This story is a direct sequel to The Abandoned: Instinct. That story can be found on our profile, and it is strongly encouraged that the stories are read in order, or certain events and characters will not make sense. Thank you!

Orphan Black was created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett. The Abandoned is purely a fan project we are working on for fun! We are not claiming anything as our own other than the artwork/original characters themselves. We have not made, are not making, and will not make any profit from this. Any official characters and official story elements are copyright © Graeme Manson and John Fawcett.

The Abandoned was created by Strayhowl and CharlieAmber. No art, original characters, or text from this story may be reposted elsewhere without the permission of both writers.

– Prologue –

Leigh Callingham forgave her sister three times since returning to London. Her sister, Rachel, knew that Leigh would forgive her again in the future.

Leigh was angry. Despite finding it in her heart to forgive Rachel for the things she'd done, the auburn-haired hairdresser was angry, even weeks, even months later. Rachel had to wonder why. Was Leigh angry with Rachel still, or was she angry at herself for giving in and forgiving her sister? Was it both?

Whatever the case, Rachel Duncan was not pleased. Leigh's anger drove her to extremes to ensure her twin did not attempt to run off again, or break the deal she'd arranged with herself and Doctor Leekie.

That was how it all started, Rachel realised. Leigh came home in October, in a disturbing and concerning way, and she'd been angry ever since. It was a side of her Rachel had never seen before, and the proclone convinced herself over and over none of it was her doing.

No. Leigh had been in danger. She'd put herself in danger, and Rachel was forced to take drastic measures to bring her back. Leigh would realise that in time.

It was Leigh's anger that convinced her to stay and come to an agreement with DYAD. The conversation between Leigh, Rachel and Leekie stuck in Rachel's mind for a long time.

"You separated me from my sister because a woman named Amelia disappeared; the woman who was supposed to give her child up to the Duncans," Leigh had told a very exasperated Leekie while Rachel watched and listened in intrigue. "You never learned what became of that child. Isn't it a possibility that Helena is that child?"

"That doesn't add up," Leekie said, shaking his head.

"Well do your research, because it's the truth," Leigh shot at him. "Track down Helena and stop her instead of my friends. They'll have no reason to meet other clones and alert them to the dangers then, will they? This was never about ruining your experiments! It was about saving lives, and with Helena out of the picture-"

"There's still the issue of the illness though," Leekie growled. "I am fully aware they will still go to great lengths to tackle this illness; to save lives, as you put it – and that still means meeting other subjects. I cannot allow that to happen, Ashleigh. Your claims of this Helena character may or may not be true, but even if it is proven, it doesn't change a thing. So I'm going to ask you something, and I expect you to consider your answer very carefully." Leekie held Leigh's gaze, pausing to allow this subtle warning to sink in. "Are you going to co-operate, or not?"

Of course Leigh wasn't going to co-operate; not in the way Leekie wanted her to. It took Rachel great effort not to lose her cool and demand that Leigh do as she was told. She'd done all she'd done because she wanted Leigh safe, but Leigh's anger and stubborness and refusal to follow orders would cause that to be in vain if she wasn't careful.

Rachel Duncan wanted her sister around. And Rachel Duncan always got what she wanted.

"Might I have a word, Aldous, in private?" Rachel asked before Leigh even opened her mouth to say she wasn't going to do what was asked of her. The blonde clone stood gracefully from her seat and elegantly left the room, not even bothering to check the doctor was following her.

The two of them left Leigh sitting alone to fume at the table in the isolated room. They stood outside the door; Leekie glancing through the glass every so often as if worried Leigh might disappear.

"I would like very much to take her home now," Rachel stated evenly in a commanding voice. "It is clear she is in no fit state to come to terms."

Leekie stared at Rachel. His brow furrowed. He did not approve.

"She is not going anywhere, Aldous," Rachel tried her best to convince him. "She has returned to where she belongs. She has agreed to stay put, and she has given us some information."

"You honestly think all she said about this Helena character is the truth?" Leekie asked, gob-smacked.

Rachel kept her unblinking gaze on Leekie's face, thinking silently for a moment while she chose careful words. "I believe it is worth looking into, Aldous."

Leekie faltered. The more he thought about it, the more he realised what a waste of an opportunity it would be if he let this go uninvestigated. He'd been searching for the missing clone originally meant for the Duncans for years. Besides, Leigh had obviously learned and discovered a great deal on her journey. Who was to say there was no truth in what she said? Perhaps Rachel was right. Perhaps the hairdresser needed more time and persuasion before Leekie tried to pry more information from her.

"Fine," he growled in agreement. "But I want her observed, full-time. I'll arrange for Denby to pick up his role as monitor again. Until then, she's to stay here."

Rachel was extremely affronted, and quite annoyed. "I want to take her home," she said loudly and sternly.

Leekie wasn't having it. "I'm sorry Rachel, but I have to put my foot down with this one."

Rachel was quite sure she'd only seen and heard Leekie this serious and strict when she was a child, but even then she'd been able to get her way if she threw enough of a tantrum. However...sometimes it just was not worth it. Rachel knew when to choose her battles, and this was not one of them.

She was far too tired for that anyway, after the exhausting events surrounding Leigh's return.

Leigh was led to another room after that, though it might as well have been a cell as far as she was concerned. Rachel sat with her for a while, despite Leigh fully ignoring her. It irked Rachel a lot. Here she was trying to explain that Leigh had done the right thing by coming back, and she was now in the best place for Rachel to protect her, and Leigh wasn't even listening.

