TWO YEARS LATER

Sammay sat a table at her favorite sandwich shop. She was wearing her now normal frown. After barely touching her food she picked up her tray and dumped it in the trash. She swiped her bangs out of her face. Her hair was pulled back into a sloppy, high ponytail. She walked home to her small apartment. She opened the back window and went out onto the fire escape. I sat on the railing of it, my feet dangled off the edge. She closed her eyes and felt the wind swirl around her. Suddenly the sound of flapping wings next to her nearly made her fall off her seat. She turned to see a small pure black owl sitting next to her. There was a letter attached to her leg. She turned to stare at the thing wide eyed, she had not seen a letter delivered by an owl in 2 years. She didn't know why but no one from England had sent a letter since she had been extracted from the country. She blinked at the thing. "Lynx?" she recognized Alex's owl. The small thing seemed overjoyed to see me and hopped into my lap. She slipped the letter off of her and opened it. It was in Alex's writing. Wet dots were scattered all over the page.

"Sammay,

After trying to write you for so long and only having my letters confiscated and returned y the English Ministry, this will be my last letter to you. Things aren't the same with you and Fred both gone. George has been... Out of whack without you two. I don't know how long we can take it. We're...We're getting a divorce.

Please get this. I need you.

Alex."

She stared dumbly at the page. One part stood out above the rest. "Fred...gone." she got up and grabbed a piece of paper. She had no clue what was on the note she wrote back, but the next thing I noticed was Lynx flying away.

"Time for work I guess." as she noticed the sun setting behind the city skyline. As she spun to go inside her ring glittered in fading light, sending orange glitters from the otherwise black stones.

The world was utter blackness. The only ray of hope in it was the spot of warmth that lay against me. A voice echoed in the darkness, but then it was gone. I waited for it to come back...it didn't .

Slowly the world came back into focus as the pain slowly faded away. I opened my eyes. I was laying on a bed in a Hospital. I slowly sat up. There was voices coming from the door. I stood up and went to listen.

"What are we going to tell him? The doc says he'll wake up soon." I heard my twin say.

"I don't know It happened so quickly then Sammay was gone." I could hear the tears in Alex's voice.

"Did they try...?" this one was Ginny.

"Yeah...they tried everything. Its no use...she's gone." George said.

I stumbled backwards. *gone? How can she be gone?* I stared dumbly at the wall. Then I knew I wanted to be anywhere BUT here. And I dissapparated.

Fred sat up in bed. He had once again relived what had happened 2 years before. Since then he had not returned home. He had been traveling the world, he had made sure to move around enough so that no one could find him.. He didn't feel like he could go home yet.. He needed to find...something.

Fred got dressed and grabbed his bag. He took one final look around the room before going to check out. After he was finished he walked outside taking a deep breath of the cool morning air. A soft fluttering of wings caught his attention. He looked up to see a VERY irritated owl landing on his shoulder. Olive threw a letter at me.

"You finally found me huh Olive?" Fred smiled sadly. He looked down at the letter in his hand. "Guess I should open it. After all its been 2 years since it was sent." He ripped it open and began to read the thing. It was dated as having been written 2 years before.

"Fred

I don't know what set you outta here so fast, but there is something you NEED to know. Three days before you woke up a letter came from America. It said Sammay was being extricated from the country. When she went to catch the screamer it acted as a portkey and she disappeared before we could do anything. We've tried to reach her since then, but everytime we just got our own letter back with 'this letter was sent to an unauthorized person, please cease all attempts of contact immediately' stamped on it. We would just go to her, but we don't know where she is. We were going to tell you, but when we went in there you were gone.

Come home...or atleast go to her.

George(aka your holy twin brother.)"

Fred stared at the page. "Shes not dead?"

Alex sat crying on her bed when Lynx tapped on her window. She went to grab what she thought was going to be another returned letter, but instead it was a small note in an unaddressed envelope. Her eyes widened as she recognized the handwriting and odd signature.

"Hey Ally

Sorry about all the returned mail, the ministry must have had me under surveillance. It should be fine now. I'll come see you soon.

Sammay"

Alex blinked at the note before sprinting downstairs. George was sitting at the table blinking at a note in his own hand. He stood up as she burst into the room.

"Its Sammay!"

"Its Fred." they said together.

"a letter. It says they're coming home soon! What? Really? Let me see!" they said together. They switched letters.

Fred's was even simpler.

"I'm coming."

Fred had no idea what instinct he was following but he booked a plane for LA. He stepped into a cab. Outside he saw it was getting late, but the city was still completely alive. The cabby was waiting for directions on where to drive.

"Um...have you heard of Sammay..." He was about to say her last name but the cabby held u his hand to silence him.

