Moving closer to Joe, she carefully lifted his arm and put it around her shoulder. He stirred slightly, instinctively holding her closely, but didn’t awaken. Vanessa watched him sleep, trying to will the terrifying images away…

Vanessa whimpered involuntarily as the vivid memories continued, gaining momentum on their way to the inevitable and horrific conclusion.

Vanessa had hoped, even prayed, that she would pass out, but a cruel twist of fate had left her just conscious enough to hear and feel everything; a virtual guarantee that she would be sentenced to a lifetime of remembering, and reliving, every sickening detail.

The sobs came on suddenly and uncontrollably, as Vanessa relived every moment of the nightmare that had changed her life. The fear, shame and disbelief that this unspeakable crime had happened to her were overwhelming, just as they had been one year ago. Her emotions rapidly spiraled out of control, just as they did one year ago. And just as she had one year ago, Vanessa felt the strong arms that came to be her ‘safe place’, surround her and gently pull her close.

Unable to stop the tears, Vanessa tried to focus on Joe’s soft words of reassurance. She felt powerless to do anything but cling to him, as the nightmare slowly played itself out in agonizing detail. It seemed much too long before the tears finally slowed, replaced by sniffles and the occasional shudder.

Knowing nothing he could say would take away the pain, Joe simply held his fiancée tightly, hoping his touch would give her the sense of security she needed. They lay together quietly, for a very long time, not speaking or moving. Gently, Joe stroked Vanessa’s hair. He knew from past experience, the slow, repetitive motion always seemed to bring her a measure of comfort. To his relief, it seemed to calm her now, as it always had before.

The sounds of footsteps and muted voices passing by the closed door and continuing down the stairs broke the silence. A few moments later, the scent of freshly brewing coffee made its way into the room.

"Do you want to get up and have breakfast or stay here?" Joe asked softly.

Vanessa considered the question silently. The last thing she wanted was to be left alone with her thoughts and memories all day. The images had been more graphic and explicit than they had in months, reawakening the feelings of unbearable shame that had controlled her every move the first few weeks after the rape. Right now, Vanessa’s runaway emotions almost had her convinced that Frank and Callie would look at her differently today, knowing what had taken place exactly one year ago. Or would they even want to look at her…to be seen with her?

‘Stop!’ The small voice of reason in the back of her mind shouted, demanding to be heard. ‘Listen to me! Frank and Callie care about you; they love you. Let them help you…’

Vanessa concentrated on the voice, slowly letting it drown out the other voices – the ones that told her she was dirty and unlovable. Shifting slightly in Joe’s embrace, she knew what she wanted, but wasn’t sure she had the right to ask for it.

"I…I don’t want to be alone. I want…I need…to be distracted," she admitted hesitantly. "I don’t want to relive this all day." The cruel voices momentarily returned telling Vanessa she brought it all on herself by choosing to take the bus instead of waiting for Joe to pick her up as he had asked her to do. ‘You got exactly what you deserved that night! And you deserve to be alone now!’ the voices mocked. "N-no…never mind…you guys go out and have a good time today…"

"Absolutely not!" Joe said, fiercely protective. "If it’s distraction you want, that’s exactly what you’ll get!"

"But what about Frank and Callie?" she asked, looking up at Joe timidly. She knew he would sacrifice his entire day – his entire vacation – to keep her distracted and occupied with thoughts of anything but the rape. But did she have the right to ask that of Frank and Callie, too? "This is their vacation, too. They shouldn’t have it ruined by me…trying to keep me preoccupied."

Joe brushed her hair back as the look on her face took him back in time. It was a look he’d grown painfully accustomed to, at times fearing it was a permanent change. Gone was his strong, sassy fiancée, replaced by…

‘A scared little girl,’ he thought, pulling her closer. ‘Terrified of her own shadow.’

Anger, rage and blind fury at what had happened to Vanessa, and at his own inability to prevent it, shouted at Joe. They wanted him to listen, to feel and to let them take complete control of him, just as they had on that night. The violent emotions were fighting to surface, looking for an outlet. Joe fought hard to stay in control before the one painful truth resurfaced. The one truth that he long ago realized he would never come to terms with – Vanessa had been raped simply to get back at him. She had been brutalized by an assailant who knew that one fact would haunt Joe for the rest of his life. It was the one reality Joe knew he would never, ever forgive himself for.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Joe forced himself to focus on Vanessa, knowing how much she needed him right now. "Frank and Callie? Well they’re…they’re Frank and Callie!" Joe finally replied, remembering his conversation with Frank that first night.

