My goodness, fanfiction does not want to publish this chapter o.o we apologize if this chapter is emailed to people multiple times! Trying to sort out the issues we're having with publishing it!

-DGA & CA

– Chapter Two –

Leigh hadn't left the B&B for the rest of the day after meeting Aila in town. Instead she'd busied herself with tidying the room up, getting rid of more of the loose hair lying on the floor, and mentally preparing to explain to Aila all she needed to know. She couldn't get this wrong. She couldn't cause more confusion.

She had all the relevant files neatly arranged on the bed before her, all of them detailing DYAD's medical reviews, notes from monitors, and personal information on the clones. The one with 'Aila MacPherson' scribbled on the front in Leigh's messy handwriting made Leigh nervous. She wasn't sure she could prepare herself enough for the doctor's reaction.

At long last, the time came. Leigh's mind went numb as she locked her room and made her way to the main reception of the B&B to meet the other clone. Once again, she kept her hood up. She knew the B&B staff and other customers would have no reason to be suspicious. For all they knew, Leigh and Aila were twins...but Leigh was taking no chances.

"Here," Leigh spoke up when Aila arrived. She took a moment to let Aila prepare, and then sighed. "We'll talk in my room. Let's go, quickly."

Leigh turned on her heel and hurried back up the stairs to her room, checking to make sure Aila was following. Once they were in the room, Leigh closed the door, locked it, and leapt towards the window to peak out of the curtains.

"What are you doing?" Aila asked her.

"Making sure nobody followed you," Leigh told her.

Aila stared. "Why?"

"I'll explain in a minute," Leigh said impatiently. She scanned the street below, but there didn't seem to be anyone suspicious hanging around as far she could tell.

Satisfied for the time being, Leigh turned and stood up straight, lowering her hood at last. She gestured for Aila to sit down on the only chair in the room, and then crossed over to the bed.

"Aila MacPherson," Leigh said bluntly as she picked up the doctor's file. She hesitated, and then handed it to her. "I think you'd better see this."

Aila took the file and opened it, not sure what she was expecting to find. Leigh watched her in silence as she read over the information. Leigh knew that inside each file were photographs, names, birthdays, all family members, a list of people who had served as monitors, ID tags...the lists went on and on and on. Everything from each clone's favourite foods to all the pets she'd ever owned to…well…everything. An entire lifetime displayed in black and white.

Leigh absently played with a strand of her hair as she waited, watching as the doctor's face paled a bit and her eyes widened in shock as she took it all in.

"What the...what the hell is all of this?" Aila muttered finally, looking to Leigh for some type of explanation.

Leigh swallowed hard. She worried Aila might be sick if she turned any paler. "There are others," the hairdresser explained shakily as she picked up the next file. "Katja Obinger; Germany." She opened the file to briefly show Katja's photograph, and there was no denying the shock on the doctor's face deepening at the sight. Leigh continued to open the files so Aila could view the photos of the subjects. "Janika Zingler; Austria…Danielle Fournier, Aryanna Giordano…Elizabeth Childs…"

Now trembling, Leigh picked up another file and opened it up for Aila. "Valarie Melvin; Scotland – deceased," Leigh was talking rather hurriedly now in her panicked state. "Death by sniper rifle. Same as this one; Rebecca Balan, Russia, same cause of death - and there's a Ukrainian one somewhere here too who suffered the same fate…"

Leigh stepped back from the bed and stood up straight. "We're not twins; we're clones. There are more I don't know about, but I didn't have time to get information on them all. Aila, these women are being hunted down and killed. I don't know who is killing us and I don't know why, but the Scottish one was the last to go, and I'm telling you now, I think you're next on the hit list."

Aila was silent for several minutes, her hands shaking as she looked over the various faces. All the same faces of different people. All people with her face. Their face.

The doctor tried to speak, but nothing came out. She cleared her throat and tried again. "C-clones? I-I'm a...a human clone?" she whispered, before looking up at Leigh. "And you are too? That's not…that can't be real! That's the stuff of science fiction TV shows, not real life!"

Leigh shook her head. "It's real," she said bluntly. "And you're really in danger. That's why I came here. Have you seen anyone suspicious around lately?"

"Besides you?" Aila asked, offering a weak smile and an attempt at lightening the situation a bit.

Leigh rolled her eyes but managed a smirk. "Besides me."

