All recognizable characters in this fic are property of Showtime. I claim ownership only to the story written and any characters not recognized (OC).

Season 8, Episode 1: Auld Lang Syne

"New year: A time-honored tradition of celebrating the end of a calendar year, and the beginning of another."

Dexter Morgan's brown eyes shifted to his rear view mirror. He took note of Harrison who was sleeping soundly in his car seat as well as the multi-color clusters of fireworks that was still visible over the dark Miami skyline over Batista's restaurant. He then glanced over to Debra who was sitting in his passenger seat staring blankly out the window.

"For most people, a new year as a chance to start over; a clean slate with all the sins and vices of the past year being forgiven and forgotten after the clock strikes 12. If only it was that easy for Deb."

Dex was worried about his sister. She had gone from one extreme to the other; sobbing uncontrollably with Laguerta's lifeless body in her arms to emotionally vacant while she witnessed her brother carry out his plan to erase what she had done. With a firm grasp of her brother's forearm, Deb had allowed him to lead her through the sea of party goers toward Papa's Cafe. She was on autopilot; her mind trying to rationalize or make excuses for what she had done.

Dexter had thought it best that Debra stayed with him and Harrison at the apartment. The last thing she needed right now was to be alone at her place with only her raw recollection of shooting Maria to keep her company. That was a burden that he knew full well that she would not be able to handle right now.

"It's going to be okay, Deb." He breathed in a tone of voice that didn't sound all that comforting as he stayed focus on the drive back to his apartment.

There was few moments of awkward silence before Debra finally shattered it with her strangled voice that sounded like she was on the verge of hysteria:

"How the fuck is it every going to be okay, Dex? I'm the fucking Lieutenant of Homicide and I murd-"

She stopped herself mid-sentence covering her mouth with her casted left hand. The tears began to flow again as she did her best to stifle a sob. Deb couldn't even bring herself to say it aloud. She had murdered Maria Laguerta on New Year's Eve in a shipping container. No amount of Xanax was going to help her forget that.

"You did what you had to do. I promise you that this is not going to come back on us. I'll take care of everything."

It was Dexter's second attempt at trying to be supportive of his sister. He was trying his best to give her the most optimistic view of the situation by assuring her that because of his forensic expertise, she would never have to answer for her actions. After all, Harry's number one rule of the code was not to get caught. They would get through this, just like they had always gotten through everything else.

When his words did nothing to sooth her, he made an attempt to reach over with his right hand to place it on her shoulder. She swatted it away.

"Don't! Just don't, Dexter! Stay the fuck away! I'm done, just leave me alone!"

Harrison let out a small whine from the backseat, stirring in his slumber because of his aunt Deb's outburst. Dexter exhaled through his gaped mouth. He brought his right hand back to his Ford Escape's steering wheel.

"Stay away. Those were the same words that had come out of Harry's mouth when he came face to face with my urge to kill. The idea of the code and the spirit of it was one thing, but actually witnessing my work was too much for him. Like my father, my sister can't accept the real me nor the darkness to which I pulled her into when she entered that shipping container and had to pull the trigger."

Dexter's eyes glanced up to his rear view and he saw his father seated in the backseat next to his sleeping son.

Harry: "You can't blame Debra for acting this way. What she did for you tonight shook her to the very core of her being. Your sister isn't like you, Dexter. Why do you think I instilled in you the need to keep what you are a secret from her and everyone else you care about? To keep something like this from happening. This will destroy Debra if you aren't there for her."

"I'm here for her. I've always put Deb first. Hannah was the one person in the world I didn't have to hide anything from and I sent to her to prison because she tried to hurt Deb. Spare me the lecture, Dad."

The imaginary dialogue with his foster father came to a halt the moment Dexter pulled his Ford Escape into its usual parking space at his apartment complex. Before he could kill the engine, Debra sprung out from the passenger door, slamming it before walking toward the bay.

He thought about going after her for a moment, but quickly decided against it. He was willing to give her space. Perhaps a few quiet minutes alone by the water would help calm her down. Meanwhile, he needed to get Harrison to bed.

With his sleeping child in his arms, he climbed the stairs to the second floor and walked toward apartment 10B. What he saw at his doorstep made him stop dead in his tracks. His eyes widened while studying the plant.

