My biggest fear, as Jesse and I piled into his car amongst our luggage as well as a plentiful amount of rubbish he seemed to have been collecting for some time, was the length of the journey we were about to embark on. Despite the early hour Jesse had chosen to leave, it was still going to take us the best part of the day for us to reach his parents house in Yorkshire. It was one hell of a long journey, just the two of us alone in a car and a huge number of hours to try and fill with small talk. Whilst talking with Jesse might well prove to be fruitful, my worry would come when the conversation would inevitably turn back around on me. I was still struggling with my persona for this case, I'd had too little time to prepare and though I could think on my feet well enough how long would it be before I contradicted myself while he actually paid enough attention to notice.

When it came down to it though, I needn't have worried at all and the long – potentially tedious – journey was actually quite pleasant. We did talk, but about many random and seemingly useless topics, conversations amusing and yet entirely meaningless that I wouldn't have a hope of repeating even if I had wanted to. He never asked any taxing questions, nothing I found myself struggling to answer nor that incited any fear I may forget important details I'd relayed; none of it was important and that's what made it enjoyable.

We sang, loudly and badly, along with his classic rock and heavy metal CDs. Of all the genres of music I'd seen come and go while working on the surface, they were among a few that I could really sink my teeth into. I liked his taste and, as much as I told myself I really shouldn't, I liked his company.

The journey was long, but we made good time and managed to arrive a little earlier than expected, or at least earlier than Jesse's parents had been expecting. They also hadn't expected their son to have brought a random stranger along with him as a guest to his sisters funeral – a part of me had expected him to ring ahead and let them know he was bringing some moral support with him, though another part of me wasn't all that surprised when it came as a shock.

His mother made her disapproval of my presence frighteningly clear. From first impressions, she was a lady that I wasn't at all keen to tangle with; if anyone would test the mettle of my character it would be her and I was far from confident that I could successfully have her fooled. There are some types of people that we are never sent to deal with. It was the same with all demonic breeds, some types are more susceptible to a certain power over another, and Jesse's mother would never be the mark in a case for a Hybrid like myself. I could feel accusing eyes burning straight through me, calculating, judging. I wanted to spend as little time in her company as possible for fear of jeopardising my case and blowing my cover, not when I was so close to the prize I could almost touch it. I had a feeling this was going to prove to be a long and trying week.

I waited outside by the car whilst Jesse went indoors to try and appease his mother. His father though had been genial, almost friendly even, and had seemed about as reluctant to go back inside the house for his wife’s showdown with their son as I had started to feel about staying. You need to be here, you came on this trip for a reason and can't just bail because of some hissy fit his mum is throwing, I had to keep repeating those words to myself. Besides, I held out a small amount of hope that Patrick, Jesse's father, might be able to talk his wife round to the idea; the reassuring smile that he cast me when he finally decided to head inside and, hopefully, put a stop to the yelling was vaguely comforting.

Still, if all else failed, I was pretty sure I'd spotted a Travelodge not too far back, I could probably convince Jesse that we should crash there instead – even a grotty B&B would be preferable to frosty looks over the breakfast table.

“Heather? Hello, I am Mrs Hudson. My son tells me that you are a 'friend' of his.”

The high, tight lipped voice dragged me away from my thoughts. I was almost reluctant to turn around from where I'd been leaning with my arms over the car bonnet, back turned towards the house, as I contemplated my escape excuses. Who wanted to stay in a house where they were so clearly not welcome? Mrs Hudson's tone of voice made it clear that her opinion on the matter hadn't been swayed any; if anything she sounded even more put out, probably having been forced outside to make forced polite conversation with the likes of me.

I couldn't blame her for the way she felt, not really, she was preparing to bury her daughter, an unknown interloper into her home and family was probably the last thing she wanted. But it was the emphasis she placed on the word 'friend' that bothered me the most, perhaps my intrusion on their private family affair wasn't the only thing she was put out about.

Plastering a false, sympathetic smile on my face, I turned to face my newest foe. “Mrs Hudson. I am really sorry about this, I had presumed that Jesse had already told you both he'd asked me to come along with him,” I said, holding out a hand and wondering if she would shake it or not. My plan was to be apologetic and pass the blame, it had to win me back a few points; I couldn't very well do my job successfully if I had her breathing and glowering down my neck the whole time.

