Bea changed into some comfy pj's and climbed into bed. She turned on the T.V. and channel surfed for a while. She caught the last 10 minutes of Chopped, but changed the channel again as a Joanne Weir came on. She soon settled for a news channel. Normal news came along; weather, the 'watch out for coyotes' alert, word of a couple breakins. A missing-person's case came across the T.V.. Bea didn't pay much attention to it at first, but zoned in on it when she heard a familiar name - Shay. A buff man was on the screen in a police officer uniform. His eyes were red an puffy, perhaps from crying. He was blubbering into the news anchor's microphone. "P-please help me find my wife. My poor wife. Her name is Shay. Shay Montejano. She's tall and thin and pale and has brown curly hair. She-She's pregnant. She needs to be found as soon as possible. Please," he finished and looked into the camera. Bea wondered briefly if it was her Shay they were tall-in about - the description matched up, but was it was also pretty vague. Just as Bea was about to cast away her doubts, a picture showed up on the screen. It was Shay. Bea wanted to go ask Shay what this all was about, but she checked her clock - 9:45. Shay was probably asleep by now. No use in waking her up. Bea shut off the T.V. and pulled the covers up over her. I'll ask her in the morning...Maybe I won't ask her about it, atleast not the whole story, but I will warn her that her face has been plastered over the news. She probably left for a good reason... Her thoughts trailed off as Bea drifted into her dreams.

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Shay was quiet, curled up in bed as she kept her head on the pillow. It was easier to sleep this way... Her face against the wall. If she couldn't see the door, or the window, she couldn't panic of the thought of him walking in the door or shattering the window if she couldn't see either of those two things. So, slowly, Shay began to calm down as she curled up in bed and silently fell asleep. She was safe here. He was all the way in Georgia, and she was all the way here in Texas... There was no way he was going to find her. No way, no way. She was going to be fine, right where she was. She slowly started to fall asleep as her mind drifted away to a far away place as her body fell into the first true sleep it had had in weeks. She'd been gone for about a week now, and this was the first time she had gotten any decent rest with a reasonably full stomach, and without any fresh bruises to ache and keep her awake at night. Things were going to be different now. She was going to be safe here.

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Bea woke up and checked her clock. 6:49. Sigh. You'd think that I'd be able to sleep in on a Saturday. Guess not... She continued to lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling, just thinking. Who is Shay? How do I even go about asking her? Do I just....Out of the blue be like 'Hey I know you ran away from home?' Do I kick her out? She must've run for a reason, but- Bea gasped slightly as puzzle pieces click together. He...Her husband...Didn't cause the bruise on her eye, did he? Deciding that she would ask Shay about it when she saw her, Bea got up from her bed. She moved to the bathroom and took a long, hot shower. She dried off and put on a pair of blue jeans and a pink button-up shirt. She threw her hair into a ponytail and made her bed. Before leaving the room, she checked the clock again. 7:37. Bea made her way to the kitchen, grabbed a bowl, and poured herself a bowl of Chex Cereal.

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Shay was already making breakfast, and took the cereal away from Bea gently. "No, no!" She said quietly, with a shy smile. "I'm making breakfast since you made dinner, that's how it works!" She said with a gentle, shy smile. "That way you can taste my cooking." She said with a slight grin, trying to be more social with the kind woman today. Her long, curly brown hair was tied up in a ponytail, and more dark, but slowly fading bruises could be seen on the crook of her neck... Handprints. She didn't seem to notice that they were visible though, she had clearly tried to cover them with make up, as foundation was flaking from that side of her neck. "Just tell me how you like your omlets and I'll make it perfect for you, I promise." She said gently with a smile, working with what had been in the regridgerator. "And you can't get mad at me for cooking or doing housework now, because it's my second day, not my first!" She said with a slight smile and a giggle. She certainly got right on time.... She was used to having to have breakfast ready by eight sharp, because her husband had always had to be clocked in by nine. She smiled over at Bea, waiting quietly for her answer as she started chopping green onions and bell papers, as well as dicing the bacon. "Any special toppings you like, or stuffings? I can do them all."