A doctor soon came to examine Leigh one last time (on Leekie's orders), and Rachel stood up to leave. Leigh had won this round, and Rachel hated it, but she wasn't going to give up so easily. She would make Leigh listen sooner or later.

She wanted to say goodnight before leaving, but there was little point if Leigh was just going to blank her. She would spare herself the humiliation of being ignored by her sister in front of the lesser being who had just arrived.

Instead, Rachel watched her sister sadly for a moment or two before leaving the room. "Doctor Nealon," she greeted the man who had come to examine Leigh.

"Miss Duncan," he grunted in response, nodding his head. He waited until Rachel disappeared before carefully closing the door and turning his attention to Leigh.

"Now what?" Leigh spat at him, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Good evening, Ashleigh," the man said, taking a step or two towards her. "My name is Doctor Nealon. I'm required to examine you this evening."

Leigh stared. "Again? I already had a load of tests done earlier on," she told him bluntly. "Why are you lot checking me so frequently? There's nothing wrong with me."

Nealon nodded, but he still walked closer to Leigh, pulling something from his pocket. Leigh's eyes grew wide as the light caught the sharp point of a needle glittering in Nealon's hand.

"We have every confidence that you are fit and well," Nealon assured her. Leigh couldn't help shrinking back a bit as the doctor raised the needle to her arm.

"Shit!" she squeaked, trying to jump up, but Nealon seized her and held her in place in her seat. His grip was tight on her arm.

"Now hold still, please," he requested. Leigh shuddered and squirmed, feeling extremely uneasy at the politeness in Nealon's voice, even as he pushed the needle into Leigh's skin and injected whatever substance was in it.

"What the hell did you give me?" Leigh demanded, horrified.

"Nothing to worry about," Nealon told her. He stood up and crossed the room to leave, pausing at the door to smile falsely over his shoulder. "Something to help you sleep. Try to relax. You must be very tired."

Nealon was gone in a heartbeat, leaving Leigh infuriated and alone in the small, cramped room. What on earth had just happened? Wasn't Nealon supposed to examine her? That was what he said he'd do, but...but...

Leigh's thoughts soon became clouded and disconnected, and it didn't take long for her to shift over to the hard bed in the corner. The moment she hit it, dizziness overcame her, and she was out cold in an instant.

The next thing Leigh remembered was waking up in that very same spot, with agonising pain searing through the back of her neck. It became more intense when she sat up straight and instinctively raised her hand to touch the skin behind her hair. The area was sore and wounded, and her fingertips touching it made her flinch and rip her hand away instantly. Had something bitten her? However unappealing this room was, it was still extremely clean and well-kept. There was always the chance of insects of some kind making their way in though...

But still...a mix of paranoia and instinct warned Leigh to be on alert. She couldn't help it by now. It was a feeling in her gut she couldn't ignore.

"What did they do to me?" Leigh hissed at Rachel later that day. The proclone had come to see Leigh home personally. Rachel just stared blankly at her sister, apparently confused. Leigh wasn't in the mood for this. "Oh never mind; can I go now?"

"Yes," Rachel told her. "Daniel awaits us outside in the car. We shall escort you back to your house."

A sick feeling settled in Leigh's stomach at the mention of Daniel's name, mixed with a fresh volt of anger. A look of disgust flashed across her tired face, and it didn't go unnoticed by Rachel.

"Please do not make this more difficult than it needs to be," Rachel insisted. "I am trying to make this as easy as possible."

Leigh resisted a sarcastic laugh and suppressed a sigh, too fed up to fight this and eager to get home. She stepped out of the room and waited for Rachel to close the door and lead her out of the building. Rachel walked briskly, and Leigh struggled to keep up with her. How Rachel could move so efficiently in those stupid heels was something Leigh would never understand.

"Why'd they have to keep me here another night?" Leigh demanded to know as she and Rachel rounded the corner of a corridor.

Rachel allowed herself a glance in Leigh's direction before answering. "We were making arrangements for you. Your monitor has been reinstated."

Leigh's eyes grew wide. "Michael?"

"Yes."

Leigh swore under her breath. It had been months since she was under the observation of a monitor, and while she was travelling Europe, Leigh often wondered what had become of Michael Denby. Had he been punished for failing to keep an eye on her and letting her run off as she did? Surely whatever happened wasn't that severe; not if he was being made to watch Leigh again now.

Leigh wanted to ask more about him, but she was still angry with Rachel, and she didn't want to talk to her unless it was absolutely necessary. She would talk to Michael in person soon enough.

A black car sat parked outside the DYAD building, gleaming in the bright sunlight. It was a surprisingly warm day for October, although Leigh barely paid attention to the warmth that greeted her as she unwillingly approached the car. Her attention was fixed on the man standing before it. She hadn't yet met the monster responsible for torturing her closest friend, but Leigh knew this was him.

"Good morning, Ashleigh," he greeted her with a smug smile.

Leigh could only glare at him, wanting nothing more than to punch him in the face for the pain he'd caused Aila. "Daniel," she said curtly instead, fists clenched tightly.

Daniel's smirk grew wider as he stepped aside to open the back door of the car. He gestured for Leigh to get in. Leigh waited, deliberately taking her time to move to annoy both Daniel and Rachel, before finally complying and climbing into the car. She budged up to the other side to make room for Rachel, while Daniel took the driver's seat.

