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Taken completely by surprise, Axel almost jerks his hand away from the woman who had touched him. But the voice comes first, ceasing the flight reaction.

Looking down, he knows who speaks, but is so confused at her presence, that he just stands and listens. Her being there alone was enough to shock him. And her words only add to that shock.

Jess' soothing touch to his hand breaks up the pain like only she could do. For a moment, he closes his eyes, wondering if this was some kind of a dream. But her words hurt. There was too much pain for this to be a dream. Derek had been right. And she was right. He hadn't let anybody make up their own mind. Jess speaking of him cutting off her rainbow felt like a dagger to his heart.

Then as the hood falls from her face, question, fear and concern flash in his eyes. What had happened to her? For a brief moment, he remembered her looking the same, the first time he'd seen her.

His eyes lock with hers, and for several seconds, he's simply unable to move or speak. He just didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to act. What had happened to her? What was her point in coming? Was she asking him to come back? Was she simply telling him she was still his friend? Or not?

By now, the waitress had realized that she was forgotten, and she had moved on to help other customers.

Axel swallows hard and reaches out with his free hand to run a finger down the side of Jess' face, gently avoiding the cuts and bruises that were still there. "Oh, Jess." His own words are but a whisper. "What happened? And why did you come?"

Letting her keep hold of his hand, he eases down on the other side of the small table. He glances down to the way she was rubbing his hand, then looks back up to see her eyes once more. his voice is still quiet. "Do you really want to hold the hand of a rapist?" He had to know why she'd come. And he had to know if it had anything to do with the way she looked.


Carson takes his time getting to the door of the Bullseye, then once there, he just leans up against the brick wall for a few minutes, loitering until he thinks it's been long enough. Then he enters the bar.

Getting inside, his ball cap is low, but he has a clear view of all the corners. And he spots Peter. The rage boils up inside of him, as he sees Jess again, battered and bruised. His fists tighten at his sides. But before moving forward, he takes a deep breath, slipping on a mask of casual, business air, he traipses on over to Peter's table.

"Well, well, well, look who we got here." Carson lays on the thick accent, winking at the girl so no one gets alarmed. "If it isn't my old pal, Peter."

He reaches out and takes the cigarette from Peter's mouth, putting it out in the ash tray. "I think it's been too long since we had some guy time, what do you think?" He smiles, reaching down to pull Peter up by his collar. "Now, I don't think you really want to get a whole lot of attention in here, do you? So why don't we just step on out back for a minute?"

He nods to the girl, then to another woman who had shown up. "No worries. We're old mates." Staying casual, no one would notices how firmly a grip he had on Peter's collar, and few would realize the warning tone in his voice. But he knew Peter would know. And he also knew that Peter liked to connive and would rather try to weasel out of a situation than face it in front of others. For once, he was glad of that.

Dragging Peter to the back, before they know it, he's kicked open the door and shoved Peter into the dim alleyway, letting him bounce off the neighboring brick wall. Carson's face has changed to a hard, cold look with an icy stare.

"Alright, Peter. Show me what you got. Or are women the only things you're man enough to handle?"