Disclaimer- Heavy Rain is still not mine. Hence, the fic instead of the sequel/DLC. :(

I got caught up in organizing this while trying to get my paper banged out, so writing scenes out of order temporarily threw me off. Fun, eh? Some areas of this got pretty difficult to write, but in the end I think I was just getting tired of looking over the same details again and again. In other news, these two make me love writing dialogue. It's crazy.

Also, thanks for the awesome response to the first chapter! I seriously appreciate it and hope you all continue to enjoy this. You're here for coffee right? Well, these two are making it very difficult for me to get them to the coffee shop. Reminds me of when I needed to get them to the station before...


Part 2


She looked down at the watch on her wrist and absently tapped her nails on the desk given to her. Madison only had a few seconds to catch the time before another smiling person approached with a book waiting in their hands.

"Hi." she greeted, a small smile on her face. "Who should I make this out to?"

"My mother-in-law, Susan. You wouldn't believe how much she admires your work, Ms. Paige. "

"Thank you. Tell her that I really appreciate the support." Madison replied, making sure to address the book clearly.

She handed it back and glanced again at the watch on her wrist, nervously tapping her foot under the desk.

Over fifteen minutes left? Maybe I can squeeze in a call to Sam once this is finished-

"It's an honor to meet you in person, Ms. Paige!"

Madison looked up and gave them a slightly sheepish smile. The majority of the book signing had distracted her enough to not think about the case, encouraging her to focus on the questions and comments being asked, but that didn't stop the barrage of questions her mind fired at her. Was she okay? Where was she now? Are the police on their way? Distractions came and went, giving her time to shove her doubts to the back of her mind, but she couldn't keep this up forever.

A young woman stepped up, a broad smile on her face as she held up her book, and Madison froze. It didn't matter that the two girls looked nothing alike, and likely had nothing in common. Stacy was whom she saw standing in front of her and guilt hit her instantly.

After a few seconds she forced herself to snap out of it and apologized profusely for her strange behavior, but the damage had been done. She had lost the fight against her subconscious, and just couldn't wait until Sam chose to call her later. She had to know. This caused her to look at her watch again, and she struggled to keep her frustration at her inconsistent behavior hidden from everyone around her.

Stop it, Madison! Put on a happy face and stop zoning out so much! These people deserve better than that.

Not even mental coaching helped. She was really no better than a robot at this point. Nothing registered other than the shifting books and the movement of her pen. As much as she wanted to focus, she just didn't have the heart to, not right now. Not with her watch sitting out of the corner of her eye, ticking as the seconds passed by.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5-

Her pen tapped the inside page of the book currently sitting in front of her, and it took a few minutes for her to realize that she had blanked completely. Frowning slightly, she put down her pen and shook her head.

That's strike two, Mad. Focus!

"I'm sorry," she began, rubbing her eyes. "I didn't mean to do that. My mind's been all over the place lately. Who did you want me to make this out to...?"

Madison looked up, noticing the man standing before her fixing her with an odd look himself.

Wait. Her eyes narrowed. Tall, check. Gray suit, check. ...Sunglasses?

No, it can't be. She nearly balked. "...Norman?"

"And here I was wondering if I'd have to snap my fingers to get your attention." Jayden replied, his tone almost soft in the loud room.

That accent? Bingo. You only know one guy with a voice like that, Mad.

In spite of that, she still found it difficult to believe that he was actually standing right here in front of her. Her mind had played tricks on her already with Stacy, so why wouldn't it try again with a clever curve ball? Then again, conjuring up the FBI agent instead of her was a bit of a stretch. It just didn't make any sense for her subconscious to try that angle.

"W-what are you doing here?"

His lips curved into a half-smile as he folded his arms in front of him. "I live in DC, remember? It's not entirely unlikely that we'd run into each other like this."

Closing her mouth so she wouldn't continue to gape at him, she shook off the rest of the initial shock and eyed him skeptically. "In this exact spot? I wasn't expecting to see you here...or at all, honestly."

He tapped his chin, the sunglasses conveniently obscuring one of the more expressive features of his face. "Looks like we're in a bit of a predicament then. I was hoping to get a copy of that elusive book of yours."

Madison blinked at him a few times, before leaning back in her chair. By now she was definitely convinced that there was no way that a hallucination could be that accurate or evasive. "My book?" A smile finally came to her, though her tone still reflected a lingering hint of disbelief. "You came all the way here for my book? On the exact day that I'm scheduled to be here?"

