A/N: Thanks to Polkadot-Sunstar, Hiding in the Shadow and punkteacher for the reviews - glad you guys are liking this, I appreciate the feedback. I'm always worried about falling into the Mary-Sue trap with OCs, so I'm glad you seem to like Cait and Rachel - I love the original Ducks, but I'd find it strange if they grew up without meeting new people, making new friends - and enemies - falling for non-Ducks ... lol. This may also seem a little slow-burning, but I thought I'd set the scene for the action and it will get a lot darker and a few more Ducks will start to make an appearance - along with some more outsiders - so stay tuned! Thanks for reading!

FOUR.

Sitting in her tiny office, Caitlin answered her ringing phone by simply clamping it between her shoulder and her ear before continuing to type – she'd been flat out all morning and her next deadline was looming closer.

"Morning, Caitlin Rivers speaking …" she said, as brightly as she could under the circumstances.

"Miss Rivers, sorry to bother you …" came a soft apologetic voice, "It's Maria Ryland – we spoke yesterday …"

Instantly struck when she recognised the voice, Caitlin froze for a second and then grabbed the receiver in her hand as she turned away from her computer screen to better focus her attention solely on the call. "Mrs Ryland …" she said, her voice low, sympathetic. "I'd ask how you are, but it seems so redundant. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I just … I just wanted to call – say thank you properly from myself and my husband." the caller said, her voice cracking just a little. "Your kindness yesterday made a … made a difficult task that little bit easier.

"Oh, Mrs Ryland, please, that's completely unnecessary." Caitlin said, taken aback but touched by her words.

"No, no, it isn't. Some of the press … I know they were just doing a job, but … they seemed so cold. Like our Bailey was just … just another number … Maybe because you're younger – less used to such things …"

"I don't think I'll ever get used to it." Caitlin sighed.

"If it means you keep that compassion, maybe that's no bad thing. People will thank you for it – people like us. Anyways, I just thought I could also let you know that we intend to try to get some kind of campaign going – something has to be done about these kids getting off scott free. We've been told the police aren't confident any kind of lengthy jail term will be imposed when the case comes to trial."

"I'm sorry to hear that – it must be very difficult to accept."

"That's why we're starting the campaign. Or partly why. If we can make a difference, then maybe some small ray of light can come from …" the voice started to break again and Caitlin closed her own eyes, imagining the pain this family must be going through. "… from what happened to Bailey."

"Well, we'd certainly be interested in following up on this – covering your campaign efforts." Caitlin said, "We should keep in touch and we can see how best to go about it."

"Thank you, Caitlin, we'll keep you informed. And thank you again – for everything."

"You're more than welcome – I only wish we had met under different circumstances." the young woman said sincerely, "Take care."

Replacing the receiver in the cradle, Caitlin swivelled her chair around a little further to gaze unseeingly out of the window and compose herself. The call meant a lot to her, but it was difficult too. She could only imagine the horror of having a child snatched away from you like that, of losing anyone you cared about so suddenly and in such circumstances. For a fleeting second, her mind raced away from her and turned to thoughts of her own family – her mum, her dad, her siblings, Fulton …

Fortunately, before she could go too far down that avenue, her phone rang again – this time, the ringing indicating an internal call from within the building.

"Hello?"

"Caitlin, Mr Mathers would like to see you in his office as soon as possible." said her editor's personal assistant from the other end of the line. "Can I tell him you're free?"

"Sure, Susie, I'll be right up."

Hoping it was nothing to worry about – and that she would finally be able to approach the subject of some time off – Caitlin took a deep breath and pulled the jacket of her pinstripe suit on over her crisp white shirt before heading for the door. She didn't want to keep the boss waiting.

Having completed, against the odds, the paperwork his father had sent and in record time too, Adam was surprised to find himself torn between relief and disappointment. He couldn't help imagining his father keeping him snowed under with work, just so he'd have the perfect excuse to keep him from heading off to work on their new project. It still amazed him that he – the youngest son – was being trusted with such responsibility and he longed, more than ever, to prove himself to Mr Banks Senior.

But on the other hand, he hadn't expected to find himself spending time with Rachel Keller, the pretty nineteen-year-old on work experience with his father's company. She had been shy at first but, since he wasn't exactly the most outgoing guy ever, that was no bad thing. And when they put each other at ease over coffee at a nearby café, he found her to be sweet, funny, a breath of fresh air after a day stuck in the office.

"It's a pity I'm heading off to Nevada soon …" Adam said, half to Rachel and half to himself.

"Won't you enjoy the break?" she asked, "I mean, I know you'll be working, but it'll be a change of scenery …"

"Don't get me wrong, it's a great opportunity – and a few friends are hopefully gonna head over there with me – but … if I was staying, maybe we could … I mean, if you wanted to … we could … go out for dinner?"

"I'd like that, Adam." Rachel smiled, "Maybe when you get back …?

"It's a date." he grinned.

Approaching her editor's office, Caitlin glanced through the window and realised he wasn't alone as she had expected. His personal assistant and the deputy editor were also present and, before she could even knock on the door, she was being waved inside.

"Hey, Dan." she said, acknowledging the others politely as well.

"Cait," her boss said, warmly but with a strange look in his eyes. "Take a seat. How are you?"

"I'm … uh, fine, I guess." she said unsurely, "You?"

"I'm good, good. Coffee – can I get you a cup? Susie, coffee, please."

"Right away, Mr Mathers." Susie said, bustling away like the epitome of efficiency she was.

"Now, Caitlin, the reason we've called you here … Rob, do we want to wait for coffee? No? No … okay. The reason we've called you here … Rob, tell Caitlin the reason."

Bemused to see her usually in charge, gruff, boss seem so flustered, Caitlin turned to his deputy, Rob Allen and raised an eyebrow. "Rob? What's going on?" she asked, secretly more worried about whether whatever it was meant she wouldn't get the chance to ask for some time off.

"Well, Cait, it's like this … we'd like you to take some time off."

Well, that was easier than expected. Although she did have a bad feeling she might not like the reason why …

to be continued ...