They fought for hours. The time piece sat above the wardrobe remained the fixture for Lara's eyes yet neither she nor Claire took notice of how quickly the small hand seemed to be moving, not until their attention was drawn to the rising sun. They were wrapped up in their problems, verbally abusing each other for as long as they could stand before calling it a day, quite literally, on their argument and on their relationship. How had it come to be? She could barely remember when they first became an item. If only Claire's trouble hadn't hit so close to home she would have been able to put it behind her and get on with living her independent life. If only she didn't have to see her ex-lovers face everyday she would be able to find someone new, someone better suited for her hectic lifestyle. Someone more accepting.

"Who am I kidding?" Flumping onto the dishevelled bed clothes, Lara brought the frightfully bright blanket over her head until she was completely covered, completely alone but no where near to being complete.

Eighteen Months Ago

"Keith!"

Claire pounded on the door, determined to be let in. He had really taken this stalking business too far, showing up at the bar she attended after work was one thing but beating one of her friends up for no apparent reason was something completely different.

"Keith I swear to God if you don't...", she didn't see the point in continuing the threat. It wouldn't get her anywhere. Smacking the teal shaded door she went on her way, climbing into the compact vehicle she loved so much and heading in the direction of her work. The motorway seemed the logical route to take, it was always quiet when she worked the early shift. Usually she wouldn't have had the stomach to face the drunken homeless population that seemed to fill the department come Saturday morning but this day was different, this day she wanted a diversion from her unusually frustrating life.

Easing the handbrake into neutral, Claire hurriedly emptied the contents of her bag onto the passenger seat. In her haste, she had completely forgotten to put any make up on and if she was to get through twelve hours of treating the general public she was going to need a confidence boost, one which preferably came in a small bottle labelled Maybelline. After adjusting the rear-view mirror accordingly, she began to lightly apply the black mascara aware that behind her a pair of headlights were drawing near. Choosing to ignore this she carried on as best she could but by the time eyeliner, eye shadow and lip gloss had been applied she was well aware that this particular set of lights had stopped a few meters behind her own parked vehicle. Trying desperately to see the license plate she wondered if perhaps she knew the driver.

Squinting hard into the distance she read aloud, "K989 REY."

"Keith!" Angered by how childish he was behaving she clambered out the drivers door and strode towards the inimitable car. She only managed a few feet before the lights flashed on and off repeatedly, blinding her. She covered her eyes and so could only hear the engine come to life. Frightened by the sudden roar she restored her vision just in time to see Keith's car swerve towards her menacingly, catching her leg, as she leapt to safety, and spinning her body so violently that when she did land she was sure she had broken her back.

Flagging down a taxi at five in the morning was proving to be more difficult than Claire had imagined.

"Why couldn't I have gotten a ride home before suggesting we break up?" Carefully minding the kerb, she skipped across the road to the bus shelter where she sat with a heavy heart. Why had she brought up that topic? She knew fine well how Lara felt about it, she had been told often enough.

"We have each other, isn't that enough? Why complicate things?" She mimicked in a mocking tone. She was right, they did have each other but Claire wanted, no, she needed more. Lara simply seemed incapable of respecting her needs, this one in particular. That hadn't always been the case though. Claire recalled a time when Dr.Stone acknowledged what others wanted and when she would go out of her way to make sure they got it.