The car ride through London was mostly silent and awkward, until Rachel shifted her gaze from the window to look at Leigh.

"I would much prefer you to come home with me," she told Leigh straight. Leigh whipped around to stare furiously at Rachel. "There will be no need for Michael to monitor you then."

Leigh shook her head in disbelief. "You must be joking. There's no way in hell I'm living with you after what you did. And to be frank, I'd rather go back in the cell at DYAD than live under the same roof as that sick bastard," she hissed. She glanced to the front of the car. Daniel's glaring eyes narrowed into slits in the reflection of the windscreen mirror.

Rachel was not pleased, but she decided not to push the issue for now.

When they arrived at Leigh's house, the hairdresser wasted no time throwing herself out of the car and rushing to the front door. Rachel stepped out of the vehicle too, and walked around to the driver's side. "Wait here, Daniel," she instructed her monitor, and she turned on her heel and caught up to Leigh before Daniel could respond.

Rachel took Leigh's house keys from her bag and unlocked the door. Leigh burst into the house instantly, paying little to no attention to the cold stillness the place gave out, instead making her way up the stairs to her bedroom. The house was very dusty, having been abandoned for so many months, but everything appeared exactly as she'd left it. She instantly found a round mirror with a handle on her bedside cabinet, picked it up, and rushed to the much larger mirror on the wall. Leigh stood with her back to it, held the smaller mirror up to her face, and pushed back the hair covering the back of her neck.

"Fuck."

Her neck was a violent shade of red, and there was definitely some kind of wound there. It felt as though she'd been bitten or cut somehow, and it looked as though it would scar.

Rachel appeared at Leigh's bedroom door, looking curious as to what her sister was doing. Leigh almost jumped at Rachel's sudden arrival.

"What on earth are you doing?" Rachel asked her.

"None of your business," Leigh snapped.

Rachel had already caught a glimpse of bright red in Leigh's reflection, and she rushed at Leigh as it dawned on her what had happened. She ignored Leigh's angry protests and swearing, instead focusing on parting Leigh's hair so she could see the damage.

Rachel knew instantly what had caused this, and a revolting numbness hit her. She found herself unable to focus as Leigh span around, demanded her house keys back and told Rachel to leave.

Rachel simply handed Leigh the keys and saw herself out of the house. She knew she should wait for Michael to get here. She knew Leigh shouldn't be left alone, but she couldn't bring herself to care much in that moment. Leigh wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to run off...

In any case, Rachel found herself battling to keep cool and calm and composed as Daniel drove her back to the DYAD building. How dare Leekie. How dare he order for such a thing to be done? Leigh was not an animal; she was not below Leekie; she was not below anyone at DYAD; she was Rachel Duncan's sister, and that meant she was above everyone and everything, and Rachel would absolutely make Leekie pay for committing such a degrading act against the one person Rachel viewed as her equal-

Rachel's maddening thoughts cleared themselves from her mind when she realised she was standing before Leekie in his office; her body having gone into auto-pilot to bring her here. She had every intention of confronting Leekie, and demanding to have the procedure reversed...but this would, again, prove to be one of those rare instances where Rachel didn't get her way.

"I didn't see we had a choice," Leekie told her bluntly. "In any case, we needed a test subject for the device. Ashleigh was the perfect candidate."

Rachel was so angry she couldn't even speak. She refused to lash out physically, though. That would be unacceptable, irrational behaviour.

"I'd have thought you'd be all for this, Rachel," Leekie continued. He tilted his laptop screen to show Rachel something. A map of London was present, and the doctor was able to zoom in on specific locations. A red dot was visible on Leigh's home street. Leekie smiled up at Rachel. "It's working quite well."

"I can see that," Rachel hissed.

"This is best for everyone involved. Use this to your advantage, Rachel."

Rachel was all too used to embracing the sick and twisted ways the world of DYAD had to offer, so it didn't take long for her to accept what had happened and use it to her advantage as Leekie advised her, as she did with everything else. She could ignore the guilt. She was the master of that by now.

Rachel demanded to have the software installed on her own laptop, as well as her phone. As the days rolled by, she found herself growing rather addicted to the phone, always taking it out and launching the app to watch the progress of the red dot. She noticed Leigh barely left her house. Even weeks later, the hairdresser didn't seem to want to move, and any updates from Michael showed nothing of great importance.

In fact, Rachel found herself to be rather concerned by Leigh's lack of enthusiasm to go anywhere or do anything.

Meanwhile, Leigh had been slowly readjusting to life at home. It never occurred to her before just how quiet it was here. She missed Aila, Katja and Rat terribly, and she often asked herself if she'd done the right thing.

No. She had to have done the right thing. She'd given DYAD a distraction by turning herself in. The others would be well away by now. They would be safe.

It didn't stop Leigh wishing she could make contact though, just to ease her concerns and to be sure they were all doing well. She knew better than that though. Michael had upped his game. He was a lot more serious than Leigh remembered him, and he kept a much closer eye on the things Leigh got up to now.

He told her he'd faced backlash following Leigh's disappearance, and DYAD finally got him the help he needed because of it. Leekie blamed Michael's herion addiction as the distraction from his monitor duties, but Michael was much too involved to toss out and send to prison, or any other rehab facility. He was told he'd have another chance if he could kick his habit for good.

