Lights overhead flicked past in a game of cat and mouse, each one chasing the other. Their game sent waves of orange rolling through the car. They ran along its roof, one after the other, and disappeared over the back of it. Their antics cast an elongated shadow along both walls lining the sides of the narrow tunnel. It seemed as if the shadows were themselves playing games as one shadow merged into another in a repeated game of leapfrog that never seemed to end. Every so often the shadows would be still but their movements didn't cease for long, their games would quickly be resumed when the opportunity had arisen and the continuing antics of the lights that formed them enticed them to join in. Their energy seemed tireless. Their games didn't end until daylight broke through their proceedings, its radiance shining through the end of the tunnel ahead. For a few brief moments as they passed through that doorway into the rest of the world brightness overcame them, sheer white light entering every crevice of the car and then as quickly as it had come it was gone.

Out in the growing light of day, Kathleen turned off her car's headlights. They were no longer needed and she was glad to be away from the tunnel. She had never driven through it, anxiety of encased spaces with no sign of light where she could be trapped if anything befell her keeping her away from it previously. Once she had seen the end of the tunnel she had been careful not to speed up too much, the tunnel was known for its speed related accidents and mishaps as a result of careless drivers. A slight narrowing of the walls towards the end hadn't escaped her notice and she had subconsciously breathed in as another car passed her going in the opposite direction as she had moved through the exit. Now she was free of those oppressive walls she chanced a glance in her rear view mirror at the person sitting silently and worryingly still on the back seat.

"Do you think she's ok?" Kathleen whispered to Doctor Malone who was sat beside her in the passenger seat.

"I don't know." Doctor Malone replied taking a look for himself in the mirror, "Something happened to make her leave the car, either that or something happened afterwards. I haven't seen her like this since…turn left here."

Kathleen did as she was told. They had reached the edge of town and she followed the road down past a band of trees situated near to the first houses of the still sleeping population. At a further instruction she drove further into the centre of town before slowing down and eventually coming to a stop outside someone's house. Even at that early hour of the morning there seemed to signs that someone within was awake and moving around. Confused as she was at this there was something to arrest her confusion further at the sight of anxiety upon Doctor Malone's face. He was unhappy about something but she didn't ask what. The front door had opened before she'd had a chance to open her mouth. Standing on the threshold was a man she had met before and was glad to see in good health if not wearing a face lined with worry.

Opening his door once he had removed his seat belt, Doctor Malone stepped from the car. He asked Kathleen to keep an eye on Robyn while he spoke with Robbie, there was something he wanted to talk to him about in private and didn't want to do so within the earshot of the two women in the car. It seemed his intention was clearly understood as Robbie stepped aside to let him enter the house when he had approached. He could hear the door closed behind him and feel a pair of eyes looking to his back.

"I'm very sorry, Mr Rotten, I had intended to have Robyn home sooner but…" Doctor Malone began.

"Kathleen told me all of that," Robbie cut in his tone less grave than he wanted, "At least you found her with no harm done."

Doctor Malone lowered his eyes to the ground for a moment, "I'm afraid I don't believe that that's quite the case, Mr Rotten. Physically I think that Robyn is completely fine apart from the problems we already know about, it's her mental state that worries me."

"What's happened?"

"That I don't know. The only thing I know is that I haven't seen her like this since she was in the safe house."

"No, not again!" Robbie exclaimed placing his head in his hands, "If Kit knew…" Robbie trailed off, thoughts of what might happen floated into his mind.

He knew what Kit was like when he was angry. After the last encounter with his temper he was ill prepared for another.

"What have I done?" Robbie moaned at last fearful of having to tell Kit what he was sure his friend would not want to hear.

Doctor Malone was silent. He had to consider his answer carefully. To say the wrong thing, however well meant, could do considerable damage to more than one party. In his objective opinion he believed that Robbie wasn't to blame for his beloved's state of mental health, she had seemed fine in the hospital and being a Doctor of both the mind and body he had accepted that fact. Something had happened to her either in her time in the car or outside of it.

Grateful for being given time to clear his mind a little, Robbie looked up at Doctor Malone, "What are you going to do?"

"The last thing I want to do is admit Robyn back into the safe house. It did her no good. In fact I believe it did her harm. To place her back in that environment would do nothing for her, nothing good. If you're willing to allow her to remain here it is an opinion I will second with no objections on the condition that she is watched at all times."

This offer of Doctor Malone's did much to relieve Robbie's anxiousness over the possibility of having to put Robyn back in the safe house. He was now more anxious about seeing her. He had to know for himself that she was again having problems. It was his fragile but lingering hope that perhaps when he and Robyn were reunited that whatever had happened to her would fade away and she would talk to him, a starting point to her getting better. Taking that resolution into his mind and standing by it he moved towards the door but the sound of a slight 'hem' stalled him. He turned to look at Doctor Malone who seemed to want to talk with him further.

"Just how did Kathleen tell you what happened earlier with Robyn?" Doctor Malone asked his expression riddled with confusion.

Robbie smiled wryly. It was a simple question with an even simpler answer. Kathleen had called him on her car phone while Doctor Malone had been phoning through arrangements to have his car collected by the local garage. His fuel can had cracked when he'd dropped it which had led it to leak all of its precious fluid during the time he had been away from it.

Kathleen sat with Robyn in the back seat of her car. She'd moved from her previous seat to make it easier for them to talk even though for the whole time Robyn had remained totally silent. Each attempt at conversation had bounced off of a wall of silence. She was alarmed to see such a dramatic change in the bubbly, lively girl she had once known. She only wished that she knew what had happened.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a car pull into town that looked like one of those the Hospital used to transport patients back to their homes if they had no way of getting back on their own. She turned her head to watch more fully what was going on. Someone caught her eye that she hoped would bring Robyn out of her shell. She touched the younger woman's hand gently to waken her from her thoughts before pointing towards the car.

Having managed to get Robyn's attention, Kathleen proceeded to explain. "Look who's just arrived back home, your Uncle Sportacus."

Undoing her seat belt Robyn left the car before Kathleen could do anything to stop her. She had seen a look in the younger woman's eyes that had told her that something bad had transpired between niece and uncle that she had just ignited. Wasting no time she sprung from the car and ran over to the front door of the house.

Something told her that she would need assistance if she was going to stop Robyn.