Thanks for waiting so patiently! Here's the next chapter.

Artie and Steve entered the B&B, setting their bags down by the front door. The two men entered the living room, making a beeline for the kitchen. They had a seven hour flight from Hollywood, with a three hour layover in Texas, and they were hungry.

"Hey, I'm going to check on Claude. Leena said this morning that she was here alone."

"Alright," Artie said absently, focusing on spreading the mayonnaise evenly across the bread.

Steve shook his head at Artie and turned to make his way up the stairs. Once on the second floor, Steve called out to the redhead, but got no response. Assuming that the young woman was reverting back to old habits and was still asleep, he opened her room door, only to find it empty. Turning around, Steve noticed that the bathroom door was shut. He took a few steps, quickly reaching the door.

"Claude?"

There was no answer from the bathroom, but Steve thought he heard water splash.

"Claudia! If you don't answer me I'm coming in."

Again, he was met with nothing but the sound of moving water. The agent reached out to open the door, only to find it locked. A chill ran down his spine as he reached above his head to grab the paper clip above the door. Swiftly unfolding it, Steve made quick work of the lock, a small piece of his mind telling him that Claudia could have done it faster. Turning the knob, he threw the door open, and the sight that met him wasn't one that he was expecting.

He saw his favorite tech genius submerged in the tub, bubbles floating from her pale lips to the surface of the water, arms flailing slightly. Without hesitating, Steve crossed the threshold. Pulling the redhead's top half out of the water, he called her name, desperate for an answer. After a few drawn-out seconds, the young woman coughed and choked, water running from her mouth and nose. Grabbing her by the chin, Steve pushed the young woman's head up. She slowly lifted her half-lidded eyes to meet his. Her chocolate eyes were glassy, and she was shaking.

"Claudia, what happened to you?"

"It didn't work?" Her words slurred together, and she blinked slowly.

"Are you high?"

"No. I'm cold."

He got up and grabbed her a towel, which she took, and wrapped around herself as she stood. It was then that Steve noticed the open bottle of ativan on the counter.

"Claude, why is this here?"

"I had to take some. I didn't feel good."

"How many did you take?"

The young woman shrugged.

"Claude…"

"I don't know. Maybe five. Or eight… ten? I don't know." She laughed.

"Oh my god."

"I'm fine, Jinksy."

"Artie!" he called loudly, and within moments, the man was upstairs.

"What? What is it?"

"Stay with Claudia. Don't leave her alone."

"Why? What happened?"

"I'm going to call Claudia's doctor."

Steve hurried downstairs to get his cell phone and called Dr. Bahar. Within a few minutes, he had explained the situation, and the doctor told him that Claudia should be okay, but that he should bring her to the ER just in case she took something else. Steve thanked the doctor and hung up, making his way back up the stairs. He grabbed some clothing for Claudia from her bedroom and moved into the bathroom. Artie was talking quietly about the snag and bag he had just been on with Steve, and Claudia was curled in a ball, wedged into the corner between the wall and bathtub. She was whispering something to herself over and over as Steve approached her cautiously.

"Claude?"

She didn't look up at him.

"You look cold. I brought some clothes if you want to change."

"It-it-it didn't- it didn't-it didn't work… It didn't work."

"Claude, we need to take you to the hospital."

"I don't want to go."

"I'm sorry. You have to. You can get dressed and come along or I can carry you to the car in a towel."

The young woman slowly stood, keeping her towel wrapped around her.

"I'm going to go start the car," said Artie.

Steve handed the clothes to Claudia, and the redhead waited a moment.

"Ummm, a little privacy please?"

Steve turned around to face the wall. That was as much privacy as he would allow.

"Seriously?"

"Claude, I'm not feeling especially trusting, considering that you just tried to kill yourself."

The young woman huffed, but got dressed and then walked out of the bathroom and downstairs, finally slipping into the back seat of the car. The ride was quiet. When they got to the hospital, Steve hopped out and opened Claudia's door. Artie said he would go park the car. The woman's face was pale, and her hands were shaking.

"It's going to be okay, Claude. We just want to make sure you're going to be alright."

"Don't commit me."

"Claude, it's going to be okay. I will do my best to make sure you don't go into the psych ward."