"A black orchid."

"Hannah..." Dexter breathed in a hushed whisper.

Dexter slowly bent down and picked up the plant with his free hand. It was small. The same kind of plant she picked out for him at the beginning of their relationship, only dark. A darker version of Hannah, perhaps?

"Hannah's out. This plant was her way of letting me know."

Shuffling into the dark apartment, he sat the plant down on the kitchen counter top before shifting his son to his other arm. Harry appeared standing in the kitchen the moment Dexter flicked on a light.

Harry: "A black flowered plant being left on your doorstep doesn't seem like a loving sentiment, Dex; It's more like a warning about what she's capable of, like that cut on your lip."

Dexter moved his tongue over the scab on his lip that was courtesy of his love. A passionate goodbye kiss that without warning turned into a bitter bite that was fueled with contempt. A response to his Judas kiss in her garden before he turned her over to Miami Metro.

"I already know what she's capable of. I've known all along, but that didn't stop me from falling for her. Even after what she did to Deb, I can't bring myself to hate Hannah."

Dex gently ran a fingertip over one of the black pedals of the plant. So soft and beautiful, just like her.

"I'm still in love with her."

Harry: "That may be so, Dexter, but it doesn't change the fact that she tried to kill your sister. You know you could never have a future with Hannah. You should just get rid of that plant."

"I'm not going to get rid of it, but I can't let Deb see it. She'll know right away who it was from, and she's going to find out soon enough that Hannah escaped."

The sound of the apartment door opening made Dexter spring into action as he quickly scooped the plant back up and moved it into his nearby bedroom and set it down next to his small TV on the dresser. He then spun back around to face his sister who shot him an icy stare with her puffy and tear stained face.

"Thanks for fucking caring enough to check on me, big brother." She scoffed sarcastically folding her arms in front of her.

"I thought you wanted some space." He admitted with a look of confusion as he watched his sister enter his kitchen area.

"Please tell me you have beer. If there was ever a time I needed to get shitfaced, it's now." muttered Debra swinging the refrigerator door open.

"Yeah, there should be some in there. I'm just going to put Harrison to bed, Jamie mentioned that she was saying with a friend tonight so feel free to sleep on her side of the apartment."

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to sleep again after what happened tonight." She answered back in a strained voice. She was fighting the tears back yet again.

Dexter paused for a minute and contemplated how he should respond to her. He didn't know, and the last time he reached out she told him to stay away. That's what he needed to do.

After putting Harrison to bed, Dexter left Debra drowning her sorrows with her favorite alcoholic beverage while he adjourned to his bedroom for the night. Unlike Deb, sleep had no trouble finding Mr. Morgan.


"Hannah fucking McKay escaped!"

Deb's incensed voice pierced through Dexter's quiet morning routine of getting ready for work. Dex was always an early riser; it wasn't even half past six.

"Good morning to you too, Deb."

He was buttoning one of his striped collared shirts when his eyes shifted to his bedroom doorway where his sister was standing. She looked tired. Dark circles had replaced the smeared black mascara under her eyes.

"Wow, really? When?" He asked back doing his best to seem completely surprised by the news.

"Yesterday, that sneaky bitch faked a seizure on the transport bus and then escaped custody at the hospital! Do you believe that I'm just finding out about this?"

"Well it is New Years Day which most people take off, and Miami Metro does have a lot on its plate with the Laguerta situation."

Dex mentioning Maria caused Debra to fold her arms and look away from his gaze. The murder she had committed last night was still lingering in the back of her mind and it probably would never go away. Her brown eyes fell upon the black orchid sitting on top of her brother's dresser.

"How many of those fucking plants did Hannah bring over here? They're probably giving us Anthrax or some other poisonous shit. You should get rid of these plants." She commented with venom in her voice while looking on at the plant with disgust.

He breathed a small sigh of relief that Deb had drawn no connection between Hannah's prison break and the new orchid in the apartment. At least she didn't know about his jilted lover reaching out to him after her escape.

"Jamie should be here any minute then I'll take you to pick up your car so you can go home and change before work." He told her, moving the topic of conversation away from Hannah.

"Today is going to suck so much ass. Not only do I have the worst fucking hangover of my life, but I'm going to have to show my face at the station and pretend that nothing happened. I don't think I can do it, Dex." Deb whined while slowly shaking her head as a few tears escaped her eyes.

