The headache Nina had been forced to endure for hours finally showed some signs of abating sometime soon. A likely cause of the pain, she knew, was thanks to the stress that the revelation of Fearnley's very likely innocence had brought her.

Nina didn't remember much about the drive back home from Fearnley's apartment. It had all been a blur, her thoughts still swirling—unable to focus as the things she'd learned all clamored for her attention. By the time Nina had stepped into her apartment, her next task seemed clear and her mind felt just the slightest bit more settled.

She had to find proof that Fearnley was home when Alice was killed. Even if Fearnley's connection with Alice had nothing to do with the memories in Nina's mind, she knew the guilt of knowing Fearnley could be innocent would eat at her unless she did something. At that moment, Fearnley's face swam into her mind, his dull blue eyes still holding the look of defeat the man had worn when Nina had last seen him.

And then, Nina thought of the book on top of the coffee table in his empty apartment, gathering dust. Of the memories of his daughter Fearnley still held onto and the pain his family was most likely going through. Nina's resolve hardened at that alone.

Meticulously, Nina began organizing all of the notes and information she'd gathered on both Fearnley and Alice. Most of it were things released to the public in the various reports of Alice's murder. Then there was what Nina had found about Fearnley and Alice's past. All of that, she gathered with the knowledge that she'd need as many pieces as she could get to solve the puzzle.

Once that was done—and with the headache she'd been suffering from finally gone—Nina jotted down the timeline of events Fearnley's neighbor helped her uncover. Before she could do anything else, Nina knew she'd have to figure out just how much of what the older woman told her was true. For that, Nina would have to talk to Fearnley. Unfortunately, Nina didn't think she'd be able to arrange another visit, not when it had been hard enough to get the first one. She would have to wait—and hope—that Fearnley would want to talk to her enough to actually call her, as unlikely as that was.

Just as she was thinking this, Nina's cell phone rang. She nearly jumped, alarmed by the sudden sound, before picking up her phone—the caller was Nat.

"Hey, Nat," Nina said, doing her best to sound as normal as possible, despite her still rapidly beating heart.

"Hi, Nina," Nat sounded as she always did—happy, confident. Nina knew she should have felt happy to hear from her friend, but all she could think of were those mismatched eyes that seemed to stare right through her. She shook those thoughts out of her head to focus on the conversation at hand. "How have you been feeling?"

"Fine, I've been alright," Nina answered despite not feeling the least bit okay. "Haven't really done much, to be honest."

"Well, maybe that's for the best. You looked tired last time we talked."

"Yeah, sorry about that. It's just that a lot's happened and there's still a lot I have to sort out." Nina rubbed at her eyes, feeling the strain from all the hours of missed sleep.

"You mean like those dreams you were telling me about."

Nina froze for a second, the words sinking in slowly. She wasn't sure how to respond. A part of her wanted to reassure her friend, tell her she was fine for what seemed like the hundredth time—despite knowing she was far from it. Then, there was the other part of her that just wanted help. The part that needed someone to talk to, someone to listen to her and help her pick up the pieces.

But Nina knew she couldn't do that. Couldn't ask Nat to do that, of all people. She had enough to worry about in her own life.

"Yeah, well, at least that's settled now. They kind of went away on their own a while back. Must have been the stress." The lie came easily to Nina, something she was thankful for despite the slight twinge of guilt she felt at lying to her friend.

"That's good, though you should probably go back to get looked at by a doctor. Never hurts to be on the safe side," Nat said, and Nina smiled a bit at her friend's concern.

"Maybe later, there's something I'm working on right now that's keeping me busy," Nina said, with no intention of taking her friend's advice.

"Oh, have you gone back to work?"

For a second, Nina was about to tell Nat the truth. She'd taken more time off to recover, or so she'd told her boss. In truth, Nina just wanted more time. She needed to figure out what was going on with Fearnley and Alice and the mess inside her head before she was bogged down by more mundane stories at work. In the end, she found herself lying once more.

"Yeah, can't lay around the house all day for the rest of my life," Nina said. "Besides, I figured the stress of being cooped up in here all the time might have been making things worse." That much, at least was true.

"Guess that could be it. Are you working on anything interesting?"

