By the time Alan and Lisa left the police station, they were both happy, but exhausted. It had been, yet again, a hell of a day. All thoughts of them going back to his flat to make love were now abandoned, if not forgotten.
 
     “All I want to do is have a nice relaxed meal with you and my family, and then chill,” Alan announced, putting his arm around Lisa's shoulder as they walked out of the station doors.
 
     “Are you sure that’s all you want to do?' she asked with a cheeky smile.
 
     “Oh, we are feeling better!"  he teased.“What happened to that sad, frightened little girl I dropped off at the police station this afternoon?”
 
Lisa put her arm around his waist, feeling the warmth of his body through his shirt.
 
     “Somebody set her free!” she replied, and looked up at him lovingly.
 
     “Well then,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “I'm just going to have to see if I can catch her again...”
 
When they got back into the car, they kissed, not touching, as they had that morning, because they knew where it would lead. Their lips tingled as they showed each other how much they cared, and as the windows steamed up for the second time that day, Alan told her again how much he loved and wanted her.
    
 Alan's parents' house was only twelve miles away, but the traffic was heavy as it was the middle of rush hour. Because of that, it took them over an hour to get back. Alan's mother had been waiting anxiously to hear from them after he'd phoned her while he was waiting for Lisa outside the station. She looked none too happy with Alan when they eventually got back.
 
     “Oh, thank God you're okay! I've been worried sick since you phoned, Alan. You could have rung me to say you were on the way back,” she snapped, the anxiety sounding clearly in her voice.
 
As she ushered them through the door, her eye caught the sight of a large car turning into the cul-de-sac. Lisa followed her gaze, and Alan saw the blood drain from her face.
 
     “What's wrong, Lisa…you look like you’ve seen a ghost!”
 
He couldn’t imagine what could possibly have upset her so much. Alan looked out towards the street to try and see what had caused her to look so scared.
 
     “It's my parents - my mother - Oh God, I'm so sorry, Alan, I didn't think they would follow us here!”
 
Kathy Turner looked at the Lexus parked at the end of the drive, before shutting the door quickly and following Alan and Lisa back through to the kitchen. They both looked shell shocked.
 
     “Jack, come through here! There seems to be a problem....” She called through to her husband in the front lounge.
 
Jack had been enjoying reading the paper with his feet up, so was not well pleased at being disturbed. The scene that met him in the kitchen was confusing, to say the least. Lisa was crying, Alan looked panic stricken, and when the doorbell went, they all nearly jumped out of their skins.
 
     “Don't answer that!” Alan hissed at his father, when he saw him going towards the door.
 
     “Why not… what the hell is going on?” His father asked.
 
Alan pulled his father back into the kitchen, and quietly shut the door before he explained.
 
     “Lisa's mother is out at the front. She must have followed us back from the station. That's their Lexus parked at the end of the drive.”
 
Jack looked back at them both in amazement.
 
     “What! How come you didn’t notice a bloody big Lexus on your tail?”
 
Only Lisa and Alan knew the answer to that, but it wasn't up for discussion. The doorbell went again, accompanied by the voice of Lisa's mother.
 
     “Lisa, I know you're in there. Lisa, open the door!' she shouted.
 
This went on for two or three minutes, and tempted though Jack Turner was to open the door and give the woman a piece of his mind, one look at Lisa's face told him that was the last thing he should do. The girl looked terrified.
 
     The door ringing was now interspersed with loud knocking and Lisa's name being screeched through the letterbox. Unable to stand it anymore, Jack marched over to the wall and snatched the phone.
 
     “This is bloody ridiculous. I'm not being held hostage in my own house! I'm phoning the police. What's that policewoman called, Lisa?” he asked impatiently.
 
The question seemed to shake Lisa out of her trance. Searching through her pockets, she pulled out the card Eve had given her, and handed it to Jack.
 
      Fortunately Eve was still on duty, and she had already been called by a neighbour complaining about a mad woman in a big car causing a disturbance in Alan's parents' road. She had been about to call them herself. She tried to calm Jack down.
 
     “I've already radioed for a car in the area to come to you, Mr. Turner, but I think, under the circumstances, it would be best to get Lisa out of there. As long as her mother knows Lisa's staying at your house, it's going to be a problem. Do you have a back door?”
 
Jack Turner thought that was a bloody stupid question.
 
