Bmangaka - Danny in blue would definately work! Alternatively, so would Danny in nothing. I've never been there (it's on my ever growing list of places to visit - i just wish the bank balance matched the list) I hope you enjoyed yourself

Vanessa.J - lol, did I convert you to a cold case fan, or is it going to grow on you?

Trizzy - lol, you're good. I'm going to have to be uber clever with clues in the future! And I'm all about Cass and Dean at the mo in SN. Can anyone say yummy? Yeah, they may deny it, but I think that the CSI writers have a look at what's being written. I'm sorry, but they're lying if they've never checked it out.

joy1791 - Sorry to keep you waiting! I promise I will have some proper Flack/Tay lovin soon!

Lady Phoenix Snape - Hey, thanks! I do know what you mean and I am definately going to work on it! I think part of it is that time passes so slowly - it's gonna be ages before they ever make it down the isle, so I definately wont be rushing anything (and I do find that it tests my patience sometimes)

ambercsiny - thank you - the teasing was fun. How's those exams going?

sparkyCSI - I decided to go with it. Because otherwise, this chapter would never get posted, the muses would never have come back, and the story would have gone a year long hiatus. So let;s see how it goes...! Thanks for your help with it!

demolished-soul - the muses are now wanting some happy fluffy time (good in my mind!) so hopefully I can have things going right soon!

meadow567 - man, I should actually feel proud of that accomplishment! So I shall! Yay me! lol

Well, bigger thanks than normal to my beta, sparkyCSI. As you'll probably gather from the amount of mentioning, I've had some real issues with this chapter, and she's not only beta'd my longest ever chapter (16 pages - check me out!) She's helped me get my head on straight with it - so thanks Kris!

Axellia's note: Forgive me, y'all. I don't think this is going to be one of my most exciting chapters – and I can assure you that I certainly had other plans for it – however, (as this chapter may well hint), I have had quite a few things going on in my life, and unfortunately, this had to be written in one of those weird therapy moves, before the muses would allow me to continue. And that is the main reason as to why it's so long – I didn't want to drag it all out and lose you all, but I really needed to write it!

What The Eyes Can't See

Chapter 212: Though you're still with me, I've been alone all along

'Did you have a good night last night?' Charlotte asked, appearing as Taylor and Flack were walking back to the precinct.

'Yeah,' Taylor muttered.

'Huh?' Flack asked, turning. Seeing nothing he sighed. 'Does that ghost ever leave you alone?'

Charlotte frowned. 'What's that supposed to mean? I stayed in the club long after you left.'

'It doesn't matter,' Taylor said, in a response to both as Flack pulled open the door to the precinct for her.

'Whatever,' Charlotte shrugged. 'Look, I was thinking. I felt at home in Blue. I think we should talk to someone who knew me.'

'Morning,' Vera greeted them cheerfully, Scotty and Lily close behind him, the latter nursing a steaming cup of coffee each and looking a little worse for wear.

'You two alright?' Flack asked addressing the two mournful looking detectives.

'These two didn't know when to quit,' Vera grinned.

'You two left early,' Scotty commented.

'It had been a long day, what with flying and everything,' Flack shrugged.

Taylor flashed him a grateful smile. 'I think we should go see this club owner.'

'On what grounds?' Lily asked her.

Taylor shrugged. 'Gut feeling?'

'Last night, after you left, Nile came back and mentioned that he remembered hearing something about an argument the previous bar manager had had with an old DJ, but couldn't remember the details,' Lily informed them.

'I don't remember that coming out in the initial interviews,' Vera frowned.

'Alright,' Scotty shrugged. 'I'll go with Taylor and Flack to see this club manager. You two can take the bar manager?'

Lily nodded and the two Philadelphian detectives disappeared. Valens turned to the couple. 'Alright. What's the deal?'

'What do you mean?' Flack asked him.

Valens rolled his eyes. 'You can cut the crap now. Just because our cases are stuck in the past, doesn't mean we are.'

Taylor took a breath. 'What would you say if I told you I could see ghosts?'

Valens shrugged. 'Wouldn't be the strangest thing I'd heard. We should get moving. We're going to be stuck in the rush hour traffic as it is.'

