The funeral was the last thing that Nick wanted to think about. He sat on his bedside looking out his apartment window; the night was still young, and yet Nick couldn't find it in him to close his eyes and sleep.

He looked over at his alarm clock. 3:19 a.m.

Nick sighed and flopped backwards onto his bed. He glanced over at his cell phone, looking to see if Cassie had called him back. She hadn't.

Cassie was the first one that Nick had called when Kira died. She was the only one that he trusted, the only one that he thought could get him through it. And yet, she hadn't been back in touch with him at all. In fact, she hadn't been speaking to him for almost three years, so he had no idea whether she had the same number or not.

He was just about to drift off when his cell vibrated. Immediately, he snatched it up and looked at the caller ID. It said Cassie Holmes.

His spirits immediately lifted; she was finally calling him back He finally had someone to commisserate with.

He pressed the talk button and spoke: "Cassie, I'm glad you called me back-"

Cassie spoke from the other end: "You called me?"

"Yeah," Nick replied, "two days ago. I left you a voice mail and everything." Something wasn't right "You didn't get my message?"

"No, my phone didn't say anything about you having called at all,"Cassie said. "Hey by the way, did you hear that Kira died? Tragic..."

Nick had to fight back the tears. "Yes, I heard. How could I not, seeing as she was my fiancee and all..."

He heard a sharp gasp from the other end of the line, then, "Oh my god, Nick, I am so sorry! I had no idea! I'm so sorry..."

"Why are you apologizing?" Nick asked. "You couldn't have done anything-"

Cassie exploded. "Dammit, Nick, I'm a Watcher! You would think that I would see something like that before it happened! My mom was right, I'm a goddamned failure as a Watcher-"

"Whoa, wait," Nick interrupted, "your mom? You've talked to her?"

Cassie simmered for a moment, then responded: "Yeah, you wouldn't know that, would you? I went back to America and found my mom over here, but she was... less than happy to see me. She thought I'd failed as a Watcher."

"How could she think that?"

"My mom was never exactly mentally stable," Cassie said. "She always had her problems, which really made her a better Watcher. Her mental angst was what drove her powers to become as good as they did."

Nick was in shock; the entire two years that he and Cassie had dated before he shacked up with Kira, she had never even mentioned anything about this.

"Cassie, I-"

He heard a sob from the other end of the line. "I knew this was a bad idea, calling you..." She went on before Nick could answer. "I have to go, Nick. I have things I need to take care of."

"When-"

"When, what? When will you hear from me again? Maybe never. I'm still wanted, you know..."

Cassie was silent for a moment, then she said something that Nick would never thought she'd say. "You know, I still love you, Nick. And every night, I wonder, could we just pick up where we left off...? Could we ever be together again...?"

"I can't say I've never thought about that myself," Nick replied, "but you know why I left you. I'm even more wanted than you are, and I couldn't risk-"

"FUCK THE RISK!" Cassie yelled. "I stayed by you for so long, knowing the risk. Why would I care? What about me would think I would care about risk? I never wanted you to leave, Nick. I cried my eyes out for days after you left!"

Nick was speechless; their break-up had seemed amiable enough.

The line was silent for a moment, then Cassie spoke: "Nick, I want you to know this. Kira's death was not an accident. You should be more worried about finding out who killed her, than about winning me back. That will come whether you want it to or not."

Before Nick could reply, the line went dead, and a dial tone sounded in his ear.

Nick shut the phone, in shock about Cassie's last words. What made her think that Kira was murdered? And wouldn't that mean that she knew something? Then why did she say at first that she didn't know Kira had died?

The questions only led to more questions, never to answers. And Nick hated that part about life, more than anything else, really.

Nick stood up and looked at the clock. 4:00 a.m.

He had a full six hours before the funeral, he reasoned. He had no idea why he was doing what he was doing, but he just felt compelled to. He had to find out whether Kira really had been murdered, and how in the hell Cassie knew about it. He levitated his firearms over to him, and stuck them in the belt of his jeans.

When that was done, he stepped out into the crisp China air. A breeze blew on his face, and he smiled; it felt so good to him. But the night was not about pleasure; it was about duty.

And Nick had a job to do.