((Author's note: I completely forgot where I was going with my original story. Sorry about that! I can't take it down or the story will be removed. So, I'm starting over! I hope you like this one just as much. CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM DARK ARMY.

This is a Tom, Grimalkin slash. If you don't like that sort of thing, well, then just don't read it!))

Tom

I was still devastated by Grimalkin's loss. We all were. Alice had cried a bit when she first spoke to me about it.

"Know she did it on purpose, I do, but I can't understand why," Alice sniffled. "She knew we needed her. That we still need her. She was like an aunt to me, Tom. She stuck up for me as a child when Bony Lizzie would've had me killed. Stood up to the entire clan, she did. She... she was the first friend I ever really had."

Grimalkin had come to feel like a friend to me, as well. I had been told by my master that she was the most violent, formidable witch of the Malkin clan, yet the first time that I had met her, she had offered me somewhat of a mercy. She intended to kill me, as that was what her clan had tasked her with. I had heard all about her reputation for torture and I felt that surely, as a Spook, I would endure a full helping of it. When she finally had me cornered, however, she offered me a gentle death. She said that if I were to go to her willingly, she would simply cut my throat, as she took no pleasure in killing a child. I was very young and a fairly new apprentice, to boot. How was I to stand against her? I went to her as she'd asked. In the last second, however, I used the trick my master as taught me. Quick as a whip, I flicked my staff from my left hand to my right and used the retractable silver blade to stab her through the shoulder. She had been utterly shocked, giving me time to run for it. I believe that was what earned me her respect.

She continued to help me, all through my apprenticeship, despite how my master hated it. She proved to be a useful and faithful ally. We eventually ended the Fiend together. She taught me her dance of death and crafted a sword that she called the Starblade solely for my use. She became like an aunt to me as well – or quite possibly like a perpetually irritable older sister - listening to my woes about Alice and Lukrasta, though I knew she didn't care. She mocked me, then gave me advice. She insulted me and cursed at me, yet offered hope and encouragement when the occasions arose. She would train me and would just as readily cut me. She was ruthless, and could be downright sneaky; having gotten me killed and later paying to have my apprentice kidnapped. But for all that, she was someone that I was glad to call an ally. Even a friend. I couldn't believe that she was gone.

We – Alice, Jenny and myself – were unsure what to do for a time. Alice felt that we should carry on against the Kobalos. Jenny wanted to stay in Chipenden. I felt torn. I knew that the threat from the Kobalos grew each day, and if I waited until the threat came to us, it would be far to late to even attempt to stop it. I also had things to attend to in the County. First and foremost was Jenny's apprenticeship. Hers had been far from conventional. I had tried to keep up her training, but I honestly couldn't be certain how much she had absorbed from the books alone. She'd only ever seen the boggart in our house. Alice and Grimalkin had been the only witches she'd encountered. She'd never even set eyes on any type of water beastie. She deserved a decent training, one similar to what my master had given me – although I hoped to avoid certain was unfair to her to keep bringing her into situations for which she had not even the most basic of skill. In the end, we decided to monitor the situation up north, but stay in Chipenden unless we desperately needed to act.

We'd had a rather pleasant, uneventful summer. Unfortunately, it appeared that we would be in for a very harsh and bitter winter. I told the girls over dinner that I thought we should go to see how things were in Anglezarke. Alice groaned loudly and threw a bit of bread at me. I laughed and told her I wasn't looking forward to it either, but as no one had been there for awhile, I thought it best. Jenny, of course, wanted to know what was so terrible about it.

"You remember Golgoth?" Alice groused. "Trying to sleep in Anglezarke will be like trying to get comfortable in his armpit. It's dreary, it's bleeding freezing and I ain't going."

A week later, we had begun the trek to Anglezarke. Alice was still moaning about it, but I'd known exactly what buttons to push to make her come. We'd packed quite a few things, since we expected to make camp along the way. We had tried to divide the load as equally as possible, yet I think each of us eventually suspected that our pack was the heaviest. I carried half of the canvas for the tent, the rods to pitch them with, blankets and food traps. Jenny carried our regular job supplies, along with a few books, more bedding and some small lanterns. Alice had our foods stuffs in addition to her own books, bedding and the other half of the canvas. On top of this, we each carried our own clothes.

