A/N: So this is going to be slightly AU. I started playing CoD when it was well into its fifth season, so I've missed a lot of background to the game. Paired with those times when I'm just too busy (or lacking in internet access) to download a chapter, and I end up missing key events. I would buy the episodes, but the cost adds up over time, and being without a part time job, I have to rely on birthday and Christmas iTunes cards, which are usually quickly spent on songs instead. Because of this, I know nothing of Kai's background other than that found on the CoD wiki, and I have to admit… I… missed the episode "A Day In The Life"… so imagine how I felt when I got the news in the next episode! Anyway, I shall end my pointless rambling and get back to the story. Review replies at the end of chapter!

It had been just under a year since Ken had… Amy sighed as she realised she would eventually have to get up and do something – as attractive as staying in, and eating cookies and cream ice-cream in front of the Cartoon Network sounded, she couldn't risk falling back into a downwards spiral like last time. Sure, she hadn't been too bad, no illegal drugs or anything, and she'd managed to keep her job, but she disliked the alcohol tainted haze over the memories of those first few months.

Still, New Year's Eve, despite not being her favourite holiday, was going to be ruined by the memory of the last one. She and Ken had plans to meet up, but he had been tied up with family celebrations, and she ended up alone, watching the fireworks on TV. Ken came to her apartment the next day, slightly hung-over, but full of apologies and promises for the next New Year. He had stayed all day, she remembers now. She had decided to cook that day, and it proved slightly difficult to coerce him to join her…

-New Year's Day, One Year Ago-

"C'mon Ken, it's not like anyone is here to see you!"

"Ames, it's an apron. And it's baking. Dammit, Ken Greene doesn't bake cupcakes!"

Amy sighed. Time to pull out the heavy artillery.

"Please? For me? It's a New Year's Day tradition!"

She accompanied the plea with widened eyes and a hint of eyelash batting. Cheap shot, but it worked. Every time. Ken's resolve was already weakening.

"Well… ok, fine. But if you tell Mal ANYTHING… Even a hint that I agreed to this…"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll help you remain secure in your masculinity, blah blah blah…"

-Later-

"So. Next year. We'll do something together! Go out, maybe to a club… or to the festival in the park… or maybe go down to the beach, watch some fireworks. What do you think?"

"I don't know… let's just see where the evening takes us, huh? Plus, we have a whole year to think about it!"

Amy settled comfortably on the couch, curling into Ken's side. They were both full of the sugary desserts that were the results of their cooking, and were quite content to sit quietly and talk, reflecting on last year and making plans for the next, racing into the new year headfirst, with all the enthusiasm and blind hope of a child, unaware of their fate hanging over them like a three ton weight on a slowly tearing rope.

-Present-

Amy smiled despite herself. It had been a great day, once Ken got over his freak-out about the pink icing on her favourite chocolate cupcakes. They'd spent the rest of the day just spending time together, eating the delicious, if slightly messy, cupcakes, walking in the park down the street, and making jokey suggestions for New Year's resolutions for the rest of the gang at the precinct. She still remembered some of them, one of her favourites being Ken's insistence that Mal's resolution be to "strap on a pair and ask out Natara", because he was "so goddamn sick of all the underlying sexual tension" whenever the two were in the same room.

Amy finally decided to get up and get dressed – she'd been about to when Natara called, and then she'd ended reminiscing for about half an hour. It would do her good to get out of the house, maybe visit the new, cute coffee shop that opened up across the street.

She stepped out of her apartment building, pulling her coat around her shoulders a little tighter in an attempt to ward off the cold. The shop she'd noticed earlier was open and hummed with the activity of staff, cleaning up after the lunch rush. Amy's stomach growled, a reminder that breakfast was small and a very long time ago.

Might as well get some lunch while I'm at it.

Or, to hell with lunch, just get about 5 different desserts, Amy thought as she saw the masses of cake and cookies behind the glass counter.

Ten minutes later, she was sitting on a small armchair in the corner of the shop, happily sipping hot chocolate as she surveyed the remains of the cheesecake, panna cotta and cookie tasting plate that had made up her lunch.

God, if I ever stopped going to the gym, I'd become a walrus overnight.

That wasn't the happiest thought, but she brushed it away, savouring the warmth of the minty hot chocolate. When she finished, she paid and left, reluctant to leave the heated interior of the shop.

Once Amy was safely home, and out of the freezing wind, she picked up her phone and texted Natara.

dont feel like cartoons and choc tonite. plan still on? - A

Yes, definitely! Meet you outside your place at eight? – N

sure cya l8r. and nat, rlly? full sentences and correct grammar in a txt? - A

I can't help it! Ok, and wear something nice! -N

A/N: Yes, this messes with the timeline and events a little, but hey! It's fanfiction, and I'm only playing. (I guess now would be a good time to state the obvious and say: "I don't own CoD"). The changes I made include: Amy didn't quit her job, she didn't join Brimstone and she didn't get piercings and blue hair. And I've said she lives in an apartment – not sure if her residence has ever been mentioned in the game? If it has, PM me or leave a review and I might get around to fixing it – unless, of course, her living situation impacts my later plans for the plot.

Also, because of the aforementioned missed episodes, I can't directly reference Amy and Ken's first date, the whole South America fiasco, or even the exact events surrounding Ken's death.

I wrote this chapter while eating ice-cream (cookies and cream, to be exact) and watching Ben 10, so I apologise for any randomness or OOC-ness.

Mozzi-girl: Thanks very much for the praise, and I hope you keep reading, and hopefully occasionally reviewing – but no pressure J

Jacey: Thank you also for your review. Let me begin by saying I don't wish for my story to be removed in the future (I may be paranoid, but you never know), so I won't be writing anything too explicit.