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Tony had been sitting on the swing chair out the front of his parent's house for over an hour. His Dad had come out and asked if he was ok and where Michelle was but he told him that he just needed some time to think. It was obvious to David that Tony and Michelle had an argument or something but he knew Tony would come to him if he wanted to talk and so he gave him the space he needed.

Tony felt sick inside, he couldn't stand that Michelle was out wondering by herself so upset because of him. He had to force himself repeatedly not to go looking for her, the only thing stopping him was knowing that he had no idea of where to even begin trying to find her. So he'd wait there for her, he'd wait all night if he needed to.

Tony caught sight of Michelle as soon as she turned into the house, she stopped suddenly as soon as she saw Tony. They both looked at each other across the court yard as Tony stood up and made his way to her. He stopped just a couple feet in front of her and held his hand out but Michelle didn't take it. He took another step forward. "Chelle…please…"

Tony could tell Michelle had been crying hard. Her face was tear stained and her eyes were swollen. She wouldn't move nor would she look him in the eye. He wondered what his next move should be, she always knew how to comfort him and say the right thing and he cursed himself for not being able to do the same thing back for her. Just then Emily and Jeff rounded the driveway and ended up standing right next to them.

Emily looked up at Michelle. "Are you crying? Why are you crying?"

Michelle forced a smile. "I'm sorry, I'm ok."

"If you were ok, you wouldn't be crying."

Tony stepped forward. "Do you guys mind if we just have a minute?"

Jeff nodded his head and put his hand on Emily's shoulder to lead her inside but before they had even taken a few steps Michelle spoke up. "No, it's ok – I'm going to walk."

Tony kept his voice gentle but firm. "You just walked Michelle. You just walked for the last hour. Stay here and talk."

Emily stepped away from her dad and threw her arms around Michelle hugging her tightly. "You make me talk things out Michelle, you know how much it helps."

Michelle immediately jumped to conclusions – she looked up at Tony. "You told everyone?"

"No…but she is right…"

"Why? Just because you think it's so easy to have everything out in the open then I should be like that too?"

Jeff wasn't sure what to do, Emily was still standing next to Michelle and now his parents had heard the racket and stepped outside to see what was going on.

Tony found himself raising his voice even more to match Michelle's. "No…yes…I just…I want you to face all this, face all this with me. I don't want you to be ashamed or afraid of other people knowing what someone else did to you…"

Michelle looked around to see the shocked looks on everyone's faces. She could only imagine what they must be thinking. She felt so frustrated. It felt like they were all staring at her, wondering what had happened to her. She glared at Tony and gestured her hands towards everyone else. "Is this what you want? You want everyone to know?" She turned to face Jeff and the words rolled off her tongue before she could catch them. "My ex-boyfriend use to hit me and Tony hates that I don't want to talk about it." She threw her hand over her mouth to stop herself, she stood deathly still absolutely horrified at what she had just said.

Michelle's name seemed to fall out of everyone's mouths in a deep sigh. Tony stepped in closer to her, all he wanted to do was hold her. "No Michelle, that's not it…"

"What the hell do you want from me then Tony?"

"I want you to stop blaming yourself!"

Michelle couldn't hold it in any longer. She knew she was never going to be able to keep this up with Tony. She fought back tears. "You know what! I tried your way, I tried to blame him. I blamed him so much I tried to press charges….but…but it didn't work because he convinced the police he had done nothing wrong…"

With tears streaming down her face, Michelle choked on her words. "And if I feel like this, there has to be someone to blame and if it can't be him…"

Tony stopped Michelle by pulling her into his arms and pressing her against his chest. He kissed her head and stroked her hair. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…come here."

He looked over her shoulder to Jeff and his parents, they looked as lost as he felt. They made their way inside and Tony could feel goose bumps on Michelle's arms and he decided that he should take her in to. Without saying anything he slowly began to lead her inside and straight down to their bedroom. Michelle kept her head down the entire way. Once they were in the room, Tony sat her on the bed and then knelt down in front of her.

"Chelle, look at me…"

She raised her eyes to meet his as he closed his hands around hers. "I didn't know Chelle. I can understand all of this so much more now. I'm so sorry."

Michelle didn't say anything, but for the first time she let herself feel the pain without trying to block it and allowed herself to cry without trying to force back the tears. She reached for Tony, throwing her arms around him but that didn't feel close enough and so she lifted her body off the bed and into his arms. They were both crouched on the ground wrapped up in each other, Tony was holding her as tightly as he could.

"Why didn't you tell me baby?"

"I don't know. Tony you have to understand I have never spoken to anyone about this. Do you know how hard it was for me to go to the police in the first place? But then to watch him manipulate them as well? I've never been able to breathe a word about it to anyone since."

Tony kissed her forehead and then her cheek as he whispered to her. "I can't even imagine what that must have been like for you. I'm so sorry sweetheart."

