"Hey, can you hold that?" a voice called out.

Automatically Joe reached forward pressing the "Door Open" button oblivious to the look of panic that had appeared on Vanessa's face. Only when she squeezed his hand so tightly that it began to hurt did he look over at her. Seeing the look of fear in her eyes, he mentally kicked himself. She was terrified.

A young man just a few years older than Joe got on the elevator. He was holding a huge vase with what appeared to be several dozen red roses. Joe almost laughed out loud as the flower arrangement threatened to overwhelm the young man. An older version of the young man followed him onto the elevator just as the doors closed. Joe thought the young man seemed so excited he might possibly explode.

"Visiting my wife and brand new son!" he said to Joe excitedly. "Our first! My Dad's first grandchild, too!"

The older man nodded vigorously, smiling even more than his son.

"Congratulations." Joe said while putting an arm around Vanessa. When the two men got on the elevator, she had dropped Joe's hand and tried to scoot behind him as if she needed protection from the two strangers. Joe could feel her whole body shaking. He subtly pulled her very close to him, while keeping himself between her and the two men.

"Thanks!" the younger man called out as the elevator stopped and they hurried off.

Joe took Vanessa's hand and led her to an empty bench by a window.

"I am so sorry, Babe. I didn't think; it was just an automatic reaction."

Vanessa was starting to calm down now that she was no longer in the small elevator with the two strangers. "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault." She took a deep breath and gave Joe a shaky smile. "Ok, let's go."

She started to stand up but Joe held her back. Her reaction to the men in the elevator had him worrying once again about how this would affect her recovery.

"Are you sure about this, Van? You can change your mind you know. Everyone would understand."

"Yes, I am very sure. I want to see her. I have to see her, Joe." She reached out and touched his cheek. "I know you don't understand it. Just trust me on this one, ok?"

He smiled and stood up offering his hand. "Let's go then."

They had to take another elevator to get the floor where Shauna's room was located. Joe breathed a sigh of relief when the elevator went straight to her floor without stopping. Walking towards Shauna's room, Vanessa saw Fenton Hardy, Ezra Collig and Con Riley and a couple who looked to be in their early forties. She assumed they were Shauna's parents. As they approached the group, Vanessa forced what she hoped was a smile to her face.

"Hi, honey." Fenton said smiling warmly at her. "It's good to see you."

"Thanks. It's good to see you too." She forced herself to look him in the eyes and was thankful that there was not a trace of pity in them. She had seen very few people since the attack but almost all of them had looked at her with pity, making her feel even worse if that were possible.

Vanessa held her breath for a moment, hoping he would not try to comfort her with a hug or a pat on the shoulder and was relieved when he didn't. She had always been very affectionate with those close to her but now she could not stand to be touched by anyone other than Joe and even then only on her "good" days.

"Hello, son." Fenton said quietly looking at Joe.

Joe nodded slightly, acknowledging that his father had spoken to him but did not return the greeting. He was still deeply hurt by the fact that his father had lied to him and for no good reason as far as Joe could see. He hoped Frank wouldn’t show up too as he did not want another scene, especially not in front of Vanessa. He had not told her about the letters and only mentioned that he had had a disagreement with Frank and his father, which she readily accepted asking for no further explanation.

She smiled at Ezra Collig and Con Riley who said hello and smiled in return. Again, she noticed no look of pity in their eyes. 'Maybe this won't be so bad after all.' Shauna's parents approached her cautiously.

Vanessa took a deep breath and extended her right hand but still held tight to Joe with the other one.

"Hi, I’m Vanessa Bender."

Shauna’s mother clasped her hand and held it tightly.

"Thank you so much, Vanessa. I know this has to be difficult for you." She said with tears in her eyes. "You just don’t know how much we appreciate this."

"I hope I can help, Mrs. Campbell."

Just then, Dr. Jackson and another man in a white lab coat approached them.

"Vanessa." Dr. Jackson greeted her. "Great to see you. How are you doing?"

She glanced quickly at Joe then back at Dr. Jackson. "Ok, I guess."

"This is Dr. Colin Whitesel, Shauna’s physician. Dr. Whitesel, Vanessa Bender and Joe Hardy." He completed the introductions.

"Nice to meet you both." Dr. Whitesel replied then focused on Vanessa. "I just wanted to talk to you for a minute before you go in." He gestured towards a row of chairs where the three of them sat down.

"I understand that Joe has explained Shauna’s condition to you. No one has really been able to get through to her. To be honest I don’t know that you will either but it certainly can’t hurt to try. Dr. Jackson and I will be right here at the nurse’s station if you need anything. Good luck." Dr. Whitesel got up and followed Dr. Jackson down the hall.

Joe took both of Vanessa’s hands in his and looked in her eyes. "You’re absolutely sure?"

"Absolutely." She said giving him a little smile.

"Ok." Joe escorted her down the hall and stopped in front of Shauna’s room. He looked at the handwritten card next to the door and a chill went through him. All the emotions he felt the night he stood outside Vanessa’s hospital room came flooding back to him.

