Disclaimer: I do not own this film or the characters

"We found him!"

Audrey perked up at her desk, biting her nails anxiously as she keenly listened to Chief Milton.

"...And then we lost him,"

Audrey sunk back into her chair, disappointment evident in her features. She scowled down at her desk, "Isn't this rich? First you criticise me for botching up the case, and yet you haven't been able to find him for months, and now you finally got him. Then you lost him!" She snapped.

"Look I know Jacks, and as soon as we find him again, we'll be able to get you back here-"

Audrey's stomach dropped, she had completely forgotten her stay in Cainneville wasn't permanent. She chewed on her nails again, eyes closing as she sighed heavily. Was she really going to choose between her great job at Atlanta and living with Mac in this small town?

"Do you hear me Jacks?"

"Eh?"

Milton sighed from the other end, "Keep your head down and your phone on. I'll contact you as soon as we get more information, i've got a funny feeling about this." He declared quietly. Audrey rolled her eyes, generally Milton's intuition was wrong.

"Yeah-yeah. Thanks Chief." She answered absently.

She dropped her cellphone onto her desk, resting her head on top of the wooden surface with exasperation. She only lifted her head when she heard a small clearing of ones throat. Audrey narrowed her eyes in frustration, only to sink back into her chair with uneasiness.

"Something wrong hon?" Walter asked from the chair placed in front of her desk. He was staring at her, there was certainly no concern in the deadly look he gave her. He lent forward, and Audrey retracted further into her desk chair.

"N-no" She stammered in surprise. She straightened up and shuffled the papers on her desk, "Is there something I can help you with Walter?" She asked him politely. She glanced up from her desk when he chuckled beneath his breath.

"Not anymore," He murmured, a sickly grin on his face. He rose from his chair and glanced over her head, "I'm here to see Pratt." He replied smoothly, before brushing past her desk and stalking into the Sheriff's office.

She shivered involuntarily at her desk, her back stiffening with the odd feeling that filled her stomach completely.

-Few days later-

Audrey rummaged through her shopping trolley, eyebrows furrowing as she checked her shopping list. She sighed loudly, a bemused grin stretching her lips at Mac's small request at the end of the page.

Have nothing on when I get home.

She shook her head at the messy scrawl, the small stains of oil he had left from where his hand laid. She started down the meat aisle, grabbing Mac his steak, or what he called his 'manly meal', not really concentrating on where she was going.

Her head snapped up when her trolley slammed into something, and it was followed by a gasp of pain. She gasped when she saw a young woman sprawled across the ground, thin pale legs a sickly view. She rushed around her shopping cart, crouching beside the woman with an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm so sorry!" She apologised, "I wasn't looking where I was going."

The young woman sat up shakily, and Audrey recognised her as Regina Ashton, Devon's younger sister. "Oh Regina, I'm so sorry." Audrey rambled, although her eyes were flickering all over her face. She looked different from when Audrey had last seen her, the tanned skin she had once acquired had grown positively transparent.

"I'm fine," Regina rasped out, she allowed Audrey to hoist her off the ground and slowly stabled herself.

"Are you sure? You look awful," Audrey blurted out, she raised her hand to check Regina's temperature, only to have the younger girl flinch away from her. Audrey hesitantly lowered her hand and gave Regina a reassuring smile. "I won't hurt you," She heard herself say, a motherly tone in her voice.

"I'm fine honestly, just a bit under the weather." Regina said firmly. She bent down and retrieved the shopping basket that had fallen on the ground. When she stood back up, she glanced at Audrey quickly. "I better get going," She whispered.

"You sure you don't need any help?" Audrey asked her softly.

Regina looked up at her, an almost pleading look in her eyes. Audrey involuntarily stepped forward, as if to comfort the frail young woman. "No," Regina said firmly, although her tone begged to differ. "No thank you," She reaffirmed.

Audrey knew not to press, she merely nodded and gave her a comforting smile. "Okay Regina, well if you ever need anything, come down to the office." She replied, a small hint of firmness in her voice. She watched Regina nod her head tightly, before she scuttled off down an aisle, her head down to hide herself from any unwanted attention. She disappeared around the corner, leaving Audrey mystified.

