A/N: Thank you all so much for reading. I am quite taken with this story - didn't really expect it as it started out more like an inside joke, but I love writing it so much!

Also, I pretty much have a plan of how this "you" character will alter the course of events (and you totally will!), but if you have some things/ situations you really want to happen with "you" and Stella or with "you" in general - please feel free to let me know in the comments I will try to incorporate it in the story if I can =)

Chapter 6. The rough come down.

You open your eyes groggily, trying to focus. The phone beside your pillow buzzes again and you realise it must have woken you up.

Still lost in sleep you try to open your eyes just enough to see the caller ID that says: "Gibson". You sit up on your bed and clear your voice, picking up the phone.

"Hello?" Trying not to sound sleepy is harder then you thought it would be.

"There's been a development." even in your hazy state you can hear the stress in her voice. "Another body has been found."

"Oh." you try to suppress a yawn as the information sinks in

"I am leaving the crime scene now. Meet me at the station - I'll prepare the official statement to be published asap."

"Ok." you try to figure out how fast you can get there if you're still in bed when you hear her ask in an amused tone:

"I'm sorry, have you been sleeping?"

"Well I didn't exactly have time for it last night between you and having to submit an article on time" you retort, getting out of bed. "I'd need about forty minutes to get there."

"That's fine." She hangs up and you fall back onto the pillow with a groan. Time to get up. Now. The task seems impossible until you throw the blanket off completely, letting the cold air get to you. Half a minute later you're freezing and getting dressed becomes a priority over going back to sleep. You get up reluctantly and search your room for your pants and t-shirt - last night or better say morning you were so exhausted you just undressed and got under the covers. Finally you find your homewear on an armchair buried under your rumpled clothes from yesterday. Making a mental note to tidy up the mess that is your whole house you stroll to the bathroom.

You are only more or less awake when you get into the car. The Jaguar greets you with an animalistic road if the engine and you smile at the sound as always, turning on the music and preparing for a nice ride. You start singing along with Calvin Harris:

I feel so close to you right now

It's a force field

I wear my heart upon my sleeve, like a big deal

Your love pours down on me, surrounds me like a waterfall

And there's no stopping us right now

I feel so close to you right now

However, an incoming phone call interrupts the song before you can really get into it - It's your editor in chief calling and you have no choice but to pick up.

"Hello Edward"

"I guess a good morning is in order? That was one tight deadline."

It's hard to figure out if he's pleased with you or angry at you so you try to be neutral as well:

"It was, but I believe the story has potential."

"Potential? Are you kidding me?"

Oh shit. This must be bad. Before you regroup yourself into protective mode he continues:

"It's fucking phenomenal! The serial killer in Belfast! We don't even know if it's true but it's all the city talks about! Our website's visitations are through the roof! All because that article of yours is so deliciously scary. Well done and I'm serious."

He sounds ecstatic and you cant help but beam with pride. "Thank you Edward! Means a lot."

"Do you think we could do something for the website? Some live updates? How are you dealing with the PSNI - are they being helpful at all?"

"Oh, they are… cooperating." You smirk to yourself, remembering last night. There was definitely some cooperation going on.

"Give me some ideas for the website tonight. Any news on what's going on by the park? I hear the police closed the road and there's been another murder?"

You cease smiling immediately as you remember exactly what got you out of bed.

"Yes, I'm just on my way to get the official statement."

"Good job. Also please don't worry about the cop kill - Ned's got it covered."

You feel cold all of a sudden.

"What cop kill?" your voice sounds foreign to you right now.

"They haven't confirmed it yet, but Ned said it was James Olsen. Shot on the street last night."

You feel a sharp pang in your chest. James Olsen. You fucking know the guy. Knew the guy.

"Shit, Edward, I know him." You park the car by the police station on autopilot and just stare into nothingness.

"I'm sorry." He pauses. You can't really bring yourself to say anything, so after a long moment he continues. "Do get back to me about the website ok? Once you have taken the time… you know…"

"I know."

