"No!"

Sam bolted awake at the sound of Ali's scream. He must have fallen asleep at some point while sitting vigil watching Ali. Although she was putting on a brave face, Sam knew the fact that her ex-husband was making waves was upsetting her. When Ali was troubled, then he was worried and troubled.

He reached out a comforting hand to Ali who was now sitting up in bed, breathing heavily. She shrank from him, a strangled "don't touch me" cry accompanying the motion.

Ali's words tore at Sam. He didn't know what to do to help her. All he wanted was to bundle her up in his arms and defend Ali from her nightmare. Sam could not think of the right thing to say.

So he watched silently as Ali's dark form left their bed and disappeared into the bathroom. After a moment he heard water running. Leaning against the headboard, Sam ran his fingers through his hair. Why did her ex have to ruin everything?

After getting the call from his mother, Sam had ordered a company car to take him directly to his parent's house. He didn't trust himself to drive - too emotional. Missing Ali's pleas for his help distressed him. She needed him and he had failed her.

He used the time stuck in traffic to catch up on what he missed.

The headline, "Jack Blackhorne Breaks Silence on Marriage" lit up his screen. The article, like the others Sam had been pouring over, teased an upcoming interview and hinted at salacious details. Promising an in-depth and honest discussion with the aspiring politician, the show stated that nothing was off the table, especially his failed marriage.

Images of Ali and Jack, standing together, smiling at each other, flashed across his screen as he flipped through the stories. Ali looked stunning, showing no outward hint of the horrors that she was enduring at the hands of that psychopath. His mental abuse showed no physical scars.

Sam's blood boiled at the audacity of the world to give this man air-time. How could they listen to the lies he was about to spin? Sam knew Jack was going to manipulate the story, turning it so he was the injured party in the situation. It made him sick to his stomach.

The last story showed a short video that disturbed Sam in a different way. He watched a reporter shouting questions at Ali. Ali didn't answer but instead hid her face against the chest of the very good-looking man who was doing a valiant job of shielding her from the press as they waited for a taxi to pull up.

Sam's gut twisted at the sight of the stranger holding his girlfriend.

So this was Noah. Sam's mother had filled him in on the details of how she had picked up Ali from Noah's art gallery and his heroic actions in getting Ali away from the press. Sam had felt a kind of gratitude towards the man for helping Ali. It was mixed with a sense of despair that he was not around when the woman he loved needed him.

But seeing the rescue mission happen in living colour, along with the glamorous looking rescuer, made it so much worse. Sam had an instant dislike of the man. It was confirmed with what Sam saw next.

Sam had paused the video just after Ali disappeared into the backseat of the cab. The image showed her knight in shining armour, looking back at the camera. Perfectly coifed hair, artistic scarf wrapped around his neck and deep rich eyes staring straight at the viewer, asking them to trust him. There was a slight smirk on the man's face. He was enjoying the moment.

How dare he use Ali for his minute of fame, profiting off her pain. Sam's mood worsened.

The title of the article didn't help either. 'Jack's ex leans on mystery man.' It should have been him there protecting Ali, not this unknown guy. He had let Ali down.

As soon as he got to his parent's house, Sam bee-lined to the room Ali was resting in. Cracking open the door, he whispered towards the figure lying in the dark.

"Ali? Are you awake?"

She shifted on the bed. "Yes." Her voice sounded odd like she had been talking too much.

Sam slid into the bed beside her and wrapped his body around hers, pressing his cheek against Ali's and taking her hand in his. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there when you needed me."

Ali gave a little chuckle but there was no warmth in it. Did she hate him for abandoning her?

"I always need you, my love." She squeezed his hand. "It's a full-time job."

Before Sam could tell her that it was the only job he wanted, she continued.

"No one could've predicted Jack would do this. You know he loves to create drama. He's probably feasting off this."

"I don't give a damn about your ex. I only care about you."

Ali shifted to face Sam. Even in the low light, he could tell that Ali had been crying. The sight broke his heart.

It was a rare moment to see Ali cry. It wasn't that she didn't have feelings, quite the opposite. She cared too much, felt too much. She had trained herself to mask her emotions as a defence mechanism. Or at least she felt she had to when married to Jack Blackhorne.

Sam had worked hard to break down the walls Ali had built around her, helping her understand it was okay to show her feelings again. But this was not what he had in mind. Sam cursed Jack again for doing this to her.

"I love you too." Her words were like a balm on his nerves. "No matter what Jack does, nothing will change that." Here in this room, when it was just the two of them, Sam believed her. "And I'm fine. Really. Now you're here."

But she wasn't fine, Sam thought, as evidenced by the fact that she had just awoken screaming from a nightmare and was currently locked away behind a closed door.

The bathroom door opened. Ali turned out the light and made her way back to the bed.

"Ali?"

"It's okay Sam. Let's just try to get back to sleep."

Sam murmured an agreement as Ali slipped into bed with her back to him. Sam's body itched to snuggle up to her but her reaction earlier to his touch frightened him. The last thing Sam wanted to do was cause his love any more discomfort. So he lay there listening to Ali breathe, mentally holding her.

After a few minutes, Ali's voice whispered at him. "Sam?"

"Yes"

"I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"Oh, my love," Sam's heart ached at her words. "You've nothing to apologize for. I know it was the nightmare. Do...do you want to talk about it."

Sam lay there in the dark, holding his breath as he waited for her response.

"Not really," she finally admitted. "But...could you hold me for a bit?"

Relief flooded through Sam. He gently pulled Ali towards him and gingerly wrapped his arms around her.

"Always and forever."