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I can’t have been out for very long, because there was still lots of shouting when I came to. But it wasn’t Adam or Orlando leaning over me when I opened my eyes. I was staring up into the most beautiful blue eyes I’d ever seen, and I reached up a hand to the face they belonged to, just to make sure it was real.

“She’s coming to,” the face said, not turning away from me. “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind for our first meeting, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers, right?”

The voice was strangely familiar, but I couldn’t get past the eyes. I sat up, slowly, noticing for the first time how much my head was throbbing. I squinted at the face again, and then smiled.

“I wondered when we’d meet,” I said, as Elijah Wood helped me to my feet. I swayed where I stood, and sat down heavily on the sofa. Orlando sat down beside me and took me in his arms, hugging me tightly. I pulled back from him and grinned. “So this is who you were having drinks with?” I said, then kissed him briefly. I noticed Adam keeping a very tight grip on one of Sean’s shoulders, and Jeremy on the other. Lisa was standing beside them, looking grim.

“We’ve called the police, love,” Orlando said, stroking his hand over my cheek. “They’ll be here any time. Are you okay?”

I nodded, mentally taking stock of the aches in my body. “I’ll be fine,” I said, as he squeezed my hand. “Why are all of you here together?”

“I saw Sean come in the building, so I called Orlando and Lisa,” Adam said. “But I didn’t get up here fast enough, and I didn’t have a key. Plus, I wasn’t sure what he’d do if he knew I was right outside the door.” He looked so guilty, I couldn’t help but get up and go to him. I hugged him tightly.

“It’s not your fault,” I said against his shoulder. “Please, don’t think that it is.” I looked into his eyes and smiled, trying to be reassuring. “If it weren’t for you, Orlando and Lisa wouldn’t be here yet, and things would have been a lot worse.” I hugged him again. I felt Lisa nudge me in the side.

I turned around to see Orlando staring at me, his arms crossed over his chest, a mixture of hurt and anger on his face. I immediately stepped away from Adam, a hot blush spreading over my face. Elijah looked from me and Adam to Orlando and back again, understanding dawning on his face. I could only imagine what Orlando had told him.

A knock at the door broke the awkward silence that had fallen over the room. Lisa put her arm around me and led me back to the sofa as Orlando answered the door. Two uniformed police officers entered, looking stern and scary. They saw Sean and exchanged a look. It was obvious that they knew him.

An hour or so later, after Sean had been taken to the police car, and I’d finished recounting for everyone what exactly had happened, the officers left. Orlando had sat on the chair beside the sofa the whole time I’d been talking, just watching me, while Adam kept a safe distance. I tried not to think about what would be said after he left.

“So, is everyone camping out here?” Lisa said, standing in the middle of the living room, looking at all of us. She grinned over at Elijah, who’d taken a spot beside me on the sofa. “Lord knows you’re more than welcome to stay,” she said.

“On the sofa,” Jeremy said lightly, slipping his arm around her. She cuddled against his side and he kissed the top of her head.

“Yeah, that’s what I meant,” she said, her face flushing a bit. She winked at me.

“I’m going to head home, I think,” Adam said, pushing off the wall where he’d been leaning. “Are you sure you’re okay, Charlie?” This was at least the millionth time he’d asked.

I stood up and walked him to the door, then went into the hall with him for a minute, closing the door half way behind me. “I’m fine,” I said softly. “Thank you for being there tonight. How did you know Sean was going to be trouble?”

“I’ve known him for a long time,” Adam said, running his hands up and down my arms. “He’s never been the nicest guy, really obnoxious and petty, you know? Nick told me about what happened between you and him, and why he was fired from the show, so I figured if he was heading here, it couldn’t possibly be a good thing.”

I tried to smile. “No, definitely not,” I agreed. “I’m just glad you saw him come into the building. It could have been hours before Orlando came home, and Lisa was supposed to be sleeping at Jeremy’s.” Tears filled my eyes. “You really did save me tonight.”

Without hesitation, he pulled me against him and began rubbing his hands over my back. He kissed my ear lightly. “I told you before, I’m always here when you need me,” he whispered, giving me an extra squeeze. I instinctively leaned into him, trying to stop the sobs that were wracking my body. I knew I shouldn’t be letting him hold me like that, that I should go back inside and cry with Orlando, but I couldn’t bring myself to walk away.

