She tried to keep her mind off Thierry… and Maya. But it wasn't easy. That night she found herself walking restlessly through the house. She wound up in a little anteroomon the second floor that looked down on the enormous living room.

"Can't relax?"

The lazy murmer came from behind her. Hannah turned to see Ash, his lanky elegant body propped against a wall. His eyes looked silver in the dimly lit room.

"Not really," Hannah admitted. "I just wish they'd find Thierry. I've got a bad feeling about it."

They stood for a moment in silence. Then Ash said, "Yeah, it's hard to be without your soulmate. Once you've found them I mean."

Hannah looked at him intrigued. The way he said that… She spoke hesitantly. "This morning Thea said you were all here because you had human soulmates."

He looked across the room at French doors that led to a balcony, "Yes?"

"And- well…" Maybe she's dead, Hannah thought suddenly. Maybe I shouldn't ask.

"And you want to know where mine is," Ash said.

"I didn't mean to pry."

"No. It's okay." Ash looked out at the darkness beyond the French doors again. "She's waiting- I hope. I've got some things to put right before I see her."

"You're like her you know," he added abruptly, "Like my- like Mary- Lynette."

Thierry. Lucky asshole. He'd been through his trials with… for his soulmate. He'd been able to keep his soulmate, to be with her. Hannah was so much like Mary- Lynette, Thierry had lived without Hannah for hundreds of years, knowing of her existence, at least Theirry understood how he felt. Ash gave a grumble as her wove through the circle daybreakers in the entrance hall of Thierry's Las Vegas mansion. Thierry's Las Vegas mansion not Ash's Las Vegas mansion. Lucky asshole. Now that he was a part of circle daybreak he could kiss goodbye any fortunes provided from his father. Hunter Redfern. Ash allowed himself an inward chuckle: apparently Hunter had blown a fuse at hearing the Ash's latest activities. Oh, how he wished he has seen that. But Thierry. Thierry with his Las Vegas mansion, his leadership of circle daybreak- of Ash himself- and his Old Soul soulmate. Lucky asshole. At least if Hannah died she would come back, just in a different body. Thierry has unlimited lifetimes with Hannah. It infuriated Ash that he had only one stinking lifetime with Mary- Lynette, most of which he was wasting in an attempt to be all noble a handful of states away from her. And here he was; not packing and announcing his return to Oregon as he should have been but reporting to Thierry for another daybreaker mission. Wasn't un-life great?

Ash entered Thierry's office with a scowl unhidden on his features. Pushing the heavy door shut behind him he could hear Thierry finishing a phone call. At eye-contact Thierry beckoned Ash to come in and sit.

"Right. Okay. Well you should stay in the area for a couple more days. Keep looking round, it may be that you just have the wrong person. We had a strong reason to believe that one of them was in the area. Just make sure. Okay. Call me tomorrow for updates. Okay, bye." He replaced the receiver on its recharger and then looked at Ash. "Poppy and James." Thierry told a bored- looking Ash who really didn't seem to care. "The Wild Power in Rome is apparently a no-go. A fake. Not that we don't love those." He exhaled heavily at Ash's nonchalant expression, "Look Ash, I know you're not happy to be called up for another mission-"

"Is it that obvious?" Ash answered, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Theirry gave a warning frown then ploughed on, "We've got another report: "Blue flashes in the early hours of the morning every day for three weeks straight'" Thierry read, " It's in a tiny place." Thierry smiled waving the piece of paper, " I think you'll like this one. It's why I chose you for this mission."

"Hmph. Where is it?" Ash asked grudgingly.

Thierry was quiet for a moment, "… Oregon,"

Ash's head snapped up

"Briar Creek." Before Thierry had finished his final word Ash had the piece of paper grasped in his own hand and was quickly striding from the room.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Stargazing. Mary- Lynette didn't even need a telescope anymore, she was confident that she could map all of the stars without the help of a telescope.

"Even when we're apart, we'll be looking at the same sky!"

"What a line."

What a line.

Mary- Lynette had taken those words to heart spending almost every night out looking at the stars since Ash had left. Hanging on to those words she had realized an aching present in her that had only developed since Ash's absence. Is it wrong that I miss his shins more than him? she thought wickedly. At the discovery of the true dangers of the nightworld; of the creatures like Jeremy, she had decided to take up self -defence classes. Although it wasn't exactly fair fighting she felt much safer knowing that she could defend herself. It was also a great place to vent her anger; even with such a large distance between them Mary- Lynette managed to find plenty of things to be angry at Ash for; the latest being his letters or lack thereof. She also now wore a hip holster, which her shirt easily hid. It held a sharpened yew branch and a small silver knife. She had returned the spot where she had allowed herself to kiss Ash a couple of nights after he left to reclaim the sharpened yew branch. She had recovered the knife from the ruins of her car- not personally. A policeman had retrieved it for her. She had been surprised at the police after that night; there had been very few questions or even suspicious looks after the discovery of Jeremy's human form body in the car wreck. Ash and the night people must have taken care of it she had decided. It's not like he's all I think about she told herself indignantly. She slammed shut her biology notebook and gave a huff: she had just lost another argument with herself. Plastered all over the front (and back) og her biology notebook were pictures of trees; guys with blond hair and strangely elongated canine teeth; and the word 'ASH' printed in various colours and fonts. She rolled onto her back exhaling heavily. Well this wasn't an Ash tree that she was revising under; it was a willow tree she thought to herself proudly; yep, I'm not obsessed. Out of the corner of her eye she faintly registered a black land- rover pull over a short way down the road from her tree. Ash's car is black she thought, but it's a ford escort not a land- rover. That's it, she told herself fiercely, you can't just sit here in your little secluded willow tree world and mope. Get up, go see Rowan, Kestrel and Jade or something. She rolled over with a groan collecting her books as she climbed to her feet. Without warning possessively strong arms slid around her waist. Startled at first she dropped her books but then her classes kicked in. Literally. Bringing her sneaker- shod foot up she slammed her heel down on her attackers toes and followed it with a sharp jab of her elbow to his ribs. His arms remained locked barring her passage to freedom so she threw her head back, cracking him on the nose with the back of her head, he let go of her with a protesting "Hey!" Before he could do anything more she turned and delivered a powerful kick to his left shin. He brought his own leg up, hugging it whilst one of his hands cupped his bleeding nose. A bit of an undignified move for a attacker she thought.

"Mary- Lynette it's me."

Oh

"Oh. Ash." She said stupidly. It was Ash. Ash. Ash in all his stupid hopping and bleeding patheticness. Ash. Crap.

"Oh, crap. Ash I'm so sorry."