Chapter Six –

Jake spent the following hour or so explaining the situation to Leigh. It took a while for Leigh to absorb it all. A headache grew stronger and stronger as Jake told her more and more.

"I don't know all the nasty details myself," Jake told her numbly as he and Leigh sat on the sofa. "I was just a kid when it happened...I was just a kid when it all came out. All I ever knew was Mum had an affair with your dad."

Leigh clenched her fists tightly. She wanted to say it was impossible; the whole reason Janet and Spencer went to DYAD was because they couldn't have children on their own...but Leigh couldn't tell Jake about that. Besides, her parents could have lied. Either that, or Leigh's father was fertile while Janet was not...whatever the case, it was messy, and Leigh found herself to be angry at them suddenly. Was there nobody in her life left capable of honesty?

"I'm not sure I believe this," Leigh muttered darkly.

Jake stared. "They had a paternity test done and everythin'," he explained. "Don't you remember all the arguments between your dad and mine?"

"Yeah, and then they decided they didn't want to know each other, and I never saw you again," Leigh grumbled, nodding.

Jake shook his head. "I can't believe you didn't ever know about this. Didn't you ever wonder why we were all pulled apart like that?"

"Yeah of course I did, but..." Leigh trailed off. She had no clue what to say. If this was true, she was gobsmacked the family wouldn't tell her about this. She turned back to Jake. "So why now then? If you've all known for years, why's Ray only kicked Gabby out now?"

Jake shrugged, and stared down at his shoes. "Mum was due to get out of prison, maybe..."

"Maybe?"

"Yeah...she appealed, see? Got a retrial...things were bad with Dad and Gabby for ages...but then Mum's appeal failed...sent down for life...and I dunno, Dad just lost it, sayin' how Mum proper fucked up the family with all she ever done...he's always taken it out on Gabby, even the whole prison thing, and that ain't right, is it? I know he was threatenin' to kick her out because of all the arguments between 'em. Always thought Gabs would come live with me, but..."

"But she'd rather run off all the way to London by herself because you're doing drugs," Leigh shot venomously.

Jake screwed his face up and buried his head in his hands. He gripped his short hair tightly. "I don't do drugs myself, Ashleigh."

"So you just deal? Is that supposed to be better?"

"You don't understand!" Jake shouted. He stood up quickly and paced the living room. Leigh was quite stunned at how fast her cousin became defensive whenever this subject was brought up. "You obviously got no idea what kind of shit we been dealin' with all these years, so you got no right to judge, OK? I had to get out of that hell hole before I snapped and did somethin' I'd regret! You don't know how bad he treats Gabby!"

"And turning to drugs is the answer?" Leigh argued.

Jake kicked the ground, frustration clear on his face. "Life for me and Gabs growing up has been hell! Do you know what it's like goin' to school to have the living shit kicked out of ya because your mum's a pissin' murderer?! I hated that place, so I didn't go there much! And jobs are hard to come by when you got a piss poor education – I'm just tryin' to earn enough to get Gabby somewhere safe!"

Leigh shook her head numbly. She couldn't believe it. How could things have gotten so bad without her knowing any of it?

Suddenly, a sickening thought occurred to her. Did Rachel know any of this? The blonde seemed to know everything about everything, or at least she liked to think so. Did she know about Gabby's origins?

"Look, just lemme take Gabs back-"

"No," Leigh told him firmly, effectively silencing him. "She's not going back there if all she's got waiting for her is a dad who doesn't want her and a drug dealer for a brother." She didn't mean to sound so harsh, but the shock of everything was making her feel raw in that moment. "She can stay here with me. I'll figure something out."

Jake scowled, but didn't argue. He could tell there was no way to make Leigh understand. She'd been brought up sheltered from the darkness of the world, and had no way of realising just how desperate and hopeless things could really get.

The room lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.

"I'm gonna go say bye then," Jake muttered curtly, before walking towards the stairs.

Leigh sighed, rubbing her head as her headache intensified. "You've been driving all day...stay the night and then leave in the morning," she told him tiredly, looking at the time. It was nearly dinner time already.

Jake glanced at her, surprised. "Ya sure? I don't mind drivin' back now..."