"They’re always here for us, no matter what. Today will be no different," he finished without a trace of doubt.

Joe held his breath as Vanessa silently considered his words. He would do anything Vanessa asked. If she wanted to hide from the world today, he would hide with her. But Frank had been right when he said that night was hard on Joe, too, and right now, Joe needed distraction as much as Vanessa did. He desperately wanted to get out of this room and the sadness that seemed to be suffocating them. He knew Frank and Callie would gladly provide that distraction for both of them, if only they would ask.

Finally, Vanessa looked up at him, sniffing the air appreciatively as she did so. "Then maybe we should get up and not let that wonderful breakfast they’re cooking go to waste."

*****

"How long should we wait?" Callie asked nervously, glancing at the stairs.

"Let’s give them a little more time," Frank urged, hoping he’d gotten through to Joe the other night. Neither of them said a word, but they had both heard Vanessa sobbing earlier. That had reinforced Frank’s belief that if Joe tried to get Vanessa through this day by himself, it would prove to be disastrous for them both.

"I spoke to the concierge last night about taking the shuttle bus back from the restaurant," Callie said, moving to the counter and gathering the ingredients for pancake batter. "He said we can rent the cross-country skis here, and ski the trails to the restaurant at the overlook. Once we get there, we can send the skis back on the shuttle and take a taxi back ourselves…so she won’t have to face getting on a bus today."

Frank stared at his wife and smiled, wondering if she really knew just how much he loved her. Callie’s extraordinary sensitivity and the way she could remember the smallest details never ceased to amaze him. He hoped Joe and Vanessa wouldn’t stay holed up in their room all day, aware of the day Callie had planned for the four of them. He knew it was just the distraction they needed, to make the day bearable…and maybe even enjoyable.

Several minutes later, Frank’s patience was rewarded when they heard footsteps on the stairs. Throwing a dishtowel over one arm, he flashed Callie a triumphant smile just as Joe and Vanessa entered the kitchen.

"Good morning! Welcome to Chateau de Hardy," Frank said with a cheesy French accent, making a sweeping gesture that encompassed the kitchen and dining area. "May I show you to our best table?"

Not waiting for a reply, Frank hustled Joe and Vanessa towards the table, holding out a chair for Vanessa. "May I take the lady’s order?" he asked solicitously, easing the chair in as Vanessa sat down. "Bacon and eggs? Pancakes? Waffles? Perhaps a made-to-order omelette from your personal chef?" he finished, bowing slightly.

Watching Frank’s exaggerated efforts on her behalf, Vanessa couldn’t help but smile, the horrifying nightmare and the images she thought had been seared into her mind, were quickly fading into the background.

"I’ll have an omelette, please," she answered quite seriously.

"Mushrooms? Cheese? Vegetables?" Frank inquired, an invisible pen poised over the invisible pad in his hand.

Vanessa thought for a moment before responding with an enthusiastic "Yes!", giggling at Frank’s raised eyebrows.

"You’ve got a hungry one on your hands, sir," he commented to Joe before retreating to the stove to fill Vanessa’s request.

"And for you sir?" Callie asked Joe, with an accent even worse than Frank’s as she batted her eyelashes at him. "Pancakes, perhaps?"

"That sounds good," Joe replied with a wink, "for a start!"

As Frank and Callie set about preparing breakfast, Vanessa reached out and closed her hand over Joe’s. Her eyes were brimming with tears once again, but this time they were tears of gratitude that came from knowing she was cherished and loved.

Joe lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. He knew this was just the beginning and couldn’t even imagine what Frank and Callie had planned for the rest of the day.

Moments later, Frank returned to the table, serving Vanessa’s omelette with a flourish. He immediately placed a vase in front of her, containing a single, long-stemmed, red rose.

Vanessa stared at it, her eyes wide. "Where did you find a rose up here in the middle of winter?" she asked in hushed disbelief.

"My little secret," Frank winked and returned to the stove once more.

