Been a while? Not really but still one thousand apologies to you lot! I've just been caught up with school and that's not to mention my other four stories I'm working on. So a lot of my stories have been slowed down to the point where they're updated every three weeks or so. I'm sorry but with every thing going on right now it's probable that my update rate with every one of my stories wont be increasing any time soon. But what are you going to do?

A huge thankyou to the amazing-awesome-super-mega-triple-chocolate-fudge-candy-foxy-sexy-dupour Veevours! She has wonderfully provided the crazy cover art you see! If you have the time, why dont you give her a shout out XD

Anyway, here is the next chapter :)

A thousand times we die in one life time.

We crumble,

break and tear apart until the layers of illusions are burned away and all that is left,

is the truth of who and what we really are.

-Teal Scott

In morbid fascination he watched as Gideon hacked and sliced at the silently screaming ghosts as he tried to get a nick on their necks. It always went this way, the reaper didn't need to kill them, they were already dead. No, all Gideon needed was to make a small incision on their neck as a way to tear their existence from this realm but of course, as in their nature, humans feared true death.

At least Gideon looked to be having fun, he was minutely glad that humans could neither see nor hear the dead, including the reapers. But then again he had never seen a reaper like Gideon before, he chalked it up to Deaths experimental nature. Gideon had a face where as all other reapers countenances usually sported a blank mask of porcelain. No mouth or nose, just a white slate with drawn on purple eyes. In the beginning it creeped him out, I mean they could talk, their voices echoing from them yet no lips moved.

Gideon was humanoid with spiked neck length brown hair and glowing purple eyes, real eyes. Looking into them he could see the mixing shades of lilac and violet, speckled with darker purples, they were so alive, so real, nothing like reapers he commanded before. From his right ear dangled a simple silver chain and on its end was what looked to be a black marble. It was truly a marble, the kind children in elementary school played with. He could even see the chips of were the glass had slammed against glass. Why would a reaper wear a plaything on their ear? He didn't know but then again he didn't know much about this reaper. Gideon even wore clothes as opposed to the pitch black that was the other reapers skin but Gideon was tanned, the type you would see from someone living in the tropical islands. Yes, everything about Gideon screamed 'alive' but he knew that a reaper had to be dead, in fact, they were never alive. All reapers were made by death and occasionally himself, so what was the deal with this one?

"Oi brat, stop spacing out I'm done." Gideon said boredly as he effortlessly swung his rusted scythe over his shoulder, silvery blue blood dripping from it and looking every inch a gang member who had just finished a massacre.

He examined what the new reaper was wearing, nothing uncommon, completely humanlike. He wore a white V-neck splattered with silver and blue from his little turn about the room with black skinny jeans and...were those high tops? Bracelets of different kin littered his arms stopping mid way between his wrists and elbows. Scratch that, he looked like a hipster gang member.

"Shut it rabbit." He replied seamlessly as if he wasn't just scanning him with his eyes moments before, his own voice dropping to a lower pitch deciding to rid himself of the almost squealing edge he had adopted. His voice remained smooth and still fitting with his age but gone was the bubbly tone and childish pitch leaving a seriousness that matched his dangerous half lidded expression.

"Ohhh, such a scary brat." Gideon said with a smirk.

Harry ignored his taunt with ease. "What are you?"

"A reaper, duh."

The narrowing of his eyes was the only response he gave. "Mind telling me why you have a marble attached to your ear?"

Gideon raised a hand to delicately touch the black stone that hung limply and with an almost caress a small smile touched his lips before it disappeared and the overly confident smirk was once more in its place.

"Look, kid, my past is something I like to keep to myself. I wont ask about yours if you don't ask about mine. I mean, am I the only one noticed that there are two deaths? Last I checked, there was only supposed to be one..."

Harry raised an eyebrow both confused and amused. "I wasn't aware reapers had pasts...but yes, I think I can manage that."

The two shared a knowing smirk before Harry cocked his head to the side after hearing the ring of a phone. It seemed Will would be leaving for work again.

Moments later Will walked into the bedroom and looked around, he seemed to be looking for something. Instantly Harry's pitch picked up again and the gleeful tone resumed itself.

"Looking for something Will?"

Will looked at the bouncing child in confusion. "Where's Gideon Harry?"

Naturally Will couldn't see Gideon in his reaping form but still Harry wondered why the empath couldn't at least sense him but then again he couldn't sense the ghosts he drew in either so...

"Dunno! Going to work Will?"

Distracted Will answered worriedly. "Yes, you remember the rules right?"

Harry nodded seriously. "Yup, call you."

Will laughed sheepishly before looking worried again. "I'll be back Harry, I promise I wont be long."

"I know Will, i'll be waiting for you."

Will smiled warmly before leaving mumbling something about getting a baby sitter from the defence force for him. Like Harry would actually let anyone that wasn't fun follow him around. He had Winston and now Gideon for that.

...

Will walked into the lecture room head down as per usual, brief case in hand and glasses sitting loosely on the bridge of his nose. The moment he sat his belongings down did the occupants brake out in a round of applause. In a bout of shame he ducked his head further down. These people didn't know what they were praising him for, he had killed a man and they sat there clapping away. It didn't matter that this man had killed young and innocent girls the point was that Will had stooped to his level and taken a life. In that moment he really wished he was with Harry all warm and content in his snug home surrounded by his dogs and that fluffy white rabbit who he had forgotten the name of but he wasn't he wouldn't be for next hour or so.