"What can I say? The large poster in the front window was hard to miss." Jayden glanced over his shoulder at the line of people behind him and then turned back, his eyebrow raised. "I think I'm holding the line up. We could cut our little talk about my exceptional timing short, or we could discuss it further over say, coffee? I could always go for a good cup of java."

And he does it again. You're full of surprises, aren't you, Mr. Profiler?

She tapped her nails on the desk and watched him carefully. "It depends. Is that a good cup of coffee you're talking about or a great cup of coffee?"

"It could be. Or it couldn't be." He shrugged, and she almost wished she could see the look that went with those words. "The place not too far from here has a pretty mean one, though."

Her fingers stopped moving and she found herself studying the blank page sitting in front of her. Only a few random spots of ink marred its surface, none of them actual words acknowledging its new owner. Sighing at her lack of creativity, she closed the book and leaned forward to rest her head on her hands. "Willing to bet your badge on that, agent?"

"No, because I'm not a betting man. However, I'm still pretty damn confident that you'll like it."

She thought about it for a moment and handed the book back to him. "Confident or just outright cocky?"

"You don't trust me with coffee, do you?" Jayden asked, smirking.

The book left her hands and Madison did her best to hide her amusement. "After what happened to the last one? I'm afraid you've got your work cut out for you. Anyway, hold onto that for now. I've got to finish this before I can even begin to entertain the idea of caffeine."

She glanced around the line of people and the general area until she noticed a few chairs left out by the store for their regular customers. "Why don't you wait over there? I've got about 10-15 minutes left for the signing. Then, we can get back to the important issue of whether or not I find you trustworthy. Does that work?"

"That works." He subtly bowed, that same infuriating smirk on his face as before. "Miss Paige."

Madison gave him a half-hearted glare as he wandered off to the side, tapping her pen as she attempted to regain her balance. Again.

Strike three. ...And they say the third time's a charm.

She cleared her throat before greeting the next person in line.


Marble Street. The appearance of the apartment there resembled that of a burned-out shell. Items were scattered all over the floor and it looked like no one had even bothered to tend to it-

Jayden flipped a few pages forward, his eyes scanning the paragraphs quickly as they passed by.

No one would think to look there. His given name had been carefully removed with no connection to his alias, so it was almost impossible to assume that anyone would go by the grave of a boy who had died so many years ago-

"So you'd think, right?" he muttered to himself.

The book he had propped up on his leg told him many things he already knew, but the words written here were different than the jotted notes and bullet points handed over months earlier. The written word told some interesting things about the writer behind it, because no matter how indifferent the words seemed on first glance, there was always a hidden opinion or bias. Madison's always leaned towards the victims, something he knew to begin with, but the descriptions and details given here wouldn't be possible without some sort of attachment to the subject.

She's passionate about her work and compassionate to her subjects. That's not uncommon in her field. However, most reporters don't challenge serial killers that hit like a Buick, or hide in refrigerators to escape gas explosions. Something drives her to help or assist others, and the risks involved don't even seem to faze her. That's going to get her in serious trouble someday.

Leaning forward in the blue recliner he'd staked out, Jayden looked down at the book in his lap and sighed. He flipped it closed and examined the cover, tracing his fingers over the glossy paper. That case would stick with them for the rest of their lives, no doubt about it. Shelby might be dead and gone, but that would never fully erase the impact of his actions. Not while they were still alive to deal with their aftereffects.

Flipping the book back open to a random page, he let it pull him back in, this section detailing a possible lead in the form of a Mr. Adrian Baker. Madison had been working on her own investigation at that time, seeking out clues as to who the Origami Killer was, and he had to admit that Baker had been an interesting lead to follow. As the owner of the apartment on Marble Street it made sense to see if he could explain what had been going on over there for the last few years.

He had been a doctor once, helping those who were sick and injured to get back on the road to recovery. After his retirement, however, his career path began to travel down a much more sinister route. The prescriptions in his possession were no longer restricted to those that needed them. Now anyone could access them, anyone who knew his name and came by with the right price-

In short, Jayden noted, picking out key details, the doctor became a drug dealer.

He traced the names of the drugs listed under Baker's possession and carefully kept himself from acknowledging the vial resting in his own pocket. Even now it never left his person, regardless of whether he actually bothered to take it or not. The odd placebo effect provided by carrying the vial was usually more than enough to placate any random urges or symptoms.

