Troy Bradshaw was tired. The job was already irksome, but lately it had been awful. The Samedis, Ronin, Brotherhood- he could deal since their attacks were few and far in between. Big, but spaced out. The Saints? His old friends? Every single damn day there was a new attack with countless victims. What made it worse was when he found out that Quinn and Audrey survived the explosion he was relieved. That was, until they started wreaking havoc everywhere. He had wanted desperately to find out that they were going to call it quits soon, but their crimes and body count just kept piling up.

So naturally when one sister showed up at Police HQ and cops had apparently made it within a few feet of his office with no questions asked or no cops flanking her, he was panicked. He caught her movement out of the corner of his eye and froze when he saw her first. He swore under his breath and reached for his gun. He couldn't tell which sister it was at that moment and that made it worse. "You might wanna back the Hell off and quit what you're thinkin'…" he pointed out.

The woman made it to his door. Troy frowned when she sagged against it. He stood up slowly to try and get a better look at her and figure out which sister it was.

She looked up at him, and he relaxed slightly when he saw it was Audrey.

He practically felt life expectancy in the next ten minutes was elevated; at least slightly. "Troy…?" she breathed.

"'Princess…?" he countered. The old nickname seemed sour on his tongue. He took a few steps forward and tried to assess the situation further. She was unarmed- so far, making no move to attack, but why the Hell was she so pale?

"Tr-" she repeated when he reached her, and a moment later collapsed against him and went limp.

He caught her, then spotted a giant bloodstain on her shirt over her side. "Shit! What the fuck?!" he glanced up and saw now other uniforms had arrived and were just staring at the sight to behold. "We need an ambulance now!"

"But Boss, she's-"

"I know what she is, point is she came here to help so we're stuck cleaning up the mess and if there's paperwork to be had with this then you're all gonna be the ones doing it if she dies!" she called. He glanced back down at her. "Kid? Kid, come on," he smacked her cheek lightly. "It was you I still had hope for after all this, come on…" He leaned back. That statement alone made him start going through the usual questions. Who had done this? Why did she come to him? Was this some con? He looked back at the hallway and found at least two of the patrolmen MIA- hopefully doing what he asked. "I want this building swept. Make sure she doesn't have any friends hiding anywhere!" he ordered, then turned his attention back to Audrey. "Shit…" he pulled up her shirt to try and see the damage.

The wound was very real and very, very deep.

He groaned and set the shirt back down. "You're gonna be fine. I'm most definitely regretting this later, but you're gonna get fixed up."

Five days.

She had been out for five days. Eight of those hours on the first day had been in surgery. Troy hadn't known what kept him coming back during visiting hours. Or maybe he just didn't want to admit it, he wasn't exactly sure.

What he was sure about was that the last time he had set eyes on Audrey before this it had been That Day, and the last thing she did was smile and offer a wave that had twisted his gut so hard his head was still swimming while driving away. Maybe that was it, he just didn't want to have the two last experiences with one of his closest friends in the Saint be pre-backstab and her final minutes. He wanted to be there to say he was there for her. The logic made less and less sense as the time ticked by.

That fact alone had him heaving a sigh and getting up to leave when there was a creak from the bed. He flinched and turn around.

Audrey was merely aware someone was in the room with her and she blinked blearily at him for a while, as if wondering if he was even there. He had contemplated bolting again when her voice finally came, "…Troy?"

"Hey, Princess…" he greeted. When she went to lean up, he touched her arm. "Easy. Whoever did that did a number on you."

She relaxed all but her arm under his touch. "I… didn't expect you to be… here. And don't call me that."

"You came to me, what did you expect me to do?" Troy countered. "And… sorry? I'm just used to calling you that."

"I expected you to drop me off- hopefully here, and wash your hands of this- the Saints," she answered the first question and shrugged off the second counter.

"Well, all of you are making that impossible," he replied, then straightened out. "Who did this to you? Ronin? Brotherhood?"