"It's important that the Lieutenant of Homicide is at the station in the wake of the Captain's death. It would be suspicious if you didn't show up at work today. You'll be fine, Deb. Just stay calm and stick to the plan."

"And you get the day off?"

"No, I'm just going in late. I have to go over to Laguerta's and dispose of all the evidence that could implicate us with her death. Remember, we're sticking with my original plan of making Captain Maria Laguerta look like obsessed and bitter former lover of Sergeant Doakes."

"Jesus fucking Christ..."

Deb didn't know how he could do it; staging the crime scene to vindicate himself and Debra from the crime like it was nothing. He had done it in the abandoned church to cover up the fact that he killed Travis Marshall, and now he was doing it again, this time for her.


Once Jamie arrived, Dexter and Debra set out. The ride to drop Deb off at her car was silent. Her head was pounding and the glare of the Florida sun didn't help. Thankfully, she had left her sunglasses were in her car so she wouldn't be that long without them.

"I'll see you later at the station." muttered Dex as he watched his sister get out of the car.

She slammed the passenger door shut, not bothering to acknowledge him. Dexter sat there for a moment to make sure that his sister was able to get into her automobile before he put his Escape into drive and pulled away.

" I know that the right thing for me to do would be to go straight to Laguerta's and take care of the evidence then get to the station. It's the logical thing to do since our asses would be on the line if anyone found that evidence, but I can't help being called elsewhere. The fact that Hannah left one of her orchids for me meant that she had been back to her nursery. She could have left something else for me to find."

He made his way to 4065 S. Begonia Street. The SUV came to a stop on the street beside the white picket fence. Dexter sat there for a few moments, his eyes focused in on the brightly colored "Hannah-Flora Nursery" sign.

Dex thought back to his first encounter with Hannah McKay; keeping things on a last name basis after a botched first attempt at a DNA swabbing. Never before had Dexter had such an innate connection with someone, until he met Hannah. And yet he betrayed his lover for his sister's safety. Dexter had thrown away his happiness, because he always had to put Deb first.

Both the house and the nursery were locked up tight, and there was no sign of Hannah having been there. As Dex slowly made his way back to his Ford Escape, Harry appeared leaning against it waiting for him.

Harry: "Let her go, Dexter. This was obviously a dead end. Hannah's smart, she probably fled right after dropping that plant off at your doorstep. You need to wrap up things for you and your sister."

"No, she's not gone, I feel like she's still nearby."

Harry: "You feel?"

" Arlene Shram is the only person who Hannah would trust to help her while she's on the run. Maybe she knows where she is. I'll look up her address and pay her a visit after I take care of the evidence."

Harry: "What makes you think Arlene will even talk to you? If she is helping Hannah escape, I'm sure Hannah filled her in on how you were responsible for her landing in jail."

"I still have to try and talk to her. Hannah's out there somewhere and I need to find her. But first, I need to take care of the evidence."

Slipping into Captain Laguerta's house was just as easy as before. It was a good thing that it was a holiday, because any other ordinary day, Miami Metro would already be on the scene combing the place over for any evidence that could be linked to Maria's death.

With his white gloves already on, Dexter collected the warrants from Laguerta's desk that still remained unsigned. The disk that contained the footage of Debra filling up gas cans for the church burning was still inside her laptop. And of course, Dexter Morgan found duplicates of the footage as well as all the rest of her research on the hard drive of her computer. A few clicks and all the digital evidence was gone.

He hadn't finished a moment too soon, because just before he was going to slip out of the house, Dex saw a number of black SUVs pull into the driveway.

"Miami Metro isn't on the case, it's the F.B.I."

With no time to waste, Dexter exited via the back of the house. That was much too close of a call. If he had waited any longer to arrive and dispose of the evidence, he could have been caught.

Harry: "I hope you were thorough in there with collecting all the possible evidence that linked you and Debra to the crime."

"I took care of it. There isn't anything that could lead them to me or Deb. Give me some credit, would you?"

Harry: "I just know that you have a lot on your mind. Ever since Hannah McKay entered you life, you haven't been at the top of your game. You're preoccupied with her, and it's making you make mistakes that the old Dexter would never have made."