The first night that we set up camp was mostly uneventful. We caught rabbits, which Alice cooked as Jenny and I set up the tent. We laid down the bedding and blankets. Jenny had been given permission to lay Alice's things out as well. She did so, evenly spacing all of our belongings out. We lined our bags around the canvas to help hold it down in case a strong wind came up in the night. Alice turned the rabbits on the spit, then gave an excuse to go into the tent and check for something in her pack. Peeking through the flap, I could see that she was scooting her bedding over, right up against my own. I smiled to myself. Alice returned and sat next to me on the log, smiling, and winked at me.

Jenny had taken her boots off to discover a large hole in the toe of her sock. She checked her feet for blisters then and I was glad to hear that she had none. I remembered that being one of the most uncomfortable parts of my early apprenticeship – the blisters I had gotten on the way to Anglezark. Sighing, Jenny went to retrieve another pair of socks from her bag inside the tent. She was gone longer than I had thought she should be. When I turned round as she emerged, I could see that she had tugged Alice's bedding back to where it had started. Unfortunately for her, Alice had seen it too. Jenny plopped herself down on a log adjacent to ours. It didn't take her long to notice Alice glaring at her. Jenny tugged her sock on and blinked up with as much innocence as she could muster.

"We've got some decent space in that tent, haven't we?" She commented. "It'll be nice not to be squashed up like sardines. We'll all be good and spread out."

She gave us a big, Cheshire cat-like grin. Alice made an angry "harumph" sound in her throat. I could hardly keep from laughing at the pair of them and gave a rather loud snort that I managed to turn into a cough. In the end, Alice got her own way after Jenny fell asleep.

We woke shortly after dawn and finished off the rabbits from the previous night. Alice and I packed the tent up after we'd rolled up the bedding. We passed my childhood home that morning. Jenny asked if we would be visiting, and I was sorely tempted too. Still, I hadn't given Jack any sort of warning. I knew he didn't like me popping up unannounced. Especially not with Alice. I decided it would be best to say no for now, but that we could visit on our return home. I was surprised to hear how happy that made Jenny. Apparently, she'd taken a fancy to my little niece Mary and wanted to see how she'd grown.

"Do you think she'd remember me, Tom?" Jenny asked. "I had a lot of fun playing with her. She was so little, though."

"I'm sure she would," I smiled. "I think you made quite an impression on her, being a female spook. I don't think she's likely to forget that!"

"I expect Matthew can walk now. Bet we won't even recognize him!"

"He was only three months old, he better have changed a lot." I laughed.

I looked to my other side to see Alice frowning. She was clearly disappointed that Jenny had met my family and, from the sound of things, had gotten close to them. I guess she had hoped that had been unique to her.

I was still having trouble understanding their rivalry. I knew that Jenny had problems with Alice being a witch, on top of hearing how she'd treated me. I knew it made things harder on her when I was hurting. I'd never claimed her to be anything more than my apprentice, so I really didn't get why Alice was taking such issue. I knew she'd been watching us, back when she'd taken up with Lukrasta. Surely she'd have known that my relationship with Jenny was innocent. I found myself wishing that Grimalkin was here again, just so I would have a mediator!

In the late afternoon, it began raining. It started out as a drizzle. It came and went as we walked. It finally started to rain harder, forcing us to pause and put on our rain slicks. We were able to manage a few more miles before it started to come down in a torrent.

"I can't even see, Tom!" Alice shouted, over the noise. "I saw a big barn earlier, when we were came down that hill! Should be just up ahead, I think."

We plodded down the muddy road, when Jenny suddenly screamed. She'd stepped right into a small sinkhole created by the sudden onslaught. She'd gone in right up to her knees. I heard Alice giggling, until she fell into one a few steps farther. She went in up to her neck. I expected her to be furious – mad as a wet hen, my dad used to say. To my great surprise, she started laughing even harder and we were all in stitches by the time we reached the barn.

We sloshed our way into the barn relieved to find it unoccupied. If there was a house on the property, it was becoming too misty outside to see it. I figured we should be able to spend the night quite comfortably. Jenny took her bedding and raced over to a massive, metal trough. She tested it with her hands, then put her bag inside of it. She leaned on it, putting her full weight against it. Finally, she stood inside of it, then bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.

"What are you doing, you daft girl?" I laughed.

"Testing it!" She replied. "And it seems sturdy enough. I'm going to sleep in here tonight. If I fill it with some of that straw, and put the blankets on top, it'll be just like a bed."

