A/N: Breaking Bad AU story. Don't hate me please!

Chapter One

The fact that he had to get used to a brand new partner after losing his old one did more than annoy Walter White.

It aggravated the hell out of him.

He didn't even know this guy yet, and he already didn't want to acknowledge that he was working with him or even going to meet him that day. It was some new kid. And by new, they meant new. He had just graduated, had never killed a day in his life-hell, he'd never even held a real gun. No on the job training, none of that. Just some idiot kid who didn't know what in the hell he was doing.

Okay, well, that seemed a little harsh. Alright, just some kid who had no idea what was going on. There. That was better.

But Walt would assume this kid is an idiot if he fucked up enough.

"Walt!" his wife called from the kitchen. "Breakfast."

Well, Walt thought, maybe today wouldn't be as bad as I think.

Sitting at his desk, the forty-nine year old man sighed to himself as he looked over the case he had while working with his old partner. Gale Boetticher was a lot like Walter in some ways. He was calm, unless the situation called for it, they both liked chemistry and talked about it on their free time (Walt had even considered a career as a chemist, or at least a chemistry teacher, but never really pursued it, and now that he looks back on it, he doesn't understand why). They both had their favorite scientists and were able to "nerd out" (as Walt's son Junior put it) whenever they were together.

Which all ended about a week before when they were so close... So... Goddamn... Close to closing this case.

And Gale got shot, and died right then and there next to him.

Walter didn't know how to take it. He had seen people shot, he had seen dead bodies. But he never had seen someone he had known for years die right in front of him. To be clear, it scared him. It saddened him-Gale was a good friend-but it seemed to scare him more than anything. If Gale could die, could he be next in line?

No, Walter figured. It was a stupid thought. After all, that could've been just a stray bullet from one of their guns that ricoheted off of some surface. Who knew these days?

In reality, Walt knew he was fooling himself. Obviously Gale was shot by the enemy-unseen, by a sniper.

A knock on the door was what snapped Walter out of his thoughts.

"Hey, Walt. New kid's here." His brother-in-law, Hank, stood there. Hank was shorter than Walt, maybe by a few inches. He was also heavier and had a lot less hair. A lot less hair as in he had decided to go bald after a while-voluntarily, of course. He was married to Skyler's sister Marie, who was maybe two or three years younger than her.

"My partner?" Walt sighed quietly, straightening his glasses.

"Yes, your partner." Hank crossed his arms. "Come on, he's waiting."

For a moment, Walt couldn't help but groan. It was going to take some getting used to not working with Gale anymore-after all, this guy was dead. How the hell could he work with him? He at least needed to give this kid a chance.

At least that's what he told himself.

He walked out of his office and the kid stood there-had to be no more than twenty-two, twenty-three, his hands in his pockets. His dark brown hair was messy and unkempt, though it seemed as if he had at least tried to make it look decent. His light blue eyes scanned the room, his mouth open just a bit as he took it all in.

"Holy shit, dude." He seemed to get a childlike grin on his face. "This is... This is bitchin'." The older, tanned skin man beside him cleared his throat and gave the young man a stern look. The man stared at him. "What?"

"Your partner." Steven Gomez told him slowly, indicating with his eyes who was there. The man looked forward at Walt, who was rolling his eyes on the inside, and Hank, who was watching with slight amusement. When the young man looked confused on who his partner was, Hank nodded at Walt.

"Oh." The young man smiled and held his hand out. "Jesse Pinkman, yo."

Walter stared at the hand for a moment before taking it. "Walter White." He shook the hand with a firm grip, making sure Jesse tightened his own before he let go. The kid had a handshake like a three year old, it was like holding a dead fish in his hand. Jesse gave Walt a quizzical look before shoving his hands back in his pockets of his jeans. Jeans? This kid was a dectective. There was no time for baggy t-shirts and jeans. He had to look the part. At least if you're going to wear jeans, wear a button up shirt and tuck it in. Closer up, Walt could see that Jesse hadn't shaved, with the start of a beard along his jawline and around his mouth and chin.

Hank, who seemed to be watching with much more amusement than before, clapped Walter on the back.

"Well, Gomez and I are going to go and get a beer. You two, I want you working long and hard on that case when we get back."

"That'd be nice, but none of you assholes said anything about this case." Jesse snapped, annoyance slipping into his voice.

"This asshole will." Hank nodded to Walter before he and Gomez started leaving.

"I'm only getting a beer if you're buying." he told Hank.

"Who said I was buying?"

"You did, just now."

And after that, their voices faded. Jesse nodded, looking around again.

"They always like that?"

"Most of the time." Walt nodded once. Jesse raised his eyebrows, looking in the direction that Gomez and Hank had gone.

"So. What's this whole case about?" Jesse raised his eyebrows.

"You mean they didn't tell you anything? At all? Not even hint?"

"Uh, no. They didn't." Jesse spoke with a slight attitude to his voice. "Which was why I made the remark earlier. I don't know shit about this case, yo. I figured since you're the head dude on it that you could clue me in?" He leaned forward a little, raising his eyebrows.

"This way." Walter turned and rolled his eyes as soon as he did so.

He already knew this kid was going to be a pain in the ass.