A/N: This story is nothing like Flickers. Just thought I'd give you all a heads up before you start reading it. Some of you aren't going to like this story, others might learn to love it in time. And some of you might even love it from the start. This story has been bugging me for some time now, even been the reason for blocking Flickers at times. So trust me when I say, I have no choice, but to write it.

Disclaimer: This is not rated M for the hell of it, it's there for a reason. Unfortunately, it won't be for the fun reasons just yet. If you expect a story filled with nothing but smut, turn around now. If you expect it to be nice and fluffy, hit the back button. I will not warn you when things get ugly. I will not warn you of the occasional smutty bits. I have only one advice for all of you: Proceed at your own risk.

P.S: The only way I own Skins is on dvds (and in my head). I'm not making any money off of this and I doubt I ever will.

Chapter 1: Burn your life down.

Her own screams reached her ears, desperate and broken. Her voice was getting hoarse now, breaking midway through. She flopped back on the bed, panting, her eyes not really seeing anything. She could feel her own sweat making it's way down her body. She tried to focus on her breathing just like she'd been taught, but it wasn't working. Pain was still shooting up her body, she could feel her muscles contracting, fighting it. She could hear the faint buzzing of the fluorescent lights above her. She thought it was funny what your brain chose to focus on and what it seemed to ignore.

"Alright, here comes another one." The voice drifted towards her, taking her out of her own head for a second, it enveloped her. It was a nice voice, a non threatening one. "Are you ready?" It asked. She wanted to tell him to shove it, wanted to curse at him, but pain once again claimed her tongue and the angry words turned into another hoarse cry instead. Why did he even bother asking? It wasn't like she was in any position to answer.

The pain was getting worse, she felt like something was ripping her in two. In a sense, maybe something was. She managed a feeble grin at the thought, it looked more like a snarl to the people watching.

"Are you sure we can't call anyone for you?" A new voice asked, a female one. She remembered her, the condescending bitch who had taken her to this room. She wanted to kill her, but gritted her teeth and answered.

"There's…" She panted, trying to make her voice sound as strong as possible, it just sounded pathetic. "… no one to call." She managed to get out, flinching slightly at her own words. It was only half the truth. "Stop... Fucking... Asking!" Her voice was raw, quick bursts of air filled her lungs.

Another ripple of pain shot through her and she was screaming again. The scream mercifully drowned out what she knew was a sympathetic answer. Her hands twisted the sheets below her into knots as the pain seemed to escalate, she heard them rip, at least she hoped it was the sheets that was ripping.

"Breathe through it, ms Campbell." The calm male voice told her, she tried following his directions, but couldn't really make her body comply. "That's it. It's almost over now, just a little bit longer. You're doing great." She wanted to laugh in his face, mock his enthusiasm, it wouldn't come out though. The pain was more or less constant now, she knew he was right. It would be over soon, but this was never one of the things she had worried about. No, what she really was worried about would come when all this was done.

Hours later, or maybe it was only minutes, she could feel the pressure building, feel something pressing to get out, slipping out of her. She screamed a final time, cursing her life, her luck and the timing of it all. For a whole second her whole world is silence. Blissful, ignorant silence. A tiny, feebly cry shattered the illusion and she could feel air rushing back in her lungs in response.

"Congratulations ms. Campbell. It's a beautiful baby girl." She lifted her head to look at the little bundle they placed on her chest. It was the ugliest thing she had ever seen. She never knew something could be slimy and crusty at the same time. It made weird noises, it sounded like something between a wail and a sob. She scrunched her face up, trying to find the beauty in the tiny bundle, but couldn't see past all the goddamn goo.

Suddenly, a pair of startling blue eyes opened, a tiny hand shot up and grabbed hold of her finger and the strange wailing sound stopped. The ache in her body seemed to fade into the background as she stared into the eyes of her daughter and she knew she would do whatever she needed to do to protect her.

-CS-

A faint humming was what woke her, her hand automatically went under her pillow, she came up empty of course. Her eyes snapped open, body tensing. A twinge of pain, nearly made her gasp out loud, but she suppressed it. Scanning the room in front of her, she came to the conclusion that the humming was coming from behind her. From where her baby girl was sleeping.

Grabbing the first thing she could get her hands on, she swung out of bed as fast as her still aching body would let her, a wordless growl following her actions. Her hand drew back, swinging, before she had even gotten her legs planted on the floor. The sight that greeted her when she turned around, made her stop just in time. A pair of calm blue eyes looked back at her, almost the exact shade as her daughter's. The humming stopped and the bedside lamp she had grabbed, fell to the floor.