"Maybe it's because I'm not the same person I was before Hannah."


Detective Joey Quinn sat quietly at his desk. His thumbs moved across his phone screen as he texted Jamie how much he had enjoyed her company the night before. The sound of Angel sniffing back congestion caused him to look away from his phone and over at his partner. Joey placed his phone face down and decided he should say something to his mourning co-worker.

Detective Sergeant Batista was sitting hunched over at his desk with the Hector Estrada case file in front of him. He was taking the news of Captain Laguerta's death especially hard given the fact that he was once married to her.

"Angel, you know that no one would blame you for taking today off. I'm just saying." Quinn pointed out as he approached his colleague's desk.

"I just can't believe Maria is gone. It just doesn't make any sense why she would have been meeting Estrada in a shipping container out at the port." Batista whispered softly closing the case file.

"Who knows why, but you do have to admit that Captain Laguerta had been obsessed about the whole "Bay Harbor Butcher still being out there and is Dexter Morgan" theory. She could have thought Estrada was connected to the case somehow. I guess we will never know since the F.B.I. is quietly handling the case. The word is that they think it's pretty open and shut."

Angel shook his head and looked around at the empty station. There were only a handful of cops in the Homicide division who showed up for work on New Year's day, despite the fact that their Captain had been killed. It was similar to the death of James Doakes. Everyone was happy to put it behind them and let the F.B.I. handle it. Sure Maria was not always well liked, she deserved more respect than this.

"One of Miami Metro, one of ours, was murdered last night and it's the F.B.I. who is given the investigation? ¡Esto es una mierda!"

"Maybe it's because all of us in Miami Metro Homicide were too close to Laguerta. You have to be able to be objective when it comes to a murder investigation." Quinn reasoned in a calm voice.

"Something about what happened to Maria just doesn't feel right to me to me." Batista insisted, his eyes then immediately focusing on the elevator door opening.

Debra stepped out of the elevator with a cup of coffee in hand and her glasses still shielding her eyes. A shower and change of clothes had done little to improve her affect. She still felt like the dirty cop who was hiding behind "a big shinny badge". Those were Hannah's words to her, not hers, but they were beginning to resonate with her.

"Fuck me." She breathed under her breath when she saw Angel looking right at her from across the station.

She had hoped that he would have taken the day off to grieve over his ex-wife so that she wouldn't have to face him.

"Hey Deb, I'm glad I could count on you coming in today." Angel told her as she moved toward him and Joey on her way to her office.

"I am the Lieutenant." She muttered, her voice trembling as she looked at the man who had always been like a second older brother to her since she had started her career.

Before she could walk on to her office to get herself out of the awkward situation, the Sergeant rose from his desk and pulled her into his arms for a hug. The fact that he was hugging the person who had murdered his former wife was all it took for Debra to lose her composure.

"I'm so sorry, Angel." She sobbed, hugging him back with one arm, her coffee still in the other.

Her mascara was already beginning to run in black streams from under her sun glasses. Deb's words could not have been more genuine. Shooting Maria was the hardest thing she ever had to do. She had snuffed out the life of another cop to protect herself and her brother. Lieutenant Debra Morgan was a cop killer. God, if her father knew what she did; that thought was too much for her to take.

"Thanks, Deb. We'll all get through this." He whispered to her.

"I-I'll be in my office." muttered Debra after she broke the hug and immediately began to walk at a fast paced toward the sanctuary of her office.

Once alone with the door shut, she closed the blinds, cutting herself off from the rest of the station. Not bothering to turn a light on, she took a seat at her desk were she placed her beverage. Deb removed her sunglasses and set them down in front of her next to the newest photo of her, Dexter, Harrison, and Santa Clause.

Seeing the picture reminded her why she chose to do what she did last night. Dexter and Harrison were the only family she had left since both Harry and Doris Morgan were dead. She didn't want to lose them. It was the only defense she had to explain her actions, yet it didn't make the reality of the situation any easier to cope with.

Debra found her Xanax prescription in the top right draw. Popping open the cap, Deb spilled two pills into the palm of her casted hand. She then tossed the medicine into her mouth and chased it with a sip of coffee. Lieutenant Morgan needed those pills just as much as she needed the caffeinated beverage.

