Gravel crunched and broke underneath the pair of shoes that walked among it. His car was a few meters away parked by some tree. A flashlight glowed in his right hand, and a badge shone right on his heart. His duty of patrolling that night was a couple of streets some miles away, and he decided to take a drive up the old roads by the forests. He never would have expected to see a car on the old road but he knew better than to assume this night was different than any other night to the kids. The Hearse though was a special sight.

Shining his light in the front window there was nothing. No people, except an old radio on the dashboard still playing. The policeman wasn't surprised. Clicking the light off he moved to the back window and knocked. It took a few seconds for it to roll down, and when it did he clicked the light on again. "Somethin' wrong?" Angus asked.

"I was just heading up north when I saw your car here, you uh-having any trouble?" Angus shook his head and motioned at the girl.

"You mind keepin' your voice down, she's still asleep." The flashlight shone on Hannah's face, who was fast asleep, still in her pink bathrobe and wrapped up in a spare blanket Angus had found under the seat. Her head rested on Angus' chest, her nose pressed up against his shirt. The open window didn't help, but turning the car on would leave them stranded. "There's no trouble, though I wouldn't put it past this wagon to have some on the way home."

"You're dressed?" he asked. Angus cracked a grin.

"Bit cold outside, isn't it, sir?" The policeman brought his flashlight away from the girl's face.

"I'm real sorry, I've come across cars before parked like this and-it's usually not so civil in the backseat." Angus widened the grin.

"Don't worry about it, we're both too tired anyway." He didn't feel like bringing up Sherrie.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Nah, I was havin' a bit of trouble, more so than the car. Guess the radio static doesn't help much." Even without the flashlight, the policeman could see Angus' face.

"Hey, I know you," he said, quietly.

"You uh, never thought to see a guitarist parked in the middle of some road like this, did ya'?"

"Never...I mean, I guess it doesn't surprise me, now that I think about it..." Angus smiled down at Hannah and brushed her hair.

"She's just a good friend of mine," he explained. "Just went for a drive together...hey, by any chance you know what time it is?" The officer held up his left wrist.

"It's about...half past two." Angus closed his eyes. "You two just visiting?"

"I'm visitin' her, she lives here. Well, not in this area, but in town. Tour was over so I thought I'd stop by."

"The rest of the band with you?"

"They're in the trunk," he said making the officer laugh. "Kiddin'. My brother is, he's at the hotel, probably sleeping better than I am," he laughed again. "The other guys are back home."

The officer had leaned up against the Hearse. "You guys staying long?" He doubted he ever would have a chance like this again to talk to someone famous. He didn't regret taking the turn on the dirt road.

"Uh, maybe a few more weeks, it depends on certain things, ya' know." Those certain things happened to be named Travis. Angus was tempted to tell the officer everything he had been doing to Hannah, but he didn't know where to start, or if he should wait for a drop in the conversation. Hannah stirred. She would have nowhere to go if Travis was taken away to jail, her income wasn't enough to pay off the house. Angus felt another yearning in his heart. One he couldn't tell the reason for.

"Should have come in the summer," the policeman said. "Much nicer here then. The forest is filled with campers, or there's a small river a few miles northwest to see."

"There is?" Angus hardly sat up from his seat to look out the back window in the direction the policeman said. He couldn't see much, the window was dirty. "Maybe I'll come back, I'm sure she'd like to see it."

"Not much to see in the dark now, though. Probably not safe there anyway. You know your way back to town?"

Hannah stirred again, her arms around his neck tightening. He reciprocated. "I think so, we'll probably head back there tomorrow, soon as she wakes up." The policeman knocked on the roof of the car.

"I have to admit...I've never seen a Hearse used as a normal way of transportation. Especially not by a famous person."

"It's a piece of crap, really," Angus mumbled. "Doesn't always brake when it should. Almost fell out of it once when the door gave out." The other man looked at his car by the tree, then back at the pair.

"I could escort you you know," he said. "Drive you back to town so she doesn't have to wake up...she could just sleep in the back of my car." The offer was tempting.

"Nah, we can stay. We can go in the morning."

