Chapter Nine    Two weeks had passed since Brian and the guys had left for Europe to work on their album with Max. Carissa had spent every spare minute working through her feelings for Brian and she had started seeing a counselor to help her with all the things she had been going through after the rape. Brian called her everyday, sometimes at work when his schedule had him working late into the night. It was those phone calls and the love in his voice that had her determined not to loose him and what she was sure they would share as their relationship grew.    So it was no surprise when her phone rang in her office and Brian was on the other end. "Hey sweetie. How are you?" he asked when she had answered.   "Brian, its good to hear your voice. I'm fine. Matti's fine and so is Beth" she quickly answered before he had a chance to ask his normal questions.   Brian laughed and said, "Know me well do you?"    "I'm getting there" she said with laughter lacing her voice.    "Listen, the guys asked me to give you a call. We've been approached by some television shows here to apprear before we leave. We've been putting it off because we've been so busy, but everything is almost finished so we thought we might be able to squeeze in a couple of interviews. Do you think its possible?"    "Sure. If Max says you all are free and clear I don't see why not" she said going over their recording schedule and noticing that they were ahead of schedule.    "Great, now here's the catch. We need you and Beth to come over and set things up for us. We just don't have the time to do it ourselves" he explained.   "I'll have to bring Matti" she said uncertainly.   "That's fine. There's plenty of room in the house we're staying in for the three of you and there's a baby bed here too so you won't have to worry about bringing one with you."   "That's a relief! When do you need us there?" she asked going over her weeks schedule of appointments.    "As soon as possible. Max is going to go over what we've laid down already and make sure its the way he wants it and then if there are any mistakes that need to be corrected he'll let us know."    Carissa scanned the schedule once more before answering, "We'll try and get a flight for tonight or tomorrow at the latest. Will someone be there to pick us up?" she asked as she rumaged through her phone book looking up airport numbers.    "Why don't you call me back when you've booked a flight and we'll see what can be arranged" he suggested. They talked for a few more minutes before saying good bye and ending their conversation.    Carissa quickly called Beth's office and explained the situation. "That's great! I've always wanted to go to Europe" she exclaimed.   Carissa smiled at her friends exuberance. "I'm gonna see if we can get a flight out tonight. I'll let you know what's up when I'm done."    "Sounds good" Beth said as she hung up.    The next thirty minutes was spent finding a flight to Sweden. Carissa thanked her lucky stars that she was able to find three seats on the same flight, a straight flight with no stop overs, for late that night.   She called Beth and told her and then called Max's studio in Sweden and told the guys when to expect them. Brian assured her that someone would be there to pick them up and bring them to the house.    That finished, she and Beth began shifting around the few meetings they had for the next day and then they went home to pack.   Beth had finished her packing and was helping Carissa pack up hers and Matti's things. "I can't believe we're actually going" Beth gushed excitedly. "I mean, just imagine all the things we'll get to see and do. Its just so exciting."     "Beth honey, calm down. I doubt we'll get to do much sight seeing, after all we are going to be working" Carissa said as she packed the last of her things and closed the suitcase.    "Killjoy!" Beth said and then promptly stuck out her tongue. Matti, who was sitting on the floor at Beth's feet, giggled at her 'aunt'.   "Watch Matti for me while I get a shower?" Carissa asked.   Beth nodded and picked Matti up. "C'mon Miss M, let's go play downstairs while mommy gets ready" she said as she and Matti disappeared out the door.     Carissa quickly bathed and dried off. She pulled on a pair of flared leg jeans and a purple vee neck sweater. She added a pair of chunky heeled black boots and then set to work on her hair. She finished within minutes and added her makeup.   She wanted to look decent when she saw Brian. It'd been two weeks and she couldn't wait to see him. Through all of her soul searching and her counseling sessions, she had decided to take a chance on love and on Brian. While she was going to Sweden to work, she hoped that they'd find the time to sit and talk about things and where they stood. Giving herself one last look in the mirror she turned and grabbed her luggage and headed downstairs.     Beth and Matti were stretched out on the living room floor playing blocks. She smiled at the picture they made and decided to leave them like they were and loaded up the car on her own.   "Okay you two, let's get going we don't want to be late" she said as she lifted Matti from the floor.   Beth knew that the sparkle in Carissa's eyes was directly related to the fact that Brian was waiting at the end of their journey and she couldn't be happier. She knew that Carissa had been seeing a counselor for the last two weeks and that there had been a huge change in her friend. She was glad that she could finally see a bit of the old Carissa shining through.    Without a word, she followed her friend out to the car and climbed in. In a half an hour they were at the airport. They had just checked in and got their tickets and checked their luggage. Their flight was due to leave in ten minutes so they made their way to their gate and waited for the flight to be called.     When they were settled in their first class seats, Matti began to nod off. Beth waited to make sure the baby was fast asleep before begining a conversation. She didn't want any interuptions for such a touchy subject.    "'Rissa, can I ask you something?" she asked softly, bringing Carissa out of her daydream.   "Sure, Beth. What is it?"   Beth took a deep breath and began, "A couple of weeks ago you said something to me that I've spent alot of time trying to figure out. I don't want to upset you, but I need to know what you meant when you said that there was alot of things that I didn't know about the situation?"    Carissa sighed softly. She knew this was part of the healing process, to be able to talk about it, but it was still hard. Even when the person she was talking to was her best friend. "I was a virgin, Beth" she stated simply. Beth sat silently in shock, that was something she had never known about her friend. It wasn't that they had never talked about the subject, it was just that Carissa tended to keep things to herself, especially private things like that and Beth had just assumed that she had experience. "That's something that I can never get back. I can never give that gift to the man I love because its no longer there" Carissa continued quietly, so that the other passengers couldn't hear.   "Oh 'Rissa, I never knew" Beth whispered tearfully.    "I guess out of everything that I've been through, that's the one thing that bothers me the most. I was saving myself, my gift of purity for the man that I would marry and now, well now its not an option" she stated sadly.   Not knowing what else to say or do, Beth pulled her friend into her arms and held her tightly. They stayed that way for a few minutes, taking comfort from each other. When they pulled apart Beth said, "This may sound trite, but here it is. You didn't give yourself to him, he took. You are still pure in heart and any man who is worth is salt will see that."    Carissa smiled and relaxed. "Thanks Beth."   They settled back into their seats and got comfortable for the long flight.