Nina mulled over her answer for a bit before speaking. She decided it was as good a way as any to ask for Nat's opinion without making her friend ask any questions Nina wasn't ready to answer.

"I am. You might have heard about the case—it's been all over the news—about the doctor from the Institute of Neurology."

"The one who was murdered? I saw it the other day. They caught the killer already, didn't they?"

"He turned himself in." Nina found herself frowning at having to speak as if Fearnley was guilty when there was a good chance he wasn't. "His trial is set for later this month."

"Right, so you're reporting on the trial?"

"No, I'm actually looking into Fearnley, the suspected killer. Trying to find out what his motive was."

"They mentioned on the news the defence team would probably go for an insanity plea. Can't see how that would work, the guy looks sane enough and he's confessed," Nat said all too casually. It seemed callous to Nina, who had spoken to the man.

"That's just what the lawyers came up with, it doesn't mean it's true." Nina couldn't help but sigh a bit, frustrated just by thinking about it all.

"So you don't think their insanity plea will hold up?"

"Probably not." Nina had seen more convincing cases fall apart in court. Truthfully, Fearnley didn't stand a chance. Maybe that was why there was a sense of urgency following Nina as she worked through her investigation.

"Well then, good luck with your story," Nat said. She paused before continuing, "Just, don't push yourself too hard. You're still on the mend and honestly, this case sounds like a mess." Nina swallowed back a bitter laugh, thinking of just how well she knew that last part to be true.

"I've worked worse ones," Nina said with a small laugh that almost sounded bitter to her own ears. "I'll be fine. Besides, whatever the truth is, I'm sure it'll still make for a good story."

The call ended not long after, with Nina choosing to change the conversation to more mundane topics for a short while before Nat claimed she had to go. Nina was almost relieved to hang up. The effort of pretending to be fine was more exhausting than Nina could have ever anticipated. She wondered if Nat had noticed anything off with her, if maybe that was why she'd seemed to be in such a rush all of a sudden.

"Probably just busy," Nina muttered to herself. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling what could only be the signs of an oncoming headache. Nina had to ask herself whether it was really the stress of everything bringing about the constant migraines.

With a sigh, Nina stood and headed to her medicine cabinet in search of something for her head. Over the counter pain medicine did little, but it was better than nothing. After that, she glanced at the time, noting just how late it was and for the first time realizing how hungry she felt. With no desire to prepare a meal, Nina decided to head out to a nearby shop.

The fresh air felt good as she stepped out, pausing for a moment to truly feel it sweeping over her. She breathed it in, catching the distinct scent that heralded oncoming rain. Thinking it best to make her improvised trip a quick one, Nina hurried on her way.

It was just a couple of blocks to the small fast food place Nina was heading to, the streets more crowded than usual as people got out of work and headed home or—like Nina was doing at the moment—stopped to pick up something to eat. No one paid any mind to Nina as she walked leisurely down the street until she reached her destination.

The place was small, with a brightly lit interior furnished with booths and a couple of small tables for two clearly visible through the windows lining the front. Nina had been going to the place for years, knew the old couple who owned the place, and could always trust in the food they sold to serve as a sort of pick me up whenever it was truly needed. She figured that was as good a time as any.

A bell atop the door jingled gently as Nina walked in and was greeted with the steady chatter of the people inside, occasionally punctuated by a laugh and accompanied by the steady clinking of utensils. The air inside was warm, carrying the scent of food and Nina felt comforted by the familiarity of it all. For a moment, Nina considered eating there, if only to prolong the small respite the place provided. In the end, she decided against that. After all, she still had work to do.

She ordered her food to go and sat in a corner booth to wait for her order to be ready. Her headache—she was happy to note—was all but gone, the constant throbbing in her head slowly dissipating until it was nothing more than a twinge that barely caught Nina's attention. Nina leaned back against her seat, closing her eyes for a moment as she basked in the brief period of near contentment she was in the midst of.

"Nina?"

Her hazel eyes opened at the sound of her name, the voice sounding familiar. Nina looked up with some surprise. Iris stood before her, coat pulled tight around her and a black and white scarf circling her neck, long dark hair spilling over it. Iris looked just as surprised to run into Nina there, but she was also unmistakably pleased. It was a feeling that Nina shared.