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Bea's eyes widened in surprise - how had she not seen that Shay was already making breakfast? Was her vision really leaving that quickly? She smiled at Shay. "Well, if you insist on cooking...." Her blue eyes scanned over what Shay was chopping. She didn't want to have her do any extra work. "Just peppers, onions, and bacon. Nothing too special," she chuckled. She was secretly happy to have someone else cook for her - it had been just Bea in the house. Just Bea cooking the meals. Just Bea eating. Having someone else cook not only gave her a meal to relax about, but it meant that Bea was no longer alone. Maybe Shay and I will eventually become friends. That would be nice. Bea didn't really have any 'friends' in the town. Sure, people at the supermarket knew her name. They knew how thin she liked her roast beef cut. They made small talk, but they weren't friends. They didn't go out of their way to meet up with her, and she didn't go out of her way to meet up with them. For a long while, that hadn't mattered. She had Jonah for her company, and then Marcus. She could call her family if she felt extra lonely, but that had hardly came up. For the last few months, she had had no one. No Jonah. No Marcus. Her brother had died of a heart attack last year, so sheven had no family she could call. But maybe Shay could fill up the void loneliness had made. Maybe Bea didn't have to be alone anymore. When Shay turned to the cutting board, Bea could see more bruises on the crook of her neck. She felt her stomach drop. Are these from her husband too? No, Bea, you don't even know if her husband did anything to her. ... but the facts do seem to point at that, don't they?

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Shay smiled quietly. "Okay." She whispered, quietly folding out the shell of the omlet into the plate. Without a word, she started to stuff it with the peppers, some cheese, bacon, and onions, wanting to make sure that Bea would like it. She smiled quietly, carefully bringing the plate over to Bea. "There you go! One omlet, nice and stuffed. With hashbrowns on the side." She smiled quietly, and poured Bea a glass of milk. "I hope you like it." She said quietly, carefully putting her own omlet, which was about a third of the size as Bea's, on a small saucer like plate, with just a little bit of the hash browns. She sat across from Bea at the table like the night before, and waited for her to take the first bite of her omlet. She had to make sure Bea at least liked her food before she started to eat her own. That's how it had always been. If she started eating too quickly, she would have gotten called an impatient pig by her husband, and she would have most likely got a hard slap and her food would be dumped down the disposal. If she ate too much, she would be called a fat pig and hit in the stomach. Food was a problem for her, and that would be something that would become more and more obvious as time went on.

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Bea's eyes lit up as Shay placed the plate in front of her. "Oh, wow, Shay, this looks delicious! You really didn't have to do all this, you know." She looked across the table at Shay. "Thank you." She couldn't help noticing Shay's tiny omlette with a small portion of hashbrowns. Bea turned back to her meal and started digging in. It was fantastic. I'll have to ask Shay how she did this...My omlettes never come out this good! Bea finished her omlette and quickly complemented Shay on the meal. "This is great!" Bea finished her hashbrowns, and then waited for Shay to finish her meal. She wanted Shay to eat before she brought up the news.

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Shay smiled slightly, and ate her meal quiety as Bea chowed down on hers. She ate slowly and very lady like, trying to keep her manners as she ate. Soon enough, Shay had finished her food, about 10 minutes after Bea finished her own. She quietly took Bea's plate and quickly started to scrub at the dishes. "You are welcome. It's just a quick meal I know how to make on the spot. I'm glad you liked it." She said gently as she washed dishes. She seemed to know how to be a house wife. She could cook like a chef, and clean a house spotless.

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Bea chewed her lip nervously as Shay cleaned the plates. How do I even start this? "Uhm....Shay?" She started off. She continued to bite her lip, she couldn't stop it. It was a nervous tick - what could you do? "S-so, I was watching the news last night, and, uhm..." She stood up from her chair and moved to the sink so that she could face Shay. "Well, a man claiming to be your husband said that...that you were missing." Bea held up her hands and shook her head before Shay could say anything. "Now, I'm not looking to pry into your life. I don't want you to spill your life story to me if you don't want to. I understand that we have just met, and have hardly spoken, but I felt like you should know. Your face was on the news, and you were label as a missing person." Bea paused for a quick moment. I really hope I'm not rambling... "I... I'm tellin you this because when you go to your job - or if you go to look for one in town - people may report seein you. You...You must've left for some reason, so I doubt you'd like to go back..." Bea sighed softly. She was rambling on. "My point is, be careful out in town."