Leigh had to admit that Michael looked a lot healthier than the last time she saw him, and she did feel bad for leaving him to face the consequences. At times, it felt as though Michael was the only one around who Leigh didn't feel angry with, however ironic and backwards that was. She trusted him. He'd always been her friend, monitor or not, and that was because she had nothing to hide from DYAD before. It was the same now she'd come home. As long as she didn't speak about her clone sisters or try to make contact, Michael was not a danger.

But Leigh craved distraction. She'd had enough of sitting in her house, staring out of windows and torturing herself with thoughts of the other clones, and she knew she had to make an effort to get back to normality. If she didn't, DYAD would win.

"Let's go out," she said to Michael the next time she saw him.

"Out?" Michael repeated, surprised.

"Yeah," Leigh told him. "You can take me out to dinner or we can go clubbing like we used to."

Michael faltered, eyebrows raised in suspicion. Whenever he and Leigh had gone out, they'd always been in the company of other friends. He'd never gone out alone with Leigh. "You mean like a...like a date?" he dared to ask.

Leigh managed a small smile. There was a time she wouldn't dream of dating a drug addict, but Michael was clean, and Leigh had changed a lot. She wasn't sure she cared much either way anymore. "Yeah. Why not?"

Michael was perplexed at Leigh's sudden desire to do such things, and he briefly wondered if she was up to something. However, he didn't enjoy the miserable side of the hairdresser he was getting used to seeing. Wherever Leigh had been; whatever she'd been up to on her little adventure, it'd drained the soul out of her. Michael would indulge Leigh if it made her happy again.

He took Leigh to a fancy restaurant, and it was the first time the two of them had been able to properly catch up. They talked all through dinner, and the more Leigh drank, the further her worries forced themselves to the back of her mind. This was exactly what she needed.

Leigh had to admit she was glad to leave the restaurant when they finished eating, having decided it was much too sophisitcated for her. She wondered for a moment if Daniel took Rachel to such places on a regular basis, and she let out a forced laugh to picture the two of them in the much rougher, louder, dance club scene.

The club was quite a few miles away, but Michael didn't mind driving. He joked later that he and Leigh would have to get the bus or a taxi home, since they seemed to drink beyond their limit as they danced the night away.

"Let's go back to yours," Leigh giggled mischievously as she and Michael left the club.

When they rounded the corner to a deserted back alley outside the club, Michael turned to face her, stunned. "What? Are you serious?"

"You saying you don't want me?" Leigh dared him arrogantly.

Truthfully, the two saw each other as friends, but they were both very drunk, and drunken mistakes were a common occurance. Michael stepped closer to Leigh, pressed her back against the brick wall of the club and kissed her fiercely. Leigh kissed him back, neither of them breaking away for a while.

Michael let out a sharp gasp a short time later and pulled away from Leigh. Leigh's eyes snapped open. Michael's eyes were wide, and he appeared to be struggling to breathe; his hand clamped firmly on his neck.

Leigh opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but Michael swayed and collapsed to the ground, unconscious. A figure dressed in dark clothes stood behind him, and Leigh noticed it instantly.

The other woman pulled back her hood, a syringe clearly displayed in her hand. Even in her drunken state, Leigh's anger flared up at the mere sight of her.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" she snarled at Rachel, who delicately put the syringe away out of sight.

Rachel's eyes swept downwards to look at Michael in disgust. Then she quickly looked back up at Leigh. "Preventing you from making a terrible mistake."

Leigh shook her head, bending down as if wanting to help Michael sit up. She knew he was too heavy for her to lift though. "You are unbelievable!" Leigh shouted at her sister. "You have no right to decide who I can and can't go out with!"

"Oh please," Rachel scorned, fighting very hard not to roll her eyes. "You are far too intoxicated to be thinking clearly, so I am forced to do that for you. You do not want to make the mistake of sleeping with a drug addict."

Leigh stood up, fuming and trembling slightly. "And you're much better, are you?" she demanded, her voice far too loud. "Sleeping with a sick psycopath like Daniel?"

Rachel became very still. Leigh forgot how unnerving and deadly her sister looked when she decided to be a robot like this. "I am not sleeping with Da-"

"Oh don't bullshit me, Rachel!" Leigh interrupted her. "It's so obvious! The point is, this is my life and I'll do whatever I want! But you don't see it that way because you're such a fucking control freak-"

"Leigh," Rachel said sternly, growing increasingly annoyed at Leigh's behaviour.

"How the hell did you even know I was here?"

Rachel didn't answer. To Leigh's annoyance, she simply took out her phone and called for assistance, and before Leigh knew it, she and Michael were put in a car to be driven home. She couldn't remember much else, her head clouded and hurting quite a bit from the amount of alcohol she'd consumed, but she did remember being back in her house with Rachel there with her. Rachel must have stayed all night, because she was still there when Leigh awoke the next morning.

It took a few moments for Leigh to remember what happened. She stumbled out of bed and clumsily made her way downstairs, where Rachel sat perfectly still on Leigh's sofa with a cup of warm tea in her hands.

Leigh stared at her. "What did you do with Michael?" she demanded.

Rachel refused to talk until Leigh agreed to sit with her on the sofa, much to Leigh's annoyance. The hairdresser sat down and reluctantly accepted the tea Rachel forced into her hands.

"You will not see Michael again," Rachel stated.

Somehow, Leigh wasn't surprised to hear this, but it didn't stop her resenting Rachel because of it. "What did you do with him?" she asked again.

