GHOST BUSTER

ED PACED BETWEEN THE BEDS FOR A THIRD TIME. Since arriving back at the FBI base, his body, along with his mind, was stuck in fifth gear. A lot had happened in the past 24 hours and Ed was beginning to feel the strain of processing it all. And to multiply his pain, worn out flashbacks and shut out memories were snapping around his brain and rushing through his mind.

Ed paused. His fist had slammed onto the desk without him realising. Ed sighed, letting the tension drain out through his aching palm and into the solid wood. With another sigh, Ed flopped backwards onto the bed and shut his eyes. Despite feeling the need to shout and hit something - anything - again, Ed knew it wouldn't help.

The problem was he wasn't sure if he was mad at himself for letting Gaia drag him back into the past, or mad at Gaia for dragging him back into the past. Maybe he was just being naive, but Ed had thought that Gaia's phone call and signified a new era for them, one where they could have a normal friendship instead of one full of drama and lies. Okay Ed, give it 'til the end of the day. Then decide if being here is truly worth it.

A KNOCK BROKE ED'S WEB OF THOUGHTS. Lifting his head off the bed, Ed stared at the door. Gaia had only gone to the bathroom a couple of minutes ago to "freshen up", and Ed very much doubted that she would have forgotten she had left the door unlocked in that time.

A second knock prompted Ed off the bed. For a second his hand hovered over the door knob, a million thoughts flying through his head, then pulled the door open. Standing the other side was a young man with sleek black hair and a slightly surprised expression. In a split second, he had recovered with a polite smile in place. "Oh, hi. Do you know where Gaia is?"

"She went to the bathroom," Ed responded, warily wondering whom this man was. As if reading his mind, the man extended a hand towards him with the words, "Sorry, I don't think we've met before. I'm Kim."

GAIA STARED AT HER REFLECTION. Her skin was scrubbed clean and her hair was smoothed back into a slick ponytail. But the most noticeable difference in her appearance was the smile that was trying to take up permanent residence on her face. She wasn't sure how Ed had done it, but somehow he had shifted some of the emotions that were normally shackled to her legs. While talking to her therapist had helped Gaia sift through her mental trash, it had not helped her properly dispose of any of it. Ed might not be a knight in shining armour, but he was one damn good ghost buster.

Now all I have to do is make sure he never finds out or he'll never shut up about it.

KIM WAS PLEASANTLY PLOITE. He was also a professional perfectionist, passively passionate and every other adjective beginning with 'p'. For the past 10 minutes Kim had essentially given Ed a summary of life as a FBI trainee, from the field training down to the friends he had made. And to Ed it sounded a lot like high school, except that Kim was currently describing a forensics lesson with uncharted enthusiasm. But then again, Ed thought, Kim probably had had a normal high school experience with mathletes instead if thugs and football practice instead of spinal surgery.

Ed stopped staring at the poster on the wall as Kim halted mid-flow. Following Kim's line of sight, Ed saw Gaia standing in the doorway, a slight surprise blinking across her face.

"Gaia! I hope you don't mind me barging in. I came to see if you wanted to get some lunch, but I'm guessing you already have plans."

"Yeah," Gaia said her wide eyes sweeping between Ed and Kim. "Maybe tomorrow?"

A ripple of hunger rolled through Ed's body with a roar that he was surprised the other two didn't hear. "Actually," Ed spook up, "I feel in the mood for a second lunch."

The flicker of an expression ghosted across Gaia's face, a flicker that Ed was sure was embarrassment. But in true Gaia fashion, her face was soon blank and she was ready to go back out the door. "Yeah, I guess our first lunch was quite quick."

THE CAMPUS CAFETERIA WAS CROWDED WITH CLATTER AND CHATTER. Ed relaxed back into his stiff chair, finding the noise oddly comforting as conversation whirled around the table. In the space of time it had taken Ed to eat his pie, Kim had already finished telling Ed about the forensics class and then told him all about the criminal psychology course that one of the Agents was organising for him to go on. It appeared that Kim was a psychology expert, though he admitted that he found it hard to read Gaia. Without thinking, Ed blurted out, "And I thought I was the only one!" Luckily Kim laughed.

"Okay, I think I have talked enough now, so I think it is your turn to say something. All I know about you is that you were friends with Gaia in high school. Like, what are you doing now? I'm guessing you're not here to join the FBI."

"I work at a sport centre near to where I live. Though, I'm actually going to start a physiotherapy course soon, so I'll only be working part-time there instead of full-time from now on."

"So, definitely not joining the FBI," Kim said, sounding vaguely impressed through his mouth-full of sandwich.

"Nope. Kicking butt was never my sort of thing."

The sound of Gaia's chair scraping across the floor filled the gap in the conversation. "Sorry, but I really want a drink. Do either of you want anything?"

Ed shook his head. As Gaia walked off, Ed wondered if somehow she had realised that he had really meant; kicking butt was never my sort of thing, but it's Gaia's.

