From the Ashes
A James Cook/Katie Fitch fanfic
Chapter One
Written by: bornbackwards

oOo

Gone. Everyone was gone. Katie Fitch sat in the middle of what used to be the living room of Naomi and Emily's home. Emily left with Naomi, Thomas and Panda had gone and left to Harvard, JJ she hadn't heard from in weeks and Freddie… She froze, and just stared at the television in front of her. It had been two weeks since they had found out about his death. A month after Cook came into that shed, his clothes covered in blood, his face pale as a ghost. Katie curled her legs close to her chest as the news broadcast came back on. They were still searching for Cook; they believed that he was the one responsible for his death like he was for Foster's. They said that Cook might have beaten Foster for as long as 30 minutes, that he was a monster, and that he would be punished far worse if he continued to run. As little that Katie thought of him, Cook wasn't monster. He was obnoxious at times and arrogant as fuck, but not a monster. When he came into that shed that day, there was something different about him. He was a broken man. He had just found his best mate's blood splattered clothes and beaten his killer to a pulp. The police found Foster's body three days after the event; they found Freddie's body soon after wards.

The news was slowly fading off and another show was turning on. The room was pitch black except for the light coming from the telly. Katie hadn't left the house since they had Freddie's funeral, a week ago. She wore the same clothes, never bothering to change or clean herself up. The make-up she wore on that day had run down her face from all the crying that she had been doing for the past week. She reached forward and turned off the television. She felt alone, she missed Emily more than anything in the world and needed her. She hated herself for how dependent she was on Emily when just a few years ago, it was the opposite. Naomi had changed everything and now Emily was gone. Katie bowed her head down and began to cry again, letting her sobs becoming louder than they had before. She heard the doorknob for the back door turn; someone was attempting to come in. Katie turned her head to look over at the door to see the silhouette of someone. She watched as it moved from the door to the window, pushing it up and tossing a bag in before the figure climbed in as well. It landed with a thump and a groan, a familiar groan at that. "Ah fuck, Naomi mentioned that she'd leave a light on," he muttered to himself.

Katie would recognize that familiar husky voice anywhere. It was Cook and he was standing in the middle of her kitchen. She watched as he flipped a light switch, illuminating the once dark room. He looked around before seeing Katie sitting on the ground. He looked as different to her as she might look to him. He was unshaven and probably hadn't showered for as long as Katie had. Although, he could smell his deodorant from here so at least he was trying. "Ah shit. You alright there Katiekins?" he asked, his voice filled with genuine concern, something that Katie wasn't used to.

She didn't answer him, but only stared. She felt tears fill her eyes once more and she bowed her head in shame, wanting to be alone again. Never had she let anyone other than Emily see her cry, to her knowledge at least. She didn't want Cook too see her like this, weak, vulnerable, and broken. She felt his arms wrap around her, lifting her up and holding her close. Without thinking, she buried her face in his chest and wept harder than she had before. "It's alright, it's alright," he comforted her as he carried upstairs.

He kicked open the bathroom door and set her down on the closed toilet. He bent down and turned the tap for the water on, letting the tub fill. Katie sat staring either at the ground or at Cook. She let in a shaky breath every now and then between her sobs. "You haven't changed clothes since the funeral," he stated as he crouched in front of her.

Katie nodded and sniffled a little, feeling sick to her stomach that she was allowing him to see her like this. Cook gave her a warm smile and reached out. She felt his hand brush her face, wiping her tears away very gently. "I'm going to go put my shit away somewhere. You take a bath and don't try to drown yourself," he instructed as he left the room.

Katie stared at the tub filled to the brim with hot water. Carefully, she stood and began to strip herself of her clothes. She carefully dipped a toe in the water before putting herself into it. She felt oddly relaxed for the first time in months. She quietly cleaned herself and then drained the tub. She wrapped herself in a towel and opened the door to see Cook standing there smoking a spliff. "You alright then?"

"Yeah I think – yeah, I'm fine."

She tried to move past him, but he blocked her, staring her down with those brilliant blue eyes of his. "Why are you here?" she asked quietly.

"Haven't you been watching the telly, love? I'm a fugitive. Naomi gave me a call the other day and said that I could stay here until things die down. What are you doing here? Naomi never mentioned that you would be here still."

Katie stood there, tightening the towel around her. She felt broken, that's why she stayed here in this third circle of hell. She needed time to heal, but evidently that didn't work well. "It's alright babe, you don't have to answer me about that," he said as he moved his way into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

"I am not your babe," she muttered to herself.

