her busy.”

“Ok. Please have her call.”

“Sure thing.” South hung up and turned slowly to Jack, “She didn’t go to Orlando...or at least not to Justin’s.”

“What?” He studied her face carefully.

“Jack...”

“I’ll get the car.” He was up and out the door.

Fighting with her keys, South pushed the door open. Flipping on the lights she dropped everything at the door and walked quickly down the hall, “North?”

There was no answer.

“NORTH?” She was beginning to taste bile in her throat, if Morgan had done anything to hurt herself, she would never forgive herself for leaving.

As she pushed Morgan’s bedroom door open and her heart broke. Morgan was in bed, clutching Stasia’s dress, sleeping. She quietly crossed the room and turned on the small lamp on the dresser, “Morgan.”

Mor rolled over, “South?”

South sat on the edge of the bed, “Why are you here?”

“I can’t.”

“You can’t what Sweetie?” South rubbed Morgan’s shoulder.

“I can’t face Justin.” Morgan shook her head slowly.

“Why not?”

“He is going to hate me. I let someone else see me naked, touch me.” The flood of tears started again.

“Jesus Morgan! You didn’t LET him do anything! He took advantage of you! He DRUGGED YOU!” She brushed Mor’s hair back over her shoulders, “Justin called me looking for you, you HAVE to talk to him. For God’s sake, when did you eat last?”

Morgan shook her head, “Yesterday...I think.”

“We need to get you some help.”

“I’m fine. When we go back to class Next week, I’ll be fine.”

“Mor, we go back to class in two days. I have been gone eleven days. It’s Friday.” South stood up, “You haven’t left at all have you? You haven’t even showered.”

“I’ve showered...just the other day. I’ll take a shower now.” Mor slid out of the bed, “I’m ok.”

South watched Morgan walk into the bathroom and listened as the shower started. She walked back into the bedroom and picked up her cell phone. Jack walked in and asked, “Who are you calling?”

“Justin.”

He nodded and left the room. Finding Justin’s number in the directory in Morgan’s phone, South chose it and hit send, after one ring, Justin excitedly answered, “MOR!”

“Justin, it’s Laura.”

“Laura?”

South swallowed hard, “Justin, she needs you.”

“What do you mean she needs me?” She heard the fear in his voice.

“She hasn’t been with me at my parents. I thought she was in Orlando with you...but she wasn’t...she was here at the apartment, alone.” She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the tears threatening to spill.

“Why?” His voice cracked slightly.

“Because...something happened.” South squeezed her eyes shut.

“What the fuck Laura! What happened? Is Morgan ok?” Stasia, who had been walking by the open door, stopped and walked in, scanning Justin’s face for information.

“Justin, Bob tried to rape her. She’s NOT ok.” South held her breath, waiting for his reaction.

Stasia ran forward to try to catch him as his legs buckled beneath him, she screamed over her shoulder, “HARRY! WE NEED YOU!”

As Lance ran into the room, Justin began to shake. Lance looked at Stasia and helped her haul Justin up onto the chair next to them, “What the hell happened?”

Stasia whispered, “Something’s wrong with Morgan.”

Justin was silent. South knew that he had to be reeling, and that his world must be upside down, “Justin, she feels like it was her fault. He drugged her drink at the party. She thinks you are going to be disgusted with her. She NEEDS you. I just...I don’t know what to do.”

“Where were you?” The rage in his voice was barely contained.

“Justin, I wish that....”

“You know what Laura? SHUT THE FUCK UP! You should have called me when it happened!” The realization that he had talked to her twice and she had not told him hit, “JESUS CHRIST, I talked to you TWICE, and you didn’t tell me that someone tried to RAPE HER? What is wrong with you? You should have BROUGHT HER HOME! You should have made sure she was ok! Don’t fucking talk to me about what you wish!” He hung up.

Stasia was covering her mouth with her hand, Lance was staring at Justin with his hands deeply in his pockets, “What’s going on J?”

“Morgan...I have to go...I have to go now.” Justin was looking at the floor.