Deb had to take her mind off of Laguerta and focus on finding Hannah McKay. As Lieutenant, she could make finding Hannah her department's top priority. Surely Dexter would be on board since he had given her Sal Price's pen; without that evidence, she wouldn't have been able to make the arrest.

"Shit." muttered Deb aloud to herself.

Debra's eyelids began to feel heavy. The lack of sleep from the night before was catching up with her. She succumbed to her drowsiness and laid her head down on the desk. The search for Hannah was going to have to wait.


Masuka looked up from his forensic station when he saw Dexter walking toward the lab, "Dude, I thought you were taking new year's day off."

"I forgot that I had a few blood reports that I was suppose to submit before the new year. Why are you in today? " He answered back without missing a beat.

"I'm dedicated to Miami Metro forensics...Besides, I struck out big time with my date last night. She got all freaked out when I put on an adult diaper, told I was baby new year, and I wanted to suck her big titties. Huhuhuhuh."

"Too much info, Vince." replied Dexter as he entered his lab and quickly shut the door.

"Arlene Shram's address shouldn't be hard to find in the Miami Metro database. Hannah had mentioned her having quite the record of drug charges."

Dex typed her name into the database and hit 'search'. Her information, including her current address, quickly popped up on the screen. He jotted down the address on a nearby pad of paper before making his exit.

It was about a twenty minute drive to Hialeah, which was where Arlene lived. The front walkway leading to the home was littered with children's toys and Dex could hear the sound of kids playing from inside the home before he even rang the bell. When he did make his presence known, the red head opened the chain locked door just enough so that she could peer out at him.

"Who are you?" Arlene asked inquisitively.

"Dexter Morgan, I'm Hannah's-"

"Oh, you, Hannah mentioned you. What do you want?"

It was then that Dexter realized that Hannah had not only told her friend that he was her lover, but also that he had betrayed her and landed her in jail. Judging by Arlene's demeanor, it was doubtful that she would be of any help to him.

"I just want to find Hannah." He answered back truthfully before he could even consider being more tactful and deceitful.

"Why, so you can have your cop sister throw her in jail again?"

"No, I'm worried about her. Have you seen her or has she tried to contact you at all?"

"I don't know anything. The last thing I would ever do is risk going to jail and losing my kids. So you can tell that skanky detective that I haven't seen Hannah since her arraignment."

Dex sighed and shook his head. Debra had clearly threatened the woman with jail time for cooperation. He had to convince her that he and Deb were on two completely different sides when it came to Hannah.

"Look, I love Hannah. She left a plant on my apartment doorstep. I think she wants me to find her, where ever she is."

Arlene looked off to the side. She was contemplating whether or not she should buy into Mr. Morgan's seemingly heartfelt expression of love. She and Hannah had looked out for each other as young teenagers, so of course she was cautious about trusting him.

"Please, Arlene. I need to find her. If the police find her before I do then they'll send her off to a super maximum security prison for the rest of her life." Dexter pleaded. His voice sounded strained as he actually found himself fighting back tears. The thought of never seeing Hannah again was overwhelming him.

She let out a long sigh and then bit her lip to show her indecisiveness. Dexter did give some valid reasons for trying to locate her friend. The last time Hannah had gone on the run with Wayne, she hadn't gotten far at all before getting caught.

"Wait here, I'll be back." She finally told him before closing the door.

He stood there on the front porch for a solid four minutes before the front door opened again, this time completely. With a fresh cigarette in her mouth, Arlene handed Dexter a small torn off piece of paper.

"She called my cell from that number this morning. I tried calling it back since, but no one picks up. She asked me if I knew of anyone who could score her a fake passport and drivers license." Ms. Shram explained before taking a drag from her cigarette.

"Thanks, I appreciate this." Dex said holding the small piece of paper up.

"If you do get in contact with her, tell her to be careful out there. A girl's gotta protect herself."

Dexter nodded and flashed a small smile after hearing Arlene echo Hannah's words. Thanks to Shram, he had his first piece of real evidence to go on. Harry appeared sitting in Dexter's passenger seat the moment Dexter got back into his SUV.

Harry: "Not much of a lead, Dex. Hannah probably borrowed a random stranger's cell phone or used a payphone for a quick call before taking a flight out of Florida. Arlene mentioned that she couldn't even get her by calling the number."

