Now that the world is on lockdown and I can't leave the house, you might be seeing some steady (steadier!) updates from me, woo! Or maybe not. Who can tell!? Thanks to my faithful reviewers. Nice to know somebody is still reading lol. And the 2 Britts :)

"Just do it Rollins!"

"He won't do it. Fucking pussy."

"Shut up! He will. Watch."

Fifteen-year-old Seth Rollins didn't want to. But he knew he had to.

He trailed Brian McDermott by a few paces. It was obvious the other boy was very aware of the trio that walked behind him. Seth could even see the sweat patches developing under his arms and on his back. They were stark against his grey t-shirt and Seth hated it. He was obviously shitting himself and rightly so.

Brian was a year younger than them but shared a few classes at school. He was a smart kid, a straight-A student and heavy set. He sucked at sports and spoke with a soft lisp. This obviously made him a prime target for various groups in school who bullied him relentlessly. And today Brian was about to get his first beat down courtesy of Seth Rollins.

"Hey jump rope!" Seth called out. It was what everybody called him at school because not once had he been able to climb it in class. One time, he got three pulls up and promptly fell off, sparking the nickname that would no doubt haunt him for the rest of his life. With his friends snickering behind him, Seth jogged to stand side by side with Brian. He shoved at the other boy's shoulder. "I'm talking to you."

"I just want to get home. Let me past."

"Just wanna get home huh?" Jon Moxley stepped out from the group and shrugged his shoulders. "You didn't 'just wanna get home' earlier when you were making Jonesy here look like a dumbass in English class did you?"

Jones face hardened as he recalled the incident just after lunch. The whole class had been laughing, even the teacher. Well, the fat fucker was about to learn that nobody made him look stupid and got away with it.

"It was just a joke."

"I don't see anybody laughing. Do you?" Jones made a show of looking around. "I wonder what's so funny. You know what I think is funny?"

Brian didn't see it coming. In a flash, he was on his back with kicks and punches raining down from all angles. The three boys continued their attack until the sound of running footsteps and yelling interrupted. Jones took off running even faster than his first punch.

So did Jon.

And so did Seth.

He didn't doubt his ability to outrun whoever was chasing. He was fast and agile. A wide receiver on the football team even. So he kept running, clearing fences and walls until the only thing he could hear was his own heavy breathing.

Bent over, sweating and out of breath, Seth took a moment to slow his heartbeat and reassess. He knew from the second Brian opened his mouth in class that he would get his ass beat at some point today. Jones was a fucking moron. Everybody knew it. But he was bigger than even the seniors in their school and he loved to fight. That's why Seth had hitched his wagon to Jones. Well, to Jon. Jon was actually his friend, or at least he had been, until he fell in with Jones and his crew. These days Seth found himself scheming to rob candy stores for a bar of chocolate and beat people up because 'it was funny'. For a dorky, lanky kid interested in underground music, coffee and wrestling, Seth figured it was better to be with Jones than against him. At least this way he would never be on the receiving end of a beatdown from him. It was just unfortunate that Jon didn't seem to share his sentiment. If Seth didn't know any better he might even think that Jon enjoyed this stuff.

He straightened up and almost immediately jumped out of his skin at the feel of a hand on his shoulder. Seth whipped around to find Jon standing there laughing. His messy brown hair was matted to his head but his blue eyes shone brightly, clearly amused by the whole situation.

"You scared the shit outta me man!"

"I'm sorry," Jon replied looking anything but. "Did Jonesy get away?"

"I have no idea. Hopefully not." The second part was muttered low enough for only Seth to hear.

"I knew you weren't a chicken. I'm proud of you."

"Proud? Of that? We just beat Brian up because he called Jones a dumbass. Guess what Jon? Jones IS a dumbass!"

"What's your problem?" Jon stepped forward, puffing out his chest. He didn't understand why Seth always went through this fucking melodrama every time they did something. "It was just a bit of fun."

"Whatever," Seth mumbled, shoving past his friend and starting the long walk home. They had followed Brian in the opposite direction of their houses. He didn't even bring his bike. What a stupid way to spend his afternoon.

The memory came to Seth as he stood behind the sullen figure of Brian McDermott. The man's shoulders were hunched; body language defeated as he looked through the large glass window. On the other side, a body lay on the all too familiar steel table.

At least it was familiar to Seth.

For Brian, it was his first time here and his first time identifying a family member. He looked at his little sister just lying there so peacefully, like she was taking a nap. Her body was covered to the neck by a white sheet and he could see her toes poking out the other end. They weren't even painted. She had always loved to paint her toes and nails. He couldn't see her hands. He felt his own grow clammy and his heart start to beat faster.

Seth couldn't see the other mans face but he could tell from the way his breathing started to pick up speed and quickly turn into short little gasps that he wasn't taking it well. It was obviously her and there was no point making him stay here any longer or say it out loud. He took in a breath of his own and reached out. "That's all we need Brian. You can head on out with Officer Davis now okay?"

Brian turned and nodded absently, letting the Officer lead him to another room down the hall. Seth watched him go and then took a moment. He remembered Lena. She had been his first proper kiss. After the beating they gave Brian all those years ago, Seth felt sick. When Brian came back to school he had apologised and over the years the two of them had a civil enough relationship. Seth got to watch Brian shed his weight and turn into quite the catch as he reached his college years. Now he was a successful consultant and probably making more money than everybody in their class combined. He always wondered if that stupid day had been a turning point for him. Regardless, he had been introduced to Lena at a party not long after the fight and they made out like crazy all night long. Seth's hormone riddled teenage self could hardly believe how amazing she was. Turns out she wasn't that amazing once he got used to being around women but you always remembered your first. Now she was lying dead on a slab and he was about to start questioning her brother for information. Life came at you fast in Bloomington.

