"Jack?" Nikki knocked on his door again, "I'm sorry to intrude. You keep trying to ring me. Are you ok?" she shivered, frozen and drenched to the skin. "Jack? I don't understand" she added in a whisper. She didn't understand anything about this evening, it was so messed up. She wanted Jack and normally. She was just turning to leave and call her taxi back – or at least try to if she still had a signal, when she thought she heard a muffled groaning from an open window upstairs. "Jack?" She couldn't be sure through the storm, but his repeated failed attempts to call were worrying her greatly.

Nikki hurriedly got her keys out and selected Jack's. She hadn't wanted to just go in - in case he was occupied. Maybe he had gone out with Liz again and had left his car at the Lyell. On the other hand, if he was with Liz he wouldn't keep trying to ring her and something wasn't right. Nikki rubbed her face as she tried to manipulate the key in the door. She wasn't feeling good and her fine motor skills seemed impaired.

Nikki finally managed to open the door and upon entering the inner front door, she was met, to her horror, with water coming through the ceiling.

"Shit." She exclaimed, throwing the bag and shoes in her other hand, on the floor before tripping and stumbling her way up the stairs. Her co-ordination and balance were not to her normal standards. "Connor?" she called "Connor?" One thing was certain – Jack wasn't here, he would not have left Connor on his own for this long when he was worried about him – and Jack would have let her in if he had been here. He would never have left her out in the rain, but where the hell was he?

She found Connor lying in the bathroom, metres away from his phone and next to an over-flowing bath.

She waded through the water logged floor and turned the bath off, then dropped down next to Connor, with her phone by her ear.

"Jack? Jack?" the elderly man was clearly confused.

"Shh" Nikki respondsed "Its ok. The ambulance is on its way."

"Nikki?" Connor mumbled.

"Where does it hurt? You've hit your head, but did you hurt anywhere else?" She asked

"Head. No where else."

"Ok. Do you think you can get up if I help you? I need to get you warm."

Nikki helped Connor to his feet, although not without difficulty. He was grown man, not quite with it, while she was petite and didn't feel 100% herself, but this was Connor and she had to make sure he was ok, for Jack's sake – wherever he was. Nikki swiped Jack's dressing gown from the back of his door and managed to help Connor into it after discarding his wet clothes. At first, Connor was slightly reluctant, despite the situation he'd found himself in. He was worried about losing his dignity in front of Nikki, who he was fond of, but she had her doctor head on, averting her eyes as much as possible and made him feel comfortable again. She tucked him up and waited with him for the ambulance, keeping an eye on him, and periodically attempting to contact Jack.

Her second port of call was Simone, who apparently wasn't answering either, then Nikki tried Simone's Gran who was equally distressed not to be able to get hold of her granddaughter.

"I don't know where she is." The usually calm lady lamented. "We had had plans. She was going to cook for me, but I can't even get her on the phone."

"I'm going to call the detective we're working with at the moment. I can't get hold of Jack either, but maybe Steve knows where they are. I'll let you know." Nikki promised soothingly. "In the meantime, are you ok in this storm? Stay upstairs and wrap up."

The old lady agreed she was fine and Nikki dialled Steve's number.

After a few moments the detective answered. "Nikki"

"Hi Steve, I can't get hold of Jack. He's been trying to call me but I can't get through. Do you know where he is?"

There was a pause. "Jack and Simone are both stuck at the care home by the storm and the river has flooded. Where are you?"

"I'm at Jack's. His Dad's had a fall. I'm waiting for the paramedics."

"Text me his address." Steve instructed. "I'm coming over."

Nikki had just texted him when a shout came up the stairs "Paramedics! Hello?"

"We're up here" she shouted back from the top of the stairs. "Connor Hodgson. He's my best friend's dad." She explained when they reached her. "I found him on the floor with the bath overflowing. He's had a fall and hit his head."

"Do these falls happen often?" The paramedic asked, whilst her colleague went to attend to Connor.

"I think they're happening more often than they were. Jack was worried about him and said he was getting worse." Nikki commented remembering their earlier conversation.

"Do you know what medication he's on?"

Nikki racked her brains in frustration. She should know this. She did know this. What was wrong with her.

The paramedic reached out as Nikki wobbled and steadied herself on the banister. "Are you ok love?"

She rubbed her. "Yeah, I'm ok thank you. Just look after Connor please. I'm afraid I don't know but his medication should be in the kitchen I think."

"Ok" The paramedic nodded. "Where is Jack now? I assume that's his son?"

"Jack is a forensic scientist and I've just been informed that both he and my other colleague are trapped by the storm in the care home where they've been working. He would have been here otherwise. He wouldn't leave his Dad overnight." Nikki explained.

The paramedic acknowledged her explanation. She pointed at the floor with her pen, before she went to check the kitchen for Connor's medication. "I need to look at those feet."