Lyn walked into the room and looked at the three people huddled around the chair in the corner, “What’s going on? Is everything alright?”

Justin stared blankly at them, “He touched her...he tried to...Jesus, he tried to rape her.”

Lyn gasped and tears instantly began rolling down her cheeks, “What? Who?”

“That fucking frat bastard.” He turned his eyes to Lance, “He touched her, he tried to hurt her.”

Lance’s face showed the pain they were all feeling, “Do you know if she’s ok?”

“Laura said she needs me. I have to go.” He looked up at his friends, “I have to go.”

Stasia nodded, “Lance you take him to the airport. Lyn, you call Johnny, find out where Jive’s jet is and how fast we can have it here if it’s somewhere else. I’m going to Dr. Westerville and ask her what to do.”

Justin looked up at her, “Stasia...”

“Justin just go. We’ll make the calls. We’re going to take care of her, you just go get her and bring her home.”

Lyn nodded, “We’ve got it covered, we’ll wait here, let us know when you’re on your way home.”

The cab driver stopped in front of a building and Justin threw several crumpled bills at him. The driver looked through it and called out the window as Justin jogged up the front steps, “HEY! This is too much!”

Justin turned and yelled back, “Keep it!” Walking into the building’s lobby he scanned the doors, finding the number he was looking for. He knocked lightly and was a little confused when a guy pulled the door open, “Justin?”

Looking up and down the hall, Justin simply nodded.

Jack’s voice was hushed, “Come in. I’m Jack, South’s boyfriend.” He stepped aside and shut the door when Justin walked into the apartment.

“Where is Morgan?”

“She’s in her room with South. That room.” He pointed down the hall.

Justin nodded and walked down the hall to the door Jack had pointed to. He pinched the bridge of his nose before he walked into the room. Morgan was laying on her side, South was laying next to her stroking her hair softly. South noticed him standing there and rubbed Morgan’s shoulder lightly, “North.”

Morgan’s eyes opened slowly and South nodded toward the door. Morgan’s eyebrows drew together, “Justin?” Her voice shook.

“Hi.” He smiled weakly and watched as South got up and left the room without a word. He crouched down next to the bed and caressed her cheek.

She began crying, “Why are you here?”

“Shh...” He kissed her forehead, “Laura called me.” He took her hand and held it lightly, “Why didn’t you call me? I would have come to you.”

“I’m sorry.” Her lower lip quivered.

He held her hand up to his lips and kissed it lightly, “There is nothing to be sorry for. You didn’t do anything.”

“I’m so tired. I’m just so tired. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“I know.” He squeezed his eyes shut, “Morgan, I want to take you home.”

“I don’t want to be here any more.” Her frame shook as she began crying harder.

“Shh,” he kissed her temple, “It’s ok, you don’t have to stay here. You can come home. Do you want to come home with me?”

She nodded her head, “Will you please hold me?”

He laid down on the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms, “You’re going to be ok, I swear to God, you’re gonna be ok. He’s never going to touch you again.”

“I just want to go home. I never want to come back here.” She was crying harder.

“We’re going to go home.” His arms wrapped tighter around her and his own tears began to fall.

“When?” She fought to control her breathing.

“As soon as you’re ready.” He held her tightly, “We have the jet, we can go as soon as you want.”

“Justin...I didn’t want...I didn’t want him to...” Her lower lips was quivering.

“I know. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t call more, I’m sorry I didn’t come looking for you. I’m sorry I failed you.” He was crying, almost as hard as she was.

“I don’t know what happened. I can’t remember anything. I started to feel sick...my head was swimming and the room began spinning. I said I thought I needed to go home.” She began crying harder, “He seemed concerned. I thought he was going to help me.” Justin’s rage built as she tried to force the memories, “But once we got in the car...it’s all gone. I don’t know what happened, I don’t know what he did. The next thing I remember is waking up. South and jack were in my room watching me sleep. He tried to rape me...and I don’t remember ANYTHING!”

“I’m so sorry. Maybe it’s better you don’t remember...”

Two hours later, Justin walked out into the living room. South stood up and looked at him, “How is she?”

