Arching an eyebrow, Laura glanced at the bottle only momentarily before unscrewing the cap and downing two of the capsules. As she handed the bottle back to Toni, their eyes met and then Laura held out her hand. "Friends?"

Toni stared at Laura's outstretched hand. Her lips parted as the need for air became great, and then ever so slowly, she reached out and shook it. "Yeah, I think so."

A small, friendly grin appeared on Laura's face, but remembering what Abby had told her, deep down, Laura was positively beaming. Toni had just taken a step...all by herself.

"Hiya."

It was a habit that Toni was having a hard time breaking, because when she looked up from her desk and saw Laura, she smiled. "Hi."

"Done for the day?"

"Yeah, I was just getting ready to leave."

"How'd you like to join me for a cup of coffee?" When Toni's only response was a blank stare, Laura said, "I found a small shop the other day. It's really quite quaint. Since most people won't be out of work for another hour or so, I wouldn't think it would be too crowded, and it's only a few blocks away. I thought, perhaps, we could walk."

Toni stiffened. "I don't walk."

"Okay, so we drive over."

"I'm not sure-"

"I promise, if it's too crowded, or you don't like it, we can leave."

Toni lowered her eyes and scowled. It was the simplest of offers, but within seconds of hearing it, her palms began to sweat, and her heart began to race. There was nothing simple about going somewhere new. It would be unfamiliar and filled with strangers and noise...and Laura. Looking up, Toni saw Laura smiling back at her, and in an instant, saying no became impossible. "O-Okay, but you're buying."

A short time later, they walked into the coffee shop and within minutes, Toni began to relax. Just as Laura had said, the place was charming, and with small round tables scattered about, each having only two chairs surrounding it, the cafe reminded Toni of an old-fashioned soda shop.

Quickly leading Toni to a table in the far corner of the room, Laura gave her a reassuring wink as she went to the counter to order their drinks, returning a few minutes later with two coffees and the largest croissant imaginable.

"I'd thought we'd split it," Laura said as she placed it on the table.

"I'm not really hungry. I had a rather large apple for lunch today," Toni said, her eyes creasing at the corners. Watching as Laura tore off a piece of pastry, Toni said, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"That first time, why did you leave me the apple?"

"It was all I could think of to do. I knew how difficult it was for you to trust me, to allow me to see you teach, and after the class was over, your body language screamed for me to stay away. Then I saw it in my bag and figured what the hell."

"And now?"

"Now? Now it just makes me smile."

Knowing that the process of extracting Toni from her shell would be long, arduous, and at times frustrating, both Laura and Kris agreed that they would do whatever it took, but they would do it slowly. After two weeks of playful badgering, Kris finally managed to take Toni to a local market to buy her own groceries, and like they had done when they had shopped for Toni's clothes, they entered the small store just as it had opened. A neighborhood market, with narrow, cramped aisles, it offered its customers a limited selection, but with only three other people in the store, Toni soon relaxed and began wandering the aisles with Kris by her side. Having not stepped foot in a grocery store for over six years, she marveled at all the new products, and Kris couldn't help but snicker, thankful she hadn't taken Toni to one of the larger chains. Though Toni still refused to purchase any more than what she could use in a week, by the time they left, the bags they carried contained more new products than old.

Between shopping with Krista and meeting Laura for coffee on the occasional afternoon, Toni's comfort zone slowly began to expand. She made a point of visiting Laura's office a few times a week just to say hello or drop off grades, and even began chatting with Susan Grant on her cigarette breaks. Although not yet comfortable to talk to Susan about anything other than the weather, Toni's conversations with Kris and Laura were no longer stilted or stuttered. She still remained in her flat every night, bolting the door against the terror that lurked outside, but in Toni's own small way she was learning to live again...and she liked it.

They arrived at the coffee shop later than normal and found it already beginning to fill with people grabbing their fix of caffeine before driving home. After finding a secluded table, Laura left Toni for only a moment to get their coffee, but when she returned Toni appeared edgy and frightened. Like the tide, Toni's anxieties seemed to ebb and flow. Laura knew the warning signs, and right now they were flashing brighter than neon. Sitting down, she slid a cup in Toni's direction. "Are you okay?"

