(This is instead of Cook coming back by the way)

Disclaimer- I do not own Skins

"Is Effy in?" Naomi asked. She wasn't too surprised at seeing Anthea answer the door dressed in pyjamas with a bottle of vodka in one hand and a cigarette in the other, despite it being the middle of the day. She'd wondered what Effy's parents were like a couple of times. She wasn't normally the judgemental type, but nonetheless, she had come to the conclusion that either they couldn't give a toss, or they were one of those super strict psycho couples that stuck house rules on their fridge and have colour coded timetables for each member of the family- you know the ones that have children who can't help but rebel. There had to be some reason for Effy's wild, crazy, sometimes slightly scary ways. Turns out the first theory appeared to be quite true.

"Yeah." she replied passively.

Naomi hesitated for a second, waiting for her to elaborate, but she didn't. "Right.." "Umm..where is she?"

"I don't know", Anthea stated blankly.

How long was this going to take?? Naomi looked around awkwardly, trying to think of something to say that would give her a slightly less pointless answer.

"Is she inside or outside?" she asked.

"Probably out. Don't know."

"Ok.." Naomi said. She was about to ask Anthea if she could look for her but the door was shut in her face. This was great. Such an informative woman. Naomi didn't really care. She was going to look for her anyway, permission or no permission. It wasn't like it could take long anyway- their garden couldn't exactly be very big.

--

Effy was kneeling on the ground, staring at a patch of grass, transfixed. She was absentmindedly smoking something, and a half-full bottle lay at her feet. She looked a state.

She was less than impressed at seeing Naomi. "What are you doing here?" she'd asked, without taking her eyes off the grass.

"So tell me, which blade's fastest?" Naomi joked gently, trying to lighten things up a bit.

"I said what are you doing here?", she demanded, clearly annoyed.

"I came to see if you're ok. I heard what happened down at the hospital and figured that since most of your friends want to kill you, and theres no Cook, and definitely no Freddie, you're not exactly likely to be very err..happy today".

"Yeah, well you've seen me now", she said passively, trying to keep any emotion out of her voice. She was really quite surprised that someone had been nice enough to visit her after what she'd done. Naomi and Katie never got on but still, how can someone not hate you for hitting someone else over the head with a rock, then leaving them there, then going off with their boyfriend? She didn't want Naomi being nice to her. She didn't deserve that.

Naomi didn't really know what to do. She could tell Effy was on the verge of completely losing it, of spiralling out of control. There wasn't really anything she could say to help her. It would take a miracle-worker to change Effy's stubborn mind. But it didn't really seem right to just leave her there on her own either. She'd never been good at all that good at this helping people sort of stuff. She fidgeted impatiently for a while, debating with herself about what to do.

"Effy," she started, "They'll forgive you in a while you know. I'll make sure they do. They're really quite impressionable creatures.."

"Shut up Naomi. They won't. It was a rock!" she said angrily.

"Emily will. And Panda." Naomi said gently.

Effy rolled her eyes, which were welling up by now. Naomi nodded understandingly. She purposely hadn't included Freddie's name there because she wasn't one to lie. She couldn't speak for him when she herself was unsure whether or not he'd ever forgive Effy. He looked like a raging bull when she saw him earlier.

Effy was biting her lip to stop herself from crying in front of Naomi.

"It's freezing out here Effy, and it's starting to rain, come on inside. You can't stay out here forever", Naomi encouraged her.

"Shut up! Just leave me alone!" she snapped, her voice shaking.

Naomi sighed and turned away. She'd kind of seen where Effy was probably coming from in the woods. She'd felt liking hitting Katie over the head several times herself. Effy would need to stop getting so angry with herself for it. Katie had it coming to her. But what was the point in even trying to help Effy when she didn't seem to trust anyone in the world? She walked back towards the front of the house. Mission unaccomplished. There was a boy walking up to the door. Oh great. Because thats really what Effy needs. To throw herself at yet another man who'd depress her even more when he left.

"Leave her alone, you twat. She doesn't need you. Not now", she ordered the random stranger.

He looked annoyed. "She told you about me then? Are you one of her friends?"

"Just leave her alone", she said impatiently.

"Why?" he asked, looking worried. "I thought she'd want to see me?"

"Yeah, well she doesn't know what she wants! You'll only hurt her. Look, what's it going to take for you to just go away?" she argued.

"I know she's probably annoyed with me but.." he continued, but was interrupted by Naomi's feisty attitude.

"But nothing! You dragging her into bed is not what she needs."

He looked horrified by this. "You're sick! What are you on about?" he demanded.

Naomi was confused. "What?"

"I'm her brother!" he shouted at her angrily.

"Oh. Oh God. Sorry. I didn't know. I thought.." she mumbled, embarrassed.

He sighed, "Right. Doesn't matter. So you're a friend then? I heard something about Effy being in trouble. Is this true?"

"Yes." She'd made an effort to keep this answer as short as possible, so she didn't ramble herself into another hole.

He nodded knowingly. "I see. I can't stay long. Got to get a train in a while. I'm gonna go to talk to her now then."

Naomi laughed sarcastically. "Ha. Good luck with that. Rather you than me."

His expression didn't change. He just looked at her with the same blank stare she'd often seen Effy use. He was clearly unimpressed. She groaned and led him through to where she was.

--

She was still staring at that same, stupid patch of grass. She didn't turn around when she heard the footsteps. She didn't look up to see who was there. She was trying very hard to detach herself from the rest of the world.

