The evidence was becoming heavy in her hand. Such a small device, but suddenly she was falling under the weight of it's power. This was all wrong. This kind of thing didn't happen to her. No way. Slowly, Shaz tried to blink back her tears and remember how this could have all started; how could she have been so stupid? Well, there was that night a month ago... that was most probably the answer to everything. As she remembered, she cried.

It hadn't been passionate, just clumsy and filled with bursts of giggles as it always was. Chris wasn't the kind of person who did romance and swooning without a dopey grin and a few mistakes. But Shaz realised that this was how she liked him, and she wouldn't trade him for anyone. That night they had made love to her favourite record, because it had been her birthday. Everyone at work had given her wonderful gifts, things she really liked, things she had always wanted.

DI Alex Drake: she had bought her that fantastic blue top with all those jangles and bits of material hanging loosely instead of real sleeves. And a set of bangles.

Even Ray had managed to remember, throwing a few notes at her desk and muttering his congratulations on 27 years and still going.

DCI Hunt had said that his gift to her was not having to make coffee everyday. That was good enough for her, at least he'd remembered.

And then there was typical Chris, promising a night she wouldn't forget, candles and music and sweet sweet love... perhaps he had given her the worst gift of all.

Shaz sobbed uncontrollably now, sat alone in her bathroom, unable to open her eyes long enough to confirm her latest discovery. Everything added up in her mind, suddenly making sense like the pieces of a puzzle. The missed period, the pains, the mood swings and the sudden need for marshmallows. It was obvious. She felt bloated and ugly.

The pregnancy test fell from her numb hand, the clatter of plastic colliding with tiles causing a shock and waking her from her cries.

"...oh, oh my God..." Was all she managed.

Shaz was scared. She was scared for only one thing. It wasn't the baby. That would be fun, and adventure, something she'd always dreamed of having one day. It wasn't the money it would cost, because she would find a way. It wasn't even the risk of losing her job, because she was sure that ma'am would solve everything for her.

It was the prospect of having to tell her child-like husband that he was about to become a daddy. Not because he would be angry, because anger wasn't something she had ever seen Chris express. It was that he would be scared too. That he'd run away and leave her alone to deal with things by herself. That's he wouldn't want the baby, he'd want her to abort it or put it up for adoption. That he'd feel discomforted or weird. He wasn't going to like this.

Shaz stood up suddenly, feeling her head spin with the speed. There was only one person on this Earth that she would ever tell this secret to.

Alex.