"You're sure? Kind of dangerous out here at night."

"We'll be alright, I mean, we really ought to take this car back, it's not exactly ours an' the owner is sure fond of it." The policeman stepped a foot closer to the window. His smile was gone.

"You say this car isn't yours?"

"No."

"Is it hers?" The man pointed at Hannah. Hugging her tighter, Angus shook his head. "You say this car is stolen?"

"Well not exactly stolen, she lives with the guy that owns it," he explained. The friendly atmosphere seemed to dissipate. Angus wished the smile would come back.

"Oh, so he knows you brought it out here?" Angus considered lying. But when the badge on his shirt sparkled under the moon and the same glow landed on the handcuffs on his belt, the idea wasn't so good anymore.

"Not-not exactly." The policeman pulled out a notepad and wrote a few things down, muttering to himself. It was folded back up and placed in his pocket, a walkie talkie pulled out instead.

"...back out north near the woods, a car parked out on the dirt road going up towards the mountains...a Hearse with an Oregon license plate, two passengers one asleep...the car appears to be stolen property from someone they know...I'll take them in and you can deal with them." The walkie talkie was placed back where it was and the officer opened the back door. "Alright, the car's been reported as stolen, you'll have to wake your friend up and come with me."

"We haven't stolen anything, we just borrowed his car, she's driven it before."

"May I see your licence?"

Angus blushed. "Uh, I don't really have one." A finger pointed at Hannah.

"Does she have one?"

"No, she doesn't, but-"

"Who was driving the car tonight?" Angus considered lying again.

"She was, I asked her to." The policeman walked up to the front door and opened it as well, searching for anything else to get them with.

"Is there anything else in this vehicle?"

"Not that I know of," Angus said. He wouldn't be shocked to know Travis was a drug lord or something in his spare time.

"I'm going to have to ask you both to step out of the vehicle and follow me."

"What exactly have we done?"

"A stolen car, driving without a licence...I hate to say I'm going to have to take you both in." Angus really wished he had not let it slip that the car wasn't theirs. The officer left the two to sort themselves out as he walked to his own car and turned the siren and lights on. Hannah woke from the sound.

"What time is it..." she mumbled into his chest. He sat up in the seat and she leaned on him, laying her head on his shoulder. He brushed her hair back.

"It's after two."

"Mmm..."

"Hey, come on, you gotta wake up. Come on." Her eyes fluttered open and she yawned again. Angus looked away this time so he wouldn't. "Come on, Hannah." She sat up on her own, her eyes groggy.

"What happened?"

"We're kind of getting arrested." Her eyes opened. Still groggy, but paying attention.

"Arrested?"

"A friendly policeman stopped to chat an' I guess he's reporting the car as stolen, and neither one of us are legal to drive." He could feel her skin turn to ice under his fingers.

"That's friendly?"

"Well-before I told him the car wasn't ours he-"

"What did you tell him?!" She was wide awake now. A figure approaching the car startled her.

"I've alerted the others, they're gonna have to investigate the car and take it in, you two will be taken in my car. Come on." The policeman stood there waiting for them as Hannah dropped her glare. Scooting off Angus' lap she let him leave the car first and she followed, setting the blanket back on the seat. Three pairs of feet crunched over the gravel now, Hannah taking light steps so as not to cut her bare feet.

"We can just call the guy, let him know we have his car. He might not even be home yet, we can drive right back and return it." With a sorry look the officer turned around.

"I hate doing this, I'm sure you don't think so. After talking to a nice guy like you, it kills me." He rubbed his chin, the man looking like he hadn't shaved in a few days. "But my job is my job, an' no one is above the law. You'd be surprised how many guys make a run for it as soon as they see the lights behind 'em." Hannah climbed into the police car first, brushing the ricks off her stinging feet.

"I don't think we would have put up much of a fight," Angus said, Hannah sticking her tongue out.

"The law is still the law. I'll take you to the little jail I work at a few miles south of here an' keep you till morning. If someone comes to pick you up you can leave with them, understand?" Angus got in the car as well and nodded, hoping to end the lecture. His heart and head began to pound when the door was slammed after them, the officer getting behind the wheel. Hannah had her elbow propped up on the window, staring out at the sea of blackness outside.