"Nice to see you too." He smirked, looking back down at the tiny little bundle in his arms. She felt herself relax as much as the surge of adrenaline would let her.

"Did anyone see you come in?" She asked, taking a moment to just soak up his appearance. Even sitting down he had the grace of a predator, the look of someone ready to pounce at a moments notice. It didn't matter that he had a barely 12 hour old baby in his arms.

"Do you think I'd be here if anyone saw me come in?" The steely glint in his eyes, the barely concealed anger at having to sneak around, was clear. "I had to see her." His eyes dropped to the baby, softening instantaneously.

"I wish you could have been here when she was born. Probably best if you weren't though, I wanted to kill every last person in there." She tried to take the sting out of her words, the accusations, he still picked up on them. He had always been the one that could read her better then anyone else. "It doesn't matter now I suppose."

"Of course it matters, Gina. Don't you think I wanted to be here? Don't you think I got in the car the second I heard your message?" He got to his feet, careful not to jostle the bundle in his arms too much. His voice was even, emotionless to anyone that didn't know him. She knew him though, this was killing him on the inside. She held her arms out for the baby, he placed it gently into her arms.

"It's ok. I knew you couldn't come, I knew what I was getting myself into when I fell in love with you." She shot him a half smile and sat down on her bed, wincing slightly as she lowered herself.

"It doesn't make it right though." He sat down next to her. "You deserve better, you both do." She leaned into him, savouring his warmth, the smell of his skin. His arm came up and drew her closer.

"I love you." She murmured against him. "And I love her." Her arms squeezed the tiny bundle in her arms closer. She felt him sigh.

"I'm sorry I ever got you into this shitty situation. I never imagined this for us." She looked up at him, he was staring at the window. "I should have never agreed to the last job."

"You couldn't have predicted what would happen, no one could." She carefully rearranged her hold on the baby and placed her hand on his thigh. "It's not your fault the guy was a scumbag, or that he flipped halfway through." He made a noise in the back of his throat. "It's not." She insisted.

"I should have seen the signs. He was always asking what the next step was, always second guessing my decisions. I should have known he was going to rat me out. It's my fault they're dead." His voice had taken on that emotionless edge again.

"Look at me." She reached up and grabbed his face, giving him no choice but to comply. He met her eyes reluctantly. "You did everything you could to save them. You killed for them, for Christ sake. You might have lost two, but you saved the rest." He opened his mouth to speak and she quickly placed her finger up against it to silence him. "If you hadn't, you wouldn't have been here to see her. Actually, none of us would be here, you saved us both, remember? Did you know she has your eyes?" She removed her finger, indicating she was done. He stared at the tiny bundle in her arms for a few seconds.

"She has my eyes?" He looked up at her again, amazement plain on his face.

"Almost the exact shade too. The doctors told me it might change, but…" She trailed off as she looked down at her baby girl, who chose that moment to open her eyes. "See?" She whispered, feeling him lean closer. "There is no way to deny she's yours, no way anyone will be fooled into thinking anything else. At least not the people that know you." The baby blinked, waving her hands around, grabbing for something to hold on to.

"Where are you going when you get out of here? You can't go back to the flat." He extended his arm, caressing the baby's cheek, a tiny hand grabbed onto the finger when he tried to pull his hand back. "She does have my eyes." He looked up at her, his eyes pleading. "You have to run, if they find you… One look at her and they'll know, they'll use her to get to me."

"I know." She sighed. "I'm going to my mum's, it's quiet and out of the way. People think we hate each other. She can protect us, you know what she's like." He cracked a smile at the statement, his whole face lighting up.

"No shit. I thought she was gonna take my head off when she found us in bed together when we were kids." She laughed at the memory. He had run out of the house, his pants clutched in his hands, her mother running after with a shotgun in her hands. "The woman was bloody terrifying." He smiled at her as she wiped the tears of mirth out of her eyes.

"Exactly. It'll be the perfect place for us to hide. At least until you can come back." His face fell.

"I don't know how long I'll be gone. How long it's going to take me to track him." She stared into the eyes of the only man she had ever really loved and saw the sadness in there, the exhaustion.

"I'll wait for you, you know that. We both will." She watched him sigh and look up at the clock on the wall.