“Uh, are you coming inside?” Lisa poked her head around the door after a minute or two, trying to hide her shock at seeing me in Adam’s arms. “It’s getting late, Charlie.”

I pulled away. “Yeah, I’ll be right there,” I said, dashing my hand across my face to clear the tears, wincing as I hit the carpet burn on my wrist.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Adam said, cupping my face in his hands. He kissed my cheek lightly. “Get some sleep, sweetheart.”

“I will,” I said, giving him a small smile. I watched him turn and head down the stairs, then turned to Lisa. She was openly gaping at me now.

“What the hell was that?” she whispered, closing the door behind her. “Did you want Orlando to come out here and see that?”

“It wasn’t anything to be worried about,” I said, shrugging. My shoulders ripped with pain as I did so. “I was just thanking him for helping tonight, that’s all. It’s no big deal.”

“It is when he’s hugging you like that.”

“Lisa, friends hug each other,” I said, getting exasperated at what she was suggesting. “It’s not a crime, you know.”

“That wasn’t just a friendly hug,” she said, shaking her head. “That was something I’d expect to see from you and Orlando, not you and Adam. There was a little too much intimacy for that to have been just friendly.”

“We’re close,” I said simply, guilt washing through me at her suggestion.

“Sometimes a little too close,” she said, her eyes searching my face.

“Can we just go inside now, please?” I said, trying not to sound angry. I was getting a little annoyed, I was tired, and my body was starting to hurt.

“Whatever you say,” she said, opening the door. “But Charlie, be careful,” she added, before going back into the apartment. I followed her.

“Well, this was quite the eventful evening,” Elijah said as we went back into the living room. He grinned. “Are you always this much fun, Charlie?” he teased.

I smiled. “Oh no, Elijah,” I said. “That was all for you.” Orlando was sitting in the same chair he’d been in when I’d left, and he looked like a dark cloud should have been hanging above his head. I smiled at him, and he smiled back, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I’m beat,” Lisa said, a little too loudly, as she grabbed Jeremy’s hand. “I guess we’re staying here tonight,” she said to him, a wicked little grin on her face. “Any objections?”

“None at all,” he said, then kissed her as though they were the only two people in the room. “But some of us do have to work in the morning.”

“Is that a hint?” she teased. She turned to us. “I guess we’re turning in. Good night!” They practically sprinted down the hall to her room, and slammed the door behind them.

“Let me guess, they haven’t been together very long?” Elijah said, smirking in their direction.

“Nope,” I said, going into the kitchen to make some tea. “About seven weeks now,” I called back over my shoulder. “Kind of obvious, huh?”

“Just a bit,” he called back. He appeared beside me a few seconds later.

“Do you want some tea?” I said as I turned on the kettle.

“No, thanks,” he said quietly. “I have to get back to my hotel. I just wanted to make sure everything is okay with you and Orlando before I left.”

I looked at him, a puzzled expression on my face. “Of course it is,” I said. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“He’s about ready to spit nails out there,” Elijah said as I grabbed two mugs out of the cupboard. “That Adam guy gets under his skin.”

I shook my head. “There’s nothing for him to worry about,” I said, putting a tea bag in each mug. “We had a really brief fling, and now we’re just friends. It’s no big deal.” I sighed. “Besides, why am I talking to you about this? I hardly even know you.”

“I’m sure that will change soon enough,” he said, getting the milk from the refrigerator. “I’m in town for a couple weeks, so we’ll most likely be seeing lots of each other.” He sobered quickly. “But seriously, Charlie, be careful, okay? Orlando’s a really intense guy, and when he loves someone, he loves them with everything he’s got in him. It’ll devastate him to think you’re interested in someone else. I mean, he’s even talked about…” He stopped himself abruptly and avoided my eyes.

“He’s talked about what, Elijah?” I said, taking the milk from him. I forced him to look at me. “Tell me.”

He sighed and lowered his voice even more. “He’s talked about marriage, Charlie,” he whispered. “And he’s never talked that way about anyone else before. Like I said, be careful. I don’t want to see him get hurt.”

“He won’t get hurt,” I said, smiling. “We’ve discussed marriage ourselves, it’s nothing I didn’t already know about. I love him, okay? He’s the only one I want, and he’s the only one I’ll ever want.”

