Ashley immediately noticed that Spencer’s face had lost all color. She quickly began to caress Spencer sent in and started to softly run her fingers through her soft blonde hair. The only thing she was trying to do was calm her down and to soothe her. She didn’t want Spencer to start crying again. Seeing tears ran down her for whatever reason made her chest feel tight and she hated the feeling.

Thankfully the nurse was very efficient she was able to get the central line in quickly but the rape hit was a whole other story. She began by saying softly, "Now Ms. Carlin, you have to put your legs up in the stirrups and I’m going to need you to move down the table a little and then I’m going to put a blanket over you. Once you’re comfortable I’ll do rape kit.  I’m going to be as quick as I can.”

Before Spencer knew it, it was time for the rape kit.  She shut her eyes tight and gritted her teeth as she felt pressure and hands down there.  Through it all she felt Ashley holding her hand tight and her whispering soothing things in her ear.  She heard the nurse say once, “Relax Ms. Carlin.”  Something she was just not able to do.  But to the nurse credit it did fairly quickly.

Even after it was done Spencer wouldn’t open her eyes.  She wished she could be a million miles from this place and then she breathed in something she hadn’t noticed before.  Perfume.  It was coming from the jacket she was wearing.  She took another deep breath and it made her relax.  It was a sweet earthy scent.  It was intoxicating to her.

After who knows how much time she heard Ashley whispering in her ear, “Open your eyes beautiful.”

That made Spencer’s eyes pop wide open.  She looked at Ashley incredulously.  Nobody had ever called her beautiful before.  Nobody.  As soon she saw Spencer’s expression she knew she had said the wrong thing.  What was she thinking?  This at very best was unprofessional.  Ashley couldn’t stop the blush that was burning her face either.

“Sorry,” Ashley mumbled under her breath.

“Don’t be,” Spencer whispered back with a smile.  She probably didn’t mean the compliment anyways.  It was just to make her feel better.

“It won’t happen again,” Ashley said as she looked at her feet.

“I know,” Spencer said sadly

That made Ashley snap her head back up.  She looked into Spencer’s eyes and realized that she didn’t think of herself as beautiful.  She could tell that she thought Ashley had made a mistake. Ashley simply sighed and as she began to softly run her fingers through her hair and hold her hand she whispered, “Spencer, look at me.”

Once she had Spencer’s gaze she whispered, “I think you are so beautiful.  If not the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.  That’s why I called you beautiful.  Because you are.  I apologized because well it just isn’t professional.  You’ve just been through and you don’t need anybody hitting on you or anything.  It just slipped out because I had been thinking exactly that since I first laid eyes on you.  I never meant to make uncomfortable or anything.”

Spencer couldn’t help but smile at Ashley’s explanation.  She did mean it.  Well wasn’t that something.

Before Spencer said anything else Ashley ordered her to go to sleep because she still had a lot more questions to go through.  Spencer simply nodded her head and did as she was told.  But she never did let go of Ashley’s hand.  And Ashley never left her side for more than 15 minutes that first night.  Ashley didn’t understand why she had this overpowering feeling to protect Spencer Carlin.  But she just knew she had to be there when she opened those big blue eyes.