Leigh nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. Gabby's staying here though, and that's final. I'll look after her," she muttered. She knew this would severely delay her hunt for Amelia, but she wouldn't let her cousin go back to Scotland where there was nothing positive waiting for her.

Leekie would just have to accept that if he threw up a fuss over it.


After several hours of sitting in her cell, Aila couldn't deny she was extremely hungry. She hadn't eaten since the day before. She remembered Morgan telling her if she didn't eat, she'd be made to go without.

Aila hadn't seen the surgeon since earlier in the afternoon, but she knew she'd have to buck up and get this over with by herself regardless. She couldn't rely on the other clone just because she was afraid.

With that thought in mind, Aila walked out of her cell and made her way down to the first floor, where she remembered seeing people eating earlier in the day. There were many women of all ages hanging around, though nobody seemed to pay Aila any mind.

Entering the eating area, Aila paused to take in the arrangement. It seemed as though there was a line where people could get trays before making their way up to be served food. Aila was again reminded strongly of a school lunchroom as she got in line and grabbed a tray.

The officers walked around through the crowds and called out that dinner was to be served, and for everyone to report to the eating area. Aila was wholly convinced there were not enough tables for the number of inmates, but she figured it didn't matter. She'd eat and get back to her cell as quickly as possible.

When she had her food, which looked entirely unappetizing, Aila made her way to a free seat and looked around the room. She couldn't see Saffi or Morgan anywhere. Aila shook her head and began eating, surprised to find the food didn't taste half as bad as it looked.

Suddenly, another tray landed on the table opposite her. Aila glanced up and froze with wide eyes as she took in the sight of an older woman with long, dirty blonde hair. Her bright hazel eyes seemed to shine with wickedness.

"Ello Hailee. Fancy meetin' you 'ere, eh?" the woman said smoothly.

Aila recognised the woman immediately, even if she'd aged quite a bit since they last saw each other. Her name was Angela Sylvester. She'd been a member of the gang Aila had lived with for five years in her youth. Sylvester had been the main cook at the city house, though she had a reputation for being quite a bully as well.

Aila tried to mask her surprise quickly, acting as though she didn't know who the woman was. "Sorry, wrong girl. My name's Aila, not Hailee."

The woman grinned darkly. "Yeah, and I'm a bleedin' saint," she scoffed. "Word has it you were one of the little bitches who got us shut down and landed a load of us here. I'm sure a few others 'round here would like to have a word about that..."

Aila paled slightly. She couldn't help but wonder how many of her former gang members were in here, and how they found out the names of the ones who'd gotten them thrown in prison.

Before she could respond though, another woman appeared at the table, giving Sylvester a leveled glare. "Oi, leave the girl alone Sylvester. Piss off back to your own table, yeah?"

Sylvester arched an eyebrow at the new woman. "Why, fancy her yourself Wilks?" she shot back as she stood up.

The room fell silent as everyone's eyes turned to Sylvester and Wilks. Before things could escalate, two officers shouted at the women to break it up. Sylvester muttered something under her breath and glared down at Aila venomously. "You best watch your back in here, Hailee. Not as easy to get away with bein' a grass in this place as it were on the outside."

Sylvester turned and made her way to another table. After a moment, the other inmates in the room resumed their normal conversation.

Wilks sat down opposite Aila. "You all right?" she asked.

"Yeah...cheers," Aila muttered, rubbing her arm absently.

"Tracy Wilks," the woman introduced herself, holding out a hand to Aila.

"Aila MacPherson," Aila told her, lightly grasping her hand. This woman had just helped her out, so being polite was the least Aila could do.

Aila took a few seconds to take in Wilks. She appeared middle-aged, and was rather good-looking. Her hair was a dull, reddish-brown and grew down past her shoulders, and her grey eyes stood out against the rest of her warm complexion.

Tracy eyed Aila curiously. "How come Sylvester kept callin' ya 'Hailee'?" she asked.

"Hell knows," Aila muttered, not making eye contact. She wasn't about to tell Wilks that Hailee was her real name, whether she'd helped her or not. The last thing she wanted was for word to get back to Sylvester that Aila really was the person she remembered. "Mistaken identity," Aila offered with a shrug.

She could feel Tracy watching her carefully, though couldn't find it in her to ask her to stop. Aila instead pushed back her chair and abruptly stood up, taking Tracy by surprise. "Sorry," she mumbled pathetically. "It's just – phone call..." Truthfully, Aila just wanted to get back to her cell, but she didn't want to appear rude.

