"She thinks I hate her Adrian, I can't leave it like that." Danny was distraught, he was pacing their lounge as they waited for the police.

"Danny this isn't helping her, it's not helping anyone. Clara knows you just misunderstood, and you're already picturing the worst which we don't know. We know this is likely down to Frances which gives us a slight advantage and the police are already on looking up his car. Just relax, you'll be in a much better frame of mind to help if you do." Adrian spoke firmly and Danny did eventually respond. The police arrived soon after, Adrian letting them in.

They took some details and a photo, relaying information over their radios immediately.
"Normally we don't look into disappearances from adults this early, but in this situation we can understand the concern. They've managed to identify the suspect's car so there are officers out looking for both his and her cars. Right now we'd rather you stay at home, if you think of anywhere she could be other than what you've told us already then please let us know. We'll be staying with you for now, there's plenty of manpower out there." Danny couldn't stop staring out of the window, almost willing Clara to reappear in the drive. "Mr Pink?"

He looked back briefly, "yeah I heard, thanks," he replied before standing up from the sofa and walking over, sitting on the windowsill. "Where are you?" he whispered to himself. All he could do was wait.

Clara woke up and looked around - she recognised this house, she didn't know how she got here. She remembered someone was following her, she tried to get away, then she crashed… she blacked out. Her head was hurting, but she couldn't see any blood. Clara looked around, still trying to place the house. Then she realised… "no."

"Good to be home?" Clara's head flicked round when she heard Frances' voice, but she brought a hand up to her neck, wincing at the pain.

"This isn't my home, it never was," she replied. "How did I get here?"

"It was going to be," Frances told her, sitting down beside her. "You left it."

"It wasn't mine to do anything with, Tom left the house to you," she replied, trying to keep calm.

"He left everything else to you," Frances pointed out.

"I know, believe me I know," Clara looked down at her hands in her lap.

Frances was confusing her, she couldn't work this out. He still hadn't replied to her earlier question. "So why do you have to be so damn greedy?" his voice raised with this question, but Clara couldn't understand what he meant.

"What do you mean? I've barely touched what Tom left, I'm saving it…" but he stopped her, slapping her and knocking her back and then grabbing her left hand, holding it up.

"This, you're engaged again?! It's not even been a year. How long have you even known this guy? Like 5 minutes? And you take him on the holiday that was meant to be your honeymoon?!" He was shouting now, Clara moved as far away from him as she could.

"i've known him 6 months if you must know," she wasn't going to tell him how soon after they met the engagement happened. "I took him on the holiday because it's what Tom would want, he would want me to be happy - he definitely wouldn't want to waste a good holiday." It wasn't easy for her to talk about this, she could feel the tears beginning to bubble. "I love Tom, I always will?"

"Then why?!" he shouted.

"Because I couldn't stay that hollow shell of myself forever!" she finally raised her voice back at him. "Danny made me feel myself again, that's exactly what he would want and you know that." Frances looked away. "Please let me go, I have work," she told him.

"No, you need to see where you've gone wrong, it's too soon!" he stood up, walking upstairs. Clara saw an opportunity, standing up and going for the door. She almost made it, but it was locked. It didn't take her long to find the spare key, it hadn't moved, but just as she went to unlock it she was grabbed from behind, spinning her round and pushing her against the door. "Now what would Tom think of you running away from his brother?" he asked.

Clara tried to get out of his grasp, but the grip was too strong. "What would he think of his brother attacking his fiancé?" she tried.

"Not attacking, protecting, I'm protecting you from making the biggest mistake of your life," he told her, finally letting go but pushing her up the stair.

"What are you doing?!" she asked, trying to fight him but struggling and having to go upstairs. He pushed her into a room, Tom's bedroom and shut the door, locking it. Tom never used the lock, but it had always been there, Clara didn't even know where the key had lived. "Frances!" she called out, but he didn't reply. She turned around now, when she realised there was another noise in the room. Looking around she realised that the TV was on and it was playing the DVD that Tom had made of some of their best moments for their anniversary. She'd always left it here and after he died she couldn't bring herself to take it with the rest of her stuff. When she looked at it she saw their first holiday, a video Tom had taken on the beach while chasing her with a bucket of water. They were both so happy, laughing as he tripped over, getting covered in the water, the camera lying behind him and they ended up laying in the sand together. It was the first time he told her he loved her.