     “Yes, of course we have!' he snapped back. He was now really irritated by the whole situation.
 
 Eve continued as calmly as she could, hearing the commotion in the background and the tension in Jack Turner's voice.
 
     “Where does your back garden lead too? Do you have a back lane?” she asked patiently.
 
     “No, we have the school playing fields behind us,” Jack replied.
 
Eve was trying to picture the area.
 
     “Are those the playing fields that run alongside Monroe Drive?” she asked.
 
Jack thought for a moment as he looked at everyone's anxious faces staring back at him in the kitchen.
 
     “Yes I think they do,” he answered in a slightly less irritated tone.
 
Eve had decided what to do.
 
       “Okay that’s great, Mr. Turner, I'll arrange for one squad car to wait for Lisa at the top of the playing fields, while the other car is sorting out her mother at the front. Can you put Lisa on please?”
 
 Jack Turner was just about to hand the phone to Lisa, when he thought of something.
 
     'Where are you going to take her?'
 
Eve admitted that she didn't know, and would have to call social services to try and enlist their help. Jack Turner wouldn't hear of it.
 
     “We'll try and sort something out at this end. Leave that one with us,” he replied.
 
Eve was relieved he was being so helpful. She hated phoning social services at night. Jack handed the phone to Lisa, and Eve calmly explained to her what she had to do. She reassured her that they would make sure her mother couldn't get to her again. While they were talking, Jack explained what was happening to Kathy and Alan with regard to the police car that would be waiting for Lisa at the edge of the playing fields, and the one that would be arriving at the front to take Lisa's mother away. 
 
     “There is one more problem though. I've said we'll come up with somewhere else for Lisa to stay tonight. Any suggestions?”
 
Kathy suggested Vikki's house, remembering her conversation with her mother earlier in the day. Jack thought that was a good idea because Lisa knew the family, and would be amongst friends. Alan didn't agree, and reminded them that Lisa's mother knew where they lived as well, which meant Lisa could end up in exactly the same situation. Lisa was about to hang up, so Alan had to think fast.
 
     “What about my flat?” he suggested, hoping they wouldn't suspect any ulterior motive.
 
Jack Turner looked at his son suspiciously.
 
     “What about your flat? You've only got two bedrooms, and Mike is in the other one. Where would Lisa sleep?”
 
Alan tried to sound as laid back as he could because he didn’t want his father to know how he felt about Lisa. If he worked out that Alan was in love with her, he would never agree to Lisa staying with him.
 
     “Oh Mike's cool. I can bunk in with him, and Lisa can have my room. It'll only be for a few days, and if there are any problems, I can come back and sleep here.”
 
His parents agreed that a top floor flat with a security entry would be much safer for Lisa, should her mother find out the address. Having no alternative, and having run out of time, they decided Alan's flat was probably the best option.
 
     When Lisa came off the phone, Jack had just started to explain, when there was a loud smashing noise in the sitting room. Jack put his head round the swing door from the kitchen, and when he looked back at them, his face was twisted with anger.
 
     “She's only gone and put a boulder through the bloody window!”
 
Lisa started apologising on her mother's behalf yet again before they heard Fiona Collins shouting.
 
     “GIVE ME MY DAUGHTER BACK. YOU BASTARDS!”
 
Lisa let out a sob, and looked like a cornered animal about to be slaughtered. Jack looked as though he was going to explode, and Kathy looked terrified. After a few moments, they had to endure it again.
 
     “DO YOU HEAR ME … GIVE ME MY FUCKING DAUGHTER BACK!”
 
Lisa put her hands over her ears, and Alan realized that she was going to break down completely.
 
     “Dad, we've got to get her out of here!” he whispered loudly.
 
His father nodded in agreement.
 
     “Come on, Lisa …you only have to get to the other side of the field.” Alan coaxed, taking her arm and steering her towards the back door.
 
His mother wanted to go upstairs to get Lisa some clothes to take with her, but Alan said they didn't have time. He told her that he would take them when he went back to the flat later.
 
 Alan took Lisa's hand, propelled her through the back door, and across the back garden to the fence. Dragging a garden chair from the patio, he helped her over the fence. They looked across the playing field for the waiting police car. Thankfully, it was there.
 
 All Lisa could hear was the sound of her mother shouting her name in the distance mixed with the sound of sirens...and she just wanted to keep running until she couldn't hear any of it anymore. When one of the policemen saw them approaching, he jumped out of the car and waited for them to reach him.
 