"No, Hannah's lying low. Arlene also mentioned that Hannah had asked her about finding someone who could get her a fake passport and ID. She can't hop a flight without any identification. No, she's still here in Florida somewhere, I know it. I can run the number in the database and see what bounces back."


Dexter drove home instead of going back to the station. He could easily do a trace on the phone number from his laptop. Upon entering the apartment, he found Harrison playing on the living room floor with his train set while Jamie walked around collecting clothing into a laundry basket.

"Hey Dex, you're home early. I was going to take Harrison to the park in a little bit, if you want to join us." Jamie offered.

"I'd love to, but I only stopped home for some files I need for a case."

Harrison was all smiles to see his daddy home from work early. His little eyes followed his father to the desk where Dex sat down to use his laptop. Jamie left living room to start a wash of clothes.

With the slip of paper in hand, Dex brought up the internet which defaulted to the Netrangler web search. He was going to start with the simplest search method and go from there. He began typing the number into the search bar when his son approached him.

"Hey buddy, you having fun playing with your trains? What do you have there?" Dex asked with a smile when he saw that Harrison had come over to him with a picture frame in his hand. He lifted three year old into his lap.

"Daddy and Hannah." The child replied, revealing the silver framed picture to his father.

It was the same picture that Hannah had given Dexter on Christmas Eve. Dex sighed, focusing his eyes on the framed photograph. He looked so happy in it; the happy times with his lover before everything went to shit. This was the second time Harrison had brought up Hannah in the last two days.

"You miss Hannah?" He asked his son.

The three year old nodded before he brought the photo up to his chest and hugged it. The few times Dexter had brought his child around his girlfriend had obviously made an impression.

"Daddy misses her too. Let's see if we can find her." Dex whispered into Harrison's ear before going back to typing in the phone number. He tapped the enter key and the results quickly showed up on the screen.

"Instant match, a payphone just outside of Miami. That explains why Arlene couldn't call her back. Let me run the address of the payphone and see what's there."

More typing ensued before Dexter sat back in his chair and surveyed the results with Harrison.

"What are the chances of the payphone being next to a shitty motel? She's probably staying there, or at least she was when she made the call. It's worth checking out."

"I'm going back out. It might be a late night for me." Dexter informed Jamie when she came back into the living room. He handed off Harrison to her and was on his way.

The motel was only a few miles outside of Miami. The GPS calculated his best route as he took to the highway. It was when he was just leaving the Miami limits that his cell phone rang. The words "Deb's cell" displayed. His sister was the last person he felt like talking to right now. She was calling to bitch him out for not being at the station like he had promised her he would be. His thumb tapped the "Ignore" button, letting Debra's call go to voice mail.

The motel was a few miles off the highway on a back road that seem to not get a lot of traffic. It would certainly be an ideal location for someone who was on the lam. The graffiti covered payphone booth stood to the side of the motel manager's office. Only a handful of other automobiles were parked in the spaces in front of the rooms. Dexter parked his Escape in the space closest to the office and got out.

"Rentin' a room by the hour?" A rather large balding man asked Dex from behind a counter as soon as Morgan entered the office.

"No, I was wondering if you could help me. My girlfriend and I got into a fight last night and I think she might have rented a room here."

"She a blonde, hot piece of ass with an attitude?" The man then asked before spitting tobacco into a cup.

"Yeah, she'd definitely fit that description." Dexter replied with a nod.

"She's in room four."

"Thanks.."

Dexter left the office and began making his way to the motel room with a '4' on the door. He could actually feel his heart pounding in his chest with every step he took. She was there, only a few feet away from him. He had no idea that he was going to be able to find her so easily. He stopped at the correct door and breathed in deeply. Dex wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say to her. The last time he had seen her was in the prison visiting room where she bit his lip and said goodbye.

He knocked lightly on the door before saying her name. Nothing.

"Hannah, it's Dexter."

A chain lock clacked, the door unlocked, and then it opened. There was Hannah McKay. She was wearing a black top and jeans instead of the orange D.O.C. jumpsuit. Her blue eyes pierced through him as she immediately stared intently. Dexter couldn't tell if she was surprised to see him. Hannah was keeping her emotions close to the vest. The awkward silence between them was mounting until finally she spoke:

"Hello, Dexter..."