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This story takes place after Noughts and Crosses, though I have read Knife Edge and Checkmate. This story is a one off. Just ONE chapter. It helps slightly if you've read Knife Edge but it doesn't really matter. Only two things (or three) from book two are mentioned.

This story is dedicated to: Callum Ryan McGregor. RIP. (Yes, I know he's not real cries but he deserves the sympathy). Did everyone else cry at the end of book one? I hope I'm not the only one… God, I'm glad I'm not in Sephy's shoes.

I own only 'Cameron' says craftily, but his looks and personality belong to Malorie Blackman (you'll find out why later). The rest of the characters belong to her too. If I add some extras, I'll let you know. By the way, the 'x' and 'o' after the names stand for noughts and crosses Ha ha! I'm getting crafty now.

The First And Last Chapter
x Meggie o

Walking down the street. Head down. No left, no right – just one long road. And me. Me and no one else, and I'm drowning in my thoughts. The bag of shopping in my right hand feels like a deadweight. It's dragging me down, pushing me further into my nightmares.
For a minute, I feel as if there are eyes on me, but the feeling quickly fades. Who would be interested in me? A lonely nought, walking home after doing the weekly shop.

But then I realise there is someone watching me.
"Can I carry that bag for you?"

The voice floats towards me – and it's like a dream. I recognise that voice… it's… it's…
I look up, shocked. Standing right in front of me is a man with cropped brown hair and the greyest eyes I've ever seen. He is the exact clone of my little boy. Callum. Back from the dead.

"Uh? Can I help you, Miss?" he asks. From one nought to another. He's in his late-teens/early-twenties. I see in his face, one more time, my Callum.
But Callum's dead… I snap out of my madness and smile politely. "Thank you, but I'm fine, I–"

"No, I insist," he shrugs. Then something inside me clicks and I think: What the heck? The damn groceries are hurting my arm anyway – I don't want to cramp up. So I hand my bag over. Half expecting him to run off, I get ready to clock him over the head. But he falls in beside me and starts chatting to me offhandedly.

"My name's Callum," he smiles, holding his hand out so we can shake.
I do a double take. "Excuse me?" I gape, shivering.
He looks at me oddly. "I said: My name's… Cameron. Are you alright, Miss?"
I shake my head then shake his hand. "I'm fine. Please, call me Meggie."

Cameron nods, satisfied. I catch a glimpse of him and wonder. He can't be Callum… maybe he's slightly older than I imagined. I can't tell really.
"I'm a newbie," he says, almost in a boast. "I live round these parts too."
"You alone?" I ask. Again, Cameron nods.

I look up. We're a street away from my house. I'd hate to send such a nice boy away. Especially when Sephy's at home – alone – with no one to talk to… I start pondering whether I should let him in. Sephy may reject him. After all, Jaxon just kicked her out of the band – she has nobody. She just won't be social.

We turn into my street. Cameron's still carrying the plastic bag. Even if he would run off, there's nothing interesting in there. Just milk and some spaghetti. I remember the old family dinners.

Lynette staring off into space… Callum and Jude arguing… The spaghetti spilling onto the table… Jude piling it into his mouth… Laughter…

And now with little Callie Rose in the house I can hear that laughter all over again. Sephy just loves spaghetti… I have my family back. Finally.

At my door. Looking around. Then rapping on the glass with my knuckles. "You can come in, too, if you want." I tell my helper. Cameron looks about, thinking and then slowly nods. "Yes. Thank you."

Suddenly, he sucks in a deep breath as the door jerks open. I wonder who he's just seen?
"Sephy, this is Cameron. Cameron this is the mother of my granddaughter, she's…" I trail off.

Sephy looks gobsmacked. She's wearing a skimpy turquoise top and ripped jeans. Her hair is brushed out of her face and pulled back into a high-ponytail, her dark skin shining in the sunlight.

When she'd opened the door, she'd been spinning a dishcloth, but now she's dropped it in surprise. Eyes wide, she's staring at Cameron, bottom lip trembling. And Cameron seems to be frozen like a deer in headlights. Slow realisation is crossing his face. He masks it quickly, sticks out a hand and smiles.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Cameron Mayhew. I live around the block." He half-expects Sephy to draw back from his hand, but when she sees he won't bite, she slowly lets her shields go down – like a snake uncoiling.
"Persephone Hadley," she replies – her voice barely above a whisper. She shakes his hand like a royal; fingers gracefully swooping in like a dove landing.

