DISCLAMER: I'm not witty enough to come up with anything really pithy right now, like Jake might. Suffice to say I don't own Twilight or any of the characters.

A/N: You all have NorEli to thank for your Christmas present of this (incredibly short) chapter. Had she not generously helped me and continued to prod, you wouldn't be seeing this until the next year. I hope you enjoy this bit and your holidays!


4:43am

I awoke two minutes before the alarm was set to go off, and groaned at seeing the time. I rolled over in a vain attempt to get two more minutes of rest before I remembered my overnight guest. The rush of adrenaline that pumped through me at that realization did a better job of waking me up than the alarm, as I bolted upright, my thoughts racing. I briefly warred with myself of being a good host by getting breakfast ready verses letting Jacob fend for himself. (After all it wasn't like I actually invited him to stay the night.) Unfortunately, my better nature won out and I silently turned off my alarm and crept out of my room and down the hall to the bathroom. I paused, catching a glimpse of Black on my couch. He was too tall to actually fit comfortably, so his legs dangled off one end. I could hear soft snores coming from him and allowed myself a grin as I continued on my way.

After morning ablutions and a quick shower, I stepped out of the bathroom, doing my best to remain as quiet as possible. I took a few steps towards my room before I noted that I didn't hear Jake anymore. At all. Strangely disquieted by that, I padded back and chanced another glance to my sofa. To my surprise, my partner had disappeared, leaving only the folded up blanket and pillow tucked into a corner. But I had only been in the bathroom no more than seven minutes and I knew every creak and groan my apartment made, even while I was in the shower. I heard no indication of him moving.

"Jake?" I called, just to be sure.

"Jacob?" I eased closer, senses on alert, but no sound of stirring seemed to be forthcoming. My stomach dropped and I cursed for not having my gun near. I turned back to retrieve it from my night stand, when a piece of paper on top of the pillow caught my eye and I warily approached it.

BRB. Coffee. -J

I sighed deeply in relief. Crisis averted, I gathered up the bedding and went to get dressed for the day.

I was in the kitchen, debating about making omelets when I heard the locks to my door tumble. Startled, I whirled around, grabbing one of my cooking knives as I did, my heart pounding.

"Swan?" I heard my partner say.

"In here!" I breathed out. My pulse was struggling to get back to normal. All this nervousness couldn't be good for my blood pressure.

Jake appeared, holding two cups and a to-go bag from the bagel shop down the block and dropped a set of keys in the bowl by the door. "Hey," he greeted. "I got..." he trailed off and it took a second for me to realize why he had, until I followed his pointed gaze to the knife still in my hand. "You okay?" he asked after a beat.

I huffed out a laugh, running a hand through my hair. "Yeah," I assured him, as I gingerly set the knife down on the counter. "I just..." Irrationally, I had no desire to tell him about my jumpiness. He would probably use that as some kind of proof that I needed some big, strong man to hover over me, or some other kind of macho bull. Instead, I changed the subject. "Were those my keys?" I demanded, pointing at the bowl by the door.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. I didn't wanna leave your place unlocked with you in the shower, not knowing I was gone."

I stared at him for a second. Okay, that was kind of, well...not sweet, but...

"Don't worry," he added wryly, as he made his way to the table. "I didn't have time to make copies."

...nevermind...

I frowned and replaced the knife.

"Anyways," he continued, setting down his haul. "I got you that oatmeal and flax muffin, and that guy Tony said this was the tea you drank when you ordered it." He pushed one of the cups towards me.

"Thanks," I replied. "I guess this saves me from making omelets."

Jacob stilled. "Omelets?" he repeated hopefully.

I pointedly glanced at the bag.

"I can eat both!" he insisted. "It takes a lot of fuel to keep this system going." He patted his flat stomach.

"You're a bottomless pit," I muttered, but I reached in the bag and took my muffin with me to the kitchen to halve while I pulled out a skillet. "Peppers and mushrooms okay?"

I got a muffled "Mmm-hmm!" from my partner's obviously full mouth and just shook my head.

6:00am

After watching in horrific fascination at the amount of food he consumed, we made our way to the precinct, where Jacob was greeted by the boys with bro-nods and a quick and quiet discussion, no doubt, about last night's sleep over.

Cautiously, I eyed my mail and inbox while I waited for my computer to boot up. Thankfully, it was only run of the mill paperwork.

My phone rang. "Swan," I greeted.

"Bella!" the exuberant squeal of my best friend, Alice, rang in my ear. I winced at the pitch, pulling the phone back a hair, in an effort to save my hearing. I saw the guys' heads swivel in my direction at the sound, but I merely waved them off, mouthing Alice's name in explanation. Quil and Em were all too aware of how high pitched she could sometimes get when she got excited.

"Hi, Alice," I returned, eyeing the time. "Have you been to bed yet?" Alice Brandon had always been one of those people who woke up perky, but it was incredibly unusual for her to be up this early. And as long as I'd known her, my best friend seemed to become a bit more manic and well...slap-happy in an inverse relation to how tired she was.

"Well, I was going to, but then I got off the phone with Rose, who had to tell me about 'your new man'. I'm mad at you for that, by the way. That was mean. But I figured with both of you in the same city, not to mention Rose on our coast, I thought the three of us could meet up before she leaves and have some girl time! So I've been looking at tickets-"

It clicked in my brain what she was rambling about and I sighed. "Rose is here for work, Alice."