"I have to go, rounds starts soon. I can't stay here." He got off the bed, bending down and kissing her softly. Gently, he pried his finger free from his daughter's grip, before placing a kiss to her forehead. "She's beautiful. You did good." He said with a smile, still not taking his eyes of the baby who had fallen asleep again sometime during their conversation.

"We did good." She corrected, watching sadly as he moved over to the window. His eyes scanned the darkness, before opening it.

"I love you both with all I have in me, don't forget it." He slipped out into the night before she had a chance to reply, closing the window behind him. She sat there for a few seconds, staring numbly at it, willing him to come back before she got up and gently laid her daughter down in her crib.

She had just picked up the lamp from the floor, when she heard the window open slightly again, his head sticking in. "I forgot to ask, what's her name?" She rounded on him, smiling slightly.

"Her name is Naomi." He smiled at her words.

"Naomi." He breathed, eyes seeking out the tiny bundle, a huge smile on his face.

-CS-

She stood at the edge of the gravel road, looking towards the house at the end of it. She could just make out the stream of smoke from the chimney against the forest behind it in the night. The windows were all dark, but that didn't surprise her all that much. She took a last drag of her cigarette and took the time to breathe in the night air, before getting back in the car. Her eyes went to the car seat, hands checking if Naomi was still strapped in securely.

"Ready to meet your grandma, little one?" She asked the sleeping infant, gently placing a kiss on her forehead. The baby never stirred. "I hope you are, because I'm not. Fuck, I don't even know what to tell her." She sighed and started the car up again.

The last part of the drive is over too fast, or maybe not fast enough. Parts of her couldn't wait to see her mother, other parts wanted to just scream in terror and run away. The last time she had seen her, was the day she had left with Naomi's dad. She never really said good bye, just left in the middle of the night, so in a way it was fitting that she'd return the same way. Lights suddenly came on, flooding her vision for a moment, so much for a stealthy return.

She sat in the car, motionless, watching the house. Nothing happened that she could see, but she knew her mother would be on the other side of one of the windows, shotgun aimed at the car. She opened the door slowly, hands casually falling open, stretching slightly away from her body. She turned towards the house, leaving the car door open. It took about 10 seconds before the front door opened, she hadn't moved a muscle while she was waiting.

"You're lucky I didn't shoot you." She lifted her eyes to her mother's face, surprised at the age she saw there. Only the eyes had remained the same, determined, unflinching.

"Nice to see you too, mum." She answered, eyes still roaming over her mothers form. She was thinner than she remembered, the hair was greyer, but what really threw her was the way she seemed frailer somehow. Her mother had always been a force of nature, stronger then anyone she had ever known.

"Well? Are you gonna stand there all day, or are you coming in? Lord knows, I'm not getting any younger." The woman turned her back and shuffled into the house. Gina sighed and walked around the car to get Naomi. She cast a last glance up at the looming house, sighing softly to herself again before following her mother.

The kitchen looked exactly the same, her mother had her back to the entrance not even looking up from where she was standing. Gina heard the kettle flick on and sat the seat with Naomi in it, gently down on the table.

"Is that why you're back?" Gina looked up and found her mother staring intently at Naomi.

"Partly. It's a long story." She answered.

"Just give me the cliff notes then. I take it the kid is yours?" Her mother walked closer, still looking at the baby.

"Mum, meet Naomi. Naomi, meet your grandma." Gina simply answered. Watching as her mother unbuckled the belts and lifted Naomi out of her seat.

"Why on earth would you name the poor thing after me." She huffed, but Gina saw the corners of her mouth twitch, her eyes softening. Naomi yawned in her arms and opened her eyes. "No need to ask who the father is, I see." Gina held her tongue and let Naomi work her magic. "She's absolutely breathtaking." Her mother mumbled after a while, face relaxed into a soft smile as she gazed adoringly into blue eyes.

"She usually has that effect on people." Gina smiled. "And you're right, there's no denying who she belongs to." Gina sighed for what felt like the thousandth time in just a few hours and rubbed her eyes.

"Where is Anthony?" She knew the question was bound to come, but it still made her chest tighten.

"I'm not sure. Probably out of the country by now. Last time I saw him was two days ago." She met her mother's eyes, willing the tears back down.

"He ran? What the hell did the two of you get yourself tangled up in now?" Her mother demanded, probably a bit softer then usual because of the baby who was waving her tiny fists around in her arms.

"We robbed the wrong house, had a snitch in our crew and things went to shit." She stated. Her mother just raised an eyebrow and she knew she had to elaborate. "We heard of this guy who was selling drugs…"

"You what? Please tell me you didn't do what I think you did." Her mother interrupted, glaring at her. Gina drew a deep breath, trying to collect her thoughts.