Tony took a minute or two to absorb the surroundings and to analyse what he was seeing. He hadn't been gone that long, had he? It had only been a couple of months. He couldn't quite understand how his little sister could fall so low in that short space of time. She looked terrible.

Naomi was still fidgeting awkwardly and impatiently, trying to decide whether or not it would be rude to just leave. Neither sibling had spoken yet. Could the boy really be as mental as Effy? Was that even possible? She liked Effy though. She was interesting and she wasn't trying to be anyone else. That's always good.

Tony finally spoke, in a clear, calm voice, "Hi Eff".

She looked shocked. "T-tony", she stammered, looking around. She certainly hadn't expected him to be there. She hadn't seen him in ages. Months. Even though she never admitted it to anyone, she missed him. A lot. But wait, this wasn't right. There he was, standing there looking friendly, wanting to help her. She didn't deserve help. Not now. Not after what she'd done. She'd wanted his help with their parents. He wasn't there then. She'd wanted to tell him about Freddie. He wasn't there then. It was too late for him to help her now. The damage was done already. She'd ruined just about everything. She couldn't be helped. She felt herself start to shake. No, she couldn't stay here. She was losing control of herself. She had to be able to control herself so she didn't do anything stupid and honest again, and shaking meant her 'detach herself from the world' plan wasn't working. Emotions weren't allowed anymore. God, what was Tony doing to her? Two words and she was already a mess. She tried to stand up. She felt like running. Far away from here.

Naomi glanced over at Tony, getting concerned, but he was already a step ahead of her. All the colour had drained from Effy's face and she seemed to be trying to stand. She fell back but Tony had his arms out behind her and caught her just before she hit the ground. Her dizziness was probably a mixture of exhaustion, worry, and whatever it was that she'd been smoking.

She was getting really frustrated with herself for showing such weakness in front of other people. Why did she have to be weak, today of all days? She'd always been a fair bit stronger than most men. Tony had put his arm around her protectively, the way he used to when they were younger. No matter what had happened, that had always made her feel better. But she couldn't allow herself to feel better. She'd hurt Katie. More importantly, she'd hurt Freddie. She'd lost Freddie. It was all her fault. She didn't deserve to feel better. She tried to put whatever little bit of energy she had left into flailing her weak fists at her brother, trying to get him to go away. She was angry with him for not being there. She was angry with herself for wanting him there. She shouldn't need anyone.

Tony just let her hit him until she was completely drained out. Seeing her like this, he wished she could have hit him harder. He felt like he deserved a good punch or two for letting her get into this sort of state without even realising something was wrong for months. He'd promised he'd always look out for her. He pulled her into a hug, knowing she didn't have the energy to object.

To both his surprise and Naomi's, she started crying. Effy never cried. Naomi was confused. She hadn't known Effy very long, but she'd always got the impression that Effy was unbreakable. It was as if everything she'd been bottling up and ignoring for years was finally coming out. How long had she been feeling like this without any of them noticing?

After about ten minutes, Effy just fell asleep in her brother's arms. She really must have been exhausted. Naomi took that time to explain to Tony what all had happened. She thought he had the right to know. He obviously cared a lot about her. Most brothers wouldn't even dream of allowing their sisters to fall asleep in their arms, in the garden, in the rain. He just nodded patiently anytime she said something that would horrify most people. She smiled.

"You're just like her, you know. You're totally unphased by everything".

He smiled at this. These new friends of hers sounded kinda nice, with the exception of one or two. He was slowly getting convinced that she'd be alright.

Not long later, Effy started to come round again.

She tried to avoid eye contact with Tony as he realised she was awake. She felt a bit awkward, in his arms. She felt like she didn't deserve his patience. She didn't deserve to be comforted by him. But she couldn't bring herself to move somehow.

He smiled gently, and raised an eyebrow, "No hitting this time Eff?" he joked.

She shook her head and tried to smile, but couldn't. "No hitting". "Sorry about that, by the way."

"No probs" he said. "I was worried about you. Never seen you get like that before".

"Sorry", she said quietly.

"You don't need to apologise for being upset, Effy." he assured her.

"But I do though". She was getting frustrated. "It was all my fault. I ruined it all".

He stroked her hair, trying to keep her calm. "It can't all have been your fault."

"No comment.

He laughed. Same old Effy.

"I could help you", he said, "It might make it a bit easier".

She waited a while before replying. "You are helping me", she whispered.

It had been a long, long time since someone just kept her company like that, since someone had cared about her enough to look after her, since someone had known her well enough to know how to comfort her. And it had helped. He didn't need to say anything. He just needed to be there. That was all she had wanted, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that she didn't need him, that she didn't need anyone.

--

Tony glanced at his watch anxiously and sighed. "Sorry Effs, I have to go. But if you want, I can stay. Its nothing important. It's just university stuff- it can wait.."

He didn't want to leave her again.

She looked up and smiled. "It's ok Tony, go on ahead. And thanks."

He couldn't help but grin. He'd finally cracked a smile from her. He hadn't done anything, but she seemed a bit more content now. He wasn't as worried anymore.

He gave her one last hug and she went back inside.

Naomi smiled as she and Tony left the house. "So you're her miracle worker then?"

He looked confused. "What?"

"I was thinking earlier that it would take a miracle worker to change Effy's stubborn mind. To make her happier. So you're her miracle worker then."

He laughed, then his expression became a bit more serious as he turned to her and said, "I wish I didn't have to be so far away. Keep an eye on her for me, yeah?"

She nodded, "I'll do my best", and they both went their separate ways.

Naomi went home content. An enigma like Effy could never be solved, but it was good to know she was a human after all.

--