Aila bit her lip. "W-when I was leaving my apartment to come here, I took a taxi, and as we were driving away I thought I saw…someone…someone wearing a green jacket. They had their hood was up. I couldn't see their face, but…" she paused, again looking down at the files scattered around the pair. "But I'm certain they had blood on their hands. Might just be a coincidence, but…it's freaking me out now I know someone's after me…"

Almost automatically, Leigh scurried back to the window and pulled back the curtains once more. A tight, anxious feeling appeared in her chest; something she had never experienced before. Still…everything looked ordinary out there…but Leigh couldn't stop staring down at the street below, no matter how she tried to calm herself.

"I know it's sudden Aila, but leaving town is the best chance of survival. You're not the only one in danger, and I need to warn the others, because DYAD sure as hell aren't gonna save them."

"D-DYAD?" Aila managed, confused.

"They created us. I'll tell you about it properly when I'm sure we're safe. Are you sure you didn't bring anyone with you? Nobody followed you?" she managed to ask, her gaze still focused on the view from the window. "Look at your file again – the bit about monitors – who's listed as your current one on there? When was the last time you saw them?"

Aila looked back down at her file and scanned the lists until her heart skipped a beat and her blood ran cold. "Joshua Burns…I-I just saw him when I left…he tried to start a conversation but I brushed him off…h-he's been my friend since I joined the hospital staff…he's…he's involved in this…" she said quietly, looking shocked and hurt and betrayed all at once. It wasn't a question. Just a blank, empty statement.

Leigh, still standing at the window, took a deep, steady breath. "All clones have monitors. DYAD…they get their hooks into them in any way they can; I mean I guess some of them were employed legitimately, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them were blackmailed and forced into it, like mine was…I dunno about this Joshua bloke, but I don't trust DYAD anymore. I think the monitors are victims too in their own way."

Leigh tore her gaze from the glass at last and stepped towards Aila. She felt incredible guilt to see such fear on the doctor's face. "We have to go. Now. Tonight. If there's any chance, any chance at all that the blood-stained person you saw hanging around is connected, we can't take any chances. If you need more answers, I'll tell you in time, but right now we can't waste any. Do you understand?"

Leigh was still shaking; she couldn't believe the massive risks she had taken and the damage she would cause to her relationship with DYAD because of it. If they only cared about the clones as subjects rather than people, they would never forgive or trust Leigh again.

Aila looked up at her double. "I-I'd need to go home and get my passport and my things...shite, what am I going to do about my job? Just fall off the face of the earth?" she asked, starting to collect the files into a pile again.

The doctor sighed and looked down at the box she'd brought with her. Leigh tilted her head, alternating her gaze between the window and the other clone. "What's that?"

Aila entered the key-code into the box and opened it, turning it around to show her the contents. "For the past few months I've been noticing that sometimes I'll wake up feeling really out of it, and find marks on my arms that look like track marks. I thought I was just being crazy over nothing, but I woke up one time and found part of a needle on the floor by my bed. I told…Josh…about it, but he said I was just being daft...coming up with crazy conspiracy theories about people being in my house at night. Know anything about that?"

Leigh felt very sick suddenly. Her already pale face turned even whiter.

Of course…Aila was an unaware clone. DYAD had to carry out medical examinations on her somehow. They couldn't do that while she was awake, or she wouldn't be an unaware clone at all.

Leigh's prediction of her anger increasing for DYAD came true sooner than she expected. It was one thing to perform these tests on her and Rachel; at least they knew it was happening and were aware of why. But to do it to Aila like this…

"Bastards," Leigh almost whispered. She sat down on the edge of the bed when her legs grew weak. Aila watched silently as Leigh gathered all the files and put them safely back into the folder they came from.

"What is it?" Aila asked her.

Leigh shook her head, unable to respond. It was too much, even for her. "We have to go, now. No more wasting time." She put the folder in her bag, made sure she had everything she'd need to leave the country, and stood up. "I'm coming with you to get your things; you're not going alone. Let's go."

Aila gathered up the contents of her box and led Leigh out of the B&B. Her mind was reeling and she felt nauseous. It was like she was in a lucid dream, and she hoped she'd wake up soon.

There was no way she was a human clone. That was just crazy, yet here she was calling a taxi and heading back to her apartment with Leigh to pack her things and flee the city to avoid a killer she wasn't even sure existed.

The doctor sighed and rubbed her head. "I thought days off work were meant to be relaxing," she muttered to herself.