With that in mind, he took a moment to flex his fingers, holding them out over the page until he was positive they remained still. Turning over his hand, he continued to watch them, only stopping when his curiosity was finally satisfied. He blinked his eyes behind the sunglasses a few times and rubbed his temples, staring out at the seemingly endless array of books. The dark lenses bathed them all in one uniform shade of gray, contrasting sharply with the cool colors he had grown to expect while wearing a pair of black-framed glasses.

They were calm and quiet. Peaceful. Like the trees that reached towards the sky, stretching onward into that neverending blue-

He forced his eyes shut, pressing a hand to his forehead.

Goddammit. Not again.

That line of thinking only led to dark places, ones that he wasn't entirely sure he'd always be able to escape. He opened his eyes again, and took in the muted space around him. For now, gray was safe. It didn't make him question his senses. Not like ARI had.

The clicking of heels off to his left drew his attention before long and he looked up, sunglasses firmly in place. Without a desk to hide her he finally had a chance to get a good look at Madison, and even surrounded by gray she stood out. It had nothing to do with the color of her outfit, or the light make up on her face. It was distinctly her, and he continued to study her long after he registered her confused expression.

"Hey, Norman? Jayden? Hello? Still with me?" She waved her hand in front of his face a few times.

He snapped out of it and sat up, folding his hands in front of him. "Sorry. Just thinking about nothing. Nice outfit, by the way."

"This?" Madison raised an eyebrow, looking down at her clothes before smiling slightly. "It's just a skirt and shirt, but...wait. You're not trying to distract me, are you?"

"Distract you? From what?"

She put a hand on her hip. "From asking you again about how you found your way down here. I don't recall you giving me a straight answer about that."

Still stubborn, still persistent. Some things never change. "I did. I live here. I was in the area and happened to wander by."

"Entirely by accident?"

"Looks like it."

The skeptical look on her face didn't waver. "Okay. You're telling me that the only way you ended up here was through a series of accidents? Completely unrelated accidents? And they conveniently led you here to this exact bookstore?"

He held his hands out and shrugged, an innocent expression on his face. "Fate's got an interesting sense of humor sometimes."

"You are the last person that I would expect to use that as an excuse."

Jayden eyed her expectantly. "Did it work?"

Madison opened her mouth to respond, but paused, an unreadable look in her eyes. Soon after she held out her hand, motioning for Jayden to hand the book over. Curious as to what she had in mind, he quietly let her take it from him, and watched intently as she opened it up to scribble a message on the title page. The one that she had left blank earlier.

The movement of the pen was quick and deliberate, allowing her to finish in no time at all. A single click signaled when she was done and he carefully removed the book from her hands, wary of her now eerily calm expression.

He flipped it open, moving past the first few pages until he found the one he was looking for. "'My sincerest thanks and gratitude to my dear friend, Agent...Jackass." He tilted his head to the side, wincing slightly, before looking back up at her. "Judging by the way you've bolded and triple-underlined jackass, my guess is no."

"I'm going to go make a phone call." She pointed a finger at him, her eyes narrowing. "Move one inch from this spot and I swear I'll hunt you down."

"Yes, ma'am." he replied, sitting up a little straighter.


Her phone snapped shut and Madison deliberately bumped the back of her head against the bookshelf she was leaning on. Nothing. Nothing new at all. She had gone through her messages and voicemail, before calling Sam himself to get a brief update. He restated a lot of the older details that they had gathered and given to the police, but nothing else had been added to that line up yet.

Well, no news is better than bad news, right?

She wasn't sure if she could side with her optimism on that one, but it did have a point. Sam had also reminded her that hearing nothing didn't automatically mean the worst case scenario. Taking that to heart, she finally dragged herself out of the fiction section and forced herself to focus on other things. She knew she would go crazy if she didn't.

Now, where to find a certain smartass FBI agent? Gray suit and sunglasses. Just keep an eye out for a gray suit and sunglasses.

She walked back over towards the non-fiction section and spotted him in the same blue recliner as before. Jayden appeared to be contemplating something intensely, staring at one fixed spot somewhere in the depths of the store, while leaning forward in his chair. He shifted after a few minutes, however, and looked around the store until he noticed her waving him over. He hopped to his feet, book in hand, and walked over to join her next to the giant cardboard standee standing outside of the young adult book section.

He eyed the cardboard dragon briefly before glancing down at her, his mouth quirking at its sides. "Huh."

"What?"

"You're taller than I remember."

Funny, because I was thinking the same thing. "Not by much. My feet would've killed me if I'd even considered three-inch heels."

He looked down at her shoes and she turned one foot to the side to show the smaller heel off. "Walking around for a bit won't bother you, right?"