She blinked at him again, then something seemed to click in her head and her expression darkened. "My fuckin' sister…"

"Wha- Quinn did this to you?"

"Why are you surprised? Her latest pastime is cop-killing."

She had a point. Audrey was younger than Quinn by five years, but the pair looked identical so they might as well have been twins. Their personality difference with Quinn as the mentally unstable, eventually trigger happy girl and Audrey as the smart lacky gave them the whole good and evil twin thing that the Saints had been the means of a joke of when he was still there. But when he was there, Quinn wouldn't dare hurt Audrey and leveled anyone who tried. Even now if he heard Quinn and Audrey went on a gang hunt together and there were any of the rivals shot directly between the eyes, thanks to rumor and his own experience he knew the victim had shot at Audrey in the least. But now with him on the outside looking in with Quinn killing as many people as possible, it was a startling change. He wasn't at all sure what to think, all things considered. "Why did she do it?"

"What's this? You're interrogating an old friend already? We haven't even gotten to the awkward 'how are you's…"

"Stop trying to change the subject."

"I challenged her authority."

"Wha-"

"She's the Boss now. She runs this town now and wants things done when and how she wants them done. I suggested a less violent means for a-" she stopped short with a cautious glance at his uniform.

Troy let out a breath's worth of a laugh, then turned to the door then back. "You got shot, I ran with you guys back in the day, and I'm sure Quinn already did whatever you're trying to hide by now. You can tell me. I'm not gonna press charges about a case you may not have been involved in." He drew out the last bit so she could understand what he was getting at. When she didn't look convinced about his offer, he scooted closer. "We were friends, Audrey. I had the highest hopes for you getting the shortest sentence because you were…" he meant to reassure her, tell her that her body count was significantly lower than the other Saints, but she was most certainly a murderer with a decent body count. He had been next to her in a car when she had shot Kings, Carnales and with terrifying accuracy. Just thinking of those times snapped him back to vivid memories of sitting in the damn seat next to her and having the equally terrifying thought that it was going to be her that was going to make him and she was going to shoot him dead no problem. But it had been him who had talked her through her panic attack the first time she had to kill some bastard who had tried to kill her. He had seen her through the whole transformation, and he was still scared out of his mind she'd take him out. But she didn't. He had never been on the other side of any of her weapons. Well, that made her the only Saint with that record, so there was that fact he could go on, "Less of a murdering, threatening psychopath. You can tell me."

She smiled, the heavy silence on his part not lost on her. She nodded stiffly. "Robbery. Another Saint and I wanted to get in and out clean like we planned with the first one not long ago, Quinn didn't like that."

"What was wrong with it?"

"No target practice for her and Johnny."

It was his turn to catch her meaning, and even she looked more sick to her stomach. He scooted closer again so his knees brushed the side of the bed and therefore her upper thigh, just to check limits and sighed when she didn't move. "Shit. So she just stabbed you to settle the argument?"

"A lot of other Saints liked my idea just as much. Less potential dying on their part. Problem is now that we've both survived and shit we're legends. She… liked the power that came with it a bit too much. Not just to settle things and shut me up, but get me out of the running."

"Fuck," Troy scoffed. "She's crazier than I thought if she's going after blood in more ways than one."

"You have no idea. She's-" she stopped short. "We were never cut out for this. Either of us. Then you- fuck, not you- Julius, Dex, Johnny- they all shoved guns into our hands and told us to be on their team, go after the ones who shot us just for being there. I was the thief of the two of us, I didn't do that shit. She was the one that was by the book. She was the one who wanted order, what the fuck happened?"

"A lot," Troy deadpanned. His eyes flicked to her wound. "Did she leave you? Stab you and go? She think you're dead, or did she leave you did she leave you to fend for yourself? Would she know you would… come to me to get you here?" Troy offered.

