A/N: Sorry for the ridiculously long wait. Here's a sufficient chapter, I hope.

Disclaimer: I own Lilly and she's just me. I'll fight you for Vince and Howard. I'll warn you though, I cheat.


Vince wasn't in the flat when Lilly and Howard entered. Lilly counted that as a blessing and gave a sigh of relief at the empty living room. Howard just shuffled in and made straight for the couch, plopping down and staring at the blank television.

"Howard?"

He didn't move. He didn't even blink.

"Howard?"

His mustache twitched just a fraction of a millimeter.

"I don't underst –"

"You do know that he's a horrible man, right?"

Howard finally turned his head to look at Lilly, who was still standing awkwardly and looking worried. The look in his eyes had changed since they'd left the restaurant. Now he just seemed annoyed.

"Howard, I –"

"I nearly died because of him!"

"Well, I –"

"More than once!"

Lilly walked over and plopped down on the couch next to Howard, "So did I."

It was silent for a minute, as both Howard and Lilly reminisced. Neither really knew what to say but Lilly knew if she didn't say anything they could be sat there for hours.

"That's the reason I'm here, actually." Lilly hoped Howard wouldn't ask for details. She didn't particularly enjoy the idea of reliving the experience.

Howard didn't ask. Instead, he fidgeted awkwardly for three minutes and then put his hand on Lilly's knee. He didn't know whether he was trying to comfort her or himself. Something told him it was a little bit of both.

Almost an hour passed before either Howard or Lilly uttered a noise. Howard's hand was still on Lilly's knee and he was starting to feel more comfortable about it. He thought maybe after five more minutes of this he might be able to move on to a quick hug – maybe.

Without warning, the door to the shop banged open, causing both Howard and Lilly to jump off the couch and turn to see what was going on. Vince came bounding up the stairs in his heeled chelsea boots. He was out of breath and was trying to talk in between gulps of air.

"Bain – bridge – in – Dalston. Can't – feel –"

Vince swooned very theatrically. Howard – who hadn't understood a word of what Vince had said – made it to Vince just in time to keep him from smacking his head on the floor. He knelt, Vince's upper body in his arms, and gazed concernedly at the back of Vince's head.

Lilly, on the other hand, had indeed understood what Vince had gasped out. Her ex had found her – and quickly! – and it was time for her to vamoose before he captured her.

Vince waved his arms around wildly after catching his breath, "Help me over to the couch, would you Howard?"

Howard helped Vince up and over to the couch without question. He was only just managing to keep from asking why Vince had made such a scene, though.

Vince sat down and pulled off one of his boots, "These new boots are way too small! What was I thinking?"

"Vince, what's going on?" Howard sat down next to him, hands in his lap, trying to be patient.

Vince pulled the other boot off, sighing with relief, "Oh, I got these new boots at –"

Howard gritted his teeth, "No, not the boots. Why did you run home?"

"Oh!" Vince bounced up and down a couple of times, "I saw Dixon Bainbridge on my way to the shops! Can you believe that Howard?! Bainbridge!" Vince paused and looked over at Lilly, who was still standing with a shocked look on her face, "Oh, Bainbridge is this guy we used to work –"

"She knows."

Vince still looked excited, though he was now confused, "What?"

Lilly cleared her throat, trying to regain control of the situation – or at least her facial expressions, "I know him."

Vince was excited again, "You do?! What are the chances? Howard! She knows Ba –"

"I know."

Vince just looked down at his toes and wiggled them, muttering to himself, "Genius!"

Howard lost it. He couldn't control it anymore. He didn't even know what 'it' was.

"No, Vince! Not 'genius'! This is awful!"

Vince looked up, giving Howard a 'deer in headlights' look, "What do you mean?"

Howard threw his hands in the air and made a loud and exasperated noise. He stomped around the couch and into the kitchen. The banging of the kettle and some cups was his response to the problem.

Lilly took the quieter approach, sitting down next to Vince, "Dixon isn't exactly the nicest person around, is he?"

Vince shrugged, fixing his big, blue, and confused eyes on Lilly.

"We're just worried that he'll come here. We don't want any problems. That's all." Lilly looked down at her hands in her lap and ran through her various options while Vince processed this new information and tried to remember the return policy of the shop he'd bought the boots from. He was pretty sure he could charm his way into a full refund.

"Lilly?"

Lilly was deep in her own thoughts. Her exit strategy was forming.

"Lilly?!"

She still didn't respond.

"Lilly!"

"What?"

Vince sighed and shook his head, "You and Howard are perfect for each other."

Lilly frowned at Vince, "What?"

"Nothing." Vince paused for a minute and looked down at his toes again, "How do you know Bainbridge?"

"Sorry?"

Vince cleared his throat and tried again, this time looking up at Lilly, "How do you know Bainbridge? Are you a zookeeper too?"

Lilly shook her head, "No. He masqueraded as a veterinarian in California. I just had a sick dog. That's how we met, anyway."

Howard heard Lilly begin her story and quietly went to the doorway to listen. He didn't want her to know he was there, in case she didn't want him to know.

"We dated, actually. He cured my dog with this serum he said he was working on. At least, that's what I thought at the time. He charmed me. He was smart and funny and attractive."

Vince balked, "Ew!"

Lilly laughed into her lap, "He convinced me to move in with him after only dating for a month. I don't know what I was thinking. That's when things started to get weird."

She clammed up, staring at her fingers which were kneading her skirt. She hadn't planned on telling Vince anything and now she was telling him everything. He was easy to talk to, she guessed.

"Weird how?" Vince was just plain curious. He hadn't assumed the gravity of the situation. To Vince, everyone was good until they did something bad to him. Bainbridge hadn't done anything especially bad to Vince. He was just a bit of a wanker.

Lilly shrugged, trying to relieve the tension, "My dog disappeared and then the animals around us started to disappear. Dixon said he was perfecting this serum of his and soon enough we'd be rich and he'd take me back to England with him. I thought he'd be taking me as his girlfriend. The truth was, he was taking me as his test subject."

Vince looked shocked and confused, "He was testing it on you?!"

"Not yet." Lilly shook her head, "But he'd tried multiple times to convince me to do it voluntarily. When I'd decline, he'd get angry." She shuddered, "It was awful."

Lilly felt tears hit her hands before she realized she was crying. She reached up to push the tears away but instead, Vince grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug.

Lilly let go then. She let all of the worry and anxiety out and grabbed on to Vince as her anchor. Vince, suddenly compelled to mother her, rocked Lilly back and forth and cooed in her ear.

"It's going to be okay now Lil'. You've got us!" Vince held her out at arms length and smiled at her, "We won't let him near you."

Howard was still standing in the doorway, two cold cups of tea in his hands. His face was a mask of shock and worry. His tears were diluting the tea.