A/N: Aha… *incredibly sheepish* I'm guessing that, at this point, an apology really, really isn't enough? Heck, I'll be surprised if any of you readers can even remember the plot of this, much less where the hell this is picking up from. But I do have my excuses. Perhaps they're not good enough, but any college/sixth form student can understand how it feels when you miss a weeks worth of work, and then you're shoved into a revision schedule that barely leaves you enough time to eat, never mind write. However, the hard work did pay off since I did pass my first set of AS-Level exams, so yeah… Figured I'd get this out quickly before my revision schedule fires up again. You have Nathalaia to thank for kick-starting me into finishing off this chapter! Again, I'm really sorry!

This chapter will contain slight spoilers for the Campania arc, and ends at a point where you can just imagine the ending rather than me confirming it!

Months passed, and things all but returned to the way they'd once been in the Shinigami offices. The absence of Eric and Alan was no longer a blaring hole in the operation of things, and William had been able to finally replace the two workers without feeling that the replacements would be automatically disliked. Indeed, the two young men, fresh from the academy, seemed to be generally liked by the workers in his department, and William was glad that he didn't need to keep his office blinds open in case the two were to 'disappear.'

Not that his department was feeling particularly murderous, no. That word was one that was no longer said through silent agreement of all the workers. Murder brought up bad memories of both Grell's Jack the Ripper stunt and Eric's attempt to help Alan.

William would try constantly to be rid of the knowledge that, although he might not have known it, Eric was not far from his thousand souls. His earlier musings, on how he would have let Eric flee if it had come down to it, were corrected at the thought that either way he'd have lost two of his workers anyway. Alan would have followed Eric to the edges of the earth without a second glance behind him, and had Eric died in the process, Alan would have stopped all attempts to fight the thorns.

Oxford shoes clacking down the corridor distracted him from his thoughts, and William glanced to the door to his office with a sigh. Ronald was determined to get another job that allowed him to leave the office, and William was all too happy to give one to him. He had an interesting one looming on the horizon, one that required someone able to hide amongst the stiff British crowds without attracting too much attention.

He couldn't very well send Grell; after all, the redhead would have attracted far too much attention with his attitude, never mind his wild hair and feminine frame. The door was pushed open eagerly, dragging William from his musings.

"Hey, Boss! What you got for me?" Ronald allowed the door to click shut behind him, and all but strolled into the office before halting at the desk. William didn't bother instructing him to sit down out of the knowledge that Ronald wouldn't be able to sit still.

"I've a job for you, one you'll like." As he spoke, William opened a drawer from his desk and pulled out a thick ledger. Ronald eyed it with keenness, but waited for William to continue. "I've had this job ready for a while, but now I've no choice but to give it to someone." Alongside the ledger, which he pushed forward towards Ronald, William placed a single ticket next to it and watched as Ronald cocked his head to the side.

"That's a pretty big ledger, Boss. What does that- oh, the Campania. She's due to sink?"

"Not that I'm aware of, Knox. Take a look at the ledger. Tell me if you recognise any of the names." William watched as Ronald curiously pulled the ledger off the desk, testing the weight of it before flicking the pages open.

"Why would so many names be in this if the boat isn't due to sink- oh. What is this?" Ronald looked up at William in confusion as he pointed at several names in the book. A vast majority of them had side notes beneath them, with a few of them labelled 'Reaped by R. Knox.'

"That is why I need you there. You will find that a lot of those souls due to be reaped have been reaped previously by either myself, Sutcliff, you, and even as far back as Eric and Alan. All were killed in the London area, and yet they've reappeared on the ledger. I want you to go in there and find out what's going on." William pulled a hat from the drawer next, throwing it lightly into Ronald's lap.

"And take this with you until you're on the ship, try to hide your hair from the public." Ronald tried the hat on, pulling a face at William when it slipped down and partially obscured his vision. Taking the ledger in hand along with the train ticket, he moved to turn around but paused momentarily to look at his superior.

"Er, Boss? Am I going in alone? To reap all of these?" At this, William looked up from where he had started to sign some documents and frowned at Ronald.

