Author's note: Thanks once more for the review!

It's with a scream that Kayo finds herself thrown back into her bedroom on the island.

She tumbles clumsily out of her bed, struggling and lashing out against the memory of restraints and a cold operating table. The pain which radiates from her right arm is sickening but somehow only makes things worse. She gets tangled in her sheets and is unable to get to her feet, falling over another time and then another connecting with the bedside table next to her sending the lamp clashing off of it and to the ground.

To the best of her ability, the young woman fumbles around desperately searching for a light switch, something to allow her to shed some light on the situation and remind herself of just where she is. She knows that she's no longer in the Hood's base but she needs to see that she isn't, just to chase some of the residual terror from her. Finally, after what seems like an agonizing period of time which prevents her from processing anything properly, she manages, more through dumb luck than anything else, to hit the switch.

Instantly, light floods the room and chases away some of the ghosts.

Even then, for a few moments she could swear that she finds herself in a small, almost closet space with padded walls. A few deep breaths do something to calm her nerves. She's still shaking as she leans back so as to rest her head against the back of the wall. Shaking, she runs her hands through her hair brushing it out of her face. The memories linger. Some of them she's certain happened and can remember them almost too acutely. Others, now, she's not so sure. All that she knows is that she doesn't want to be reliving them right now.

"Get out! Get out! Get out!"

The young woman pounds at her temples.

It achieves nothing. So she allows herself to slump down and closes her eyes. Bad dreams will pass eventually, she knows that much. It's just a matter of being patient. She wants to go back, to stop herself from going into that base. She'd been stubborn and stupid and look at what it had cost her, cost all of them. Sitting there, she feels lost. Kayo can't move. She just sits, mindlessly trying to untangle her legs from her sheets.

It's in the past. All in the past and there's nothing that she can do about it now.

The door opens suddenly causing her to jump. Her father, Mr. Tracy and Scott all tear into her room eyes wide and all of them on high alert, ready for trouble. She's not too sure what they think could have happened. Invaders? Assassins? Ninjas? They look around, obviously expecting to find something but discover only Tanusha Kyrano sitting on the floor in a room which she seems to have decided to wreck at some early hour of the morning.

For a moment, all that she can do is stare at them. How much time had she spent praying and longing to see such a sight? For the door of her cell to be burst down and for her to be reunited with her family come to rescue her. It had felt as if she was going to waste away in that place. Even now, knowing where she is and who she's with, some part of her struggles to believe it.

Finally, it occurs to her just why they're here for her. They haven't come in in such a fashion just to check how she's doing. For a few seconds, she tries to force a smile but finds herself lacking the strength to do so.

"It's okay… I just had a nightmare." She assures them.

She sees the looks of sympathy but all three relax now that they're certain that there isn't a physical danger threatening them. Silently, Scott drifts back over towards the door and slips outside. She'd say he was tired but she knows that to be a stretch, he hasn't been on any missions today after all. Kayo doesn't call out to him or make any attempts to convince him to stay. She's a little too frazzled for that, despite her best attempts to conceal it.

Cautiously, she tries to get to her feet. Sitting down here like this, she's aware that it's not the most comforting picture in the world for her to be painting for them. It takes her a couple of minutes to finally free herself from the prison of sheets that she's become tied up in. As she tries to get to her feet, a sharp pain on her hip causes her to look down. There's a small cut there, more of a scrape really. She's not too sure when she got it. Presumably when she tumbled out of bed. She doesn't make a big deal out of it.

Kayo finds herself torn between wanting her father and Jeff out so that she might recover alone and longing for them both to stay, providing some comfort simply through their presence as they chase away the ghosts and memories of her imprisonment. So she settles for something in between, concerning herself with something else:

"I didn't wake any of you up, did I?"

It's a stupid question and she knows it… Already, peeping through the door she can make out the sleepy but worried eyes of Alan and Gordon, Virgil could easily be back there too along with Grandma. It's one of the benefits of living so close together and one of the biggest drawbacks: they can all hear what's going on. There's a comfort to that knowledge but it's a lack of privacy which right now, she sorely regrets.

Jeff gives the pair some privacy, rounding up his own sons and assuring them that everything's okay as he goes. Her father stays for a few moments and helps her pick up some of the stuff she's managed to knock over and scatter around her room, carefully putting them back where they belong. She's grateful for the assistance but quick to get back to bed. The sooner she's back to doing something "normal" like sleeping, the better. Kayo reasons that this shouldn't be all that surprising for them. She's been through a lot, some of that is going to resurface in the form of nightmares. Kyrano stays near to her in a way that reminds her of her childhood. He looks down at his daughter tenderly.

He has a lot to say. She knows that. The young woman can also tell that he won't. It's all worries and fear. Tanusha might not be the perfect daughter but she doesn't want him fretting over her, not now.

"Bapa… I'm fine." She assures him. "It was just a bad dream."

"I'm sure Little Star but you know me. I don't like seeing you afraid."

"I'll get over it." Kayo does what she can to force another smile. "Don't you worry about me."

"Now that's impossible." He chuckles warmly in response. "You sleep well my love."

"I will..."

He's gone a moment later.

Kayo lies there. She feels as if she should be able to find some sleep relatively easily. If only because she's acutely aware that her father and likely Jeff as well are still outside the door. They try to chat quietly but some of their low voices still reach her ears. It's soothing in an odd way to know that she hasn't been abandoned. She knows what they'll be doing, remembering it still clearly from her childhood days with the brothers: they'll linger for a few moments, just long enough to ensure that she's nodded off and no longer in need of company. A few minutes usually do the trick.

Slowly she begins to drift off into a dreamless sleep.

"Sentimental fool..."

The words echo through her mind suddenly. It's as if they were spoken right next to her ear. In a flash, her eyes shoot open as she takes a gasp.

There's a familiar buzzing in her head. It isn't painful. It is irritating though. She can best equate it to the buzzing of an old radio. How long has she been asleep? It doesn't feel like all that long. Instantly, she sits up, looking around. Quietly, getting up to her feet, she slips out of her bed. It's been a while since she last partook in any stealth operations but not so long that she's forgotten how to move stealthily. The hall is quiet once more. Still, she tiptoes towards the door. Very carefully, the young woman presses her ear to the wood and listens. Nothing. Taking a chance, Kayo opens it just a crack and peeps outside. Nobody. Evidently, her father and Jeff have returned to their own beds. She must have been asleep for a while then.

Content that she's alone, she shuts the door. The young woman makes her way into the ensuite bathroom. The buzzing is still there, a little quieter now but still present and promises that she will get no rest until she complies. She drifts inside and closes the door behind her. For a few seconds, she closes her eyes, sick in the stomach. Kayo braces herself against the cool porcelain sink. She can't bring herself to look up, already knowing what she will find. The buzzing intensifies and she gets the distinct, inescapable impression that she isn't alone any more, that there's someone else standing just next to her.

"I was rather hoping for a better show Tanusha… Keep this up and this little deal of ours is going to fall through."

The woman lets out a sight gasp as she opens her eyes.

In the mirror, standing just behind her, she sees the Hood.