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Shay was quiet, paling considerably. All of a sudden, she was shaking like a leaf. "No... No... If someone reports me... He's going to come. He's going to come. No no no." She whispered, looking down at her stomach and looking terrified. "No.... No no no. This can't be happening. The news? He really risked going on the news to look for me?" She whispered and silently clutched the sink. She looked like she was going to throw up. "Please don't call. Please." She begged quietly. "I know he's probably offering money for information that will lead him to me, but please don't call. Please. I'm begging you. I can't let him find me... I can't let him find us." She whispered, shaking as she held her stomach, starting to feel cramps. She was shaking... horribly. She looked like she was about to go into a full fledge panic attack.

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Bea began to get nervous when Shay started to pale, but her stomach dropped when she started shaking. "Shhh, Shay, it's alright. I won't call anyone. I won't tell anyone anything. It'll be fine, it'll all be fine," she bent down onto the floor, now at Shay's level. Bea reached out a cautious arm, tentatively touching Shay's shoulders. She slowly began to rub Shay's arm, trying to be calming. "Shay, it's okay. You're okay. He won't find you. I promise. As long as you are in thus house, you're safe." Bea couldn't control her voice at the end. It hardened a little. She was determined to make this house a safe place. Whatever this man had done to this poor woman, it must've been awful. It hurt Bea to see someone in this bad of shape, in this condition, over just the thought of someone. "Shay, how 'bout we get you in one of the chairs in the kitchen, and then I can make you some tea? I bet one of the armchairs would be a whole lot comfier than the floor," she offered.

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Shay was quiet as she looked down, nodding in agreement and quietly standing up. "Y....Yes ma'am. Thank you." She whispered and quietly stood up, shaking badly as she walked to the kitchen table and sat down at it. "I don't know what to do... He's a police officer, so the police won't do anything... I don't know how to keep him away from me..." She whispered, shaking. "I tried really hard not to leave a trail behind. That's why I didn't run a credit score report for you or a background check.... He'd get a notification someone searched my married name." She whispered, shaking as she looked down. She looked terrified as she held her stomach. Bea could now see, against the rest of her stick thin body, her stomach was rounded. "And.... I can't let him find me or Zendikar. I can't let him find us.... I can't lose my baby because of him. Not again." She shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

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Bea's eyebrows knit together in both anger and confusion. "May I ask what you mean by 'again'?" She asked as she placed the kettle on the fire. What did she mean by again? Did he force her to have an abortion in the past? Or... Bea searched her mind for any othe reason, but she couldn't think of any. She reached up into the cubbords and pulled down a box full of teas. Energy, no. Sleepy, no. Woman's Health - whatever that was, no. Finally, Bea found the tea she was looking for. Calming. She took out a tea bag and placed it in a mug. She tied the string around the handle so it wouldn't fall in. She checked the water in the kettle, and it was hot enough for tea so she poured it into the mug. She placed the mug in front of Shay before going to the fridge. She paused for a moment - a picture of Jonah in his school performance of Beauty and the Beast hung in the door, as did many other photos of her family. Theater seemed to be the only thing that drew Jonah out of his shell. She opened the door and pulled out honey and cream. She placed those on the table, next to the sugar. "For your tea," Bea explained as she sat down across from Shay.

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"He.... He has a bad temper. Last time I was pregnant, he hit me and kicked me in the stomach when he lost it and I was five months in... I went into premature labor, and my little girl.... Well, at five months, the lungs aren't..... They aren't ready and the baby can't breathe." She whispered quietly, shaking. "I... I can't let that happen to Zendikar. I have to keep him safe while he's growing. I just have to." She whispered quietly, looking down at her stomach. She quietly took the tea and silently drank it. "Th...Thank you for the tea." She whispered quietly, trying to calm down as she rocked herself back and forth.

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Bea was dumbfounded. As to how anyone could do this, she had no answer. Why was a question she couldn't even think about. She felt sick to her stomach thinking about what this poor woman went through. Just imagine all the things she hasn't told me... Bea's eyes gained a hardened look to them. She was determined to keep Shay and Zendikar safe at all costs. She reached an arm across the short table and rested her hand on Shay's arm. "Shay, I promise you, I will not let a thing happen to you or Zendikar. That man, he won't get to you." She looked at Shay, hoping to catch her eye. "I promise."

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