     “Lisa?” he asked.
 
She nodded her head breathlessly. 
 
     “PC Boyle at your service,” he said, as he held the back door of the squad car open for Lisa to get in.
 
He turned to Alan as soon as she was safely in the back seat.
 
     “Where are we taking her?” he asked. Alan gave him the address of his flat, and his mobile phone number, in case there were any problems.
 
Lisa looked up at Alan, the terror still showing in her eyes.
 
     “Alan...can’t you come with me?” she begged tearfully.
 
He kissed her through the open window, then gently stroked the side of her face as he spoke.
 
     “I'll get back as soon as I can, after I've made sure that Mum and Dad are okay. They're not like us, Lisa… they're not used to all this excitement...”
 
He hoped his comment might make her smile, but it didn't. Lisa was past laughing at anything, and she sat back in the seat and stared straight ahead. Alan watched them slowly drive away, before he turned round and ran back to the house.
 
By the time he got back, there were two squad cars out front and the neighbours, safe in the knowledge that the mad woman couldn't get at them, were all staring out of their windows. Alan saw Lisa's mother being put into the back of the first squad car and driven away. Lisa's father got back into his car and, as usual, dutifully followed. They were gone at last.
 
Alan found his parents in the living room, where his mother was already cleaning up the mess from the broken window. One of the officers from the second police car was talking earnestly to his father.
 
       “But if you don't press charges, Sir, she'll get away with it. All we can charge her with is breach of the peace, if you don't. 
 
Jack shook his head, already tired of the whole situation. As long as she had gone, he was happy to leave it at that.
 
     “All I'm concerned about is that she knows her daughter isn't here anymore, so she doesn't come back. Did one of you make sure that she knows Lisa's left?”
 
The officer assured them that it had been explained quite clearly to Mrs. Collins that her daughter was no longer on the premises. Jack seemed satisfied.
 
     “Well, that’s it then. I don't want any more to do with the woman. We won't be pressing charges,” he announced. He then stood up, and showed the officer to the door.
 
                                                                                     .................
 
 
 
 When Lisa arrived at Alan's flat, she could see that the lights were on in the top floor. Alan had phoned his flat mate, Mike, to tell him she was on her way, so he had made it as welcoming as possible.
 
     Lisa thanked the two police officers, and wearily climbed the stairs feeling like a fugitive. Because Alan had spent an hour with Mike the night before, he knew the whole story about what had happened in Scotland.
 
     “Have you not got any bags?” he asked, as he welcomed her into the flat.
 
Lisa gave a sad smile.
 
     “No, it seems to be my lot in life to travel light these days,” she answered wryly.
 
 Mike showed her into Alan's bedroom, which was, as is typical of a single lad, fairly untidy. Mike made a half-hearted attempt to tidy up by moving the clothes off the bed.
 
     “Alan said you were sleeping in his room, but I don't know if he has a clean duvet cover or anything… he usually takes his washing home to his Mum.”
 
Lisa sat on the bed and looked around the untidy, very unromantic room, and remembered their shattered plans earlier in the day. It seemed a million years ago now.
 
     "To be honest, I'm so tired, it doesn't matter. This duvet will do fine…" she replied, before looking back at Mike with an exhausted smile.
 
     “The bathroom's right next door, if you want a bath or anything. Would you like a coffee?” he asked, not knowing what else to say or do.
 
Lisa nodded, grateful that Alan's flatmate seemed so nice.
 
     “That would be great, and the bath sounds good too.  Are you all right for hot water?” she asked politely.
 
     “Yeah, we have a Combi boiler, so it makes it as we need it. Use as much water as you like. The only problem is, the bath takes ages to fill up, but don't worry...at least that will give you time to drink your coffee!”
 
Feeling less guilty than she did before, Lisa went through to the bathroom to run a bath, while Mike went to the kitchen to put on the kettle. While she waited, she looked in Alan's room for a bath towel, and she found a pile of big fluffy bath sheets, no doubt courtesy of Alan's mother, stacked in a corner. Mike brought her coffee through to Alan's bedroom, then left her in peace.
 
The coffee was great, and just what Lisa needed. Mike had also been kind enough to make her a sandwich, which she ate gratefully because she hadn't had anything since they'd had lunch in London earlier.
 
