The loud chirping of his phone woke Steve that morning with a start. Rubbing his eyes he reached over for the offending object and looked at the time. 6:30 am. His alarm was not due to go off for another 30 minutes. No Caller ID was ringing him. That was bad news as it usually meant it was work.

"Hello?" he said into the receiver, his voice all scratchy after sleep. His throat as dry as sandpaper.

"Steve?" his caller asked, obviously not entirely sure he was speaking to the correct person.

"Yeah," Steve replied, recognising his boss's voice.

"Can you meet me about 8 am?" his boss asked. "Got an interesting case for you I think,".

"Yeah, sure," said Steve before hanging up. He rubbed his eyes trying to clear the cobwebs. He'd had a heavy night of drinking the previous night and wasn't feeling particularly great. A familiar thumping headache that greeted him most mornings now was beginning to take residence behind his eyes.

"Morning," a sleepy female voice said beside him. Steve turned in surprise. He wasn't alone this morning. Looks like he had done his usual trick of picking someone up whilst drunk before getting laid as he took in both their naked states. Thankfully his bedsheet maintained both their modesty. She was blonde. Attractive. And looked incredibly young. Steve just hoped she was above the age of consent or he could find himself in a whole lot of trouble that he could do without right now.

A familiar sense of disappointment settled over him. What the fuck had been thinking bringing this woman, no girl really, home with him? It rather proved Ted Hastings right in his assessment and disapproval of Steve's private life. Perhaps he had been right in moving Steve on from AC-12 and becoming someone else's problem.

"Morning," Steve replied.

"Who was that?" his bed companion asked.

"Work," Steve answered. "I better get up," he said as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His underpants were lying on the floor and he quickly put them on. In the cold light of day he didn't want to give this stranger an eye full.

"Should I get up as well," the girl asked, sensing he would be wanting to throw her out of his flat when he left for work.

"Probably best," Steve said as he stood.

"Are we going to do this again?" she asked hopefully. She'd had a good night with him and hoped for a repeat.

"I don't think so," Steve replied coldly as he faced his companion. "Look I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression last night but I don't do relationships," he said as he made his way to the bathroom.

The girl took Steve's rejection like a slap to the face as she realised she had just been used for a one night stand. "Bastard!" she said as she hurriedly reached for her clothes. Steve was used to being called such names now and continued on, reaching the bathroom. "Bet you don't even remember my name do you?" she spat. Steve paused. He realised she was right. He didn't know her name. "It's Kate, by the way," she informed him as she finished getting dressed and stormed out of Steve's flat in an angry walk of shame.

Kate. Well at least Steve understood why he'd brought this particular girl home with him he realised as he turned the shower on. The name pierced his heart and made him feel even lonelier than he had last night before he'd gone out to the pub hoping to drown his sorrows with the help of a couple of pints.

It was the name of his former partner at AC-12. He really thought they had been friends and she would stand by him. Back him up 100%. But she hadn't, choosing to side with that bastard Dot instead.

Steve felt himself get angry as he stepped under the scalding hot water, hoping to wash his hangover away. He thought back to his last couple of days at AC-12 as he let the water run over his head and down his back. it was like a healing wound and he kept picking at the scab. It really wasn't doing him any good dwelling on the past and thinking about his old colleagues. Fuck 'em he thought. Fuck the lot of them. He was better off out of AC-12 after the way he had been treated by them. Fuck Dot. Fuck the gaffer. Fuck...Kate he thought as his anger turned to sorrow. That last one really hurt.