Taylor stared at him in disbelief. 'Seriously?'

Valens nodded. 'I've been to New York. Rush hour is just as bad here as it is there.'

'No,' said Taylor, shaking her head. 'I'm talking about the ghosts.'

'And?'

Taylor frowned. 'I guess I'm not used to people accepting it as easily as that.'

'So why are you complaining?' Charlotte asked her. 'Quit questioning it, and let's go see Rich.'

---

Rich lived in a big house in suburbs on the other side of the city. He was tall. Easily as tall as Flack, and heading into his forties. His black hair was both receding, and already was showing signs of grey at the sides. He was outside using the good, early spring weather to wash his car.

'Mr Clarke?'

Rich looked over at the detectives, pausing in scrubbing the alloys of his car, and nodded. 'Can I help you?'

'It's him,' Charlotte breathed.

Taylor turned sharply, expecting to see fear lining the ghost's features. But instead, Charlotte was almost glowing. And she had a grin stretching from one ear to the other.

'We're here about the Charlotte Clearwater Murder.'

Rich's face fell at the same speed as the sponge in his hand as he dropped it on the ground. 'You finally found out who killed her?' he asked quietly.

'We've had some new leads, and we're re-opening the case.'

Rich sighed and stood upright. 'We'd best go inside then.' He led them into his living room and allowed them to sit.

'So Charlotte worked at the club with you?' Valens started.

Rich nodded. 'She was the DJ. Pretty good, as well. She knew how to read what the crowd wanted.'

'Where were you when she was murdered?' Flack asked him.

Rich looked away. 'I was waiting with the bar staff for their taxis.' He turned back to them. 'We put taxis on for the staff. Didn't want them walking home alone if they haven't got their own transport.'

'And why didn't Charlotte take a taxi too?'

Rich sighed. 'She drove. I don't know why she was there.'

Taylor glanced over at Charlotte who shrugged. 'Like hell I remember. I remember him though.'

'Is there anyone you can think of that might want to kill her?' Flack asked him.

'No,' Rich sighed. 'She was a good girl. Made a few stupid decisions in her life, but she got on well with everyone.'

'Stupid decisions?'

Rich nodded. 'Mainly things to do with money. Career choices. That kind of thing.'

'Nothing illegal?' asked Valens.

Rich shook his head. 'Oh, far from it. She was impulsive – the kind to act first, then spend time fretting about the consequences. She had a job she was miserable in, and she quit. Didn't think about where her next pay check was coming from, or how she was going to pay the next rent bill. I let her have a few bar shifts when I could.'

'You know what the trouble was at her old job?' Valens asked.

Rich shook his head. 'Irritating customers, no support from management, irregular hours,' he shrugged. 'She hated it.'

Taylor, who had been watching Charlotte stare at the guy, turned to face him. 'You seem to know a lot for a bar manager.'

Rich sighed and relaxed back into his chair. 'We got on well. She used to bug me. Talk at me. I started talking back. Tried to offer her advice when I could.'

'How close were you two?' she asked him.

Rich shut his eyes and sniffed. 'Close enough.'

Valens' eyes narrowed. 'That's not what your original statement says.'

Rich nodded. 'We were... I was having an affair. My wife was pregnant and I didn't want her to find out. Of course I was going to hide it.'

'You lied in an investigation?' Flack snapped.

'I lied to protect my reputation, Cara's reputation, and Charlotte's reputation,' Rich snapped back. 'I couldn't see how that was going to hurt anyone.'

'No, but we may have just found a motive,' Valens told him. 'Where's your wife?'

Rich laughed dryly. 'Cara? You couldn't possibly think that Cara killed Charlotte? She didn't know about Charlotte.'

Valens shrugged. 'Women have a way of knowing about those things, Mr. Clarke. Where is she?'

'I don't know,' Rich sighed. 'We got a divorce a few years after Charlotte died. Things just didn't work out.'

'Do you know where she works?' Flack asked him.

Rich frowned at them. 'I'm surprised you don't know this already. She's a detective with Vice over in Fairmount.'

---

'Well that would explain why they overlooked Cara's statements,' Taylor muttered.

'I'm sure there's a better reason than that,' Scotty sighed.