By the time she slipped into the steaming bath, she was feeling a lot better, and she let the bath salts Mike had given her ease her tense muscles. Every time the day's events came into her mind, she pushed them away again, with the exception of her and Alan's abortive love making in the car that morning.
 
As she lay back in the bath, she imagined his lips on hers, his hands on her body.. and the heat of the water seemed to reach deep inside her. She hoped they would make love that night, which was one of the reasons she had accepted the offer of the bath. She had thought about losing her virginity for so long, and she was so glad that it would be Alan, not Nick, who would be the first to make love to her. She closed her eyes, determined to relax and think of nothing else but lying in his arms.
 
After fifteen minutes, she felt herself drifting off to sleep so thought it best to get out. The warm bath towel she'd left on the radiator felt great against her skin, and when she was dry, she wrapped it around herself, sarong style, before letting down her hair.
 
 When she came out of the bathroom, she could hear the sound of voices in the living room so made her way towards it thinking Alan had arrived. As she approached the door, she realised that the voices came from the television, so she turned and went back to Alan’s room.
 
As she lay on the bed, it felt as though her body was on fire, and she didn't know if it was the bath, or her new found sexuality. Eventually, with her head full of thoughts of Alan, she  fell asleep with the damp towel still wrapped around her...
 
                                                                                 .....................
   
 
 
 
Alan didn't get back to the flat until well after eleven. Mike had stayed up waiting for him in case he'd forgotten his key, but he too had fallen asleep while watching television. He woke up when Alan snapped off the television with the remote control. Mike looked up at him, still half asleep.
 
     “Hey, man, how you doing?” he asked groggily, checking his watch.
 
Alan had collapsed into the armchair opposite him, and thrown his head back so that he was looking up at the ceiling. He still couldn't believe the trouble Lisa's mother had caused.
 
     “Shattered …I think it's been one of the longest days of my life. Have you any idea how hard it is to get someone out to board up a window at this time of night?”
 
Mike had no idea, but he was surprised Alan did. He wasn't usually so responsible.
 
     “Why didn't you let your old man sort it out?” he asked,
 
Alan got up and poured himself a Bacardi from the bottle on the sideboard, then added some Coke he’d bought at the garage on the way back to the flat.
 
     “I felt guilty about them having to go through what they did tonight. I thought it was the least I could do,” he answered, sipping his drink slowly and letting it soothe him.
 
He looked back at Mike.
 
     “Is Lisa okay?”
 
Mike thought he would never ask. If it had been him, he would have gone straight to his bedroom and found out for himself. He didn't know that Alan was stalling, not sure if Lisa still wanted him after what had happened.
 
     “Out for the count, as far as I know. She had a bath about an hour ago, and I haven't heard a peep out of her since. Are you really going to kip in my room?”
 
Alan laughed, remembering the conversation he'd had with Mike a couple of hours before when he was at his parent's house.
 
     “No, mate, that was for the benefit of the folks. They were listening when I called you from the house...but if anyone asks, I'm bunking up with you, okay?”
 
Mike put his hands up in the air, relieved that he didn't have to reorganise his room.
 
     “Hey, man, I know nothing. I wish I could swap places though, you lucky bastard!”
 
After they said good night, Alan sat for a few minutes and finished his drink. When he went through to the bathroom, he could smell the aromatic bath salts Lisa had used, and he sat on the edge of the bath trying to get things straight in his head.
 
 If Lisa had soaked in a bath, he assumed that she still wanted him to make love to her. With that thought in mind, he decided to take a shower.
 
The hot water revived him, and he started to feel better as he pushed the memory of Lisa's mother coming to the house to the back of his mind. By the time he had dried off, he was wide awake, and with the towel wrapped around his waist, he quietly slipped into his bedroom.
 
Lisa had been asleep for over an hour, and lay on the bed with one arm thrown back above her head. Her left breast lay bare, having escaped from the confines of the towel, her hair spread across the pillow like a sheet of moonlit water. Much though Alan wanted to get onto the bed and take her in his arms, he was rooted to the spot just staring at her. There was no doubt in his mind now. She wanted the same as him.
 
Eventually, when he felt he had been standing looking at her for an eternity, he walked over to the bed and lay down beside her. Her eyes opened slowly when he kissed her gently on the lips, and within seconds her arms were around him pulling him close, their flesh separated only by two damp towels…