Let's concentrate a bit more on the others, shall we? Thanks for reviewing, 1st cavusarmy and Beth.

As everyone travelled back to Hillwood, Phoebe explained what she meant by that. "It was inevitable that Rhonda would change within a month of being there. Stockholm Syndrome can describe emotional ties between two people when one, in some way, intimidates the other. Given that she was being held hostage, I think it's safe to say that this is exactly what's happened. It's a self-preservation mechanism in a hostage situation. I'm not sure of the exact psychological implications, but from what I can gather, Rhonda would have hated being in this situation, but the generally optimistic part of her was trying to help her enjoy what she could, which she gave in to. This gave her the illusion that she actually wanted to be there, and in turn, that she actually reciprocated Curly's previously unrequited feelings."

"So what you're saying is that she actually doesn't really want to be there, she just thinks she does?" Nadine whispered.

"This is just ever so confusing." exclaimed Lila. "And I'm certain that it's up to us to rescue her from this."

"She seems happy, though." Eugene said. "She's not in danger, is she? I mean, I know Curly at least well enough to know that he'd never intentionally hurt Rhonda, of all people."

"That's one of the reasons why she's developed it." Phoebe explained. "Being in a hostage situation often leaves the victim helpless. But sometimes, when Rhonda was talking, it felt like she was just as she always was, doing everything she enjoys doing – you know, shopping and things. I concluded that the only thing Curly did that was an act against her was keeping her there. He was in a position of power, but she perceived most everything he did as an act of kindness."

"I think I read a story about this kind of thing once." Helga said. "I don't think there's anything we can do, if she's already developed it. Just leave it there. She's happy, we're happy, Curly got what he wanted, therefore there's no problem."

"I think I know what the problem is." Harold spoke up. Everyone stared at him. He wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box. "What?" he said. "I do know how to read. OK, so maybe me and Patty were discussing it a few months ago. But what I mean is, if things go on like this, Rhonda won't want to be around us."
"That's pretty much correct." Phoebe confirmed. "Eventually, a victim of Stockholm Syndrome will cease to like being around anyone except her captor. Even if Rhonda decides to leave, she'll probably continue praising Curly. I could tell, even there, that she was less at ease if any of us said anything that sounded critical. She'll turn against us immediately if we criticize Curly or say anything against either of them. But Helga's right, there's not much we can do. The damage is already done, and it could take years, even decades of therapy to get Rhonda to even be able to get past this incident."

"This isn't right." Sheena exclaimed. "It's not fair that Rhonda has to be there, and I wish we could have found her earlier. Didn't you say that this means we're going to lose her for good?"

Phoebe nodded soberly. "To get her out, we'd have to kidnap her ourselves, and there's no way we can stop her from thinking anything she wants. It's like brainwashing, and there's no easy way out of it."

There was a short pause.

"I don't believe her about the drug, that they don't know who put it in Rhonda's glass. I know most of you didn't, either." Nadine said out of the blue. "It's pretty obvious that this set-up is way too far-fetched. I wanted to confront her about it-"

"I know, I know." Lila said. "But we didn't say anything because she'd just deny it. There's no way we can prove that it was Curly who slipped it to her, though, unless one of them says so."

Arnold was looking thoughtful. "I don't know what we should do. We can't talk to Rhonda because she can't see reason. We promised we wouldn't go to the police, but do you think we should?"

"No." Phoebe said firmly. "For one thing, we don't have enough proof. We all know that Curly took Rhonda against her will by force, but Rhonda insists that it wasn't by force. The only one who can confirm our story clearly is Curly. When it comes to Rhonda, he'll do absolutely anything, so that's not going to help."

Back in the apartment, Curly and Rhonda were curled up together on the sofa, watching a rerun of an old Simpsons episode. That was something they had in common – they both loved the yellow-skinned cartoons. Rhonda considered it a guilty pleasure compared to most of the interest she got out of her luxurious lifestyle, but she hadn't minded admitting it to Curly, because she knew that he never thought of her in terms of her wealth or social class.

The first commercial break began, and Curly pulled Rhonda closer so he could kiss her. She reciprocated eagerly. He had definitely improved at kissing since he used to sneak attacks on her back when they were little kids.

"We need to talk about something." Rhonda whispered breathlessly when she managed to break away. She had guessed what her friends had been thinking, and she could only hope they didn't do anything. Now, she felt, was the perfect time to broach the subject, "The thing is-"

It wasn't the right time.

"We don't have to talk." Curly interrupted, placing a kiss just below Rhonda's ear, a very sensitive spot.

"But really-" Rhonda began, trying to hold back the lust that threatened her, but her captor/boyfriend knew exactly how to get her to let go of her point. From the day she'd said yes, he'd taken every chance he'd had to experiment, and by now he had all the knowledge on how to make his princess melt.

"Come on, sweetheart. We'll talk later." He whispered, placing feather-light kisses down her neck. Rhonda gave him better access, tilting her head back and letting out a peaceful sigh. By the time the commercial break ended, neither Rhonda nor Curly had eyes for the drama of Homer's sudden obsessive friendship with his neighbour. Even if the police had broken in at that moment and arrested Curly for kidnapping Rhonda, neither of them would have looked up from their heated embrace or broken their lips apart from each other.

As long as they were together no one could burst their bubble of joy.

Yep, kind of a corny line there, but I don't care. Please review.