Flack shrugged. 'There was a lot of pressure back then. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the case.'

'Let's not jump to any conclusions until we talk to Nick. He and Lily may have found something out,' Scotty sighed as they headed back to the car. 'And I really hope they do, because I'm not sure what else we can get from this.'

---

'Nothing,' Lily grumbled as she dropped into her chair. 'The DJ he was talking about was Charlotte's replacement, and the argument was that the guy wasn't playing the right kind of music.'

'At least I know I wasn't easy to replace,' Charlotte muttered.

'So where does that leave us?' Vera asked.

Lily shrugged. 'I'm not sure it does.'

'The ex-wife!' Taylor exclaimed. 'What about her?'

Scotty turned to Nick. 'You worked the original case. Why wasn't Cara Clarke interviewed?'

'Solid alibi,' Vera shrugged. 'She was on patrol. She wasn't in Vice back then.'

'Cara?' Lily asked, cocking her head. 'You mean Cara Wright?'

Valens nodded. 'The vic was having an affair with her husband. Hence why she's now a Wright.'

'Fifty one, fifty,' Charlotte suddenly said, causing Taylor to give her a sharp look.

Taylor cleared her throat, rubbing at the back of her neck. 'If I ask you a very random question, will you humor with the answer?'

Three of the four gave her a puzzled look, but all nodded.

'Do the numbers fifty one, fifty mean anything to you?' she asked.

Vera shrugged. '$51.50 is the fine for the first offence of failing to signal,' he offered.

'Code for a mentally disturbed person,' Valens shrugged.

'Or an album by Van Halen,' Lily added. 'Why?'

At Charlotte's blank expression, Taylor sighed and shook her head. 'Just a thought.'

'Look, let's get Wright over for a chat, see where her head was at, at the time of the murder,' Valens said, reaching for the phone.

'We may as well go get something to eat,' Flack told Taylor.

---

By the time they returned, after making a point of questioning Charlotte, but gaining no new information, Cara Wright was waiting for them.

'So, what's this all about,' she asked, pushing her short blond bob behind her ears. 'The only thing Vera mentioned was that it was about an old case.'

'1998,' Vera nodded. 'The Charlotte Clearwater murder.'

Something flickered through Cara's eyes, but her face remained impassive. 'The girl found stabbed in the back beneath Rocky's feet?'

Lily nodded.

'But,' Cara frowned. 'I thought that had gone cold.'

'We're following new leads,' Vera shrugged. 'Reopening it.'

'And what would they be?' Cara asked, her words belying the overly curious tone they were spoken in.

'You want a coffee?' Valens asked as they walked over to the small kitchen. He poured a coffee out of the machine and offered it to Cara who promptly took it.

As she reached over, her jacket lifted and something glinted in under the bright halogen bulbs. Taylor frowned, peering at the gold object – the detective's badge. She cleared her throat looking at Valens. 'Can I borrow you, a moment?'

Valens gave her a puzzled look, but nodded and followed her to one side.

'Alright, I realize that what I am about to ask of you is completely insane, but I need to make sure of something,' she shook her head at her own crypticness. 'When I said I saw ghosts, did you really believe me, or were you just humoring me?'

'What's the matter?' This question came from Lily who had walked over.

Taylor sighed. 'I can see ghosts,' she admitted, too tired to try lie.

Lily blinked. 'Scotty, will you excuse us?'

Taylor winced as Valens left them. Bracing herself for the onslaught she was expecting, she quietly followed Lily into a small, empty room. As soon as the door shut behind them, Taylor held her hands up. 'Look, please don't be mad. But it's why I'm here. I'm being haunted by Charlotte's ghost. I really do see them-'

'I see them too,' Lily admitted quietly.

'They've been around for years, trying to…' Taylor trailed off. 'What?'

'I see them too,' she repeated, just as quietly. 'They don't haunt me as such, but they're there, when I lay a case to rest… when their murder is solved.'

Taylor blinked. 'What?' she repeated, her brain trying to process the information.

Lily leant back against the door, arms folded as she looked at Taylor thoughtfully. 'Well, I think I see them, anyway. I suppose I could be imagining it, but I hope not. I like to think that I bring them peace.'

