Author's Note: Another version of events after the end of series three, episode eight. Dave and Julie have a not-so-friendly chat. One-shot for now…
Julie had arrived at Sammy and Orla's engagement party late due to the fallout from Gill's kidnapping. She'd had meetings and de-briefings not to mention the mass of paperwork and red tape she had to battle through before she had even been able to think about leaving her office. Julie would only admit it to herself, at this very late hour, that some of her tardiness had also been down to her own thoughts about the day's events. They had been whirling around her head on a continuous loop since she'd managed to leave the RED Centre and she'd driven herself mad by imagining all sorts of alternative versions of the day's events.
Gill had been busy entertaining guests that had needed to be entertained when she'd turned up, so Julie had headed straight to the kitchen where the alcohol was and helped herself. She'd been to enough of Gill's parties to know what the usual set up was by now. Julie poured herself a nice big glass of red wine and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden sound close behind her.
"Well, well, well…look who it is, the rugmuncher." The baritone voice made Julie sigh deeply in frustration; she could do without this, tonight of all nights.
"Dave." Julie turned round and acknowledged the ex-husband of her best friend. She did wonder sometimes what Gill had seen in him but it wasn't really her place to question, besides what did she know anyway?
"Still not made a move on her I see?" Dave leaned in closer to speak in her ear and it sent a little shiver down her spine in the uncomfortable way. Julie had no idea how Dave had worked it out and fortunately she'd managed to avoid confirming anything which is probably why he'd not accidentally let it slip to Gill after all this time.
"Still living with your mother I hear?" She knew that the young PC he'd managed to get pregnant had kicked him out and that he was living back with his mum. Gill had kept her well and truly up to date on that score.
"At least I'm not working all the hours just to avoid going home to an empty house." Whilst it was partly true, Julie did have a senior position at Manchester Metropolitan Police's HQ, a couple of ranks more senior than Dave, and it was an unwritten rule that she was obliged to work long hours. Besides, she was passionate about her career and wouldn't have wanted to do anything less than a proper job.
"Would you like to take this outside Dave?" Julie heavily suggested, having had enough of being her usual witty, laid back self and wanting to vent all her frustration from the awful, awful events of the day out on someone who she felt deserved it.
"What?! You think you could get one over on me? Come on then, I'd like to see you try." Of course Dave had to take things a step too far and pushed himself right into Julie's personal space. She was a tall woman but Dave still had several extra pounds and a whole lot of testosterone on her.
"Oi, oi, oi!" Gill wedged herself in-between the two feuding party guests. Despite her slight build she was usually a dab hand at breaking up fist fights. And she'd been in more than a few to know. "Right, you go upstairs," Gill pointed at her best friend and told her in no uncertain terms "and you a word." Gill indicated to Dave that they should go outside. Gill took Dave into the front garden instead of the back where the smokers were gathered and puffing away. "What the fuck do you think you're playing at? This is our son's engagement party, do you want to spoil it for him and any tentative relationship the two of you still have? I was very nearly killed today, perhaps you ought to think about that too and how Sammy might be feeling at the moment?" Dave looked suitably chastised, although it was hard to tell as he seemed to be sporting a permanently smug look these days despite his absolute mess of a personal life. Perhaps she had just realised that he'd always looked like that?
"I'll go and find the boy and apologise." Dave offered, although Gill wasn't entirely convinced it was sincere.
"So you should. What on earth was that all about anyway?" Dave and Julie had never had an argument like that before, a bit of sniping and the odd sarcastic barb here and there but nothing ever physical or at least almost physical.
"Ask her." Gill's ex-husband spat out the pronoun with such disdain she was shocked. She understood that not everyone got on with Julie, she could be serious and strict when the occasion called for it and she didn't suffer fools well. But Gill saw past her professional persona and knew that there was a deeply caring, emotional person underneath it all and a friend that would defend her to the hilt.
"I'm asking you." Gill was going to get Julie's side of the story anyway, but she wanted to hear what Dave had to say first.
"Look, I just don't like 'er alright?" It didn't make much sense as they'd always been pleasant to each other in the past. Gill's copper's nose had her thinking that something had happened to trigger this latest spat.
"Then don't make a point of picking a fight with her then! If it was nothing then you'd be able to let it go. What's really going on with you two?" She thought she would call Dave on it and see what he would say. If he wasn't forthcoming she knew that she'd be able to wheedle it out of Julie eventually.