She stood there for a moment, staring at the door. Why did Naomi have to tell Cook he could stay here? Why did he have to see her in that state of mind? She walked off to her room, more thoughts filling her head to the brim. She was amazed at the kindness he had shown her, it was something that she never would have expected from the Cookie Monster. She quietly pulled on a tank top and shorts, going downstairs to see the damage that she had caused the house over the past week. It wasn't messy, but it looked as if someone had been searching for something for a long time. Katie looked around the room until she saw the spot where she sat in front of the telly for so long. There was a spot on the carpet from where she sat. She walked into the kitchen and peered around. Most of her food was spoiled and not good enough to eat anymore. Her stomach made an audible noise and she began to scrimmage around for something, anything to eat. Luckily, she found a box of biscuits that were still good and haven't gone stale just yet. She sat down on the couch and began to eat the sweet little treats.

"You gonna share any of those?"

Katie looked up to see Cook standing in front of her, shirtless as always and that grin of his plastered on his face. She handed the box over to him and smiled. "Thank you for earlier. I've been a wreck lately and I just – "

"It's alright; everyone has been a wreck lately. You're no exception."

She had a feeling that he was referring to himself, more so than herself or even Effy. She moved over on the couch to make room for Cook and he gladly took the seat next to her. "Where were you?" she asked quietly.

"I was in the shower. Can't you tell since I don't smell like – "

"No, I know you were in the shower. I meant where have you been since that night."

"JJ's, but his mum ended up finding me after JJ left Bristol. So, I had to get out of there. Can I ask you something Katiekins?"

She shrugged, her eyes focused on the floor. "How come you ain't calling me a tit or a cock or anything like that? I think this might be the first time that hasn't happened when we were alone."

Katie gave him a little shrug again. He was trying to make her laugh, to pull her out of this hole she put herself in and go back to the Katie she used to be. The Katie that would call him a tit and a cock the minute he said anything to her. "Things change," she muttered. "I've changed. I hardly know who I am anymore."

"Well, that's easy ain't it? You're Katie Fitch."

A soft smile crossed her face. "And you're James Cook."

"Got that right, babe."

"I'm not your babe Cook."

He shrugged and lit a cigarette. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing, princess."

Katie rolled her eyes, she hated being called princess even more than she did babe. "Are you going to go and shag another Effy clone and get yourself in the same mess as you did before?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm past mindless shagging."

Katie let out a small laugh and rolled her eyes. Cook looked over to meet her brown eyes. "Well, sorta past it. Fucking a different girl every night is fun, but I need something different."

"Like a relationship?"

"What, you want to offer your time and services for that?"

She glared at him and folded her arms. He let out a hearty laugh. "Nah, I'm not looking for a relationship. I'm not into stability, you know?"

"Just promise you're not going to go out and get yourself in the same mess as you did before," she replied, trying to control how annoyed she was at him.

"Alright, alright, I promise not to go out shagging every girl who even remotely looks like Effy, or even Effy."

"I thought you loved Effy though."

"That's the funny thing about love; you want what's best for them no matter what. You want to see them happy rather than miserable. She's more than miserable, she needs Fredds. I need Fredds, but there is no sodding way that we're ever getting him back. He's nothing more than a fucking memory. I can't make her happy anymore, I never could. She gets even more miserable when she sees me now."

"So you've seen her since she ran out of the shed that night?"

"Yeah and she's more of a mess than she was before. Keeps muttering things about leaving and these people I've never even heard of before. She's mentioned Panda about a hundred times and keeps asking where she is. She's mentioned you too, she misses you."

Katie nodded and felt a wave of guilt rush over her. Her friend was grieving and in pain and she needed Katie. They sat together in silence, the only light coming from the end of Cook's fag. Katie began to think of what he said about loving someone. She did want to see Emily happy, more than anything else. At the same time, she wanted Emily to stay with her and not go off with Naomi. She stood up and made her way to Emily and Naomi's old room, her room now. She didn't speak a word to Cook as she moved past him; he only watched her as she moved. Katie closed the bedroom door behind her and leaned against it, slowly falling to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her hands.

oOo

Author's Note: This is my first Cook/Katie fanfic ever so let me know what you think of it. :) I'm working on the next chapter right now and I'll try to get it out soon. Feedback is wonderful! ;)