SIX
"No, this is not possible! Definitely not!" Emma yelled at her reflection in the mirror.
She was frozen in shock. Then as quickly as they had appeared, her eyes returned to their normal color.
"What... what just happened?" She whispered, gripping the sink tighter till her fists turned white.
"No... I must be seeing things. Lack of sleep, that is all." She maintained sharply as she paced the bathroom, trying to steady her breathing.
"Get it together, Emma. You are just stressed. That is all this is. Of course, that can't be real. My eyes wouldn't just change colors." She told herself but that wasn't convincing enough.
"But wait, first the dreams, now my eyes?" She mumbled, splashing more cold water on her face.
"Everything is falling apart." She clenched her fists harder as if that would solve her problem.
For a moment, she had paced the bathroom trying to get answers but unfortunately she couldn't get any.
Afterwards, she hurried back to her office, her mind racing.
"Maybe I will find a clue..." She thought as she reached for her gym bag where she had kept her blood-soaked uniform.
But there was an unpleasant surprise waiting for her!
"Where is it?" She muttered frantically, emptying the contents onto her desk.
"The uniform... it was right here!" She yelled as she dumped everything out, searching through each pocket.
"This isn't possible. I remembered vividly that I put the uniform here!" She snapped, gritting her teeth.
"Think, Emma, think!" She ran her hands through her hair in frustration.
"Did someone come in while I was in the bathroom? No, that can't be..."
Then Emma rushed to her closet, yanking it open. There, hanging perfectly pressed, was her spare uniform. Her mouth dropped to the floor in shock.
"This can't be right." She pulled it out, examining it.
"The stain on the collar that refused to wash off... it is gone. This is new." She observed as she examined the uniform closely.
"Someone has been in here. Someone has replaced this." Emma was convinced.
"But who could it be?"
"And why? And how did they know about my bloody uniform?" She whispered, her hands shaking more violently now.
"This doesn't make any sense!" She snapped and began to checked every corner of her office, looking for any sign of the original bloody uniform.
"Nothing. Not even a trace."
"Am I losing my mind? Did I perhaps imagine the whole thing?" She wondered aloud, checking under her desk for the third time.
"Maybe I am having symptoms of amnesia or something...?"
She was wondering aloud when her phone suddenly rang, making her stop talking and jump up in fright. Lily's name flashed on the screen.
"Hey, perfect timing!" Emma answered, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Emma? You sound weird. Is everything okay?" Lily asked.
"I think, no... I definitely need a drink. Are you free?" Emma asked quickly.
"What? It is barely noon! And aren't you at work?" Lily asked, sounding surprised.
"Please, Lily. I just... I need to clear my head. I need some shots to wake up. Nothing makes sense anymore." Emma told her friend.
"To wake up? Are you sleep-talking right now?" Lily asked, trying to make light of the conversation.
"Maybe!" Emma replied firmly. At that, Lily could sense something serious was going on.
"Well, are you sure you should be drinking during work hours?" Lily questioned.
"By the way, I think you should come to the hospital for a check up, instead. That which you are supposed to do that yesterday but you ran away.
"Trust me, Lily. I don't need any check up. What I need right now is a good drinking session whereby I will end up with a hangover." Emma maintained.
To someone who knew Emma like the back of her palms, that definitely didn't sound like Emma.
"Girl, you are being weird. Is everything okay? Is this about those cases you are working on?" Lily inquired with concern.
"Sort of... Anyway, can you meet me?" Emma asked, clearly avoiding talking about her friend's question.
There was a pause on the other end for a split second.
"Okay, fine. Where do you want to meet?" Lily finally asked.
"The usual place. Give me thirty minutes." Emma replied.
"You better have a good explanation for this, Emma." Lily muttered.
"Trust me, I wish I had one myself." With that, Emma ended the call and gathered her things, double-checking one last time for the missing uniform.
"I know what I saw. I'm not crazy." She mumbled.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Emma walked out then stopped at the counter.
"Hey, Mike. I'm not feeling well. Going to head to the hospital. Can you cover for me?" She requested gently, lying about her destination.
"Sure thing, Carter. You do look kind of pale. Is everything alright?" Mike inquired.
"Yeah, just need to get checked out. Thanks, I owe you one." She told him appreciatively and hurried out of the station before Mike could reply.
~~~~~~~~~~
Later that evening, across town, Sarah and David Carter sat at their dining table, eating in comfortable silence.
"Who have you been meeting, Sarah?" David broke the silence, his voice unnaturally calm as he set down his fork.
Sarah avoided his gaze, pushing food around her plate.
"David..." She muttered.
"Don't patronize me. I saw the bank statement. Fifty thousand dollars to an unnamed account. Who is it?" David asked, cutting straight to the chase.
"You know who it is." Sarah replied softly.
"Tell me it's not him." David's face hardened.
"He has been asking about Emma." Sarah said and heaved a sigh.
"Of course he has!" David slammed his fist on the table, making the dishes rattle.
"He threatened to go to her himself if I didn't meet with him. What choice did I have?" Sarah asked, her voice cracking.
"You know that is what he is good at; he is just being manipulative and now you are rubbing his ego." David shook his head in disapproval.
"But I have to protect our daughter. He knows things that could destroy everything we've built. I can't allow that." Sarah protested, tears welling up in her eyes. David heaved a sigh.
""Maybe it is time we told her the truth. About everything we have been hiding from her..." Sarah said softly.
"No! She can't ever know!" David snapped.