His eyes were cold and his tone matched, “She’s screwed up. She’s frightened, and confused and she was ALONE.”

“If I had thought that....”

“If you THOUGHT at all, she would have gotten help right away. If YOU HAD THOUGHT, you would have called me right away. YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD ME THE TRUTH WHEN I CALLED! I swear to God, if I never see you again, it will be too soon.”

Jack stood up, “Hey man. We’ve never had to deal with a situation like this before. She said she was fine, she told us she was ok. I’m sorry we didn’t realize how bad her mental state was, but you can’t blame Laura for what Bob did.”

Justin glared at the other man, “I don’t blame Laura for what Bob did, I blame Laura for what LAURA did...or didn’t do.”

Mor walked into the room wearing a pair of warm-up pants and Justin’s Tennessee sweatshirt. Her hair was down, and falling in her face, she looked at Justin and quietly said, “I’m packed.”

He nodded and walked back down to her room, returning only seconds later with her suitcases and backpack. He looked at Mor and said, “I’ll call a cab.”

Jack shook his head, “I’ll drive you. It’ll be faster.”

Justin simply nodded and shifted all of the bags to one side so he could put his arm around Morgan. His chest tightened when he felt her entire body stiffen at his touch, “Morgan, you need to put a coat on, Sweetie.”

She shuffled over to the closet and pulled out her coat. South walked over and hugged her friend tightly, “I’ll call you. You take care of yourself.”

Morgan nodded, “OK.”

Justin glared at the back of South’s head, “Morgan Honey, it’s time to get out of here.”

Morgan walked over to Justin and looked up into his eyes, the vacancy he saw there frightened him, “OK.”

Jack grabbed his jacket and kissed South quickly, “I’ll be back in a little while.”

They had been in the air a little over an hour, and Morgan had fallen asleep almost immediately after they’d gotten on the plane. She was curled up in the seat next to Justin, in a ball smaller than he thought was actually possible. She had been sleeping fitfully and he just sat there next to her, watching her. Even in her sleep she looked like she was in pain, her brow was furrowed. Reaching over, he lightly ran his fingertips across her forehead, and drew his hand back quickly when both of her hands came up to cover her face. She hadn’t woken up, just instinctually recoiled from his touch.

Running his hand over his face, Justin sighed. He reached over to Morgan again, this time resting his hand lightly on her shoulder. Morgan flinched and swatted at him in her sleep. He pulled his hand back and starred down at it. Looking down at the the woman he loved more than anything, he let the tears begin to fall. As long as Morgan was hurting and scared, he was going to put his life on hold. He let the emotions he was feeling flow out, but once the tears started, he couldn’t get them under control. The sobs that began racking his body refused to stop.

Gasping for air his thoughts began flying. He was going to have to get more security, he was going to have to get doctors, and only the best ones would be good enough for Morgan. Looking down at her again, he covered his mouth with his hand, “Morgan, I swear to God, you’re gonna be ok. I promise you, no one is ever going to hurt you again. No one will ever touch you again.”

Pulling his legs up onto his seat, he rested his forehead on his knees and cried until he couldn’t possibly cry anymore. His tears dried up and he had a horrible headache. Looking out the window, he realized that they were approaching the airport in Orlando. He took a deep breath and decided that he wasn’t going to touch her, “Morgan....Morgan....we’re about to land.”

Morgan shifted slightly, blinking slowly she slowly sat up. She looked at Justin and blinked again, “You were crying.”

Rubbing both hands rapidly over his face, “I was just....I’m just tired.”

“Why were you crying?” The vacant look in her eyes was chilling.

He debated what to say to her and decided that the truth was his only option, “Morgan, I was crying because for the first time in my life I feel helpless. I have never felt so powerless in my life.”

“I’m sorry.”

Justin’s eyebrows drew together and he sighed out of frustration, “That’s the thing Mor, you have NOTHING to be sorry about! This isn’t your fault. I’m just frustrated.”

She nodded her head slowly, “Oh.”

“We’ll both feel better when we get home.”

