"This arrangement won't last," Warren said as he drove Sienna home, "I wouldn't put it past Silas to just change his phone number and leave."

"I know," Sienna said, "But the only other option was taking Nico by force."

"I could have done that," Warren said, "We could have taken Nico to get treatment."

"But she'd never forgive me and our relationship is enough of a mess as it is," Sienna said.

"Are you sure we should stay?" Nico asked Silas as they ate supper together.

"Your mother won't turn us in," Silas said confidently.

"Warren might," Nico said.

"I doubt it," Silas replied, "He's completely smitten with her." A flicker of disgust crossed his face. By now Nico knew him well enough to recognise from his expression that he was thinking about all the men her mother had slept with. She was silently relieved that Silas wasn't listening to his killing instincts for once.

Sienna stayed awake that night. Warren was sleeping beside her. Sienna finally got up and went into the living room. She looked down at the piece of paper with Silas' number on it. Trying to distract herself, she switched on the television, turning the volume down so she wouldn't wake Warren.

When Warren woke the next morning, he found Sienna asleep on the sofa with the television on. He smiled slightly. Sienna was thirty-two years old but she looked twenty-five and seemed even younger when she slept. He went over and covered her with a blanket before starting to make breakfast.

Sienna woke up and saw Warren making sausages and eggs. Warren had never been much of a cook but it was still a sweet gesture.

"Morning," Warren said, "I've done my best not to burn these for once." Sienna got up and joined him. Warren had done a good job; there were a couple of burned sections but not so many that the sausages would be inedible.

"You're getting better at this," Sienna said with that little smile that Warren loved so much. They sat down and Sienna realized that she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the previous day. She started to eat but was careful to maintain her manners. Warren wasn't worried about table manners but as a little girl, Patrick had always scolded Sienna if she slouched or put her elbows on the table.

"I guess you want to visit Nico," Warren guessed. Sienna nodded.

"What if Silas left with her?" she asked.

"Then we'll find them again," Warren replied.

Nico picked at her breakfast while Silas drank his tea. He watched her silently, waiting for her to speak. Eventually, Nico couldn't stand the silence anymore and said, "Why can't I just hate mum?"

Silas put down his tea and thought for a moment before saying, "I think it's because you know she loves you. And you want to be loved, don't you?"

"Yes, but I don't need it from her," Nico muttered.

"You're lying," Silas said, "All you've ever wanted is to be part of a happy family and while Sienna is no paragon of virtue, I believe she wants that too. Besides, I'm not going to be around forever. You don't want to be alone after I'm dead, do you?"

"No," Nico admitted, "I'm used to being alone, but I don't like it."

"I know what you mean," Silas said, "I haven't been part of a family since I killed Heidi. Those who are still alive despise me. But you can still make up with your family."

"Don't you want mum dead?" Nico asked, "I mean, she's everything you hate."

"Indeed," Silas agreed, "But I care more about your happiness than getting rid of one piece of filth."

"Mum wants to get me therapy though," Nico said, "I've told her who I am but she still wants to 'help' me. What if she just can't accept me as I am?" Silas sipped his tea as he thought.

"I think she already has," he said.

Sienna relaxed slightly when she saw Silas' car still in the driveway. Warren stopped and Sienna swiftly got out. Warren followed more slowly. Sienna knocked on the door. Silas answered it with a polite smile which didn't reach his cold eyes.

"Sienna, Warren please come inside," he stepped gracefully aside and gestured to the interior of the house, "Nico's in her room."

"I want to speak with her alone," Sienna said.

"And try to turn her against me?" Silas asked shrewdly. Sienna didn't answer. Silas watched her go upstairs, then turned to Warren, "Beautiful girl. I bet she could have any man she wants."

"Well she wants me," Warren said firmly.

"She also wanted her twin brother once upon a time," Silas replied, "May I offer you some tea?"

Sienna knocked on the door of Nico's room and cautiously pushed it open. Nico sat on the bed reading Wuthering Heights. Sienna silently cursed herself for forgetting to bring the book she had bought for Nico's seventeenth birthday.

"Nico?" Sienna asked cautiously. The girl's eyes flicked up to her briefly but that was the only sign she gave that she'd heard her. Sienna approached and sat on a chair beside the bed.

"Heathcliff was messed up," Nico said quietly, "Shortly before he died he kept hallucinating his dead girlfriend. I'm pretty sure he slept with her corpse too. At least I'm not that messed up."

"I've hallucinated in the past," Sienna admitted after a brief silence, "I spoke to dad's ghost after I was arrested."

"So, you're screwed up," Nico said.

"A bit," Sienna agreed, "I wouldn't sleep with a corpse though."

They sat in silence for a while. Sienna hated that it was so hard for them to just talk to each other. She always had to be on her guard around Nico but the girl was exhibiting a similar level of caution. Sienna liked to think that Nico just didn't want to upset her but in reality it was more likely that the teenager just didn't trust her. This was the most messed up mother and daughter relationship she could imagine.

"I know I'm screwed up too," Nico admitted finally, "I know Silas and I aren't normal but I just can't be bothered to care."

"Did you ever care?" Sienna asked quietly. Nico thought for a moment.

