As they approached the kitchen, on the wall opposite the bathroom was a set of pocket doors and sliding them into the wall, Laura stepped back and motioned for Toni to enter. As she took a hesitant step, Toni smelled the scent of pine, and smiling, she walked into Nancy Shaw's library. The color scheme wasn't something Toni would have chosen, but the small Norfolk pine just inside the doorway eased the pain in her eyes...slightly.

The room was painted a bright turquoise, but the bulky wood moldings surrounding the ceiling, floor and doors were glossy white, and the effect made the room appear as if it had jumped off a page of a comic book. To the far left was a small stone fireplace flanked by two red leather chairs, and a sofa in the same material and shade sat against the wall opposite the doorway. At first confused by the lack of furniture in the rather spacious room, when Toni noticed that the bottom shelves of the walnut bookcases were filled with games, dolls and toys, she realized the library had been converted into a playroom. Glancing at the tree, her assumption was confirmed. Every branch was filled with handmade ornaments made of pipe cleaners, felt-covered Styrofoam balls and colored paper.

After placing the children's gifts under the tree, Laura and Toni headed back to the front of the house, but came to a stop when the front door opened. Toni smiled immediately when she saw a familiar face, but when a man, tall and broad-shouldered, followed Peggy inside, Toni's expression turned solemn. Grabbing Laura's hand, she remained mute as Laura led her to the people standing just inside the door.

"So, you made it, eh?" Laura said, eyeing her extremely pregnant cousin. "I thought in your condition, you'd stay close to home."

"In a few weeks, he's not going to let me go anywhere, so when Mum came up with this idea, I jumped at the chance to be without the kids for a day."

"Where are they?"

"Stephen's parents have them. We pick them up tonight." Leaning in, Peggy gave Laura a kiss on the cheek, and glancing over her cousin's shoulder, she smiled. "Hiya, Toni."

"Peggy, nice to see you again," Toni said, finding it impossible not to smile at the familiar greeting Laura had used so many times.

Pointing to the man standing next to her, Peggy said, "Toni, this is my husband, Stephen."

Peggy had taken it upon herself to let Stephen know that Laura's partner was nervous around strangers, so displaying the friendliest smile he owned, Stephen Wallace held out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Toni."

Thankful she had taken Abby's advice, Toni had prepared herself to meet the man Laura had described as tall and muscular, but when his sleeve tightened around his bulging bicep, she hesitated for a few seconds before managing to find her voice. Extending her hand to the blond, blue-eyed man, Toni said, "Likewise...um...nice to meet you, too."

The handshake came to an end, but when Toni relaxed her grip, Stephen didn't do the same. Her first instinct was to yank her hand away, but something in his eyes made her stop. Although she tensed as he leaned in closer, she held her ground and then heard him chuckle. "And I hear you put old Nancy in her place about you two having children. Good for you!"

"Stephen!" Peggy scolded, playfully slapping him on the arm. "I told you to behave."

"What? What did I say?" he asked. "Peg, you know I adore your mum, but she can be a bit opinionated at times, and when she's not, she's quoting chapter and verse from The Weekly Sun."

"Oh, I forgot about that," Laura said with a groan. "But I don't see any around, so maybe she gave up reading it."

Peggy jerked back her head as she stared at her cousin. "Not on your life. She probably just stashed them away so we wouldn't make fun of her."

"Well, best go say hello and all that," Stephen said, taking his wife's hand. "You two joining us?"

"In a minute," Laura said.

Waiting until Peggy and Stephen were down the hall, Laura turned to Toni. "Sorry, I didn't know Stephen was going to be here today. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, but if you hadn't told me what he looked like, I would have definitely had a problem. Christ, he's like one big walking muscle."

"That he is," Laura said, nodding in agreement.

"But you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm doing okay."

"Are you?"

"I think I've finally convinced myself that where your family's concerned, there's nothing to fear."

"Well, you may want to reserve judgment until you see the lounge."

"It can't possibly be worse than what you've already shown me."

"You wanna bet?" Laura said as she ambled over and opened the doors leading into the lounge. Looking over her shoulder, she burst out laughing when Toni's jaw hit the floor.

It took only two strides for the entire room to come into view, but when it did, Toni was shell-shocked. Standing in the doorway, she tried to wrap her head around a room erupting in every shade of pink known to man, woman...and beast.