“Do I have to go to my apartment?”

“I hadn’t even considered it. I was just taking you to my house...would you rather go to Momma’s?” He looked deeply into her eyes, trying to find the glint that used to be there.

“Your house.” She nodded.

“OK. We’ll both feel better when we get home.” He wanted so badly to reach out and take her hand, or to pull her into his arms and hold her, but every time he made even the slightest movement in her direction, she moved away. It was amazing how much damage could happen in one night.

He could see his house two blocks away, every light was on and the driveway was full of cars. It looked like Chris had just thrown his car into park as it was still running, because it was on an angle behind Dani’s car. He wondered why they had driven separately.

Someone must have called his mother, because her car was there. He leaned over and whispered, “Mor, time to wake up. We’re home.”

She surfaced from her sleep and rubbed her eyes, “Justin...everyone?”

He looked over and sighed, “Stasia, Lyn and Lance were here when South called.”

“Oh.” She looked down at her hands, “I heard you yell at her.”

“At South?” His head fell back against the seat. He was driving Lance’s car. Lance had told him he’d leave it and get someone else to pick him up. He had no idea who he’d called or how long Lance had been forced to sit in an airport alone, without security or anyone to keep him company, “I didn’t exactly yell at her, I expressed my annoyance...firmly.”

“It’s not her fault. She’s really upset.” Morgan stared at all of the cars in front of them.

“I understand it isn’t her fault, but she should not have left you alone.”

“I told her to go. I told her I was coming home.” Her head dropped down, “She made me show her my ticket home. I was going to surprise you.” The tears began rolling down her cheeks, “I was never going to go to her parents...I was coming home to you.”

His mouth dropped open, “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m tired.”

He parked the car and ran around to open her door, “Let’s get you inside.”

She slipped out of the car and leaned against his side. He protectively wrapped his arm around her shoulders, being careful not to squeeze her or to frighten her. They were on the bottom step leading up to the porch when the door flew open. Lynn and Lyn stood there shoulder to shoulder, both looking very concerned.

As Justin guided Mor into the entrance hall, everyone poured into the space from various parts of the house. They all started to rush forward, and Justin shook his head slightly. No one advanced any further, but Stasia was the first to speak, “Welcome home Mor. How are you?” She kept her voice low and her tone was very warm.

Morgan smiled weakly, “Thanks. I’m ok.” She nodded, “I was just a little rattled. I’m fine now that I’m home.”

Lynn moved forward and held out her arms. Morgan slowly walked over and lightly wrapped her arms around Justin’s mother, “Hi Momma H.”

Lynn kissed her temple, “I’m so glad to have you home safe.”

Morgan stepped back to Justin’s side, half hiding herself. Stasia and Lyn exchanged looks and Lance’s grasp on Stasia’s hand tightened.

Chris looked around at everyone and shook his head, “OK, so about organizing this lynch mob...”

Morgan shook her head, “No lynchings. I’m fine and Bob is not worth the effort.”

“It would make me feel much better to pound on him.” Chris shoved his hands into his pockets.

Morgan shook her head again and looked over at JC and Lyn. JC’s arms were wrapped around Lyn’s shoulders and Lyn was holding his forearms in place with her hands, “So I hear you two are going to make it official.” Morgan smiled what was very obviously a forced smile.

Lyn nodded, “A little more than a week. We arranged for a ticket for you...if you feel up to it.”

“I’m not sure...”

“No pressure sweetie!” Lyn smiled warmly.

Justin craned his neck to look down at Morgan, “Do you want anything?”

She shook her head, “No. I’m very sorry. I know everyone came to see me and make sure I’m ok, but I’m really exhausted....”

Joey jumped in, “NO! Don’t be sorry. We all just wanted to see you with our own eyes. You go rest.”

Justin started guiding her towards the stairs, “I’ll be down in a little while guys.”

He took her into his own room and sat down on the couch. Morgan looked at him and cocked her head, “What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna sit here until you fall asleep.” He kicked off his shoes.

“You don’t have to. I’m fine, just sleepy. Go down and hang out with everyone else.”

