A/N: Hey guys, I just wanted to say thank you so much for reading and reviewing. It makes me so happy whenever I get a new review, whether on my current fic or from someone reading my old stories for the first time. There are three more chapters and an epilogue of this reasonably short fic and then the next big story begins, which I am considering attempting to attack for NaNoWriMo, although I am also thinking about writing a bonus side adventure. I've got some possible ideas about giving some of my OCs a fun outing on fictionpress or writing a smaller fic that fills in some missing time (maybe between older fics or missing conversations that have happened in canon but never appeared in writing). Whatever I end up choosing I'm determined to have more to share through November. I hope you are all having a great weekend!

Xxx

Chapter 9

Simon's heart was doing loops of his chest as he walked quickly down the corridor and hesitated momentarily outside his door. This all felt very strange indeed, from so many angles. Even looking at the situation from a purely work-based perspective it had been some months since he'd had help in his department. He'd been keeping it running since the fire and explosions had wiped out his entire team. Now he was gaining two new members in one day. It was gong to be just as strange having Marci around as it was James.

But from a bigger perspective the day had been mind-blowing. Whilst it had taken time and a lot of fast talking he felt now as though everyone who mattered to him would allow James to work beside them. Perhaps not welcome him, but not shun him either. He hoped Gene would be on his best behaviour and still worried that some of his friends would break their promises and turn on James at the first opportunity, but he also didn't think that opportunity was going to come. James wasn't Keats, and for the first time he wasn't the only person who knew it.

He could hear the unfamiliar sound of filing as he looked around the doorway in time to see James wrestling a handful of folders into a filing cabinet, then closing the drawer and attempting to press it shut with his backside. As he gave up getting the last centimetre closed he sensed a presence watching from the doorway and his eyes turned toward Simon. The very sight of him pushed James's lips upward into a smile and he moved from the filing cabinet toward him instantly.

"Hey," Simon smiled anxiously as he ran his fingers through his wavy hair whilst James wiped his hands against his trousers.

"I didn't know where you were," James told Simon, feeling a little awkward, "and I didn't want to sit around drinking lattes all day so I made a start on all this filing."

"Nothing wrong with drinking lattes all day," Simon told him, "that's how Gene makes a living." He hesitated for a second but couldn't hold back any longer. He needed to grasp James and to feel his heart beating away so his arms grasped him quickly and he pulled James closer in a hug that surprised both of them.

"I'm sorry I ran," James said quietly, relieved to feel Simon's arms around him. Since the day he'd broken free from the dark energy the two had only been apart for a few minutes at a time. They'd been more or less joined at the hip. It felt strange to spend any length of time apart.

"Sorry? James, there's no need to be sorry," Simon closed his eyes, relieved to feel the warmth of James's body against him, "I'm the sorry one. I'm an idiot and a twat."

"Has this got anything to do with your filing?" James asked and both of them laughed a little nervously.

"No," Simon told him, finally letting his arms drop as he let James go and stepped back a little, "I'm sorry for leaving you to fend for yourself."

"I'm not your escaped guinea pig," James told him and simon rolled his eyes, recalling an incident with his furry lodger some week or so earlier.

"I know," Simon laughed softly. He pulled a chair closer and indicated to James that it was for him, then took his own from behind his desk and parked his backside in it. Rubbing his eyes he continued with a sigh. "But I still left you. We both knew this was going to be a difficult day but somehow I still managed to mess things up. I should have followed you but I wanted... needed to talk to them." he sighed again, "all of them. I needed them to understand you. I'm not letting them destroy your life here."

"They won't," James said quietly, "I'm not going to let anyone do that. I'm here to be with you." he paused, "And for myself. I won't let them spoil anything."

"I'm still sorry though," Simon reached out and took James's hand as he spoke, "if I could have split myself in two, I would."

"I probably needed that time alone," James admitted, "I think it did me good." He paused and looked awkward as he said, "I talked to someone."

Simon nodded.

"Kim?"

James looked surprised.

"How did you know?"

"I saw her," Simon told him, "She said you were doing fine."

James nodded.