Leigh said nothing, and still seemed to be on high alert as they made their way through Glasgow. By now, night had fully fallen, and the city was much emptier than it had been during the day.

The doctor stared down at her box absently. She didn't like the look on Leigh's face and knew the other woman was keeping something from her. Maybe she though Aila had had enough for one day. It was a lot to take in for sure. Aila had been trained to deal with bleeding, trauma, and illnesses, but it couldn't prepare her for the fact there were other women out there who looked just like her; who shared her blood, her mind, and her entire physiology.

When the taxi pulled up to her building, Aila paid the driver and got out of the car numbly, making her way through the doors and up the stairs. She led Leigh to her door and opened the lock, though before turning the handle, she froze as a chill shot up her spine. She couldn't explain it, but something seemed off.

"Do you feel that?" she asked.

"Feel what?" Leigh responded, looking around as they stood. The auburn-haired clone was anxious, shifting from one foot to the other.

Aila shook her head, willing away her growing paranoia. She opened the door and stepped into the apartment, but the feeling of dread only grew. She couldn't explain it. The whole energy of the apartment felt wrong.

The doctor looked around her place. She gasped when she looked into the kitchen. It looked like it'd been ransacked, with crumbs and bits of everything all over the floor and table.

"What the hell?!" she whispered, her eyes wide at the sight of the mess.

Leigh remained quiet but invited herself to shift closer to get a better look. The tightness in her chest increased. She wanted to ask if anything was missing; if whoever had broken in had stolen anything important, but the words never escaped her.

Instead, the hairdresser took a few steps back while Aila inspected the mess, still muttering to herself in blind panic. Leigh instinctively opened the door to the next room in the hopes of checking to make sure nothing else had been trashed, and helping Aila find her things quickly so they could leave.

Leigh felt around on the wall for a light switch. Confusion hit her when a wet, warm substance greeted her fingertips. She pulled her hand back quickly, almost jumping away from the room. She lifted her hand.

Blood. Leigh was certain it was blood. It ran from her fingers to her wrist and soaked the sleeve of her jacket. Drops were falling to the ground, soaking the doctor's floor and splashing off of Leigh's left shoe.

Leigh trembled, turned to face Aila, and simply waited for her to notice. She still couldn't bring herself to speak.

Aila glanced over at Leigh and blinked, taken aback at the sight of the blood on the English clone's hand. Had she cut herself somehow? That was one sight that was at least familiar...

As she stepped closer to her double, she could see the look of absolute horror on Leigh's face. Aila frowned and took a deep breath before hitting the light switch herself, releasing a small but shrill scream at the sight that greeted them.

Leigh only caught a glimpse of something lying close to the room entrance sprawled out on the ground before Aila screamed a second time and slammed the door shut. The doctor seemed to lose all control; she backed away into the kitchen, still screaming, and then turned to find the nearest exit of the house, desperate to leave.

Alarmed, Leigh hurried forward and blocked Aila's path. She hadn't seen what Aila had, but she didn't need to; it was obvious enough someone had been murdered, and Leigh was sure this was no coincidence. She seized the doctor by the shoulders to keep her steady.

"Listen to me; listen to me!" Leigh shouted over Aila's screaming. Her own heart was pounding with fear, but at least one of them had to take control and think rationally. With everything Aila had discovered today, it wasn't going to be her. "We need to get your passport and go," Leigh rushed when Aila finally stopped screaming, although she continued to breathe deeply in a panicked state. "Forget any other belongings; they don't matter! Where's your passport?"

"B-b-bedroom," Aila managed to gasp.

"Show me," Leigh told her.

Taking a few seconds to compose themselves, the women inched close to the living room door again. Leigh reached out to open it before she lost her nerve.

She caught the full blast of the sight. It was a body of a man lying dead before them. He had bullet wounds in his arms and chest where the killer had taken aim before putting the fatal shot into his skull. The wall behind him was smeared with blood, as well as the ground below him.

Aila tried to calm herself without much luck, taking deep, heaving breaths. She sprinted past the ghoulish scene and into the hallway beyond, making it into her bedroom before allowing herself to breathe again.

"I did not sign up for this," she muttered out loud as she made a beeline for the closet, shakily grabbing the keys to the fireproof lock-box.

She nearly dropped the key twice before finally opening the box, quickly grabbing her passport and all of her emergency money. The doctor stood to shove the wad of money into her pocket, and knelt down again to close the box.