"No, it shouldn't. Are you worried they'll slow me down?"

"You tell me." The dark lenses shifted up to focus only on her. "Your knee's okay too? No problems?"

She shook her head as they began to walk towards the front doors. "I'm fine. I'm not made of glass, Norman. That was months ago, and it's as if nothing happened now. As for my shoes, these are a lot more comfortable than they look."

As comfortable as a pair of heels can be, I guess. ...I can't believe I'm arguing this.

"All right, but if things do go wrong I'd appreciate a warning before you chuck them at my head. It'd be a hell of a thing to explain to the Bureau on Monday."

Just hearing him verbalize such a ridiculous thing made her grin. "Oh, I'd at least give you a head start. I like to think I'm pretty merciful."

"Of course you are, but that doesn't help me much. Either way I still end up with a shoe to the face and a bunch of flimsy excuses to choose from." He responded wryly, before switching to a more serious tone. "I know you think I'm exaggerating, but I really don't want you to be uncomfortable out there."

Madison held back a laugh as they slipped between the sliding doors. "Don't worry. If anything goes wrong you'll know, and no, I won't actually throw my shoe at you. I do need them, after all."

He snorted and gave her a look, the dark lenses carrying the message across better than she expected. "Your mercy knows no bounds, Miss Paige."

"Madison."

Jayden turned his attention to her. "Sorry?"

"You don't always have to be so formal you know. I think we're actually a bit past that by now." She gave him a small smile, feeling slightly self-conscious in spite of herself. "Call me Madison."

He stood still, his hands in his pockets as he processed her request. After a few minutes however, she saw his shoulders relax as a shy smile of his own worked its way onto his face. "All right. Your mercy knows no bounds, Madison."

"You're welcome." She fished around in her bag for her own pair of sunglasses and pointedly tried to ignore the light shade of red settling over her cheeks.

A few cars sped by as they stood together outside of the bookstore and once her glasses were on, she examined the nearby buildings. There was something fascinating about the differences between her home and here, and it didn't hurt that they also served as excellent distractions as well.

"So, where is that coffee shop you mentioned earlier? You're my lifeline here, Mr. Profiler, because I only know the way from here to my hotel."

Jayden glanced around, taking in his surroundings as his hand absently reached up to touch his sunglasses. The motion caused his lips to briefly curve into a frown, but it disappeared by the time he pointed to their left. "If we stick to this sidewalk, we should find our way down there, no problem. It's about a ten minute walk."

She looked down at her watch. It was in the middle of the afternoon, so hopefully there wouldn't be too many people. "Sounds good to me. Only the hardcore caffeine junkies might be there around this time, but you never know."

"In Washington? Any time's a good time." His little half-smile caught her eye before he turned to proceed down the sidewalk and she moved to follow him, not wanting to be left behind by his long strides.

They walked side by side for the majority of the trip to the shop, taking in the general atmosphere of the area and the people inhabiting it. They didn't talk much then, but it didn't feel awkward to let the silence take over for a while. He didn't strike her as an overly social person by nature, so the last thing she wanted to do was force a conversation out of him. Remembering the camera in her purse, she took it out and secured it to her wrist, perching her sunglasses on top of her head so she could get a better look at everything. DC had character to it, much like Philadelphia did, and she hoped she could find some way to capture it.

Certain buildings stood out to her, the bits of bricks and broken glass trying to tell her a story that was likely lost years ago in the shuffle. There was something intriguing about them, and if the area was abandoned then there was the added question of what was left behind and why. Had things always been like this? Had there been better times for everyone there once? Each picture had a new question to ask, and looking back at them later she had no answers to give. Only more questions.

The older apartments and stores here held her attention more due to that, and she asked Jayden to pause a couple of times on their way so she could attempt to do them justice. He simply watched her work, looking on as she got into position and adjusted the zoom.

"This place has so much to see." She held up the little camera and focused in on the entryway to one of the buildings across the street. "I think I could be anywhere here and never run out of things to take pictures of."

"You really see something special, don't you?"

Madison lowered the camera and looked over at him. "I don't know. There's something almost magnetic about this city, but I can't quite put my finger on it. " She shrugged. "It would probably take me longer than a three-day trip to pin it down, but that doesn't bother me. I'm not here to figure out its secrets."

She raised the camera back up to her face, noticing the figure in gray standing off to the side. Peeking over its edge, she watched as Jayden raised his eyes to the sky, concerned more with the clouds lurking on the horizon. It was all too easy to turn and adjust the focus.

But that doesn't stop me from wondering about them.