"It's true," he said, "I am." He could see some doubt in Simon's eyes and he completely understood that. He'd made a complete fool of himself by running away and crying like a baby. The morning had been overwhelming and he'd been fleeing from more than a few angry faces. He'd fled from his memories too. Truth be told, he was still on the run from those. They'd almost caught him up when Kim found him but for the time being he was still a step ahead. "I mean it, Simon. I freaked out before, and I'm so sorry about that. I was an idiot and a complete wimp."

"You're not a wimp," Simon said gently with a sympathetic smile.

"Nevertheless," James said, grateful for Simon saying that but not quite able to believe he meant it, "I know I shouldn't have done it. I should have stayed and faced the music."

"The space probably did you good," Simon commented, thinking about his own dilly-dallying. He still felt guilty for not tracking James down sooner but having that time to come to terms with the big changes had done him some good too.

"Maybe," James nodded, "but I think talking to Kim helped more than anything."

Simon hesitated and started to play with his hair a little nervously. It felt bizarre to hear James talking about Kim so casually after the years spent knowing Keats with his evil desires on his best friend.

"What happened with Kim?" he asked quietly, "I saw her before."

"I know, you said."

"I thought... I thought she'd be," Simon hesitated. He was about to say 'a mess' but he realised he had no idea how much James knew of their history and didn't want tot trigger a memory that James wasn't ready to deal with yet. "...upset, maybe," he continued eventually, trying to sound more diplomatic, "but she seemed like her usual self."

James nodded a little.

"She seems really nice," he said quietly and Simon felt himself redden just slightly. There was a tang of jealousy to his words as he said,

"She's great. She's my best friend."

"She spoke to me like everything was normal. Like a human being," James told him. He ran his hand through his hair as though mirroring Simon's habit. He'd picked it up in the last few weeks fromliving with Simon and spending all his time with him. Simon found it flattering and it gave him a little boost every time he noticed it which helped to dull out that jealously. He knew he was paranoid; it was Keats who'd been fixated and obsessed with Kim. James wasn't the same person.

"Good," He said quietly, "Good, I'm glad that happened. It looks like it helped."

"It did, a lot," James nodded, "I remembered some things."

Simon felt his heart give a little leap with anxiety.

"What kind of things?" he asked. He knew that one day James would have to face up to what he'd done when Keats was at the helm but for now he wanted James to have the opportunity to settle into his new job and new role without being troubled by the darkness fro his past.

"She was nice to me," James's words sounded childish and simple, "when there was," he paused, "the video." His eyes closed involuntarily as he whispered, "when I saw myself die."

Simon flinched at the memory.

"I remember," he whispered.

"She was the only one who held out her arms," James whispered, "she looked at me like a human. Like a man. No one else had ever done that. Not since it took over." he shook his head with a sad sigh, "But then the darkness took over again and..." He flinched. There were other memories threatening to come out and he wasn't ready for that.

"I know," Simon whispered.

James looked at him very seriously and whispered,

"Do you think anyone else will be able to see me as I am now or will they always see," his voice cracked, "him?"

Simon stared at James. He didn't know the answer to that. He honestly didn't know whether they could get past the trauma they'd all incurred at the hands of Jim Keats to see James as someone different.

"Whether they do or whether they don't, you have every right to be here," Simon told him, "and none of them can take that away. This is your life now." He reached out and squeezed James's hand, "you deserve this. You really do."

James smiled back, even though his lips wobbled a little with worry. He knew every day could start the same way if the rest of the station couldn't see him as James. But he also knew they would be wrong to paint him in his old colours.

He was DI James Keats, on his first day at work. No one could take that away from him.

~ x X x ~

Marci slung her bag onto the back seat of her car and climbed into the driver's seat with her new camera still hanging around her neck. She closed the door and was in the middle of fastening her seat belt when she head a knocking at the window. Looking back she saw Fletcher standing beside the car and wound down her window to ask,

"Is everything OK, Sir?"

"Yes, oh yes, everything is fine," Fletcher told her, "Very good press conference. Excellent job, DS Fell."

Marci still hadn't managed to get used to hearing 'DS' at the start of her name and it made her smile.

"Thank you, Sir."

"There's one thing," Fletcher began, "I'd like you to put that camera to good use and start putting together a testimonial video to show at recruitment drives. Something about diversity within our station."

Marci frowned for a moment.