"Joe?" Vanessa said, noticing the look on his face. "Joe? What’s wrong?" she squeezed his hand.

"Huh?" Joe blinked, looking at her. "Oh, uh, nothing. Everything’s fine." He kissed her on the cheek and hugged her. "I’ll be right out here if you need me."

Vanessa nodded, took a deep breath and slowly opened the door in front of her. The young girl lying in the hospital bed stared mutely at the ceiling. Her deep brown eyes reflected pain and fear but never moved from the ceiling. It was as if she didn’t even know Vanessa was there.

Vanessa’s heart broke as she noticed a large, ugly bruise on Shauna’s temple, just under her blond bangs. Her eyes wandered down to Shauna’s hands. Even though she knew what she would see, she still gasped at the purple bruises on the younger girls wrists.

That was all it took to trigger a flashback. Once again, Vanessa could feel her arms being pulled over her head. She could swear she felt the cold, hard steel on her wrists. The click as the handcuffs locked into place was as loud as a gunshot in her mind.

"Joe!" she whispered. She needed Joe. She needed to feel safe and protected. She wanted to be home in their apartment where no one could hurt her. Trembling, she turned to flee the room and got as far as the door before she stopped. With one hand hovering on the doorknob, she remembered the day she and Dr. Jennings had first talked about the flashbacks.

Vanessa stopped short of opening the door. She knew Joe was right outside and she could immediately feel safe just being next to him. She also knew if she walked out the door now, she would never come back. Closing her eyes, she did exactly as Dr. Jennings had instructed. To her relief and surprise, the flashback lasted only seconds. Turning around she looked back at Shauna. The fear that had been ignited by the flashback quickly turned to anger. She straightened her shoulders and walked back to Shauna’s bedside, resting her hands on the rails of the bed.

"Hi, Shauna. My name is Vanessa," she said softly. "We’ve never met but I wanted to come see you. We have something in common. I know how you feel, Shauna. I know exactly what you are going through." Vanessa steeled herself for what came next; she had yet to speak the words out loud. "He raped me too."

Shauna blinked once. Then twice. She never took her eyes off the ceiling and did not say a word but she reached out and rested her hand on top of Vanessa’s. Encouraged by the small gesture, Vanessa continued.

"I know how much it hurts, honey. Not just physically but in here." Vanessa pointed towards her heart. "When it first happened I felt guilty, dirty and ashamed. Most of the time I still do. Sometimes I feel like I should have been able to do something to prevent it. Mostly though I just feel very, very afraid."

Vanessa felt Shauna’s hand tighten around hers. Shauna’s eyes welled up with tears and she finally turned to look at Vanessa.

"Why did he hurt me like that? I’m scared. I’m so scared he’ll come back and hurt me again." She reached out to Vanessa with both arms.

Vanessa lowered the rails and sat on the bed, taking the young girl in her arms. Everything Shauna had been holding in since the assault came out in a flood of tears. She clung to Vanessa crying uncontrollably, seemingly unable to stop. Vanessa gently rocked her, stroking her hair and patting her back. She remembered the words Joe had spoken to her that first day in the hospital.

"You’re safe now, Shauna. You’re safe."

Outside in the hall, Joe was pacing back and forth like a caged animal, frequently glancing at the closed door of Shauna’s hospital room. More than anything, he wanted to know what was going on behind that door. Vanessa seemed sure this visit would help both Shauna and herself. Joe, on the other hand, was not so sure. Admittedly, Vanessa’s mood and outlook had improved somewhat since she had made the decision to see Shauna. She had smiled several times since in the last two days and even laughed once or twice. Still, Joe was afraid of what would happen once they returned home. The previous night Vanessa had finally slept all the way through until morning for the first time. She did not wake up crying out in terror even once during the night as she had done every night since coming home from the hospital.

From where he sat halfway down the hall, Fenton watched his son pace back and forth in front of the closed door. While he was extremely proud of the way Joe had handled himself, he was also deeply saddened and worried by the change in him. He had not seen Joe laugh or smile since Vanessa had been attacked. The seemingly permanent mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes was gone, replaced by anger, hatred and rage. Whenever he was with Vanessa, Joe was quiet, calm and in control. As angry as he was, he never let her see anything but the loving, supportive fiancé she needed. However, when Andrea came to visit her daughter and Joe left their apartment his bitterness and seething anger were barely concealed beneath the surface. Even before the fight Joe, Frank and Fenton had a few days earlier, Joe had exploded in anger whenever he visited his parents or came to the office. The depth of his rage and hatred at the man who raped Vanessa, who they now were certain was Chris Taylor, had left Fenton fearing for Joe’s future. He had lain awake many nights, worrying about what would happen if Joe found Taylor before anyone else did. For the first time in his life, Fenton was afraid Joe had been pushed too far; he was afraid his youngest son might just be capable of murder.

Leaning back in the chair, Fenton closed his eyes. Thinking about how quickly his sons’ close relationship had deteriorated, and how Taylor unknowingly had driven a wedge between he and Joe, he wasn’t too sure how he would react if he were given five minutes alone in a room with Chris Taylor.