"Let's see..." The cabby thought for a second. "...I think she's at the club... Yeah, thats it. I already dropped off some guys there earlier." He zoomed off down the street. "It helps to know where she's at at night."

Fred didn't know if he liked the sound of that. "Why?" He asked.

"Well duh. Se is the most popular DJ for the clubs around here. Tons of people follow her to whatever she's at on a given night. I'm a fan myself. That girl knows how to make a party. But of course you know that. Most people don't know where she'll be at a given time. So they don't know what club to ask, thats why its good to have advanced warning on where she'll be." he rambled on.

"What's she like?" Fred asked curious.

"Odd...yeah, that would be the best word for her." Fred grinned. "But.. I don't think I've ever heard of that girl smiling...EVER. She is probably the least social thing I have ever met. You wouldn't think she'd be one of the best...no the best DJ in the state. All the boys are after her, but its not like she notices. I hear she gives guys the cold shoulder, but they don't try to hard, not with that partner in crime of hers. Her techy is kinda overprotective. He's a gang leader round these parts so no one dares get too close."

"How do you know so much?" Fred asked. The cab stopped, there was a beat coming from the building that they were next to.

"I'm a cabby. I hear everything."

Fred played the man and got out. He made his way into the club...but it took a while because of the VERY long line. He took in the scene of the club. Everything in the club moved to the beat and rhythm of the music effortlessly. Fred's eyes canned the room, but she was not in her line of sight.

"I don't think I've ever seen her so down." a girl next to him mused to her friend. "What happened while I was gone? She hasn't even sang o come out to dance yet."

"I have no clue. She's been like this for a week, but she hasn't cheered up at all..." the pair walked by him to the bar. Fred hurried now. The beat changed and the entire club changed with it. He could see her now but...this girl...she was just a shadow. Her black hood was pulled up, massive headphones hung around her neck. Every few seconds the light would change the color her face appeared, but even in the lack of light Fred could see it. Sammay's eyes had dark circles under them and were also red rimmed from crying. She was thinner...close to what she had been when she had come back from the American school. He remembered how she had used to be before when she listened to music. How she used to dance around while he laughed at her. The sight of her like this... Made Fred's stomach tighten. He felt the urge to run to her, but decided against it. He sat at a table with a view of his wife and watched.

Something in the club was making my head spin dangerously. *I need to get out of here.* I thought. I set up one of the crowd's faves and stepped down from the table.

"Yo Callen, can you take over. I can't concentrate tonight. I gotta go home...or something."

He blinked shocked but agreed.

I slipped out into the night air and sighed. The noise of the city gently surrounded me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in. There was a smell in it. It was comforting...Familiar..and...it SHOULD NOT be there.

She stared at him, unmoving. Something was flickering behind her eyes. He reached out to her and she jerked backwards, not noticing that she was now off the curb and in the street. Fred, on the other hand, did notice. He grabbed her hand and jerked her forward. Sammay flew over the curb and into his chest. She took a step away from him, staring into his face, then at their joined hands. Se slowly smiled, but it wasn't her smile. It was a sad smile of one who thought their world would disappear. Then he understood that that was exactly what she thought. She didn't think he was real.

He used his free hand to reach out and tap her nose, then place it against her pale cheek. Her eyes closed and she bit her lip. "I'm really here Sammay." he freed his other hand and placed it on her other cheek. "I'm not going anywhere."

Tears filled her eyes and she shook her head. "Your dead. You can't be here." she told him.

"Who told you I was dead?" it was his turn to be shocked.

"Alex, her letter said that you were gone." she was shaking now.

"I was gone. I thought YOU were dead, so I left. I only just got a letter from George telling me otherwise."

"What?""Hey Sammay! Is this dude botherin ya?" a fairly small guy with tightly curled short hair waltzed toward us. "You'd better leave my girl alone." he laughed.

Sammay spun to face him. As she turned Fred saw the familiar flash in her eyes that told him that she was pissed. He tried not to laugh. "And who ever told you I was YOUR girl? Huh Callen?"

He stumbled back a step. He had obviously never had her anger tuned on him.

"What? No answer? Thats what I thought. I'm so outta here." she grabbed Fred's hand and drug him backwards down the street.

She led him silently through the streets, her pace was slower now. Fred never took his eyes off her face.

Suddenly she stopped and turned. She smiled up at him. "He could see you! Callen could see you! You're real!"

He grinned. "Told ya so." he gently pushed her hood down. "Jeez love, what did you do to your hair?" he ran his fingers to her barely shoulder length hair.

She didn't answer. Instead she leaned up and kissed him

"You wanna go to my house?" she asked him.

He grinned. "Always." For only the second time since they had gotten married they spent the night together.