You hang up and try to process the information. James Olsen. Dead. For real. You weren't too close, but you've worked with him a bit and you hung out with him and his partner a couple of times after hours. It's just unbelievable to you that he is gone. You stare at the entrance to the police station as you realise you're already late for your meeting with Stella. Bracing yourself up you leave the car and go in.

At the station it's completely hectic. A dead colleague and a recent murder on their hands it seems like people can't decide if they are in full work mode or in full grief mode and it makes for a really strange energy around the place. You feel a strong desire to see Eastwood and probably hug him and probably cry, but first things first - Stella must be waiting for you.

As you think of Stella the first image that comes to mind is an image from last night - her sitting on the dim light with a wine glass in her hands just looking at you with that intensity in her eyes. Next an image of her naked hip hooked over yours comes to mind and you try to shake the memories from your mind. Not now.

She's not in her office and the secretary guides you to the briefing room. You're not allowed to go in so you just watch her from the outside, marvelling in the way she looks - determined, professional, beautiful as always. Soon people start leaving the room, there's only one narrow door out so it takes some time and gives you an opportunity to greet most of the officers you know. Dani is one of the last people to come out and you can see quite clearly that she wants to avoid talking to you - as soon as she notices you she turns away abruptly, starting a conversation with a colleague. You stare at her in amusement when suddenly a very familiar voice asks you very quietly, very mater-of-factly and very icily:

"Enjoying the view?" You jump a bit and turn your head to stare at Stella's cold blue orbs. She drops her gaze to the folder in her hands and before you can come up with an answer she asks you to follow her back into the briefing room. "Dani, join us please." she commands and the red-haired officer comes in as well. You wonder why that is for a moment.

Stella gives you the official statement on the murder in a cold, detached manner. Looking at her now, it's hard to believe that only a few hours ago this very woman was whispering obscenities in your ear while you did your best to make every one of them come to life. You wonder if maybe you imagined it all. But then there's this moment when Dani buries her gaze in the files and Stella allows herself to look at you, really look at you and you know it actually happened. And you also know it will happen again if she wants it to. Too soon the moment is gone. You still wonder what Dani is doing here. Did she just need someone else in the room? That would be really strange, she seems composed enough to handle you, it's not like you're both fifteen. Questions running through your mind are soon answered.

"That would be all as far as the official statement goes." Stella says and looks at Dani pointedly. "Now Dani, I need you to recite what you told me earlier in as much detail as you can."

You wonder what this is about when you see all colour drain from Dani's face.

"But M'am, I thought we were keeping it out of the press?" Dani looks positively shaken, her voice giving her away as well as her body language.

"We are." Stella's voice is borderline between disapproval and reassurance. You don't know how she can manage that tone but she does. "But I need you to recite your story now, so that in case it leaks we can have it covered immediately. Someone could have seen you - the neighbours for example. We can't be sure it won't come up, so we have to insure ourselves just in case."

"Yes M'am, sorry M'am." Dani's head is down her short hair falling on her face, covering her cheeks that are burning up. "Redheads blush easily" you think and suddenly you remember the night when you were introduced to the blush of this particular redhead. It was a fun night. Quite memorable. You feel the corners of your mouth curl upward at the memory as Stella's voice snaps you out of it.

"I'll leave you two to it." you turn to meet her gaze, but she isn't looking at you anymore. She is in fact collecting her materials and leaving the room without sparing you another glance.

"Both instances, M'am?" Dani asks just before she's out of the door. You can't see Stella now, but you hear a hint of annoyance in her voice as she says

"Yes, Farrington. The full story. I trust her." She shuts the door and you revel in her last words. She trusts you. Nice. Immediately a memory from last night fills your mind in a beautiful vision.

Stella is sitting on her bed, her skirt is on the floor along with her high heels and her blouse is still on, but completely open, revealing her lacy underwear. You stand in front of her, half-naked with only your jeans still on.

"Do you trust me?" you ask as you lean into her and brush your fingers through her hair, forcing her head to fall back slightly.

"Yes." you barely hear her answer, but it's there, formed by her perfect lips. You kiss her then.

"Close your eyes."

