Harry assumed he must have dozed off after the doctors left, as when he woke all the lights had been dimmed in an attempt to create an artificial night, but it still wasn't dark. He was hot and uncomfortable. He was sure they were not early symptoms of fever but more as a result from being stuck in this box of a room, with its special air filtration system. He wasn't even sure of the time, all his personal possessions and clothes had been taken away to be sterilized or destroyed when he arrived. There was a sandwich and bottle of water now in the air locked shelf on the door which he opened and ate. This certainly wasn't a holiday camp.

He flicked on the TV, it looked like late night Friday programmes, the ones he occasionally watched after a night out. They weren't nearly as funny after a sandwich and a bottle of water as he usually found them and flicked the TV off again.

This was torture, for a brief moment the thought crossed his mind that suffering Ebola would be preferable, but he realised that was silly and went over to the window to peer into Nikki's room. Her TV was on, he couldn't see it but the flickering blueish light was unmistakeable. He could also hear the sounds of voices as he pressed his ear against the glass and hear someone crying. He prayed that was on the TV too.

He started doodling on his pad of paper for want of anything better to do. He started drawing little figures with bored expressions on their faces and had just drawn a rather graphic caricature of a head with its eyeballs popping out of its sockets when he had an idea.

He pulled the chair nearer to the window and quickly drew a series of dashes on a page and went over to hold it against the window.

He knocked quietly at first, half hoping not to wake her if she were sleeping, but he was bored and inevitably the knocking got louder.

He noticed the TV get turned off first and held his breath as he waited for her next move. He really didn't want her to ignore him; that would just make this hideous weekend even more unbearable.

The blind was raised another two inches and he tried his best to smile at her. She didn't smile back. He gestured to the dashes on his page and looked back at her.

_' _ / _ _ _ _ _

Nikki just stared back obviously confused. He held up his sketch of the man with his eyeballs popping out to which he had now added a noose and gallows.

Nikki nodded and went to collect the other half of the note pad and started writing out the alphabet. She pointed in turn to the letters she was suggesting, no E, no A, no T. Harry busily constructed a new bit of scaffold with each wrong guess.

Nikki continued through the vowels and after Harry had added I and O to his dashes, he thought he saw the hint of a smile on her face.

I'_ / _O_ _ _

Happy Mother's Day to all concerned. Hey make my day, you could review!