I had to admit, it was ingenious. Alice went up a ladder several yards away to check out the loft.

"Ain't bad up here! None of the boards are rotten. Make a nice bed, this." She came down after a few minutes, hair soaking wet. "There's one bad leak though."

I laughed. "Poor Alice!" I opened one of the packs and handed her a blanket.

As she squeezed her hair out, I began searching for another place to bed down. In a far corner, under the loft, there were stacks upon stacks of bailed hay. I could tell it was old by the smell of it. I tested the bottom bails to see if they were still steady. They seemed alright, so I climbed to the top. I took a knife out of my pocket to cut the binds that held the top bails together. I pushed the loose hay over the edge. I cut several open until there was a massive, thick pile on the floor. I spread out my bedding over it. Alice came next to me and began to spread her things out as well.

"Excuse me, this is my bed! Did I invite you over here?" I teased.

"No, but you will do when it's the middle of the night and you're half frozen!" She threw a fistful of hay at me, grinning.

As evening drew on, the rain let up. It was no longer a torrent, but it was still constant and enough that it would soak us to the bone in no time. We built a fire in the barn. We all sat together, chatting. I managed to get Jenny and Alice engaged in a conversation. Jenny had always been interested in witches, and she found certain aspects of Alice's past very fascinating. Alice liked the attention, though she still seemed a bit suspicious of Jenny's motives. The sun would just have been setting, if we could see it, and Jenny's stomach growled loudly.

"What are we going to do about dinner?" She asked. "I don't really fancy the idea of trying to catch rabbits out there." She gave me a glare. "And I hate cheese!"

"Beggars can't be choosers!" I replied. "Still, I agree. Let's see what we've got in our stores."

I scooted the bag of our food over to me and unzipped it. We had the bread and crumbly cheese, of course, plus apples, carrots, salted meat, beans and a few jars containing perishable items. We each took a little bit of everything. I stuck the plates out in the rain to rinse them off before putting them back. We talked together for a few more hours before deciding it was time to bed down.

I woke to someone shaking my shoulder. I groaned. I'd always had a keen sense of time and knew it was just after midnight.

"Tom!" came a desperate whisper. "Wake up, Tom!"

I rolled over, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Jenny was kneeling beside me. She looked extremely worried.

"What is it?" I mumbled, yawning.

"There's someone outside, watching us!"

"Hmm?"

"There's someone standing outside, Tom! They've been watching us for awhile."

"How do you know?" I sat up, starting to worry, myself.

"I woke up an hour ago because I had to go... you know... outside. As I was going, I saw this figure in the trees. It was definitely a person, but I couldn't see who it was. They just stood there, watching! I went back to bed and I heard them poking around right outside. I could feel eyes on me. I turned over and I saw this hooded figure in the doorway. I sat up and they just vanished!"

"Do you think they're still out there?"

"I don't know."

I stretched and got up. "Let's have a look, then."

It was still raining hard again and lightning flashed over head. Jenny told me she was sure that it hadn't been a just a shadow. I trusted her judgment to know the difference. I looked out into the gloom, eyes scanning all over. There was still a heavy mist in the air and it was hard to make anything out.

Jenny tugged my sleeve and pointed down. There were fresh boot prints in the mud. The mysterious visitor did indeed seem to have been standing there for a time. I tried to see where they led off to, but the darkness made it impossible.

"Now that you've seen whoever I was, I don't think they'll be back tonight," I said quietly. "There's not too much we can do about it right now. Thank you for waking me, in any case. Would you like to sleep with Alice and I? It might be safer."

Jenny made a face at me. "No, thank you! I've been there and done, and I'd rather not do it again. I heard you kissing and carrying on! I'd much rather take my chances in the trough."

I blushed furiously. I'd absolutely nothing to say in my defense, so I simply said, "Goodnight, then."

Jenny went back to her self-made bed and I laid back down next to Alice. She rolled over and snuggled into me. She nuzzled my chest and mumbled, "Lukrasta," and was asleep again immediately. My heart fell. So she did still have feelings for him. Now I was worried and depressed. It was a long time before I fell asleep.

(( I hope you still like this. I'm just setting it up in this chapter, but I promise Grimalkin will be in the next one. It'll really heat up in Chapter 3 ;) ))