Tracy shifted around in her chair as Aila passed. "It's tough," she spoke loudly enough for Aila to hear her, "on your first day. I get it."

Aila stopped in her tracks. She looked back over her shoulder at Tracy, who blinked slowly.

"Kinda helps to have a phone card though, if you need to make a phone call," Tracy continued.

"Err..." Aila began.

"You can't have earned one yet. Not until they give ya a job and you start earnin' wages. Here..." Tracy reached into her pocket and beckoned Aila over. She whipped out a phone card and handed it to Aila after glancing around to make sure the officers weren't watching. "Don't usually give these out for free, but..."

Aila stared. "Then why are you?"

Tracy shrugged. "Like I said. I know it's tough."

Aila reluctantly accepted the card and grasped it firmly to keep it hidden from everyone else. She took a moment to watch Tracy with a frown, briefly wondering if she was up to anything to be wary of.

However, Aila gave a nod and took a step back. "Thanks," said sincerely.

Tracy nodded too. "Might wanna get rid of your tray if you're done eatin'," she advised, she too getting up to walk away. "Only takes you forgettin' to do the little things like that for the screws to start pickin' on ya n'all. Especially Holmes..."

Tracy disappeared as quickly as she arrived. Aila stared into the crowd of inmates for a minute before picking up her tray to dispose of her unwanted food.


"Where you off to?" Jake asked Leigh after dinner.

Leigh had run out to the store to buy more food supplies for her cousins and had cooked for them. Gabby, still in a foul mood, insisted on locking herself upstairs in Leigh's bedroom after everyone ate, not wanting to discuss recent events with Leigh at all. Now, Leigh was tired of sitting around. She knew what she had to do now, and she'd rather get it out of the way as soon as possible.

"I have to nip out somewhere," Leigh explained to Jake. She put on her shoes and picked up her coat as Jake watched her expectantly. "I'm probably gonna be a few hours, so just stay here with Gabby."

"That don't answer my question," Jake told her accusingly. He raised his eyebrows at her. "You goin' to your folks?"

Leigh rolled her eyes and groaned. "For the last time, they're NOT here."

"You sure as hell ain't tellin' us everythin'," Jake told her bluntly.

"You don't want to know everything, Jake," Leigh shot at him as she zipped up her coat. She shook her head and refused to meet his gaze. "Trust me on that."

"So you expect me to leave my sister in your care when you won't even tell us what's goin' on? Because I'm sure it's somethin' dodgy."

"Not half as dodgy as you and your friggin' drugs," Leigh hissed at him.

"Don't start this again," Jake warned her.

"Then you mind your own friggin' business," Leigh snapped.

"If you won't talk, Gabs ain't stayin' here," Jake argued. "I still don't believe you was really ignorant to all this. You're involved somehow, and I wanna know where you're goin'. You can't stop me followin' you."

Leigh forced a laugh and approached the door. "Stay here with Gabby and don't even think about running off back to Scotland with her."

"Or what?" Jake challenged her. He paused and narrowed his eyes. "Does it involve Rachel?" Leigh completely froze. Her eyes grew wide. "Yeah, forgot I know about her, didn't ya? You never did explain her existence properly, did ya? She part of some dirty little secret your parents been keepin' as well?"

"Do not talk about Rachel," Leigh seethed as she rounded on him. "Not to Gabby. Not to anyone."

"What are you so scared of for people to find out about her? This whole thing with Gabby...the secret about Rachel...somethin' just don't add up with all of this, Ashleigh, and I wanna know why! Your parents ain't around, and it's obviously somethin' to do with-"

"STAY HERE," Leigh spoke loudly over Jake. Jake fell quiet to listen to her. "Jake, you do NOT know what you're dealing with, so just back off if you know what's good for you! And if you follow me, or if I get back here and find you and Gabby gone, I'll call the police and tell them you're dealing."

"Oh come on!" Jake cried in disbelief.

"What kind of shit do you deal, Jake?" Leigh continued, eager for her warning to sink in. "Just how bad is it that it's made you like this? Because I'm looking at you right now and I don't remember you being so pathetic."

"Yeah?" Jake spat, eyes wide with anger. "Well, I don't remember you being such a bitch."

