Hey guys! Hope you're all well. Many thanks to Wicked Nachos for looking over this before I posted it.

Stella sees the world in black and white.

It may have something to do with all the shit she's been through, comrades – family – dying, her stupid dirty cop brother, her repeatedly broken heart.

It's what has driven her to be who she is, because maybe she can make a difference, return the world to white, make it pure again.

But there's always going to be some idiot with a black heart, who thinks it's a great idea to rob a bank, or blow up a cash facility, or send thugs after the people she loves. And so she's thrust back into the dark world.

For Stella, there are no grey areas. There's only black and white, right and wrong. And she can't see it herself, but she hovers on the fine line between them.

Because, sure, she's a valued member of society – or so Kerry tells her – but the drunken fools that spit insults at her when she's in uniform say differently. The drivers that she tickets ask her why she's not out solving real crime, instead choosing to pick on them, they say "I was only doing a couple of k's over the speed limit, what's the big deal?"

Shannon's always let the colours in.

She sees the world in a medley of yellow, blue, red, greens and purples. She sees the good in people, even in the worst of criminals. She'll see that a drug dealer is trying to put his eldest kid through university or that a petty thief hasn't eaten for a couple of days. Lawson says she's soft hearted. Shannon prefers to call it compassion. It's an essential part of her job.

She sees the line Stella constantly treads, and fears for her best friend. She knows Stella too well, knows how she's struggling with herself. She sees that Stella doesn't always approve of her decisions, but that doesn't matter. Shannon outranks her anyway.

Stella often gives her opinion, and most of the time, Shannon will listen, take note, and continue on with what she was doing. Sometimes, Shannon takes Stella's advice, and sometimes she regrets it.

Shannon's always trying to make the world better. Even if it's a driver she pulls over, because he's doing seven kilometres per hour over the speed limit, she's still making a difference. Maybe next time he'll think twice about speeding.

She's dealt with more situations than she'd care to recount. Hostages, bombs, drug labs, gun runners. You name it; she's probably seen it and defused it. She's also lost more friends than she cares to admit. She felt Grace's shadow hovering over her during her first day at Tactical Response, and she still feels it now. She takes comfort from it, hoping the blonde Senior Constable is watching over her.

They complete each other. Stella sees only good and evil, and Shannon senses everything in between.