A/N: Thank you for the reviews!

Hu put down his wine glass. "So?"

"So?" Vera echoed.

Hu frowned at her. "Are we going to do this every time we meet to talk?"

Vera shrugged. "Sorry. I'm not one for airing me thoughts or what goes on in my private time."

"Something happened today."

"Yes."

"What was it?"

"I had another…" she shrugged. "…haunting last night. Hellen took me to the day she kissed Michael."

"Did you see his face?"

Vera scowled and shook her head. "No. All I could see was the morning sun nearly blinding me," she frowned. "Her. Sun blinding her."

"You said me."

Vera gave him a no shit look. "I know what I said."

"Why do you think you said me instead of her?"

"Why do you think I said me instead of her?" Vera threw his question back at him.

Hu shook his head. "Uh uh. No throwing my questions back at me. Answer me. Why do you think you said me?"

"Because, damn it! It felt like me. It was me."

"So she's taking over more than before."

"Yes, and I don't like it. It was one thing to feel things, but always before it was sort of like…" she paused trying to find the right description.

"An out of body experience?"

"Yes." Vera nodded. "Exactly like that. Now, though, it's as if I'm actually there. As if my eyes were actually the ones watering from the sun."

"Maybe you're getting closer to seeing him. What else did you see?"

"She took me to later, when she'd gone inside. He followed her and tried to get her to give him more. When she wouldn't, and asked him to leave, it was as if he was a different person."

"Could you see his face then?"

"No. There was a shadow of some sort blocking his face. Why can't I see his face?"

"Because she did see his face the day she died."

"What?"

"She can't show you his face because it leads her back to the horror of that day."

"But she's taken me to the day they were murdered. I've seen Martin die."

"Yes, but you never finish out that particular haunting. I don't think Hellen is actually taking you there. I think it's invading her own thoughts."

"That's why it's just randomly happening in the middle of other memories."

"Yes." Hu studied Vera and watched how she pushed food about on her plate. "What is it?"

"I need to see his face."

"Yes."

"I promised Hellen's mother-in-law I would find him. I can't do that without something more than the bits we have."

"What about the notes? No prints?"

"One. A partial thumb print which makes it harder to find so we haven't gotten anything from that yet. They've put a rush on it, but the system can only go so fast. And what if he isn't there? Then I'm still stuck with a fake name and a false occupation."

"You're getting frustrated." Hu told her when he saw her drag her fingers through her hair for the third time in the last half hour.

"Of course I am. It's terrible enough to make a family wait when it's one loved one that's been taken, but this family lost two people they loved very much. John and Jenny are now orphans and all I can tell them is, I promise I'll find him. What good is my promise if I don't have enough to do as I've said I would?"

"Have you had a case like this before?"

Vera looked up at Hu. "What do you mean? What's Billy been saying?"

"You just answered my question." Hu told her. "What happened?"

"It doesn't matter. It's nothing to do with this."

"It does matter. It's the secret that Billy knows. It's why you're getting more than frustrated with the lack of evidence in this case."

"I'm more than frustrated because I'm being haunted!"

"That is probably part of it. What is the secret?"

"No."

"Tell me what happened. Did you lose someone to a murder? Is that what's driving you to make promises to the family that you might not be able to keep?"

Vera glared at Hu. "I will keep my promise."

"Tell me." Hu prodded again.

"Damn it all! Fine!" Vera yelled. "It was my fiancé! He thought I needed to be protected and was killed in the process!" She shouted then stopped, downing the last of her drink.

"And the case has gone unsolved because there wasn't enough evidence to lead the investigators to the killer."

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, Vera. Is the case still being investigated now that we have much better technology?"

"No. It's a cold case. The files are all boxed up gathering dust."

Hu watched Vera fidget with the fork she'd placed on her napkin. Reaching across the table, he covered her hand with his. "I'm sorry for pushing so hard, for making you relive that. Knowing about it helps me understand you just a little bit better. I believe it's also why you're reliving Hellen's life in bits and pieces."