"You must understand that Michael's recovery is not a smooth one, and he constantly relapses," Rachel explained slowly, her even gaze burning into Leigh. "I can provide proof from DYAD if you require it. I do not want him monitoring you. I never did want him monitoring you, and I certainly don't want you getting involved with him."

Rachel wasn't sure what to make of the look on Leigh's face, but she meant every word she said. This was one of the things Rachel chose to fight against until she got her way. In any case, she had the power to overrule Leekie if she so wanted. She simply had to be careful when chosing what to overrule him on.

"What did you do with him?" Leigh asked her sister a third time, impatience creeping into her voice now.

Rachel averted her gaze to her lap, resisting a sigh. "That is not your concern. I can assure you he is safe and will serve DYAD in other ways. You will be assigned a new monitor...one without a drug habit."

Leigh didn't know what to think or feel about this. Poor Michael. He was just another victim forever bound to serve DYAD, and now Leigh couldn't even help him. He'd been her friend, and she felt as though she'd let him down.

"Tell me where he is, or I will bloody well track him down myself," Leigh hissed, slamming her tea onto the coffee table before her. "I want to say goodbye to him."

"That's not possible," Rachel told her.

Leigh's eyes narrowed, and she shot up from the sofa to go and get changed. "You can't do this, Rachel. I'll find out where he is. You just watch."

"You can't," Rachel insisted, sounding slightly alarmed and panicked now. She stood up quickly, but faltered, apparently unsure of what else to say. "You shall put yourself at risk by doing so," she decided on.

Leigh froze half way up the stairs and stared down at her sister over the banister. "What?"

Rachel closed her eyes, and breathed. She knew what she was about to reveal would cause great distress, but it was the only way to ensure that Leigh didn't do anything stupid.

It was that morning that Leigh learned DYAD had inserted a chip inside of her, allowing her movements to be traced. It explained the pain in her neck, the scar on her skin, and how Rachel always seemed to know exactly where she was. Leigh thought she might be sick. Was nothing in her life going to go unobserved from now on? How could Rachel possibly see fit to allow DYAD to do this to her own sister?

Leigh's anger was unreal. There was more shouting, more demands for explanations, and more desperate, but vain attempts from Rachel to convince Leigh she was unaware Leekie would go to such extremes. Leigh had to be calm and rational about this now, because if she wasn't, she would put herself in danger. She needed to prove she could be trusted, or the chip was there to stay.

"I absolutely do not approve of what they did to you," Rachel insisted before leaving the house. "But while you continue to display such irrational anger, I'm afraid there is nothing I can do to help. I will ask you one last time to come home with me so I might make our situation easier to deal with. There will be no need for monitors. There will be no need to track your movements through that...thing."

Leigh was far too upset to think straight, so she slammed shut the door the moment Rachel left the house. She locked it quickly and held back a violent sob, sinking to the floor.

Did Rachel really think she could take on the role of Leigh's monitor herself? Or did she simply expect Daniel to monitor them both? Whatever the case, Leigh was not willing to allow that to happen.

Michael stayed on Leigh's mind for a while, even after she was introduced to her new monitor. His name was Shaun Harwood, and he was quite a bit older than Michael and Leigh. He was tall and broad with thick dark hair, and a stern expression. Rachel and Leekie made it clear to Leigh that she was to be observed full-time by Shaun if she refused to reside with her sister.

At first, Leigh insisted she didn't care, but the presence of Shaun began wearing her down quickly. She didn't like being followed everywhere by the stranger; she didn't like him being in her house; she didn't like talking to him, and it was clear he didn't think much of Leigh either...and she hated him staying in her house over night...how Rachel managed to put up with Daniel like this was beyond Leigh.

Rachel thought Leigh was being melodramatic. She never could cope with such routine things as well as Rachel could...but this was something else. Her little mission to save the other subjects had changed Leigh drastically. It made her paranoid. It made her restless. Why was Shaun required to watch her around the clock anyway? She was already chipped; it wasn't as though she'd be able to go anywhere she shouldn't without them knowing.

"The microchip does not tell DYAD the things you are doing," Shaun explained one evening after Leigh threw a fit over it. He spoke in a deep, slow, British voice, full of sarcasm and annoyance. "It only alerts them to your whereabouts. I thought you ought to know that."

Leigh hated the way Shaun talked down to her, as though she was a stupid little girl with no common sense. His remarks were always snide and uncalled for, but Leigh found herself having great fun ordering him around. That was one good thing Rachel had done for her. Just as Daniel worked for Rachel, Shaun was instructed to carry out whatever tasks Leigh asked of him (within reason, of course). Rachel herself had made that very clear.

"Go buy me a crate of beer," Leigh ordered him one November evening as she lazed on the sofa. "The expensive stuff I had the other day. Not the cheap crap."

Shaun stood very still and glared at Leigh as he often did when he found her to be completely insufferable. "That means having to drive across the city to purchase it," he stated.

"Yeah, exactly," Leigh shot at him.

Shaun was not happy, but he was a man of DYAD, and men of DYAD did not disobey orders lightly. If he refused to serve Leigh, Rachel Duncan would hear about it. He did not want to have to deal with that, and Leigh knew it.

It was for this reason that Leigh was able to forgive Rachel for issuing her with a new monitor. She still wished she had a chance to apologise to Michael and say goodbye, but the more she thought about it, the more she realised Michael was probably better off without her. He did not deserve to be dragged into this more than he already had been. Whatever he was doing now, it had to be better than dealing with crazy clones and their even crazier creators.