She continued her shopping, almost filling the shopping cart to the brim with Mac's 'essentials'. She did not notice when a woman approached her, only turning when her shoulder was tapped the second time. She raised her eyebrows and inwardly cringed, taking in the view of a not so pretty woman in a pair of shorts a size too small. She cleared her throat and looked back up at the cake-face that interrupted her train of thought.

"Yes?" She asked.

"You're Mac's girl, ain't cha?" The strange woman slurred, she sloppily rested her body weight on one leg while placing one hand on her hip. Audrey could tell she had a bit too much to drink, it wasn't a secret, she could smell vomit and alcohol emitting off the woman.

"Yeah.." She mumbled hesitantly.

"I just came to warn ya, on behalf of all the other sluts that Mac disposed. Don't get in too deep!" She warned, "What Mac does ain't exactly the most honest line of work, I'm surprised you're even with him. A big ole woman of the law like yerself."

Audrey bristled and tilted her head to the side, "Excuse me? Whats so bad about being a mechanic?" She asked rudely.

The woman's eyes nearly bulged out of her head, she looked Audrey up and down. "Hasn't he shown you the lab?" She asked curiously, a look of confusion and doubt crossing her features. "You sure you're not just his latest squeeze?"

Audrey crossed her arms defensively, "I'm fairly sure," She snapped. "And what's this lab you're talking about?"

A look of recognition lit in the woman's eyes and she clamped her mouth shut tightly, "Do not tell Mac about what I said, don't even question him on it!" She hissed,seeming to have sobered instantly. She glanced around her worriedly. "Don't even mention me alright?" She added.

Audrey frowned deeply, "Ma'am, what on earth are you on about?" She whispered. "Are you highly intoxicated?"

The woman nodded quickly, "Very! Don't believe a thing I said. I'm just stupidly drunk, Mac hasn't got anything like a lab." She laughed dryly, although Audrey could tell she was laughing out of fear. "Sorry to bother you Officer" The woman added quickly.

Audrey watched her scuttle off, both confusion and amusement swirling in her mind. She shook her head, rubbing her eyes tiredly and throwing the last item on the shopping list in her cart. "Can this day get any weirder?" She muttered to herself. She took her items through the checkout, and headed out to her car, oblivious to the whispers of a particular group of women.

She pulled out of the parking lot and made her way back to both her and Mac's house, a bright smile erupting over her face. She practically raced inside with her shopping bags, hollering out for her beloved companion. "Mac are you here? Sorry I'm late!" She called out. She frowned when there was no reply or arms encircling her waist. "Mac?" She called out.

She walked into the kitchen, sighing when she spotted a small piece of paper on the table.

Be back later tonight. Shit load of work to do - M

She grumpily threw the bags onto the bench, disappointment evident in her features. She started to make dinner, gradually making Mac's favourite meal as time seemed to rush past her. She started to get worried when it grew dark outside, Mac's absence finally drawing on her as silence surrounded her. She jumped in fright when her phone rang loudly, she snatched it up and pressed it against her ear.

"Hello?" She spluttered.

"Jacks! I need you to come down here now, we've just busted-"

"Isn't Harley there?" She sighed, she looked over her shoulder at the meatloaf baking in the oven.

"Yeah he's here, but there ain't enough cars. Get down here now!" Pratt demanded. Audrey sighed and begrudgingly agreed, Pratt gave her the details to where he was and the phone line went dead. She turned the meatloaf down to low heat, leaving Mac a small note on where she was. She threw her uniform on and hopped into her patrol car, placing her siren on and setting off to Pratt.

She frowned while following Pratt's directions, he was out in a barren area of the desert. She felt nervous for reasons she did not know, she couldn't fathom the anxiety that bubbled in her stomach at that moment. She spotted Pratt's patrol car parked to the side of the road, and she parked right beside it, quickly getting out of her vehicle to spot the mouth of a cave at the edge of the cliff.

She immediately found Pratt counselling a shivering Regina, a blanket was wrapped around her shoulders as her friends and Devon surrounded her. She nibbled on her lip as she neared the group, her eyes settled on Pratt and he practically grimaced when he spotted her.