'Really?' Taylor asked her again.

Lily nodded. 'Really.'

'Wow,' Taylor breathed out, a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. 'How long?'

Lily shook her head. 'I guess they started appearing when I transferred to the Cold Case Unit. Five years ago.'

'They don't bug you?'

Again, Lily shook her head. 'Really, they don't say anything. They do you?'

Taylor let out a dry laugh. 'Well, up until recently, they say the same thing over again. Now I can't get them to shut up.'

Lily cocked her head. 'What changed?'

Taylor shrugged. 'I died?'

Lily nodded thoughtfully. 'That makes sense.'

'It does?'

'Yeah,' Lily smiled. 'If you're dead, you're going to see the dead.'

'But I'm not dead now,' Taylor muttered, although her fingers, which had been wringing her hands, had slipped to her wrists to check her pulse – just to make sure.

'No, but you were. And if you could see some dead already, well maybe it's allowed you to see all the dead.'

Taylor studied the petite woman. 'Is there any chance you could transfer to New York?'

Lily laughed. 'No, I'm happy here. There's too much work here as it is.'

Taylor sighed. 'Well, if you change your mind, don't hesitate to transfer. It would be nice to have someone who actually knows what's going on.'

'Taylor, I don't have a clue what's going on,' Lily laughed. 'I'm just guessing.'

Taylor's hands flew to her hips. 'Well, guess work or not, you seem to have a better idea about what's going on that the people who should do.'

Lily gave her a soft smile. 'So, what did you want to talk to Scotty about? I take it involves the ghost of yours?'

'Can he see them?' Taylor asked, curiously.

Lily shook her head. 'We've never discussed it.'

Taylor sighed. 'Charlotte, she remembered something. 5150.'

Lily nodded. 'That makes more sense now. The question, I mean.'

'Lily, Cara's badge number is 5150.'

Lily's forehead creased in concentration. 'Effectively, that is completely useless. It would never stand up in court.'

'But you believe me?'

Lily nodded. 'Of course. The problem is translating that into useable evidence.' The frown deepened. 'If she was there, it means her alibi is useless.'

'What was her alibi?'

Lily shrugged. 'Let's find out.' She walked determinedly back to the others, leaving a bewildered Taylor staring after her. Another person who could see ghosts? Quickly shaking her head, she hurried after her.

'…I was with a CI,' Cara was saying. 'Like I said in my original statement.'

'We just need to be sure,' Lily said. 'Who was he?'

Cara arched an eyebrow. 'You know I can't tell you that.'

Lily just smiled at her, ignoring the looks Valens and Vera were giving her. 'You can't, or you don't want to?'

'Now what would you be implying?' Cara demanded, her eyes flashing furiously.

'That maybe you lied and stabbed me in the back!' Charlotte snapped.

Taylor looked at the ground and scowled. She could understand Charlotte's reaction, but it was slightly frustrating to be the only person to actually hear it.

'Got something to hide?' Lily continued.

'Lily?' Scotty frowned , pulling her back by her arm. 'What's gotten into you?' he asked under his breath, shooting a look at Taylor.

'Nothing,' she told him, before turning to Cara and smiling. 'I'm sorry.'

'Don't worry about it, 'Cara muttered. 'Are we done here?'

Vera nodded and Cara quickly escaped. 'What the hell is going on?' he demanded as soon as Cara had left the room.

'Nick, do you still have contacts with Narco?' Lily asked instead of answering his question.

Vera nodded. 'Why?'

'We need to find out who her informant was,' Lily told him.

'You know we shouldn't, right?' he asked her.

Lily nodded calmly.

With a sigh and muttering to himself, Vera nodded and headed over to his desk.

'I'll go see if I can track down the dispatch officer from that night,' Scotty muttered.

'I don't know how successful this is going to be,' Lily sighed. 'She may well have done it, but I think she's covered her tracks too well.'

Flack looked between Taylor and Lily and frowned. 'Did the Millennium Data Cleanse hit Philadelphia?' he asked.

Lily nodded slowly, frowning. 'Yeah, but I'm not sure how that's going to help.'

Flack grinned. 'Then the information is locked away on a hard drive somewhere, right.'

