He couldn't believe it. He had almost given up hope before he'd practically stumbled into her. It took a few seconds to recognise her, and he was taken aback by what he saw. She looked so vulnerable, so small. She hadn't noticed him at first, her head bowed, knees drawn to her chest, so unlike the woman he knew and cared for deeply, but when she did look up he saw a glimmer of recognition in her eyes before they began to fill with tears.

"Carla?"

She looked back at him, unable to answer, a flood of emotion threatening to overwhelm the numbness of the past hours. He was the one person she knew would never lie to her. But he had given up on her weeks ago, so why was he here?

"Speak to me, can you get up?"

Roy crouched down so he was at her eye level, alarmed at the way she recoiled and looked away, not sure what he should do next. Social interactions had never been his strong point, but he was way out of his depth. Her leant forward and took her hand in his. She felt so cold, and he could feel her shaking beneath his touch.

"Here, have my coat, you must be freezing."

He carefully wrapped it around her, taking in her profile; her cheekbones were more pronounced than ever, her frame had always been petite but now her clothes hung off her. However it was her eyes that scared him most. The sparkle that had always been there was missing somehow, he couldn't explain it, knew it wasn't logical, but she felt like a stranger.

"Roy, help me?"

It was barely audible but gave him hope. She was now staring at him, tears rolling down her cheeks, searching his face for the answer.

"Of course, why else would I be here.

She felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Roy would know what to do, he always did. She tried to stand, dizziness threatening to overwhelm her but felt a hand steadying her, supporting her. She leant into his chest, feeling the warmth of his embrace as he guided her forward, safe for the first time in far too long.

"Shall we go home?"

His question stopped her in her tracks. She didn't have a home, he had thrown her out, and Peter's wasn't safe anymore, nowhere was. She shook her head, her agitation rising as she tried to make sense of what was going on.

"Where are you taking me?"

Roy felt her tense up in his arms, he had been warned that she was unwell, but he could never have imagined her current state and found himself wondering how she could have got this bad without anybody close to her noticing and trying to help. This, whatever it was, must have started a long time ago for her to be in this condition. He realised he had to include himself in that list of people who had allowed this to happen, but resolved that he wouldn't be letting her down again.

"Back to my flat, that will always be your home if you want it to be. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me, but I promise that changes now."

She wasn't sure what to do next. Roy's flat had always felt like home, but she couldn't go back to that street. 'They' would find her, she was sure of it. But then Roy was always true to his word, so if he said it was OK then she had to believe him didn't she?

"Will Rana know I'm there?"

Roy had been told about the messages Carla had left on Rana's phone, but had hoped it was a moment of madness, perhaps fuelled by alcohol; this was the confirmation that it was so much more, and he paused to consider his response. He could feel Carla growing more agitated and wasn't sure whether his answer would make things better or worse.

"Do you trust me?"

He held both her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes whilst asking and was relieved to see her nod and attempt a smile in return.

Rana died in the factory collapse. I promise that she did. It was a dreadful accident, you couldn't have known what would happen, but that is the truth. She's gone."

Carla continued to meet his gaze, she desperately wanted to believe him. If Rana wasn't after her then who was? She knew she deserved everything that was coming, she felt it deep inside. But if Rana wasn't behind it all then maybe she could go back, after all they'd find her eventually wherever she hid. She nodded again and leant back into his embrace, letting him guide her towards the car, she was finally going home.

As they got closer to their destination, Carla's level of fear once again began to increase. Roy noticed her demeaner change, she was glancing around nervously, her breaths quickening. He considered taking her somewhere else before deciding it was just prolonging the inevitable. He had originally planned to take her directly to the hospital but after seeing her reactions to events so far he had decided that he needed to be true to his word, to keep her trust and stop her absconding again. His aim now was to convince her over the coming hours that she needed more help than he could offer, hopefully consenting to go there of her own free will. He had no idea whether it would work, but at least she'd be warm and safe in the meantime. When he pulled up outside the flat, he was relieved to find the street deserted. That should make things easier. The last thing either of them needed was a local busybody after the latest gossip, or even worse, one of the many on the street still convinced that Carla had intentionally caused people harm. He went around and opened her car door, and was relieved when she came willingly.

Once inside the flat, Carla collapsed into the couch, grateful for its comfort after the days spent on cold concrete. Roy persuaded her that a shower would be a good idea, and she noticed for the first time the state of the clothes she had been wearing. The warm water did bring her aching joints some relief, and she came out to find clean pyjamas and dressing gown laid out on her bed and the smell of cooking. Despite this she couldn't shake the mounting feeling that something was wrong. As she sat back down in the lounge Roy came over with a box of her tablets.

"You left some here when you went to Peter's and from memory you would have just run out of your other supply. It's a good job I found you when I did, as you know you can't be without them"

Carla eyed him suspiciously. Maybe he was in cahoots with 'them' after all. She needed to find out.

"I don't need them, they've been using them to control me. I haven't taken any for days and I'm fine."

Roy's heart sunk at these words. How could he convince her she was wrong, that they had been keeping her alive for over a year? He could see how tired and frail she was, she needed urgent medical attention already, but by continuing without her medication she would quickly be in an even more dire state than she was now.

"You need to take them now Carla, you must remember what the doctors said. I promise it's for your own good."

It was in that moment that she became sure that her trust had been misplaced. She had got it wrong, put her faith in the wrong person. She needed to get away, needed the man that she now realised was truly on her side, why else would everybody have tried to keep them apart for so long.

She had to find Peter.