For an instant, their eyes met, and each tried their hardest to stare down the other. Scottish temper confronted by English anger was a lethal combination, but when Laura saw the amount of blood pouring from the cut, she reined in her annoyance. Narrowing her eyes as if daring Toni to move, Laura returned to the work at hand, giving Toni no choice but to sit in silence and watch.

As Laura tended to the wound, Toni's uneasiness began to disappear like the blood being blotted from her arm. She stole one glance and then another while Laura worked, oblivious that she was being watched. Her auburn hair smelled of strawberries, and the perfume she wore today was a bit more flowery than the one Toni was used to, but it still was pleasant and light. Looking down, she watched as Laura tenderly administered first-aid, and all of a sudden Toni realized that the woman's touch no longer felt foreign or dangerous.

"You'll need to keep this dry and clean. Okay?" Laura said, applying the last bit of tape to hold the gauze in place.

"Yeah," Toni said as she stood up with coffee cup in hand. Quickly drinking what remained, she placed the cup on the table and left the room without saying a word.

Laura knew Toni was telling her that her visit had come to an end, so gathering the kit, she walked to the door. "I guess I'll see you on Monday," she said as Toni opened the door.

"Look...um...thanks for doing this," Toni said, holding up her arm. "I don't...I don't know what I can do to repay you."

Without thinking, Laura said the first thing that came to mind. "Buy me dinner."

"What?"

"Buy me dinner," Laura repeated, grinning up at the woman.

Shaking her head, Toni said, "I-I-I don't think I can...I can do that."

"Well, you didn't think you could let me change the bandages, but you did. Just think about it. There's no rush," Laura said as she walked out. Looking over her shoulder, she said, "You have my number, so call me if you need anything."

Toni closed the door and looked down at her bandaged arm. Running a finger over the gauze, she closed her eyes for a moment as she remembered the feel of Laura's touch.

When she arrived at work Monday morning, Laura had only one thing on her mind...Toni Vaughn. As she expected, Toni hadn't called, so Laura spent the better part of the weekend worrying about a woman she hardly knew, but couldn't seem to get out of her head.

Deciding that her first stop would be Toni's classroom to see how she was doing, Laura's plans changed as soon as she walked into Calloway. Forgetting that she had appointments scheduled the entire day, for the next eight hours, Laura's time was spent in meetings and on conference calls. By the time she finished the last, it was nearly five o'clock.

"Shit," Laura said, looking at her watch. Aware that Toni always left at four, Laura had two choices. Drive to the woman's flat to check up on her or wait until the next day. As she weighed her options, she heard a light tapping and looked up to see Toni standing in the doorway. In an instant, Laura's face brightened. "Hiya, Toni."

"You're working late," Toni said, walking into the room.

"Apparently, I'm not the only one."

"Actually, I've been done for a while. I was just waiting for the halls to clear before I came downstairs."

Toni didn't visit the first floor unless it was to exit the building at the end of the day or to grab a smoke, and Laura knew it. Toni Vaughn had a routine, and it never, ever changed. Eyeing the woman, Laura asked, "What's up?"

Shuffling her feet, Toni looked at the floor. "Kris...um...the woman you met the other night in my flat. She's still out of town, and I...well...I don't have any bandages at my place. So...so I was wondering if I could borrow that first-aid kit for the night. I'll...I'll bring it back tomorrow. I promise."

"You haven't changed the dressing since Saturday?" Laura said, getting to her feet.

"No, I mean yes, but not...not properly."

Confused, Laura strode across the room and glared at Toni, defying her to say a word. Unbuttoning the cuff of her sleeve, Laura pushed up the material and her nostrils flared. "Are you completely mad!" she barked, seeing the washcloth being held in place by duct tape.

"I didn't have any bandages-"

"You had my bloody number!"

"I didn't want to bother-"

"Jesus Christ!" Laura shouted, pointing to the sofa. "Sit down."

"Look, if you just let me borrow-"

"I said sit down!" Laura said, before turning on her heel and stomping out of the room.

"Christ," Toni said under her breath as she hesitantly sat on the couch. She had never seen Laura MacLeod that angry before, and as she waited in silence, Toni hoped she'd never have to see it again.

