"And how long did you say she hasn't been home?" The Officer behind the desk asked, her voice muffled slightly against the bustle of the police station. Phones rang constantly amongst the sea of voices belonging to police officers desperately trying to do their jobs whilst Sophie and Richard Murphy sat impatiently but quietly in front of the desk of a female officer looking slightly overwhelmed and tired as she took a long sip of coffee from a grey mug.

"All weekend. We saw her Friday morning and then nothing. She doesn't have her phone-" Richard began to explain, feeling like he was repeating himself as Sophie sat quietly and glanced around herself. She hadn't realised just how hectic it was, and somehow imagined it differently... she'd only been here twice before with Alice, when it had been quieter and less... chaotic. She felt sorry for all the young looking officers scrambling to answer as many questions as they could from the media and whoever else over the phone, she even thought she saw one of them tear up whilst listening to something someone was saying.

"Mrs Murphy," The Officer said again, bringing her wandering mind to a stop.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Sophie whispered, feeling dazed and slightly out of touch with what was happening.

"I said would you like to official report your daughter, Alice Rose Murphy, as missing?" The Officer asked, "It's protocol that we ask." She added, looking between the parents of yet another child gone missing.

"Yes." Sophie replied, her eyes watering slightly now as reality began to set in. What if she never got to see her again? What if this was the moment that would lead that?

"Okay..." The Officer sighed, feeling a tug in her chest as she typed up the official missing persons report. "So, she's five feet three, long light blonde hair down to the waist, blue eyes, slim build..."

* * *

"Just hit the damn ball!" Magnus called impatiently from across the court as the sun shone brightly and the warm breeze wafted across the resort, allowing the palm trees to shiver in delight.

"You hit it way too hard!" Alice called back, her eyes shielded from the sun with a tennis hat with her hair pulled up into a high pony tail. "This isn't the French open Magnus, just hit it to me," she carried on in a huff, positioning herself to serve as she bounced the green tennis ball after stomping to go pick it up from where Magnus had hit it. "Ready?" Alice called, bouncing the ball again.

"Ready," Magnus smirked, chuckling to himself as he twisted his racket around in his hands before he positioned himself properly, a teasing grin now playing on his lips as he watched Alice serve. They were both dressed in white, traditionally tennis attire that they'd bought from the tennis club store the resort provided, with Alice in a tennis skirt and Magnus in tennis shorts and both their rackets neon colours. They'd both tanned a little, having been on the island for over forty eight hours, and having spent the first day entirely at the beach, then the second exploring the island a little in a bright yellow jeep they'd rented.

"They're so sweet together." Julia commented, sipping orange juice in a champagne glass from a balcony above the court, waiting for a large breakfast they ordered for the four of them to arrive whilst Alice and Magnus played tennis. They'd been up fairly early, since there seemed to be no point to lie in and sleep when there was so much to experience and enjoy. "Hans, just look at that smile!" she gasped excitedly, seeing Magnus grin as Alice cheered, seeing as she'd just scored a point.

"I see it," Hans chuckled, his own smile on his face as he sipped his coffee and flicked the newspaper he was reading with his other hand.

"Who's winning?" Julia called, dressed in a white summer dress, a large straw sun hat and her favourite Chanel sunglasses.

"Me!" Alice called back, grinning happily before laughing as Magnus rolled his eyes.

"I'm letting you win," He shot back, having missed the ball so it was his turn to serve.

"You just can't accept you're losing," Alice teased, seeing Magus narrow his eyes before serving the ball extra hard. It shot past her body, and she gasped loudly, pretending to be shocked and offended but continued to laugh anyway. "Missed!"

"I did that on purpose." Magnus muttered, producing another ball from his pocket and bouncing it before serving properly. They played for another twenty minutes or so, keeping up the rally and catching the sun a little more before Julia called them for breakfast. The tennis club's restaurant looked out over part of the private beach and the courts, it wasn't large, but was tastefully designed so that each round table had enough space. It was placed above the main reception area, where it would lead to changing rooms then to the store as well. Julia and Hans had occupied the table on the half moon balcony, so that there was a partial view of the sparkling blue ocean and the court where Alice and Magnus were just playing.

