Disclaimer: No, I do not own Skins or any of it's characters. Although, I do love the show to death.

Author's Note: I chose to not include the aftermath of Dr. Foster or Cook going back to jail. I feel like it's just too much work to get into legal issues and be able to portray it accurately. I know it may start off a little slow but trust me when I say it'll get better. (:

Heartbeat. All Effy Stonem can hear is her own heart beating rapidly. The wind blows past her violently but she refuses to move. Her feet are rooted in place. She looks up to find the only person still standing by Freddie's grave, Cook. They lock eyes for a moment before fixating their gazes back on the ground. She's scared. She's not even totally sure what she's scared of. She takes a drag of her cigarette and exhales slowly. The smoke travels upward and blends its way into the clouds. Her eyes close. She hopes that when she opens them, none of this will be real.

Silence. James Cook is overwhelmed by the complete silence that surrounds him. He has no idea why he's still staring at the headstone. He guesses that it's because he's hoping if he stares long enough this will all make sense to him. He can sense Effy looking at him so he looks up at her. She looks beautiful, but sad. He wants to say something, anything to make things better. He doesn't have a clue what he could say to make things better. As soon and she looks back down, he does the same. His eyes travel back in her direction, only to find that hers are closed. Peaceful, she looks incredibly peaceful, as if this is her memorial service and she's escaped all the nonsense life has been hurling at her.

"Cook," Her voice interrupts his thoughts.

"Yeah, Eff."

"Do you believe there's a heaven?"

Cook is silent for a few minutes before responding, "There's gotta be."

"How are you so sure?" Effy's voice sounded genuinely concerned, like she depended on his answer to help her sleep at night. The sad thing is, she probably did.

"Because this, what we're living right now, this is hell."

He wants to wrap his arms around her and hold her, try to make everything okay. But he knew she'd hate that. She hates looking vulnerable to anyone. He and Effy are the same in that way. They'd rather have their emotions eat them alive inside than show them to anyone else outside.

Then she does something he wouldn't normally expect. She walks up to him and wraps her arms around him and holds him, tries to make everything okay. She buries her face into the warmth of his chest and takes a deep breath. She wants to cry, but she refuses to. Cook tightens his arms around her shoulders until she almost can't breathe. Effy loves that feeling. She feels safe for the first time in weeks. They aren't talking. Neither one has a clue what to say. Effy finds the silence beautiful, it's as if everything they need to say, they're feeling it instead.

"Effy, it's time to go." Anthea calls from a few feet away.

Effy doesn't want to let go. The minute she does, she'll be alone again. Cook presses his lips against her forehead with as much force as he can before walking her back to Anthea's car. No one says goodbye. Effy just climbs in the front seat silently and blankly stares out the front windshield. Anthea nods a half smile at Cook before climbing into her own seat. As the car drives away, Cook is left standing by himself. He is overwhelmed by the complete silence that surrounds him. James Cook misses his best friend.