For a long moment after the phone call with Jamal and Genevieve, Dawn just sat there, smiling as tears slid down her cheeks.

Then everything inside her broke loose. She bent forward suddenly as a sob tore out of her chest.

Her shoulders shook hard and tears of relief poured down her face.

Her body shaking as all the fear and worry she had been holding all day rushed out of her at once.

A soft knock sounded on the door. "Dawn?" Lucy’s voice came gently as though she was checking to see if Dawn was still awake and afraid she’d disturb Dawn’s sleep if she wasn’t.

"Come in..." she managed, trying to wipe her face. But the tears kept coming.

The door opened and Lucy stepped in. She paused when she saw the tears on Dawn’s face.

Lucy’s expression softened immediately. "Oh, sweetheart..." she said as she walked quickly to the bed.

She sat beside Dawn and pulled her into her arms.

Dawn leaned into her, still crying. Lucy rubbed her back slowly.

"We just heard from Harry. I thought you heard from Jamal already that she is alright?" she asked softly.

Dawn pulled back slightly and smiled through her tears. "Yes. I know she’s alive," she said, her voice shaking. "I spoke to her. I’m just really happy and can’t stop the tears. I was scared. I thought I was never going to see her again."

Lucy smiled. "I see," she said gently as she reached up and brushed her tears away. "You have such a heart of gold," she said softly, then studied her face. "Have you eaten today?"

Dawn shook her head. "I couldn’t."

Lucy nodded. "I figured," she said, then she stood up. "Now that we know she’s fine, you don’t need to starve yourself," she added. "Come downstairs. I’ll make something for you."

Dawn shook her head lightly. "You don’t have to worry yourself. I can make something."

Lucy waved it off. "There’s nothing worrisome about making dinner for my baby," she said with a small smile.

Dawn smiled, feeling warm all over as she always did whenever Lucy referred to her as her baby.

"Go wash your face and meet me downstairs," Lucy ordered softly, then she tilted her head. "Maybe we can have a little girls’ time before bed."

Dawn nodded. "Okay."

Lucy gave her one last look before leaving the room.

Dawn watched the door for a second then she stood up slowly and walked into the bathroom.

She took a deep breath as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Although her eyes were red, there was light in them now.

She turned on the tap and splashed water on her face. When she was done she dried her face and left the bathroom.

She walked into the room just as her phone started ringing.

She picked it up immediately she saw it was Jamal.

"Hey," she said softly. "I didn’t think you’d call soon."

"I’m on my way to I-Global Hotel to see what’s going on there. I’m not sure how long that would take, so I wanted to check on you before you go to bed," he explained, then asked, "How are you now?"

"I’m okay," she replied. "I’m going downstairs to eat. Lucy is making me dinner."

Jamal nodded on the other end. "That’s nice. And Josh. How is he?"

"He’s asleep now," she said. "He was out all day with Tom and Lucy. He came back worn out."

Jamal smiled at that.

There was a short pause on his end, then he said, "I’m sorry I left you when you were feeling down."

Dawn shook her head. "You don’t have to be," she said gently. "I’m glad you were there with Stefan. You might be my personal superhero, but you can’t be everywhere at the same time, Jamal."

"I’m your superhero?" Jamal asked, smiling.

"Yes, baby," she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

Before he could ask which of the superheroes he was, she spoke again.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. I’m okay," he said, though his voice sounded tired.

Dawn noticed. "You sound exhausted," she said softly. "Don’t tell me you’re okay if you’re not, Jamal. I’m not asking for fancy. I’m asking because I want to know how you’re doing. How are you feeling?"

Jamal was silent for a moment then he let out a quiet sigh. "I am exhausted," he admitted. "Physically and mentally."

Her expression softened. "You need a break."

"Unfortunately I can’t get one. I have to go back to work when we get back..."

"Baby, you need to take a break, or you will break down," she said. "When you get back, I’m going to make sure you get some rest. No phone calls. No work. No friends or family..."

"No you too?" He teased.

"I’m not your friend or family, baby. I’m going to be right there beside you making sure you get some rest," she said, and Jamal chuckled.

"I won’t break down. I’ll be fine," he replied. "All I need is just one weekend to rest and I’ll be fine."

"I’ll do what I can to ease the stress on you," she said, already thinking of calling his grandfather to see how she could help at the company so the workload on Jamal would be reduced when he returns.

"Thank you," Jamal said, then as the car approached I-Global hotel he sat up, "I’m almost there. Go eat. Text me before you sleep."

"I will." She smiled. "I love you, Jamal. And I’m so lucky to have you in my life."

Jamal smiled at that. "I love you too. And I’m just as lucky to have you in mine," he said.