Returning with the kit, and her blood pressure now well within the range of normal, Laura sat down. Attempting to be an obedient patient, Toni had rolled up the sleeve of her faded blue shirt, and this time, when Laura saw the shabby brown washcloth taped to the woman's arm, she snickered. Carefully cutting away the tape, Laura quickly discovered that Toni was telling the truth. Even though the bandage was indeed crude, the wound was clean, dry and healing.

As Laura worked, Toni's eyes wandered, and seeing faint, greenish-yellow bruises on Laura's wrists, she asked, "Did I do that?"

Looking up, Laura followed Toni's gaze. "Oh, yeah, but it's okay. They're almost gone."

"I'm sorry."

"You were in the midst of a full-blown panic attack. You didn't know what you were doing. It's fine."

"I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know you didn't," Laura said softly. Sitting back, she tossed the scissors in the case. "Well, there you go. All finished."

Surprised to see that her arm was already freshly bandaged, Toni carefully pulled down her sleeve as she stood up. Noticing files scattered all over Laura's desk, she said, "I guess I should let you get back to work now." Reaching the door, she turned around. "Miss MacLeod?"

"Oh, Toni, please call me Laura."

"Um...I just wanted to say thanks for...for helping me."

"You're quite welcome, Toni."

"And about your idea for dinner."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry, but...but that's not something I can do," Toni said in a whisper. "I'm sure you understand."

Chapter Seven.

"What's that?" Toni asked, seeing a package she didn't recognize as Kris put away the groceries.

Inwardly, Kris groaned. Without turning around, she said quietly, "Oh...um...just some new biscuits. They were on sale. I thought you might like to try them."

"Oh, sure...whatever."

A month before, Krista would have been shocked to hear Toni accept change of any kind, but hairline cracks had begun to appear in the woman's cloistered existence, and aspects of her old friend had begun to slip through. Now, when Kris came over, they talked. Not long, in-depth conversations, but conversations nonetheless. The changes were subtle, and no one except Krista and perhaps Laura had noticed, but something other than despair had begun to take hold of Toni Vaughn.

Noticing a candy bar on the counter, Kris cocked her head to the side. "Where'd that come from?"

Toni followed her eyes, and the corners of her mouth turned up a fraction. "Laura."

"Laura gave you chocolate? Any particular reason?"

"She ran out of fruit," Toni said as she headed to her bedroom.

That day had started out like any other day for Toni. She woke up at five and shuffled into the kitchen to turn on the coffeemaker. Returning to her bedroom, she pulled on her trainers, jumped on her treadmill and jogged for an hour, and after showering and pulling on some clothes, she poured herself a cup of coffee and nibbled some biscuits while she prepared her lunch. Filling her thermal mug, she grabbed her lunch and headed out the door, triple-checking all the locks before she headed to work.

Toward late afternoon, she heard the familiar click of heels on the tile, and though her facial expression didn't change, in the deep recesses of Toni's brain, a smile was born. Looking up as Laura walked into the room, their eyes met for the briefest of seconds and Toni voiced a very quiet hello before returning her eyes to the papers scattered on her desk.

Since the day she had visited Laura's office to get the first-aid kit, the anxiety Toni always felt around people other than her students had eased, at least where Laura MacLeod was concerned. Knowing that she owed the woman something, and buying her dinner was out of the question, common courtesy would have to do.

Laura took her seat as Toni handed out test papers, and for the better part of an hour, the only sound to be heard was that of pencils scratching on paper. Sitting like she always did, her legs crossed at the ankles and tucked slightly under her chair, Laura's head remained bowed as she filled out reports, while Toni sat at the front of the room, occasionally stealing glances of the department head.

While Toni cared nothing about the clothing she wore, as she studied the woman at the back of the class, her lip curled just a hair. Partial to wearing skirts with jackets to match, today Laura was wearing the most basic of black...and it was basic. It seemed to fit her small frame perfectly, as if it had been tailored to her curves, but in Toni's opinion, it lacked a feminine softness. It spoke of authority and business, and even though it couldn't be considered masculine, without the white silk blouse unbuttoned just enough to show a hint of cleavage, as far as Toni was concerned, Laura's ensemble was downright boring.

