I let air out slowly through my mouth, relaxing into downward dog. I wish I could hold it longer, but the pain in my ribs was too much. Yoga had become one of my go-tos to help with tension and stress. The breathing alone helped, but the positions helped me to center myself, at the same time taking me outside of my own problems; just for a little while. Some of the poses had been a little difficult with sore ribs, but I knew the light stretching would increase blood flow and help me to heal faster. Plus, I really needed some sleep tonight.

I jumped as someone rang my doorbell. I bit my lip as I walked to the door. I never had company, and couldn't imagine who might look for me. I stretched onto my tip toes to peer through the peep hole. I huffed and sank back down on my feet. Of course. Jacob.

I massaged my forehead with the palm of my head, frustrated. Maybe if I waited a minute, he might leave. But no. That's ridiculous. Jacob is nothing if not patient. And if I waited any longer, it would be rude. And he was my friend, sort of. I unlocked the dead bolt and peered around the door. "Jacob? Is everything ok?"

That's when I realized he wasn't alone. I could feel my eyes widening as I looked up at Bastian. I looked at the two of them, not understanding what they could be doing here.

Jacob's mouth tilted up at one corner. "Babe, can we come in?"

"Er. Sure. Is there something wrong?" I asked as they walked in. I went to bite my thumbnail and stopped myself. I thought I'd broken that habit years ago. "Um, did you want to sit down. Can I get you something to drink?"

Jacob crossed his arms and frowned at me. "You weren't working out, were you?"

Startled, I glanced at Jacob, and realized he looked ticked off. My eyes slid to Bastian's face, trying to get a read on his mood. His blue eyes were narrowed, cold. He didn't look pleased in the slightest.

"No." I bit my lip and wrapped my arms around my middle. "Just some yoga. I needed to relax a little."

" Darlin'. The reason Jacob asked is because we were concerned. Jacob thought I should come by and give you a check up. It looked like your ribs were hurting when you left. If your ribs are injured, you need to be taking it easy, not working out."

"Oh, no. I'm fine. There's no need for you to check on me." I shook my head and fought not to took a step back.

"Babe. It's rude to lie to your friends." Jacob grumbled.

Blood rushed to cheeks. "I'm fine. Really. My ribs are a little sore where he punched me, but the EMT checked me out."

"Shit. And did the EMT say you needed to go to the hospital?" Jacob bit out. "And don't you lie to me this time."

"Yes, but." I swallowed. "He said he didn't think they were even fractured. Just bruised. I'm fine, really."

"Tell you what, babe. Bastian was a medic in the Navy. You can either let him check your ribs, and any other injuries, or we take you to the hospital. Your choice."

I twisted my fingers together. When Jacob got that look on his face that was it. Argument over. I couldn't afford the hospital, and I definitely didn't want to wait hours in an emergency room filled with strangers when they were only going to tell me the same thing the EMT's had. I looked away. "Fine." I huffed. "Let's just get this over with."

"Darlin', why don't you sit on your coffee table, and I'll take a look at you, yeah?"

I really couldn't see any way out of it. Jacob was one of the most stubborn people I'd ever met. Once he got something in his head, that was it. There was no other option. Put that with his protective tendencies, and this was going to happen. Maybe if I just gave in, they'd hurry up and leave.

I moved to the coffee table and sat down. My necklace came out of my top, and that's when I remembered what I was wearing. Most of the time I wore clothing that was conservative; I tried to fade into the background, uncomfortable with any attention. Especially from men. But when I worked out I didn't want to have clothing get in the way, and it was impossible to hide my curves in skin tight yoga pants and top. I was wearing a basic workout top, the kind with the built in bra. I wasn't really sure whether my top would be a hindrance to being examined or not. But either way, both of them were getting an eyeful of attributes I usually kept hidden. My face went hot at the idea that either of them could see my chest. I tugged at my top to try to pull it up.

Bastian cleared his throat and knelt down in front of me. "Jacob, see if you can't get me more light in here. All right, darlin'. How about you lift your shirt for me, so I can take a look?"

I did as he asked, slowly lifting my shirt. Needing to distract myself, I watched as Jacob walked around, trying to find any other lights I hadn't already turned on. Once he'd done as Bastian he turned around and froze, seeing the bruises on my ribs for the first time. He clenched his fists and turned away from me. Not. Good. I looked back at Bastian.

A small noise escaped me, as he pushed on a particularly sore spot. Bastian looked up at me. "Sorry, darlin'. Good news, looks like you're just bruised. No fractures. Have you been icing?"

"Um, I was going to ice up after I finished cooling down."

"Good girl. What else is hurt? Anything else you haven't told us about?" Bastian smiled at me, trying to help me relax.

I frowned, trying to remember what I had told Jacob. "Um. I'm not sure?"

