"Beth!" Katie called out as she walked into the apartment, "Bethany Joy!  I'm home!  Where are you?!?"

"I'm right here," Beth exited the small kitchen, "Stop yelling!"

Katie dropped her bags and ran over to her friend.

"How was your trip?"

"Amazing," Katie grinned, "Did you see me on tv?"

"AJ's girlfriend, huh?"

Katie studied her friend's face.  She wasn't sure how Beth was going to react to that piece of news.  She knew Beth had nothing against AJ, she was just watching out for her best friend.

"Yeah.  Kind of a surprise, huh?  We're official!"

"You okay with that?" Beth asked a little skeptical.

Katie nodded, "Yeah...I really am."

"Good," Beth finally replied.  A grin spread across Katie's face.  It was all good.

The grin quickly left Katie's face though.  She watched Beth's expression, telling Katie that there was something more.

"What's wrong?" Katie led Beth to sit on the couch.  The expression indicated and ‘let's sit down' conversation.

"Why does something have to be wrong?"

"I know you.  That's not a happy and excited for me face.  That's an ‘I have something bad to tell you' face.  What is it?"

Beth relented.  She hadn't wanted to spoil Katie's trip, so she didn't call to tell her.  And Katie was so happy right now.  It was as good a time as any.

"The detective called."

"Oh," Katie sat still for a few seconds, "And?  What did he say?"

"The DA decided to press charges."

"We kind of figured they would.  The police officers even said it was really likely," Katie was stalling.  She wanted to know what had happened, but she was scared all at the same time.

Dane had skipped town the second he posted bail less than twenty-four hours after putting Katie in the hospital that last time.  A warrant was signed for his arrest.  It hadn't been that hard to find him.

The arraignment had been scheduled to occur while Katie would be in New York.  She didn't have to be there.  The arraignment just allowed Dane to decide how he was going to plead, and let the judge assign things from there.  Katie was worried now that he'd pled not guilty and it would go to trial.  That would mean getting up in front of him and the court to testify against him.

Katie took a deep breath, "Okay.  What happened?"

"He pled guilty," Beth began.

"Well that's good."

"Yeah...but he only got three to six months...two years probation after that."

"Wow," Katie didn't know what else to say.  She was upset.

Katie had looked into it.  She knew that he probably wouldn't get much.  If she had gone to the police before, like Beth had told her, things might have been better.  She could've been done with him a long time ago.  And if he'd come back after her...he might have gotten a little more time.

"The detective said you could call him if you had any questions," Beth rubbed her friend's hand in a comforting gesture.

"Okay...thanks," Katie replied absently.

Beth watched her for a few seconds, trying to make sure Katie wasn't going to completely break down.  She knew her friend just needed to be alone for now.

"I have to work early tomorrow, so I'm going to bed.  If you need me, you know where to find me," she forced a small smile, "Are you going to be okay?"

Katie nodded and stood up.  She turned away from her friend and walked down the hall to her bedroom.  Beth eventually followed her, turning into her own room.

Katie paced the floor of her room, trying to compose herself.  She'd remembered that she was supposed to call AJ when she'd gotten home.  If she didn't call him, he would call her when he landed.  She also knew that she wouldn't be able to get through a conversation with him without breaking down.

She checked the time and tried to compose herself enough to call him.  His flight probably hadn't landed yet.  She crossed her fingers that her math was right and dialed his cell phone number.

His voicemail picked up on the fourth ring and she listened to his calming voice.  It beeped and she started talking, "Hey baby, it's me.  I got home a little bit ago and Beth bombarded me for details.  I miss you.  I hope you had a good flight home.  I'm exhausted, so I'm going to go to bed.  I'll call you in the morning.  Love you."

***

"No!  Please stop!  You're hurting me!" Katie mumbled in her sleep.

Beth rolled over, cracking her eyes open in the dark and listening.  She thought she'd heard something, but it was quiet.  She rolled back over and closed her eyes again.

"No stop!" Katie moaned again, her unintelligible cries getting louder.

Beth knew then that she'd heard something before.  She sprung out of bed and ran into Katie's room.  She found Katie thrashing around in her bed completely tangled in her sheets.