The pair arrived at the table, seeing the fully cooked breakfast including pancakes, bacon, sausages, toast, eggs in various styles, the fruit bowls seemed to overflow with options too. "I am starving," Alice grinned, having settled into the Johnson family dynamic pretty quickly and now felt comfortable to be herself. Both her and Magnus began to pile food onto their plates just as a waiter poured them coffee from an expensive looking gold jug.

"So darlings, this evening-" Julia began, watching with a motherly delight as the two seemed to swap, share and exchange food without having to talk about it. "We have a family... business type event on one of the yachts, Hans and I were just wondering if you two wanted to join us?" Julia suggested, "There will be champagne, snacks, music-"

"Is it a party?" Magnus asked, putting his hand out for the butter and only waiting a few seconds before Alice past it to him.

"Partially." Julia replied, sipping her orange juice again. Alice admired quietly how she seemed to look perfect at all hours of the day, make up and hair done flawlessly every time she saw her. She felt a little dressed down in her presence, and subconsciously smoothed her palm over her hair so that the flyaways from her pony tail didn't make her feel so messy. "It's business for us really, but for you two it would be a nice social event. There will be lots of faces you recognise,"

"Mm." Magnus hummed as if the idea of familiar faces didn't excite him. "Do you want to go?" he then asked Alice, his gaze focusing on her make up free face, with her pink cheeks, faint and scarce freckles and light brown eyelashes.

"Yeah," Alice replied honestly, seeing Julia out of the corner of her eye looking hopefully expectant. "I think it will be fun," She added before she put another forkful of food in her mouth.

"Alright. We'll come." Magnus confirmed, letting his gaze linger on Alice for a moment before looking back to his mother. "What time?"

"Seven." Julia grinned, placing her hands, palms down, on the table as if to delightfully pet the white fabric covering it. "And Allie, I'll put out a dress for you, since it's fairly formal." She continued as Alice ate quietly, trying to calm her excited tingles since she had to remind herself that this was everyday life for them. "Magnus your father has a tux for you, too." She added, deciding to help herself to a bowl of fruit.

Magnus stopped eating and narrowed his eyes, glancing between his parents and knowing that they expected them to say yes. "I just think it's so nice that your parents were so open minded with allowing you on this trip," Julia continued, caught up in the happy moment as she carefully sliced her strawberries. Alice stopped eating and hesitated for a moment, only to continue chewing slowly a few seconds later. "Considering they haven't met us yet and for all they know we could be well, anyone," She laughed musically and Alice released a quick closed lipped laugh that caused Magnus to glance over at her, "Magnus told us that they didn't really take a shine to him at first,"

"He... did?" Alice asked, having only just swallowed her food. "They're just very protective-"

"Oh darling, it's very understandable." Julia laughed and Magnus screwed up his face. "We should've invited them out, helped them get to know us!" she continued, causing Hans to lower his newspaper and look over at his wife with subtly raised eyebrows.

"Would that have really been necessary," Magnus murmured in a monotone voice, having developed a particularly deep routed dislike for Alice's parents.

"Magnus." Julia scolded quietly, "Developing connections is always necessary, and I would like, and I'm sure your father would agree, to get to know your girlfriend's parents." She said seriously, then smiled a few moments after as Hans sighed quietly and went back to reading his newspaper. Alice couldn't help the rise of the flush in her cheeks... partially because she knew her parents would dislike the Johnson's even more if they flashed their wealth by bringing them out here free of charge, but mainly because she knew her parents would be furious when she got home, considering she just left them a note, and hadn't called either... The topic of them made her a little anxious to return to Canada.