If the lounge had been decorated in muted pastels or soft earth tones, it would have been a warm and comfortable space, but with walls of medicinal pink and drapes of bright raspberry, comfortable it was not.

The two large sofas sitting opposite one another in front of the fireplace and the three high-backed chairs near the windows along the front wall were upholstered in matching material. However, the soft white background of the fabric had been lost behind a design of pink, violet and rose flowers woven into the cloth, all of which had brilliant blue-green stems pointing in every direction. The shag area rug was striped in bands of fuchsia and puce, and the pillows scattered about were in a shade of magenta so vibrant Toni found herself blinking to clear the spots from her eyes.

Something about the Christmas tree in the corner caught Toni's eye, and when she went over and looked closely at the baubles filling the boughs, she fought to suppress a laugh. Never believing that Christmas ornaments could come in so many shades of pink, as Toni stood in front of the Fraser fir, she made a mental note to never buy anything in the color of cerise.

Standing in the conservatory just off the kitchen, Laura watched through the window as Toni and Bill stood in the snow feeding their nicotine habits.

After ending their tour at the lounge, Laura and Toni returned to the kitchen where they found everyone gathered around the center island, nibbling on biscuits. Chatting about the weather and the plans for Christmas Day, it wasn't until Nancy began to talk about an article she had recently read in her favorite tabloid when everyone got the same idea.

Announcing he needed a smoke, Bill headed outside as fast as his feet would carry him, and giving Laura an apologetic shrug, Toni grabbed her coat and quickly followed suit. Volunteering to ready the hearth in the lounge for a fire, both Eleanor and Stephen also escaped the conversation, which left Laura and Peggy standing with frozen stares of interest as Nancy chattered on about unexplained disappearances and aliens. Finally, in need of the bathroom Nancy sashayed up the hall, leaving both Peggy and Laura thankful that she had consumed so much tea.

"How's Toni doing?"

"She's okay," Laura said, watching as her cousin lowered her very pregnant body into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. "But how are you doing?"

"Me? I'm fine. After you've had two, you become accustomed to feeling fat."

"Well, you look great."

"Thanks. I feel great."

"So, are you planning to stop at three or are you going to round up to the next even number?" Laura asked as she sat down.

"I think we're going to try for a girl."

"You said that the last time."

"I know, but Stephen apparently wasn't listening," Peggy said, giggling as she rubbed her belly. Watching as her cousin's attention was again drawn to the patio, Peggy rolled her eyes. "Laura?"

"Yeah?" Laura said, turning back around.

"Why didn't you ever tell me you were gay? I mean, we used to tell each other everything."

"I didn't know I was."

"What?"

"It's true. Before I met Toni, women didn't interest me...at least not in that way, but then I fell in love with her. I was...I was as stunned as anyone, but in a way, I think love transcends everything else. It made the fact that she's a woman inconsequential, at least to me. I don't know if I'm gay or straight or somewhere in between, all I know is that I'm in love. She does it for me, Peggy. She truly, truly does."

"Well, you won't get an argument from me. I think she's beautiful, and as long as you two are happy that's all that really matters."

"What about Dot and Alice? How do you think they'll handle it?"

Thinking for a moment, Peggy said, "Alice won't care. She's pretty much like me when it comes to things like this. Live and let live and all of that, and Ron has never struck me as being homophobic, so I doubt that there will be any issue there. Dorothy, on the other hand, will undoubtedly be shocked, but being politically correct, she won't show it. If I know Dot, she'll toss playful innuendo in your direction in hopes she'll get answers without having to actually ask the questions she so desperately wants to ask. And as far as Bernard is concerned, as long as it doesn't get in the way of his career, he really won't care. He can't see it from his house, so therefore, it doesn't matter."

"Is he really becoming that...that-"

"Pompous?"

"Yes."

"Unfortunately, he is. You know I really don't understand why he ever became a doctor. He just doesn't seem to have that type of personality. If you ask me, he's much more suited for a desk job, and he's even getting a little administrative belly on him from all those business lunches."

"And the children?"

"Oh, Laura, the kids are much too young to understand, except maybe for Emma, but stop worrying. It'll be fine."

"I'm not the one worrying."

"Oh? Toni?"

"Yeah."

"This may be none of my business, but can I ask what happened to her? Why is she so nervous around people, and those scars on her back...how she'd get them?"

The room got quiet for a moment as Laura played with a loose thread on the tablecloth, and then raising her eyes to meet Peggy's, she said, "Toni was...she was put in prison for something she didn't do. She was there for four years, and the guards brutalized her. They beat her...lied to her...and very nearly destroyed her."