The woman nodded and stayed close to him as they made their way into the ER. Because she had the potential to have a bad reaction to the medication, they didn't have to wait before being assigned to a curtained section. Claudia sat down on the bed, and the doctor began asking questions. When he found out she had overdosed, he sprung into action.

"Claudia, it's very important that you tell me how much you took."

"I don't know. I took two, and then I took a handful. I don't know how much it was."

"I'm going to give you activated charcoal to help absorb as much of the ativan as possible. Would you be willing to drink it? That's the easiest option."

Claudia nodded wearily, and the man quickly disappeared. He came back moments later with a glass full of vile black liquid.

"What if I change my mind about drinking that?"

"Then we'll have to put a tube down your throat into your stomach and inject it that way."

"Okay." She took the glass of liquid from him.

"It helps if you close your eyes, plug your nose, and just down it as quickly as you can."

Claudia started drinking it, and gagged.

"I know," said the ER doctor. "It tastes really bad. Keep going, you're doing great."

She finished the glass and sat back against the bed, closing her eyes.

"Claudia, I want to keep you awake for right now, alright? I'm going to have a psychiatric doctor come and see you."

"Okay."

"We'll come check on you to see how you're doing and the psych doctor should be here in an hour."

Claudia didn't develop any adverse symptoms from her overdose besides being tired and a bit loopy. After an hour and a half, a psychiatric doctor came to meet Claudia.

"Hello Claudia, I'm Doctor Adler. What brings you into the ER today?"

She didn't say anything and didn't look at the doctor.

Steve reached to grab Claudia's hand.

"I don't want to go to the psych ward," the woman said finally.

"Okay. Well, I won't advise you go there unless I think it's absolutely necessary. Now why don't you tell me what brought you here?"

"It… It didn't work."

"What didn't?"

"I tried to… I just got so anxious and overwhelmed with the court case coming up and how badly Diana is doing, and how I'm supposed to be her role model or something and… I tried to hurt myself. I wasn't really thinking. I mean, that's not like me. I'm getting better! At least I thought I was… Now I don't know."

"You tried to hurt yourself how?"

"I took too much ativan and tried to drown myself. It wasn't the brightest idea I've ever had, but I was already kinda high by that point and I wasn't thinking very clearly. I didn't really want to die exactly, I just wanted to stop all the anxiety. I took the ativan, and then it just seemed like killing myself would be better than just being a little loopy. It was stupid. It was really stupid."

"I saw on your chart that you've been seeing a psychiatrist frequently?"

"Yes. I was kidnapped and held against my will for two and a half years, so I'm understandably a little bit messed up from that."

"I'm sorry to hear that. What medications are you on?"

"Prozac and Ativan as needed."

"I'm going to have you fill this sheet out. I know you don't want to go to the psych ward, but please answer everything as honestly as you can."

Claudia answered all of the questions, and the doctor took the sheet away to consult with a different doctor.

About an hour later, the psychiatric doctor came back in.

"Claudia, I think that you should be admitted to the psychiatric ward. I know that you don't want to, but I called Dr. Bahar, and we agreed that you need to be monitored for a bit, and that you may need to have a change in medication."

"Can Steve come with?"

"Yes. He can stay through visiting hours."

An orderly brought Claudia upstairs to the psych ward in a wheelchair, which was hospital policy. He wheeled her into a small room with no door and a plexiglass window to the hallway. She stood and climbed into the bed, wrapping her sweatshirt tighter around herself, and Steve sat down in a chair next to the bed.

"Am I allowed to go to sleep?" she asked, figuring it would be better to sleep off her overdose than to sit here and panic over being in a psych ward again.

"I'm not sure. I'll have a nurse come in and tell you." The man left, and Claudia stared around the bare room. It was too much; too similar to before.

"Hey, why don't we see what's on tv?" Steve asked, attempting to divert the woman's attention.

She nodded and found the buttons for the tv, flipping through soap operas. A few minutes later, a nurse came in.

"Hi Claudia, I'm Sierra. Your doctor said that you're okay to sleep now. I'll be here till 9pm, so if you need anything, I'll be here."

"Is Dr. Bahar going to come visit me?"

"Yes. She does rounds on this floor, so she will come some time this afternoon."