"Katie!  Shh...it's okay," Beth reached a hand out to touch her friend's arm.  She sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to wake Katie up.  Katie swatted at Beth, pushing at her and telling her to go away.

Beth used more force this time, trying to shake Katie awake as gently as she could, "Katie wake up!  It's okay!  It's not real!  You're just dreaming!"

Katie jumped, startled out of sleep.  Her breathing was labored and tears were streaking down her face.  She frantically scanned the dimly lit room for him.

"It's okay hon, you were just having a nightmare," Beth soothed.

Katie nodded.  She was softly crying as she pulled her knees up to her chest.  She was trying to make herself as tiny as she could.  Hugging her knees tightly to her body, Katie slowly rocked herself.

"You okay?"

Katie gave a small nod in response.

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

Katie shook her head.

"Let's call AJ."

Katie shook her head with more force this time and whispered, "No!  It's so late, I don't want to wake him up...he's so busy...he's got so much to do..."

Beth sighed.  She knew AJ would be able to help calm Katie down, but she was afraid going against her wishes would only make her more upset, "Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?"

"No...you have to work early...I'm fine..."

Reluctantly Beth got up after squeezing Katie's hand comfortingly.  Alone in the dark again, Katie couldn't fall back to sleep.  She sat in the middle of her bed, curled into a tight ball.  She sat there in silence, staring at the wall across from her bed, scared to fall back to sleep.

***

"Hello?" Beth groggily answered the phone.  She hadn't slept well the night before after Katie had woken up.

"Umm...Beth?"

"Depends.  Who's this?" she asked the anonymous person on the other end of the phone.

"It's AJ.  Katie's phone is off.  Is she okay?"

"Oh, hey AJ.  Sorry, I'm a little out of it.  Didn't sleep well last night.  Katie hasn't gotten up yet."

Beth wasn't completely lying there.  She wasn't sure Katie was actually sleeping, so saying she hadn't gotten up yet was only stretching the truth a little.

"Is she okay?" he asked again.

Beth sighed, "No.  She'll kill me if she knows I told you.  She had a nightmare last night."

"She was fine when we were in New York."

"I figured.  She hasn't had one in a little while.  She got news on Dane though.  I think it upset her more than she let on to me."

"Shit.  I didn't think she sounded right on her voicemail...I wanted to hear her voice this morning."

"I can go see if she's awake..."

"No need.  I'm up," Katie said as she walked into the kitchen.  She was obviously exhausted, but an outsider would probably never guess why.  She'd masked her fear, reverting to her ways when she hid the abuse.

"It's AJ," Beth told her and held the phone out.

Katie took it and put it to her ear, "Hey Alex."

"Hey babe, how you doing this morning?"

"I'm great, why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh...I was...I was just asking.  I miss you."

"Did Beth tell you?"

AJ conceded, "You should have called me.  I told you, I don't care what time it is."

"I know.  You just have so much going on.  I didn't want you worrying about me, too.  I'm fine, really."

"Did you sleep?"

"A little."

"You have to work today?"

"Yeah in a few hours."

"Are you up for that?"

"Fuck!  I'm fine!" Katie exploded, "I have to work!  I can't keep asking for days off or calling in sick!  It's just a few hours, I'll be fine."

AJ hesitated.  He hadn't meant to upset her; he was just worried about her.

"I'm sorry.  I know you're strong.  It's just so hard not being able to be there for you."

"I know, and I'm sorry.  I just...everyone keeps asking me if I'm okay.  Of course I'm not okay!  Did Beth tell you what the detective said?" Katie spat out.

"No...she thought it would be best if you told me."

"Well at least she left something..." Katie grimaced, "He only got three to six months."

"That sucks...that's bullshit...I'm sorry babe."

"Yeah.  I guess I'll just have to see where things are when he gets out.  I don't know if I can stay here when they release him."

"We can figure something out.  It'll all be okay.  You're with me now," AJ assured her.

Katie smiled for the first time since Beth had broken the news, "Thanks Alex.  I don't know what I'd do without you.  I love you."

"I love you, too, babe."