Again, Lily nodded. 'Yes, but I don't know where, much less have access to it.'

'No, but I happen to know a guy who's very good with computers.'

Taylor gave him a sharp look. 'Who?'

'Ross.'

---

There was a very long pause down the phone line. 'You want me to what?' Adam asked.

'Hack into the Philadelphia Police Department's main archives to find out which confidential informants Cara Clarke was handling in 1998,' Flack repeated himself.

'Is this a set up?' Adam asked suspiciously. 'Is Mac with you?'

'Can you do it, Ross?'

'Yeah, but-'

'Then do it. If anything comes back, I'll take full responsibility,' Flack told him. 'And I'll owe you one.'

Taylor chewed at her lip, staring at her fiancé, slightly puzzled. Not so long ago, Flack would never have even considered this… it was more like something Danny would have done. In actual fact, she wouldn't have questioned it – if she had the skills she would have done it in a heartbeat. But it was the look Detective Rush was giving him – one of awe and apprehension… like she wished she could do it, but didn't dare.

'Fine,' Adam sighed. 'Give me a couple of minutes.' He said, before hanging up.

Taylor waited until Lily had gone for coffee before turning to Flack. 'Don, is what he's doing going to get him in trouble?'

Flack shrugged. 'Adam's good. He knows what he's doing.'

'That's not what I asked,' Taylor pointed out.

'He'll be fine,' Flack insisted as Lily returned and handed him a cup.

Taylor let out an exasperated sigh. 'I'm going to talk to Charlotte. I'll be outside.'

The wind was causing Taylor's hair to whip furiously around her head as she sat on a bench opposite the precinct. The temperature had dropped suddenly and the March wind had a brisk chill to it. Taylor wrapped her jacket tightly around herself and shivered.

'You're not helping by being out here.'

'Charlotte,' Taylor sighed wearily. 'I can't do anything. Unless you happen to know who Cara's informant is?'

Charlotte sat down next to her and shook her head. 'I keep trying to remember something, but the only thing I can remember clearly is how I feel about Rich.' She turned on the wall, pulling a leg up under her. 'Do me a favor?'

'What?' Taylor asked her, carefully.

'Tell him you love him.'

Taylor blinked. 'Huh?'

'Your guy, Flack,' Charlotte gave her a sad smile. 'Make sure he knows just how much you love him. Because it could all be over tonight, and trust me: you don't want that feeling of uncertainty.'

Taylor was nodding softly when the man in question, accompanied by Lily and Scotty, joined her.

'You'll catch a chill,' he told her as he helped her to her feet.

'I was just talking with Charlotte.'

'Did she remember anything?' Lily asked her.

Taylor shook her head. 'Nothing that will help us.'

'Good job Adam came through,' Flack grinned.

Taylor gave him another searching stare before arching an eyebrow at him. 'And?'

'Low-level drug dealer by the name of Papi,' Scotty told her. 'Lives out in an apartment not too far from Blue.'

Taylor's eyes widened. 'That sounds promising,' she said, as Charlotte nodded her agreement.

---

It took a while to get across town to the informant's apartment. The four of them (plus Charlotte) climbed up eight flights of stairs to get to his door. Taylor hung back, under Flack's watchful eyes, as she clutched at her side, trying to catch her breath as she breathed through the pain that was sending spasms in waves across her stomach.

He walked over whilst Valens and Rush waited for an answer, and cupped her cheek. 'You alright?'

Taylor nodded. 'I keep forgetting.'

'I did the same thing,' he admitted. 'Next time, you're waiting in the car.'

Taylor sighed as the pain conceded, unsure of what to make of the comment. She was distracted by the door opening.

Papi was a short, fat, balding Latino, wearing a white wife beater and a pair of boxers. 'Can I help you?'

Scotty and Lily flashed their badges. 'Philadelphia homicide. We're here about a murder.'

Papi eyed the pair, glanced at Flack and Taylor and nodded. 'I've been expecting you,' he informed them as he held the door open to allow them to enter.

Taylor frowned, but followed the others into Papi's place. The living room was dark – thick drapes preventing the light from seeping in – but with candles lining the walls, sending flickering shadows over dozens of images of the Virgin Mary.

