A/N: When I wrote this, I imagined everyone looking like they did back in the first season, though the situations will be from all seasons. And I think this is going to be a Jack/Karen story, so if you don't like that pairing, stop now! Oh, and I do not own any of these characters or anything related to Will & Grace (though I'd love to own Sean and Megan :P) Hope you all enjoy!

A/N: (Nov 2011) I made some revisions thanks to a wonderful reviewer letting me know some of my mistakes in grammar I had throughout the chapters. I would just like to thank all my beautiful reviewers of this story; I cannot tell you how good it makes me feel to know you all enjoyed it and were kind enough to slip me a little review. I hope new readers will enjoy it as much as you all did. Much love!

Numb

She sat alone in one of the spare bedrooms; no one ever came in here. She came here to hide, to be able to express herself behind closed doors like she always did. The tears slowly streamed down her cheeks and onto her frilly silk night robe, soaking into the fabric and drying quickly, never to betray the privacy of the one they came from. No one would believe them, even if they did. They came from Karen Walker, the bitch with no emotions; someone so numb from pills and alcohol that she wouldn't be able to recognize feelings even if they were hidden in her martini glass. She smiled bitterly; let them think what they want. It was much better than them dishing out the pity to her, which had always made her feel belittled.

Stan started hitting her again. It had been at least a year since he laid a hand on her, and she had finally started to take her guard down when it started again. He had come home from a short business trip. Something about how a head executive of one of the companies Walker, Inc owned had almost driven it to bankruptcy and had lost the company millions of dollars. He was angry and walked around with his fists clenched; sweat beading on his red face, yelling all sorts of profanities about how incompetent people could be. She had tried to stay out of his way, knowing that this tantrum could only lead to something bad, but while following him closely- as she was obligated to do, by him, to be a "good wife"- he had turned around abruptly, and they collided. Before she could even utter an apology, a huge fist hit her in the face, almost knocking her down. The dizziness in her head paralyzed her for an instant, and two more blows, one to the ribs, one to the stomach, rocked her tiny body to the ground.

"How many times do I have to tell you to watch where you're going, youwhore!" he screamed at her, his face turning almost completely purple by his rage, and left her wounded on the floor. She sat there for minutes on end, trying to put up the wall that would numb her from all emotion; trying to escape this madhouse she called a home, the madman she called a husband, and this mad state they called "living."

She quickly stopped the memory there. She remembered dragging herself up, trying to forget the pain, and gotten dressed for bed. Her side hurt every time she took a breath, and her left cheek was swelling up- a black eye for sure- but she knew he expected her to be in bed with him, and would probably expect some action tonight. The thought made her small body shiver. She wished she could take it all back; her honest love for Stanley, the things she would do to get money to try and spend her depression away, the alcohol, the pills. But she was too caught up in her own numbness to stop on herself. She'd become too dependent on her vices to be able to let go.

When she got married to Stan, she found she trusted him with her whole heart, but then the abuse began, and so did her addictions. She then found herself prancing through life, pretending to be high and mighty, making fun of people, being rude and inconsiderate, all just to push people away, to keep herself from becoming attached. She brainwashed herself into believing trust was a sign of weakness; if one opened their hearts to others, it was an opportunity to get hurt, and Karen couldn't handle the betrayal anymore. The only man she had truly trusted, with just two exceptions, was her father. He was loving, kind, gentle, and wasn't too encouraging of her mother's behavior. When he held her, it was like nothing could hurt her. She loved him so much, then he left her. Heart attack, when she was only 7. Every little thing that reminded her of him split the crack open in her heart just a little more, and then she would drown the pain out with more alcohol and pills. Oh, Daddy, how I wish you could hold me right now, she screamed in her head, another rush of tears fell out of her eyes and burned the skin around the wounded area of her cheek.

Then she thought about her two exceptions: Will and Jack, the two men she finally found she could trust and depend on. Will was always there when she needed him most. She could always depend on him to help fix her problems or just to hear her in the few instances she couldn't hold back her emotions any longer. She may call him names and make fun of him, but she was so glad he was in her life.

Then there was Jackie; her poodle, her other half. The two of them together were the lopsided version of Will and Grace. They both knew it, but wouldn't allow themselves to confirm it out loud. They had an undeniable connection, almost as if their minds were one. He knew how to make her smile when she was hurting, make her laugh when she felt there was no joy in her closed off heart. He made her feel worthy and loved, something that Stan hadn't made her feel in a long time. Sure, their relationship could be called 'inappropriate', considering Karen was married and Jack was gay. All the fondling, kisses, touches, showers and baths together would imply that they were in a relationship, but that was just an over-the-top way the best friends showed their love for each other. With his big, sparkly blue eyes and his kind, open smile, who couldn't love Jack? Who wouldn't want him in their life?

A sudden knock at the door brought her out of her daydreams with a start. She winced as her side screamed out in pain from the involuntary jump.

"Miss Karen?" came the voice of Rosie. "Miss Karen, are you alright?"

Karen smiled slightly, the muscles in her face protesting with dull throbbing. She tried to reposition herself on the bed, but she had been sitting there longer than she thought, and her stomach muscles had tightened since the beating and made it hard for her to do so. "Uh, yeah, Rosario, I'm fine. Just going to head to bed soon," Karen said with her mouse-like voice, a little strained from the pain in her stomach and side. Hopefully Rosario would overlook it, even if she had an uncanny ability to read Karen almost better than anyone else. There was a slight moment of silence, then Karen saw the shadow under the door of Rosie leaving. Karen sighed. How did she end up this way?