"As I was saying…" She shot a glare at her mother, who glared back. "We heard of this guy who had a lot of money. Supposedly he was an easy mark, only a few guards, no fancy equipment. We planned the thing to perfection, knew every player, knew where the best entrance was… You know, the usual. Thing is, one of the lads turned on us, so instead of an easy mark, we walked into pure chaos."

"Police?" Her mother inquired,

"No, worse then that. They watched us as we went through the house, we didn't know that little fact until I stumbled in to their surveillance room on the way out. We got the safe open and everything looked like it was going off without a hitch, suddenly one of the walls exploded and there were people with guns everywhere. We scattered, I saw one of our guys go down, saw Anthony take out a few of them." She was quiet for a moment, remembering all the blood, the smoke.

"I have a feeling that was just the beginning." Her mother commented, dryly.

"You would be right." Gina sighed. "Most of this mess is my fault. I don't even know why they were there, but suddenly I was in a room with the guy who owned the house. It would have been a Mexican stand off, both of us aiming guns at the other, but suddenly a kid ran into the room. He picked the kid up, can't have been more then 5 years old. I'm not even sure if it was a girl or a boy. Anyways, he used the kid as a shield and fired on me. He got me in the shoulder, he would have killed me if Anthony hadn't burst into the room and shot him in the head." Her mother put Naomi back in her seat and led Gina to a chair.

"What happened then?" She asked quietly, almost like she didn't really want to know.

"We ran." Gina closed her eyes. "We left the poor kid there, covered in blood. My shoulder was pretty bad, but the bullet was a through and through, so it wasn't life threatening. Me and Anthony laid low for a few weeks, he fixed up the wound as best he could, that's also when I found out I was pregnant. We were originally going to go abroad, India was at the top of our list, but this complicated it. Add it to the fact that we knew someone had turned on us and it was impossible. It didn't take too long to figure out who it was though, he wasn't exactly laying low like the rest of us." Gina opened her eyes again, looking at her mother's thoughtful expression, wondering what she was thinking.

"If you know who it was… Why is Anthony running? Why not just take out the snitch and let that be it?"

"The snitch was Johnny White, mum. Remember him?" Gina answered.

"Yeah, he's that little piece of shit that used to hang around when you were kids. Always knew he'd grow up to be a weasel." Her mother nodded. "But that still doesn't explain…" She trailed off. "Unless…"

"We made it out with a fair bit of money and he was the one to take over the drug business when we killed his new boss." Gina concluded for her. "There's no way to get to him, we've tried. Once he figured that out, he skipped the country. He's put a hit out on all of us. Most of the crew has already gone underground, but only after he had a few of them offed. Anthony went after him to try and put a stop to it all. To keep us safe."

"And you came here? Are you insane?" Her mother exclaimed, making Naomi stir slightly. She lowered her voice in an instant. "He knows where to look for you, he'd come straight here."

"No, he won't. He thinks I hate you, that I've severed all ties to you. I let him believe it, I let everyone believe it." She looked at her mother apologetically. "He thinks, along with the rest of the world, that you would probably shoot me on sight." She grinned.

"He would think that, wouldn't he? Stupid git." Her mother chuckled. "Never the less, you should stay out of sight for the next few months. You did make sure no one followed you, right?"

"Just like you taught me, mum. Switched cars about three times, no original number plates, drove halfway to bloody Scotland before turning back… Figured you know someone to take care of the car once I got here." She smiled at her mother.

"Sounds good… I only have one more question." She looked at Gina expectantly. "Why the fuck haven't you given me a hug yet?"

-CS-

"Mummy!" A tiny blonde whirlwind threw herself at Gina. "I made a friend!" The 6 year old was bouncing up and down, blue eyes sparkling in the soft sunlight of the living room. "He fell out of a tree and went thump on the ground and I helped him and now he's my friend!" The girl explained animatedly. "His name is Jimmy and he has a race car, well not really, it's a piece of wood with wheels nailed to it, but he says it is a race car and since he's my friend it must be true. Right mum? And he was bleeding from his knee and I put a band aid on it and he was crying, but I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that…" She trailed off, looking guilty.

"It's ok, you're allowed to tell your mummy anything, even when they say it's a secret." Gina grinned, getting down to her level, Naomi perked up at hearing that. "But remember what we talked about? About not talking so loudly in the house because grandma isn't feeling good?" Naomi nodded, looking serious.

