A while later, Ryan and I had fallen into a pattern. He had a small job in the town centre as a patrol officer, making sure the town youth weren't misbehaving all too much. He told me it didn't involve as much action as being in the CIA did, but he also didn't miss it. I stayed at home. I wasn't quite ready for work, I hadn't worked a normal job in my life. Before I was even old enough to leave Nathan and Cole, I was planted in the CIA training to become an agent. Part of me wasn't prepared for normal life yet, to work nine to five like everybody else. I had grown up being told I would never be like everybody else, but I was. It was when Ryan was out at work, doing overtime for extra money because for some reason he was intent on earning more money, I decided to go and see Cole. I knew he only lived around the corner from Ryan, and I hadn't seen him since arriving back at Ryan's. I didn't bother making myself look better than I did. I just wore jeans, a tee shirt with my coat and tied my hair back into a ponytail. Walking was my only way of transport, as I had never been given the time to learn how to drive when I was with Cole and Nathan and Ryan had his car anyway.

The walk was peaceful however. The leaves were slowly falling from the trees, melting into the ground as I passed. A cold breeze was hugging to me, so when I breathed out a cloud of my breath formed in front of my face. Finally arriving at Cole's surburban house, I watched it as though I was trying to register where the house placed itself in my memory. I realised then I had never seen it. I had known Cole for years and yet I had never learnt he had a home or family outside of the unit. Nervously, I approached the door and knocked my fist on the wood three times to be sure. I hadn't taken into thought that Cole may have been at work, so I waited for at least a few more minutes in case he was in, and then turned to walk away. Halfway down his porch, the door opened and inside I saw Cole peeking through the gap.

"Jodie?!" He whispered in a state of shock. "Little princess?" The nickname brought back several memories, making my shut my eyes in panic at them all flooding back so quickly. Before I had time to reopen my eyes, it seemed Cole had rushed out to check if I was alright. "Come inside" He said when I had finally opened my eyes to see him standing in front of me. In seconds I was in the warmth of his home.

"I didn't think you would be in, I thought you would be at work." I said quietly.

"You silly, I don't have that job anymore. When we lost connection with the Infraworld, I thought it was final and quit. I don't know whether they're making a new condenser or not but I sure hope not-" Funnily enough, I didn't expect to have such a conversation so soon from returning. I gave Cole a look that alerted him to understand this was not the reason I had come to see him. "Take your coat off, I'll make us some coffee." He beckoned me through the kitchen whilst I stripped off my jacket and placed it on the bannister of the stairs. Following him through, I realised how normal Cole lived. I didn't know how long he had this home, maybe since I had left the unit and gone to the CIA, but it made me think long and hard about how Cole had lived without me for a while.

"I felt like coming to see you." I said quietly, my voice mouse-like and quiet. I had never been so nervous or timid around Cole, possibly the fact that I didn't have Aiden with me made me feel a bit on edge.

"I heard you're living with Ryan at the moment." He said while pouring the hot water from the kettle into two mugs. I nodded despite him not actually being turned towards me. "How is that?" I knew for a fact that he and Ryan had spoken since I had arrived, because Cole was giving it away in his voice.

"Good. I... I didn't expect things to settle in as normal quite so quickly. I'm not used to it. Being 'normal'" By the time I had gotten round to explaining Cole had passed me a coffee, a smile on his face as he happily listened to how I felt about this new situation. "I've had to settle with a lot of things though, and this might take the longest, but I'll get used to it eventually. You and Ryan are here to help anyway." I said.

"I am always here for you princess, whenever you want to talk I am a walk around the block or even a phonecall away." He reminded me, patting my hand and leaning against the kitchen counter.

"I know." I simply said.

"So... I don't know if this is still a sensitive topic but, how has life been...without Aiden?" The elephant in the room had been confronted. It was mainly the reason I had come to see Cole, out of everybody, he was the only person completely used to having Aiden around apart from me. He had studied entities as a career, he knew probably a little more than I did.

"It's strange." I said first. I gave it some thought before continuing, "Sometimes I have feelings that he's still here, but I have to remind myself that when I shut that condenser down he went with all the other entities. He's gone." I stated. Cole nodded, his lips slowly pressing into a straight line across his face. Things were beginning to become very real. However, I decided to tell Cole something that I hadn't told a soul. "Did you know he was my twin?"