Leigh often took the chance to leave the house whenever she sent Shaun off on an errand. She'd usually wander the streets, just trying to clear her head, until she found one particular place to sit and reflect in peace.

Rachel was aware of this. The church around the corner from Leigh's house would have been deserted if it wasn't for Rachel making her way across the grounds towards the large wooden doors. If the proclone was honest with herself, something about these buildings made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She'd entered one once, a long time ago, when her parents lived, to attend a wedding, or a Christening – she couldn't remember which. Even while growing up, seeing anything remotely related to churches or religion of any kind irked her. Something about the atmosphere felt wrong to Rachel. Not that she ever told anyone that...

And yet, here she was forcing herself towards the ominous building by herself at nightfall. She briefly wondered if it was even open...if anyone was really here...but they had to be. Leigh was here. She knew Leigh was here, or Rachel wouldn't have come at all.

Sure enough, Leigh's silhouette caught Rachel's attention immediately upon entering the church. Rachel expected the door to creak open, but it was almost silent. Leigh sat at the front of the church on the first bench to the right, staring at the stained glass windows before her. Rachel forced herself to focus on Leigh. The dim lighting, scent of incense, and overall foreboding vibe the place gave out could not put Rachel off. She was not so weak.

She kept her eyes on Leigh, even when she reached her; even when Leigh realised she was not alone and almost jumped out of her skin in surprise and stared fearfully at her sister. The hairdresser took a calming breath, but Rachel spoke before she could.

"Why are you here? You are not religious."

Leigh didn't like the way Rachel's voice cut into the perfect silence around them. She didn't want to disrupt it further with her own voice, either. She turned away from Rachel to look at the large, coloured windows once more.

"I can hear myself think in here," Leigh spoke softly. "I'd ask how you knew I was here, but that'd be a stupid question."

Rachel didn't miss the biting tone to Leigh's voice. She watched the hairdresser automatically raise her hand to rub the back of her neck. "I can only apologise so many times," Rachel said stiffly.

Leigh forced a smile. She still didn't look away from the windows. "Yet you still use it to your advantage."

"It's not like that," Rachel insisted. "I was...concerned."

"Sure," Leigh responded.

Silence fell between them. Rachel eventually willed herself to step towards Leigh to sit down next to her. She fit perfectly in the gap between Leigh and the edge of the bench, wondering if Leigh might budge up to make room...but Leigh stayed where she was. She would never admit it, but she welcomed the warmth Rachel brought with her. The church was cold, especially when Leigh was alone.

"You've been coming here often," Rachel stated after a while.

Leigh nodded. "Yeah. I was...passing, one day, and I just..."

"Found comfort in God?" Rachel guessed, arching an eyebrow.

Leigh gave a subtle frown. She wasn't in the mood for Rachel's mocking, disapproving comments. "I wouldn't say that, exactly," she told Rachel sternly. "No...like I said, I...I just needed space, OK? Somewhere to go to get away from...from being watched, constantly. It's quiet here, and I can just...think. Not that I have to explain myself to you."

Rachel watched Leigh carefully. She knew it made sense. Even when Leigh went back to her own house, she was being watched now Shaun was there to stay. She did not have the opportunity to be completely alone anymore, but a part of Rachel thought Leigh was melodramatic and petty for feeling so down about it. It wasn't that bad. Rachel had put up with such things most of her life, and she hadn't kicked up a fuss when Daniel was assigned to her. She just wished Leigh would get a grip and learn to manipulate such situations to her advantage, like Rachel had.

But Leigh was a very angry woman these days, so Rachel wasn't going to tell her that. Leigh's stubbornness was irritating, but Rachel didn't want to push her away more than she had already.

"It is unnerving," Rachel spoke. She wasn't sure she wanted to admit this out loud. "This place."

Leigh turned sharply to look at her. "Is it? I don't think so."

"I feel as though we're being watched more than ever when we are in here," Rachel explained.

Leigh frowned deeply in confusion before she understood. Then she raised her eyebrows slightly. "Are you scared of God?" she asked quietly.

Rachel shook her head instantly and averted her gaze. Leigh didn't fail to notice her sister's entire body tense at the mention of the word. "No," Rachel insisted. "It's..."

She couldn't find the words to speak. Leigh just stared at her, feeling more confused. Was Rachel scared of God? Of being judged, being damned for all she'd done, and for the possible consequences that could come from it? No; that was daft. She was Rachel Duncan. She was far too smart and logical and superior to even allow these thoughts to cross her mind; to even believe in such things. Both Leigh and Rachel were of that opinion...but Leigh wondered for a moment if they were kidding themselves.

Leigh stood quickly and made to leave the church. Rachel went after her. The thought of being left alone in such a place was daunting, and she was more relieved to see Leigh leaving than she'd admit. They stayed quiet until they were back out on the street. The evening was silent and calm.

"I just thought," Leigh continued when it became apparent that Rachel was going to say nothing else, "that maybe I'd give a place like this a go, since I can't seem to find peace anywhere else."

"Least of all with me," Rachel murmured, not meeting Leigh's gaze.

A pause followed. Leigh sighed, stopped walking and stood in front of Rachel. Rachel hesitated. She took a step towards her sister. "You needn't come here of all places to seek...to seek whatever it is you're seeking. I assure you you'd be quite safe with me, if you'd just...come home with me."

"Would I?" Leigh asked with a forced laugh.

"I've always wanted you safe, Leigh. You just fail to understand that," Rachel almost whispered.