Leigh paused for a moment to stare at her cousin. Jake only stared back, apparently unfazed and not sorry for his words.

At last, Leigh tore her eyes from Jake's and left the house with a terrific bang as the door closed firmly behind her.


Rachel glanced over at the sound of the door opening and closing. The blonde was still on her laptop at the table. She wanted to make a comment about the amount of time Leigh had spent at her own house, but the words died in her throat as she took in the expression on Leigh's face.

"What happened?" Rachel asked, walking over to her twin to get a better look at her.

Leigh shook her head and approaced the sofa to flop down. The hairdresser looked tired and upset. Rachel followed her curiously, concerned at her twin's behaviour.

"Leigh?" Rachel asked again. "You are causing me great concern. Tell me what happened to put you in such a state."

Leigh sighed. "Rachel...I've got to move back into my own house." Rachel looked like she wanted to protest, but Leigh held a hand up to stop her. "Just listen, OK? Look...Gabby's not going back to Scotland. She's going to be living with me from now on. Her dad kicked her out, and well...she was going to live with Jake, but..." Leigh scowled and shook her head. "But I don't want her to...turns out he's gone and started drug dealing for money. Gabby doesn't deserve to be around people like that."

Rachel blinked slowly, stunned. "Jake has gotten involved in drug dealing?" she repeated.

Leigh nodded, inwardly relieved that Rachel sounded genuinely surprised. "Yeah...and that's not even the kicker," she sighed, unconsciously leaning into Rachel for a hug. The blonde immediately returned the gesture as she waited to hear what else had happened. Leigh closed her eyes. "Apparently Gabby's...she's my half-sister, Rachel...our half-sister," she whispered, gripping Rachel tightly. "Dad...Spencer...h-he cheated, apparently, with my aunt...that's why Ray doesn't want Gabby, because she's not his daughter..."

Rachel stared blankly into space for a moment as she held Leigh, again completely surprised by this revelation. "Is that why Spencer and Ray no longer wish to be in communication?"

"Yeah," Leigh muttered. "I just...fuck...I can't leave Gabby alone, Rachel. And I sure as fuck don't want her hanging around with Jake's druggie pals. She's just a kid. Please don't be mad at me. I just..."

"Have to do this," Rachel finished for her, sighing lightly herself.

"Yeah."

The twins lapsed into a silence for several minutes, each lost in her own thoughts. Leigh hoped taking care of Gabby wouldn't be too hard. She knew she'd need to find out how to get Gabby enrolled in school. Jake was right about one thing. It was impossible to get anywhere without a decent education, so she'd make sure Gabby could at least have that.

Rachel eventually let go of Leigh and sat back to look at her properly. She took Leigh by the hand. "I do not want you to go," she told Leigh bluntly. "But I know by now you will not be swayed in situations like this. You realise, however, if you go back, I must assign Shaun to watch over you again. How will you explain his presence to Gabby?"

Leigh shrugged. "I'll think of something."

"You could always bring her here to live with us. You can see for yourself that I have more than enough room to accommodate her."

"No," Leigh sighed, and her stern tone caused Rachel to look quite affronted. "Look, I know you're gonna be pissed at me for saying this, but I want her to stay well away from all things DYAD. I just want her to have a normal life. No abusive fathers, druggie brothers, or sciencey bullshit to screw with her. I don't think she remembers you, anyway, and I want it to stay that way."

"I see," Rachel said flatly, and Leigh didn't miss the way she tensed up a bit. Rachel glanced at her. "Does Jake?" she asked reluctantly.

Leigh paused. "Yeah," she said darkly. "And he was asking all sorts of questions as it was, about you, and about Janet and Spencer disappearing. I can't drag him and Gabby into all of this, Rachel. You know how messy it'll get."

Rachel found herself nodding in agreement, despite feeling rather bitter about it. "I suppose I should put the call in for your monitor to be retrieved, in that case."

"Thanks for letting me stay here," Leigh told her sincerely. She hugged her twin again.

Rachel sighed, but returned the gesture once more. Then she stood to walk back over to her laptop. "I will arrange for Shaun to return to your home tomorrow morning."