"I'll send Sutcliff in after the ship has left the docks. Whether he arrives on time is something you shouldn't count on. I myself will turn up if there are any problems, but I doubt you'll encounter any."

"Ah, okay Boss. We'll find out what's going on!" With a bright smile that would have dazzled any female to look at it, Ronald tucked the hat under his arm and gave an eager nod to William before he left the office.

He couldn't wait for the job to begin!

Grell was bored.

He had been summoned to William's office with no explanation as to why, told to quietly sit down in the chair opposite the desk, and then was promptly ignored for the next fifteen minutes. William had left the room mere moments ago, and Grell heaved a heavy sigh when the door was opened once more and his silence was disturbed again.

"Sutcliff, you could at least attempt to sit up properly." Grell rolled his eyes at the words, knowing without a doubt that William would see it as he walked around the chair to get to his desk. The man in question refrained from commenting on it, but instead watched Grell as the redhead grew more agitated. After a minute or two of silence, Grell squirmed in his seat and looked up, locking eyes with his superior.

"Why do you keep calling me 'Sutcliff'?"

"It's your name." Grell scoffed at the answer.

"I don't know where I stand with you, any more, Will! One moment you drop the ice-man persona and you're my Will, and the next you act like you don't know me, like I'm some sort of stranger!" Grell's voice rose in pitch as he spoke, prompting a raised eyebrow from William and a closing of the office blinds.

"Lower your voice, Grell. Perhaps you wouldn't be as confused as to where you stand had you not gone off on a murder spree. Perhaps you'd know where you stand if you hadn't then gone on to act the way you did with Michaelis-"

"-That was a game, a bit of fun-"

"-to you it was a game. To the Shinigami it was breach of morals; you wonder why they label you promiscuous when you act the way you do." William's voice held no emotion to it, and without even a quiver of something, Grell was left simply staring open-mouthed at him for several moments before he found the courage to speak.

"And yet you didn't kick me out when you found me in your- no, our- bed. Why was that?"

"I couldn't send you away in the state you were in." Grell found comfort in the knowledge that William, no matter how cold his voice seemed, was clearly holding something back. He needed to crack the man and keep him from retreating back to his cold persona again. That was what had happened after he had kissed him before the hearing, he'd retreated and Grell hadn't been around enough to realise it.

"Why couldn't you? If you hated me, if you loathed me as much as you claim you do, you could have left me on the streets and not given a damn! I know you, Will, I know you're holding yourself back! I want to know why you won't let me back in!" In the course of his speaking Grell had risen from the chair and had balled his hands into fists, the anger seeping out through his aura and all too detectable to William. For a single moment, one hopeful moment, William dropped his emotionless aura and allowed Grell to detect every emotion running through the man before the walls were back up and William's gaze hardened. Grell stared open mouthed at him, tears almost forming in the corner of his eyes at the surge of pain he'd detected.

"You left me. That is why I won't let you back in, Sutcliff." William's voice did not waver, but hit Grell hard enough to make the redhead fall back into the chair. There were a few moments of tense silence, where William simply looked bored and annoyed and Grell struggled to get words to form on his tongue.

"I'm sorry. But I want you back, and with me, not fighting against me. Damnit, Will, how many times do I need to apologise!" Grell sat back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest tightly, frowning up at William in exasperation.

"Quiet. I called you here for an assign-"

"Stop ignoring my question-"

"-ment and you will carry this job out properly-"

"-Stop ignoring me and tell me how I can-"

"-Enough! We will discuss this matter when you get back. Take this folder, read it over at your desk and then collect your scythe and depart immediately to join Ronald onboard the Campania. Now, get out of my office." With his last few words stressed slowly with only an angry tone to them, William motioned for Grell to leave quickly. Grell scarpered out of the office, half excited to get his scythe back and half determined to do the job properly in order to get William in a good mood for his return.

After all, he would not allow things to continue the way they were going. He would get his superior back one way or another, even if it took him years to regain the fragile trust that they had once had.