"Is that why I got the job sir?" she asked, "A black, bisexual woman; I'm like a walking advert for diversity in myself."

"You got the job purely on your skills and work ethic," Fletcher told her, "although a few scenes of you and your girlfriend holding hands wouldn't go amiss."

Marci rolled her eyes.

"Yes, because that's all girls do together," she mumbled then looked back at Fletcher. "Listen, Sir, I've got to get going because I've got a," she hesitated, reluctant to use the word 'date', especially after Fletcher's previous comment, "lunch meeting. Can you send me the brief for this video? I think the office email is working again."

"I'll do that," Fletcher nodded, "Thank you, Marci. And congratulations. A promotion you well and truly deserved."

Marci couldn't help smiling as she wound up the window and gave a goodbye wave. She felt like she was truly moving forward not just in work but in her life.

It was a good day. A really good day.

~ x X x ~

"Hey you."

Kim's face broke into a grin the moment she heard Robin's voice. She looked up to see him walk into the room and close the door softly behind him.

"Hey," Kim got to her feet and walked round to the front of the desk, wrapping her arms around Robin's neck as he wrapped his around her.

"Are you dong OK?" he asked her gently and she nodded against him.

"Yeah," she breathed, relieved to be back with him, "you?"

It took Robin a moment to start nodding to.

"I wasn't," he said quietly, "but I am now."

"Ditto," Kim told him. She felt his arms tighten around her and hers did the same.

"Simon had a talk with me," he told her, "made me think about a lot of things."

"I think he was trying to have a talk with me, too, "Kim sighed, "but I ended up cutting out the middle man I talked to him instead."

"To who? Simon?"

"James."

Robin couldn't help but feel a little disturbed by the thought of Kim and James talking. There were so many reasons why that worried him but he tried to bury his fears and concentrate on what Kim had to say.

"And what did he say?" he asked, drawing back a little so he could see Kim's face as she spoke.

"He remembered something from before," Kim said softly, which made Robin's anxiety creep back in.

"What?"

"From a day long ago, just after you went home in ninety five," she whispered, "He'd been made to confront something terrible. His own death tape."

Robin found himself introduced to a whole new experience; actually feeling sorry for Jim Keats. James. He still couldn't make that correction in his head.

"Shit, that's harsh," He commented.

Kim grabbed her chair and pulled round so they could sit down together as their conversation continued.

"He had a flashback," she said sadly, "he looked like he was going into meltdown." She sighed and put her bare feet up into Robin's lap, taking him a little by surprise.

"Oh," he exclaimed.

"Sorry, my feet are killing me and my ankles are swollen," Kim sighed.

"You need to take things easy," Robin reminded her.

"I'm fine," Kim sighed, "or at least I will be if you rub my feet.

"Cheeky git," Robin laughed, grasing her feet and running his fingers up and down them gently. She leaned back, closed her eyes and moaned softly.

"That feels good," she sighed.

Robin bit his lip as he continued to massage her aching soles, nervous of asking anything else because he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know the answer but eventually he began,

"So what else did he remember?"

Kim's eyes opened and she looked back at Robin.

"He remembered I was the only one who treated him like he was human," she said, "because... in that moment, he was. Seeing his tape... it was the first time I really saw the human side of him. First time any of us did, I think. But in seconds ,he changed again."

Robin bit his lip again

"Was that all?" he asked.

"It was the only thing the told me," Kim sighed, "although before that happened I could see he was remembering the bad stuff," she hesitated, almost scared to admit to herself, "the things he did to me."

Kim could feel Robin's grasp on her feet tightening as his concern grew.

"Shit," he whispered. He looked at her seriously and asked, "And you? H-Have you been remembering too?"

Kim looked down and swallowed. Her heart raced a little as she admitted,

"Some things came back. It was impossible not to let them. But I fought them away. And seeing him as a man, a human – that helped too."

Robin chewed on his lip a little more and asked,

"It did?" He watched Kim nodding, "really?"

"I think it was the only way to see for sure," she said, "to see that he's not Jim Keats any more.

"You really think he's different?" Robin asked.

Kim nodded.

"I think so," she said quietly, "Yeah."

"He's not Keats any more?"

Kim gave a slight shrug as the question was a hard one to answer.