"I'm supposed to talk quietly, because grandma is sleeping." She said softly. "I don't understand why we can't just put a band aid on her so she'll be fixed again." Gina sighed at the frown on her face. They had tried explaining why grandma was getting thinner, why she was sleeping so much, but how do you really explain to a 6 year old that grandma was dying?

"Because not everything can be fixed by a band aid, sweetie." Gina answered sadly. Naomi scrunched up her face, trying to make sense of it. "Why don't you tell me more about your new friend?" She asked, trying to distract her. "You said he fell out of a tree?"

"Uh huh." Naomi nodded, smiling again. "It was funny." She giggled, eyes shining with joy. Gina stood back up, grabbing Naomi's hand, leading her to the kitchen. "You should say hi to him, he's outside right now. He promised he'd wait till I finished eating and then he said he'd show me a birds nest." Naomi babbled enthusiastically.

"Did you ask if he wanted to eat with us too?" Naomi shook her head. "Why don't you go and ask him now? And I'll make some sandwiches." She watched Naomi bounce out the back door and sighed. Her life wasn't anywhere near where she would've imagined it to be. Taking care of a very bright, bundle of energy and her ill mother wasn't exactly her dream situation. She watched her daughter skip down to the tree line, disappearing from sight.

"You should start teaching her the things she'll need to know." The voice startled her, but she wasn't surprised. She felt arms snake around her waist and leaned back.

"And you should learn to give a girl a little more warning." She answered.

"I heard about your mum." She clasped her hands to his, intertwining their fingers. "I'm sorry." He sighed, kissing her temple.

"How long are you here for this time?" She asked quietly.

"A week maybe." He answered. She watched as Naomi dragged a scrawny looking boy out in the open, even from this distance she could see the worn clothes, the skinny frame. "Who's that?" The voice behind her rumbled.

"Our daughter made a friend today. His name's Jimmy." She turned in his arms, looking up at his familiar blue eyes. "She'll love to see you though. Last time you were here, she wouldn't shut up about you for months."

"That could be a problem." He answered sadly, she saw the way he drank in the sight of their daughter and felt her heart constrict.

"She's never told anyone about you. She doesn't understand why she can't, but she knows not to do that." She tried to reassure him. "But to me and mum… Well, she wouldn't stop talking about you. She loves you."

"They're still looking for me." He said, jaw clenching.

"I know." She pressed her face to his chest, inhaling briefly before pushing him away. The door opened a second later, Naomi practically pushing Jimmy in through the door.

"…nice, you'll see. She makes the best sandwiches and you said you were hungry…" Her eyes fell on her father, widening. "You're here!" She exclaimed, darting passed the boy, throwing herself on the man in the kitchen.

"I missed you, kiddo." Her dad chuckled, picking her up and whirling her around. The delighted shriek of laughter from Naomi, made Gina smile contentedly. She laughed when Naomi placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek, making his eyebrows fly up in surprise. A small movement from near the door, drew her attention away from the pair in front of her.

"Hello, you must be Jimmy." She said softly at him, watching the way his eyes darted from the door to her and back again. He stiffened at the sound of her voice, shyly looking up at her, nodding. He looked like he hadn't eaten for days, or seen a washcloth in a while. The jeans he was wearing was way too big, a piece of rope was acting as a belt. She shot a look at Anthony, seeing him filing away the boys appearance too. Naomi squirmed in his arms, demanding to be put back down.

"Come on Jimmy, I'll show you where you can wash up." Naomi grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the kitchen towards the downstairs bathroom. Gina followed them with her eyes, smiling softly as she could hear her daughter babble up a storm at the boy.

"I know that look." Anthony commented dryly. "The last time you had that look, we ended up with a cat and 4 kittens, because you thought they looked thin."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She grinned, mind already coming up a thousand ways she could get the boy to open up, maybe eat more too.

"Let me run a check on his family…" He sighed, grinning when she stuck her tongue out at him.

-C.S-

The weather matched her mood. The clouds above her were dark, swirling ominously, wind howling as rain seemed to come from every direction at once. She shivered, pulling her coat closer to her body. The coffin was lowered slowly into the ground, a priest spouting nonsense words as it disappeared. Her insides were numb, there were no tears left in her. She looked at the small rag tag group around her. Naomi was holding on to her with one hand, the other one firmly in Jimmy's grasp. The boy was oblivious to the tears running down his face, not making a move to even try to wipe them away. Naomi was like her, stoic, no emotions on her face whatsoever.