“Promise?” His bright blue eyes searched my own dark ones.

“I promise.”

A short time later, Elijah left, promising to call the next day to see how I was. For a few minutes Orlando and I sat in silence in the living room, sipping our tea. The tension coming from him was so strong it made me squirm a couple of times. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to say something.

“Orlando, is something wrong?” I said, shifting on the sofa so I was facing him. He was still in the chair, with one leg crossed over the other at the knee, and he’d been staring at the same spot on the floor for a good five minutes.

He looked at me, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. His face was completely blank. “Do you always hug Adam like that, Charlie?” he said, his voice dead, showing no emotion whatsoever.

“Please, don’t start that again,” I said softly. “We’ve talked about this a million times, and it never changes.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Every once in awhile, I hug him,” I said, figuring honesty was my best bet. It’s not like I had anything to hide. “We’re friends. You can’t tell me you don’t hug your friends?”

“Not like that,” he said, standing up and coming to sit beside me. “Maybe I’m being paranoid, but that hug bothered me.”

I set my tea on the table beside me and leaned over to hug him. “There’s nothing for you to worry about, okay? I love you, and I’m with you, not Adam.” I kissed his lips gently. “You know what got me through tonight when Sean had me pinned to the couch with his arm over my throat?” He winced at my description, then shook his head slowly. “I looked at that picture of you on top of the TV. I didn’t panic because I focused on your face, Orlando. It was you who helped me through it, not Adam.”

He hugged me tightly against him for a minute, careful not to touch my shoulders or my wrists. “Part of me just can’t get past the idea of you with him,” he said, kissing my forehead gently. “I guess I’m just greedy, and want you all to myself.” He chuckled, letting me know everything was okay. I pulled away from him and got up.

“Why don’t we go to bed, and you can have me all to yourself there?” I suggested, extending my hand to him. He didn’t need to be told twice. He gently picked me up in his arms and carried me to the bedroom, kissing my neck on the way. He laid me on the bed carefully, then began to remove my pajamas.

“Oh God, Charlie,” he said, sucking in his breath as he pushed my top off my shoulders. “Do those hurt?”

“They don’t feel good,” I said, sitting up and looking in the mirror. My shoulders and wrists were bright red. “I’ll be fine.”

“How’s your head?”

“I have a bit of a headache, but not too bad now,” I said. He had such a look of concern on his face, I wanted to wrap myself around him and take it away. Instead, I kissed him, hard and fast, teasing his lips open with my tongue. He responded instantly, though he was extra gentle when he touched me. He laid me back on the bed, then came down on top of me, pressing himself against me, not losing contact with my mouth. I arched against him, my body screaming for him, wanting him to take away everything that had happened that night with Sean. I tangled my hands in his hair, dislodging the ponytail in the process. His hands began to push my pants down my legs, but just as his fingers were stroking the skin on the outside of my thigh, my chest started to feel tight, and I started to panic.

“Orlando, stop,” I gasped, struggling to breathe as my chest got tighter and my heart thumped wildly in my ears.

“Charlie, what’s wrong?” he said, grabbing my face in his hands and forcing me to look at him. “Are you okay?”

“Can’t…breathe…” I said, struggling for every word. My head started to pound, and I couldn’t focus on his face. I clutched at my pajama top and pulled it around me, still fighting for breath.

“We’re going to the hospital,” Orlando said, reaching to help me with my top. I flinched as his fingers grazed my skin. I scooted away from him, and he moved closer, trying to help me, but I moved away again, still fighting to draw a proper breath. “Charlie, what the hell is wrong?”

“Don’t…touch…me,” I rasped, pushing his hands away. My body recoiled from him every time he touched me, and that made it harder to breathe. My mind was screaming at me that it was only Orlando, that I shouldn’t be acting so stupid, but my body wasn’t listening. “Get…Lisa…”

Immediately he rushed from the room, and I heard him calling Lisa’s name as he ran to her room. I felt myself relax a little while he was gone, and my breathing became a little easier, but I was still having trouble. I was getting lightheaded as I tried to stand up and pull my pajamas back on. My fingers were trembling so badly, I couldn’t get the buttons on my top done up.