She watched him for a minute, calculating something. "Pretty sure she left me to die. Still not sure though. I doubt she'll think I'd go to you." After a beat, she exhaled sharply. "Is it too late to get out? Sign a couple of papers, get a new name, get the fuck out of this city?"

Now that got his attention. "Out, like… out out?"

"Like you wanted for us before we all got blown to Hell. What you wanted us to do when Dex made you."

Troy went from looking concerned to stunned. "How did you-?"

"Your security around your file room sucks. Hell, your office is right there, too. I got called here once to get some evidence… found tapes of you and Dex having your little chat."

He wasn't sure how to take that particular development, let alone the new direction of the conversation. She wanted out, then admitted to stealing some other evidence, trespassing, hearing everything- did Quinn really stab her now? Or was this a set-up? She'd never lied to him that he'd noticed. That's what made viewing him turning on the Saints slightly worse in his book. So why change now? "Fuck…"

"Woulda been worse if I had found it before the fact. Can't feel shocked over something you already know. I've never been cut out for… that, and I… it's shaping up to be like that and I'm not gonna be part of it. So I'd rather disappear than-"

"You think your sister's gonna let you do that if it slips that you're in here?" Troy asked. "I don't wanna risk-"

She scoffed. "Since when the Hell would you care what happens to me?"

That hurt more than he expected it would and he knew it was coming. But it begged the question why did she come to him again? "I already told you. We were friends. Work aside, I do give a fuck about all of you…" he caught the unintentional raise of his voice and caught it, throwing a quick glance at the door to make sure the patrol officers on the other side of the hallway a few feet away hadn't caught it. After a beat, he got up. "Get better, Kid." He headed for the door.

"Hey, Bradshaw."

He stopped short again, then remembered how she had more or less confessed about snooping around his office. Of course she knew too much. He turned back to her and arched an eyebrow.

"You look like shit."

He snorted, then pointed at himself, "Kettle…" he motioned at her, "Pot." He left without another word.

A few days later when Troy got home and found his front door unlocked, he was apprehensive. The list started up: Bad neighborhood in general, Angry Ronin, Angry Brotherhood, Angry Samedis. And then, of course, there was Angry Quinn or her crew. But he figured he would've already been shot between the eyes if that was the case.

Christ, he knew how to pick friends.

He drew his sidearm and stepped inside. When he reached the kitchen and found Audrey sitting at the counter, gun drawn at him, he wasn't sure what to do yet again.

And then she shrugged and lowered her piece. His piece, he realized with a closer look. "Are you kiddin' me?!"

"Thief," she answered with a shrug, like it answered everything.

He supposed it did. At the same time, however, "No." He advanced on her and held out his hand and took a small amount of comfort when she handed him his gun back.

"Where the Hell else am I supposed to go?! I'm out, I have no place to stay where they won't find me if they decide to check about loose ends."

"Not to the Police Chief's house!" he insisted, then waved wildly at the tank top and jeans she was in. "And where did you get those?"

"Roommate I had for… two hours before I decided to bail."

He wasn't even going to touch the fact that it meant she had come back to him right after committing a crime. At least it wasn't murder. "Uh, 'bail'? You threw your IV stand out the window and jumped. You could have opened up your wound! You could have died!" he spared a glance to her side to see if the first bit was true, considering she could be bleeding out on his furniture. Somehow, some way, that wasn't the case. Damn Twins and their might-as-well-be-healing factors. He didn't get it.

"Which says more about those hospital windows than it does me. I mean I did make sure an ambulance was below the window so I wasn't falling twenty feet."

He opened his mouth to fight her again, then sighed. "No," he repeated. He went to the front door to lock it, then moved back to the kitchen.

"It's like you're protecting a witness or something, ya know, when you're waiting for a place to relocate."

"Right, 'cause… I-it's not how that works, Audrey! Plus it would be a witness in a gang I worked with. People are already giving me shit for brushing Saints shit under the rug!"

Audrey frowned. She had seen that news report. That was one of the things that had thrown her. "Then hire me! I'll be a gang consultant or something!"

