When they got home Leo sent Erin upstairs straight away to get into bed. He knew she had only gotten a few hours sleep the previous night and was bordering on exhaustion. Erin pulled back her now clean duvet and settled down in her bed unable to forget the sinking feeling inside of her, she hadn't told Leo about seeing Nora at the lab because she didn't want to worry him and anyway he had promised her that she would be safe.
She heard a knock on the door and looked up to see Leo entering her room. He gave her a warm smile and perched on the end of her bed
"How are you feeling now?" he asked
"Fine" Erin replied quickly
Leo frowned but said nothing "I want you just to relax for the rest of the evening" he told her firmly
"I feel fine" she protested
"You're exhausted" he retorted "You only get a little sleep each night Erin and you barely got any last night. You're body needs its sleep"
"I don't feel tired" she whined
"Erin…" Leo said firmly and she pulled a face "You're more tired than you realise. Get some sleep for a couple of hours and if you're hungry when you wake up, then I'll get you something"
Knowing she was beaten Erin nodded and shifted down further into her bed. Leo gave her a gentle kiss on the head before leaving the room and closing the door quietly.
As soon as Erin started to close her eyes she felt a sense of tiredness wash over her and before she knew it she was plunged into a deep sleep
Erin's eyes flickered open and she glanced across at her clock which told her it was still the early hours of the morning. She frowned as she tried to realise what had stirred her from her slumber. Suddenly she heard the sound of raised voices from downstairs and she froze to the spot listening intently
"It's half past one in the morning" she heard the voice of Leo drift up to her room
"I want to see her" Erin froze as she recognised the voice of Nora
"She's made it perfectly clear she doesn't want to see you" Leo replied
Summoning up her courage Erin slipped out of her room and sat on the top of the stairs, just out of sight of the front door, but she was close enough so she could see what was going on
"She's my goddaughter" Nora bellowed
"That doesn't give you a right to see her" Leo said firmly "She's clearly frightened of you and you caused enough damage to last her a lifetime"
"I want to see her!" Nora said pushing past Leo and stepping into the house
Erin tried to shrink back from view but it was too late: Nora had spotted her
Nora's mood changed immediately as she saw the young girl "Erin…" she cooed "Come down and talk to me"
Erin shook her head wildly and shrank back towards her bedroom
"If you do not leave now I will call the police" Leo warned
"Erin, I only want to speak to you" Nora tried again but once more Erin denied her this
"Last chance" Leo warned but Nora took a step up the stairs closer to Erin
"Erin, go to your bedroom" Leo called to her "Everything's going to be okay"
Erin didn't need telling twice and she leapt in her bedroom just as Leo was on the phone to the police
Less than ten minutes later the police arrived at Leo's door, Nora had scarpered at the sight of the flashing blue lights but it still didn't put his mind at ease. The police were concerned about the incident and they were taking a statement from Leo to use if the case happened to go any further. Two police officers were now at the Dalton residence, a dark haired male was upstairs keeping an eye on Erin and a small blonde female was taking Leo's statement
"Did you try and restrain her at all Sir?" a young female police officer asked Leo
The pathologist shook his head "I still have my morals despite the threat she poses to my daughter"
"That would be Erin?" the officer asked and Leo nodded "Would it be alright if I have a quick talk with her?"
"Of course" Leo said leading the way upstairs "Just be warned she's a little shaken up at the moment and she's not at ease around strangers"
The officer nodded sympathetically and they stepped into Erin's bedroom. The room was now flooded with light and Erin was sitting cross legged on her bed whilst another male officer sat in her room with her to keep her company
"Erin, I'm Lucy and you've already met Ed" she said motioning to the man who was keeping Erin company "Now I know it's quite early in the morning but do you think we could have a little chat?"
Erin shrugged and stared down at the floor
"It'll only be for a few minutes. I just want to talk to you about Nora"
"I don't want to talk about her" Erin said wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her dressing gown
"I know" Lucy said gently "But we need to know about her so we can protect you"
"The law didn't help me last time" Erin said darkly
"They just want to help Erin" Leo said softly
Erin wiped her eyes again and nodded "Can Leo stay?" she asked quietly
"Of course" Lucy gave her a warm smile as Leo sat down next to Erin on her bed and gathered her up in his arms.
Erin felt much braver as Leo held her close and did her best to answer all the officer's questions
"Nora's your godmother. Is that right?"
"Yes" Erin confirmed "But I wish she wasn't" the last part was said so quietly only Leo could hear it and in response he tightened his hold on Erin
"When was the last tim you saw her?"
Erin paused "A few years ago. I don't know exactly"
"That's okay" Lucy smiled scribbling something down on her notepad
"Will she come back?" Erin asked the officers
"I'm sure Leo has told you this" Ed explained "But when you were adopted, the rights your original family had over you were changed. Now officially Nora has no right to see you unless you want her to. So she had no business coming round here and trying to barge her way in"
"Will you lock her away?"
Ed gave her a small smile "We can't lock her away for that but if we catch up with her then we'll give her a warning not to come near you again"
"If?" Erin started "You mean she's gone?"
Lucy nodded "But if she comes back, we've got measures in place" she fumbled around in her pocket and pulled out a small card "This has the number of the police station on" she told Erin "If she comes near you again you can call this number and me or one of my colleagues will come and make sure everything's alright"
Erin nodded
"I doubt she'll come back again" Ed told "I bet we scared her off" he told her with a grin which Erin tried desperately to return
"We're going to go now" Lucy told her
"Sleep tight" Ed told her with a wink as the three adults left the room
Erin climbed back into bed a little overwhelmed by the ordeal; she clutched the card Lucy had given her, in her hand repeating the number over and over again until she fully remembered it. She had a horrible feeling that she would need it in the near future.
