When Seras opened her eyes, it was to her apartment and for a moment, she frowned in groggy confusion. Her heart hurt as if it had been broken and her neck felt stiff. She could tell she wasn't in her bed though, even though she had clearly just woken up. She was looking at her living room furniture after all and noted quickly even in her groggy state, which seat she was sitting on. The reason why that information was important took another minute to register as her groggy mind was pulled from the fog surrounding it. But when it did, she gasped and jumped up immediately!

She must be off her rocker to sit on it! It was an antique! The wood seemed to be sturdy enough, but it hadn't been used in decades now and had been exposed to time and the elements! She could have seriously damaged it! There was only one reason she could think of that she sat there, she couldn't have been in her right mind. So she must have been more tired than she originally realized..

"I need a vacation.." she muttered and scrubbed her hands down her face before settling a hand over her aching heart. Jeez it felt like it did everytime she thought about–

Nope! Not going there! Not when she had to go into the station!

Yes indeed, a nice long get away to just unwind and rest for a while sounded nice. A place without responsibilities like chasing perps and doing stake outs. Maybe a little cabin rental out in the countryside where she could take in the scenery of nature. Where she could breathe in air that wasn't filled with carbon monoxide from cars, buses and trains. Maybe that was what she needed.. That and a good shower to wake her up to get ready to go into the station. Or at least wash her face to rid herself of the last remaining vestiges of fatigue that made her want to climb into bed. There were many reasons that she couldn't just go to bed despite the night outside.

The police girl vaguely remembered calling off a couple of times now, though she couldn't remember the reason. The chief was probably already ready to make her turn in her badge as it was. If she called in again then she could probably kiss her career goodbye. The fact she couldn't recall her reasoning for calling off before was troubling and had the frown deepening. However, try as she might, she couldn't remember the reason. It had to be the stress and fatigue, she figured as she got her uniform and undergarments ready and took them into the bathroom with her for a shower.

If her mind wasn't so foggy, perhaps she'd have noted the feeling of being watched and the unusual coolness in the apartment with her. Alas, she didn't notice and stripped bare after adjusting the water to just the right temperature and started up the shower. But that didn't stop her mind from trying to make sense of what was happening to her.

Something just wasn't fitting in right.. She'd been stressed and fatigued before, actually she was in a constant state of both.. So why did it seem she was near delirious this time? It had to be delirium for her to have been sitting on her prized possession and calling in because of the fatigue..

Was she getting sick..?

She smacked a hand against her forehead under the warm spray of water and winced at the sound and the sting that met her for her efforts. Beyond the sting though, there was no extra warmth to her skin as far as she could tell. No feelings of nausea or dizziness either nor pain and aches. Aside from her stiff neck from sleeping wrong and whacking herself in the head that is.

Strange.. It was all very strange..

The police girl paid extra attention to her sore neck as she stepped further under the spray of water. She hoped that between her massaging fingers as she washed her hair and the warm water that it would loosen the tension there. But while she managed to loosen it a little, it still mostly ached. She couldn't keep babying her aching muscles though and finished her washing before turning off the tap, stepping out, and toweling off. Though this time, she noted the extra coolness in the apartment.

"Bloody hell! Did I turn on the air conditioning too?" she muttered, though her head jerked up to look around when she thought that she heard a man's chuckle.

The move served to make her aching neck pop and relief flood through that spot. She winced from the sound and the sharp pain before the relief, but her focus was more on her surroundings now. If she wasn't alone in her apartment then there wasn't much she could use for a weapon in self defense. And she was in quite the vulnerable state right then.. Stark naked, with only a towel to brandish.. Unless she could somehow get to her mace in time before she was caught..

Blue eyes immediately went to her uniform, neatly folded and ready to don once she was dry. Her can of mace was always right there in the little holster she wore on her hip when in uniform. She didn't know where the invader was, but from what she heard before, he was either in the hallway or in the next room. Either way, she was getting nowhere if she just stayed where she was. So she darted toward the uniform, popped open the holster and had the mace ready to go in just a few seconds. Now armed with the only weapon she had in close proximity, Seras wrapped her towel around herself and started inching her way toward where her gun was held. Her senses were on high alert now as she scanned her eyes around and had her ears peeled for the smallest, out of place sound, heart racing.

Now that she was paying attention, she definitely felt as if she wasn't alone and that she was being watched. However, each time she looked over her shoulder or around her, she saw nothing. That didn't mean anything though, if a creep had gotten in her apartment. A seasoned criminal could be hiding somewhere she didn't see. Either way, when only a few feet remained between her and her gun, she ran for it, turned off the safety, had a bullet in the chamber and aimed.

She still didn't see anything, but the feeling hadn't gone away either. Whoever was there, was watching her every move and could very well have a gun of their own aimed at her. She had to be careful with every step she took and be as thorough as possible as she looked around her.

Or that was the plan at least, until she heard movement from her bathroom and directed her attention back there. It felt colder in the hallway now as she put her back to the wall, her gun lowered to her front, but still held ready. However, she was more interested in getting the perp out of her apartment rather than a cold spot or two. These apartments had random cold spots in them anyway from poor insulation.

Only when she was right beside the bathroom door did she quietly take a breath before turning and raising her gun with deadly accuracy.

"Alright! Hands..up..?"

