Nikki screamed as she ran through the dark forest, with no idea how she got there or where she was going. She didn't even know why she was running, but every fibre of her being was telling her that she had to run. She was scared of something, frozen to the bone and drenched to the skin, for she had no coat on. How had a usually sensible doctor like herself, ventured out in this horrendous, raging storm in just a thin dress and denim jacket?

She wasn't sure if it was day or night – the dark forest and gloomy weather confused the issue, but either way, what on earth had possessed her to leave the warm comfort of Jack's arms for this?

The cold was biting. The trees tore at her arms as she forced her way through their gnarled and vicious looking branches. The combined wind and rain were unforgiving – the latter pelting her in the face as she battled to find some sort safe haven from whatever she was desperate to get away from.

Out of the blue, when she was all but exhausted and ready to drop to the ground, accepting whatever might be about to happen, a large grey house loomed in front of her. The towering, ivy-covered eye-sore that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere was queer and very disturbing. The prospect of entering it was not a welcome one – especially when the door creaked open of its own accord before she'd even reached the steps.

Nikki knew she shouldn't go in – would she ever come back out? Despite her misgivings though, this was a dry place away from the storm and away from whatever was chasing her.

Aware of some unknown danger behind her that was quickly approaching; Nikki unhappily made her decision and hurried up the stone steps in front of her. She edged nervously through the open door, stopping just out of sight of the gap - in case her chaser spied her through it.

No sooner was she in, the heavily built oak door slammed with an almighty crash, chilling her to the core as she was left in complete darkness – in a house she was sure she'd never get out of again. Where was her beloved when she needed him? Jack could protect her from anything – even herself. Nikki was even more terrified when a candle on the table next to her suddenly lit up with apparently no one else around. She gave a shudder, wishing again that Jack was with her.

"You'll be alright" His voice suddenly echoed around her. It was eerie, yet strangely comforting. There – but not there completely.

"Jack?" She whispered "Where are you? I can't see you"

"I'm here, Nikki. I'm always here." He seemed to hesitate "I don't think you want to see me at the moment"

"Of course I want to see you" Nikki retorted in confusion "I always want to see you"

"Ok." He agreed. "But I have to warn you. I'm not myself"

Nikki shuffled, feeling uneasy due to his comment – what could he possibly mean? She didn't have to wonder for long.

A distorted image appeared before – a sort of contamination. A strange cross between the mad hatter and the Cheshire cat from what she could determine – and yet at the same time nothing like either of them. This was a confusing place. She stared at 'it' – the person in front of her – if it could even being called a 'person'. She was rooted to the spot. Then 'it' spoke with Jack's voice.

"I told you that you wouldn't want to see me."

Nikki shook herself. His voice was better than nothing. She would have to pretend he was on the phone like he had been in Mexico. "I always want to see you." She repeated - though with noticeably less conviction than the first time. She breathed out. "Jack – the thing that was chasing me out there-"

"That danger has passed." He informed her confidently.

"Ok, thanks" It seemed by coming into the house she had escaped from that. She still had no idea what 'that danger' was, but if Jack said she was safe from it, then she believed him. She trusted Jack with her life – and in this instance, she might have too. "I have to go up the stairs, don't I?" She remarked, gazing up at the unwelcoming sight before her.

"It's up to you." He told her unhelpfully.

Nikki considered the matter. Her legs didn't seem able to move in any other direction, so as far as she could see her only other option was to stay where she was.

"I can't stand here for the rest of my life." She shrugged, picking up the candle and making her way up the dusty, rundown staircase.

The confused distortion with Jack's voice floated beside her. Nikki found that in this dark, unsettling place, she was glad of his company – even if he didn't look like him.

She was met with a long corridor at the top of the stairs. Both sides were lined with brightly coloured doors – each one a vibrant shade of a different colour. It was unnerving in the otherwise gloomy building, but Nikki had never been able to resist opening a door.

It stemmed from her mother's death. Being only fourteen at the time, it was apparently not thought to be 'appropriate' for her to see her mother. Nikki had often wondered if that had been why she'd struggled to accept what had happened. She'd grown up being determined that everyone else should be able to have some kind of closure – it was her purpose for doing the job she loved - it was why she had opened Louisa's coffin in Mexico. Seeing was believing. Nikki had needed to see that Louisa was in there.