"And yet you managed to host her and Emmett AND your new partner for dinner last night. Don't tell me you can't manage to swing some free time for the three of us? Your Best Friends?!"

I breathed deeply, taking extra care not the let exhale sound like a defeated sigh. Not for the first time I pondered the effect Rosalie and Alice had on me, in becoming my friends by simple way of them railroading me. Both of them were top notch in making me feel guilty enough to usually give in to them. Of course, it wouldn't work as well if they didn't already have material to work with. Rose and I hadn't laid eyes on each other in person in over a year and a half and Alice and I hadn't gotten together in at least five months, which was saying something, considering how many trips she could (and did) write off as business expenses to visit me, seeing as we lived closer together.

"Besides," Alice continued, a frown in her voice. "I don't like the idea of this stalker you've got."

"Alice," I sighed, not really sure what to tell her. "I'm a big girl. I'm a police officer and I've got the boys watching my back, too. I've got it handled."

"Still," the woman on the other end insisted. When I didn't reply, Alice turned a bit of whine in her voice. "Bella! Come on! One night! I can be up there, tonight and the three of us can do a girls night in."

"And Emmett's supposed to just sit by himself in the hotel room?" I asked. Rose had said he had come along, wanting to visit me, and I know he had to be bored by himself when she was working.

"Tch. Fine, Emmett, too," Alice said, like she was making some grand concession. I rolled my eyes. "Maybe he'll let us paint his toes!" she giggled, returning to her bubbly self.

"He only did that because he was drunk at the time," I reminded her. I heard a soft snort and looked up to see my partner by my desk, scribbling something on my sticky-notes. A second later he presented me with a message that indicated he was gonna grab a quick shower in the locker room. I waved him on. "Look, Alice. I honestly don't know how long Rose'n'Em'll be here. I really do need to focus on this murder case."

"One night!"

I gave up. Alice would likely harass me until I said yes, and the quicker I could get her off the phone, the quicker I could get back to work. "Fine. One night. I guess tonight, since I don't think Rose'll be in long, in fact, we should probably check with her, first."

"I already did!" Alice exclaimed gleefully.

Of course. Brandon may have a hyperactive pixie demeanor about her, but she was remarkably well-prepared for nearly any scenario. The amount of forethought she had used to strike me as a little bit creepy, when we were in high school, because it always seemed like she had some sort of weird psychic ability, but seeing her manage it in a business that required her to always be on top of the next hot thing in fashion before others were, my view of her talent softened into mild amusement. At least she used her powers for good.

"Text me the details of your flight," I resigned myself to saying. "Let me know when you get in." I thankfully rang off shortly after and debated another cup of black tea, I would need the caffeine to deal with my best friends alone, not to mention the rest of the day.

"Full house again?" Embry asked, amusement coloring his tone.

"Yes," I ground out. "Alice wants to do a girls night in, with Emmett."

"Emmett?" Quil asked.

"Oh, right. Emmett is Rosalie's long term boyfriend. We went to college together for a while. He came out to see me, with Rose."

I watched as understanding dawned on their faces. "The lawyer chick, right?" Embry checked.

I nodded. "Cullen's lawyer chick, actually," I related. The boys had missed the ensuing drama our first meeting had stirred, but I knew they could appreciate the irony of professionally working against my old roommate.

As expected, Embry barked out a laugh and Quil's mouth dropped open. "Shut-up!"

I felt my lips twitch. "It surprised me, too." I gave them a quick rundown of what had happened and finished just as my partner rejoined us in a clean set of clothes and looking fresh from the showers.

He looked a little too good. I dragged my gaze back to my desk before I got caught staring and made sure to fix my expression to one that didn't indicate I was guilty of the act when he spoke.

"So, what's next?"

I opened my mouth to respond when my phone rang again. I gave Jake a 'one moment' gesture and answered the phone. "Swan."

"Bella," Rose greeted, sounding sharp.

I heard the seriousness in her voice, but coming right after a call from Alice, I couldn't help myself when the next words that popped out of my mouth. "Did you really have to call Alice?" I'm woman enough to admit that there might've been a bit of whine to my tone. "She's trying to make travel arrangements right now."

"Swan!" Rosalie barked.

I snapped out of it. I hadn't heard that particular inflection since our first weeks of sharing a dorm, when the very act of me existing irritated my roommate. This wasn't my friend I was talking to, right now, this was the attorney of a suspect. "Yes, Miss Hale?" I replied professionally.

"There is some information pertinent to your case that my client wishes to convey."

My eyebrows rose up. "Information pertinent to the case I am working on right now?" I watched as Jake's gaze sharpened as he heard my end of the conversation.

"Yes," the lawyer's answer came down the line.

"Information that your client hasn't already given to my partner when he was interrogated and specifically asked if there wasn't anything else he had to share?" If Edward had been deliberately been withholding information about the case, I knew my partner would jump at the chance to charge him with obstruction of justice. Anything to see that man in cuffs. And honestly, I couldn't blame him. As much as I didn't want to think of him like that, Edward Cullen had been more of a hindrance than a help in this investigation and the cop in me appreciated Jacob's frustration of our continual dealings with him.

"Information that my client wasn't legally able to share at the time."

"Go on."

"We'd like to speak to you at Mr. Cullen's office as soon as you are able."

I glanced up at my partner. "We'll be right over."