"Er. I guess I should start then?" Dani finally looks up at you and you scold yourself for letting your mind wander to last night again.

"Yes, please do. I'll just switch on the recorder." You can see how fidgety she is and try to make this easier on both of you. "Dani…"

She ignores you and just starts talking.

"The night before the murder me and my partner were patrolling the area. We received a call - Sarah Key called the police claiming someone had been to her house while she was out. We checked on her house - everything looked fine, no signs of a break in. Her underwear was laid out on the bed, her vibrator hidden under it. She was quite tipsy and smelled of alcohol. It was Friday night so naturally she had been out - having drinks with friends. It was a very uncomfortable situation - as soon as we asked her about the drinking she asked us to leave. Also, looking back I don't think we were too sensitive or handled the situation particularly well. In the end she said she didn't want to pursue it further. As there was no evidence of breaking and entering we couldn't do anything either. We advised her to change the locks and stay with a friend or relative before that happens. We assumed it could have been an ex or someone familiar pulling a prank on her. That's what those situations typically are."

Danni sound bitter and you really feel for her - it's quite obvious she's shaken up by this. You don't really know what to say or how to comfort her, so you just avoid looking at her, staring at your recorder instead, fixating your gaze on the time indicator, showing the seconds running by quickly as she tells you the story.

"The next day Superintendent Gibson made the connection between several recent murders, coming to a conclusion that there was a serial killer in the city. She told us to look out for strange break ins or fetish thefts. That made me think immediately of Sarah Key. However, I didn't say anything to Superintendent Gibson about that case. I don't really know why, I guess I just thought it was nothing really. Nevertheless that thought didn't leave my mind and in the evening I asked my partner to check on Sarah again. We drove by her house. The lights were out. I knocked on her door. No one answered - we thought she must have taken our advice and stayed with a friend. Just in case I called her phone - no one answered. I left her a message and we left. Today it turned out she was killed last night. She could have been still alive when I called her…"

She stops talking abruptly, swallowing with effort. You turn off the recorder and the silence falls over the room. You think of something to say and you have nothing. So you decide to just focus on the professional side of things.

"Dani, Superintendent Gibson is right. You've been to the victim's place two times. Someone could have seen you. With all the fuss that is going to rise around this case it's bound to come up at some point I'm afraid." She nods her head absent-mindedly and you know just how much she's blaming herself, too bad you're not enough of a friend to comfort her. "But when it does. Dani, when it does, I will do all I can to make sure that information is presented in the right way. In a way that says you did right, you gave her the correct advice and you did all you could at the time to ensure her safety. Because that's what you did."

"We mocked her." Dani lets the words out barely above the whisper. "We didn't take her seriously."

"You didn't know there was a serial killer in town. Come on, I bet this is not the first time you came across something like this - as you said it's usually nothing."

"This time it wasn't."

There's not much to say to that. This is really a horrible day. Suddenly she looks up at you and says:

"James Olsen's dead. You must know already, that other journalist, Ned, was at the crime scene."

So it's real. You shudder on the inside once again.

"I didn't know for sure. It wasn't confirmed."

"It's all confirmed now..." another long pause. "Do you care for a cigarette? I could really use one right now." she looks at you with a blank stare and you nod your head. She leads you out of the room and onto the roof.

"It's a nice place, no one ever comes up here." she says and hands you a cigarette. You don't really smoke, but it's been such a shitty day that you take it from her trembling fingers and let her hold the light for you. As you look at her fresh face, the light from the flame dancing on her skin and reflected in her eyes you remember a night from several months ago.

"Oh come on! Don't go yet!" James Olsen wraps an arm around your shoulders "The party's just starting!"

Several police officers cheer and you feel rather uncomfortable - you're really tired in not in a party mood and just wanna go home and sleep, but you don't want to be a wet blanket, so you muster up a big smile and laugh, coming up with a convenient lie: "Sorry guys, I have a hot date waiting for me tonight. Next time you catch some thugs I'm all yours!"

James gives you another squeeze and lets you go: "Drive carefully and have a nice time. And then tell us all about it!"

