"Anyway, Jack got it away from her, and then we called the police."

"Well, thank God no one was hurt."

"Laura, I'm not so sure about that. Toni was the first one up there. By the time Jack and I arrived, the place was a mess. When we took over, she disappeared, and I'm fairly certain I saw blood on her shirt."

"Blood? Are you sure it was hers?"

"Well, other than a few scrapes, I didn't see any injuries on the women. After all the commotion died down, I went to Toni's classroom to check on her, but it was empty, and I looked in the car park. Her Jeep's gone."

"All right. Thanks, Bryan," Laura said. "I'll just go up and look around. Make sure you file a report before you leave, and email me a copy. Will you please?"

"Sure thing."

Trotting up the stairs, Laura rushed to Toni's classroom. Flicking on the light, her eyes darted around the empty room. Noticing a dark blue jacket hanging on the back of a chair, she walked over and picked it up. Undoubtedly Toni's, the threadbare collar and faded fabric announcing its ownership, Laura fingered the worn cloth as she debated on what to do, but then she noticed something at her feet. Amidst the gray and blue speckles of the white linoleum was something that didn't belong, and stooping over she touched the dark splotch with her finger. When it came back covered in blood, Laura blanched. "Shit."

Forty-five minutes later, she sat in her car outside a dilapidated old building, checking the numbers painted on the front step with the ones in Toni's file. Closing the folder, Laura glanced at the first-aid kit sitting on the passenger seat, trying to decide if she dare carry it inside. The torrential rain having not eased a drop, she took a deep breath before jumping out of the car and running into the building. Pausing long enough to push her soaked hair out of her face, she headed up the stairs. Three flights later, Laura walked down a dim hallway and stopped in front of a door with a crooked D nailed to its surface.

Having finished her last class of the day, Toni had been gathering papers to grade at home when she heard screams coming from upstairs. Running from the room, she took the steps two at a time and jogged down the hall toward a crowd of women congregating in front of one of the flats. Fighting her way in, she found the flat in shambles, and what was left of the meager furniture was now being used as weapons, the two ex-convicts trying to pummel the other with whatever they could grab. Acting on instinct, Toni pushed them apart and tried her best to keep them separated until help arrived.

One was small, almost spindly, but by the words she spewed, Toni knew that the woman's mouth had caused the fight, and it was all Toni could do to keep her in her place as the expletives continued to fly. The other was large and dumpy, with frizzy brown hair and insanity in her eyes, and while Toni struggled to contain the spindly woman, the other one continued to shout and threaten. Concentrating on keeping the one woman pushed against the wall, when Toni saw her eyes bulge, she turned around, but there was no time to react. The force of the chair rung hitting her on the temple knocked her to her knees.

Stunned, it took several seconds before Toni could gather her wits enough to stand, and that's when she saw the glint of a blade in the dumpy one's hand. Trying to avoid the knife now slashing in her direction, she raised her arms to ward off the attack. Toni dodged one way and then the other, her eyes darting around the room, trying to find something to use to protect herself, and then suddenly her arm turned cold. Confused, she lowered her eyes and watched as the pale yellow fabric of her shirt began to turn crimson.

Her heart felt like it was about to explode, the combination of adrenaline and fear causing her body to rush, and when she raised her eyes and saw the crazed woman coming at her again, Toni held her breath. For a few seconds, time seemed to stand still as the prey realized it was caught and the hunter moved in for the kill, but then shouts, masculine and deep, filled the room. Jack and Bryan stormed in, the language teacher quickly disarming the woman with the knife as Bryan shoved the other hard into a corner.

Pushing her way through the sea of women crowded around the doorway, Toni stumbled down the stairs. With her heart hammering against her ribs as her anxieties reigned supreme, she rushed into her classroom. Grabbing her briefcase, she staggered down the stairs and out into the pouring rain, the flood of water going unnoticed as she walked unsteadily to her car.

She drove home on instinct, barely able to see through the sheets of water and the glare from oncoming headlights. She was propelled through the night by the need to get to her sanctuary where no one could intrude, no one could hurt her...and no one could see the terror in her eyes.