“No. He seemed to think that springing this on me at the last minute would be the best plan, not give me any chance to refuse.” She pursed her lips for a moment and I was almost tempted to break the silence, but she continued. “You'll excuse me if I'm not particularly hospitable, Heather, but we're burying my daughter, not having a garden party.” She snapped the last words, turned on her heel and hurried back into the house, slamming the door behind her.

“I am sorry for my wife,” Patrick said gently, clutching my elbow reassuringly for the briefest moment, a gesture mostly to capture my attention. “She has not dealt with her grief well. Jen was...” His voice trailed off and the sad smile he'd worn faded simply into sadness; it hurt too much to talk about. “Well, you know what I mean. You're welcome in our house, Heather. I know that Jesse will certainly appreciate the friendly support over these few days. They are going to be trying, and Maura will understand that, eventually.” He sighed and then headed back inside the house.

Despite his reassurance, I still didn't feel overly keen on staying in their house, under Maura's scrutiny for a full day and more – it was Saturday, the funeral wasn't until Monday, and somewhere during our stay I had to find time to convince Jesse to take his revenge. Patrick certainly wasn't wrong when he said it was going to be a trying few days.

Once the door to the house had clicked shut once more, Jesse turned to me with an apologetic look on his face. “Look, I'm sorry I didn't say anything to her before hand, but I told you what she was like and now you've seen it for yourself. She'd only have said no and yeah, I didn't want to give her the chance to refuse. I can't spend time alone with them when they're like that.” He sighed and leaned back against the car.

“Mum's like a completely different person at the moment and Dad will hardly talk to her. He's afraid he'll say the wrong thing and send her flying off the handle, so he's dealing with the grief all alone. They can't even talk about it and I really can't handle it in there with them without some back up.” He ran his fingers frustratedly through his hair and groaned in an expression of frustration and despair.

“Well, I can see why you asked me along,” I said, as if it hadn't actually been my idea in the first place, “and I can handle your mothers disapproval. I can even deal with her thinking that we're sleeping together if I'm going to be helping you out.” I patted him gently on the shoulder and smiled, trying to lighten the mood just a little.

“Thanks, I really appreciate it. Wait, you think my mother thinks we're sleeping with each other?” he asked, suddenly, realising what I'd said.

“She thinks you brought your latest girlfriend along to your sisters funeral, that's why she's so pissed off. If I'd been one of guys she knows already, she wouldn't have been nearly so annoyed. Did you hear the way she said the word 'friend'? She believed that about as far as she could throw you.”

“Huh...” Was all Jesse offered in response, a coy smile suddenly gracing his face.

“What?” I asked, frowning as he smirked at me. Having delved into the depths of many men's mind through the course of my career, I really didn't want to know where his thoughts had wandered to; I could imagine. I shook my head at him and aimed an elbow sharply at his ribs.

He laughed and ducked out of the way of my attack, grinning wildly. It was nice to see him smile again, I would never tire of seeing it – Lucifer what had I started to turn into?

“Though, Jesse, I will be honest. I'm not feeling all too comfortable about staying in the house. I don't want to put your parents out, having to worry about playing host to a stranger, not when they must have so much else to do already.”

“Right, so...what did you want to do instead? You can hardly sleep in the car.”

“No.” I chuckled slightly. No certainly not the car, that thing was practically a health hazard. “No, there's a Travelodge I saw not too far back, I'll get a room there or something. Then I won't be getting under your mother's feet and annoying her more.”

Jesse looked slightly unsure, but he pondered the idea for a moment and then nodded, slowly. “Sure, yeah that might be the best plan, she's so volatile at the moment I'm not sure I even want to stay here. I'll drop you up there after dinner, we're not going to get out of that I'm afraid. Then we'll have to make a plan for something to do tomorrow, I know Mum is still working out the last funeral details, the wake and stuff, but I'm...that's not my kind of thing. If I've already got a plan then hopefully she can't complain and make me help her out.”

I laughed, “Yeah, okay sounds good.”

Dinner. A genuine family meal, though with a grieving family playing hosts no less, this could be an interesting experience. Just another obstacle to overcome, that was how I had to picture it, get through dinner and then I could start formulating my own plans and try to make the most of my time here. I was so close to the end of this case, finally, after such a long time, it had to produce results, there was no other option. One more hurdle, just one more in the form of Jesse's disapproving mother, that surely was the last thing this time on the surface could throw in my way.