Leigh nodded quietly. She wasn't thrilled at the idea of having a monitor again, and had absolutely no idea what she was going to tell Gabby, but she figured she had at least tonight to work out a story of some kind. For now, she needed to get back to the house to make sure her cousins were still where they were meant to be.


"This sucks."

Rat was lying on her back on her bed, completely bored out of her mind. She didn't want to go anywhere until she heard back from Aila again, but the waiting was quickly wearing her patience thin.

Lucas watched her with a frown, not sure what to do. The two had already eaten, having ordered food from room service. The TV was on for background noise, though neither of them paid it any attention.

It had been several hours since Danielle needed to leave the video call to return to whatever the doctors wanted her to do for the day, and Rat was quickly becoming fed up of doing absolutely nothing. She found her thoughts lingering on Katja when there was nothing to do. As much as she missed her sister, she sometimes found she couldn't fight the surge of anger she felt at such a situation. She'd give anything to have Katja with her now.

Rat sat up straight, sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. The frown Lucas wore deepened at the sight, but he couldn't bring himself to move closer to offer his estranged daughter any kind of comfort. He and Rat were still very distant, and he was well aware of the unspoken boundaries keeping that distance.

Rat found herself absently taking her laptop and opening the lid. Before she could stop herself, she opened up a video file that'd been on her desktop for a good few months – a video file she couldn't bring herself to click on again until that moment.

"Hallo. If you are seeing zis, zen I have already left. Do not attempt to follow or contact me. I vill make contact vith you all again ven zis is over..."

Rat stared numbly at Katja's face on the screen as the German's message played. The hacker felt a lump in her throat at the sight. She didn't remember Katja looking so pale and sick. Had she really looked that bad the last time they were together?

"Please give my zanks to Lucas and your parents for helping us. Vee vouldn't have lasted vithout zem. I love you all so much. I look forward to returning to you as soon as I can..."

Lucas had been watching quietly over Rat's shoulder, and he finally willed himself to approach and sit carefully on the end of the bed. Rat glanced at him.

"Bloody reckless idiot left this for me before she buggered off to meet Beth," she grumbled irritably, masking her sadness well. "I was so angry..."

Lucas nodded. He dared to put a comforting hand on Rat's shoulder. "She is strong. I vish I knew her better, but...I already know she is strong."

"She's also sick," Rat reminded him, her voice squeaking slightly now. Lucas tightened his grip ever so slightly.

"Ja..."

Lucas didn't know what else to say. There was no known cure for this terrible illness, and he knew it was pointless to offer someone like Rat false hope and empty words. That didn't stop him feeling for the hacker, though, when a brief look of desperation flashed across her face.

Rat's phone rang, and she jumped up to find it immediately. Lucas wondered if he'd just imagined Rat's desperation; her face now blank and unreadable again. Rat glanced down at her phone. "Aila...it's gotta be Aila..."

"Answer it," Lucas urged her.

Rat nodded and pressed a button to answer the call. "Yes? Hello?"

She was greeted by a heavy sigh of relief. "Rat...at last."

Rat sighed too. "Hi...Aila, I'm sorry I didn't answer earlier. I just-"

"Don't worry about that," Aila said quickly. "I get it. Look, I don't have long on these stupid pissing phone cards, and someone else is waiting to use the phone. How're you holding up?"

Rat faltered, eyes growing wide. "Me? You're banged up in that hell hole, and you're worried about me?"

Aila didn't respond, instead shrugging to herself, forgetting Rat couldn't see her.

"I'm fine, and so is Lucas," Rat spoke again after a moment. "And you? If there's anything I can do-"

"I'm all good," Aila assured her. Rat was fairly certain Aila was trying to sound brave. "But you need to work on a plan, Rat. Don't just sit around stewing because I'm in here. Katja's still out there somewhere, and so is Beth! What use is waiting around? What if – what if DYAD catch up to you while you're stuck in the same place?" Aila spoke in hushed tones now.

Rat sighed and nodded. "Yeah...listen. Danielle got back in touch. She's in rehab, apparently."

"Danielle? Well thank God she's OK," Aila said, sounding genuinely pleased.

"Yeah...she...she wants to know when we can meet again..."

"Go to her," Aila said strictly. "I'm serious, Rat. There's nothing you can do for me at the moment apart from keep in touch. Promise me you'll at least do that, and I won't go crazy."