"That would work less. Christ, you might not be as violent but you're just as unstable as Quinn."

"I'm trying to work something out where we both win."

"Both of us winning wouldn't involve me losing my job."

She watched him for a minute, then laughed bitterly. "Like you wouldn't see that as okay these days."

Punch of the gut number two, it was. But it didn't hurt this time. Now he was just fuming. "Excuse me?"

"Avoiding talking or blaming the Saints, looking fucking miserable in those dress blues-"

"Fuck. You!" he countered. "I could easily just shove you out the door right now, you know that? I should! I shouldn't even be talking to you. By rights I should've let you bleed out when you came to me. But no, I didn't. Because I might be a cop but that damn job gave me some moral goddamn center where I couldn't do that to you. So my badge is the only thing that kept you alive from something your sister- the Saints tried to make happen. So don't you dare give me shit for that."

"That wasn't mean to insult, that was meant to ask what the Hell you're still doing there if you're so out of place."

"Well, you did the first one. I have to go see… someone about something. Just- you have three hours to figure shit out, then you have to be gone."

"Fine."

Troy glared again for a few moments, then sighed, tossed his hands up and headed for the front door. He even expected to hear a gunshot again, but nothing came. Choose your battles, he repeated in his head before he made it over the threshold. He cast another nervous glance towards the kitchen before officially leaving. He was in for it, he just knew it.

When Troy came back from arranging tails on the lower-on-the-food-chain Saints, he was only fairly surprised to see Audrey out cold on his couch. He wanted to be angry, but he knew he had jumped the gun with getting angry. There were far too many emotions and thoughts going on at that point. He wasn't exactly sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she was still around. With a glance at the clock, he realized she was still good with the time limit he had given. She might have been wasting time this way- might have been playing with him by doing so, a darker part of him pointed out, but it could've just been the exhaustion from recovery catching up with her, too. Then again, the last twenty minutes of his life had been based on the assumption she would've been too proud to leave anyway. He knelt next to her and shook her shoulder. "Audrey. Hey, get up."

Audrey jerked awake, then saw him and glanced towards the clock.

Troy shoved a paper bag in her line of sight. "Peace offering. Come on. You still like general tso's chicken, right?"

"I'm sorry I'm an asshole," she cut him off.

"No you're not."

"You're helping, working off of my suggestion and I gave you a hard time. I went to you because I didn't have anyone else and I'm forcing you to… borderline aid and abet right now. I am."

"Then we're both assholes who are at fault for a buncha shit. Let's move on. Just eat." He opened the bag and handed her one container, then took the seat opposite hers with his own.

She took the fork in the bag and leaned back. "You remembered general tso's was my thing?"

"We were the bag people in more ways than one. The little guys remember shit for other little guys," Troy shrugged.

I… guess I could risk a couple of contacts I can get a place to crash from. I can be out of your hair by-"

"Dree, shut up. You can stay."

She went a bit wide-eyed at his own old nickname for her for a minute, but recovered quickly. "No, you're right, if-"

"Ground rules…" Troy began.

To her credit, she straightened out and looked at him attentively.

"If you wanna get out, make it quick, make it a small radius. No stealing my shit, even if it's to make a point. Touch any of my weapons again, you're out. If there's a lot of foot traffic going by, or if I get a visitor, try to avoid being in sight until I figure out some story for you. No phone, and no fuckin' purple. You got me?"

"Loud and clear."

He nodded carefully, then sighed. "Please promise me you're not gonna make me regret this."

"I'll try-"

"Dree…"

"I'll take that over 'Princess', for the record."

"Dree."

"Fine. I promise."

"Good."

"Answer one question first," Audrey leaned back.

"What?"

"If Troy's your actual name why the fuck did you tell us it and risk getting found out that way?"

"… … Go the fuck back to sleep, Princess."

"You know, I changed my mind. I'm not sorry I'm an asshole."

"Mm hm."