Getting on the wagon wasn't so hard. You just say, "I quit."

AJ should know... he's said it a thousand times before.

"I quit." He looks at the bottle in his hands. "I quit."

Funny, the bottle doesn't answer him back. The decorative wax seal just stares at him like one big disbelieving eye.

"No really," he tells the gnawing pit of his stomach, "I quit."

He felt the cold wind sting his face and he pulls his coat tighter, lifting the collar up against his throat, but he's still cold.

So very cold.

And liquor... well, liquor made him warm.

"I quit."

How many times had he said those words in the last few years... last few months... least few days...

Hell, he'd said it more than twenty times today... and, if he was honest with himself, he would be saying it a few more times tonight.

Walking through the park he found a bench to sit on, there was no one around. No one to give him a disapproving look. No one to tell him how worthless he was. No one to make fun of how alone he really was.

Valentine's Day.

"Sh*t." He looked at the bottle... his own companion on dark nights like this... the only thing he could count on. "I quit." Even as he said the words he was twisting the top off the bottle and licking his lips. "I'll quit tomorrow." The cap fell from his fingers as he lifted the bottle to his lips.

"P-please?"

AJ froze, the bottle almost up to his lips, his heart hammering in his chest.

"Is... is someone there?"

AJ stood and looked around him. The area was empty. Snow covering the ground everywhere. And yet...

"Please... help me."

The bushes behind him rustled and AJ bent over to look into the shadows.

A hand. A small delicate hand. Curly hair. A pale face tracked with tears. She was crawling out of the bushes on her hands and knees.

If he hadn't heard the pain in her voice he recognized the beginnings of bruises on her arms... and the ripped strap of her dress dragging through the snow. "Oh my god..."

She started at the sound of his voice, pulling back into the shadows while her eyes roamed quickly over his face. "Please... don't... please... I need help."

The plea in her voice echoed inside of his heart... the pain in her eyes reflected his own fears... and somewhere inside of AJ he knew that this was the moment he turned a corner. The bottle dropped from his fingers into the fresh layer of snow at his feet.

He crossed slowly to her, getting down on one knee to keep from scaring her, he reached out his hand. "I'm not going to hurt you... please... let me help you."

She looked at him, her eyes darting from his face to his hand a few times before she reached out and put her hand in his. "Okay."

He got her on her feet and held her arm when she bent to put her shoe on. The slit of her skirt showed bruises on her thigh and AJ closed his mouth and swallowed bile back into his stomach. "Here, let me carry you."

She almost refused, he saw the fear flashing in her eyes, but then... looking at him... it was almost as though she saw right through him... down deep where he was battered and bruised... and nodded.

AJ picked her up in his arms and held her gently against his chest, feeling his own warmth seeping into her body, as he made his way toward his car. As he slid her into the passenger seat he looked up into the dark nights sky and thanked God that he hadn't decided to take a drink earlier. He was sober... dead sober... He got into the driver's seat and put the key in the ignition. As the car roared to life he felt her cringe beside him. "Don't worry," he told her, desperate to calm her fear, "don't worry. I'm going to get you somewhere safe."

She didn't respond, her eyes closed against the horrors she must have suffered.

As AJ shifted the car into reverse he let out a harsh breath and made a promise to himself... to the girl sitting beside him, "I quit for good."

And he meant it.