In the safety of her flat, Toni stood in the kitchen, her blood mixing with water as it puddled on the floor. Focusing on the hum of the refrigerator compressor, she prayed that its thrum would drown out the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. She needed to concentrate to keep the horrors of her memories at bay, but then the rapping started, and it brought her back to now.

Someone was at the door, and the relentless knocking seemed to mirror the throbs of pain in Toni's body, and with each loud rap, her head felt one step closer to exploding. She needed quiet. She needed peace and darkness, and for a moment, her fear was replaced by rage.

Determined, Laura stood in the hallway with no intention of leaving until Toni answered the door. She had been there for ten minutes and with each tick of the clock, Laura's concern grew. There was blood on the door jamb and more on the tattered mat under her feet, and she instantly regretted leaving the first-aid kit in the car. Raising her hand to knock again, Laura stopped when she heard the door being unlocked. The hinges creaked as it opened a few inches, and Laura found herself looking at a ghost.

The color had all but drained from Toni's face and the dark circles under her eyes appeared almost black against her bloodless complexion. Soaked to the skin, the water dripping from her hair mixed with the blood on her temple, painting a macabre abstract as it made its way down the right side of her face, but she didn't seem to notice. She didn't seem to care.

Their eyes met for a moment, and Laura could see Toni's rage, but in a split-second, the woman's expression changed to one of fright. Sensing the woman's distress, Laura kept her voice low and calm. "Toni, Bryan said you might be hurt-"

"No!" Toni shouted as she tried to slam the door.

Laura had known she wasn't going to be welcomed and she had prepared herself for it. Although she flinched when the door pushed against her instep, she refused to move. "Toni, I just want to see-"

"No!" Toni shrieked, stumbling backward into her flat. Panic-stricken, her fear shrouded reality, and she no longer knew what was real and what was not, and who was a friend and who was an enemy.

Following Toni inside, Laura shut the door. "Toni, it's Laura, Laura MacLeod...from Calloway."

Muted by terror, Toni waved her arms in the air as if trying to avoid an invisible demon, and with each passing second, her breathing was becoming more and more labored.

Alarmed by the sight of Toni struggling to breathe, the sheer anguish etched on the woman's face told Laura all she needed to know. "Toni, you need to calm down. You're having a panic attack, and you need to slow your breathing. Please, just try to relax."

Gulping for air, Toni fell to one knee, inhaling again and again as she tried to fill her lungs with more.

"Shit!" Laura said, quickly glancing around the room. Dashing into the kitchen, Laura yanked open every drawer and cabinet until she found a small paper bag. Rushing back into the lounge to find Toni clutching her throat in agony, Laura didn't think twice. Falling to her knees, she tried to place the bag over Toni's mouth, but Toni panicked. Desperately trying to get away, she scrambled backward across the floor like a spider trying to hide, all the while gasping for air.

"Toni, you're going to pass out!" Laura said, crawling closer. "Please trust me. This will help," Laura pleaded. "Toni...please...please just trust me."

Their eyes locked, green ones filled with compassion gazing into dark-brown filled with anguish. "Relax, I won't hurt you," Laura whispered as she slowly put the sack over Toni's mouth.

Toni tried to fight. She wanted to fight, but the room was spinning and her body was no longer hers. Her strength was gone, but as her vision cleared for a moment, she grabbed Laura's wrists in a death grip. She was scared. Oh God, she was scared.

Expanding and contracting, the paper crackled in time with Toni's breathing as Laura hovered over her, mindless of the powerful hold Toni had on her wrists, but as Toni's breathing eased and her eyes fluttered closed, Laura let out a sigh of relief. Sleep was taking hold. The panic attack had ended. The worst was over.

Chapter Six.

Looking up from her coffee cup, Krista grinned when she saw Toni standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "Hey there. Feeling better?"

Confused, Toni nodded as she looked around. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long, and if you're looking for your friend, Laura, she left about fifteen minutes ago."

"She's not my friend."

"Well, she seemed friendly enough to me. She said you work together."

"Yeah, she's my boss," Toni said, scratching her head. "I...I thought it was a dream."