Rat looked at Lucas for a moment, who just looked confused. He wondered what Aila was saying over the phone. Then Rat inhaled deeply and bit back a groan. "I don't want to leave you, Aila. But I know you're right. Look, as soon as we get Danielle, we'll...we'll come back; we'll arrange to visit you or something..."

"I'd like that," Aila admitted.

"Yeah," Rat said awkwardly, shrugging. "And...it's OK to be scared. Nobody would blame you..."

Aila felt her eyes water a bit, and she turned to face the wall to hide her face from the impatient inmate waiting behind her to use the phone. "I'll be fine," she insisted, voice trembling a bit. "I'm not scared." She forced a small laugh, and Rat grinned a bit.

"I'm sure you can take care of yourself, but I'm just saying...it's OK," Rat told her. She didn't want to sound at all patronising, knowing full well that coming across as scared in a place like prison would just be asking to be targeted and bullied. At the same time, Rat didn't want Aila to bottle things up from the one person she had left.

"Thanks Rat," Aila said quietly. "I've gotta go...I'll call again soon. Take care."

"Yeah, you too," Rat mumbled.

The call ended. Rat looked down at her phone for a few seconds. She hated Aila being in that place. The very idea of leaving the country while Aila was locked up there felt wrong on so many levels. Rat swallowed hard and looked to Lucas, despite her increasing feelings of guilt.

"Well?" Lucas asked.

Rat bit her lip. "We should get packing," she explained, shutting off Katja's video and closing the laptop. "We're gonna go meet Danielle."


When the call was over, Aila returned to her cell without speaking a word to anyone else. She found herself alone in the room, which she decided was perfectly fine. The doctor sat down on her bed, thinking about her conversation with Rat.

She hoped Rat would actually do as she was told and go to support Danielle. She was surprised the French clone had opted to go rehab completely on her own, but she was happy as well. She hoped the skater would be much better off without drugs dragging her down.

A few hours later, Aila glanced over at the door. The officers were shouting for everyone to return to their cells for lockup. It didn't take long for Saffi to reappear. The tall woman glanced over at Aila and waved with a light grin.

"Yo. Settlin' in fine?"

Aila nodded. "Yeah, I suppose I am."

"Good good," Saffi said with a bob of her head. "I know it ain't easy. First night's always the toughest. Hope ya ain't plannin' on sleepin' tonight; them girls can get dead loud until ya get used to their hollerin'."

"As if I sleep anyway," Aila muttered to herself. She nodded though. "How do you manage to sleep?"

"Oh hell, I'm used to it," Saffi told her with a laugh. "I don't even barely hear 'em nowadays."

Aila nodded quietly, glancing out the window. It had long since turned dark, making her feel trapped. The doctor took a slow, calming breath though, remembering that she needed to put up with this arrangement whether she liked it or not. It wasn't as though she had a choice, after all.

An officer soon came in and turned the lights off before closing and locking both doors. Aila sighed and tried to settle down, though as promised, the sounds of voices soon reached her ears. The stone walls seemed strangely transparent. Aila could hear some inmates talking in other rooms; some crying, and some laughing and shouting out the windows.

"Jesus Christ..." Aila muttered, soon sitting up again. She knew she wouldn't sleep even if she wanted to.

"Mmmhmm," Saffi murmured. "It's like this every night."

Aila could barely Saffi through the darkness, but she could feel Saffi watching her.

It was a few minutes before Saffi spoke again. "Listen...I usually wait a bit before makin' offers to new gals to see if they're the grassin' type, but...if ya like, I could possibly getcha somethin' to help ya sleep better? Or just, getcha somethin' in general. See, I ain't gonna own up to this conversation ever happinin' if ya do decide to grass, but whatever your pleasure, I can facilitate. Ya need sleepin' pills, ya need weed, ya need meth, I'm your girl. I know how a lot of girls deal with that depression shit in here."

Aila blinked slowly, before scowling. "No thanks. I don't do drugs."

Saffi shrugged, smiling now. "Your choice honey, but if ya ever change yer mind, ya know where to find me," she said with a wink.

"I won't change my mind," Aila told her firmly, finally easing herself down on the bed to attempt to at least fake sleep.

The voices never stopped, though after some time, Aila managed to fall into a restless (and thankfully dreamless) sleep.