'You said you were expecting us?' Lily questioned him as Papi walked over to the fireplace.

He ignored her, kneeling down to light a small red candle in front of a shrine to the Mother of God that replace a fire. Crossing himself, he rose to his feet to face them, nodding. 'For the last ten years I have been waiting for you to knock.'

'Why?' Scotty asked.

'Because I lied to help a cop get away with murder.'

'So if you've been waiting for us for ten years, why didn't you just head over to the precinct?' Taylor blurted out.

Papi shuffled over to a large, worn armchair, the chintz print virtually faded away, and sat down heavily in it. 'My son, Jesús, was a member of the Eight Snakes. He was helping bringing drugs into the country. I was awoken one night by the police searching my home. They took Jesús away,' Papi sighed as he lowered his head into his hands. 'I told one of the officers who had remained to search the house that my son was a good man, just misled,' he sighed again as he brought his head from his hands. 'She told me that she might be able to help me.'

'She?' Lily asked.

'Detective Cara Wright,' Papi nodded.

'What happened?'

'She told me that she could get him off if I owed her a favor.'

Flack frowned. 'And what was this favor?'

Papi shrugged. 'Originally I was to keep her informed of any activity that my son was involved in. But that was a farce. A few months later she came to me and told me that unless I wanted to see Jesús 'rotting to hell in Sing Sing', I was to agree, should it ever became necessary, to become her alibi,' Papi gazed at them all, his eyes apologetic. 'My son fell in with a bad crowd. Prison would kill him.'

Taylor bit her lip. She was pretty certain the guy wore rose tinted glasses when it came to his son, because everything he was telling them was that his son was one of the bad guys.

'She told me when the planned raid was going to happen and I kept Jesús away.'

Scotty frowned. 'She just gave that information up?'

Papi nodded. 'I didn't realize at the time that I was helping to cover a murder until I saw the papers.'

'And the jackass still let her get away with it,' Charlotte grumbled furiously. 'Can't you arrest him now?'

'Why didn't you say anything then?' Taylor asked, ignoring the fuming ghost.

'I love my son,' Papi shrugged.

'So why say something now? Why not continue to keep the secret?' asked Lily, frowning slightly.

Papi slowly shook his head. 'My son is past my protection.'

A flash of recognition passed through Scotty's eyes. 'Jesús is the leader of the Eight Snakes.'

Papi nodded. 'Yes.' He paused. 'My time here is nearly up. I was a man trying to protect his son, and I hope the Lord will recognize that when my time comes. But I also need to atone for what I have done. I must set things right.'

'The guy's a nut job,' Charlotte mumbled as Lily cuffed the man and led him out. 'And if he was serious about setting things right, why in God's name did he wait for you guys to find him?'

Taylor gave her a small shrug. Personally, she thought Charlotte had a point.

---

Taylor, Flack and Scotty were in the observation room, watching Lily and Vera question Cara. As soon as Lily had told Cara what Papi had enlightened them with, Cara confessed to everything.

Flack glanced at his watch.

'What do you keep checking that for?' Taylor asked him.

'The Rangers game starts in a couple of hours,' Flack admitted.

Valens shot him a look. 'You're a Rangers fan?'

Flack returned the look. 'Oh, don't tell me: Flyers.'

'You're standing in Philly. What else would you expect?'

'I'd hope for some taste. But you're right. We are in Philly after all.'

Valens grinned. 'Fifty says my team beats your team's asses.'

'Oh, you are so on!' Flack exclaimed. He turned to Taylor. 'Unless you mind?'

Taylor shook her head, still staring at Charlotte. 'There's something I need to do first. Just tell me where you're watching it and I'll grab a cab.

Flack looked over his shoulder at the spot Taylor was staring at and nodded. 'Alright.'

---

Taylor paid the cab driver and stepped out of the car. 'Are you sure you want to do this?' she asked Charlotte as she stared up at the house in front of her.

Charlotte nodded. 'I think it's what's holding me back, keeping me here.'

Taylor nodded and walked up the drive to knock on the door. It was answered quite quickly.

'Detective Turner?' Rich greeted her wearily. He looked like he had been crying.

'Actually, I'm not a detective,' Taylor confessed.