Staring at the tabletop, Toni shook her head and then repeated the motion again and then again.

Puzzled, Laura leaned back and looked around the shop. Noticing a rather obese man sitting at the counter, his tonnage stuffed into a prison officer's uniform, she paled. Leaning closer to Toni, she whispered, "Should we try to leave?"

A few seconds passed before Toni managed to look up, and when Laura saw the absolute terror in her eyes, she said, "The ladies' room is right behind us. Can you make it there?"

All Toni could do was respond with a jerk of her head, but it was enough for Laura to spring into action. Standing, she waited until Toni did the same, and tugging on the woman's sleeve, Laura said, "Come on. Let's go."

Once inside the small tiled restroom, Laura let go of Toni long enough to latch the door, and by the time she turned around, Toni was sitting on the floor. Her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, she was struggling to control her breathing, but she was rapidly losing the fight.

"Just relax, Toni. Slow, even breaths. Okay?" Laura said softly, kneeling by Toni's side. "You can do it. Nice and easy."

Toni tried to listen, but her fear was too strong. Her lungs emptied and filled as she struggled for air, and feeling as if she was suffocating, she tried to suck in more.

"Shit," Laura said, opening her handbag. Pulling out a neatly folded paper bag, she shook it open and placed it over Toni's nose and mouth. "Relax, Toni. Remember this? This will help. Just look at me. Look at me, Toni. It's going to be okay. Just breathe easy. Slow and easy."

Like the night in her flat, Toni grabbed Laura's wrists, but this time there wouldn't be any bruises. Concentrating on Laura's Scottish lilt, after a few minutes, Toni's heart slowed and her breathing returned to normal.

Setting aside the bag, Laura reached up and brushed a few soaked strands of hair from Toni's forehead, mentally berating herself when Toni shrunk away from her touch. "Feeling better?" Seeing Toni's eyes fill with tears, Laura said, "This one wasn't too bad. Please don't feel embarrassed. It's okay. We're friends. Remember?"

"And friends always carry paper sacks in their handbags?"

"Well, I can't speak for everyone, but since I have a friend who has a tendency to hyperventilate when she gets stressed, I figured it was the least I could do," Laura said with a small grin.

Leaning her head against the tile wall, Toni closed her eyes. "I'm a fucking nutcase."

"Oh, stop being so hard on yourself. If I had been through what you've been through, and I saw a...a screw, I'd probably lose it too."

"Did you actually just say screw?" Toni asked, opening one eye.

Sniggering, Laura sat on the floor. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"The thing is I felt really good today. I wasn't nervous or stressed, and if it hadn't been raining its arse off, I was going to ask to walk."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I used to like to go for walks."

"You did?"

"Yup, but now the only ones I take are on a treadmill."

"I take it that it's in your flat?"

"Yeah. Krista thought I needed something to do for exercise, so when I moved in, she bought it for me."

"Smart woman."

"I guess. I did try climbing the walls once or twice, but I kept falling off."

Laura beamed at Toni's attempt to lighten the mood. "So, you ready to get off the floor or do you need some more time?"

The day had been a small step backward, but after a few more had passed, the incident with the HMP officer was forgotten. Laura and Toni returned to their routine, altered by only one thing. If the weather permitted, they walked, rather than drove, to the coffee shop.

"I know it's not our regular day, but are you up for getting a cup of coffee today? I'll buy," Toni asked as she poked her head in Laura's door.

"Oh, sorry, Toni," Laura said, looking up from her computer. "I can't today. I have a date."

"Really?" Toni said, striding into the room. "Do tell."

With a laugh, Laura said, "His name is George, and I met him at a conference a while back. He's in town for a few days and called to ask me out. Since you and I don't usually have coffee on Thursday, I didn't have any reason to say no."

"Wait," Toni said, tilting her head. "You're not turning down dates because of me, are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," Toni said, approaching the desk. "You can't not live your life because of me."

"Oh, Toni, don't be silly. It's not like I get asked out every day or anything."

"How many times?"