"If you haven't worked it out by now then you're not as good a detective as you think you are." Gill's stomach dropped at the implication and she could feel her world caving in on her for the second time that day. It was accompanied by a very odd emotional reaction to her best friend's betrayal that she couldn't quite decipher in that moment.
"Please don't tell me you two…?" Dave looked at her face and saw how utterly distraught she appeared to be. He supposed that was a result of what his infidelity had done to her emotional state and for that he was genuinely sorry.
"Oh god no! Don't make me throw up! Nothing could be further from the truth." The relief was overshadowed by confusion at just what on earth he was getting at. Gill knew that she'd had a fair amount to drink, but that was hours ago now and she'd stuck to soft drinks since she'd joined the party so she was pretty much sober again.
"Then what? I don't understand." Dave threw his hands up in the air in defeat. He was going to have to spell it out for her, which pained him no end because for some reason he had the awful feeling that Gill might just feel the same way.
"She's in love with you yer daft cow! God woman! You really need to wake up one of these days." It was a cheap shot and Dave knew it. He suspected that if she hadn't been so blinded by Julie bloody Dodson she might have noticed that he had a wandering eye much earlier. He knew it was no excuse for his behaviour and that his first affairs had started long before he had his suspicions about Julie's feelings for his wife but it had still felt like a punch in the gut when he had realised. He watched in fascination as Gill did a terrific impression of a fish, shook her head in disbelief and walked back inside the house. He plonked his backside on the low brick wall by the front gate and stared out into the night sky in front of him.
Julie sat on the edge of Gill's bed and held her head in her hands. She was an idiot! Dave had always known what buttons to push and she reacted to it every bloody time! She partially forgave herself after the emotionally wrought day she'd been through as well as being absolutely shattered from having to plough through all of the follow up work. Still, it was no excuse to pick a fight in the middle of Sammy's party and she'd have to be especially sorry when Gill came up to speak to her. She and Dave had never really hit it off and she was certain that he'd always been jealous of their friendship. Perhaps that's why he had worked out her feelings for Gill long before she'd even really acknowledged them herself? He'd started out by making the odd snide comment which Julie had thought nothing of until she was subjected to it every single time she saw him and it got nastier and more crass on each occasion. He finally cornered her one time at HQ in the middle of the day and confronted her outright about her feelings for Gill. Fortunately she had managed to keep her cool and gave nothing away but it had unsettled her and afterwards she'd spent a long time soul searching.
Gill took her time to walk up the stairs so that she could collect her own thoughts. Surely Dave had been winding her up? Julie was her best friend, she was honest and open about everything and Gill couldn't imagine that she would have been holding something as big as this back from her. She approached the open door and saw the woman in question sitting on her bed seemingly deep in thought. She thought back to a moment ago when she had thought that Dave and Julie might have slept with each other behind her back. Again, a strange feeling ran through her but she shook it off and entered her bedroom. Gill shut the door behind her and leaned back against it as she took a long, hard look at her friend. Julie looked up at her host and gave her an apologetic smile.
"I'm so sorry Gill, I don't know what came over me." Gill held her hand up to stop Julie apologising any further.
"He's a wind-up merchant and you played right into his hands. It's not your fault, not really." Gill shook her head along with her words in emphasis.
"Still, it's Sammy's party and after what you've been through today life's too short for petty squabbles. On that note, I am pretty knackered so I think I should head off home now." Gill pushed herself off the door and went to sit next to Julie on the bed. She leaned her head against her shoulder and took hold of a hand that had been resting in her lap.
"No don't. Stay, overnight. I could use a friend right now." Julie wrapped her free arm around the smaller woman and squeezed her further into her side.
"Oh love!" They sat there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts as the party continued in full swing downstairs without them. Julie rested her head against Gill's and stroked her thumb across the hand that Gill had placed in hers in a gesture of comfort. Gill snuggled further into the embrace and Julie suddenly felt her body gently shaking. She quickly realised that Gill was crying and her heart ached so badly for her best friend. Julie turned herself slightly to face Gill better and placed a kiss to her forehead. The ache in her heart swelled with the sound of a sniffle and Julie felt the overwhelming urge to do more. She was so completely torn between offering comfort and keeping her feelings in check but her own tears fought their way through and she couldn't help but cry softly alongside her friend. They sat side by side on the bed as they simply held each other and relished in the comfort they both so desperately seemed to need.