Joe stared at his brother’s retreating back, only coming out of his trance when Callie placed a dish in front of him. Looking down, he saw a dangerously high, teetering stack of pancakes, the top of which was adorned with a smiley face made of maple syrup. Automatically smiling himself, he watched as Vanessa reached out and carefully picked up the vase, bringing it close to her. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, taking in the fragrant scent of the delicate flower. Looking at Frank and Callie, Joe mouthed a silent thank you, knowing it wasn’t nearly thanks enough, getting a wink and a nod in reply.

As Vanessa placed the vase in the center of the table, Frank and Callie sat down, their own breakfast plates in hand. All was silent for a few moments as they were all lost in thought and enjoying the delicious breakfast, until Frank broke the silence.

"Why don’t you fill them in on what they’ve got to look forward to today?" Frank smiled at his wife.

"Okay," Callie replied, taking a sip of coffee. "After we finish breakfast, we’ll go down to the lodge and pick up our cross-country skis. There are some gorgeous trails around here and one of them leads to Windows."

"Oooh, I remember reading about that restaurant in the brochures!" Vanessa said enthusiastically, her eyes alight with excitement. "Oh, but it said you had to make reservations months in advance. It’s always booked solid," she finished, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Never underestimate the persuasive powers of my wife," Frank said proudly, squeezing Callie’s hand. "We have lunch reservations for one o’clock."

Smiling at the look of amazement on Vanessa’s face, Callie continued. Pulling out a map, she handed it to Joe who unfolded it and held it so both he and Vanessa had a good view of it. "The trail in red is the one that leads to Windows. I thought we could take that one. The scenery is beautiful and it’s not too, too challenging. Just enough to work up an appetite." At Joe and Vanessa’s murmurs of agreement, she threw a pleased look at Frank.

"After lunch, we can take the cable car to the top of the mountain." She stopped and pointed out the little blurb about it on the map. "At the top, we’ll actually be above the clouds, but when the clouds break the view is unbelievable. We can stay up there as long as we like. Once we come back down, we can take a cab back to the lodge where we have two snowmobiles reserved for this afternoon," she concluded, deftly avoiding all mention of the shuttle bus.

At the looks of excitement on the faces of Joe and Vanessa, Callie glanced at Frank and grinned, happy to see their plan was having the desired effect.

"When we’ve had enough snowmobiling, we’ll come back here and relax in the hot tub for a little while before heading out for dinner. We have reservations at Mangia, the only five star restaurant in the area. And since we’ll need to work off all that good food, we’ll finish up at the hottest dance club in town – which happens to be right across the street from Mangia."

Joe could only stare at his sister-in-law, stunned. He knew she and Frank would go all out to keep him and Vanessa preoccupied all day, but this was way beyond anything he had expected.

Vanessa brushed away a tear as she reached out to her best friend. Hugging Callie tightly, she leaned forward a little and grasped Frank’s hand, squeezing hard. "Thank you," was all she could manage at the moment.

Thirty minutes later, as they were getting ready to embark on their day, Joe pulled his brother aside, still a little overwhelmed. "Frank, I don’t know exactly what to say…how to thank you…" he began emotionally. Until that morning, when he held Vanessa as she cried, Joe hadn’t realized just how much he would be affected by this date.

"You don’t thank me," Frank smiled at him. "That’s what big brothers are for."

As Frank joined the girls by the door, he held it open for them. Seeing Joe point at Callie and hold up a finger, Frank nodded once and ushered Vanessa outside, chatting all the way to the car.

Taking Callie’s arm, Joe pulled her back and looked at her for a long moment. Wordlessly, he pulled her close and hugged her tightly, surprised to find himself fighting back tears. Holding onto her until he regained control of his runaway emotions, he felt her rubbing his back gently, just the way Frank always did when he was upset. Finally, releasing her, he put his arm around her shoulders and they silently walked to the car.

*****

The two men sat on a bench, watching the four young people put on their skis. Laughing and joking, Frank, Joe, Callie and Vanessa were getting ready to head out on the trails, unaware their every move was being scrutinized.

"They’re always together!" the balding man muttered in frustration.

"Don’t worry," the younger man replied calmly. "They’ll be here all week; we’ve got plenty of time."

"But he’s never alone! It’s like they know what we’re planning!"

"He’ll be alone…eventually," the man responded watching Joe carefully. "We’ll bide our time until he is and then make our move."

"Thinks his friends will get suspicious when he suddenly disappears?"