Lisa came running into the room a few seconds later, panic all over her face. She grabbed my face between her hands and forced me to focus on her face. “Okay, Charlie, I know it’s hard, but you’ve got to take deep breaths with me now,” she said, her words slow and calm, a complete contradiction to what her face had been a few seconds before. “Come on, honey, you can do it.” I grabbed her arms and tried to slow my breathing, mimicking her as she inhaled and exhaled slowly, deliberately, never losing eye contact with me. My body began to relax, my heart began to slow, and my breathing became more regular. Tears spilled freely over my cheeks.

“Are you okay now?” Lisa asked, pulling me into a hug. She smoothed my sweaty hair off my forehead, and rubbed my back gently.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” I said, my voice hoarse. My throat hurt, and my entire body ached like mad. My head was throbbing dully over my left eye. “I don’t know what that was.”

“My guess is a panic attack, but I’m not a doctor,” she said, squeezing my hand. “You need to go to the hospital and get checked out, Charlie. You were turning almost purple there for a minute.”

I nodded slowly as my head throbbed lightly. I noticed Orlando standing in the doorway, a sad expression on his face as he watched me. I realized what it must have looked like to him, and tried to smile.

“Orlando, come here,” I said, reaching out a hand to him. Lisa stood up and backed away so he could sit beside me. I rested my hand lightly on his knee. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, tears rolling down my face again. I felt horrible. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“Of course you didn’t, love,” he said, but he wouldn’t touch me. “We need to find out where that came from, though, and try to stop it from happening again.”

“I’m going to tell Jeremy we’re taking you to the hospital,” Lisa said, pulling her robe more tightly around her. “I’ll be right back.” She left the room, closing the door behind her.

“Charlie, what happened?” Orlando said, hesitating before taking my hand. When I gave his fingers a gentle squeeze, he relaxed a bit.

“I don’t know,” I said. “One minute I wanted you more than anything, and the next, I couldn’t breathe, and the idea of being touched scared me senseless. It’s ridiculous, but I couldn’t stop it.” I started to tremble. “Oh God, I don’t want you to think that I don’t…”

“Ssshhh,” he cut me off, putting a finger to my lips. I looked up at his face, at his dark eyes, at the concern and understanding there. “Don’t say that, love. I know you’ve been through a lot tonight, and if you’re still upset, that’s okay with me. I won’t push you, I promise.”

“Do you think Sean’s attack is where this came from?” As naïve as it sounds, that hadn’t even occurred to me.

“Given what he was intending to do, it’s likely,” he said, stroking his thumb over the back of my hand. “I’m actually surprised it didn’t happen after the first time.”

“Well that sucks,” I said, knitting my eyebrows together. I took a deep breath. “I hope it doesn’t last.”

Orlando chuckled, almost in spite of himself. “We’ll get you checked out by a doctor, and go from there, okay?” he said, slipping an arm around me. I leaned into him, thankful that he was so solid against me. I felt like I was falling apart.

Lisa came back into the room, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, her hair in a messy bun on the back of her head. “Let’s get you dressed,” she said, going to my closet and grabbing some clothes. “Jesus, Orlando, you have more clothes than a woman,” she said, trying to joke and keep things light. Her face looked pinched, though, and I could tell she was worried.

“When you’re this hot, you can’t wear the same thing twice,” Orlando replied, playing along. He stood up. He looked awkwardly at me for a second. “I’ll, uh, wait in the living room, I guess,” he said, leaning over to place an uncomfortable kiss on my forehead. I knew he was afraid that undressing in front of him would set me off again, and I wasn’t so sure it wouldn’t, so I was grateful to watch him close the door behind him as he left the room.

Lisa brought me the clothes she’d picked out, and set them on the bed. She’d gone into her ‘mother’ mode, and it was a little unnerving. She didn’t say a word as she helped me change my clothes.

“Okay, say something,” I said as I slipped on my shoes. “The quiet is driving me crazy.”

“I’m worried about you, that’s all,” she said. “I never thought I’d see the day when you didn’t want Orlando touching you.” She looked me in the eye. “What exactly did Sean say to you?”