….

The door burst open to Will and Grace's apartment. "Mornin' G! Chubb-o!" Jack greeted his friends in his typical, exuberant manner. He made a beeline for the fridge and grabbed the cereal and a bowl, then sat down next to Grace at the table.

"Morning, Jack. What are you going to be up to today?" Will asked, his nose in the newspaper. He was wearing his usual attire: white dress shirt with a tie, and grey trousers. He momentarily looked up from his reading and looked at Jack, who was pouring milk into his cereal bowl and took a bite.

"Not sure! I think I'm going to hang out with Karen today. Go out and do something fun," he said enthusiastically. Anytime he spent with Karen was fun.

"Don't you hang out with Karen every day?" Grace asked, absentmindedly. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt; typical of Grace. "Honestly, Jack, I don't know how you do it." She loved Karen to death, but she had no idea how Jack hung out with her 24/7. Jack nodded his reply and continued devouring his breakfast.

"What are you guys doing today?" he asked, wiping his mouth properly with his napkin. He barely listened to Will say he had some kind of casework to catch up on, and, since it was the weekend, Grace had a lunch planned with her friend Ellen. Their boring lives didn't interest him that much. He finished his cereal and walked up to the kitchen to put his bowl in the sink. "I was thinking me and Karebear would go shopping for a little bit, then head over to the spa and get facials and mani-'s, then maybe watch a movie or something. I wonder what old 'movie of the week' we should watch?" He stood with his hand on his hip and his finger placed at the space above his lip. He was brought out of his thought process by his cell phone ringing. "Hello this is Jack McFarland, and yes, I'm drop dead sexy!" he said in his typical flamboyant fashion, slightly giggling at himself.

"Hey, Poodle!" said Karen from the other line.

"Oh! Hey, Kare! Who's your daddy?" he asked, smiling slightly at their silly game.

"You are, honey!" Karen giggled slightly. He always knew how to make her feel good. "Listen, Jackie, I can't play with you today, I have some.." she paused for half a second "family things to deal with and won't be free for a while." Karen's heart swelled with guilt. She hated lying to her Poodle, but there was no way he could see her in her condition. Her eye was swollen and was a nasty blue/purple, and she couldn't lift her left arm at all. Her left side had a huge bruise on it and the slightest movement made her wince in pain.

Jacks face instantly fell. "But, Karen!" he whined like a child. "I had our day all planned out and it was going to be so perfect! I can't go a day without seeing you, you know this!" He stomped his foot dramatically and sat down with a humph. "Can't I just come over to the manse and hang out until you're not busy?" Karen smiled at Jack's behavior. It was typical of him to try and find a way around things, and it pained her to think that she wouldn't be able to see him today.

"I'm sorry, honey, but that won't work. I'm going to be really busy and won't have any time for anything," she said, her tiny voice sad. "I'll miss you though! The fondling won't be as much fun when you're not here to do it for me!" She giggled.

"Karen, you can't do it without me! I'm supposed to do it!" he continued to whine, a small smile on his face. His smile widened as Karen openly laughed on the other end.

"I know, Poodle. I'll wait, then. When we see each other next, I'll let you fondle and French me, okay?" she said, trying to make him feel better.

"Multiple times?" he asked, pretending to be uninterested.

"Sure, honey! Why would I settle for anything less?" Jack didn't know how happy this whole conversation made her feel.

"Yay!" he exclaimed, bouncing up and down on his chair with a silly grin on his face. "Miss you already, Karebear." The sudden seriousness in his voice made Karen choke down the tears she felt burning deep inside her. She took a quick swig of her martini and put on a brave face.

"I miss you, too, my Poodle. I'll call you later," she said as she hit END on her cell phone. She got up slowly from her chair in the private library, instinctively protecting her wounded side, and headed for the connecting full bath that was rarely used. She stepped in front of the mirror and looked at her sad face. It would take another day or so for the swelling to go down enough that she could hide the bruise with makeup. She had become such a pro at it that no one ever noticed her cut lips and numerous bruises on her face from Stan's episodes in the past. She sighed sadly at the woman that started back at her from the mirror. Who would ever want to be her?

Jack put his phone back into his pocket and sighed heavily. Grace and Will looked up at his pouty face.

"What's wrong, Jack? Cruella cancel on you?" said Will, using one of his numerous nicknames for Karen. "Does she have a room full of puppies to kill and make into saddle bags for her maids?" He smiled jokingly at Jack, signaling he didn't mean it. Jack nodded glumly.

"Well, I guess I'm gunna be lazy today," said the now deflated Jack. "Guess I'll go back home and watch that marathon of Golden Girls on Lifetime." With that, Jack, hunched over with disappointment, walked out of the apartment.

Grace looked over at Will. "Don't you think it's odd Karen would cancel? I mean, she and Jack do everything together." She and Will exchanged papers at the same time without thinking about it. Will nodded.

"Yeah, Karen hasn't cancelled on Jack in a long time. I wonder what business she has to attend to. Selling Rosario's organs on the black market?" said Will, laughing at himself. He may joke about Karen, but he considered her a trusted friend no matter how extreme she could be. Without a second thought about the subject, both friends turned back to their reading, having no idea what kind of night Karen had had, and what was in store for their friend.

TBC

Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, I know I haven't been real good with any of my other stories, but hopefully this one won't be like the rest! Please R&R!