Tony felt relief inside the Michelle had not only opened up to him but was also finally allowing herself to deal with this. He would do anything to take away her pain, to make this easier for her somehow. He stroked her hair. "I'm sorry I pushed you, I'm sorry for how I've made you feel today…"

"I made such a fool of myself in front of your entire family, who knows what they think of me now…and you, I see how much I frustrate you Tony."

He cupped her cheeks in his hands. "Baby, don't even think that for a second. My family, which is now your family by the way, loves you to bits…just like I do. I'm frustrated by what happened to you, I'd do anything to make this better for you somehow."

Michelle buried her head in his shoulder. Tony could feel her body shaking and he knew this was the most vulnerable he had ever seen Michelle. He pulled her up, had her lay on the bed and then pulled the covers up over her. He lay next to her wrapping his arms around her body and pulling her in close. Once he had her settled he spoke gently into her ear. "Chelle, it doesn't matter what he told the police and what they did about it, what matters is you understanding that none of this was your fault. You need to blame him, you need to realize how truly amazing you are for getting through this. Do you know what I am saying?"

Michelle nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess." She had worn herself out emotionally and she could feel her brain beginning to shut off as her eyes closed begging for sleep. The day had left her so physically drained her body demanded some rest. With Tony so close she felt safe and comforted enough to drift into a heavy sleep.

Tony held her and stroked her hair for a long time after she had fallen asleep. He wasn't surprised she had just passed out like that, actually he was glad she did because she would feel so much better if she had some sleep. An hour later he decided he would head out into the living room. He gently slid out of the bed, tucked the covers around Michelle and kissed her forehead before quietly making his way out of the room.

David was looked up from his chair and spotted Tony first. He jumped to his feet. "Is Michelle ok?"

Tony shook his head. "I don't know. She is asleep now. I just wish I knew what the hell to do!"

"All you can do Tony is be there for her. Comfort her and support her."

Tony's fists clenched. "I hate him, I fucking hate him. I wish I could have 5 minutes with the bastard."

David was shocked for a moment by Tony's outburst, but he also completely understood it. If anyone ever touched his wife he'd feel the same way. "You have to forget about him Tony and concentrate on Michelle."

"What am I suppose to do dad? I mean, I don't even know what I really expect her to do…"

"What do you think needs to happen now Tony?"

Tony sunk into the couch. "I just want Chelle to truly believe that none of what happened is her fault. I want her to feel completely safe and secure with me…"

David interrupted. "You don't think she does?"

"How could she if she believes she deserved it?"

Before David had the chance to respond Emily and Jeff walked into the room. Tony excused himself quickly opting to go for a walk to try and clear his head. He walked hard for an hour straight. For the first half an hour he fumed over Mark, he couldn't understand what kind of animal could hurt his Michelle. As he forced himself to accept what had happened to her he started to focus on how he could ever fix this wrong in her life. All that mattered was that she truly knew she would always be safe with him, that he would protect her from now on. He wanted her self confidence to grow and he wanted her to know she deserved to be treated like a princess.

When he got back to the house he went straight to their room to check on Michelle who was just beginning to stir. He lay next to her on the bed and began to stroke her hair. "Hey sweetheart."

Michelle opened her eyes and looked at Tony. "What time is it? Did I sleep for long?"

"Its only been a couple of hours. How do you feel?"

Michelle took his hand. "I'm ok…you?"

"I went for a walk and did some thinking Chelle."

Michelle nodded her head and looked at him attentively.

"Chelle I have been really hard on you with all this…"

"Tony it's ok, I know it is because you care and I can understand why you must get frustrated with me about it all."

"I'm having a lot of trouble accepting what this guy did to you. It kills me thinking about what you have been through."

Michelle stroked Tony's cheek. "It's ok sweetie, I'm ok now…"

"No, it's not ok. You know I'd never hurt you, don't you?"

Michelle smiled. "Tony, how could you even ask that?"

"It's just if you don't blame him and you think you are at fault somehow then how can you feel safe? I mean if you think you did something to deserve it then how can you be sure you won't be in that situation again?"

Michelle rolled her head back on the pillow and spent a few moments soaking in what Tony had said. "I don't know Tony. I just know that when I am with you I feel completely safe. I trust you with my life. I'm not going to pretend like it doesn't still upset me sometimes or leave me feeling like crap but since being with you I have started to realize it's not something I have to worry about happening again."

Tony leaned over Michelle slightly and cupped her cheek with his hand. She kissed his fingers before putting her hand on the back of his neck. "Besides….I know if any guy tried to touch me again then my boyfriend would kick his ass!"

Tony laughed. "Boyfriend! Don't you mean fiancé?"

Michelle pulled his head down so she could kiss him on the lips. "God I love hearing you say that word."