He pulled her to him and held her as her tears began to fall again. "Please...please don't cry," he whispered into her hair. Every time he saw her like this his heart broke all over again and he wanted to take her away from the life that made her so miserable. But it was the life she'd chosen, and she'd made it clear to him many times that she'd never leave her daughter. There was no way he'd be allowed to take her and her daughter away from the private nightmare that was slowly destroying her, no matter how responsible he felt for her. Her husband would never let them out arm's reach, and he knew all too well how far those arms reached.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she snuggled further into his chest. "I didn't mean to do this again. I wanted to have a nice afternoon, we have so little time together now that Alistair's home."

"It's okay, I just want you to be safe." He touched the bruise under her eye and cursed Alistair Crane with every fiber of his being. Anger welled up inside him over a thousand atrocities committed in the name of the almighty Cranes, but for her sake he held it in. She was already crying, and unleashing his anger toward her husband would only scare her and make it worse.

She laughed nervously and pulled away from him, wiping her eyes with a tiny hand. His heart caught in his throat as she pulled back - things between them had become so complicated, and as much as his brain kept telling him to walk away and not look back, he couldn't do it. He couldn't leave her to the misery her life had become, not when she needed him. When he first met her she'd seemed so fragile, but there was a kindness in her eyes, an inner strength that drew him to her. In that moment he'd wanted to wrap his arms around her and make her feel safe, no matter what happened. But it would be months before he'd even touch her, before he'd summon the courage to tell her how he felt.

It was ironic that she'd saved his life that first day after the 'accident' that ended his tennis career. He'd been so furious that even through the agonizing pain in his knee he could have killed Julian and Alistair, but it had been her that found him. He didn't even know she was Alistair's wife until she'd introduced herself, she looked so young to be married to such an evil person. She was twelve years older than him, but at 31 she looked even younger. He remembered the way her hair fell in wisps around her cheekbones - even in the hospital's bad lighting she'd been breathtaking. She was the first person at his side after the surgery, telling him how sorry she was for what had happened. Although he'd never been able to prove that it was Julian and Alistair who ended his tennis career, she knew. She knew and she sought him out to tell him how sorry she was, and somehow out of that they'd formed a friendship.

T.C. jolted himself back to reality and looked into her eyes as she smoothed her golden hair with shaky hands. How had he managed to fall in love with her? It had started off as a friendship based on shared pain and mutual respect, but as her home life got worse and she became more needy he wanted to give her whatever he could to fill the hole in her life. Suddenly he found himself sneaking around to steal a few quiet moments here and there, to kiss away her tears try to erase the pain of the bruises he inflicted on her almost daily, physical and emotional.

"T.C.," she finally said, reaching for his hands as he knelt in front of her. "I can't...we can't do this anymore. Today, the fight...I think he knows." A single teardrop slid down her cheek and she gripped his hands more tightly as he sucked in a sharp breath. He knows? How could he know? Then again, Alistair Crane seemed to know everything.

"You can't stay there," he whispered. "He'll kill you."

"I can't leave," she said sadly, shaking her head as though the idea were out of the question. "You know I can't. I'm so sorry, my love. This is goodbye."

"No!" He woke with a start, a cold sweat covering his chest and his breathing shallow as he sat up in bed and blinked rapidly, trying to erase the shadows of the dream that was more than a dream. He'd avoided that particular memory for years, but suddenly it all came rushing back to him at once, overpowering him while his defenses were down. His body began to shake, sobs wracking through him as he sat in the cool darkness of the bedroom he shared with his wife.

"T.C.? Honey, what's wrong?" Eve switched on the lamp next to their bed and touched her husband's arm carefully, a worried expression marring her beautiful features.

He wanted to tell her that he was fine, that it was just a nightmare, but he couldn't answer. He couldn't control his breathing long enough to form the words, all he could do was hold his head in his hands as the memory gripped him.

"Honey, please, calm down. Take a deep breath," Eve said soothingly, stroking his hair as he cried. Fear gripped her as she watched him try to regain control of his emotions - she'd never seen him like this before, in all their years together she'd never seen him so sad. He'd lost his temper more times than she could remember, but she could count on one hand the times she'd seen him cry. When they'd agreed to leave their pasts in the past she'd thought it was for the best; he could never know about Julian, and she couldn't live with the shame of everyone knowing what she'd done to get where she was today.

But as she watched her husband sob uncontrollably she couldn't help wondering what pain he'd known in his past that could cause this. Finally he glanced at her and she felt a small sense of relief as she recognized the man she loved in his eyes, but there was a raw fear and pain behind them that she knew all too well, and her heart stopped momentarily. He turned away and wiped his eyes and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him silently as he buried his head in his hands again and let the tears fall.

~

Whitney slipped out of the house before dawn, hoping to catch Sheridan before she left for her morning ride. She thought she heard voices coming from her parents' bedroom, but at the last minute she decided not to knock and let them know where she was going. Something about her friendship with Sheridan bothered her mother, and although she didn't know why she decided it was best to mention it as little as possible.