Looking at the hand over hers, Vera calmed. Usually it was only Billy that could calm her like this, and not always so easily. Something about this man left her feeling a bit off center and calm all at the same time. How was that possible? "Will you help me see his face?"

"I'll do my best, but we'll wait until tomorrow. I've pushed you enough tonight. It won't do any good with the state your emotions are in."

"Tomorrow morning?"

"I can be here at ten. I have a couple of appointments before that."

"Fine then. I'll go in to work for a bit then come back home."

"Just try to stay as calm as you can. The more calm you are, the easier it will be to put you in a sort of trance."

"You're going to hypnotize me?"

"Not really. Just help you, what do the young American's call it? Oh yes, zone out. That's an apt description."

"Alright."

"I hope you know that I won't tell a soul what you've told me. I won't even tell Billy that I know about your fiancé."

"His name was Peter."

"About Peter. Billy will only know if you tell him. Speaking of which, you might want to call him and let him know how you're doing. He's been asking me because he doesn't want to make you think he's checking up on you."

"As if that's stopped him before," she mumbled then rolled her eyes when there was a knock on the door. "How much do you want to bet that's Billy at the door?"

"I'm not going to take that bet."

"Spoil sport."

Hu laughed and followed her out of the kitchen, shoving his arms into his coat as he went. Grinning at Billy over Vera's head when she opened the door, he patted her shoulder. "See. I'm a sore loser."

"Oh go away."

Hu winked at her then slapped Billy's back on his way out the door. "She may well beat you for showing up on her doorstep."

"I'm not afraid of her." Billy yelled back at his friend then turned and smiled down at Vera. "Rough dinner?" he asked, seeing the sadness in her dark eyes.

"Come in so you don't let the heat out."

Shutting the door behind himself, Billy turned and found his arms full of his friend as she leaned against him. "What is it?"

"I think it's a good thing you're here," she murmured almost sure that tonight's haunting was going to be a mix of Hellen's memories and her own.

"I'm staying." Billy told her as he guided her into the kitchen. "Pour yourself a drink then go take a bath. I'll do the clean up and meet you on the sofa."

Vera poured the drink then started to leave but paused and turned to grab Billy's hand. "Hu knows about Peter," she whispered.

Studying his friend, Billy squeezed her hand. "Then you're right, it is a good thing I'm here."

VS

"Martin, what are we going to do?" Hellen asked as she stared down at the kitchen table. The call they'd received from the police had left her feeling more afraid than she'd already felt.

"I'll call the security company and see about updating our system."

"But Martin, he lied to us. Who is he?"

"I don't know, Love. We could go away on holiday if it would make you feel better. Maybe if we go away for a while he'll give up." Martin reached across and tugged at her hand. "Come here, Love."

Hellen moved around the table to Martin's side and let him tug her down onto his lap. Holding his head to her, she pressed a kiss to his hair. "I'm scared, Marty," she whispered.

"I know you are." Martin reached up and cupped her face. "I am too. I'm afraid I won't be able to do anything to protect you."

Vera whimpered when she suddenly found herself on the dirty pavement of the alley where her life had changed.

"Peter," she whispered as she knelt down beside him. "Peter, wake up. You have to stay awake. Talk to me."

Peter's eyes fluttered open and he smiled. "You're beautiful. You're not hurt?"

"No, I'm not hurt."

Peter nodded slightly then gasped and reached for her hand. "Hold my hand, Ve."

Vera clasped his hand and lifted it to her lips. "I am."

"I love you. I only wanted to protect you. You have to promise to be careful. Don't let the boys run rough shod over you."

"I love you. I didn't need protecting," she whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I need you."

His eyes slowly closing, Peter whispered, "I'm sorry, Ve."

"Peter! Peter, wake up."

"Peter!" Vera screamed, her mind jumbling up the images from that horrible day in her life with the day Martin had died. "Martin!"