He raised his hand and silently willed time to soar by. "Stop clapping."

"This is how I caught Garret Jacob Hobbs. It's his resignation letter. Does anybody see the clue?" A few hands raised reluctantly causing Will to inwardly sigh. Even Harry would have been able to figure this out but as it was Will had taken the liberty of keeping him away from the television and internet and therefore unaware.

"There isn't one. He wrote a letter, left a number but gave no address. That's it, bad book keeping and dumb luck. Garret Jacob Hobbs is dead, the question is...how do we stop those his story is going to inspire."

He paused waiting for everyone's attention. "He's already got one admirer, a copy cat." Murmurs filled the room as students whispered to each other of their own theories on the killers identity.

After the lecture Will could only supress a smile as a beautiful brunette walked into the room looking slightly uncomfortable but he could see her discomfort wasn't brought on from him.

"Will, how are you?" Alana asked.

He took a moment to think about it. A week ago if someone were to ask him the same question he would have been lying when he answered 'fine' but now he would mean it. His house was now a home, gone were the silent hallways that were only disrupted every once in a while when the dogs nails clicked against the floor and in its was the warm atmosphere that surrounded the house that had appeared with Harry's arrival. And despite the fact he had technically murdered someone the guilty and nightmarish feelings that swam within him disappeared in the presence of his new godson.

"Fine, Alana...I feel fine." He said with a genuine smile.

A soft smile touched her own painted lips before she continued to speak. "Good because I don't want you to feel ambushed."

"Is this an ambush?"

"No the ambush comes later. Immediately later, soon to now. When Jack arrives."

Just as she finished the sentence said male figure appeared behind her causing her to wince slightly.

"Jack's here." He said somewhat teasingly.

"How was the lecture?" Asked Jack.

Will turned to continue packing away his belongings, head down and cutting off eye contact. How would he summarise his lecture for Jack Crawford?

"They clapped. It was inappropriate." That seemed to work.

The three of them continued to speak even broaching the subject of his return to field work.

"Under recommendation with a psyche evaluation." Jack stated.

Will looked to Alana. "Are we starting now?"

She threw her hands up high near her face. "The evaluation wont be done by me."

Here Jack cut in. "Hannibal Lector is a better fit. Your relationships not personal but if you are more comfortable with doctor Bloom then-"

"I'm not going to be comfortable with anyone inside my head."

"You've never killed anyone before. Its a deadly force encounter, its a lot to digest."

Will pinched the bridge of his nose, he felt fine. He didn't need a psychiatrist. What he needed was to get home to Harry.

"I used to work homicide." He argued while walking away.

"The reason you currently used to work homicide was because you didn't have the stomach for pulling the trigger. You just pulled the trigger ten times." Jack finished with a huff.

A silence reigned the room as his thoughts swirled, sentences connecting with pictures. "Wait so the psyche eval isn't a formality?" Of course they thought his mind was a frail place doing what he did but not once did they pull him from his work.

"No its so I can sleep at night. I asked you to get close to the Hobbs thing. I need to know you didn't get too close." Jack caught his breath before continuing. "We don't see a lot of you since the incident, we need to make sure you're okay. That you aren't spending your nights siting in Abigail Hobbs hospital room."

Will straightened himself and for a moment held Jacks eyes. "I haven't been. I spend it at home looking after my god child, Harry."

Shock flitted through the faces of the two.

Alana was the first to speak. "We didn't know. Will, that's great! How old is he?"

Will couldn't help puffing his chest in pride. "Six but you wouldn't believe how smart he is!"

"Will if you wont do this for me, do it for Harry." Jack tried.

"...okay, I'll do it." Will didn't wait to see their expressions of approval. He swirled out of the lecture room like the hounds of hell were at his heels. He had already left Harry alone for far too long.

"Soooooo...?" Harry drawled out amusedly.

"So what?" Will asked as he petted Winston on the head.

"So how did therapy with the good doctor go?"

"It was fine Harry, not as bad as I thought it would be."

Harry picked up a shiny red apple from the almost desolate fruit bowl. He examined it before bringing it to his lips and taking a big bite, his fangs breaking the skin with a crisp crunch.

"Clearly you don't like being psychoanalysed."

"Clearly."

Harry took another bite of his apple, relishing in the sweet yet tangy taste. If there was one thing he had missed while being dead it was food, nothing could replicate the sensation eating gave to him.

"I think its fun. Have you ever looked into the mind of someone who looks into minds for a living? I swear everyone of them wear a mask."

Will paused to look up at the happily eating child. "What do you mean?"

Harry quickly finished off his apple before speaking again. "I mean that psychiatrists know the mind inside and out and therefore know the ticks of humanity. It is because they know these things they are able to mask any faults that they have."

Will pondered the child's words in all seriousness.

"It makes me wonder," Harry continued while looking for another apple to consume, "what faults does the good doctor mask?"

Its the eating people thing isn't it? Lol love that line! Anyway, I apologise for the short chapter but the next one will be quite long because of all that happens. Also, in the next chapter Harry will be joining the case! Yay Harry the investigator time~

Lots of love,

Stolen~~