Leigh shook her head, frowning once more. "You don't even feel safe yourself," she snapped now, causing Rachel to look up in alarm. "You never have."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Rachel tried to argue, but Leigh roughly grabbed Rachel's wrist and forced it up to the back of her own neck behind her hair. Rachel felt the small scar on Leigh's skin. She tried to pull her arm away, but Leigh's grip was tight.

"What the hell is this, then?" Leigh hissed at her. "I have never felt so violated in all my life, but that doesn't matter to you, does it?"

"I'vetold you, over and over; I didn't know Aldous would do such a thing," Rachel tried to explain.

"But you won't do anything about it either, will you?" Leigh argued in a higher voice than usual. "You know you could push until you get your way so I can have this THING taken out of me, but you won't. And you won't because you're scared; because you think I'm a threat, like he thinks I'm a threat."

"It's not like that, Leigh," Rachel spoke. Her voice was calm and quiet, but firm. Leigh eventually let go of Rachel so the proclone could pull her hand away.

"You watch my every move, Rachel," Leigh continued. She felt quite sick now.

"Because I'm concerned, not because I don't trust you," Rachel insisted. It was obvious Leigh didn't believe her. "Leigh, listen...things could be so much worse for you. I don't think I have to tell you by now that I...feared greatly for your safety while you were travelling." Rachel paused her speech to reach out and touch Leigh again. "At least this way, I can see you're safe...I know where you are..."

Leigh's anger dissolved, only to be replaced with a numbed acceptance...if she could even call it acceptance. She would never agree that Rachel didn't feel threatened. If she didn't feel threatened by Leigh, she felt threatened by DYAD. By Leekie.

This was the second time Leigh forgave Rachel, if only out of sheer exhaustion.

"I think you want the best of both worlds, Rachel," Leigh spoke eventually. She shook her head at her own words, especially when Rachel looked confused. "And it won't work forever. Me and DYAD don't go together, and you're going to realise that eventually."

Leigh broke away from Rachel's touch and continued down the street, unwilling to wait for Rachel to say she'd chose DYAD over her own sister every time.

Life continued to prove difficult for Leigh as the weeks rolled by. In spite of herself; in spite of her hatred for Daniel and the revulsion she felt at cracking so easily, Leigh turned up at Rachel's house one December evening after an unpleasant day with Shaun. She had a bag packed and a large suitcase behind her. Rachel was surprised to see her. Leigh's face was expressionless, worn out, and a little unnerving.

"I can't deal with that arsehole breathing down my neck twenty-four seven," was the first thing she said when she saw Rachel. "So you win. I'll be staying here instead."

Rachel stepped aside without a word, letting slip a small smile as Leigh marched inside.

Anger still radiated from Leigh for a long time after that. It hurt Rachel quite a bit. There was still one thing Leigh hadn't forgiven her for, and Rachel's patience was wearing thin.

Aila.

Rachel couldn't understand; all she had done had been for Leigh, because she had to make sure she was safe, but apparently, that made Rachel the enemy.

Rachel mentally kicked herself every time she lost her nerve and attempted to reach out to her sister, only to be shoved away and insulted. What had she been expecting? For Leigh to instantly forgive her and for things to go back to 'normal'? What was normal about this, anyway? Even when they were growing up, Rachel and Leigh had had a complicated and difficult relationship. There was never anything 'normal' about it.

Leigh and Rachel barely spoke to one another despite living under the same roof, and Leigh seemed to vanish altogether whenever Daniel paid a visit. She would retreat into the spare room without a word, shooting glares at Rachel's monitor as she went. She would not come out again until Daniel was gone, except to eat and use the bathroom. Rachel was sure Leigh stayed in the room for three days straight at one point. She'd obviously gone to great lengths to avoid seeing both Rachel and Daniel, only coming out when neither of them were around.

Rachel didn't like it. It wasn't healthy for Leigh to shut herself away all day every day. It was only making her angrier and angrier, and while it assured Rachel that Leigh wasn't actuallygoing anywhere, or getting up to anything she shouldn't, she wanted to do something about it.

There had to be an intervention.

It was for this reason that she turned Daniel away the next time they saw each other. He'd been pandering to Rachel all day long at DYAD, and Rachel allowed him to drive her home as usual.

"You are dismissed for this evening, Daniel," she told him as she stepped out of the car. "I require your absence."

Daniel didn't like to defy orders, but he did have a job to do. A job that would cause problems with Leekie if it wasn't done properly. Then again, Daniel would be lying to himself if he said that was the only reason he wanted to stay at Rachel's again.

"You seem to be requiring my absence more and more often," he reminded Rachel carefully. "Perhaps I should stay."

"Go home, Daniel."

Rachel slammed the car door shut, ending the discussion promptly. Daniel looked annoyed briefly, and this pleased Rachel greatly. Daniel didn't want to stay because it was his duty; she knew that. He only seemed to be interested in one thing as of late, and she wasn't going to let him have it tonight, or the next, or the next. She watched him drive off before approaching the house.

She was very displeased to discover her kitchen in a terrible state. Leigh was in the middle of it, throwing together various food items and apparently looking for something. Why did she have to be so messy?

"Can I help you?" Rachel said stiffly to get her attention.

Leigh froze, but slowly rounded on her sister to see her wearing a very unimpressed stare. "I'm making dinner," she said flatly.

"Are you sure about that? You appear to be destroying my kitchen."

