Beta relaxed back into the massage area, sighing contentedly as someone started on her back. Staring out at the rest of the room, Beta blinked. It was a nice day. It was always a nice day here. She didn't really know where here was. If she thought about it a lot, she usually came to the conclusion that it was just a nice place.
She didn't think much, really. Just went about her day, doing whatever felt nice. And now, swimming seemed like a good idea.

"I think I'll go swimming now," she announced, sitting up slowly as she tilted her head. The worker smiled and nodded, helping her off the massage table. "Sound like a lovely idea, Beta. I'll go tell Carter what you're up to and then after you've finished, you can have a treatment."

Tony got back to the flat with a slightly dejected feeling growing in his stomach. Sid and Cass were still gone, probably would be until the early hours of the morning. Sinking down into a chair, he crossed his legs lazily, turning on the telly. Maybe television could drown his worried thoughts.
An hour after an episode of some rubbish American drama, he felt no different. His phone was sitting beside him, blank screen mocking the silence. He willed it to ring – even though he knew it wouldn't work that fast. He would have to wait. He had waited for three months – he could survive another few days. No matter how long it took, he would wait for his sister.

It took a week.

For seven days, Tony was a zombie. Wake up, shower, get dressed, eat, and watch telly. It was all so normal, it made him sick. He felt like his hope and brain were slowly dying together, turning him into an empty shell.
And then the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Tony? Come down to the station again. I have some information."

Click. And that was it. But it was more than he needed to survive for another few days.

It didn't take him long to reach the station again. This time he knew where he was going and he had a reason to be rushing. Effy was that much closer, he could almost hear her voice. See her blue, blue eyes staring at him.

Instead he was greeted by Ballard who instead of looking cheery, gave him a grim look and ushered him into the office he had been in before. The feeling of hope he had before was slowly ebbing away, replaced with one of dread. Could… Effy be… No.

"I have some bad news. Well, it's good news, I suppose. But it's also bad news." Ballard sank down into his own chair, looking more tired than he had before. "Your sister is fine. But my thoughts were right. She's in the Dollhouse."

Tony's spirit lifted and quickly crashed as he realized what that meant. Apparently the Dollhouse was an impenetrable fortress. Ballard had attempted to get inside before and barely managed to escape. It wouldn't do Effy any good to go and get himself caught by these people.

"What do we do?" Tony questioned, leaning forward with an almost desperate expression. He had to save Effy. Even if it meant risking his own life. He would do that. Trade his life for hers.

"We'll have to make an engagement," Ballard replied, looking slightly weary. "Book your sister out for the night."