Clara couldn't look away, not for a moment, but eventually she shook her head out of the trance and sat down on the bed, bringing her knees up to her chest. What was Frances trying to achieve? None of this was going to bring Tom back, she knew he could never come back, all this was doing was bringing back memories, maybe they were happy memories, but she just didn't want to think about them. She was moving forwards, not backwards, and yet she could feel herself slipping back into that zone where she missed Tom more than anything.

There was no news yet, they'd been searching for an hour now. Danny was going out of his mind, he'd had to be stopped twice from going out. The police officers who sat with them kept trying to reassure him but it wasn't going well.
"I don't understand, how can they just have disappeared?" he asked, but nobody had an answer for him. Silence fell again for a few minutes before something happened on the radio and one of the officers left the room. Danny watched them leave, waiting for something to happen. Soon enough he reappeared and sat down on the sofa opposite him.

"They've found Clara's car," he started, "it was crashed on one of the country lanes just outside of town, Grange Lane? Do you know why she'd be there?"

"No, that's out the way of the school, what do you mean crashed?!" Danny asked.

"There's no sign of serious injury, there are teams on site to look more carefully for any evidence, but they're moving the search a little in response to this. Did you want to have a look at a map? See what's in the surrounding area?" the police officer was doing his best, Danny knew that.

"Yes, I'll do anything that helps," he replied and the officer nodded, going off to his car to retrieve the map. Adrian appeared from the kitchen having made tea and sat down. "Did you hear?"

"Yeah, yeah I heard. She'll be alright Danny, she's strong," he told him, "wherever she is, she'll be fighting."

"That's what I'm afraid of…" he sighed, moving a little when the map was placed on the table in front of him.

"Take a look around the area, see what's local that might be somewhere he'd take her," the officer told him. Danny nodded, beginning to stare and hoping he could recognise something.

Clara looked round as the door was unlocked and Frances walked in with a plate which seemed to have a sandwich on it.
"Thought you might be hungry," he put the plate down on the bed but she ignored it. "Enjoying the DVD?"

"Just let me go, this is useless," she told him, quieter than before. Frances however seemed to be able to read in to her.

"You're lying," he commented, "have you ever seen this?" Frances opened up the cupboard up that Clara had never been in. Tom kept all kinds of rubbish in there. He'd never asked her not to open it, she just never did, and that included when she went through the house. His brother on the other hand clearly had and reached to the back, pulling out a shoe box and putting it down beside her. "Take a look," he told her.

"What is it?" she asked, there didn't seem to be anything special about the box itself.

"You'll see," he replied, backing out and locking the door.

"Frances no!" she called but it was pointless. Clara stared at the box, slowly reaching out to open it. What she found was hardly what she expected. Inside was many little items - tickets from their movie dates, the little toy she'd won at the arcades and stuck in his pocket without him realising - he'd text her later that night complaining. Clara kept going through the box, she had no idea he had kept all this. She found the train tickets from when he surprised her at the end of a week long conference in Bristol and the note she'd left one morning when she'd had to leave his early for work.

Clara reached the bottom of the box and found one more letter, one she didn't recognise. This one wasn't from her, it was his handwriting, so why was it in the box? She pulled the paper out, opening it up.

Clara,
I don't know why I'm writing this, I guess I'm missing you while you're in Iceland. It's been 4 months today, the best 4 months of my life. We've been through many a challenge together, but that doesn't stop me from loving you. Every moment has been special, I never knew I could love someone this much, you mean everything to me I could never see you hurt. I'll always be here to watch over you, protect you, and I know you will be for me too.

I trust you with my life, I always will, this whole journey with you has shown me that. You've seen me through some difficult times, nobody else could ever do this for me, I could never let anyone. I guess I've never talked like this, maybe because we've never been apart this long, maybe because it's late and I've been thinking too much.

I don't know if I'll ever give you this letter, I guess half of this is me getting my feelings down, but it's all true. I don't know what the future holds, I just know what I want it to hold. I want you, me, a family, a beautiful house out of the town. I want us to be happy, but most of all I want you to be happy and I'm going to be the person that makes that happen.

I should probably go to sleep now, you'd be telling me off if you knew I was awake.

Goodnight my love xx

Tears were streaming, she held the letter close. He never had given it to her, but she'd kept it. Clara curled up on the bed, no longer fighting that she was locked up in here, she could feel her strength slipping away from her, maybe Frances had what he wanted.