You can't help but laugh sincerely - the guy really is charming. "I will!" you wave goodbye to the group and head out.

You stop for a second to breath in the fresh air of the night - it's a relief after spending so much time in a crowded bar.

"Excuse me, do you have a lighter by any chance?"

It registers that someone's talking to you. You turn around to find a young officer trying to light a cigarette. She shoots you a disarming smile. "Mine isn't working."

You can't help but return that smile. "Here let me try." After several attempts you manage to light her cigarette. She inhales the smoke and looks you in the eye as she lets it out. Her face is very fresh, young and she looks quite dirty with a cigarette. Like a schoolgirl smoking in secret. It's hot.

"You want one?" she offers in a low voice and you feel the chemistry fill the air between you two.

"No thanks, I don't smoke." you say still studying her openly. She is fit, wearing baggy jeans and a simple tank top, which suit her very well. She is both feminine and a bit boyish in her looks and manners. Tonight you find it quite a turn on and you don't hide your interest, on the contrary, you make sure she notices it as you move your gaze purposely all over her form.

"I only smoke when I'm drunk really." she puffs out another veil of smoke. "Or when something terrible happens." The cigarette's finished now, being crushed onto the top of the ash can by her delicate fingers.

"Need a ride home?" you ask her bluntly and she just smiles at you. You know her plan is to go back in and join her colleagues, but plans can change. After all your plan was to go home and go to bed, and now the plan is to go to her home and go to her bed. She takes a moment to contemplate the idea and then smiles at you:

"Sure."

Before you drive off you kiss her in the car. She tastes of cigarettes and you find yourself enjoying it. It's quite a manly taste, but as you open your eyes you see her pretty schoolgirl face and you're exited by the whole thing. "This will be very interesting" you think to yourself. And it is in the end.

"I still can't believe James is gone" you say, sucking in the bitterness of the cigarette smoke. It isn't even close to matching the bitterness you feel inside, but it takes the edge off.

"Yeah… He was shot in front of his son you know." Dani says quietly and makes it even worse if that was at all possible.

"Fuck. Dani, this is terrible."

"I know." The silence falls between you two as you smoke. She hands you a second cigarette when you finish yours and you take it. This has truly been a horrible day.

Suddenly she lets out chuckle and you shoot her a questioning look.

"I imagine how horrible Superintendent Gibson feels right now." She chuckles bitterly again and you're baffled.

"Why is that?"

"She comes to the city for a simple review and discovers a serial killer. Then there's a murder on her hands…"

"Ah"

"… Then the guy she just fucked is killed the next night. That's a warm welcome to Belfast."

For a moment you don't believe your ears as you look at Dani, but she's dead serious.

"I'm not supposed to say anything, but hell with it, you're going to find out anyway. The whole department has been up her ass all day about it. Eastwood had to actually interrogate her on the matter."

You stare at the city lights. Whatever.

"Were they involved?" you ask against your better judgement.

"You kidding? She just got here. We were driving in a car and she saw him at a crime scene. Asked me to introduce them and then invited him to her room right in front of me."

"God…" you say against your better judgement. You silently beg your better judgement to kick in like NOW, because you keep just blurting the wrong things out. Apparently Dani takes it as a sign that you are surprised, not as a "God, she fucked him the night before she fucked me in the same bed." that it really was.

"Yeah, shocked me too. Apparently she didn't want to pursue it further as he called her like 10 times yesterday and she ignored it all"

"Right, and then she fucked me in the evening. In the same fucking bed." - is the only thought running through your mind right now. Somehow the bed thing is deeply insulting.

"Well it was a one night stand, it's not like she promised to marry him" you find yourself protecting her against your better judgement. (it still hasn't kicked in apparently)

"You would know, wouldn't you?" she says harshly and just like that you find yourself in the middle of a conversation that you never want to have with someone you had a one night stand with.

"Dani…" You look down, not really knowing how to proceed. The whole fucking point of a one night stand is you never have to discuss it. And yet, here you are. You throw the useless remains of your cigarette away and look up at her, ready to say… something, when her lips crash into yours.

She tastes like cigarettes again, but this time you do too.