I can see her face swimming with questions. She believes the same thing I do. That he looks just like our Callum…

"Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, I can make dinner!" I announce, sidling past Sephy. For a while, the two just stand in the doorway looking like they don't know what to do. I watch them from the kitchen, until Sephy invites Cameron in. He looks bewildered, then steps over the threshold.

"This is the front room," Sephy smiles, doing a pirouette. "Oh," she lowers her voice and points upstairs. "Please keep your voice down, I only just got little Rosie to sleep." She wrinkles her nose up happily and dances into the kitchen.
Cameron sits himself down in one of the fourth-hand sofas and looks around the room, apparently comfortable.

"Meggie…" Sephy begins, but I cut her off with a sharp wave of my hand. "I know, I know. I see it too." I put the spaghetti in the pan, then go over to the sink and run the tap. "Besides–"

A wail bursts out from upstairs. The two of us turn. Cameron's looking up at the stairs in controlled surprise, then like a cat stretching, he stands up and nods towards the stairs.

"Please. Let me."

Sephy and I look at each other – motherly protection crossing Sephy's face almost immediately. I suddenly wonder whether I should have let this complete stranger in. "I'm her mother," Sephy reassures, talking to the guy in the front room. "I'll go." But Cameron's already halfway up the stairs.

Sephy curses and follows quickly, eyes wild, hands balled up into fists. I pray that Cameron is as nice as he appears and not a baby-snatcher.

x Sephy o

I turn onto the landing sharply. Rosie's cries are only growing in volume. If he touches my baby, he'll suffer the consequences…even if he does look like Callum…
I come to a sudden stop. I'm right in front of the nursery. He's in there, I know he is, because I can hear him singing.
He's got a pretty good voice too. And what is he singing? Rainbow Child. My song.

Slowly, I press my hand against the wooden door and slide it further ajar. My heart jumps into my throat. 'Cameron' is standing there, hands digging into the crib with my baby girl in. He's lifting her up, and all the while is singing with that flawless voice of his. But it's not just that. That's not what's making my blood pressure sore – my heart beat faster.

He looks almost exactly like Callum. And there's this… aura… around him – as if he's glowing. Like he's a ghost. Or an angel.

"…And what was life before you?
And do you know how I adore you?
And it scares me how I feel,
All my past scars fade and heal
When I hold my rainbow child."

His grey eyes are fixed intently on my baby's face. Callie Rose has stopped crying. She's looking through new eyes at the man who looks like her daddy.

"C-C-Callum?" I whisper, letting the block in my throat escape in one heart-felt plead. Please let it be Callum and I'll never ask for anything else. Please… please… Cameron jerks around. His face is pale, his hands are shaking as they clutch around my baby girl but I'm not looking down at his arms, just at his face.

"Uh…" he looks around, confused. Meggie's eyesight's not as good as it used to be, she should have recognised this boy as her son. It is Callum. It is. It is. It is. It is!
"Sephy, look…" Cameron begins.

Tears are filling my eyes. No matter what the expression, angle or emotion – he is in everyway my Callum. Back from the dead. He's here. With me.

"GET OUT!" I scream, pointing to the door. I say this because I've just remembered one sure thing. Callum's dead. I watched him die – I saw it with my own eyes. "GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE, NOW!"

Cameron's mouth drops open. That's it Sephy, just keep believing he's Cameron and you'll go far… No way is he your Callum. Callum's dead. He's dead. He's –

"Sephy, please. I–" Since when did he get the permission to call me Sephy? He doesn't know me. He doesn't even know my nickname. I told him 'Persephone'. And is he saying it? No.

I jab him in the shoulder with my hand, infuriated. "You're acting like you know me, but you really don't. So put my daughter down and leave. Now." I say with deadly patience, tone savage.

"Sephy, listen. It's… it's me." His eyes are round, like a child's.
He's begging me. And… and… oh God, I think he's crying. "Please…" he whispers.
He's putting Rosie in her crib. Good, now step away… He does. He's brushing past me, very slowly in a lingering moment.

"Remember Celebration Park?" he asks, desperate. "And the beach?" He's stopping in the hallway. I have the insane urge to push him down the stairs. But… But, the back of my mind says: how the hell does he know about that? That used to be mine and Callum's secret. Ours. No one else knew. No one!