Danny had pointed out Clara's flat, it was only a few roads away from where her car had crashed, but they'd been there and there was no sign. He did make a mental note that they needed to discuss selling that, but that was hardly the priority right now. He kept staring at the map, but it wasn't him that came up with the next point.

"Tom's house…" Adrian suddenly spoke out, having barely said a word in half an hour. Danny looked up to him, "I only went a couple of times, but it's not far from there - guess who he left it to."

"Frances?" Danny asked and he nodded. No sooner had he said that did the police take the details off him and put the search on. "She has to be there, I need to go," he stood up.

"Danny…" Adrian started and the policewoman also stood up.

"No! I'm not waiting anymore. They'll arrive before I will, but I need to go," he started towards the door.

"You can't drive!" Adrian called out.

"Then drive me, I'm going whether you do or not," he told him.

"Mr Pink, I really should advise,"

"I know what you advise, but you don't know everything do you? She's vulnerable, Adrian you know that - she needs us, both of us," he made eye contact with him and Adrian finally nodded, grabbing his keys.

"Fine, but you stay in the car until it's okay to go to her," he told him and they went out.

Clara was only disturbed by the loud knock on the door. She heard the shouts of the police and she heard Frances running out the back door, but she didn't move. She heard them break the door down, police officers running around the lower floor before they came upstairs. She heard them knock on the bedroom door, try the handle, but she didn't answer. She heard them break the bedroom door down to get in, she heard the officer trying to speak to her, but she couldn't respond. She flinched when someone tried to touch her, still clutching the letter and staring at the TV screen.

Someone came to the car, knocking on the window and Adrian lowered the window. They explained what was happening, that Clara wasn't responding to anyone.
"This is exactly how she used to be, after Tom died, she retreated into herself, wouldn't respond to anyone," he explained.

"Then she needs you," Danny replied, but Adrian shook his head.

"No, she needs you. Frances has clearly taken her here to make her like this, she needs you now more than ever." Adrian told him this quite sternly, they could all see what happened. Danny nodded, almost scared of how to deal with this but he couldn't let her down.

They guided him in and upstairs, he took his time walking into the room, taking in how she was positioned. He walked around to face her, kneeling down beside the bed, not touching her straight away.
"Clara," he slowly put a hand out, touching her hand carefully, as it clutched at the ring on her necklace. "Look at me, it's just me, everyone else has gone they're outside." She finally looked up and he could see her tear stained cheek. Danny used his other hand to wipe the tears away gently. "I'm not angry, not at you. This is all important stuff for you, I understand that," he kissed his fingers and placed them gently on her forehead.

"He made me watch the video, he showed me all these things I'd never seen," she whispered, letting the paper in her hands go so Danny could look. He glanced over the paper, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, you have nothing to be sorry about," Danny moved to sit on the bed and Clara sat up, trying to fight her instincts.

"He wanted me to leave you, that's what all this was for," Clara rubbed at her neck, suddenly remembering she was in pain. "He made me crash, I don't remember."

"They found the car, does it hurt?" Danny rubbed at her neck very carefully.

"Yeah, a bit, but I just want to go home Danny," she hugged in to him. "This was never my home," she held onto him tighter than maybe she ever had. He kissed her head gently and stood up, picking her up as she held on to his neck. Danny carried her downstairs and outside.

"Can we leave everything until tomorrow? She's in no mood to talk now," Danny told them. Adrian jumped out the car to open the door for him to put her in, "stay with her a moment?" he asked him and unhooked Clara's arms from his neck carefully, going back over to the lead detective.

"He forced her off the road, that's why she crashed. Otherwise he doesn't appear to have hurt her, just made her watch some DVD and look at some things from her previous relationship. He's Tom's brother and doesn't seem to approve that she's moved on after Tom's death. That's all I can tell you for now," he explained.

"Alright, we appreciate it is best for you to take her home now. We'll phone later and arrange a time for us to come round tomorrow to talk further, in the meantime we're going to keep gathering evidence and more importantly - find the suspect. I'll keep you informed, is it alright to contact you?" she asked.

"Yes, that's fine. I really do need to go…" he could hear Clara calling for him, however quiet she was.

"Alright, thank you for the information. I'll be in contact." Danny nodded and ran back to the car, jumping in the back with Clara who immediately clung onto him again.

"Told you," Adrian whispered in his ear and shut the door, going round to drive them home.

When they arrived home, Danny lifted Clara out of the car and took her straight upstairs into the bedroom, laying her down. "I'm right here okay? Can I get you anything?" Clara shook her head. "Alright, I just need to ring in to work love, tell them you're safe and that you won't be in tomorrow," he stroked her hair gently.