A man she had only met once, dropped a rose into the grave, she suspected he had been hopelessly in love with her mother. She tilted her head, studying him. He noticed her looking, nodded his head and turned around, leaving them behind. Gina stood there, frozen to the spot, eyes searching for Anthony. She didn't see him though, hadn't seen him for almost a year. Hadn't spoken to him in more then six months, she knew what it meant, but didn't want to think about it. The thought of him being dead too almost forced a sob out of her, she bit it back though, squeezing Naomi's hand a bit tighter.

"Come on, mum. Let's get out of this weather." Naomi broke her thoughts, she looked down at her gratefully. Naomi was all legs and arms these days, looking much older then 11. Her eyes were still the exact shade her father's had been, making them hard to meet.

"In a minute, sweetie. Why don't you and Jimmy get in the car, I just want to…" She trailed off, but Naomi seemed to understand, squeezing her hand. She watched as the pair of them thanked the priest and started walking towards the exit. Jimmy shot her a sad smile, before putting his arm around Naomi, the two of them had been inseparable since the day Naomi had brought him home.

She drew in a shaky breath, not noticing that the priest slipped away. Her mother had held on a lot longer then anyone expected. Gina wasn't surprised though, her mother had always been stubborn. She chuckled weakly at the thought, remembering her insistence that she could take care of herself right up until the end. The chuckle turned into a quiet sob.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to this without you, mum. Naomi is getting so big and I haven't heard from Anthony in what feels like forever. Naomi hasn't cried yet, but this is killing her. I don't know when she became so withdrawn, but I think it was when she first saw how Jimmy was living. I still remember the day she came home crying, telling me that she'd seen his dad beat the crap out of him. She's been burying herself in trying to master everything I've tried to teach her, Jimmy's been practically living with us the last week or so… I don't know what to do about either of them." She looked up, revelling in the feel of rain on her face, forcing her tears back down.

"I miss you already." She whispered, not sure if she meant her mother or the father of her child.

She walked out of the cemetery, gravel crunching under her feet. Naomi stepped out of the car as she came closer, opening the door for her silently. Gina managed to smile softly at her, seeing the sadness radiate from the girl. Wordlessly, she opened her arms, drawing her into a hug. She felt Naomi sink into her, finally releasing a heartbroken sob.

"I know." She whispered into Naomi's hair. "I know, sweetie. We'll be ok, you'll see." Jimmy came out of the car too, shifting on his feet. Gina dragged him into the hug, letting her own tears finally fall as well, clinging to the kids in her embrace.

This was her family now, she just had to find a way to protect them all.

-C.S-

She awoke with a jolt, eyes searching for the reason. A green light blinked silently on her bedside table, making her swear under her breath, hand instantly going to the gun next to it. She got out of bed, pulling on some sweatpants and a t-shirt and was across the hall in a second. She opened the door carefully, tip toeing into the room, clasping a hand over Naomi's mouth to stifle any sounds. Naomi's eyes shot open, widening as she saw the gun in her hand.

"We've got company." Her mother whispered, carefully removing the hand over Naomi's mouth. Naomi sat up in an instant, dragging on her own clothes.

"How long ago?" She whispered back, fixing her hair in a pony tail. The determination in her eyes spoke volumes. Gina took a second just looking at her, hating to have to do this to her the night before her 17th birthday. She'd grown up to be a beautiful young woman, the quiet strength in her seemed to draw people in.

"A minute ago. They should be here any second now." Gina answered. "I want you to get Jimmy and get the hell out of here."

"I'm not leaving you!" Naomi exclaimed a little too loud. "Sorry." She muttered. The sound of the front door creaking open downstairs, made them both freeze. They looked at each other, Gina sighed when she saw the stubborn set of Naomi's jaw.

"Fine." She sighed. "Too late now. Take this and hide in the closet. I'll check out what we're up against." Naomi opened her mouth to argue, but Gina shut her down. "Don't argue with me, I'm still your mother." Naomi grumbled under her breath, but took the gun, quickly checking that it was loaded and with a pointed stare at her mother made her way to the closet. "Don't open the door unless you know it's me, shoot anyone else." She closed the door as Naomi gave her a firm nod.