Something caught Aila's attention. Something small. Something plastic. It sat at the foot of her wardrobe, close to the wall. Frowning, Aila moved a bit closer to examine it. She recognised it as a Barbie doll, though it had been stripped of its outfit, and its hair had been botched and darkly coloured. Aila carefully picked it up before common sense warned her not to...its body was smeared in blood...

The window shattered suddenly, causing Aila to scream in shock. The closet door above her head exploded into a shower of wood as a gaping hole appeared in it.

Aila instinctively covered her head to protect it from the debris and threw herself from the window's line of sight. She stayed low to the ground as she hyperventilated all over again, clinging to the doll tightly without realising it.

Meanwhile, Leigh had been observing the body. She'd never seen anything like it, but the sound of glass exploding in the other room made her jump hard and swear loudly.

"Oh shit a brick!" Leigh gasped. She couldn't help but panic as she rushed to find Aila. She reached the bedroom as another bullet was fired. It broke another window and hit the wall by the door frame, causing Leigh throw herself at the damaged closet for cover.

"Get up!" Leigh shrieked, dragging Aila by the arm. She had no time to see if the Scottish clone was injured; they had to get out while they still could. Aila shakily stood up and allowed Leigh to rush her through the house to try and escape.

"Wh-what the f-" Aila began, but Leigh wasn't listening. They stopped by the front door, straining their ears for a sign of anyone approaching from outside.

"Any ideas?" Leigh asked fearfully.

Aila swallowed hard. "Leg it to the car and drive?" she suggested.

Leigh sighed, and swore again. It was risky, but it would only be a matter of time until the killer grew tired of shooting through windows and came into the apartment instead. "Go, go, go!" she whispered frantically.

Her desperation to leave forced her to rush out of the house first, leading Aila behind her. They ran past windows and down stairs, not pausing to be cautious as they thought only of escaping the area.

They made it outside, and Leigh was certain she heard gunfire and saw something fly past them, narrowly missing them both. They kept running; they were so close to the car; all they had to do was reach out and open the doors-

Aila ran around to the driver's side and scrambled in as fast as she could, managing to start the engine. When she heard the other door slam shut, she wasted no time and sped off, the old car protesting at the sudden harsh movement. The back window exploded into a spray of glass, but they were already too far away for a second shot to reach them.

Aila was thankful for the lessened activity on the road as she recklessly put distance between the car and whoever was trying to kill herself and Leigh. After some time, she slowed her pace to a more legal speed. She breathed heavily, and her hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white, though she couldn't say a single word as she drove off into the night.

The women sat in the car in silence.

They had been driving for what felt like hours. Neither of them uttered a word while Aila took them away from her home. Pulling off to the side of the road, the doctor parked in a deserted ally surrounded by dark buildings. There was no sign of life anywhere around. Leigh wasn't sure Aila even knew where they were.

At long last, after many difficult minutes, Aila opened her mouth to speak. "It's a bad dream," she whispered to herself. "It's gotta be a bad dream."

Leigh wanted it to be a bad dream too. What had she gotten herself into? As she turned to face the doctor, Leigh wondered if their meeting could have gone any worse. "I'm sorry," she breathed, her voice hoarse and quiet. She took a minute to examine their surroundings. How on earth were they going to get to the airport?

Aila leaned back in her seat, rubbing her eyes as her adrenalin levels slowly returned to normal. She mentally recited the step by step process by which adrenalin affected the body to give herself something to focus on other than what had just happened.

Sighing shakily, the doctor closed her eyes, feeling a headache coming on. The whole situation felt surreal, as if her mind and body were detached from the world around her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if this was what it felt like to be in shock.

Aila looked over at Leigh and took in her double's bloodied appearance; the red liquid probably gained from getting a closer look at the body. "That won't do for getting through security…" Aila mumbled absently, not even caring that the other woman was smothering the car seat in blood.

"Shit," Leigh gasped, frowning in anger. She had completely forgotten about the blood, and the rest of her clothes were back at the B&B. There was no way she was willing to risk going back there for them. "Shit," she said again, louder this time. She had no idea what she was supposed to do.

And then Leigh saw the battered Barbie doll lying next to her lap on the seat. Aila had absently shoved it there upon jumping into the car, and it had gone unnoticed by Leigh, who, until that point, had been staring urgently out the car windows instead.