After the nurse left, Claudia snuggled down in the bed. Even though she was tired, she wasn't sure she'd be able to relax enough to actually sleep.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you…?" She patted the spot next to her in the bed.

He nodded and climbed into bed next to her, and she nestled her head into his chest, her muscles relaxing slightly. The next thing she knew, she was asleep.

Several hours later, Claudia awoke to someone knocking on the door frame.

"Hello Claudia. How are you feeling?" The relief the redhead felt to see her short, middle eastern doctor-and not the face of Dr Michener-was immense.

"Um… Not great."

"Do you have any physical symptoms?"

Claudia shook her head, and the doctor sat down in the chair next to the bed.

"I'm going to go get some food, Claude." Steve stated. "I'll be back soon." He climbed out of the bed and exited the room.

When the man had gone, the doctor said "Let's talk about this morning."

"Do we have to?"

She nodded.

"I didn't… I mean, I just wanted to get away for a while. I was loopy from the ativan, and killing myself just seemed… easiest. But, I don't know. It seems really stupid now. I mean… It's not like me. I'm getting better-I was getting better... Why would I do that?"

"Claudia, I think I'm going to change your medication."

"You think that's why I did it?"

"Well… Think of your body like a house. And your medicine is like the air conditioner. When it's a lovely summer morning at 70 degrees, you don't need the air conditioner. But when the heat of the afternoon comes, and that air conditioner isn't working properly, you're in trouble. I think that might be what's going on here. Your are getting better every day. You have made leaps and bounds, but occasionally you have a rough patch, and that is when your medication will keep you on the right track. It wasn't all the medication's fault, but it wasn't all your fault either. I'm going to keep you for three or four days and start cross tapering with a new drug. That means I'll start weaning you off the prozac, and onto a medication called Tofranil. It's a tricyclic antidepressant which has shown to be very effective with cases of depression and anxiety."

"Okay. That sounds okay. Can Steve come and stay tonight? I don't think I'll get through tonight without a panic attack if he isn't here."

"I'm so sorry. It's hospital policy that he can't be here during non-visiting hours."

She laid her head back.

"It's going to be okay. I promise I will get you out of here as soon as possible. I just want to keep you here to make sure you're stable, and then we'll get you out of here."

"While I'm here, can we talk more about preparing me for the court case? It's coming up in 2 weeks, and that's part of the reason things got so bad."

"Of course."

A few minutes after Dr. Bahar left, Steve came back with two cups of decaf tea. He knew caffeine would only provoke Claudia's anxiety.

"They said you can't stay the night," she said soberly.

"I'll be back as soon as they'll let me in tomorrow morning."

"I don't want to be here, Steve. Doctor Bahar said I have to stay here for three or four days. I don't know if I can stand it."

"I know. You're so brave. I know this is really hard for you, but you just have to hold on for a couple of days, and then you'll be home."

Steve stayed till 8pm, and was then asked to leave. Claudia tried not to get emotional, but couldn't help choking up a bit. It was going to be a hell of a night.

Around 11pm, Claudia was watching a cartoon and doing everything she could not to have a panic attack when someone knocked on the door frame. She turned, and saw Myka standing in her room. She was wearing a professional outfit and was smiling at the girl.

"Myka?! It's not visit hours. How did you get them to let you in?" She couldn't help herself from smiling.

The curly-headed woman cleared her throat. "Because you are under the protection of the US government, I am allowed to be here for the rest of your stay in order to ensure your proper care and safety." She winked and sat down. "What are we watching?"

That night, Claudia couldn't sleep. Because of her overdose, her doctor didn't want her on any additional medication, so she tossed and turned for several hours before finally sitting up. Myka was asleep when the girl half-whispered, "Myka?"

The woman stirred and opened her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I can't sleep."

"Okay. Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"No."

"Claude, you tried to kill yourself."

"I know."

"Do you know how much we would miss you?"

The redhead put her hands on her head. "I know. I just freaked out and I wasn't thinking... I'm sorry."

"Okay," Myka said softly.

About 45 minutes after Claudia finally fell asleep, she had a terrible night terror. She screamed and thrashed for fifteen minutes before she was woken. Myka layed down next to Claudia after that, and fell back to sleep. Claudia, however, stayed awake the rest of the night.