Louisa hadn't been in there, of course – and opening the coffin had started a whole catalyst of events that Nikki nearly hadn't come out of alive– not to mention what it had done to Jack, but the feeling remained and It was why she needed to open these doors now. She couldn't help herself – she needed to know what was behind them.

Fake Jack knew what was going through her head but said nothing. Perhaps he knew he couldn't stop her – or maybe this strange distortion of the man Nikki loved did not really have her best interests at heart. After all, he had not been all that helpful when she'd asked if she should go up the stairs.

Nikki had a horrific thought – one she quickly pushed away before fake Jack got wind of it. What if it had been him chasing her through forest – chasing her into danger – possibly to her death?

If that was true, he definitely wasn't her Jack.

Either way – good or not, he clearly wanted her to open the doors and as Nikki couldn't seem to turn around and go back, once again she didn't see that she had any other choice.

Her hand locked around the handle of the green door, where upon opening it she was met with another distortion – this time with references to the Narnia stories she had enjoyed as a child.

"Hello?" Nikki ventured nervously.

"This is an inappropriate conversation!" Leo's voice barked at her from the lion's head.

Nikki shut the door again quickly. "Leo? What?" She looked behind but discovered that fake Jack had disappeared . Ii didn't upset her as much as she'd expected it to, but now she knew it wasn't really him. Not her Jack anyway. Her Jack was still out there somewhere and she was determined to get back to him - somehow.

It occurred to her for the first time that she seemed to be stuck in some sort of nightmare immediately after having the thought, she knew it couldn't be anything else – and wondered why she hadn't realised before.

Nikki turned back to the green door and was surprised to find it had a cross of police tape over it – as if it was now a crime scene.

"It just gets weirder" She muttered to herself moving across to the red door opposite and opening it.

"Chicken shit" A cross contamination of the characters from Dilly the dinosaur and my naughty little sister, announced in Simone voice.

Nikki shut the door. "Definitely weird"

It was like a bizarre miss-match of the childhood stories she'd grown up with and the books she used to read to her goddaughter Molly, along with some important voices from Nikki's adult life. She felt a wave of regret over Molly. They had lost touch after the latter's family had moved her away – probably not the kind of Godmother they had intended for their daughter, Nikki thought. It hadn't always been like that. At the beginning, she was quite attentive and when Molly had started school, she had gone in to read to the children on a few occasions.

Nikki opened the yellow door next to the red one – which now was also crossed with police tape. She supposed it must happen after she looked in a room – a kind of 'do not disturb' sign.

"I'm not new. I have done this before." A mixed up version of characters from Winnie the pooh claimed.

"Adam?!" Nikki retorted and shut the door in disgust.

She was still raw from the most recent death and had already been faced with a disrespectful version of Leo. If they – whoever 'they' might be, were going to take advantage of her grief, they could at least give her an actual vision of the people she'd loved and lost. She was also becoming gradually more nauseated by the distorted children's characters in this creepy sinister setting.

Nikki headed to the orange door.

"The Lyell, day centre for the clinically insane, nurse Mullery speaking"

Nikki stared at the strange contamination before her that had hints of Harry Potter and had stolen Clarissa's voice. However, she was even more surprised when an upside down image of postman pat appeared next to Clarissa and spoke in Max's recognisable tone to his beloved wife.

"Falling in love with you wasn't a choice"

"What on earth?" Nikki retorted, shutting the door again.

The next door was purple and appeared to house the demon headmaster along with Spot the dog.

"Of course it is" Nikki whispered as the former started speaking with Thomas' voice. It was again not what she expected though.

"Why is there a hamster in the car?"

Words not suited to either the demon headmaster or to her late friend, in this context.

Spot the dog with Rosie's voice, confused things further by asking her father

"Are you going to be able to stop them?"

"Stop WHAT?!" Nikki exclaimed shutting the door. She was understanding this situation less and less.

As she moved across to the blue door, Nikki became aware that time seemed to be going faster. Unnerved by the new feeling and the already strange goings on, she dropped her candle, which promptly went out – leaving her in complete darkness once again.