She knew better, of course, but she suspected she wanted to punish them a little... especially a mother because of her recent behaviour... With Mr Green, Quebec and her secret biological father that was still unconfirmed. She kept hearing her consciousness every now and then repeating the phrase, if she can't even control herself, why should she control me? But even then... the years she'd had of being the polite, well mannered daughter kept bringing back the guilt as a result of her doing something she knew was wrong...

~

It had just gone past six in the evening when Alice stepped out of the shower, she'd spent most of that afternoon lounging by the pool, trying to distract her excitement by reading as Magnus napped on the lounger next to her. She had caught the sun a little more than she had expected, admiring her tan lines in the mirror before she moisturised from head to toe.

The bedroom was empty when she ventured from the bathroom into it, the doors leading out onto the balcony open to let the breeze in as the overhead fan hummed as it span. Her hair was tied up in a neat bun to keep it out of her face and away from her neck before she could style it, and she walked over to the bed to see what dress Julia had chosen for her to wear. She gasped softly, quickening her step as she saw the gown laid out on the neat and freshly made bed.

"Oh my god," Alice whispered to herself, doing a little dance on the spot as she saw the designer label almost immediately. It was a long white dress, with thin spaghetti straps and a low V... the design was simple, but what made it stand out was the sheer covering to go over the top of it. It had small pearls dotted across it, and looked as if it came up high across the neck and draped across the arms. Excitement coursed through Alice's veins as she touched the dress, feeling as if she was back in the glossy, glamorous dream again... she closed her eyes and smiled, basking in the feeling since it felt so rare to actually experience it. Sheer and pure excitement... she half expected to see high tech Hollywood cameras when she opened her eyes again since she really did feel like she was in a movie.

Whilst glancing at the time Alice realised she didn't have long to get ready, she put music on using Magnus's phone that was charging on the nightstand, the sound of Explosions by Rationale flowing from the phone's surprisingly good speakers throughout the large bedroom as Alice sat at the dressing table putting her make up on. She murmured the lyrics and danced a little, following her routine down to the precise second. Happiness seemed to glow through her skin, making her make up only seemed to look even more seamless than it usually did...

At the same moment Magnus approached the bedroom door, hearing the music and smirking to himself. He nudged the door open with his hip, considering he had champagne glasses occupying each hand. "Having a party?" He asked, commenting the volume of the music and catching Alice singing along to the song. She gasped and glared at him in the reflection of the mirror, his sudden presence making her heart jump in more ways than one. "I brought you a drink." He smirked, walking over to her as she applied her cream blusher to her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.

"You did? Thank you," Alice smiled in subtle shock, turning to look at him directly as he placed the Champagne flute beside her on the dressing table, seeing that it was surprisingly neat in comparison to the other times he'd watched her apply her make up and her station of choice, whether it was the floor or a bathroom counter, had been chaotic. He hummed in response to her praise and sipped his drink, hovering slightly to watch as Alice took a sip of her drink before carrying on blending her make up.

"Are you not going to do the, uh, bronzer?" He asked, watching as she moved on to her eyes, using the same blush as an eyeshadow base.

"Not today," She replied after fighting off the smile as she glanced at him in the reflection of the mirror. "I'm going for a slightly more like natural looking, no make up look." she added, turning to look at him.

"Yeah? How do you do that?" He asked, and Alice felt her chest warm and her heart double in size. She smiled suddenly and motioned him forwards before she turned back towards the dressing table, scooting to one side so he could partially sit down on the fairly large, cushioned stool next to her.

"So, um," Alice began, picking out the products she used and was going to use and putting them in front of them, "I usually use natural colours for my skin tone, so like pinks and light browns..." She began to explain, the song in the back discreetly changing to Belong to You by Sabrina Claudio "And all of its cream products so it won't get cakey, and still look dewey after like a couple of hours..." she continued, licking her lips briefly as Magnus watched her face intently even though she was showing him the products she was using.