"I'M SURPRISED GAIA ASKED YOU TO COME HERE."

Ed snapped his head around and stared at Kim. "Why?" Ed frowned, his poorly suppressed curiosity emerging. Kim's statement appeared appeared out of the blue, and Ed's mind was slowly trying to catch up with his trail of thought. Then his mind swam straight into a rock. "Wait. Do you mean because of what happened to Will?"

Ed instantly felt like biting off his tongue as Kim visibly flinched at the sound of his former fellow trainee's name.

"She told you about him." Ed could feel Kim's eyes burn into him. With each passing second, Ed's skin blistered with embarrassment and guilt. Less than a minute ago they had been happily chatting. Now there was a sombre silence. After a forever, Kim said, "Actually I was thinking about what happened with Catherine."

"Catherine?"

Kim's eyes narrowed. "She didn't tell you about Catherine." Ed watched as Kim removed his scorching gaze from him and looked across the cafeteria at Gaia's distant form. Slowly Kim's shoulders sagged. "Catherine was Gaia's roommate. She, she was our friend. Or so we thought. Turned out that she actually part of a terrorist group and was here to act as a spy." Kim slowly turned back round and looked at Ed. "The worst betrayal is that of a friend."

Ed's stomach squeezed. Catherine. Just another name to add to a long list already including Tatanyia and Sklyer.

SHE COULD FEEL THE SMILE TRYING TO STEAL CONTROL OVER HER FACE AGAIN. And to make matters worse, her cheeks were blazing bright red due to her happiness-induced-embarrassment. She was sure it wasn't possible, but somehow Ed was managing it. He was seamlessly fitting into her new life, almost as if she had never left him behind in her old life. She also would never have thought that an ex-skate rat would get along with a criminal psychologist. But apparently he did. Gaia's only conclusion was that maybe Ed was more than just a ghost-buster.

Gaia unscrewed the cap off her bottle and took a long sip of the cool liquid inside, hoping it would dampen the fire on her face. Gaia quickly checked that she didn't look too red or smiley in the metal of the chill cabinet, then began to weave her way back towards the table. "I hope you two have been playing nice without me," she joked pointlessly as she neared them.

Kim turned round and looked up at her with his face stretched into a smile. "We've been fine and dandy thanks." The smile on his face faltered, then disappeared completely. "Sorry to break up this party, but I have a class to get to. Bishop wants some of us to do extra bomb training."

"Oh okay." Gaia felt disappointment settle in her stomach. The three of them had been getting along on well for the past half-hour. "Maybe we'll see you again later."

"Yep, maybe." Kim stood up and nodded at Ed. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too."

And with that, Kim briskly left them alone again. Gaia wouldn't have minded being able to spend some time with just Ed, but something about the look Ed and Kim gave each other when Kim said goodbye made her feel like she had missed something important. However, the sight of Ed's bright smile dissolved all her thoughts.

"So, got any plans for us? 'Cos I was thinking we could maybe finish the tour we started this morning."

"Nope, no plans," she replied, feeling the smile she had been trying to hide break free.

Ed's grin grew wider.

THE FLOOR REVERBERATED WITH HER EVERY STEP. Normally she blocked out the clunk-clunk of her boots on the solid wood. However, that evening, she was finding it hard to do, as every sound seemed amplified in the almost deserted museum. Quickening her pace - so that she would be able to stand still sooner - Gaia rounded the corner into a long room. Instantly a content swelled inside her. She and Ed were standing in the museums' art gallery. Every inch of the walls were covered in paintings, photos and pastel pictures. Maybe it wasn't as good as the Met in New York, but what was special was that every picture had been done by someone in Qunatico.

"Cool," Ed murmured, looking at a photo of a boy skate boarding.

Gaia smiled a little. "You still skate?"

"You still kick ass?"

Gaia's smile widened. "I'll take that as a yes." Wondering over to where Ed stood, she joined him in staring at a portrait of a young girl. Something about her expression made her look sad yet hopeful at the same time. As she had just survived a horrible event. Maybe like herself, she was grieving for a friend.

A cough from behind them tore Gaia's focus from the girl's crystalline eyes.

"Sorry," an old man wheezed, whom Gaia instantly recognised as one of the curators, "But it's closing time."

Gaia said "goodnight" to the man (who was called Bert according to his nametag) and retraced her steps out of the museum, with Ed merrily chatting about the various exhibitions as they passed each one. Outside the sun had set, leaving long shadows and a sharp wind in its wake. Brushing a clump of hair behind her ear, Gaia turned to Ed. "So, what did you think of the grand tour?"

"It was fun," Ed replied, as they began to cross the car park. "I had fun." The smile dropped from his face. "Crap. My car."

Gaia hurried across the tarmac behind Ed. The front passenger window had been smashed, littering the ground with glittering glass shards. Gaia bent down and picked up one of the pieces. Sighing she dropped it back down, letting her mood smash along with it.