Ellen sat in the living room with Robbie as she waited for Sportacus and Kit to finish repairing the shower upstairs. In her hands she held a mug of coffee but hadn't yet taken a sip from it, her eyes were busy taking in the room. All of the walls around her had been tastefully redecorated in one colour instead of the several splashes of colour she'd seen when she'd first entered the house a month before. Pictures were hung on one wall above an open fireplace that hadn't been used for some years. None of the furniture had been changed and she languished in the wonderfully soft leather encasing her in the couch. Letting her eyes wander back to the fireplace she noticed a sketch which portrayed her host, his daughter and the man she was having a relationship with.

"It's good isn't it?" Robbie asked noticing Ellen studying the picture.

Ellen took her eyes from the picture and looked at Robbie, "It is. Who drew it?"

"Robyn. She's quite talented art-wise, I can't draw well."

"Neither can I. If you don't mind me asking, do you miss your wife?"

Hearing the word wife and knowing who Ellen was asking about, Robbie nearly choked on a sip of coffee he'd taken. After he'd finished coughing he shook his head.

"Lily wasn't my wife. She's Robyn's mother but she's not my wife."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's an easy mistake to make I guess. It's easy to forget that not all parents are married."

Ellen nodded, "I hate to sound rude but how can you be sure that you're Robyn's father? From what I've heard of Lily and read of her when she's been mentioned in the newspapers she was terribly promiscuous, any man she slept with could have been Robyn's father. Who knows? There could be a whole heap of men out there not knowing they've got a daughter."

A cold shiver of doubt passed over Robbie. It had never struck him that he might not be Robyn's biological father. Not able to find an answer to return to Ellen's question and feeling a need to get away from the woman he put his half-empty coffee mug on the table and left the house. He walked in no particular direction as his head spun and his insides twisted up tightly within him. Lost in a labyrinth of unanswered questions and doubts he wandered aimlessly into the garden and sat heavily on the arbour.

A voice saying his name and a hand on his shoulder brought him back to the present with a bolt. Knowing who had sat beside him on the cushioned seat he turned his head and looked her fully in the face. He was disgusted at how completely calm and indifferent the woman looked when faced with the result of her hurtful words spoken in a casually conversational tone as if talking with a friend she'd known for years about a person that wasn't actually there. He wanted to shout at her, he wanted to throw something back at her and hurt her as she had done him but he couldn't find the strength to even open his mouth.

"If you want to find out if you're really Robyn's father you can have a DNA test done. It's not short of a hundred per cent accurate and it's a quick way to tell you if you are or not her father. Think about it, it's the only way you'll ever know." Ellen said her tone less mocking than before.

Robbie looked away. He couldn't look at the woman any longer. Despite his better judgement he knew that she was right but he couldn't bring himself to accept it. Again feeling the need to escape the impassable truth she presented he got up and walked away. This time she didn't follow him and he felt a small amount of relief in all the doubt that whirled like a tornado within him. Heading in no particular direction he walked his eyes fixed to the ground he watched the tramp of his feet and the tears that fell onto his shoes.

Fully satisfied that she had planted a big enough seed of doubt to make Robbie all the more vulnerable to attack, Ellen smiled. Getting up from the arbour she walked back to the house leaving the man she was slowly breaking to wallow in his thoughts and the feelings she had aroused in him. Opening the front door she looked about briefly before stepping inside. Listening for any sounds her ears could detect she heard voice upstairs and knew that Kit and Sportacus were still working on the shower. They were still working on it and by the sounds she heard would be working on it for some time to come which worked perfectly for her plans. The longer they were occupied the longer Robbie would have to drown in sorrow.

A loud crash upstairs interrupted her thoughts and made her jump. Curious at what the men were trying to do aside from destroying the bathroom she climbed the stairs. Finding the bathroom quickly she stuck her head round the door and flinched when she saw the destruction wrought on the room. The shower unit had come away completely from the wall and a large fountain of water from the damaged pipe bubbled sending shoots of water cascading over the carpet. Both men appeared to be desperately trying to stop the leak and working out a way to re-attach the shower to the wall. By complete chance Sportacus turned his head and smiled sheepishly at her.

Ellen returned the smile, "Having trouble boys?"

"Just a little," Sportacus confessed.

"Do you want me to go and turn the water off?"

Kit nodded, "Might be an idea. The main water tap is under the kitchen sink, it's the big red lever. It either goes up or down."

"I'll see what I can do."

Her mission set, Ellen walked back down the stairs and headed to the kitchen. Opening the cupboard underneath the sink she looked for the lever and tried pushing it up. The lever didn't budge so she pulled it down. She heard Sportacus' call to her that it had worked. Indulging an impulse to cause a little trouble she pushed the lever back up and laughed when she heard shocked screams. Pulling the lever back down she shouted that her hand had slipped before she closed the cupboard doors and got up.

Walking back into the living room she sat back down in her previous place on the couch. Sinking into the luxuriously soft leather she sighed contentedly. Remembering that she'd left a mug of coffee she looked down at the coffee table. For the first time since entering the house she noticed a piece of paper folded in half on the table. Curious she picked it up and opened it. Studying the paper she read:

'PROGRESS REPORT: PATIENT I.D 500456: ROTTEN, ROBYN ROSE - Robyn seems to be progressing well and adapting to her surroundings despite some early teething problems. Several assessments were carried out on her each touching upon an experience she had whilst in a coma which we believe to be the main cause of her illness. Early attempts to get her to disclose just what this experience was were unsuccessful; however, further attempts will be made in the future. Until this experience is uncovered we will be unable to treat Robyn fully.'

Hearing movement upstairs Ellen quickly put the note back where and how it had been left. Picking up her mug she took it out into the kitchen to avoid suspicion. From what she had read she now knew that Robyn was weaker than she had suspected, she hoped that the letter she had delivered to the girl would have the desired affect in her vulnerable state.