"Vera!" Billy lightly tapped her face, cupping her cheek when her eyes opened. "It's alright."

"No, it isn't," she whispered as she turned her face into his chest, the tears she'd been crying from her memories soaking Billy's shirt.

Billy hadn't seen Vera like this since the early days after Peter had been murdered. They'd known this would probably happen. Nightmares had plagued her for the first month after Peter's death and it was only when she'd boxed it all up and got away from the people who knew about Peter and what had happened, that she was able to move on. Though he wasn't sure that she'd actually moved on. Billy had always felt she'd just compartmentalized it in that strange brain of hers instead of dealing with it. Which he supposed was what led them to this.

"It was all mixed up," she whispered. "Peter's death, Martin's death. So mixed up."

"Maybe you could ask Hu for a sedative that will put you into a drug induced sleep so that you won't dream." Billy held up his hand when Vera glared up at him. "Now, hear me out. You need rest, Vera. This case is hurting you mentally and the lack of rest is going to make you physically ill if it keeps going. I'll be here while you're resting if you want me to be. Just think about it, hmm?"

Vera sighed as she settled back against Billy. "I miss him, Billy. I know you think I've locked him away, but I haven't. He's always there."

"But maybe that's just as bad for you as locking him away. He wouldn't want you to be lonely or unhappy, Vera."

"I was a loner before Peter." She drew aimless patterns on Billy's hand. "He was different than any other man I'd ever met. Me dad was always telling me I was…well…so I joined the police to prove that I wasn't any of the things he thought I was. But men only saw me as competition because I could out think a big portion of the ones in my class. Then came Peter. He could think as fast on his feet as I could, and the few times I managed to out think him, he laughed and said the best had won. He pushed me to be better but he also flirted and made me feel like a woman. Before I knew what happened, I was in love with him and he was asking me to marry him."

"I remember."

"I couldn't believe it. I was going to have a family of my own, people to love me and care for me. And then it was all gone before it ever really started. I look at Joe and his bairns, and now Aiden and his, and it hurts, Billy. I wanted my own bairns. I wanted to be the kind of mother me own mum had been to me before she died. I could have been."

Billy wrapped his arm tighter around Vera. "You still could have."

Vera shook her head. "No. I couldn't. I couldn't take that chance again. You know what Peter's death did to me."

"I do."

"I just couldn't bring myself to take a chance on going through something like that again."

"So you shut yourself off and became aloof."

"I couldn't be hurt that way. But I wasn't completely shut off. I didn't shut you or Stewart out."

"No, you didn't. Although you did lose touch with Stewart, maybe that was shutting him out."

Vera nodded. "I suppose it was, though I didn't really think of it at the time. You would never let me shut you out."

"You know you've always liked me best."

Vera tilted her head back and rolled her eyes at him. "Think what you will."

Billy grinned down at her. "Do you think you can rest now? Maybe she'll leave you alone for a least a couple of hours."

"Mmm," she hummed as she slid down putting her head on Billy's lap. "Maybe."

Billy gently lifted her head and tucked a small pillow under it before pulling the throw further over her. Staring into the fire, he thought back to the young woman Vera had been. He remembered how she was all work and no fuss until after her shift and then, she'd go home and transform into…well…he grinned…all woman. Peter had given her that. She'd never been an overly fussy woman, but back then, when she'd put on a short skirt, a bit of makeup and tousle her hair, damn if the men weren't jealous of Peter.

Looking at her now, he wondered what she'd be like if Peter hadn't been killed. Would she have stayed with the police? Or would being a mother have taken the place of her career? He was sure he knew the answer to that. Vera, having lost her own mother at such a young age, would have left her career to be nothing but wife and mother, at least while her bairns were small.

"And you would have made a wonderful wife and mother if you'd have but given yourself the chance," he whispered as he tenderly caressed the hair from her cheek. Looking back to the fire, he sipped at his drink. Maybe talking to Hu would do more than help Vera with this case. Maybe the part of her that had been damaged by Peter's loss could finally be healed.