Kids, Who'd Have 'Em?
A/N
This is a companion piece to my New Tricks fic "Journey To Parenthood" and it's set in the "Miracles" universe of my Casualty fics.
New Tricks peeps: Set in the future when Jess is 5 or 6, this includes the old and new team members.
Reviews welcome,
Laura xxx
"Sandra, are you sure you're okay?" fretted Gerry. She'd had a nasty fall, and he'd insisted that she be taken to hospital, Holby ED in fact,, much to the annoyance of Jessica, their five year old daughter, and pride and joy.
"Yes! Just let me see a bloody Doctor and let's go back to the hotel!" Detective Superintendent Sandra Standing, formerly Pullman, complained.
She and her team, plus Esther, had taken a holiday to Wyvern, near Bristol. She had wanted to go to Wales, but Brian had protested and since he was one out of only two of them who could read a map properly (the other being Danny) she'd compromised.
"She's fine, Gerry" Sasha, her deputy said to Gerry. Gerry sighed.
"If you're sure?"
"Yes, you know Sandra, tough as old boots! Esther and Brian will be back with Jess in a moment, I think they were going to get some ice cream?"
"Yeah they were." Gerry nodded.
At that moment, an Indian woman with short brunette hair and one of the highest pairs of heels Sandra had ever seen, made her way over to them.
"Sandra Standing?" she asked.
"Yes, that's me." Snapped Sandra. "When can I go home?"
"Soon, one of our nurses will be along to see to you. I'm Dr Zoe Hanna" the other woman introduced herself.
"Will Sandra be okay?" Gerry interrupted them.
"I'm sure she will be. And you are?" asked Zoe.
"Gerry Standing, her husband" Gerry put his hand out for Zoe to shake.
"For his sins" smiled Sandra.
"You watch it Mrs Standing" Gerry said.
Zoe wrote up Sandra's notes and smiled at the pair. "You seem very protective of her, Gerry"
"He's not usually this bad, we're on holiday, you see. I was stupidly trying to show off to my little girl by walking along the little wall at the edge of the beach, and I fell off." Sandra explained.
"Ah okay." Zoe nodded.
"She won't be doing it again, I'll tell you that!" Sasha piped up. "DCI Sasha Miller, I'm Sandra's deputy" she introduced herself to Zoe.
"Ah okay." Zoe said in acknowledgment.
"Sandra, what have you done?" an older lady holding a little girl by the hand hurried to Sandra's bedside, followed by four other men.
"I'm fine, Esther. Jessica, are you okay?" Sandra asked.
"Yes, Mummy, I'm okay. What about you?" the little girl enquired, pulling away from Esther.
"I'm okay, Jess. I promise." Sandra smiled warmly, Zoe noticed that Sandra had softened somewhat.
"Who are you?" Zoe asked, wanting to clear a few of them out of the cubicle, if possible.
"This is Danny Griffin, Esther and Brian Lane, Jack Halford, and Steve McAndrew, our colleagues" Said Gerry.
"So you're policemen? I'm innocent, I promise" Chuckled Zoe.
"We re-investigate old crimes, and put them to rights." Explained Danny, casting a suspicious eye at Zoe.
"Yeah, put them to bed. What's your name?" Asked Brian.
"Zoe Hanna, I'm a Doctor here. Now I'd appreciate it if some of you would make your way out of the cubicle, I don't want Sandra to feel overwhelmed." Zoe ordered.
"I'll be fine!" Sandra said as Gerry, Brian, and Steve opened their mouths to protest.
"Out." Said Zoe as the three turned to her to protest.
Everyone apart from Gerry and Jess filed out of the cubicle, muttering hopes of tea and biscuit, and "a toilet stop, I'm bloody burstin'" according to Brian.
"Sorry about them." Sandra apologised,
"It's okay, it's good that you have such a good group of friends" Zoe said truthfully.
"They're a nutty lot but I wouldn't be without them" Smiled Sandra.
"I'm not nutty!" protested Jess.
"Oh yes you are!" Gerry laughed.
"I have three of my own, they're as mad as a box of frogs" Smiled Zoe.
"I give up." Said Jessica. Sandra and Zoe burst out laughing.
"She comes out with some odd sentences!" Sandra giggled.
"She sure does" smiled Zoe. "Anyway, it's time for a CT scan, Sandra, just to be on the safe side. Jess, Gerry, d'you want to come?"
"I do."Jess said.
"I'll stay here, in case the others come back, is it okay if Jess goes though?" Asked Gerry.
"Yeah, she's more than welcome." Said Zoe. "I'll just go and grab a porter"
"Max? Can you please come and take this lady up to CT?" Zoe asked her fiancée.
"Sure." Max, who was talking to Lofty, replied.
"Hello" Max greeted Sandra and the other two.
"No time for chatting, get to it, you" Zoe winked at him.
"Are you two married?" Asked Jessica innocently.
"Jessica Standing!" her mother flashed her sapphire eyes at her daughter.
"It's okay. Not yet, sweetie. This is Max, by the way." Zoe smiled, she didn't mind Jess asking her questions, she was used to it, what with having little ones herself.
"Are you going to? Get married, I mean?"
"Yeah, in a few weeks time. You see, Zoe is very bossy and she needs to get everything perfect."Explained Max as Zoe hit a button on the lift for them to get to the CT room.
"I'm not" Zoe said as she helped Max to wheel Sandra into the lift.
"When can I get out of this bed?" The patient complained.
"Soon, I promise. Sorry, I should've asked before, are you okay with headscans?"
"Yeah, I'm fine" Promised Sandra.
Jessica held her Mother's hand, she didn't like enclosed spaces.
Sandra rubbed her daughter's back. "It's alright Jess." she cooed, quietly.
"By the way, Tess said is it okay if we pick our three little horrors up about 6?" Max asked Zoe.
"Yeah, that's okay." Said Zoe.
"You have three of your own?" Enquired Sandra.
"Yeah, Ethan and Sophia are three, Madison is three." Zoe said proudly.
"Aw, how sweet." Smiled Sandra.
"I always wanted kids, and had several chances, but I guess fate said no." Said Zoe, somehow she identified with Sandra.
"But then I came along!" Max grinned.
"You did"
"I had lots of chances, too. Gerry came along, a long while ago. It took us ten years to realize that we were madly in love." Smiled Sandra.
"And then you had me and we all lived happily ever after!" Said Jess.
The End :-) x