She could feel his gaze on her face and suspected he wasn't paying attention to what she was showing him, although she didn't find herself offended as she glanced at him, her own gaze meeting his. The energy was there again, jumping back and forth between their close bodies, causing both to warm and almost lean into the other. She laughed softly, glancing at his lips briefly... she'd noticed very recently she'd grown very comfortable in his presence, that sensation of familiarity now filtering into her system. "... Am I boring you?" Alice asked softly, her tone playful.

"Not at all." Magnus murmured, continuing to look confidently into her eyes. His gaze was gentle, although she intensity was still there. He glanced at her lips before he took another sip of his Champagne, both of them looking at the other quietly for a few minutes.

"Did you want me to put something on you?" Alice asked, moving a small stand of hair from her face and putting it back behind her ear.

"Not this time," Magnus murmured, licking his lips before he glanced at Alice's again. "Have you put lipstick on yet?" he asked, unsure as to how far Alice had gone for her natural look.

"No," She replied, already smiling a little since she could see his intentions in his eyes. He hummed and leant in, brushing his lips against hers and tasting the faintness of champagne. He reached up with his free hand to cup her cheek, his actions making her skin warm under his palm as their lips pressed together.

Their still lips lingered pressed together for a few moments before Magnus moved his, parting his lips to let Alice's settle between them. They kissed softly with the music seeming to drift away into background noise, mixing in with the hum of the overhead fan and the ambient chirping of the crickets wafting in through the open doors on the balcony... After a few minutes Magnus pulled away, letting Alice's lips part a little in surprise since she expected and wanted more. "I don't want to distract you," he murmured, reaching for his champagne glass and taking another sip. He stood up, and finished off the rest of his drink before murmuring that he was going to go for a shower.

"Okay," Alice replied softly, releasing a deep sigh as she subconsciously fanned her face then carried on applying her make up. She continued smiling without realising, feeling the pleasurable tingles of happiness moving through her veins although she assumed the feeling was because of the up and coming event on the yacht. Not long after, Alice was ready. She'd let her hair fall naturally down her back and slid in pearled hair clips to hold it behind her ears so she wouldn't have to keep tucking it back. She'd had help from Magnus to put her dress on after he'd dressed himself in a very traditionally looking black tuxedo with a bow tie, both of them now looking rather older than they were and dressed very glamourously.

"You look... amazing." Magnus murmured, after zipping up her dress from behind, his expression calm but his gaze subtly affectionate as he watched her turn around and move her hair behind her shoulders so it flowed down her back. Alice smiled happily whilst giving him a playful twirl, feeling her chest warm with affection as he looked over her body greedily.

"I know," She grinned, releasing a delighted giggle at just how confident and comfortable she felt in his intense gaze. Magnus smirked, admiring her confidence as he folded his arms and tilted his head. "But thank you," she added, laughing softly still reaching up to cup his cheeks. "You look very handsome, as always... It's actually super annoying,"

"I know," He murmured, continuing to smirk as he teased Alice back. He placed his hands on her waist and sighed deeply, feeling reluctant to leave the room as Alice looked up at him with an admiring gaze. "We should head down," he continued, turning his head slightly into her palm as her big blue eyes gazed up at his face. He was clean shaven, with his hair neatly pushed back to one side, so that the longer side of his hair slanted off towards the right side of his head... she'd watched him style it for the first time, and was surprised at just how fast and precisely he did it, she also liked how he made it look so effortless, not too lathered in product, and not to smooth or slicked down either.

Alice released his face from her gentle grasp and turned to slide her heels on as Magnus pulled on his blazer, his gaze seeming to follow Alice round the room as she checked her hair and face again. It was just passing seven in the evening when the pair descended down the stairs to the ground floor of the villa. Both Hans and Julia were already dressed and having another glass of champagne, discussing the final details of some of the event quietly between them...

"... Are you sure bringing them along is a good idea." Hans murmured very quietly, looking intently into his wife's eyes as she sipped her Champagne.