Nikki glanced down at her bloodied feet. It was true that they were sore, but she had tried to put the horrors of earlier behind her. She had much more pressing matters to think about. She had known something was up it when it suddenly dawned on her that she was in a state of undress and about to do the worst thing she could think of, but she hadn't been sure what was going on. She was not only freaked out to find herself there, but also because she couldn't really remember much from the evening leading up to that point. It was a blur. She just knew she had to get away as quickly as possible and she needed to find Jack. She had somehow managed to pull her dress back over her shoulders, grab her bag and shoes and flee out the room. She had been afraid though, at the time she wasn't sure of what, but she hadn't stop running for a good while. Eventually when she ran out of breath she had discovered to her relief that her phone was in her bag and she had a signal. The taxi driver had been kind and had tried to persuade her to let him take her to the hospital but she had refused, insisting that she needed to get 'home' before giving him Jack's address.

Upon reaching Jack's she had been both scared and ashamed by the bits she could remember but when she found his Dad, she tried to put it out of her mind, and was running on adrenaline fuelled by her concern for Connor and Jack's absence. It wasn't important at the moment.

"Nikki?" Steve appeared. "What happened to you?!" He motioned at her feet.

Nikki waved her hand. "It doesn't matter. Has something happened to Jack? I thought they were back at the Lyell."

"Simone had some texts from someone at the care home-"

"She gave them her number?" Nikki stated indignantly.

"She wrote it in the visitors' book. Yes – I know, I know – Jack's already told her off" He added quickly before Nikki could speak. "Anyway, the texts said that the sender knew who the killer was and that they thought that person was going to kill again, so Jack and Simone went back to the care home-"

"And you let him go?!" Nikki snapped.

"What this is my fault?" Steve shot back – offended that Nikki appeared to be blaming him for not barricading Jack in the Lyell.

"Nikki?" Connor called from his bedroom, having heard part of their conversation.

"Stay there. I'll be back." Nikki instructed bluntly, before going to Connor's room.

"Jack and Simone are trapped at the care home where they were working earlier, because of the storm, but they'll be fine. I'm going to get them out." Nikki promised. She returned to Steve and pulled him roughly to the side in order to avoid Connor overhearing anything else, but found she once again had to steady herself against the wall, before she could speak. "You let him go back to a care home where he is now stuck in a storm and a flood – and there's a bloody killer wandering about!" she spoke through gritted teeth, as the paramedic returned from the kitchen to join her colleague with Connor. "If anything happens to him Steve-"

"Dr Alexander, can I looked at your feet please" The paramedic lady called, having been informed of her name by Connor.

"Shouldn't you be getting him to hospital?" Nikki responded, unconcerned for her self.

"Go on Dr Alexander." Steve pressed "we can't do anything until first light and I'm certainly not letting you go like that!"

Nikki sighed "Fine."

"Try not to worry – you said yourself he'll be fine." Steve added.

"He better be." Nikki hissed over her shoulder as she headed back to Connor's room.

"Mind, you don't take no for an answer" Connor told the paramedics, as Nikki perched on the end of his bed and let one of them examine her feet.

"I'm afraid at present the road is blocked and we are unable to get to the hospital." The paramedic explained. "We were nearby when we got the call to attend here. How did you do this?" She asked.

"I ran in bare feet, in the rain and on concrete." Nikki shrugged, as the lady started cleaning her feet. "It was silly. Can I go?"

"Just a minute, young lady." Connor remarked. "There's more to it, isn't there." He looked up at the paramedic. "She's been repeated rubbing her face or holding her head and she doesn't seem quite herself."

Steve appeared at the door. "And she's a bit wobbly. She keeps steadying herself on the wall."

Nikki stared at her hands as the paramedic agreed. "Yes I noticed that too."

Nikki stood up suddenly annoyed at the sympathy surrounding her. "It really doesn't matter. There are more important things going on."

"And you're still wearing wet clothes, not to mention horrendously smeared make up. As a doctor you should know better. Doctors really are the worst patients!" Steve continued blocking her route out the door.

"There are more important things" Nikki repeated stubbornly.

"Nikki, please." Connor intervened gently. "Jack will never forgive me."

Nikki relented at the old man's mention of his son. "Ok, you can look at my feet. But I really don't want a long conversation about it. Not right now. Please. I need to save Jack...from the storm." She added quickly turning to Connor. "I'm ok, I promise. I've just got a bit of a headache."

"I'll make you a deal, Nikki." Steve suggested. "You let them patch your feet up and I'll arrange transport and clothes to arrive and pick us up at first light, to help with the evacuation from the care home. I'll see about clearing the bathroom as best as I can while we're stuck here."

"There are some of Jack's ma's clothes in the chest of drawers." Connor informed her. "You're about the same size. Put some dry clothes on, please, Nikki"