Gina inched her way down the hallway, ducking into the spare room. The house was decked out with cameras at every angle, silent alarms around the property, all connected to this room. She scanned the footage, watched the people on the screen cut the power and phone lines, glad that this room wasn't connected to the main power grid. She counted four people, two fanning out across the property, two entering the house. One of the screens showed a car at the end of the driveway, people still inside it. She drew out a second gun, automatically making sure it was working properly, before switching the system to live. The two men, or at least what she assumed was men, inside the house had spilt up, one searching the downstairs area, the other making his way up the stairs.

Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as she saw him make his way towards the first room on the landing, Naomi's room. She offered a small prayer to anyone that was listening, hoping that Naomi would stay calm and not do anything. She slipped silently out of the room when she saw him go in, stalking across the hall. She tried to calm her breathing, get the adrenaline under control.

She burst into the room, taking the man by surprise, pistol whipping him across the back of his head. He went down with a dull thump, making it all a bit anticlimactic. She listened for more sounds, but couldn't hear anything. Quickly stripping the sheets from Naomi's bed, she tied up the intruder, gagging him although it didn't seem like he would wake up anytime soon. Better safe then sorry, had always been her philosophy.

"Get back inside." She hissed when she heard the closet door open behind her, throwing a quick look over her shoulder, meeting her daughter's wide eyes. The crackle of a radio drew her eyes back down to the unconscious man, but she heard the soft thud of the closet door closing again. She could hear the faint hiss of a voice, coming from the earpiece in the man's ear. She bent down, removing it, she debated whether or not to put it in for a moment, in the end deciding it would give her an advantage if she knew what was going on outside too.

"No movement from the grounds, moving on to the garage." One voice said, quickly followed by another. "Done checking my sector, moving on to the tree line now." She had no idea who the first voices belonged to, nothing jogging her memory.

She turned towards the door again, hand on the handle, when a third voice made chills run down her spine. "There's no one downstairs." She'd know that voice anywhere. "How's it looking up there?" The words and the familiar voice made her freeze, trying to come up with some sort of a plan.

"Shit." She muttered, scrambling into a corner. "What the hell is he doing here?" She heard him swear in her ear, not really making sense of the words. Her heart was hammering in her chest, so much louder then before. She crouched down, eyes darting around the room, looking for a way out. A tiny part of her brain tried to tell her to get it together, that she was loosing it, but she ignored it. Her eyes finally fell on the closet, remembering that her daughter was in there. Determination flew through her again, the grip on her gun became a little surer. It was too late though.

The door slammed open, gun firing before she had a chance to even raise her own. She clutched the wound automatically, gun dropping uselessly on the floor, eyes widening in surprise. She sank to her knees, coughing, a metallic taste in her mouth. She looked up at the shooter, watched him sneer at her, a look of triumph on his ugly face as he took off his mask. She felt his hand in her hair, dragging her backwards, dumping her in front of his unconscious associate. She grimaced, pain coursing through her from the movement, slumping to the floor when he let go.

"You always were predictable, Gina." He mocked, pacing the floor in front of her, back to the closet.

"Fuck you." She spat, noticing the dribble of blood from her mouth.

"Shut up, bitch!" He stepped towards her, slapping her across the face. She swayed backwards from the blow, a blow that she knew normally wouldn't even have flinched for. The thought scared her, she cast a quick glance down her body, down to where her hand was still firmly held. She felt weaker the moment she saw the blood pouring out of the wound, staining everything red. She closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath, eliciting another round of coughing. She opened her eyes again, willing herself to meet his and spat him in the face. Blood ran down his face, he wiped it angrily away.

"You're a piece of shit." She said calmly, before he had a chance to react. "Always have been, always will be. What are you even doing here? I thought you were the big man and all, someone push you off the throne? You always were a coward, Johnny, trying to hitch a ride on everyone else's coattails through life. Never having the balls to do actually confront people yourself. This must be a first for you, does it make you hard? Make your tiny little excuse for a cock, twitch?" She fixed her face into a sneer, suppressing the pain again. She needed to keep him fixed on her, needed to make him see red. "Made a mistake though…" She drew her lips apart in a semblance of an insolent grin.

"And what mistake would that be?" He cocked his head to the side, contempt and anger on his face. "You're as good as dead, you'll bleed to death even if I don't finish you off right now. The only reason you're still breathing is because you're going to tell me where the money is."

"You forgot something, that's all." She tried to shrug, but her shoulders wouldn't respond right.

"Alright, since you're on your last breaths and all, I'll humour you. What am I supposed to have forgotten about?" His eyes were on her, she had his full attention, the grin on her face became real fro a second.