"I think I did after I killed Carley," she muttered, "But not while I was actually doing it and after that… it was so easy. I told grandad I was sorry but I didn't mean it. I regretted stabbing you but while I was doing it, I barely realized it was happening. And while I was killing Trevor, I knew exactly what I was doing and I didn't feel anything at all. I didn't even pretend to be sorry."

Sienna was watching Nico with tears in her eyes. The fact that her own daughter could take human lives so easily both frightened her and broke her heart. Nico noticed her mother's tears and scowled.

"Stop it," she muttered.

"I'm sorry you ended up like this," said Sienna.

"Don't be," Nico replied, "I was probably born evil anyway."

"Check," Silas said and leaned back on the sofa while Warren scowled, "I wasn't really expecting an uncultured brute such as yourself to be a worthy adversary."

"I'd rather be an uncultured brute than a poisonous snake," Warren retorted as he moved his king out of harm's way. Sienna and Nico came down the stairs.

"Hello my dears," Silas greeted with infuriating cheeriness.

"Nico and I are going for a walk," Sienna said, looking at Silas in a way that was daring him to stop her. He remained in his relaxed posture.

"Go right ahead," he said, then moved another chess piece and knocked Warren's remaining bishop off the board.

Sienna watched Nico while they walked and noticed that her way of walking was slightly different from how she remembered. While she wasn't exactly limping, it was clear she favoured putting her weight on her right leg rather than her left.

"Is that from… that night?" Sienna asked, gesturing to Nico's legs.

"What?" Nico asked shortly.

"You never used to walk like that," Sienna said.

"Well, my leg was burned and broken in the fire so what do you expect?" Nico replied.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get you out," Sienna murmured. Nico shrugged off her apology and they walked in silence. Sienna hesitated then said, "I could pay for surgery for your burns if you want." Nico's cold demeanour faltered for a moment. She hesitated, then looked at Sienna.

"Silas told me that scars are a sign of strength," she said, "But I still feel upset whenever I look in a mirror. Mum… am I ugly?"

Sienna respected her enough to think about the answer. Nico's physical beauty had been noticeably marred but if one looked closely at her, they would be able to tell that she had been very pretty in the past. In many ways, her physical appearance now suited her vicious personality. Before the fire, one could look at her and just see a sweet, lonely little girl without any idea of the lunatic hiding beneath. Now however, one only had to look at her to know that it wouldn't be wise to mess with her. Nico was insane, arguably downright evil but she was strong. Sienna realized that even if there was nothing else about her daughter that she could be proud of, she could at least admire her resilience. She looked, into Nico's blue eyes which had been empty since she arrived but now had a vulnerable, childlike look in them. Sometimes even Sienna forgot how young Nico really was.

"Not to me," Sienna said truthfully, "You're frightening, complicated and dangerous but you're not ugly."

Nico's expression changed ever so slightly and her lip curled into a tiny smile.

"Checkmate," Silas said. Warren sat back with a scowl, "You're a man who acts without thinking Warren. To win a chess game, you need to understand how your opponent plays."

"I don't need a lecture from you, old man," Warren growled. Silas smirked.

"So how is your relationship with dear Sienna?" he asked casually.

"Fine," Warren grunted.

"Good," Silas said, "But I'm sure you're aware of Sienna's past."

"She had a bad father, slept with her brother, gave birth to a psychopath, covered for Nico's murders, cheated on her husband, broke up with said husband and fell in love with me," Warren replied, "Yes, I know her past."

"So, you're aware that she's not the most faithful woman," Silas said.

"I'm aware that she's not perfect," Warren said.

Sienna and Nico returned. Silas raised a hand in greeting and Warren relaxed when he saw his girlfriend.

"Did you two have a pleasant walk?" Silas asked.

"It was okay," Nico said with a shrug. She moved to sit beside Silas. Sienna sat with Warren who glanced at her briefly. She seemed a bit more relaxed than she did when she left.

"Would you like a game, Sienna?" Silas asked, "Nico has become a competent player and I'd like to see how much of that comes from you."

Unsurprisingly, Silas won but Sienna did manage to knock off half of his pieces before he claimed her king.

"Well, you're a worthier opponent than Warren," Silas said as he toyed with Sienna's king, "Not nearly as straightforward."

"Thank you," Sienna said stiffly then glanced at Nico, "Have you ever beaten Silas, sweetheart?"

"Not yet," Nico responded.

"To be fair, very few people have," Silas murmured looking at the chess piece thoughtfully. The face of Lindsey Nolan materialised in his mind and as usual, he felt a twinge of sadness as he remembered what a worthy opponent she had been.

Warren looked at Sienna out of the corner of his eye as he drove them home.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"I saw my daughter," Sienna said. Noticing Warren's confused look, she elaborated, "I mean she looked at me like a mother today. She wasn't Nico the crazy psychopath, she was Nico, my little girl."

I'm struggling with the next chapter and distracted by another story I'm writing, which won't appear on this site because it's not from any known franchise. Five years of trying to become a screenwriter can take its toll.

Also, since Nico left, I've been slowly but surely losing interest in Hollyoaks. Sienna's a great character but she's not as interesting as Nico, although I think Anna Passey is technically a better actress than Persephone Swales Dawson. Plus one of my favourite things about Sienna is her unconditional love for Nico so losing Nico feels like losing a pretty big part of Sienna's identity.