Title: Like father, like daughter
Author: Loz
E-Mail: loz06(at)yahoo(dot)com
Rating: Ranges from T to M.
Category: Neil. Andrea. Supporting cast – OMC. Honey. Tony. OFC's. Gina. Yvonne. Sam. Jake.
Series: Stand alone.
Spoilers: So minor it shouldn't ruffle any feathers.
Archive (if applicable): www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net(slash)loz06
Feedback: The good, the bad and the very ugly it's all appreciated.
Summary: A very early morning visitor and subsequent stay causes a lot of stress for Andrea which places strain on her relationship with Neil. Their unresolved issues and new ones has Andrea questioning if, despite the fact she loves him, their relationship is working and can last.
Authors' notes: See end note. Also I get sick, don't cure the sick so please excuse any glaring (or otherwise) medical inaccuracies, also any inaccuracies when it comes to forensic and investigative methods and any other policing aspects.
Disclaimers: Like I've said before, like I'll say again, I'm not associated with anyone from the Bill.
"Are you expecting anyone?" Neil Manson asks turning back over to spoon around Andrea Dunbar again, the clock and his reason for disconnecting contact from her revealed the frightening time of five am.
"Not at this hour." Andrea mumbles her eyes still closed, the insistent knocking at the front door had woken her as well. She turns over to face the man she's shared a bed and a life with for a few years now. There'd been the affair in the beginning that they'd somehow managed to keep a secret even to this day, a few eyebrows were raised though when they went public with their relationship, the Super was nervous for one. They'd waited a respectful six months after Neil's divorce in the hopes people would question the match of senior CID officer and uniform not the speed of the relationship.
The twelve months prior to that were tumultuous, Andrea had rid herself of Bruce with an article written under a pseudonym that became the demise of the officer known to Sun Hill as Gabriel Kent. There was a time when she thought Neil would turn her in and never trust her again but over the six months prior to his divorce she'd earned it back.
Andrea honestly didn't know if they were going to survive the six months immediately after that and it was a part of the reason they didn't disclose their relationship immediately after Neil's divorce. The divorce was reasonably amicable but fair on both parties though it was an adjustment for Neil, sometimes Andrea thought she saw resentment towards her in his eyes but she never stopped supporting him and they came through probably stronger because of it.
Neither ever counts the period of their affair as time together in public, day one is the day the divorce was finalised through to the three years, twenty weeks and one day that brought them to that morning. For twelve months after the divorce Neil had lived in a flat not far from Andrea, spending every night he didn't have Jake with her. He spent that twelve months making sure Jake was o.k., he had a lot of concern for his son and guilt about how the divorce would affect Jake, consequently Andrea never saw him of a weekend.
She remembers vividly the day she met Jake and the sympathy she felt for him realising how hard it must have been for him to meet her, to realise someone other than his mum would be forever with his dad. To this day Andrea feels he has never fully accepted her.
For those twelve months Jake adjusted to seeing Andrea with his father and in his flat, staying the night and going out together. In the beginning when Jake was around for the weekend Andrea would stay for just an hour or two, gradually moving to the difficulty of leaving in the middle of the night or early in the morning so as not to be there when Jake woke, eventually Andrea stayed the night.
For the two years of seeing each other primarily of a week night, Neil and Andrea came to work each day tired.
Shortly after that Neil had moved in with her and Jake on the weekends, they'd been living together for over twelve months.
Together officially for just over three years, unofficially for longer.
There were more times than Andrea could count after the divorce when she became frustrated by the pace in when Neil needed to progress for Jake's sake. The two years in which they weren't living together were long and often uncomfortable for Andrea when the three of them were together, she didn't dare complain, always in the back of her mind was how she'd lied and deceived Neil. It was what Neil felt was best for his son and what he needed to do and Andrea told herself Jake is more accepting of her because of the way he was allowed to gradually adjust.
The upside was not living together right after telling Sun Hill avoided the inception of rumours about the speed of the relationship and a possible affair.
"Could it be Philippa?" Andrea asks bringing up another adjustment she had to make and accept. No matter what happened Philippa would still be in Neil's life because of Jake.
Although she didn't know about the affair and Andrea was always polite, partly out of guilt, Philippa was always cool but polite when they spoke. Andrea knew it had nothing to do with her personally, the frosty reception would greet whoever was with Neil, the new girlfriend or wife had to be treated with suspicion, it could never be admitted she's better than the first wife and she must always be kept at arms length. It was a law written somewhere, helping first wives the world over cope, especially when new significant other was younger like Andrea is.
Andrea knew it also couldn't be easy to watch another woman play parent to your son though Andrea let Neil do most of the parenting, working her way in gradually and on things not major, things Neil had set rules on already and would support her on.
"No she wouldn't just show up she'd call first if it wasn't serious and if it was she'd call anyway." Neil says his voice muffled by the small space between them. "Maybe if we ignore it they'll go away."
As if on cue the person on the other side of the front door knocks again.
"You go I'm not dressed." Neil excuses himself; Andrea can feel his cotton boxers against her thigh.
"Neither am I." She complains none-the-less extracting herself from the bed and pulling her dressing gown over her bedtime attire. Neil rolls onto his stomach gathering the majority of the blankets over him. Andrea half stumbles her way to the door, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to wake up before she gets to the door.
"Hello sweetheart, how are you?" The booming cheerful voice asks, too cheerful for this early in the morning, Andrea works her eyes up the person standing at her doorway, the stocky solid legs, the stomach enlarged from alcohol and fine food, the beard that Andrea's never seem him without.
To be continued…In part two.
End note: This part was just setting the scene; things will start moving in the next section. The rating will also increase to M and remain there, please look out for updates; I know sometimes M stories can be invisible to me. Obrigado, Lauren.