The day bleeds into nightfall

'Sing me to sleep, I'm tired and I want to go to bed.'

Bath, Somerset. Monday 15th June 2037. 4:17AM.

A loud banging awakes the household. At first, Dianne thought it was one of the kids dropping it something. The banging got louder, and then it stopped.

'Is that your alarm?' Joe questions, sleep embedded in his voice. She shakes her head, both of them sitting up in bed. 'What the hell is that then?' The clock reads 4:17AM. It would occur to them much, much later, that they were told Ruby died at the same time she was born, a freaky parallel. Both changed their lives massively, but it two very different ways.

'Maybe one of the kids.' She suggests, standing up and picking up her dressing gown. 'I'll go and have a look.'

A knock on the door brought her back to reality. The door opens, revealing a very distressed looking Theo, with two cops behind them. It's so early that nothing is getting through to the pair.

'Can I help you?' Joe yawns, as Dianne pulls her dressing gown a little further around her, as Maddie appears at the door. It's too early in the morning for them be conscious. Neither of them really taking it in that there is two uniformed cops in their house, knocking at the door. Had this been before they went to bed, or had it been later in the morning before they left for Birmingham, they would have jumped to the conclusion that Ruby was arrested. Nothing would have been prepared for the devastating blow that they were about to receive.

'Umm, I'm sorry to disturb you at this time.' The older one starts. He takes in the pictures around the room, filled with pictures of the children. Three children. This never gets easier, telling someone their loved one is dead, particularly when it's someone's child. 'We've had reports of someone being pulled out the canal.' Dianne can feel the blood rushing to her head. 'And we've found ID for who we believe to be your daughter.'

'Are you sure?' Joe asks, all of them suddenly much more aware of where they are.

'We have every suspicion to believe that the body pulled out of the canal is Ruby Sugg, but we will need you to ID her body, for that you will need to come to Birmingham.'

'No.' Maddie cries, Dianne falling a little onto the bed, hitting it with a t'hud. 'Please not Ruby.' The officer looks sadly towards the woman, who has gone a ghostly white.

'Not my Ruby.' The woman says. 'NOT MY RUBY.' That's when she faints.

A/N Thoughts? Warning you now, this is much darker than Colder than ice, hence the warning for good measure. I'm putting two chapters on tonight, because this is *technically* the last chapter of Colder than Ice