After the call ended, Dawn headed downstairs, a smile on her lips.

When she stepped into the dining area, she saw Lucy seated there, waiting for her with a tray on the table.

"Lucy, you didn’t have to," Dawn said.

"Sit," Lucy said simply.

Dawn smiled faintly and sat down.

Lucy pointed at the plate in front of her. "Now eat."

Dawn picked up her fork. She ate the pasta slowly at first, then a little faster as she soon realized how hungry she was.

Lucy watched her quietly for a while, then she spoke. "I’m really glad she’s fine."

Dawn nodded as she swallowed. "Me too," she said softly, then added, "I didn’t realize how much I loved her... until I thought I lost her."

Lucy smiled. "I understand."

She reached out and held Dawn’s free hand. "Now that we know how important she is to you, our door is fully open to her," she said. "We’ll treat her like family too."

Dawn looked at her. "Really?"

Lucy nodded. "Of course. A friend of one is a friend of all."

"Thank you," Dawn said and then resumed eating.

After a while she spoke again. "She might need to change her identity and stay off cameras until they catch those involved."

Lucy nodded. "But that will be only for a short while."

Dawn looked at her. "Short? Do we know who it is already?"

"They didn’t give you the details?" Lucy asked, and she shook her head.

"No. Not yet."

Lucy nodded slowly and told her about the lawyer’s phone call and how Genevieve narrowly escaped.

When Lucy was done, Dawn let out a deep breath. "I’m not surprised," she said after a moment. "I never trusted him or believed he wasn’t aware of what Ryan was doing." She paused, then added. "And I don’t think he’s the only one behind it."

"I agree." Tom’s voice came from behind.

They both turned as he walked in.

"Our plan is to keep her hidden until the case goes to court," he said.

Dawn nodded. "That makes sense. I like the plan." She looked at both of them. "Thank you."

Tom gave a small nod then looked at Lucy. "You’re not coming to bed yet?"

Lucy smiled. "I will," she said. "But I want some girls’ time with Dawn first."

Tom nodded. "Girls time. Alright." Then he looked at Dawn. "Don’t forget your appointment with the therapist tomorrow."

"I won’t," she said.

"Alright. Have fun," Tom said before walking away.

Lucy picked up the dishes once Dawn was done, and despite Dawn’s protest she took them to the kitchen.

"Go relax at the Den. Find us a nice movie," she instructed.

Dawn reluctantly did so, leaving her in the kitchen.

By time Lucy joined her, Dawn had picked a romcom.

Lucy sat next to her on the same couch and they snuggled under a blanket.

They watched the movie in silence for a while, then Dawn spoke, "How was it for you and Tom at the beginning of your relationship?" she asked softly. "Did you learn as you go? Or did you have a couple you looked up to for guidance?"

Lucy smiled as she thought about it. "I’ll say we figured things out as we went," she said. "Not without advice though."

She paused and sighed deeply.

"One person I spoke to frequently was Desmond, Tom’s father. This was especially true in the early years of our marriage. Tom looked up to him greatly in that area so I thought discussing certain things during a misunderstanding would be easier with Desmond. He helped me put things in perspective and he was always honest with me."

Dawn nodded slowly. Before she could ask any more questions, the heard footsteps and turned.

Immediately, they burst into laughter.

Tom stood there, wearing a wig and a scarf. His lips were painted red, and Lucy’s handbag hung from his arm.

Lucy laughed. "Dawn, meet my girlfriend, Thomasina."

Tom walked in and lifted his hand. "Nice to meet you, Dawn. I’ve heard a lot about you," he said in a tiny voice, smiling at Dawn.

"I can’t," Dawn said as she threw back her head and laughed so hard tears rolled down her face.

Lucy giggled as she watched Dawn laugh. Over the years Tom had made it a habit of pulling this stunt and had managed to convince the other men at one time to dress up and join their wives at the GEL club hangout.

"What can’t you do?" Tom asked as he sat between them. "I heard it’s girls’ time," he said. "So, what were we talking about?" he asked, snapping his fingers.

Dawn shook her head, still laughing as she rose. "I’ll take this as my cue to go."

"Why? But the girls night only just started," Tom protested.

Dawn laughed. "I’ll leave you two alone."

Lucy smiled apologetically. "We’ll fix a day for just us. Go to the spa and stuff," she said.

Dawn stood up. "As long as Thomasina doesn’t show up," she said, laughing.

As she walked away she heard Tom say in a tiny voice, "Why is she leaving? It seems she doesn’t like me."

Lucy laughed. "Cut it out!"

Dawn shook her head. Still smiling.

She wished she had taken a picture. So she could show Jamal what a silly man his mentor was.