The beginning of the end started with a letter.
Not even a letter really, more a sentence scrawled on a piece of paper, folded and stuffed under her door.
(Specifically, a scrawled on piece of paper that was folded, her name printed on the front, and slid under her door when she'd been in the kitchen making breakfast. Distracted by the soft sound, Andy had set the milk she'd just retrieved from her fridge and onto the counter and padded into the entryway to investigate.)
Andy had finally settled into a rhythm with work at 15, slowly becoming more and more confident at the job with each shift. She had gotten herself moved back into her old apartment, leaving behind Luke and all the memories what had once been 'their place' contained. Things with Sam were different, but not in a bad way and she was finally getting use to her life.
Things were becoming normal again.
Peaceful even.
(Murphy's law; Andy should've known this period of peace wasn't going to last. As soon as her bare toes had brushed against the paper, a feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach.
It would never leave.)
Then things crashed down in a span of six seconds.
Reaching down to pick up the folded paper, she caught sight of her name and flipped it open.
All it held was twelve simple words, but the message had made her mind go completely blank.
Andy, they know who you are and they are coming. Run. ~ JD.
Time lost meaning as she read the words over and over again, trying to convince herself it was a joke. Some sort of sick prank. But the rational side of her brain knew full well that this was the truth. Because no one had any idea of what her past held and only one person wrote in that familiar loopy scrawl.
Slowly, as she sat there, Andy was lost, replaced by who she had been as a teenager. She began to move mechanically after that, not putting much thought into what she did. Putting clothing and other essentials into a duffle bag, speaking to her landlord, turning off the power to her apartment and lastly, writing Sam a message.
The final part was by far the most painful, but she allowed herself to feel nothing as she wrote. The words seemed vile to her, every second wishing that this was different and that she would be fine. But she knew better.
Locking her door started the process of her heart tearing to shreds. As she drove, she idly wondered if anyone had noticed she was missing yet. She was already an hour late and parade had been finished long ago. Glancing at her phone, she noted that there were five missed messages. Most were from Sam. The other was from Traci.
Pulling into Fifteen's lot, Andy could feel the tears rising and threatening to swamp her, but she held onto her control with an iron fist. As she watched, slouched behind the wheel, she saw her friends; her family make their way to their cruisers one by one. Traci, Dov, Chris, Gail and finally, Sam. There was a worried air about them all, probably thanks to her, but not one of them noticed her as they pulled out of the lot.
Rushing into the station, she kept her head down and pointedly avoided anyone's looks. She made her way straight to the locker rooms; men's to be specific. She peered around the door to make sure it was empty before sneaking in and stopping in front of his locker. Moving slowly, she withdrew the folded letter from her pocket and stared at it for a long time. Then she gently slipped it through the crack at the top and hurried out of the room.
By the time she made it back to the parking lot, Andy had hit a dead run. She leapt into the car and screeched out of the lot, trying to put as much distance as she could between herself and the precinct before she broke. The tears ran hot and fast down her cheeks as Andy McNally died and Amy Drafton was born.
A/N: Welcome friends :)
So, for those of you who are new to this fic, I originally published it back in 2011. Then I hit a wall with it, put it on hiatus, and never looked back. Until now.
This is the re-write. I know what I'm doing now. Some key points will remain from the original, others will shift, but I recently realized just how much I loved this idea so I'm determine to bring it back to life.
A little note on the timing; Lies of the Missing takes place very early in the series, think all the way back to Season 1 & 2. And fair warning on this, it's been awhile since I've watched the early seasons, so any inconsistencies (AKA, I forget anything key from early one, or I accidentally mention something that happened later on in the series) are purely accidental.
Thanks for joining the ride again.
Hearts always, A
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