I hesitated. I’d told the police what he’d done, but not what he’d said, and I wasn’t sure I could get the words out now. The tears started again, and I sat on the edge of the bed, my shoulders trembling. At the time that he’d said them, the words hadn’t hurt, because I was more concerned with my physical safety, but now the pain came in torrents as I heard his voice in my head, saw the look in his eyes as he said them. My body reacted and I retched. Thank God it was a dry heave and not actual vomit, or there would have been a mess. I shook my head quickly and wrapped my arms around myself.

“Honey, talk to me,” Lisa said, putting her arm around me and rocking me back and forth. “You need to get it out.”

“I…I can’t,” I said, crying harder and faster now. “I’m sorry, Lisa, I just can’t.”

“Well, let’s get you checked out and make sure there’s no major damage, and then we’ll talk when you’re ready, okay?” She pulled me gently to my feet, grabbed my purse, and led me into the living room, where Orlando was pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

It was after five o’clock in the morning when we got back home. The doctor had looked me over, said I had a mild concussion, and sent me home with a prescription for Ativan, an anti-anxiety medication, to calm my nerves. He’d said that my reaction was normal, and associated it with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, telling me it should get easier as time passed. He’d warned Orlando that it might be difficult getting close to me for awhile, which had clearly hurt him, but he said repeatedly that he understood.

“Let’s get you to bed,” Orlando said, leading me into our bedroom. “You’re exhausted, and you need some sleep.” He paused in the doorway as I went in and pulled a fresh nightgown from my drawer. “I’ll make up the sofa for tonight, love,” he said.

“Are you sure?” I said, kicking off my shoes and unzipping my jeans. “You don’t have to sleep out there, Orlando. This is our room, and our bed, and you should be in it.”

“But I don’t want to upset you,” he said, not budging from his place in the doorway.

“I want you here,” I said, moving to lift my shirt over my head. When my head processed the fact that he was watching me, I stopped. My heart started to speed up and I started to sweat. “Uh, could you turn around for a minute?” I said, a hot blush spreading over my face. “I need to change.”

“I’ll go get you some water so you can take a pill,” he volunteered, and I could tell he was struggling not to take my request personally. He disappeared from the doorway.

I quickly changed and got into bed, pulling the covers to my chin. Lisa poked her head around the door. “All set?” she said, smiling tiredly at me. I nodded. “Okay, I’m going to get some sleep, but wake me up if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Lisa,” I said, smiling at her. She went to her room.

Orlando came back a minute later, a glass of water and my pill bottle in his hand. He handed me both and watched while I took a pill, then took the glass of water and put it on my nightstand. I stuck the pills in my drawer. And then it became awkward.

“Um, do you want me to sleep in clothes tonight?” he said, not meeting my eyes. “Or, I could sleep on the sofa,” he added quickly. “Whatever you want.”

My stomach knotted at the thought of him sleeping in just his boxers beside me. Normally that thought would have been arousing, but now it just scared me a bit. “A t-shirt would be good,” I said, pulling the blankets even tighter to me. “I mean, if that’s okay?” The whole conversation felt like we were strangers, not lovers. I ached at the sadness I saw etched around his eyes.

“Sure thing, love,” he said, smiling. For the second time that night, it didn’t reach his eyes. He quickly stripped off his clothes, to just a t-shirt and boxers, and got slowly into the bed beside me. I turned off the light and we laid there, both of us staring at the ceiling, afraid to move. It was awkward and uncomfortable, and not at all the way going to sleep with him usually was. Normally, I’d be curled up against him, with my head on his chest, or he’d be wrapped around my back, but I couldn’t bring myself to move any closer to him. I could feel the heat coming from his body, feel his tense muscles as he fought to stay still, and it upset me, but I couldn’t help it.

I nearly jumped out of bed when he finally shifted a bit. My eyes flew open and I looked over at him. He caught my stare.

“I was just getting more comfortable,” he said, rolling onto his side to face me. He didn’t dare move any closer, though. I knew he couldn’t lay on his back for too long because it would start to ache. “It’s okay, Charlie,” he soothed, noticing my rigid body. “It’s just me, love. I won’t hurt you.”

“I know,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I can’t help it, Orlando. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be, darling,” he said. He made a move to caress my face, but I flinched away. He sighed. “Get some sleep, love.” He rolled onto his other side, facing away from me, and I tried to get comfortable. Before long, the pill I’d taken kicked in, and I fell asleep.