"You mad at me?" Angus whispered. It took a minute for her to answer.

"I'm mad at myself," she muttered.

"Why-"

"I never should have taken us out here, Travis is gonna kill me! What were we gonna do, just stay out here until morning when he'd be back?" Angus put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, we didn't know. You were tired, you needed to sleep, nothin' wrong with that." Hannah pulled away from his hand and continued to stare out the window. The policeman waited until help could arrive, as Travis' car needed to be tended to. Angus stared at where his hand had been and sighed. "We won't be there for long, I'll call Mal and he'll come over an' get us out, okay? Maybe Travis stayed with his friend all night, yeah?"

"Travis' car has been reported as stolen, they'll find a way to contact him and he'll be at the station to pick it up," Hannah sighed. "Hopefully Mal gets there first."

Several minutes later two more cars with their lights flashing arrived on the scene. They parked themselves next to Travis' car and the vehicle Angus and Hannah were in took off down the gravel road toward town. A few miles later the darkness was replaced by streetlights and neon signs. The road was smoother the deeper into town they drove and there was more company than the isolated woods had. Hannah saw a group of teenagers lighting a trashcan fire on the sidewalk, a mural of graffiti on a brick wall behind them. The flames illuminated the art showing a beautiful rose surrounded by its own orange flames. Hannah was impressed and kept her eyes glued to it as long as she could. Angus saw it at the last second after watching someone exit a store with one bag of groceries and another bag of wine.

The streetlights became scarcer as they neared the police station. The outside walls were bricked like much of the town was and an arced sign reading 'Police Station' (as if they didn't already know) was in front of it. An American flag was waving on the pole it was attached to, still easy to recognize in the darkness. Another flag was underneath it on the pole, a blue one Angus didn't recognize. The car pulled up to it and the engine died. The silence and the appearance of the building made the two backseat residents shiver. A dog was barking from a kennel behind a gate and Angus could tell it was a big one. "Alright, come on you two," the officer said opening his door and stepping out. Hannah reached for her door handle but Angus grabbed her hand and her attention, as he opened his door and led her outside of the car. The officer was unarmed, but the kids knew better than to try anything. "I'll get you both a room to stay in till someone comes to pick you up, or until tomorrow afternoon at three. The car you stole will be brought in sometime this morning and the owner will be contacted." Angus felt Hannah's skin turn cold. "Any resistance and your stay will be longer, any questions?" They didn't answer, the officer assuming a yes. "Like I said. Just doing my job."

"We understand," Angus responded, still looking at Hannah. She shivered in her bathrobe, keeping her face hidden behind her hair. With a sorry look, the officer nodded toward the station and walked behind them. Angus wrapped his arm around Hannah's shoulders hoping to warm her up a bit. She didn't look at him, but he could feel her lean closer.

A light above the doors made them squint and the officer opened the doors as quick as he could. Inside was still bright however, with white walls, floors, and lights on the ceiling guiding their path. Their footsteps echoed through the tiny hallway and Angus could feel the emptiness around them. No one was at the front desk, and they guessed the man escorting them was in charge for the night.

He picked up a stack of papers and a pen, filling them out without going behind the desk. "Sam's not here," he said. "It's usually his job to fill this stuff out." Two minutes later he set them down, picked up a set of keys and motioned them to follow him. In the back of the building was a collection of cells, all of them empty. This area was even colder than the rest of the building, and each cell had cement walls to keep the chill in. One key was taken and inserted into the lock, the barred door opening with a haunting creek. "You can share this one," the officer said. "Or, I can open another one. No one's using them tonight."

Angus opened his mouth to answer when Hannah beat him. "We'll share," she said.

"You sure?" Angus whispered tightening his hold. Hannah, despite what she felt at the moment, gave him a cheeky grin.

"Don't want you to be alone in a cold dark cell now, do we?" she asked. They stepped in and hardly had time to look around before the door closed on them.