"What?"

"He was my twin. He was stillborn but we were in the womb together." I said it so matter-of-factly that Cole was surprised at how straight I was being with it. Even in my own head I was wondering when I had been so straight to the point about Aiden. For my whole life Aiden had been that one thing I couldn't explain. "When he died he became bound to me, because he was meant to be at my side in human form." I looked down at the marble counter and thought about that day I shut down the condenser, about how I had been confronted by Aiden in his human form. His eyes, his face, his body. He was a real person, for once. I had been so used to that black cloud of mist, him not being human, and that day just made my bond with Aiden stronger. I knew why he had been a part of my life.

"Hasn't that made it harder for you? Knowing that he's family?" Cole wasn't prying, he was curious. He had lived studying my reaction and control to Aiden, and now he was gone, he was even more curious about our bond.

"A lot harder." I said softly. "I keep thinking maybe if I had died that day, I could be with him right now." I finally admitted. I faced a tough decision that day and it had taken a lot for me to choose to live. It sounded strange, that I had chosen to live. Normally life and death wasn't a choice, but I had it.

"Don't think that way." Cole warned me. I hadn't realised my eyes were welling up until Cole squeezed my hand. "You're alive, and you have me and Ryan. You have the whole world at your feet, a life ahead of you." Cole told me, shaking my hand vigorously so what he was saying could go into my head.

"I know but I have to get used to a life without Aiden, I'm not used to that." I replied.

"You've been through a lot honey, it's time for you to learn how to stand on your own two feet. And you always have me and Ryan, like I said." He repeated. My head began rushing through several memories, memories that I hadn't confronted or remembered yet. Different faces flickered through my head, and I couldn't comprehend what came from where. Ryan's face, Cole's face, even Tuesday's face. "Jodie?" Cole asked.

"Yeah sorry, just some...flashbacks. I should get back, Ryan might be waiting." I said, trying to make a quick escape. Cole offered to give me a ride so I could avoid the cold, and I accepted. It was better than walking in the cold. The faces and memories were still running through my head and I tried to focus on a specific one, to try and make sense of what had happened. It wasn't until we got back to Ryan's that I managed to get them to stop. "Do you want to come in?" I tried making myself sound natural, because it didn't happen often that I was inviting somebody into my 'home'.

"Nah, you go ahead princess. Have a peaceful night in with Ryan, I'll pop in over the weekend for a coffee." He gave me a peck on the cheek and an awkward side hug, and then I hopped out of the car to run up to the door. I knew Ryan was in because of the car on the driveway, and I had a funny feeling that me going to see Cole without telling Ryan would raise some problems. I unlocked the door and gave one last look to Cole on the road and then closed the door behind me.

"Jodie? Is that you?" Ryan called out frantically.

"Yes, who else would have a key to your house?" By the time I had finished my question, Ryan had hopped out into the hallway with a look of pure worry crossed his face.

"I was so worried when I got home and you weren't here." He choked out. He was overwhelmed by the worry, and I couldn't help but stumble into him and wrap my arms around his waist.

"I'm sorry, I went to see Cole" I said into his shirt. Slowly he wrapped his arms around me, pressing his lips on top of my head and breathing out steadily to calm his nerves. The last time he had been worried about me was before the mission, and that was bringing back painful memories.

I wouldn't want anything to happen to you.

You'll have no backup.

You're on your own.

All I could see was Ryan, pressing his palms against the table and staring me right in the eye. I tried blocking it out, I didn't want to remember the bad times with Ryan. I wanted to be with him and forget everything before the condenser. I wanted to forget everything, even Aiden so maybe the pain would go away.

I still had a hole inside of me, it felt like it was never going to go away.

A/N: I'm sorry it has taken me a while to update this story! I've had a lotta' other business to take care of but this idea has been swirling around in my head. Jodie seeing Cole again, Ryan being really worried about it, lots of her painful memories coming back etc etc. Hope you enjoyed this chapter :3 oh and please do tell me if you want to see more Cole :D