"What?"

"How many times have you said no because of me?"

"Toni-"

"Damn it, Laura, answer the bloody question!"

After hesitating for a moment, Laura whispered, "A few."

"Oh, that's just bloody great!" Toni shouted, throwing her arms up in the air.

Before Laura had a chance to speak, Toni marched from the room, slamming the door so hard that the glass rattled in its frame. Letting out a sigh, Laura got to her feet. "Shit."

Getting to her classroom, Toni angrily snagged papers from the desk, forcing them into her briefcase as she grabbed her jacket from the chair.

"I'm sorry if I've done something to make you angry," Laura said.

Toni's nostrils flared as she spun to face Laura. "What you've done is turned me into a needy child instead of a friend!"

"No, I haven't."

"Oh, yes, you have! You just told me that you turned down dates so you can babysit me!"

"I don't consider going out with you babysitting."

"Oh? What do you call sitting in a loo holding a paper sack over my face-a date?"

"I call it being out with a friend."

"Well, this friend is going home!" Toni said, slinging her jacket over her shoulder. "And don't worry. You don't have to hold my hand. I can make it to my car just fine without you!"

Storming past Laura, Toni ran down the stairs and out the rear door, never once looking back.

They stood in the small flat, watching as people no longer needed or wanted, disappeared from view. An hour before, nosy neighbors grumbling about being woken from their sleep were shooed back to their apartments, the wave of plaid and flowered flannel shuffling down the hallway and stairs, and disappearing behind dingy doors with crooked numbers. The paramedics had also gone, ordered to leave by the victim who still cowered in the corner of the bedroom, her visible injuries slight compared to the ones hidden from view. The only strangers who remained were the two constables, summoned to the building by the next-door neighbor, his frantic phone call to report a woman screaming, bringing them to apartment 3-D almost two hours before. They weren't the most seasoned of officers, both younger than thirty with freshly shaved faces and smelling of popular cologne, but it didn't take experience to deal with what they had faced that night; it took compassion. And as they stood by the doorway, glancing at the two women in the lounge, the uniformed officers looked sad and helpless. There were no witnesses to interview and no items to report as stolen. How could they have known that what was stolen that night was more valuable than any trinket money could buy? When the nameless, faceless man broke in, although he left with empty hands, driven from the apartment by the blood-curdling screams of a woman in blue pajamas, he took with him her safety net. The only place she had felt safe...was safe no more.

Krista's number had been by the phone, written and posted on the wall under the heading of In Case of Emergency the day Toni moved in. She was the one they had called in a panic, professionals supposedly trained in all situations, but still unable to quiet a victim who continued to rant and rave. How were they to know they shouldn't touch? How were they to know that it was their unfamiliar faces that caused her to lash out? Striking in fury and fear, she drove them away, and by the time Kris arrived, Toni's screams had turned to silence.

Krista escorted the last of the officers to the door, and the tall fellow with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes handed her his card and offered his apologies. He had never experienced a victim so frightened of him before that night, and her terrified screams would haunt his dreams for weeks to come. Closing the door, Kris pulled on the knob and forced the jimmied latch back into the keeper before turning around to face Laura.

Chapter Eleven.

The lounge appeared as if it had been visited by a tornado. The small sofa sat at an odd angle, the coffee table lay on its side, and books covered the floor. One lamp was shattered, while the other still stood in the corner, its yellowed shade torn open to reveal the stark brightness of a single bulb. The intensity of its light cast long shadows across the discolored ceiling, and as Laura looked around the room, it seemed filled with despair. Hearing the door close, Laura looked over at Kris. "How bad is she?"

"She hasn't moved or said a word since I got here."

"Is she okay? I mean, physically?"

"Honestly, I don't know. The police didn't think she was hurt, but no one could get near her to really check. She calmed down when she saw me, so I just closed the bedroom door until I could get everyone out. You know how she is around strangers."

Bending down, Laura started to pick up some of the books and then realized how pointless it was. "This place is a wreck. She can't stay here."

"I know."

"Does she have a suitcase?"

"I think so. Why?"

"Because she's coming home with me."