Rich looked her up and down. 'Can I help you?'

Taylor gave him an awkward smile. 'I'm here about Charlotte.'

'You've arrested my ex-wife. What more do you need?'

Taylor exhaled slowly and stepped back. 'If Charlotte was here now, what would you say to her?'

Tears glistened at the corners of Rich's eyes. 'You have no right to ask that,' he said, as he started to close the door.

'Because I know what she'd say to you,' Taylor cried.

The door swung open and Rich barged out, making Taylor leap backwards to get out of his way. 'You don't know anything about me, or Charlotte!' he yelled at her. 'And you have no right to bring this up!'

'It started with a text,' Taylor cried, reciting back what Charlotte was telling her as she leapt backwards.

Rich froze. 'How did you know that,' he whispered hoarsely.

'Because she's here with me,' Taylor admitted.

Rich sank to the doorstep. 'She is?' he asked, looking around.

Taylor nodded, sitting herself down beside him. 'She's here for you. She wanted you to know how she really felt.'

'She,' his voice caught in his throat. 'She used to get my attention in the club, usually to get her a drink because she couldn't really leave the decks,' he smiled. 'She'd always start with you know you love me,' he said, at the same time as Charlotte.

Taylor looked over at the ghost as she sat down on the other side of Rich.

Rich sniffed. 'I'd always reply with, maybe.'

'And I'd always tell him that was the wrong answer,' Charlotte smiled, placing her hand on his thigh.

'Is she really here?' he asked, turning to Taylor.

Taylor nodded. 'She's sat right next to you.'

Rich turned to face her. 'I did. I do. Love you.'

'I know,' Charlotte said as tears welled up in her eyes. 'I knew before you did.'

'She knew,' Taylor told him.

Rich gave her a sad smile. 'I know she did. And if it wasn't for Cara getting pregnant, I think I would have left her.'

Charlotte nodded. 'It's why I pulled away as soon as I found out. He wouldn't be able to do it.'

'I'm sorry, Charlotte,' Rich managed, as the tears began to stream down his cheek and drop down onto his grey shirt to create dark stains on it.

'It's not your fault, and you can't blame yourself,' Charlotte told him through Taylor. 'It was never meant to be more than a bit of fun, and despite everything that happened, I would do it all over again.'

'I love you, Charlotte,' Rich sniffed. 'And I would do it all again as well.'

Charlotte stood up, leant over and kissed his cheek. 'I love you, Rich. And I'm never going to stop.' As she righted herself and took a step backwards, Rich raised his hand, touching the spot on his cheek that she had touched. 'Thank you, Taylor,' she said as she started to fade away. 'And Robin just needs to know where his family is.'

Taylor smiled, wiping away her own tears. 'Bye, Charlotte,' she whispered.

---

'Are you alright?' Flack asked as Taylor slid into the booth next to him.

Taylor nodded and glanced around the bar. It was a quiet place, with hardly any patrons in it. Valens was at the bar getting a round in, and Lily was playing Vera in a game of pool, but short of one or two other people, there was hardly anyone in. 'Where is everyone?'

Flack shrugged. 'Quiet night.'

Taylor eyed him suspiciously, certain that it had been the plan all along to go to a quiet bar. He stared back at her smiling. Taylor quickly returned the smile as she leant her head against his shoulder. 'Thank you,' she muttered.

'Has she gone?'

'Yeah,' Taylor inhaled softly and pulled away from him, staring intently into his puzzled blue eyes.

'What?'

Something had happened whilst she had been in the coma. Flack wasn't quite the same – she wasn't sure what had happened, or how exactly he was different, but it was enough that she was concerned. And yet, as she stared into his eyes, something Charlotte had said came back to her. Whatever had happened, and whatever the consequences were, at that moment, it didn't matter. 'I love you,' she told him.

'I love you, too,' Flack returned, still a little perplexed.

'I mean it,' she told him. 'I really love you.'

The confusion lessened as Flack smiled at her. 'I mean it too.'

Taylor grinned. 'I know.'

There you go - the hardest chapter I've ever had to write, so sorry for the wait. Thanks for reading, and putting up with me, and I hope I haven't lost too many of you because of it!