"No, I'll be in work tomorrow," she told him, "I have to be, I have to get back," Danny noticed how agitated the idea was making her and nodded.

"Okay, alright, but I still need to let them know you're safe," he sat back down on the bed and let her lie with him. Adrian had already gone, leaving them to it.

Danny made the call and by the time he was done, Clara was asleep. He watched over her, thinking back and realising he really had never see her like that. This was how life had been for Clara before he knew her, her grief was still raw in so many ways. Danny looked down at her necklace, taking hold of the ring itself and studying it carefully.
"Sometimes I wish I'd met you, seen you together. I'm not jealous, how can I be? This just affects her so much, I hate seeing it," Danny sighed, "maybe it's strange that I'm talking to you, I mean, you're gone…" he looked to Clara's tear stained cheeks. "I'm glad she had you, even if it wasn't for long enough." Danny let go of the ring and kissed her head before moving a little so he too could get some sleep, still holding Clara protectively.

Clara woke up to feel Danny's arms solidly round her. She smiled gently, feeling much better having slept. The whole experience was hardly fantastic, but she was home now, home and safe and she couldn't let this affect her - she couldn't go backwards. She felt safe with Danny, he reminded her how lucky she still was despite everything that had happened. Clara twisted a little in his arms so she could look up, gently kissing his chest. Danny's eyes flicked open and he quickly looked down, relieved to see her smile. "Relax, I'm okay," she told him, "I'm sorry for all that earlier, I couldn't shake the feeling it completely took me over…" Danny shook his head, kissing her head softly.

"Don't apologise, none of this was your fault, I'm sorry for assuming what I did…" he sighed.

"None of this is our fault Danny, none of it," she told him, tilting her head and kissing him softly. "I love you so much, you just did in a few hours what it took me months to do," she held his hand, playing with his fingers.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Dragged me back from the depths," she kissed his fingers, "I don't know how you've do it."

"Me neither, but I love you so much, I'll never let you down again," he smiled softly. "Now, I really can't be bothered to move… pizza and a movie?"

"Sounds perfect, I'm going to shower though, I feel… wrong," she sat up. "You know the order," she grinned and kissed him, getting up to go to the bathroom.

Danny went downstairs, grabbing the menu and sorting the order. Once he'd done that he called Adrian, knowing he'd be back home by now.
"How is she?" Adrian didn't even say hello, but Danny didn't blame him.

"Much better now she's slept, we're just going to relax. What happened when you got back?" Danny asked.

"People asked lots of questions, I kept it vague. Got called in to the headmaster's office," he chuckled, "nah I told him what was going on, he said you should both take the rest of the week - I think he's going to email you. Everyone's very sympathetic, it's absolutely fine." Danny was relieved in a way, he didn't want Clara going back straight away - whatever she said this was still affecting her.

"Thank you so much for today, I couldn't have got through that otherwise. I'd better go, I hear her coming down. I'll get her to call you tomorrow though if you want?" Danny told him.

"Yeah, please. Thank you for helping her better than I ever could," Adrian replied.

"Don't put yourself down, you've always been a wonderful friend to her. I'll see you soon." Danny hung up just before Clara appeared and put his arms out for her. Clara walked over, hugging him gently."How you doing? Pizza will be half an hour," he kissed her hair gently.

"I'm okay, better now I'm showered. I'm gonna make tea, you want one?" Danny nodded, following her through to the kitchen. "How are you?" He went to protest, "no, tell me, I'm not the only one affected by this." Danny sat down at the breakfast bar while she boiled the kettle.

"I honestly don't really know how I'm feeling at the moment. I'm relieved you're home, but I still haven't processed what happened today, that's going to take time." He was honest with her, she deserved that.

Clara didn't respond straight away, she finished making the tea and then sat down opposite him.
"I knew Frances would never really hurt me, not physically… but I guess you didn't," she squeezed his hand across the table, sipping at her tea with her mug in the other hand.

"He made you crash Clara, how is that not hurting you?" Danny twisted his hand so they were holding each other's.

"I don't think that was his intention, I just lost control in panic. Either way, I'm fine now, you saved me. Now, I'm choosing the film," Clara grinned, standing up. Danny watched her go out to the lounge and sipped at his tea - he was going to need to think about this more. They'd get through, they always did, but it also wasn't over yet.