"R-Remember?" his bottom lip is quivering.

I narrow my eyes. "Callum died. He was hanged. I was there, I saw it. He was yelling at me… telling me he l-l-loves me."
There. I said it. And the tears are welling up. Time doesn't heal wounds. It buries them. And it hurts even more when you dig them up.

"Sephy…" he's speaking slowly, calmly. He knows he's about to get thrown out. But he can't be Callum, because his hair is short and Callum had grown it long. I remember thinking it looked nice. It had suited him.

"How?" I ask. "Come on then, if you're Callum, how did you get out from being hung from the neck till dead?" my voice is quivering. I can't believe those words just escaped my mouth.

For a second, Cameron stands there looking hesitant and upset. Then I realise he's wearing a polo shirt with the collar high. Right on cue, he follows my eyes, looks down at himself and his face grows pink with determination. He tugs the collar down. I gasp involuntarily.

There – on his neck – are rope burns. It looks as if he's had his throat slit continuously in different places and sewn up again, jaggedly. They're harsh marks that would've killed someone easily…

It meant nothing. The scars couldn't be real. But here was a boy who looked exactly like my Callum. Who had the scars of a noose. Who talked like him, sounded completely like him and held my baby like she was the most important thing in the world.

"How did you escape?" I ask, voice thick and slurred. My throat is full of water. I'm going to start blubbing any second.
"A friend who worked at the prison."
"And you were hanging from that noose for how long?"

"At least till everyone went away. My friend measured the noose. He made sure it was loose enough for me to survive for around an hour, but…" he's fingering the burns. He winces at the touch. "Not perfectly."

I shake my head. "No. No. No. No!"
I refuse to believe it. It can't be true! It just can't be!

"Face it, Sephy," he smiles ironically, brushing his brown hair back and adopting a hero pose. "I'm home."

x Callum o

Callum or Cameron? Who am I really? I remember being pulled down from the noose. I remember looking around. I remember collapsing. And then I don't remember anything of what happened in between. And then I woke up.

Someone… Someone sent me an envelope of money. But they said I was only allowed to have it if I wrote a letter… I remember people sitting down with me – lawyers – and watching me write it. But I can't remember what it said. I was copying the words from a sheet. And they handed it to the person who helped me. Jack… And they told him to give it to… Persephone Hadley.

BOOM. Memories. Sephy. The beach. Hey, aren't I-?

A woman turned to me. She told me I was Cameron Mayhew. And she handed me the money and gave me tips about where to buy a house. But I wasn't stupid. I was going home!

And here I am. A year later. And the scars around my neck haven't healed. But Sephy doesn't believe it's me because even I don't believe it's me. I didn't know Jack was going to save me. I had no idea. I collapsed in his arms… and I lost some of my memories along with my consciousness. I guessed it was to do with blood rushing to my brain or something.

But I remember now. I remember everything.

"Sephy. It's me. I'm back." I say, and I pray that my eyes aren't filling with tears. We've been apart for so long… what if she doesn't love me anymore? What if-?

For an instant I think she's going to slap me. Then, slowly, she leans forward and throws herself into my arms.

"Callum… oh Callum, you're home! You're really here, you really… YOU'RE ALIVE!" she's raining kisses over my face and I'm doing the same for her.

"I love you, Sephy," I whisper into her hair, crying and crying without stopping.

"I love you too, Callum." And our lips meet. I except Callie Rose to start crying, like babies do in movies – causing distractions. I hear gurgling. A chirpy kind of 'gaga' burble. A baby's equivalent to laughing.

Sephy and I break apart, turn back into the nursery and look. Callie Rose is kicking happily.

"Mama." She coos happily. "Dada." Sephy turns to me, eyes wide. And then we start crying all over again, this time – Sephy bringing Callie Rose into the hug. The three of us are standing in the nursery, crying and laughing and spinning forever. I'm home! I'm home! I'm really, really home! Thank you God. Thank you.

END

(sheds a happy tear) Oh, if only Callum survived. If only…

The letter Cameron - Callum - supposedly wrote was the one Sephy received in Knife Edge and if you've read Book Two, you'll know Rainbow Child – otherwise, it's just a song Sephy sings to Callie Rose and dedicates to her when she's in a band, okay?

But now that I've read Checkmate I know the real reason why Callum sent that letter. Those of you who haven't read Checkmate – should! It's BRILLIANT!
Review please!