"It wasn't, and in case you're wondering, she's the one who cleaned you up and bandaged your arm."

Looking down, Toni raised her sleeve and found her arm wrapped neatly with gauze. Hesitantly, she touched her forehead and discovered yet another bandage taped to her skin. "She did this?"

It seemed to be becoming a habit, actual conversations instead of ones stilted by fear and mistrust, and Krista couldn't be happier. Convinced more than ever that it had something to do with Laura MacLeod, while the woman was cautious about pushing Toni's envelope, Kris knew two Toni Vaughns, and the one standing before her was an old and dear friend.

"Yeah, and by the bruises I saw on her wrists, you weren't a very cooperative patient."

"What? I don't remember-"

"Well, whether you remember it or not, you owe her an apology and a huge thank you for taking care of you."

"I didn't ask her-"

"Oh, don't you even start with that I didn't ask for help shit! You were hurt, and she cared enough to come over here and help you. The least you can do is to thank her for it."

"Okay...okay. I'll do it Monday."

"You won't have to wait that long. She'll be here tomorrow."

"What? Why?"

"Because Robin and I are going away this weekend, and someone has to change that bandage, so she agreed to come over and play nurse."

"I can take care of myself! You need to call her right now and tell her not to come!"

Laughing, Krista grabbed her jacket and walked to the door. "First, you don't have any bandages here. Second, you can't take care of yourself. And third, she wrote her number by your phone, so if you don't want her here, you call her!" Seeing the stunned look on Toni's face, Krista's shoulders fell. She had meant her words to be playful, totally forgetting that Toni no longer knew how to play. Walking over, she kissed Toni on the cheek. "I'm sorry, and if you want me to change my plans, I will. Just say the word."

With you can't take care of yourself still ringing in her ears, Toni shook her head. "No, I'll be okay. You and Robin have a good time."

Placing another quick peck on Toni's cheek, Kris said, "Thanks, Toni. See you next week."

As soon as the door closed, Toni stomped to the phone, dialing the number and listening as the connection went through. While it continued to ring, she stared at the scrap of paper, the phone number obviously written by Laura MacLeod for the strokes were strong and fluid and not at all like Krista's scrawl. As the answering machine picked up, Toni turned the paper over and when she read the words "I just want to be your friend" written on the back, her train of thought was lost. Hearing the beep in her ear, she quickly said, "Miss...Miss MacLeod, this is Toni...um...Toni Vaughn. Kris told me, well she said that you'd be stopping by tomorrow, but I don't need...I don't want you here. I...I appreciate what you did tonight, but I can...I can take care of myself. So...so thanks again. Good-bye."

Like the night before, Laura stood in the hallway for several minutes until her continual knocking produced the desired response. The door opened just enough to reveal a very sleepy Toni Vaughn, her short black hair tousled and pointing in every direction imaginable.

It was probably the worst case of bedhead Laura had ever seen, and her amusement showed on her face. "Hiya, Toni. How you feeling?"

Her brain and eyes still trying to adjust to consciousness, it took a moment before Toni realized she wasn't dreaming. "What are you doing here? Didn't you get my message?"

"Yes, I did, but I chose to ignore it," Laura said as she shuffled past and headed to the kitchen.

Closing her eyes, Toni took a deep breath to squelch her anxieties and then followed Laura into the other room.

"I brought you some coffee," Laura said, pulling a cup out of a cardboard carrier. "I didn't know what you liked, so I just ordered black."

"Have you got a problem taking no for an answer?" Toni asked.

"Only when it's the wrong answer."

The room went silent as they stood staring at each other, neither sure of the next step. Toni wanted nothing more than to banish Laura from her flat, but the smell of the coffee and the fact that the woman had helped her the night before was making it hard for Toni to say the words. Defeated, she asked, "So you're here. What now?"

Noticing Toni's rumpled clothes, Laura said, "Why don't you go get cleaned up, and when you're done, I'll change the bandages, and then I'll be on my way. How's that sound?"

"And if I want you to leave now?"

"You'll be in for one hell of an argument."