With a final nod to the medical examiner behind the glass, Seth followed Brian's trail down the hall and into an investigation room. Brian was seated at the table fiddling with the cuff of his sweater sleeve. He poured a glass of water from the cooler and stepped inside.

"You alright to do this now? It can wait if you need some time…"

"No," Brian interrupted. "I want to do it now. My parents are…they need answers. We all do." He accepted the glass as it was passed across the table and took a long drink. His throat was parched.

On cue, another man entered the room. Paul nodded at Seth and then pulled a chair next to the victim's brother. He reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Mr. McDermott, I'm sorry we're here today but thanks for coming in. I know it can't be easy. Are you okay to answer some questions for us…"

"Yes. I just…let's get it over with, huh?"

Paul nodded and dropped his hand. The guy seemed to be holding it together well enough. He was happy to proceed and motioned behind the glass window to whoever was there to start recording.

"This is Sheriff Paul Levesque. I'm here with Deputy Sheriff Seth Rollins and Mr. Brian McDermott to start the investigation into the death of Miss Lena McDermott. The time is ten forty-two am on January fourteen.

Paul took a moment before launching into a tried and true method of questioning. With his bulletproof alibi of being on the other side of the country for a conference during the murder, Brian wasn't a suspect. It was more to get a sense of the victim and her life than anything else. Maybe shake a few leads loose.

"Can you think of anybody who might want Lena dead? Was she in trouble with anyone? Boyfriends? Ex-boyfriends?"

Seth swallowed hard. He hardly counted but the mere question coming out of his boss's mouth in such a formal way was enough to make him shiver. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't yet told Paul that he had a somewhat personal connection to the victim or this witness. He didn't want kicked off the case. The drug murder, Lena, it was all part of the same story. There was no way he was getting kicked off this case over something that happened fifteen years ago.

"Lena had…problems," Brian spoke softly. He was drained.

"What kind of problems?" Paul asked even though he knew the answer. The case file mentioned track marks and telltale signs of drug abuse over an extended period of time.

"She was addicted to drugs. Heroin. To be honest…I haven't really kept in touch. She drifted from the family. I…I really don't know what she gets up to or who she sees anymore. She stopped visiting my parents. Only got in touch when she needed money. I started…I started ignoring her calls."

Brian took a breath, a sad smile crossing his face. "She never used to be like this you know. She loved music. Punk bands and stuff. I'm sure you remember."

Seth made sure his expression didn't change as Brian motioned to him. It was quite the feat considering he could feel the side of his face burning from Paul's gaze. He ignored it and quickly changed the subject. "Would you be able to give us a home address? Did she work? Anybody we should talk to in her social circles that could shed some light on her current situation?"

Paul absently twirled his wedding ring, a habit for restless fingers, as he stared daggers at his young partner. Seth was his protege. A damn fine detective and excellent deputy. He would no doubt be the one to step into Paul's shoes when the time came. But they were nowhere near close to that. And protege or not, Seth was lying. He knew more than he was letting on.

The conversation continued without Paul saying much. Brian gave as much information as he could. An address. The last job he knew his sister had held. The name of a guy he knew she had been with. An off and on thing with another junkie like her apparently. Paul didn't think they'd get much more out of Brian other than what they had and the identification of the body. He rose to his feet and extended his hand. "I'm sorry for your loss Brian, and your family. The Department will be in touch as soon as we can about arrangements for the body."

Brian offered a firm handshake and looked between the two policemen, one a distant friend from another life and the other, a respected Sheriff with the reputation to follow. "You'll find whoever did this to her? She wasn't perfect but…"

"We'll find them."

Paul shot a glance at Seth. Promising family members was absolutely not protocol. He should know better. Thankfully he gave the instruction to stop recording before Seth had spoken.

"Thank you both."

The three men shook hands and exited the investigation room. It wasn't a long walk back into the main precinct office. The buzzing phones and general chatter was an immediate attack on the senses. Holding cells sat at the far end of the room with low life criminals inside constantly taunting anybody who would listen.

Paul headed straight for his office and waited for Seth to return after walking Brian out. A few minutes later and Seth returned, shutting the door to give some privacy for a conversation he was in no way looking forward to having.

"We'll find them, huh?"

"We will. What? You don't have faith in us to catch this guy?" The deadpan expression he received in response told Seth that his humour wasn't appreciated. He let out a sigh and took a seat. Despite the chilly weather, it was hot in the office, the temperature only rising under the heavy gaze staring at him from across the table.

Paul remained silent.

"Look, I loosely know Brian. We went to school together and maybe hung out about 3 times or something when we were kids."

"And the sister?"

"We dated. I wouldn't even call it dating. We just…were together for a few weeks and then it was over. This was ages ago Paul. Back in school. Over fifteen years. I didn't think it was important and…"

"You didn't want to be taken off the case." Paul finished for him. He understood, even if he didn't agree.

"Right."

"I get it. Okay? But you know this is something so minor Seth. If we went around taking people off cases who have some sort of personal connection then I'd have no officers left."

"I'm sorry."

"You have to be careful with shit like this. You're not just a Detective any more. You're Deputy Sheriff. Everything you do and say has to be accounted for. More than ever. Do you understand?"

"I do." Seth let the words sink in and then repeated himself. "I do."

"Good." Paul nodded. "Now, I think you have some people to talk to. Start sniffing around the contacts Brian gave us and let me know when you're heading out to the ex-boyfriend. I'll be joining you for that one."