“I can hang out with them later. You’ll fall asleep pretty fast, then I’ll go down. Go ahead and change...I’ll wait.” He yawned.

She starred at him, “Justin...”

“Mor, you could already be changed and in bed by now.”

She went to her bag and dug around, in her bag and then looked up at him, “May I borrow a t-shirt?”

“Of course. You know where they are.” He nodded.

She disappeared into his closet, with her pajama bottoms and emerged a few minutes later dressed in her pajama bottoms and one of his long sleeved, black t-shirts. She was wearing sweat socks and her hair was down around her shoulders.

Justin had pulled back the covers for her and when she crawled under them he tucked her into the center of the bed. He sat in a chair next to the bed and sighed, “I’ll crash in Steven’s room. You know Lance and Stasia are still living here when they’re in Orlando right? I don’t want you to hear noises and get frightened.”

She nodded, “I know.”

“Ok then. You get some rest.” He sat there next to the bed until she fell asleep and then silently left the room.

When he walked into the living room, all heads turned in his direction. Lyn got up and hugged him, “How are YOU holding up?”

His cheek rested on the top of her head and he closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, “I don’t know, L.S. I’m numb.”

Chris shook his head, “She’s already lost weight.”

Justin opened his eyes, “I know.”

JC leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, “What can we do to help J?”

Lyn stepped back from Justin and they both sat down on the couch next to JC. Justin shook his head slowly, “I don’t know. I don’t know what she needs or what to do.” He turned to Stasia, “Did you call your doctor?”

Nodding Stasia laced her fingers with Lance’s, “Yeah. She said that we should offer counseling, but we can’t force it unless she seems suicidal. We should take our ques from her, she may be in shock, she may be in a deep depression and she may even be in denial. Dr. Westerville said we can bring her in any time, and she’ll make the time for her.”

“Thanks Stay.” Justin covered his face with both hands, “She was sleeping when I got there, slept the entire flight, slept the entire way from the airport and now she’s sleeping again.”

His mother sighed heavily, “That is a sign she’s very depressed.”

Angela turned to Stasia, “The doctor said we shouldn’t just bring her in? It seems like we should get her to the doctor as soon as possible.”

Stasia shook her head slowly, “No. The doctor is right, I was the same way...if you guys had taken me to a psychiatrist the day after I got attacked, it wouldn’t have done me any good, I had to go in my own time. What Morgan is going through is so much worse than what happened to me...”

Chris interrupted, “I think the two situations are pretty even on the horrific scale.”

Stasia shrugged, “The thing is, someone tried to violate Morgan in the most degrading manner possible. The emotions she is feeling are confusing and they are going to be hard to work through, but she has to work through it in her own way in her own time. We all just need to be there when she needs us. Like y’all were for me.”

“She doesn’t want to be touched...not even by me.” Justin was looking out the window, not speaking to anyone in particular.

Dani nodded, “I had a friend who was raped, she was the same way. She didn’t want to be touched at all, she didn’t like it when she was in a crowd and someone would put their hand on her back. It could be a slow recovery.”

Joey pulled Angela tighter against his side, “I would LOVE to get my hands on this guy.”

JC nodded, “I think we all would, but the last thing Morgan needs is all of us getting arrested for beating him to death.”

Chris rolled his eyes, “So we won’t kill him, we’ll ALMOST kill him.”

“We’ll do that after we know Morgan’s ok.” JC shook his head.

Justin looked sadly around the room, “Do you think that these things...Stasia’s attack, Powers, Morgan being assaulted...do you think that these things are punishment for all of the advantages we have? Like Karma’s way of evening the score? I mean, why? Why does this keep happening to us? Every time we think that we’ve gotten past all of the ugliness, and we can all be happy, some thing horrible happens. Maybe we’re just not supposed to be happy. Maybe we can’t all be happy at the same time.”

Lyn hugged him tightly, “Sweetie, we’ve just had a stretch of REALLY bad luck. But we’ve gotten through all of it. We got through all of it together, and we’ll get through this too.”