"Oh, dear God, how in the world did she ever cope?"

"I didn't," Toni said, taking off her coat.

Startled, both women looked up to find Bill and Toni standing just inside the back door. Taking Toni's coat from her hand, Bill offered a smile to the two women sitting at the table, before walking from the room.

"I didn't hear you come in," Laura said, getting her feet.

"I know. Filling Peggy in on all the gory details, were you?"

Seeing the gleam in Toni's eye, Laura placed a quick kiss on her cheek. "Not all of them, and your nose is cold."

"That's because it's freezing out there."

"Well, if you'd quit smoking, that wouldn't be a problem."

"One habit at a time, remember? I promise, as soon as I've beaten all the other issues, I'll work on my one with nicotine. All right?"

"Yes, sweetheart."

Sitting at the table, Peggy watched the exchange and smiled. Laura and Toni exuded happiness, and while she didn't know all of Toni's problems, Peggy knew her cousin, and that made her smile grow even wider.

"What are you grinning about?" Laura asked.

"What? Oh...um...nothing. I'm just really happy for both of you. I think you make a marvelous pair."

"Thanks," Laura said, sliding her arm around Toni's waist. "We do, too."

"I hate to break this up," Bill said, coming back into the room. "Nancy thought you'd want to come up front. Dorothy and Alice just pulled up."

"Okay, Da...um...Bill, we'll be right there."

Toni and Peggy locked eyes for a moment, both secretly amused by Laura's struggle not to call the man by his fatherly title. Pressing her lips together to hide her mirth, Peggy pushed herself out of her chair, and a minute later, all three were heading toward the lounge.

"I'm going to hit the loo," Toni said, stopping at the powder room.

"You okay?" Laura said, touching Toni on the arm.

Seeing the worry on Laura's face, Toni sighed. "Laura, I've been drinking tea and was just outside standing in the cold. I've got to pee. That's all." Moving her face to within an inch of Laura's, she added, "Would you like to watch?"

Toni's playfulness told Laura all she needed to know, and letting go of Toni's arm, she said, "Sorry, sweetheart. I'll meet you in the lounge."

After spending a moment watching Laura's hips sway as she walked up the hall, Toni went into the bathroom to empty her bladder, and as she washed her hands, she heard the doorbell ring. Looking into the mirror, she straightened a few windblown locks and then shut off the light.

Stepping into the hall, she grinned at the commotion by the front door as excited family members rushed to meet others walking into the house. Taking a deep breath, Toni continued toward the hubbub, but a second later, she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a voice. A voice she knew. A voice she told herself years before...she would never, ever forget.

Chapter Forty-Eight.

Toni was paralyzed. Incapacitated by fear, she couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. Was this her imagination, or was it her nerves getting the better of her...again? Had she wound herself so tightly that even a hint of foul prison familiar became reality? Swallowing hard, she closed her eyes, and cocking her head to the side, she listened. A chorus of voices chattered in unison, but with intent, she pulled out the sopranos, separated the altos and concentrated on those low and masculine, and then she heard him again...and her hands turned into fists.

Terror-stricken, her eyes flew open. With the front hall a flurry of activity, it took several seconds before she finally saw him. A bit heavier perhaps, and a bit older, but there was no mistake...it was him.

Like a snake, the smells and sounds of Thornbridge wrapped themselves around her, and as Toni's nostrils filled with the acrid odor of death and damage, her ears were deafened by the sounds of barred doors clanging shut down the wing. In the blink of an eye, she was transported back to hell.

Having greeted everyone, Eleanor had stepped back into the doorway of the lounge, and noticing Toni standing in the hallway, she was about to motion for her to join them when she saw the woman's face. Distorted in fear, Toni's skin had gone white and lines of terror were etched into her forehead.

Keeping one eye on Toni, Eleanor reached over and tugged Laura's sleeve, and when her daughter turned around, Eleanor whispered, "There's something wrong with Toni."

Laura glanced down the hall at her partner. Believing it was just Toni's anxiety kicking in, Laura's cheerful expression remained for a few moments before it slowly melted away. The look on Toni's face spoke volumes, and Laura's heart skipped a beat. When she had visited Toni's flat for the very first time, she had seen the look of terror, but this was different. This was far worse.

"Toni?" Laura said softly, taking one step in her direction.