Chapter 1.

It's the cold breeze that wakes Jeff up. Glancing at his watch, the small hand is barely past 3. He got up, made his way to the kitchen and got himself a glass of water, thirstily, he gulped it down. Back on the sofa, his mum and Jim are sound asleep, peacefully curled up to one another. He knows that things will be okay, everything happens for a reason right? It was that hope that helped Jeff get over his father's departure almost two years ago. But lately, whether it's just him being a teenager or whatnot, he feels different. He still had to go back to school and finish, then make it into college. He has a great mum and he wants to do her proud, but there is just something niggling at him, something that he cannot explain, even to himself, that makes him want to… do what?

Here he is, standing in Jim's kitchen at 2 a.m. thinking about his future. Man, everything is just going so fast that he doesn't know what to do. A kid his age should be going out to parties, meeting girls and trying to impress them with his awesome soccer skills. But no, he is suspended from school and it feels like a tonne of bricks it about to rain down on him without any warning. He's scared, and no way would he admit that to anyone but himself, but he is. The world out there is big, and lots of people are all fighting for the same thing: money. What if he screws up? What if he makes that same mistake as his dad?

"Jeff, you okay?"

Jim suddenly enters the room, scaring him so much that he almost drops the half empty glass of water on the floor.

"Errm…yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he replies quickly, trying to save himself any embarrassment.

"What you doing up so late?" The detective asks, nonchalantly, grabbing a glass from one of the overhead cupboards.

"I just woke up, that's all," Jeff mirrors Jim's calmness, trying to hide his weird inner thoughts from Jim.

"Yeah, me too," Jim quickly turns the tap on and fills the glass a quarter full.

Immediately, he gulps it down and places it in the dishwasher, then faces opposite Jeff and leans on the table.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go to bed, I'll see you in the morning," Jeff too empties the glass before putting it in the dishwasher, then makes his exit, quickly making his way to his room.

Jim too is tired, but instead of going into his bedroom, he returns to his previous spot on the sofa. Callie hasn't moved, she remains sleeping serenely on the sofa whilst Jim watches her. She's home, Jim smiles to himself, he has never been so happy to see her, well, apart from when he house was on fire, but still, he is really pleased that she has returned home.

"Ever get the feeling you're being watched?"

"You're awake as well?"

"No, this is me sleeptalking," Callie sarcastically replies, opening her eyes.

"Sorry, dumb question," he sighs, sitting down next to her.

She snuggles closer, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Where's Jeff?" She asks.

"Bed, he got up before me."

"I'm so glad to be home," she yawns, allowing herself to sink deeper into the cushions, "for good this time too."

He wraps his arm around her protectively, "I'm never letting you go ever," he tells her, before they both sink into a deep sleep, enclosed in each other's arms.

Where am I? This doesn't make any sense…I was, oh damn it, I can't even remember where I was before. Well this is perfect; mum is definitely going to kill me this time. I'm in a stranger's house, at night? Wait, it was daylight before…oh crap! What the hell is going on? Wait, why can't I move? I want to go, I NEED TO GO! I can't move…it's like someone's stopping me. The last thing I remember is a…white…light. No. No. NO. I'm not dead, I'm not dead…I can't be…if I was, then how come I can still see and…and hear. HEY! WAKE UP! Where am I? They're not listening! HELLO! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!

They can't. I'm dead…I'm dead.

On the coffee table in the middle of the room, Jim's phone begins to ring; the caller ID identifies it as Daniel. It continues to ring, but Jim ignores it. He is too comfortable on the sofa with Callie to move.

"Jim! Your phone is ringing!" Jeff calls from his bedroom.

"I know," he responds, wishing that he could just have one day off, one day to spend with his family, and looking around, a day that he can finally finish redecorating his house.

The phone goes silent, and Jim sinks back, holding the still sleeping Callie closer.

Then it starts ringing again.

"Jim, just answer it," Callie mumbles.

"Y'know, you're really good at pretending to be asleep," he smiles at her.

"It's a talent that has definitely come in handy," she replies, sitting up and passing him his phone.

"Just one day of peace, that's all I ask," he tells her and then he presses answer, "Longworth."

"Finally, Jim," Daniel replies through the phone.

"Sorry, deep sleep," he told the intern, "what's up?"

"Another homicide," he reports grimly, "and this one is worse than the others."

"Why? What it is?" Jim leans forward, concern in his voice.

Callie watches him as his face drops, and a single tears falls down his cheek.

"What is it?" Callie mouths to him.

He doesn't reply, he just sits there, staring in front of him as he continues to listen to Daniel.

A minute passes and then Jim hangs up, he remains motionless for a few seconds before standing up.

"Jim, please, you're scaring me. What is it?"

"There's been another homicide," is all he says.

She supresses the urge to be sarcastic, and just continues to stare at him.

"I have to go," he tells her, barely looking away from a seemingly interesting spot on the wall in front of him.

This dude is a cop? I thought that his face looks familiar; I must've seen him in a newspaper or something. Okay…I'm moving now, well following him, is this why I'm here? To follow him? This makes no sense whatsoever.