"Iris? Hi, wasn't expecting to see you here," Nina said, motioning for Iris to take a seat.

"Yeah, I didn't think we'd run into each other either, but I saw you through the window. Looked like you had something on your mind. How have you been?" Iris asked, smiling. She sat across from Nina, setting down a small bag from a bakery on top of the table.

"Fine, just came over to get some dinner."

"Didn't feel like cooking tonight?"

"I never do," Nina said with a wry smile. "What about you? I see you already have dessert." She looked pointedly at the bag Iris had walked in with.

"They're just some cookies my mom's been craving. I was thinking of visiting her today. I'd give you some, but you don't like sweets." Nina was amused to note that Iris seemed to be judging her for her taste.

"I like them in moderation," Nina corrected. Even she could hardly resist sweets every now and then, but she knew she didn't crave them nearly as much as her friend. It was a constant source of lighthearted arguing between her and Iris. "Are you ordering anything?"

"Oh, no. Not much point in it if my mom will just end up stuffing me with food when I visit," Iris said with a fond smile. "Just thought I'd stop by to say hi, since I saw you. You look good." Nina could tell Iris was taking the chance to look her over, her gaze lingering on Nina's eyes, below which she knew was the recent addition of dark circles. "Have you been getting enough rest?"

"A bit too much, to be honest." Nina wasn't lying. She napped a lot, found herself dozing on her couch more than she ever had, but the nights were too restless to get enough rest. That familiar hallway plagued both her dreams and her waking moments. Nina looked at Iris and found she didn't have the heart to tell her friend. "But I've been staying up lately. Figured I'd catch up on all the shows I've been missing while I'm still on leave."

"Just don't stay up too late," Iris said, looking the slightest bit more relaxed at Nina's excuse.

Before Nina could respond, her order was called, and she left Iris for a moment to pick up her food. When she turned back to her friend, Iris looked ready to leave. Nina met her by the door and they headed out together.

"Want me to drop you off?" Iris asked. "I parked just down the block."

"Thanks, but I'll walk. Some fresh air might do me good."

"Nina, we live in the city. There's no such thing as fresh air," Iris joked, lips curling into a smile.

"Still better than nothing." Nina shrugged, putting on a smile of her own. She waved to her friend as they parted ways and began her short walk home.

A part of Nina felt lighter after her run in with Iris. She felt like a piece of her old self had returned, the usual joking and casual chatting she did with Iris feeling natural. For a moment, she considered going back to work. Maybe having more mundane interactions—returning to her old routine—would help.

Then, she thought of Fearnley, and of Alice's face staring back at her through the mirror. Nina knew she couldn't just leave things as they were.

Night was rapidly settling around her, the sky darkening with every minute and the wind turning colder. Enough so that Nina was glad to reach her home. By the time she entered her apartment, night had fully arrived. The lights turned on automatically as soon as she opened the door.

The first thing Nina noticed when she walked in were the notes still spread out on her coffee table. She stared at the mess for a moment before moving on to the kitchen and choosing to eat there. As much as she wanted to figure out what was going on, Nina recognized that she needed to let her mind rest.

Already, Nina had allowed too much of her life to be enveloped in the mystery brought on by her—or rather, Alice's—memories. This thought was at the forefront of her mind when she passed the place where the picture of her and her mother had hung just days earlier. Now, there was just an empty space.

The rest of Nina's night passed without anything of note happening. Sleep didn't come quickly, perhaps because somewhere in the back of her mind, she was afraid of what she would see in her dreams. For once, though, there was nothing waiting for Nina on the other side of wakefulness. There was just an empty stretch of time, darkness, and then a sudden awakening—like blinking away the night.

Morning sunlight streamed through the window as the blinds opened and Nina became aware of the silence in her apartment only a moment before it was perturbed by the notice of an incoming call. On any other morning, Nina would have declined the call. That was not just any morning, and the caller was the one person Nina had been hoping to speak to.

Fearnley seemed to have something he wanted Nina to know.

- - - - - - - - -

Well, here you all go, the last chapter before I go into a more normal update schedule, haha. Hope you've all liked this chapter and please vote and/or comment if you can, it would be much appreciated. As always, thank you all so much for reading!

Also, congrats to those who made it to the Watty's long list! 

Have a great weekend everyone!