Chapter sixteen. Okay, Anna. Good, Nicole said, reaching over and lightly squeezing the young woman's arm

" Okay, Anna. Good, " Nicole said, reaching over and lightly squeezing the young woman's arm. It was their third session, but it was the only time Anna had been able to make it all the way through her story without breaking down.

" I wanted to kill him."

Nicole nodded. Who wouldn't want to kill the bastard? " That's understandable, Anna. He hurt you."

" What if he gets out? He could come back. I have two other children."

" No. He won't get out. He's not going to hurt anyone else. What you've got to do is try to rebuild your life and go on. Your children need you to do that, Anna. That's why we're here."

" It's hard to look at them, " she whispered. " I know they think it's my fault."

" No. How can it be your fault? "

" Maybe if I had done what he asked, he wouldn't have hurt Joseph, " she said, tears again forming.

Nicole hated this part. The part where they placed all the blame on their shoulders, and it would take weeks for Nicole to make them see that it wasn't their fault. That was one reason she liked the group sessions. The women could listen to others, hear other stories and see that it was not any of their fault. It made accepting it so much easier. But alone, it was hard for them with only Nicole to tell them they were not to blame.

" Anna, he was wrong, not you. He did this. Not you."

" My Joseph was just three, " she sobbed.

Nicole pushed the box of tissue closer, waiting patiently for Anna to recover. The woman had suffered a severe beating, then was tied to a chair and forced to watch as her boyfriend murdered her three-year-old child with a knife from her own kitchen. Recover? It would be a miracle.

Nicole sat with her back to the door, staring out the office window, absently watching as dusk enveloped the city, and a sprinkling of lights began appearing in the buildings surrounding her own. Back only three weeks and already her depression was returning.

She had taken Dorothy's advice and cancelled the group session, instead setting up individual meetings with some of them, squeezing them into her normal time slots during the day. Her schedule was full. Too full. But she couldn't turn them away, even if it meant working late most evenings.

At the quiet knock on her door, she turned around, forcing a smile to her face as Catherine stuck her head in.

" Heading out? " she asked her secretary.

" Actually, we're both heading out. You're taking me to dinner."

" I am? "

" Yes. Let's call it a day."

" Catherine, I can't. I've got notes to make yet, and I haven't even started on that article for the journal."

Catherine ignored her and began tidying her desk.

" I'm serious, " Nicole said.

" So am I. And during dinner, we're going to discuss combining all these appointments you've tried to schedule into your day."

" Combining? "

" Yes. Nicole, you're meeting with the same number of people you would be if you were still doing groups. But there aren't enough hours in the day to meet with them all individually. So, we've got to do something."

Nicole knew she was right. When Dorothy suggested that she forego the group session, she hadn't meant for Nicole to absorb them within her already busy schedule.

" Okay."

" Okay? "

" What? Did you expect me to put up more of a fight? "

" Yes, I did." Catherine stepped back, waiting. " Well, come on. I want Mexican food."

" Don't you have a husband to go home to? " Nicole asked as she shoved away from her desk.

" I'm allowed a night out once in awhile."

Nicole looked back once at her cluttered desk, knowing she should really put in a couple more hours. But, she was tired. And hungry. So, she closed her office door and followed Catherine.