"Babe. You're bruised on your breast." Jacob ground out.

My eyes slid away from Jacob's glare and bit my lips together between my teeth and again attempted to pull up my top to cover the bruises.

Bastian cleared his throat. "Tell you what, darlin'. Tell us what happened, all of it. Then we can figure out what's next."

I started to shake. I was so tired. I really didn't want to think about this now. I wanted to not see that nightmare in my head. I just wanted to relax and sleep. Maybe for a week.

"Awww. Darlin'. I'm sorry. We need to know. I'm going to hug you, ok?" Bastian moved slowly, watching me carefully, in case I started to panic. Jacob nodded at me, reminding me that he trusted Bastian. My arms were trapped underneath his arms, but I felt surprisingly safe. I hid my face in his neck, just wanting to hide from everything that had happened. "Good girl. I've got ya. Want to stay like this while you tell me what happened? It might make it easier."

"Ok." Maybe if I couldn't see them, it wouldn't be as scary. My voice was muffled in his neck, but I figured if they couldn't hear me, they'd say so. "I was double checking everything when he broke in. I hid in the pantry and called 911. I sprayed him in the face and tried to use the fire extinguisher to hit the guy with, but he just took it from me. He threw it and the green beans fell on me. He pushed me up against the wall and punched me. Then he kissed me and grabbed my chest. I bit him and tried to kick him. Then the cops came in. That's it, I think."

"Good. Very good." murmured Bastian. His big hand stroked up and down my back. "Proud of you, darlin'. You did just right. Are you scratched on your chest, or just bruised? If you're scratched you need to put some antibiotic ointment on it."

I shook my head, still hiding against the Viking. "Just bruised."

"Good. Now, Jacob and I are going to go out to the truck and we're going to get our things. He and I are going to spend the night here with you. Don't argue. You're exhausted, and we'll all sleep better knowing you aren't alone tonight."

I didn't even try to argue. I was too tired. I was worn out. Done. Fatigue weighed on me, as if somebody had strapped 50 pound weights to my arms. I blinked slowly and pulled away to look at Bastian and Jacob. "I'm going to bed now. Is that ok? Do you need anything? The couch is a pullout. You guys can share. There are towels in the hall closet, blankets and pillows too. Help yourself." I mumbled.

"Good night, darlin'. Go lay down. Don't worry about this. We got it."

"Night, babe." Jacob muttered.

I stumbled down the hallway holding on to the walls, as I heard the door close. I closed my bedroom door and changed into my nightgown. Stumbling into bed, I barely kept my eyes open until I pulled the covers up to my chin.

****************************

"Motherfucker. Fuck. That was too fucking close. If the cops hadn't gotten there in time." Pain bit my hands as I slammed my hands onto the truck hood. "Fucking unbelievable. If I had been where I was supposed to be, she wouldn't have been hurt.

Bastian walked towards the truck, opening the passenger door. "Stop it. You had a lead on Nic. You had no choice. You weren't the one that hurt her. Stop blaming yourself."

"You don't fucking understand. It's my fucking job to make sure she's safe..."

"I do fucking understand." Bastian bit out. "We knew how you felt about her. Knew how important she was, how important she might be to us. You think we can't all tell that somebody's abused that girl in the past? You think we don't all feel responsible for not helping you out before? We should've pushed you harder to let us help with the diner. With her." Bastian looked down at his feet, put his hands on his hips and sighed. "We knew you were busy and short-staffed. One of us should've checked out that lead instead of letting you do it. But we didn't." Bastian shook his head and ran his hand over his hair. "We fucked around, thinking we had all the time in the world. We're all responsible. It was our fucking job, too. We decided that back when we were kids, remember? We're all in."

Jacob scoffed. "We made that agreement when we were just teens. I don't know that she'd ever agree to be with all of us. You've seen how shy she is, how skittish. She's damaged, and even the most adventurous girls we've broached the idea with flinched away from us like we were fucking perverts or something, or acted like it was some item to be checked off on their bucket list."

Bastian huffed. "Even if she doesn't want to be with us, we're still a family, brothers. We haven't been acting like it. We were supposed to be there for you, and we let you down. We knew you were stretched too thin and didn't do shit about it."

Jacob watched as Bastian hefted his overnight bag out of the back of the cab. "Grab you're your bag. For now, you gotta settle yourself. That girl in there is exhausted. She needs to not worry about your shit, and she needs to sleep. We'll get her sorted. That's why you called us."

I bit back words that wouldn't help. Bastian was right. But tomorrow I had to hit the gym. Pound out some frustration. I slammed the hood one more time with the flat of my hand. The sting helped me focus. Reaching behind the driver seat I grabbed my own bag. "Fuck. Yeah. We'll get her sorted."

Bastian snorted. "C'mon, bro. I need some sleep."