Leigh let out a shrill gasp, and then a shriek. She flinched back suddenly, causing Aila to curiously looked around from the driver's seat. The doctor frowned, alarmed, while Leigh shakily grabbed the doll in one hand, flung open the car door, and threw it as far away from the car as she could.

"FUCK!" the hairdresser screeched. She took one or two steadying breaths before looking up at Aila. "Sorry," she gasped.

"You're fine," Aila assured her, though she seemed perplexed and concerned. Then again, she couldn't blame Leigh after what had just happened...

Leigh clicked the seatbelt to release it, trembling a bit. She wasn't sure why; she had no intention of getting out, but the belt was making her feel trapped, and she needed air to clear her head. "I'll have to dump my jacket," she said after a bit. "I can't lose the jeans though. Not unless you happen to have spare clothes in the car."

She managed a short, desperate laugh, but then became serious again. If the blood really was so noticeable, the only other thing she could do was wait until morning and send Aila to the nearest store to buy something quickly. There was no way Leigh herself was going shopping while covered in the blood of the dead man lying in Aila's home.

Aila sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Sadly not. I don't think anywhere's open this early," she said, eyeing the car clock that confirmed that it was one in the morning. "Shite…" She took off her own seatbelt as she opened the window, breathing in the cool night air.

So now they were stuck in a shot up, bloody car in the middle of the night with a killer on the loose, and a dead body back at her house. Aila's face paled slightly as a thought crossed her mind, but she kept it to herself for now and instead tried to keep a level head.

"Right, so we need to find some clothes, find a place to hide the car, and somehow make it to the airport. Lovely," she sighed. She checked how much money she had grabbed from her private savings. Somehow the doctor had settled into a state of numbness, operating solely on logic rather than emotion as everything that had happened slowly processed piece by piece.

"I…" Leigh began, taking deep breaths as she spoke. "I think we should dump the car first, but where're we gonna leave it? Holy shit…" She rubbed her eyes and pulled herself together before continuing. "Who's the dead guy anyway? And people are bound to have heard the gunshots; there's probably going to be witnesses who saw or heard us running through the place and drive off in the car. If we're gonna dump it, we need to do it as soon as possible, or the police are gonna find us…" Leigh turned to face Aila properly, looking like a scared child. "I don't know where we go from here. I didn't expect everything to go to shit like this. I didn't know the killer was gonna come after you this very night! I thought we'd have more time to talk and plan!"

Aila shrugged and turned to face Leigh, taking in the look of desperation and despair on her face. The doctor offered a weak smile. "It's done now. Nothing to do but move on. Besides, think of it this way. If you didn't turn up as you did, that probably would have been me lying dead back there," she sighed. Speaking the words out loud made the situation feel dangerously real. "As for the body…I…I think that was Josh…" she murmured softy, biting her lip as she tried to suppress tears. Now wasn't the time or place to mourn for the loss of her friend, even if he did know about everything.

The doctor sighed and turned the car on again, slowly pulling out of the alleyway. She turned onto a side-street and made her way along the back roads of the city. She wasn't sure exactly where she was heading, but she knew she had a few hours to find somewhere to put the car before the shops opened.

Surprisingly, Leigh managed to sleep that night. She hadn't meant to, or thought it was possible, but at some point while Aila was driving to find a suitable hiding place for the car, exhaustion must have taken its toll. Leigh awoke the next morning, head pounding, greeted by weak sunlight shining through the shattered car windows.

Leigh groaned and shifted in the car seat. Her throat was terribly dry, and she felt filthy from the dry blood stained to her skin and clothes.

A clanging noise caught her attention and forced her to become alert. She almost panicked when she couldn't see Aila around. After sitting up straight and almost hitting her head on the roof of the car, Leigh looked at the rear-view mirror and exhaled slowly in relief.

Aila was standing at the rear of the car with the boot open. She appeared to be tossing things out and rearranging the contents, apparently looking for something. When Leigh forced open the door and tumbled out, she took in their new surroundings.

"What you doin'?" Leigh asked groggily as she walked over to the other clone. She turned on the spot, looking around at the cluster of thick trees, bushes, and the isolated bridge close by.

Aila glanced up from the boot. "Morning. I was gonna wake ya in a bit," she said as she pulled a tool out of the boot. She nodded in satisfaction and knelt down on the ground, starting to remove the deadbolts holding her licence plate in place. Working quickly, she managed to get the plate off before handing it to Leigh. She went around to the front of the car then to remove the front plate.