"He's not Jim Keats," she whispered, "he's James. He's a human being. He's as scared as we are. Maybe more so. Seriously, Rob, I looked into his eyes and there's not a trace of the dark side. Not any more. There's fear and hope and good old fashion human emotions. He's alive."

Robin felt his heart-rate rising as his mind thought through everything that Kim had told him and he started to consider something he never could have imagined doing before.

"Do you think it helped you cope with this, being able to talk to him?" Robin asked, "seeing the changes?"

"Definitely," Kim nodded and paused. "What are you thinking, Rob?"

Robin didn't answer at first, partly because he didn't know what to answer and partly because he was distracted by his thoughts.

"What?"

Kim slipped her feet from his grasp and let them fall to the floor so she could lean closer and hold Robin's hands.

"What are you thinking?" she asked again softly in a tone she saved exclusively for him. Robin's downward stare helped to answer her question but she already knew the answer. "Do you think it would help if you talked to him too?"

Robin glanced up. It felt as though Kim had ripped the thought straight out of his head. He gave her a nervous smile.

"It had crossed my mind," he admitted. Holding her hands with a squeeze he asked, "What do you think?"

Kim took a deep breath.

"I can understand why you're thinking about it, Rob. And honestly, it did help me a lot. I think I can deal with him being here."

"Do you think it would help me, too?" Robin asked and Kim gave a tiny shrug.

"I can't predict the future, but," she took a deep breath, "all I can say is that it made a big difference to the way I felt. And we're about as similar as two people can get without the act of cloning." She watched a little smile break out on Robin's face, "so I'd say," she nodded and paused, "I'd say you'll probably get about as much out of it as I did."

Robin nodded slowly. She was right. She usually was.

"I think so too," he whispered. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "problem is, how would I even go about doing it? I can't talk to him, Kim, I can't!"

"Hey," Kim looked deeply into his eyes, "there's no pressure, no need to do anything you're not ready for. James isn't going to vanish into thin air. If you're not ready today there's always tomorrow, and the next day, and next week, and so on."

Robin nodded and stared just past Kim, his unfocused eyes settling on a spot on the wall. She was right, he knew that. He also knew what he was like.

"The longer I leave it, the harder it will get," he whispered, "if I don't do it now I might never do it."

"Rob, are you certain you're ready?" Kim asked seriously, "I meant everything I said, I really think it can help you too. But I don't want you to leap in before you're sure and regret it later."

Robin shook his head slowly.

"I won't," he said, "at least, I don't think I will." He shrugged, "I can't predict the future either. But it's got to be better than feeling the way I'm feeling right now. That doesn't mean I'm not OK," he added, "just... just that there are always going to be -"

"'Things'?" Kim asked and Robin nodded. They knew each other inside out. They knew the way each other's minds worked and Kim knew exactly what he meant.

"Yeah."

Kim exhaled as she grasped Robin's hands and looked at him seriously.

"I could go and talk to Simon," she said quietly, "ask him if James would be up to talking with you."

"Do you think there's a chance he'll refuse?" Robin asked. There was a part of him that was still too scared to talk to James, even though the bigger part of him know it would help him and was ready to face that moment. He knew if James didn't want to speak to him then the matter was taken out of his hands and he would be let off the easy way. At the same time, he knew that wouldn't solve anything.

"I don't know," Kim said honestly, "but we can only ask. It's been the hardest first day already. James might not be ready yet, but if we don't ask, we don't know."

Robin bit his lip and started to nod slowly.

"I think," he began quietly, "that I'd like to ask."

Kim nodded and squeezed Robin's hands.

"I can help you start things off," she said, "I can go and talk to Simon? Or James, if he's in there?"

Robin nodded slowly.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Kim looked at him seriously.

"Are you ready now?" she asked, "or do you need time?"

Robin wasn't completely sure herself but with a deep breath said,

"No, I'm ready. I need to do this now."

Kim watched Robin get to his feet, then hauled herself out of her chair and grasped his arm, taking it in hers.

"Let's go then," she said quietly.

She could see the determination on Robin's face. She'd rarely seen him with such a strong firmness of purpose. She knew herself how difficult this was going to be for Robin, but she also knew how much he was going to get from seeing for himself that Jim Keats was dead and buried.

James wasn't Jim. Robin was about to see that for himself.