I have no idea where this came from but it wouldn't go away. It's just a little insight into where Det. Curtis came from and maybe where she went...

NB: I hope the analogy worked.

Three Degrees of Separation 1st Degree

I looked up as she came back from the bar, she looked stunning and I couldn't believe I'd tried to talk her out of the trip. As she set my drink down and took a seat across from me at the table, she had a strange look on her face; I'd seen that look before - it was the same look she gave me just before she'd announced her mother had invited us for Thanksgiving. I wasn't thrilled, especially when she started swirling her Scotch. We'd had a great couple of weeks in Hawaii, I'd never seen her laugh so much, mostly at my pathetic attempts to surf; it was a great way to celebrate the end of university life. That's why 'the look' was bothering me, it didn't seem right, there was no bad news on its way because we were about to start our lives together.

"I got a place in the academy."

Oh. There it was. No nine-to-five lab job, a place at the police academy. That's not so bad, I can understand that; her mother is on the force and she's got some kind of fight in her. "I honestly didn't think a lab could hold you."

"Its not what we talked about...what we planned."

"No. But I think we've got some room for manoeuvre." I smiled, but I think she could see I wasn't sure about it; she knew how to read me – even through the redness and swelling of my sunburn. I didn't have the right to throw my toys out of the pram because I was going to Quantico in a few days to start my FBI training. "When do you start?"

"I'm catching a flight later this evening."

Hello. Did I miss something? She was staring at her glass and tracing patterns in the condensation. She couldn't look at me, I realised then that there was more to it, something she couldn't – or didn't want to – tell me. Two years together at UCLA and a lifetime of plans, and I get dropped for a badge. I didn't need to ask why, but I was curious and so I looked down and fiddled with the napkin on the table. "Oh?"

"It was the first flight to Las Vegas I could get. Mom squared the papers today."

My head snapped up but she was gone.