Clenching her jaw, Toni growled, "Why are you doing this?"

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't?"

Unable to think of an answer, Toni stomped to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her and throwing the bolt, leaving Laura grinning like a fool as she pulled the other cup of coffee from the carrier.

Having finished her coffee, Laura was just about to toss out the cup when Toni walked back into the kitchen wearing the same frown she had left with. Noticing that her hair was wet, Laura pointed to where the bandage on Toni's forehead used to be. "Did that fall off in the shower?"

"Yeah, but it's fine."

"I'll be the judge of that," Laura said, pulling out a chair. "Have a seat."

Toni's palms grew sweaty. Staring at the chair as if electricity was running to it, she said, "I can do this myself. I...I don't want you here. Why can't you understand that?"

Hearing the panic in Toni's voice, Laura asked, "Is this because you don't like to be touched?"

Toni's head snapped back, shocked and embarrassed that the woman knew so much. "I think you need to go...right now!"

"Toni, I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not going to hurt you. You need to trust me. Please, just sit down and we'll take it slow. I promise."

"And if I say no?"

Hoping to lighten the tenseness of the situation, Laura smiled. "Well, then I guess I'll just have to park my arse in this chair until you change your mind."

A snort of disgust escaped as Toni glared at the woman, but Laura simply crossed her arms and continued to smile. Her body language said it all. She'd stay all day if that's what it would take. Letting out a heavy sigh, Toni kept her eyes on Laura as she cautiously sat down.

Thrown by the woman's arrival, Toni hadn't taken notice of the first-aid kit until Laura put it on the table. Seeing the hefty case, Toni's curiosity was piqued. "Are you accident prone?"

Opening the case, Laura chuckled. "I took it from work last night. Hopefully, no one will stub a toe before I get it back on Monday."

Seeing that Toni's hands were now palm down on the table, and she had squeezed her eyes shut, Laura's movements were slow and precise. Peering at the cut on Toni's head, while her first thought was to brush a few strands of hair out of the way, Laura decided the less she touched Toni the better off both of them would be. Opening a tube of antibiotic cream, she put a small bit on her finger and as lightly as she could, coated the cut. "This doesn't look bad at all, actually. Typical head wound, lots of blood and hardly any damage. I won't cover it again, but you need to keep it clean."

Breathing in the scent of Laura's perfume, Toni relaxed enough to open her eyes and immediately felt like a voyeur. Laura's blouse had gaped open, and it was now presenting Toni with more than an ample view of the woman's cleavage. Quickly, she diverted her eyes and stared at the floor.

Toni hadn't thought about women in years. Her needs and wants for the warmth of another had been destroyed by thick walls, steel doors and scars. She was once a player, enjoying one-night stands with women of all shapes and sizes, but now...now she didn't even play alone. The touch of another used to make her body pulse, but now it trembled at even the slightest contact, so while Laura's touch was gentle, the only feelings stirring in Toni were ones of angst.

It felt as if her heart would break through her ribs at any moment, but frozen by fear Toni didn't move an inch until Laura sat down and reached for her bandaged arm. Acting as if a branding iron had been pressed against her skin, Toni jerked away, her chair rocking back with the force. Grimacing at her own reaction, Toni hung her head. She hated who she had become. She knew in her heart that Laura only wanted to help, but that knowledge did not stop her fear. Taking a stuttered breath, she put her arm back on the table as she raised her eyes to meet Laura's. "I'm...I'm sorry. Go...go ahead."

The sound of Toni's ragged breathing slowed Laura's movements even more, and as gently as she could, she removed the gauze wrapped around the woman's forearm. The crimson gash was long and deep, and the butterfly bandages that Laura had used the night before had done their job, but just barely. "You know, this really does need stitches."

"I don't like doctors," Toni said, glancing at the wound. "I've had worse. It'll be fine."

"Look, there's a clinic just down the road-"

"I said, I don't like doctors!" Toni screamed. Pushing back her chair to stand, she tried to yank her arm away and immediately regretted it. The pain was intense, and as the gash reopened, blood began to spill out.

"Shit," Laura muttered, grabbing some gauze to stop the flow.