She stepped out into the cold early morning air and glanced around, a small smile curving her lips as she realized it was snowing. The sky was growing slowly brighter and there was a blanket of white on the ground, undisturbed by footsteps. She'd always loved the first snowfall of the year, it was so peaceful and unspoiled. Everything was fresh and clean, as though the whole world was getting a second chance at a new beginning. Whitney took a deep breath and gathered her coat more tightly around her before she started for the Crane mansion.

As she rounded the corner that would lead her to the mansion her foot hit a patch of ice and she felt herself falling, her arms flailing wildly as she tried unsuccessfully to regain her balance. She hit the ground with a thud, her tailbone smarting and the wind knocked out of her. "Great," she muttered as she tried to catch her breath. Suddenly she felt hands on her arms and she stiffened, whirling around and nearly losing her balance again as she turned to face whoever had grabbed her.

"Whoa, it's okay, it's just me," Chad said as she raised her arm.

Whitney glanced at her outstretched hand and suddenly felt foolish. Had she been planning on hitting him? She had no idea what she'd intended, all she knew was that the feeling of anyone helping her immediately put her on the defensive. The fact that it was him of all people just made it worse, and she glanced down at her snow-covered legs as she tried to cover her embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I...you startled me. What are you doing out here, anyway?"

"Told Beth I'd open the Book Cafe this morning," Chad answered, glancing at her form-fitting black jeans and her sheepskin-lined jacket. "Sorry I scared you. You okay?"

"I'm fine. Thanks...for helping me," she muttered, swallowing the defensive remark forming in her mind. Damn it, why can't I just have a normal conversation with him? "Chad, look, we haven't really had a chance to talk since..."

"Nothing to say. If you're alright I'll be on my way."

Whitney blinked back the tears that began to sting her eyes and looked up at him. His dark eyes were shining in the gathering sunlight and she felt breathless again, momentarily forgetting what she wanted to say. I'm not alright, her brain was screaming. I won't be alright until you forgive me. But she couldn't make herself say the words, not to him. The minute she crossed that line she'd never be able to go back, and she was terrified of what lay down that road.

"Okay. Bye."

He regarded her carefully for another moment before he shrugged and backed away. "Be careful," he called after her before turning away and disappearing into the rapidly falling snow. Whitney stood in place and watched until he was gone, her heart beating faster than she ever imagined possible.

~

Beth opened her eyes halfway and glanced at her alarm clock: 7:42. She smiled and snuggled further down into her comforters, wrapping herself in the soft warmth of her bed. Her entire body ached from falling on the ice at least a dozen times during her date with Hank the night before, but she smiled and told herself that the sore muscles were worth it. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had that much fun, they'd spent hours skating around the tiny pond, falling in the snow and laughing like teenagers. They'd sipped hot cocoa and caught up on all the time he'd been away, although somehow it felt like he'd never really been gone.

She still remembered the day he left, it had been the saddest day of her life up to that point. She'd stood outside in the warm summer air and begged him not to leave, but he'd just looked at her sadly and told her that he had to go. He couldn't stay behind with the memory of his father so fresh, knowing that he'd never come to terms with the man that had been so hard on him his whole life. But Beth had been selfish, she'd wanted him to stay because she didn't want to lose her best friend. "Who will I call when I have a bad hair day?" she'd whined, holding onto his hands as he smiled sadly at her.

"You have like a hundred friends, Wallace. You're the most popular girl in school, I'm sure you can find someone to talk you down from your crises."

She laughed to herself as she remembered the way she'd pouted at him. God, I was such a brat, she thought. But she still remembered why she'd whined at him the way she did - she didn't want to call anyone else when she was feeling lousy, or even when she had exciting news. She always wanted Hank, he was her best friend. He knew her better than she knew herself, and he was always the first one to call her on it when she was being selfish or delusional or just plain dumb.

The phone rang and she winced as she rolled over to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Morning, sunshine. You ready to go?" Beth sat up slowly as she remembered that she'd invited herself to tag along with him today while he searched for information on Chad's birth parents.

"Ugh. I don't want to get up. I ache all over."

His charming grin traveled through the phone line along with his laugh, instantly making her feel better. "Yeah, well, you're gonna have to toughen up if you want to keep up with me."

"Hank, how did you put up with me?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "Did you hit your head or something that last time you fell?"

She laughed and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I mean in high school. I was such a brat, why did you put up with me and my whining all those years?"

"Somebody had to do it," he quipped. "Now get a move on, I'll be there in half an hour and you better be ready or I'm leaving without you."

"Okay, okay," she mumbled, hanging up the phone as she dragged herself out of bed and stumbled to the shower.

Hank hung up his extension and stared out the window of his tiny room in the bed and breakfast, staring down at the fresh snow as he turned her question over in his mind. His mind wandered back over the years to all the times he'd listened to her whine about Luis or cheerleading or some other meaningless tragedy that had seemed like the end of the world at the time. He smiled and shook his head, taking a sip of the coffee he'd stolen from the breakfast buffet as he thought about all the years they'd been friends. "Nowhere else I wanted to be, Wallace," he whispered as he watched the snow falling over the ocean.