"You forgot about me." Came a cold voice behind him. Gina almost laughed at the way his eyes bugged out of his head. She saw the warning signs just in time.

"NOW!" She shouted. The shot rung out almost before the word was out of her mouth. Time slowed down, she watched his head practically explode, felt the spray of blood on her face. The silence was overwhelming. She looked at Naomi, saw the shock on her face, the horror. Watched as it dawned on her what she had really done, their eyes connected and Naomi fell to her knees.

"What have I done?" Naomi stared in shock at the body in front of her, tears streaming down her face. Gina had no words for her, wasn't sure how to make this better. Couldn't do anything as she watched her curl herself into a ball, clutching the gun to her forehead. She was shutting down, Gina felt like crying. For the second time that night, she prayed, hoping for a miracle.

"What the hell happened?" Her head shot up, the answer to everything froze in the doorway, watching Jimmy take in the sight in front of him. He couldn't take his eyes away from the body either.

"Jimmy." There was no response from him. "Jimmy!" She tried again, a little louder, still there was no response. "JIMMY!" He didn't even flinch. She closed her eyes for a moment, she could hear her heart slowing down in her chest, beating at a sluggish pace. "JAMES COOK! YOU LOOK AT ME THIS INSTANT!" His head spun to face her. "You have to get her out of here, there's more people out there." She continued, voice much softer.

"I know, I knocked out two of them trying to get to you." He murmured. "These are the people you were scared about. The reason you trained us both." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes, they are." She answered anyways. "There's more of them, they'll come for us soon. I need you to get Naomi out of here." She was begging, they both knew it. He nodded, carefully bending down and scooping Naomi easily into his arms.

"What about you?" He asked, concern in his voice.

"I'll distract them." She answered. "I'll give you the time you're going to need."

"But I don't know where to go." For a moment, she saw the 7 year old boy she first met in front of her. The insecurity her and Naomi had almost eradicated in him.

"London. You need to go to London. Naomi knows where to go once you're there. Take the money in the cookie jar in the kitchen, there's a key taped to the bottom, take that too." She saw him take it all in, frowning. "Go through the woods, don't use the main road. Steal a car, take the train, I don't care. Just get as far away from here as fast as possible."

"Alright." He said haltingly, looking at her. "Come with us. I can carry you."

"Jimmy…" She looked at him sadly. "I can't come with you. I need to stay here and distract them. Tell her I love her." Her eyes flickered to Naomi. "Tell her… tell her I'm sorry."

"Gina." He breathed, tears in his eyes. "You're not going to follow us, are you?"

"I'm dying, Jimmy. This is my final gift to both of you, time to get away." The tears on his face seemed to run faster, but she couldn't be sure, her sight was getting fuzzy. "I always thought of you as my own, and I couldn't be prouder of the man you've become. You're worth something, James Cook." He nodded, determination on his face. "Now get out of here before it's too late."

"I love you Gina. I'll make sure Naomi is safe, I promise." He nodded at her one final time and shifted his hold on Naomi, getting a better grip, before taking off.

Gina sighed, she felt so tired, but she was hell bent on getting her kids the head start they needed. Hopefully they could disappear before anyone knew they were gone. She dragged herself across the hall, legs no longer wanting to support her. Her eyes focussed lazily on the screens in front of her, tracking the lone dot she knew was James Cook on one of them. Movement on one of the others caught her eye, the car was pulling up next to the house, no one got out, obviously the people in it was waiting for some sort of sign.

"I'll give them something to look at." Gina mumbled, eyes darting to the screen with Jimmy and Naomi on it. They were almost to the tree line. She closed her eyes, hand finding the plastic casing that covered a tiny switch, on it's own. She pushed the casing back almost casually. "I hope this works." She breathed and watched Jimmy and Naomi disappear into the trees, before flipping the switch.

The spark would travel through the wires, dividing itself when the one line split into five. Continue through the walls, down the into the ceiling below. Racing along to their final destinations, silently following the path laid out a long time ago. Three of the lines lead to charges set on the carrying beams, destined to make the house collapse. One led to a charge in the garage, to ensure it would be destroyed too. And the last one led to a charge just behind a tank of gas in the basement, making sure that even if the house didn't collapse, it would be engulfed in an inferno of flames.

Gina drew out the key she always kept on a chain around her neck, fitting it into the lock next to the switch. She drew in a breath, noticing that she wasn't coughing anymore, and turned the key.

She never got to exhale before the place exploded.

-C.S-

There you go, first chapter of Chasing Shadows.

Thanks for reading.