"You both get one call for someone to come get you. Or, you call one reliable, and you call some place up for food," the officer said making a joke. Neither of them laughed and hardly smiled.

"When will that be?" Angus asked.

"I'll come back in a few minutes, you'll go one at a time. If no one comes, you'll be here till three." The officer left them alone to think, or whatever it is people in holding cells did. There was a bench that Angus sat down on, watching Hannah stand by the wall. She yawned again, her eyes fluttering.

"You still tired?" She shook her head. "Hey, come here." He held his arms out but she shook her head again.

"I'm fine, standing up keeps me awake."

"You don't want to stay awake though, do you?"

"After what happened tonight, I'd say yes, I want to stay awake," she snapped. She let out another yawn. Dropping his arms, Angus locked his hands together instead and looked down at his shoes. They were covered in gravel dust. "I never should have agreed to take the car...what was I thinking?" His eyes closed.

"Don't blame yourself for my begging," he muttered. "Knowin' the consequences of Travis findin' out I made you come anyway."

"It is possible to say no to you, Angus Young," Hannah said much quieter. "You never put the keys in my hand."

"It's 'cause I couldn't find them," he snickered. "Look, I'm real sorry."

Hannah gave a small smile and went to sit down next to him. His face heated up when she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for getting upset, I had no right to-"

"Who's sayin' it was wrong?" Angus interrupted. "Don't be sorry for havin' emotions, you're speakin' your mind." Angus moved one hand under her chin to prevent her from hiding her face from him. "With every right of course. Who on earth told you different?"

Unable to look away, Hannah opened her mouth to speak but couldn't answer. Finally she uttered a 'no one', and cast her eyes aside to look at the wall. Angus didn't believe her, but didn't press either. Instead he placed his thumb on her lips, pushing down the lower one so she made a silly face. "What are you laughing at now?" she asked ruining the look.

"You messed it up!"

"Messed what up, your little joke?" She tried to sound annoyed but she grinned through her tone.

"Just tryin' to lighten the mood, sweetheart. This place could use a little sunshine." Angus didn't realize how close their faces were until Hannah sneezed. "Thanks for that," he said wincing and wiping his face.

"Sorry," Hannah laughed. "Bit of allergies."

"What are you allergic to in a jail cell, the weeds growin' in the cement cracks?" He was still wiping his face with his sleeve, his voice muffled.

"How about dust, Angus, you think of that?" Catching sight of the smile in her eyes he sat still.

"No, I...I didn't." He had unconsciously closed the space between them again, resting his forehead against hers. He brushed some hair behind her ear, figuring she had washed it some hours ago. He felt something else in it, and brushed his fingers through.

"What are you doing?" Retracting his hand he held something small and dark in it.

"You had a leaf in your hair, Hannah Ruth," he murmured. Trying to keep the blush in her cheeks to a minimum, she retaliated.

"Well a bird hit a bulls eye in yours." Frowning, he put a hand to his hair. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding."

"Very funny." The door imprisoning them opened again and the officer was standing there with the set of keys in one hand and two dimes in the other.

"The phone is by the front desk on the wall," he said, staring at them as if he interrupted something. "Ladies first?"

"You go, Angus," Hannah said when he looked at her. "Call Malcolm, maybe he can get us."

"If I remember his room's phone number," he mumbled standing from the bench. "And if he even wakes up." Tossing the leaf on the floor he left Hannah behind in the cell and winced when the doors closed again. He followed the policeman back through the cold hallway and up to the front desk. Behind it on the wall was a little black phone, the cord in a small knot. Accepting the dime he inserted it and recited Malcolm's hotel number in his head as he pressed the numbers. One eye was glued to the reflective manner of the phone, and he squinted at it to make sure Hannah really was kidding about the bird.

It was a few minutes until Angus realized he wasn't going to answer. The phone rang endlessly and he didn't want to stand there with the officer waiting behind him. Hanging up, he followed the man back down the hall and back to the cell. Hannah didn't smile when she saw Angus failing to. "Is he coming?"