Now with both hands free, Nikki felt around in the direction she knew the door was – or at had been. Goodness knows if it still was where she had seen it. All these doors - this was like a very odd game of knock-knock.

Thankfully she found the door and once she'd opened it, the room behind it lit up by itself. Occupying this room was a mish-mash of Roahl Dahl characters

"Jack speaks very highly of you Dr Alexander" he remarked in the unmistakable voice of Connor Hodgson and Nikki couldn't help but smile to herself at the reminder of their first meeting.

Her smile was quickly replaced with horror as the vision of fake Jack appeared again in his Dad's arms crying.

"You're my boy – you're my boy!" Connor answered hugging the 'mad-hatter-cheshire-cat-who'd-lost-it's-grin' tightly.

Nikki shuddered. Had Jack really cried like that?

"Its not real. Its not real' She told herself firmly.

Nikki was provided with some light relief in the form of Cara, Jack's niece, who was masquerading as a multitude of characters from Peter Pan.

"She's pretty, do you like her?" She signed at Jack, who stopped crying immediately and suddenly looked less menacing than he had done since Nikki had worked out his true intentions earlier – then he disappeared altogether.

With the corridor behind her pitch black without the candle light, Nikki made the decision to enter the room with the Connor and Cara characters. They seemed more welcoming and pretty harmless compared to some of the other distortions she'd met in this strange place.

No sooner had she stepped into the room, everything started spinning around her. Nikki stumbled around yelling:

"No stop it! Stop it! Jack?!"

"Hey hey, it's ok I'm here, Nikki. You're safe." A beautifully familiar voice broke in. Nikki was in no doubt that this was her Jack not fake Jack. "Shhuuussshh" He whispered soothingly "Wake up. Can you wake up?"

"Jack" Nikki mumbled. She finally managed to open her eyes and found herself on the sofa at the Lyell with Jack sat beside her.

"Hi darling – there you are" He looked up briefly "Simone, can you get her some water?" he asked, before turned back to Nikki.

She rubbed her eyes. "Oh my head – what happened?"

"You don't remember?"

She shook her aching, muddled head.

"You came back from the university and said you felt odd. Then you passed out."

"Your students came rushing in saying they'd seen Ollie putting something in your drink" Simone informed Nikki, handing her a glass of water. "Then Ollie also turned up and admitted he put belladonna in your coffee."

"Belladonna?" Nikki retorted as Jack helped her into a sitting position. "Why would he do that?"

"Apparently he's been angry since you announced that you were resigning from teaching at the university." Jack told her. "He thought you'd change your mind – and when you didn't, he decided to act."

"What exactly was he hoping to achieve?" Nikki remarked indignantly.

"I don't know – maybe he wanted you to make a fool of yourself when you started hallucinating during your last lecture – then he'd rush in and play the hero or something" Jack suggested with a strong air of annoyance – only Nikki needing him had stopping him giving in to anger towards the student.

"But it backfired on him because as soon as you felt unwell you cut the lecture short, called a taxi and came back here to find Jack. I bet he was livid about that!" Simone smirked "Anyway – the other students saw him with the belladonna and along with his behaviour since you resigned, they put two and two together."

"The other students let him know what they thought of him and they hurried after you to check you were ok. Then his conscience kicked in. He said he thought it would be funny to scared you" Jack fumed "Idiot!"

"You were sort of semi-conscious and kept saying stuff that didn't make sense." Simone explained "Jack got you in here. Then you were really agitated. Belladonna can produce strong hallucinations you know."

"You're not kidding!" Nikki muttered sarcastically, sipping her water. "Where are the students now?"

"They've gone back to the university" Jack answered "Except-"

"Ollie handed himself into the police." Simone finished, waving her hand dismissively. "We're more concerned about you, right now. Jack was all for calling an ambulance when you passed out, but once we knew what was wrong – well they can't do anything until it wears off."

"Should have you checked over now though" Jack murmured

"I'll be fine, sweetie" Nikki responded. "Please just take me home."

"Home?" Jack whispered

"Do you even need to ask?" She commented, gently stroking his cheek. "My home is with you."