Claudia's time in the psych ward was hard on her, but it was hard on the family as well. They all knew she didn't want to be there, and felt awful that she had gotten bad enough to need to be. She came home 4 days after her attempted suicide, and everyone was a bit nervous, but her transition back home went smoothly. They had made a few changes while she was gone. The lock to the bathroom door had been removed, and Leena or Myka would now be handling all of Claudia's medications.

A week after Claudia came home from the hospital, Diana and her parents flew in from New Jersey. Steve and Claudia drove to the airport in Pete's SUV.

They met the family at the roundabout outside of the luggage claim. Diana looked a bit tousled and disoriented, and was clinging tightly to her father. Roger and Marie Rosenberg, Diana's parents, looked absolutely exhausted.

"Hey Di," Claudia said softly. The young woman detached herself from her father and moved to hug Claudia. Because she had been malnourished since the age of twelve, Diana was short for a full grown woman, and Claudia had to bend slightly to hug her friend and fellow survivor.

"How was the plane ride?"

"I had a panic attack."

"Oh hun. I'm sorry. Come on, let's go to the car."

The woman nodded slightly, and Claudia kept her arm around her as they walked to the car. Steve put the family's suitcases in the trunk of Pete's SUV, and the group arranged themselves into the vehicle, Steve and Roger in the front, and Claudia, Diana, and Marie in back.

"Claudia, how have you been? We haven't seen you since the hospital."

No one had told Diana about Claudia's stay in the psych ward.

"Um… It's been hard, as I'm sure you guys understand."

"Yes, of course."

The car ride was quiet. They finally arrived at the B&B, where Leena was waiting. She had gotten to know the Rosenbergs in the hospital, and greeted them both with a hug. She moved to Diana, and assessed her aura, which was clouded with tension and fear.

"Hi Diana," the woman said, deciding not to hug her.

"Hi."

"Can I show you your room?"

The teenager nodded and Leena the family upstairs.

"Diana, you'll be in this room here, and your parents will be in the room right next door."

"Also, I'm across the hall," Claudia piped in. "I know you're tired now, but maybe tomorrow we can hang out in my room."

Diana nodded, and retreated into her bedroom. Marie followed her with a suitcase and duffle bag. Moments later, Marie emerged again.

"Leena, can you show me the kitchen? Diana needs water for her meds."

"Of course. Claudia normally eats something with her meds so they don't make her queasy. Do you think Diana would want something?"

"That would be lovely. You are so kind for letting us stay here. She'll be so much more comfortable here than in a hotel."

"It's my pleasure. I'm glad that the girls can spend some time together. Claudia… has had a rough go of it lately."

"Pardon me if this is too forward, but those scars on her arms weren't there in the hospital, were they?"

"That's something you'll have to ask Claudia about."

"Of course. Have you all had much contact with the media? They've been hounding us ever since Diana came home, asking for pictures and interviews."

"No. We've taken some security measures to prevent that." Leena didn't mention that she and Artie had used several cloaking artifacts to assure no one would bother Claudia with interviews or pictures.

Upstairs, Claudia and Diana were both getting ready for bed in the bathroom.

"What happened there?" Diana gently touched Claudia's arm, which was exposed by her pajama tank top. The redhead forced herself not to pull away.

"I cut myself while I was sleeping."

Diana waited for her to say more.

"My doctor said it was from my sleeping pills. I didn't do it on purpose."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't want you to worry."

The tiny young woman looked down and mumbled something.

"What did you say?"

"I said you don't need to hide things from me. Just because I'm a little fragile doesn't mean you can't tell me things. Hell, I understand most things better than anyone else you know."

"I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner."

"Is there anything else you haven't told me?"

Claudia paused. "I was in the psych ward."

"When?"

"I went in on Tuesday of last week, and came home on Saturday."

Diana reached to give her a hug. "Was it something I said? I talked to you that day..."

"No. No. I was just.. stressed. I did something stupid. Please don't ask, okay?"

Diana nodded, and the two of them finished their nightly routines in silence, both retreating to their rooms. Neither girl could keep anxious thoughts about the trial to come out of their minds as they fell asleep that night.