Leigh said nothing. She wasn't in the mood for Rachel. She never was anymore. She kept her eyes fixed firmly on what she was doing, never once glancing in Rachel's direction, who stood completely still to watch her for a while. Rachel knew her staring was fuelling Leigh's anger, but that's why she did it. She wished Leigh would get it all out of her system already. She wanted Leigh to shout, and scream, and lash out; whatever it took to allow them to move on from this.

Leigh wasn't going to cave though, apparently. Rachel watched her cook an entire meal, never once moving to remove her coat or sit down, and waited while Leigh tidied up the kitchen as best as she could. Once she served herself a plate, Rachel thought she would sit down at the kitchen table, allowing Rachel a chance to join her so they could talk, but Leigh did no such thing.

Instead, she picked up her plate, swept past Rachel, and disappeared to her room, closing the door loudly behind her.

Hot tears filled Rachel's eyes instantly. It shocked her that Leigh's behaviour upset her so much. She thought she'd mastered controlling her emotions by now.

Well, no more. Rachel would take control of this, like she did everything else.

She stormed angrily across the house towards Leigh's room, and yanked the door open without knocking. Leigh was sitting on the edge of her bed with her plate in her lap, eating as quickly as she could. She paused to peer up at Rachel, looking quite alarmed.

"Go and sit at the kitchen table," Rachel ordered her.

"I'm happy here, thanks."

"No you are NOT! Go!"

Leigh simply stared at her.

"Leigh, this is my house, and when you are in my house, you will obey my rules. If I say you will eat at the table, you will eat at the table."

The hairdresser inhaled deeply, apparently defeated. She stiffly rose from the bed, clutching the plate tightly while she exited the room. Rachel followed her.

"I would like to talk to you," she told Leigh firmly. She invited herself to sit opposite Leigh, who said nothing while she finished her meal. "I don't want you keeping to that tiny room all day every day. I don't like it."

Leigh forced a sarcastic laugh. She gently set down her knife and fork on her empty plate, folded her arms across her chest, and leaned back in her chair. It was only then that she looked at Rachel properly.

"Yeah, well you've done a lot of things I don't like either, but I have to accept them," she snapped.

Rachel closed her eyes. She had to stay composed. She took a moment to talk calmness into herself before addressing Leigh again.

"You can't be telling me you're content to shut yourself off from the world," she spoke quietly. "It is not like you."

A wide smile flashed on Leigh's face. There was no warmth to it. What had these awful clone friends of hers done to her to make her this way? To make her consider them far more important than they actually were? To make her hate Rachel for putting them in their inferior place?

Rachel wasn't sure she knew Leigh at all anymore.

"I can't stand you being angry with me, Leigh," she whispered at last. She looked away as she said this. She hated herself suddenly. She hated herself for having no control over these emotions. Rachel stood from the chair, walked around the table, and knelt down at Leigh's side. "Please..."

"Please what?" Leigh snapped.

Rachel placed a hand on Leigh's knee and gazed up at her sadly. Leigh stared down at her, waiting for an explanation. "Please don't be angry with me."

Leigh shot up from the chair, forcing Rachel away from her. She rushed to move away, but Rachel stood quickly and blocked her path, taking Leigh's shoulders to keep her held still.

"Get off," Leigh told her, but Rachel shook her head.

"No. No, Leigh, please...I need to make you understand-"

"You HURT my closest friend!" Leigh said loudly. She was trying to sound angry, Rachel was sure of it, but she whimpered the words rather than shouted them. "We trusted you and you were SO cruel! How do you expect me to understand WHY?"

She attempted to fight Rachel off her. Rachel only tightened her grip. Leigh was too tired to find the strength to escape her grasp.

"Listen to me," Rachel pleaded. She held Leigh's gaze, neither of them blinking. "It wasn't personal-"

"Bullshit!"

"Leigh, stop," Rachel said desperately. "It wasn't; it wasn't about Aila, ever! You were right...Aldous...he lied to us...he lied to us both, and you wanted me to know-"

"Yeah, but-"

"-and I thought...I thought..." Rachel trailed off, feeling weak suddenly as she attempted to explain herself. How could her wild, insane logic ever make sense to Leigh? Tears filled her eyes again, but she didn't care much about fighting them back this time. "I thought I may lose you forever, Leigh...listen...you're my sister...I thought I may never have the chance to tell you what that means to me."

Leigh's face was wet with tears now; angry but defeated tears.

After a painful few seconds of staring silently at Rachel, Leigh broke down at last. Her knees buckled, and the last of her strength left her. A strangled sob escaped her as she fell against her sister. Leigh's weight being forced onto her so suddenly caused Rachel to stumble, and then they were both kneeling on the floor with Rachel holding Leigh tightly.

She didn't like Leigh's crying. Leigh still sounded so angry, as though she'd never understand or appreciate the lengths Rachel had gone to, but she clung to Rachel desperately as she sobbed. Rachel struggled to breathe for a moment or two. Oh, how she'd never forgive those parasites for breaking her sister like this. For causing such sadness. Such weakness.

Leigh allowed herself to forgive Rachel a third time, despite feeling as though she was betraying Aila.

Rachel wondered if it was just a matter of time before Leigh discovered that she was officially dead. The status on Leigh's file read 'deceased', and Rachel was responsible for it. She had her reasons, though, and should she ever need to explain them, she knew Leigh would forgive her again.

After all, Rachel reasoned, Leigh always forgave her in the end.