No one was there.. And a creep couldn't be hiding in the shower, she could clearly see inside it where she'd left the curtain open when she got out. That said, there was the smallest chance that they were behind where it was bunched up at the end. So she cautiously made her way over and used the barrel of her gun to move it aside. Adrenaline high, she even turned quickly to point her firearm there. But no.. No one was there..

"What on Earth..?"

What felt like a tug against her towel had her spinning around and aiming. But there was only more confusion as she saw nothing yet again. She didn't even care enough to quickly cover up again when her towel fell, though her cheeks blossomed red. What she did care about was that, before her eyes, her uniform slid off the sink counter and onto the floor seemingly without provocation. She could only stare at the clothes now in a heap on the floor, big blue eyes blinking at them before she sighed and lowered her weapon.

"Oh great.. So I have a ghost.."

Another male chuckle, seemed to be the answer. But even as she jerked her head up to look around, she quickly bent to cover herself with her towel again. She couldn't very well shoot a ghost though so she sighed once again, cheeks flaming even more red and set her firearm down after returning the bullet to the magazine. Gun safety was taught in the academy so she made sure the barrel was truly empty before squeezing the trigger to rid it of the locked air inside and putting the safety back on.

"Let me guess.. I let you in with the chair I got right?" she asked the air around her. This time there was no answering sound from what she perceived as a spirit. "Oh so I get the silent treatment now?" Again, no answer. "Well fine.. You can stay, but only if you don't cause me any more trouble. If you do, I'll have the first exorcist available here, understood? In the meantime, out of the bathroom! You shouldn't look at naked women without permission!"

This time, while there was no answer, Seras thought she saw her doorway waver as if something invisible had walked through it. So she glared at that spot for a few minutes before finally convincing herself that the spirit was giving her privacy. Even so, she didn't move her towel away until she'd already gotten her panties on. And only did then because she couldn't put her bra on otherwise.

At least she was a little more covered now, but quickly donned her uniform as well. Then unladylike curses fell from her mouth when she heard her watch signaling it was time to go from where it lay in her room. Seras quickly dashed from the bathroom and into her room to put her socks and shoes on, brushing her hair after on her way back to get her gun and return it to the holster. As she did all of this, she could feel the eyes on her again and tried to ignore it as she raced toward the living room. She wasn't all that surprised to see her television on and the rewind sign on her screen.

"A ghost with a taste for movies.. Bloody hell.." she sighed, but shook her head and grabbed her keys. "If I find this place trashed when I get back, I'm calling an exorcist!" she warned on her way out the door.

After the lock turned, the rewind sign disappeared on the blue screen before the play sign showed. After a moment of static, Selena Victoria came onto the screen before panning to Seras and Letti watching television in their old home..

The seeming ghost solidified only then and sat on the sofa to watch the home movie. He watched as the girls rushed to greet their father when he came in the door and how they squeaked and ran off to wash their hands for dinner. He saw the trip the family all took to Romania together and how little Seras proclaimed she'd be the count's wife one day.

Seeing it again had him chuckling once again. What a beautiful young lady she had become since then. A police officer in her own right, following in her father's footsteps. She had grown beautiful and strong, her spirit burning fiery and bright as was hinted it would become in this very video he watched now. If only they had listened to her when she went crying to them about the recurring nightmare she'd had. She had felt so much pain since then and saw the ugly underbelly of the world far too quickly. Shortly after that very trip, he recalled.

The smile that had been on his face vanished before the static returned and showed the final day in Romania. Little Seras was so sad and disappointed, her eyes shining with tears while Letti teased her. Such simple days back then and one trip of many they were supposed to take together.. All stolen away from them in a single night.

When the tape ended, the man stood from the sofa and turned off the VCR and television. Seras had said he could stay, had told him if he made no trouble then he could remain there. If only he could.. Alas, he was bound and could not stay no matter how much he wished to. No matter how much he wished he could reveal himself to her, he couldn't.. He just had to see her, it had been too long and their interaction, though brief, was something he'd hold in his heart.

The man didn't leave right away though. First he moved to the chair she had concluded he'd been attached to and with a touch, he and the chair vanished from the apartment.

Seras, having no clue about what was happening at home, raced into the station. She'd barely given herself time to put her car in park and shut off the ignition before running in. She was in hot water and she knew it before she even got in and heard the chief's voice bellow her name from his office. Yes indeed, he was angry and she winced as she turned in the direction of the office. If he was that angry, she knew she'd be getting a scolding.. Just something else to add to the list of things that made her want to go home and crawl into bed.

This evening was shaping up to be a hassle and a half. Sitting and sleeping on her chair, having a ghost in her apartment, and now a chewing out from the chief of police.. She'd be feeling like a half dead vampire herself by the time her shift was over and she finally crawled into bed the next morning.. Even so, she knew better than to ask herself what else could go wrong. The universe typically took that as a challenge and she definitely didn't need anymore piled onto her plate. So she made her way into the office and closed the door, the latch seeming as if it were sealing her fate as it caught in the door.

"Yes sir..?"

"Sit down, Victoria. We need to talk."

AC: A couple of days late, but here's the next chapter. ^^ I even added a tiny bit of fan service in there for all my Seras lovers out there! ^^ I hope you like the chapter I got it finished tonight and re-read it to make sure I fixed mistakes. That said, its late and I may have missed some. Please let me know if you see any. Thank you all for being so patient, I'll try to get the new chapters out sooner. Big things are coming and I'm as excited about writing them as you all are of reading them. :3

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Please put the pitchforks away, lawyers!