Work ethic had become a problem for a certain employee of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Intelligence Department. He was having difficulty focusing on work as well as other things. When he got home, he didn't feel like doing anything. Things he used to enjoy just weren't appealing right then. Every day, Audrey would drag himself into work and do his best, but it just wasn't what it used to be. This slump came after news of Preston's end, and he couldn't seem to see any end in sight.

Perhaps it was Audrey who was hit hardest out of the original crew, given his relationship with Preston. Out of all of the members of the sensational seven, it was he who was closest to Preston. They came over to each others' houses and played videogames on a regular basis, and Audrey was one of the few in the group that shared interest in science-fiction. The pair had inside jokes that would never be told again. Hell, Preston's high scores were still on Audrey's gaming consoles. His ghost was still there.

He couldn't shake it. Even though he hadn't seen Preston in months, the fact that he truly was never coming back was a lot to take in. While Baines knew the his former friend would be killed for what he had done and known from the beginning wasn't enough to shield him. He felt bad. As much as he didn't want to, he missed his friend, even if he was never going to be the same person he was.

Audrey hated himself for missing Preston after everything he's done. Preston wasn't worth being missed, but still, it lingered. The thing about emotions is that they aren't rational. They can't be reasoned with. When someone feels something, it cannot be changed until the feeling passes. That is the way life works. Bones, being a person with emotions, was no different. The day would eventually come where he would be alright with this sequence of events, but this wasn't the day. He couldn't shake the feeling of life being unfair.

He could remember how good of a person he was. Preston was the kind who once risked his life for the life of a friend, but it was this that led to his downfall. Preston thought life wasn't fair as well. He felt punished for his good deed, and everything spiraled from there. Life just wasn't fair.

Thoughts like these made Audrey feel sluggish and unable to focus on anything, even when he heard things that would be fascinating to him. He heard about talk that the Americans were interested in what they were doing with supernaturals, which could mean many things, including funding. He was supposed to be following up on vampire attacks in Essex, and managed to do the job, but not with his usual quality. Thank goodness, he didn't fail, but the results could have been disastrous if he was too out of it.

"The psychiatrist says I'm having a bit of depression." he told a certain researcher as he was having his regular checkup. "Do I like, need any drugs for that, or..?"

"I wouldn't play with that." answered Miranda. "Medication can really mess you up. I think you're just having a natural response to death that will go away with time. Really, it will."

"Doesn't feel like it..." mumbled Audrey, causing the other to utter a sigh.

"It will, trust me. Just do your best." the woman replied. With a pause, she added: "If you'd like, I can offer you a paid medical leave."

"Regular paid leave is fine. I don't think it's serious enough to be medical."

"If that's what floats your boat. I really do think you need some time off, though."

"To do what? Sit alone in my room all day and wallow in it? There's nothing to do! Nothing is interesting anymore..."

With a concerned look, Miranda put down her clipboard on the counter as she crossed one leg over the other in her seat. "You need this." she insisted. "You need to go out and do things. Anything, really, even if it's hard. Lying around in your room is only going to make it worse. Go outside. Maybe you could stay with your family?"

"My mum would just complain and lecture me about it..." Audrey replied. "She'd say it's all because of supernaturals and H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. and that I should just stay home and work at the company."

"Surely a friend can help you." suggested Miranda. "You can't let things spiral out of control. Bad things come when that happens. You need to go somewhere you can be doing things and staying active." Pausing, she added, "Have you been going to the gym, still?"

"I've felt to bad to go." Baines said, putting his hand on his stomach. "I need to, though. I'm starting to not be as tone as I used to."

"At least you were tone. I've always been squishy."

"You're cute like that, though. I'm not. This is the best I can do." There was a pause after the reaper said that before he saw the woman's blush, prompting his own cheeks to turn pink in return. Indeed, that was a rather suspect thing to say. After all of this time, Audrey thought he had gotten better at talking around the opposite sex, but in an instant, all of that had flown out the window.

"U-u-uh… So… I wonder where I should go…" he said, abruptly changing the subject. In a rare moment, Miranda took off her glasses so that she could clean the lens with the fabric of her shirt, mostly so she wouldn't have to look at Audrey directly. This said, this meant that the man could see her entire face, and he was somewhat pleased, despite being embarrassed beyond belief.

"I don't know." the woman answered. "Do you have any other places you could stay?"

"We-well..." Audrey pondered. "I guess my family has a few other properties… I could probably stay at one of them for the time being..."

"The only problem is that I don't want you to go by yourself." Miranda said almost scoldingly. "It's better for you to be in contact with someone."

"I have a phone. Surely there's service at one of them. I can keep you updated, if you want."

Leaning back, Miranda tried to get comfortable, only to almost fall out of her chair. She managed to catch herself before Audrey could, even though he stood up to catch her. Clearing her throat, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and tried to compose herself.

"I'd like that." she said. "You should have my number, but, let me give you my skype..."


A/N: Whelp. Good luck with finding yourself, Audrey.

Audrey is kind of hard to write for... I don't know why, but he's kind of... Restrained, and not in a good way. I don't think Audrey's feelings are always apparent, and it's kind of hard for even myself to know what exactly it is he's thinking. He's a mystery...

I'll deal with him more later...

He's a weird one...

Semi-related question:

"What impact would being half-reaper have on someone's lifespan, anyway?"

Good question. I don't really know. I assume it would lengthen it by quite a bit. Probably makes him age a bit slower, too. Somehow, I can imagine Audrey becoming this old, shriveled 300-something year old man who dispenses wisdom about the past generations to the young'ins when they're fuckin' up. Spin off?

Also, reviews fixed themselves, so I don't need to go through e-mail anymore! I was starting to get worried...

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


CHARACTER SHET

Question: "Alois did took two different condom sizes. Ming sharing who's bigger? Wink wink nudge nudge" by guest

Alois: "That's classified."