Gill dashed home whilst Rachel went to pack a bag. Gill quickly washed the wine glasses and plates that littered the house, and made up the spare room.

"Come in kid!" She said when Rachel knocked on the door. "Dump your bag, first door on the left up the stairs."

Rachel nodded gratefully. It was eight o'clock and she'd uttered about ten words all day.

Gill hadn't expected it to be a party having Rachel to stay, but she had expected Rachel to come out from her room. She had gone upstairs and not come down, and Gill hadn't heard any creaking like she normally would if someone was moving around. She decided to go and investigate.

She pushed open the door, but Rachel, who was stood at the window didn't hear or see her. The room was still perfectly tidy; the bed didn't even look sat on. Rachel's bag was placed carefully next to the wardrobe. "Hi Rachel," said Gill quietly, walking towards her. "I was just coming to bed, I wondered if you were okay." Rachel turned towards her, and Gill was upset, but not surprised to see she was crying. She had her arms crossed, and her fingers were gently stroking the bruises on her wrists. "Come here, come sit with me and we can talk, yeah?" Said Gill, sitting on the bed and patting the space next to her.

"I didn't want to cause trouble for you by coming down." Said Rachel, her old happy, sarcastic voice replaced by a miserable toneless one. "I've cause too much trouble already." She sat down anyway and Gill cautiously put her arm around her. Rachel tried to wriggle away but Gill held on. "You cause trouble for me most of the time kid. But not at the moment. This is not your fault, ok? Never think that."

Rachel nodded, unconvinced, but she stopped shaking and trying to get away from Gill's arm.

"I'm not going to make you come to work for a while," Gill continued. "But I'll bring files home, if you want. And you can talk to me anytime. "

With that, Gill walked back to her own room and got into bed. She laid awake for a long time listening to Rachel's muffled sobs and sniffles, but not almost as long as Rachel herself.