The tests were gathered and class was dismissed. As the students shuffled out, Laura gathered her belongings and walked out of the room, but when Toni turned and saw no apple on her desk, a fissure opened and the person she once was made an appearance. "Oi!" she hollered. "Where's my bloody apple?"

Almost to the stairs, Laura stopped and then turned to look down the hallway. Her entire face spread into a smile as she slowly walked back, and as she entered the classroom, Toni wore an actual grin. It wasn't ear-to-ear or toothy or over-the-top, but it was definitely a grin...and it looked wonderful.

Opening her bag, Laura rummaged around until she found a candy bar, and placing it on Toni's desk, she said, "I haven't had time to shop. Hope you like chocolate."

Amused that Laura was now giving candy to her reclusive friend, Krista examined the wrapper for a second before dropping the treat on the counter and going in search of Toni. Finding her rummaging through her tiny closet mumbling unintelligible words, Krista said, "I'm going to be heading out, unless there's something else you need."

"No, I'm fine," Toni said, tossing another shirt on the bed. Turning around to find that Kris had already left the room, Toni jogged up the hallway to catch her. "Krista."

"Yeah?"

Stuffing her hands in the pockets her jeans, Toni said, "I was wondering...well, I thought...I thought maybe, that is if you have the time, we might be able to go clothes shopping early one morning, before the crowds get too bad. "

"We?"

"Yeah."

"As in you and I?"

"If that's okay?"

Kris told herself to keep her excitement to a minimum, but she just couldn't. Squealing, she ran over and pulled Toni into a hug. She expected what she received from Toni, which was nothing in return, but Kris didn't care. She didn't care one goddamn bit. Holding Toni at arm's length, Kris said, "Of course, it's okay, and there's no time like the present, so I'll be here bright and early tomorrow morning."

Raising an eyebrow, Toni stared back at her friend. "You don't do early."

"Are you serious about this? I mean, about going shopping."

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good, then I'll be here tomorrow bright and early!"

Wrapped in a towel, Krista softly padded into the bedroom. Trying her best not to make a sound, she opened the wardrobe door, but the hinge squeaked and seconds later, her wife squawked.

"What time is it?" Robin groused from under the sheets.

"A bit past seven, now go back to sleep."

"Seven? In the morning? On a Saturday? Are you crazy?"

"No, I'm not, now go back to sleep."

Switching on the bedside lamp, Robin propped a pillow behind her back and yawned. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she said, "Honey, what's going on? You're never up this early on a weekend."

"I'm taking Toni shopping," Kris said, opening a dresser drawer.

"Oh, okay," Robin said, sinking into the pillow, but then the penny dropped. "You're what!" she screamed, sitting up in bed.

Beaming, Kris rushed to the bed, plopping down practically on top of Robin in her excitement. "She asked me last night, out of the blue, and I wasn't about to say no. I would have told you when I got home, but you were already asleep."

"Oh, my God, this is great! Do you want me to go with you? I don't mind. I can sleep anytime."

"Oh, baby, I know you love her and want to help, but I think she's going to be nervous enough without adding another person to the mix. Besides, you know how you get around her."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Giving Robin a quick kiss, Kris headed back to the dresser, dropping the towel as she rummaged in her lingerie drawer. Hearing Robin's whistle, she turned around. "See something you like?"

"Several things, actually," Robin said, her eyes drinking in the view. Hopping out of bed, she grabbed her robe and then went over and playfully pinched Krista's bum before shuffling into the bathroom. A few seconds later, she called out, "What time are you picking her up?"

"Just before nine, but I was so excited I couldn't sleep. I thought I'd make some breakfast. You hungry?"

When no response was given, Kris shrugged and then stepped into her knickers. Hearing the door open, she glanced over her shoulder, and her mouth dropped open. Robin was standing in the doorway totally nude.

"As a matter of fact," Robin purred, pulling Kris into her arms. "I'm practically starving."

Although briefly sidelined by her oversexed wife, Krista arrived at Toni's flat just as promised, bright and early, and found that Toni's confidence level had dropped dramatically since the night before. In silence, Kris watched as Toni stomped about having an animated argument with herself. With her arms flailing about as expletives were growled, grumbled and shouted, she nervously paced back and forth and back again. Kris remained silent, clamping her lips together so as not to laugh, but when Toni handed her the list of clothes she needed, Krista found her voice.