The doctor looked like she hadn't slept much, though she seemed to be in better spirits than she was the day before. She'd taken the night to think in silence, cry, and gain a sense of determination. Aila was still shaken and upset over yesterday's events, and the situation she now found herself in, but there was no use wasting energy fighting it. The best thing to do was to stay positive and work on one thing at a time.

Leigh stared at the plate Aila had forced into her hands. "Where're we gonna dump these then? If the cops find the car, they're bound to find the plates eventually. Unless we burn them or some shit. Along with my bloody clothes."

"I'm not sure," Aila told her after yanking off the front plate. "We'll think of something. Maybe toss them in a dumpster closer to the airport. I just know we need to get away from the car before we do anything else."

"Well do you know the way to the nearest airport from here? Because I sure as hell don't," Leigh said as she ran her hand through her hair. She pulled it away quickly. The short hair still felt odd to her, and it was going to take some getting used to. It was crazy how much had changed in just two days.

Aila stood up and rushed to the boot to put the tools back in. Leigh watched her gather her passport and money, as well as pulling out a carrier bag, which she held out for Leigh. "Put the plates in here for now, and your jacket. We'll get rid of them later."

Leigh silently obeyed before collecting her own belongings from the car. She checked her new phone, passport, money and DYAD's files were still place, and nodded to signal she was ready to go.

The women walked away from the car at a rather fast pace with Aila leading the way. Leigh assumed the doctor knew where they were heading and followed without protest.

Aila had a rough idea of where they were, and guided Leigh along the side of the road in silence. She looked at the clock on her phone and nodded. "The shops should be opening soon," she informed Leigh while looking around.

After nearly an hour of walking, the clones spotted more crowded areas and people opening various shops for the day.

"OK," Leigh said, crouching down behind a bush and peering over it to eye the shops. "You're gonna have to go in for me." Aila turned her head sharply to give Leigh an unimpressed stare. Leigh glanced up at her. "Well I can't go in like this, can I?"

"I know. I just was wondering what the hell you're doing hiding behind the bush like some wannabe ninja."

Leigh bit down hard and inhaled deeply. "I'm trying not to be seen," she said in a controlled voice worthy of Rachel.

"Well, you're making yourself look even more suspicious," Aila told her bluntly.

"Look, just do as I ask so we can get out of here, please?" Leigh begged her. She opened her bag and fumbled around for her purse to give Aila some money. "Just…just get something similar to what I was already wearing. Hoody, jeans…nothing pink. Just something practical, OK? I don't need shoes; I can clean these…"

Aila took the money reluctantly.

"Oh! Give me your phone too," Leigh added just as Aila turned on her heel.

"Why?" Aila asked, but she took it out and let Leigh have it anyway. The hairdresser threw it violently to the ground and stomped on it with her foot. The screen shattered instantly.

Aila raised an eyebrow, but just sighed and shook her head, walking into the nearest clothes shop while muttering under her breath. Once inside, the doctor smirked and had an idea she was sure would be funny...at least to her.

Leigh sat waiting outside for fifteen minutes, which felt more like fifteen hours. She hated waiting around when that psycho killer was going to be looking for them. At least she hoped whoever it was wouldn't want to attack in broad daylight in a crowded street.

When the doctor came back out of the store, she threw a bag which Leigh barely caught. "Alright," Aila spoke, "go duck in somewhere to change, and let's go."

Leigh stood up and opened the bag to peek at what was inside. Her heart almost stopped at the sight of pink fabric, and she froze for a second before rummaging around to see what Aila had purchased.

Horrified, Leigh pulled out a pink hooded jumper, complete with even pinker heart patterns on the sleeves. She held it at arm's length and stared at it in open mouthed shock.

"Are you taking the piss?!" she asked loudly and angrily enough for by passers to hear from the other side of the street. "I said no pink! NO PINK! I can't wear this! And…" She pulled out a scarf this time. It too was pink, but was decorated with bits of glitter. It looked like it was made for a six year old. Leigh shook her head quickly, furiously, and repeatedly. "No. No, this is ALL wrong. Why would you DO THIS? I can't wear this shit! It's PINK! I have RED HAIR, it WON'T GO! It'll CLASH, Aila! What the FUCK-"

Leigh continued to rant and rave, demanding to know why Aila had done this. Aila just grinned as she watched the display, before breaking down in a fit of laughter. After the horrific events that unfolded yesterday, it was nice to be able to laugh again, even if it was at Leigh's expense.