"Didn't answer," he said walking back inside when the door was opened. "Either I got the number wrong which is likely, he's asleep, or his hand was full to pick up the phone." He sat down on the bench. "And his mouth too full to talk." Hannah stayed quiet, not sure if she wanted to know what Angus meant by that.

"Your turn, miss," the policeman held the door open for Hannah who stood up to follow him when Angus grabbed her arm.

"Wait!" She turned to him. "Who are you callin'?"

"I guess I have to call Travis back at home," she said, eyes darkening. "Don't know if he's there but supposing he got a ride back home?" Angus didn't like the sudden mood shift. "Knows his car is gone, knowing we took it..."

"Don't call him," he said. "Hey, I can call Sherrie, maybe she can get us."

"Isn't she still sore at you?"

"Like you and Travis are best friends?" Angus frowned as Hannah turned her head away. "I'm sorry, I mean-" He sighed. "Let me talk to Sherrie, she can drop you off, and then we'll just go back to the hotel, Travis can get a ride-"

"Sherrie doesn't have any modes of transportation."

"Neither does Travis," Angus said standing up to meet her. He put a hand to her chin again. "As a matter of fact, Malcolm has about as much transportation as any of us at the moment. I don't want him yelling at you, I'll call someone else."

"Travis can call up his friend to take us home-"

"Then let me call him," he interrupted. "He's not gonna be happy with either of us, I'd rather him blow off steam with me on the phone." Hannah stepped away and left the cell.

"It's okay," she said. "I've been used to it for five years now." Angus didn't pretend her words didn't hurt him. Whether she meant to or not she hit a sore spot, and Angus felt guilty. He returned to the bench while she left for the front desk. Either way now, Travis would pick them up whether in a few minutes or tomorrow afternoon when he fetched his car. Angus would rather have stayed there until three, but he didn't want Hannah to have to sleep on a bench. Her bed at home, even while living with that man, was surely better than this.

Angus thought if Travis was going to press charges or not for stealing his car. He might not go against Hannah, but he was sure to take the first chance he could to run Angus out of town. Maybe Malcolm, Sherrie and him could leave for home before the idea struck him, but leaving Hannah behind in the care of such a horrible man was not an option. Especially if he was in a bad mood. He winced at the thought of what he could be saying to her, that is, if he was sober enough to pick up the phone.

That worried him as well. How sober was Travis at the moment? And how often did Hannah witness his drunken state? What did he do when he had been drinking?

His thoughts were interrupted when Hannah returned to the cell. The door was opened for her and she stepped in, her arms wrapped around herself. Her company joined Angus as she sat on the bench, slightly turned away. He looked up to see the officer had left, the keys jangling down the hall. The space between them was decreased again as he scooted closer and put an arm around her shoulder. "Is he comin'?"

Her body turned even more away from him, shivering from more than just the cold. No verbal answer did he receive, but he didn't need one. Hannah didn't pull away from the hand he placed on her back, running it up and down. Eventually her shivering stopped and she relaxed in his gentle touch.

It was four in the morning before Travis got there. His gait was slow, and his expression dark. Angus was leaning back against the wall holding Hannah to his chest, tightening his grip with a glare upon seeing him, but Hannah stood up right away, breaking free of his hold, and met him at the bars. "Thank you, Travis," she started. "for getting us."

He didn't answer.

The officer showed up a minute later with the keys again. He fiddled with them, almost dropping them before he finally got the door open. Angus stood up and took to Hannah's side again, returning the glare Travis gave him when he took her hand. His eyes were red with dark circles underneath them, and just like the officer, he hadn't shaved that day.

The halls echoed with three pairs of shoes now, Hannah still barefooted. Some more paperwork was filled out by the policeman, and they were free to go. Travis refrained from pressing charges, this time. Driving without licenses was also overlooked, as Travis had paid the fine. Reaching the front doors, Hannah attempted to appeal to him again.

"We didn't mean for this to happen, we just fell asleep-"

"Shut up."

"The tank is still full and you can get it back-"

"I said-" Travis turned around so quickly that Hannah stepped back, Angus pulling her away in case Travis grabbed her. His voice was too quiet for an empty building. "-shut. Up."

The flag wasn't waving anymore when they left the building.