"Jacks.." He started.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Well we just happened to have done quite a big drug bust, it really explains the state of some people in this town." Pratt remarked, he pointed over to Regina and her group. "Regina here got into a spot of trouble with the drug cook, luckily her brother and friends called us. Little did they know that this is a big meth bust"

"She got in trouble with the cook? Who is that.." She trailed off, glancing over Regina's shoulder to spot a familiar dark red pickup truck. She furrowed her eyebrows, "Is Mac here?" She asked quietly.

She looked at Pratt expectantly, and he looked downwards. He took his Sheriff hat off and pressed it against his chest, "Well thats what I tried to explain to you Audrey," He started softly. "You see Mac is the-"

"Get ya fuckin' hands off me Harley!"

Audrey's stomach dropped completely, she turned slowly and her eyes found him. At the moment she saw him, blue orbs connected with black. Her bottom lip quivered, eyes recognising a certain gas mask pushed up on top of his head. She didn't know what to feel at that moment, she felt disappointment, betrayal, sorrow, embarrassment and even anger. What surprised her the most was the overbearing protectiveness that surged through her at the sight of Harley's hold on him.

When he saw her, he slackened in Harley's tight grip. Her face resembled both thunder and disappointment. He was rendered speechless by her presence, a weight in his chest at the way she closed her eyes slowly and looked away from him. He could only lower his head as Harley led him past her.

She took a deep breath in, denying the urge to cry in front of Sheriff Pratt. She looked over at him, she felt numb and shocked. Surely Pratt was wrong! Is this a big mistake, or a prank? "This can't be right," Audrey mumbled, she looked back to Pratt with a brief hint of pleading in her eyes. "Not him Sheriff, Mac is a lot of things, but cooking meth?" She said breathlessly.

Pratt shook his head sadly, "Unfortunately Jacks, Devon and his friends found Mac standing over an unconscious Regina. He was caught red-handed." He shrugged his shoulders and looked over at Harley. "Take him back to the station," He instructed firmly to Audrey. He gestured for Harley to place him in the back of her vehicle. "Harley and I will tape off the lab and get witness reports, have him waiting by my desk."

"Do you have any idea who's in control of this?" She asked warily.

"No Jacks." Pratt answered.

Audrey nodded absently and dragged herself over to her patrol car. Thoughts were racing through her mind a mile a minute. Harley had made sure to secure Mac in the back of the patrol car, before giving Audrey a small sympathetic look and brushing past her. She stared blankly at the patrol car before slowly walking around it, she wrenched open the door and slid into the front seat. She was completely silent, the tension within the car was unbearable and she glanced in the revision mirror quickly.

Mac was staring back at her, an unfamiliar emotion in his eyes. She looked down at her hands, sighing lowly while she switched the keys in the ignition. She drove down the desolate road, trying her best to sort at her thoughts. She took a deep breath, and in her most composed voice she asked, "So, when were you going to tell me?" She asked, her voice like brittle.

He glared out the window, "I wasn't." He answered, his mouth in a tight line. This was suppose to be his last day!

She inhaled sharply, "Let me rephrase that. Why the fuck did you keep this a secret Mac?" She snarled.

Mac pressed back into his seat, he couldn't make out her expression and that bothered him. "I ain't talkin' to ya 'bout this here." He retorted, his voice firm and unwavering.

"Well you haven't got much of a choice Mac," She growled, "Do you even realise how serious this is? You could go to-" She was abruptly cut off by the loud insistent ring of her cellphone. She flared her nostrils angrily and swept it up, answering the phone with a snap. "What?"

"Jacks! Where are you now?"

"I'm...I'm in the car." She mumbled.

"Look Pratt just phoned me, telling me of that bust you've all just done. He's discovered all these files in the lab, posting addresses and what-not." Milton rattled on. Audrey sighed quietly, and pulled into the station's parking lot. "All of those addresses are linked to the same addresses you uncovered one year ago." He said quietly.

Audrey breathed in sharply. No.

"This is Braxton's operation."