"Well…at least you won't look like a nomad anymore?" she offered before bursting out in another laughing fit, ducking back to avoid being smacked.

Leigh's eyes grew so wide as she stared at Aila, she feared they might pop out of her head. "You-you think this is FUNNY?" Leigh stuttered, dropping the bag of clothes on the floor. "What the hell is wrong with you!? I come all this way to save your arse, and you do THIS to me? This is the thanks I get for warning you!?"

Leigh balled her hands into fists and approached Aila before unclenching them again to seize the doctor's jacket.

"Get it off," Leigh demanded.

"What the-"

"YOU can wear the pink stuff! Come on, we can swap! And you can pay me back for this bullshit as well!"

Aila just smirked, though her laughter was dying off as she calmly put her hands over Leigh's. "Alright alright, easy," she giggled. "This stuff was mine anyways. Yours is there," she said, pointing to another bag that had been placed just outside the doorway of the shop.

Leigh turned her attention to the doorway of the shop. She could see the bag sitting there, and it took all her energy not to scream at the doctor for just abandoning it. She still wasn't over Rachel conning her out of sixty pounds; she didn't need more clones losing her money. Especially not by wasting it on horrendous pink outfits, or leaving her newly brought possessions unattended where anyone could walk by and take them.

Leigh let go of Aila and ran quickly and awkwardly to the shop, snatched up the bag, and hurried back. Aila raised an eyebrow and her smirk grew bigger. "You don't know how to NOT look suspicious, do you? You look like a thief-"

"Shut UP!" Leigh bellowed as she stormed past the doctor and into a suitable hiding place to change. These new clothes were better; granted Leigh wouldn't choose them herself, but they were practical, and they weren't pink. She stuffed her bloody ones into the carrier bag when she was changed, gathered her belongings, and glared at Aila as she marched out onto the street.

"Throw your broken phone away," she shot irritably. "We don't want anyone to find it. You can get a new one when we're at the airport or something. Do airports have phone shops?"

Aila watched Leigh, still smiling. The girl was really high strung, and Aila couldn't blame her really. In this situation, however, they needed to have some humour, however small, if they were planning on staying sane. It wasn't healthy to be stressed out and serious all the time.

"I would imagine as such," Aila said, though it'd been a long time since she'd been in an airport. The doctor found an old dumpster to toss her phone and old licence plates into as she changed into her own clothes.

Aila then noticed Leigh staring at her, still looking annoyed, and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"How can you be acting happy at a time like this?" the auburn-haired clone muttered.

Aila sighed, finally letting her smile fade off as she looked more serious. She met Leigh's gaze. "Because if I don't…I will lose it," Aila told her.

Once again, Leigh was strongly reminded of Rachel. The ability to keep calm under pressure. The ability to stay controlled out of fear of going mad with rage or breaking down in tears. Rachel was a ticking time bomb, and Leigh knew the blonde despised DYAD however much she tried to cover it up. Controlling her emotions was only going to get her so far before that control failed her. What if it was the same for Aila too? Or what if Leigh really was just jealous of such an ability, but refused to admit it?

"Can't be healthy keeping things bottled up all the time though," Leigh muttered, shrugging. "I tried it once. A few times, actually, because…because this 'friend' I had thought she was better than me in every way, including keeping her cool. But I found I couldn't do it. How do you fake happiness? Wouldn't that drive you mad, pretending and trying so hard to feel something you just don't? I mean, I'm not always a stress-head, but I don't hide it when I am stressed. Isn't it better to get it all out and let people help you?"

"Depends on the situation, I think. Like now for example; sure I could break down and cry and be afraid, but would that help us? I did all that last night while you were asleep, because that was the time to. The best thing to do for now is keep a clear head and believe things will work out, and for me at least, keeping a sense of humour helps to do just that even in this horrific situation," Aila explained. She was unsure if she was making much sense. "I don't think I'm better than you, nor am I faking happiness really. I'm just trying to make the best of a bad situation is all."

Leigh simply watched her. When a feeling of guilt began rising up inside her, the hairdresser forced herself to look away, and aimlessly walked. "We should get going," she said quietly, but still loud enough for Aila to hear her. "It's not safe to hang around, right?"

Aila was not Rachel. Leigh had to remember that.