Ok this is like a sequel to Dangerous Liaisons, but you don't need to have read that to understand this.
Hope you like it, please review!
Chapter 1:
Rachel and Chris had been seeing each other for nearly 9 months now. It had been 3 months since he had taken her to Venice. He had promised her when he met her he would take her somewhere spectacular for their 6 month anniversary, and he did. Their first weekend was in Paris, for Christ sakes. Rachel thought as she made her way to work. When she got to work she was bubbling with joy. Janet wasn't in the office yet, as she had to drop the girls off at school, so instead Rachel went to Gill.
Rachel felt very apprehensive about approaching Gill; she had never been that close to her, except for their trip to Bristol and during her first few weeks of dating Chris she had been fairly off with her. She walked up to her Boss's door and knocked three times. "Come in!" Gill shouted, looking up from her computer screen. "Boss? Can I talk to you for a minute?" "Um, yeah if you want to" Gill said, taking her glasses off and folding them in front of her. "Can I sit down?" Rachel asked, unsure whether her Boss was actually going to listen. "No, I expect you to stand up looking like a lemon" Gill said, rolling her eyes. After a couple of seconds of Rachel swaying from side to side, deciding whether or not her Boss was joking, Gill broke the silence: "Sit down Sherlock!" she said, getting impatient at what her DC wanted at this time in the morning. "Um, ok, yeah, cool, right ok" Rachel said sitting down. Gill took a deep breath and looked at Rachel, who was staring at her, opening and closing her mouth but no words were coming out. "What then? Come on Rachel, I've got a million and one other things I can be doing with my time instead of watching you and your goldfish impressions".
Rachel sat up, and placed her hands on her stomach. Gill knew what was coming. She and Janet had had their suspicions for a month or so now, but neither wanted to say anything in case they were wrong. How ironic. Gill thought to herself. Janet was going to ask her today. Gill forced a smile to hide the fact she already knew what was coming. "Ok, well ummm, I'm having a baby" she said, giving a smile. "That's great!" Gill said, squeezing her hand. Rachel looked confused. "You don't seem very surprised?" "No, I am, I'm, um, well" Gill continued to babble until Rachel stopped her. "You knew already didn't you?" "Well, um, yes, kind of, maybe, well, yes, I suppose I did, yes" Gill stammered. "How did you know? And who else does? Does Chris?" Rachel asked. "No, Chris doesn't, I don't think and um, me and Janet had our suspicions because well, you've been more protective, and you haven't had much of a drink for, well a while but we didn't want to say anything so…" Rachel sighed, leaning back. Her bump was starting to form now, and it was quite obvious when she leant back. "How far gone are you?" Gill asked, trying to move on. "Um, the doctor says about 2 months" Rachel said. "Oh I see…so it happened in Venice?" Gill asked. "Uh-huh, yeah I suppose it did" Rachel said, relaxing a little more. "How are you going to tell him?" Gill asked. It was killing her seeing this. She didn't feel anything for Chris anymore, but she was still attracted to him. She wanted Rachel to be happy, after all the trouble she had with Nick, but Gill couldn't help feeling a little jealous. "I take it you're going to keep it?" Gill asked. "Yeah, of course" Rachel said. "I…" Rachel stopped talking as the lads walked in. "Morning Boss!" "Hi Rach!" Kevin shouted as he walked into the office, tripping over his chair. "I'd better get back to work then." Rachel said, standing up, trying to cover her small bump with her blazer. "Yes, right, of course" Gill said, putting her glasses back on. "Oh and Rachel?" Gill said as Rachel opened the door. "Yes Boss?" "I'm here if you ever need to talk, stay safe" she said, nodding her head. "Will do Boss, thanks" Rachel said, pulling the door shut behind her.
Gill buried her head back into her work, glancing occasionally out of the window to check on her DC. 10 minutes later, Janet ran into the office, huffing and puffing. "Janet!" Gill shouted, walking out of her office. "How come you're late?" Gill was genuinely concerned for her friend; it was never like her to be late. Janet tried to talk, but was trying to catch her breath at the same time. "Look, sit down, catch your breath, then talk" Gill said, taking Janet's bag. "I say, we've got Sherlock turning into a fish and you turning into a train, whatever next" Gill said, rolling her eyes. "Well actually-" Kevin began, but Gill stopped him. "Kevin! Zip it now before I zip it or you!" this earned a snigger from Rachel and Pete, who were staring at Kevin. "So sorry Boss, I had to drop the girls at school and then there a road-works everywhere, so much traffic" Janet said, regaining her breath. "So, what have I missed?" "Nothing, actually, we haven't got much on today, we are up for the next job anyway, but until then you all may as well get on with that pile of paperwork" she said, pointing at the small piles on everyone's desks. Everyone got to work immediately, and even Kevin didn't speak or throw anything across the office. He was obviously learning. Gill thought. He is obviously starting to understand the fast we get things done the fast we can all go home. Gill didn't really want to break the peaceful harmony that surrounded the office, but she needed to speak to Rachel and Janet. "Right! Janet and Rachel, my office now please!" she said.
Rachel tried her best not to look like she was waddling into the office, but it was getting harder now her bump was getting bigger. She tried to cover it up by walking pretty fast, but that backfired as Gill stopped suddenly to pick up a pen off the floor, meaning she ran into the back of her, pushing her Boss to the ground. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry Boss" Rachel said. Gill sat up and looked up at Rachel and Janet who were looking at her with horror in their eyes. She looked at Mitch and Pete, who had their eyes wide open, and then looked at Kevin who was trying to contain a smile. "Here, Boss, let me help you up" Rachel said, trying to bend down to get her Bosses hand. They looked like a right pair: Rachel couldn't get low enough without squashing the baby; and Gill couldn't get up because her skirt was too tight. Rachel stood back up, still holding her blazer shut, whilst Andy walked over to them. Gill took hold of Andy's hands and stood up, dusted off her skirt, then walked into her office. Janet looked at Rachel, then at Gill, then to Andy who was looking equally confused. She shook her head and followed the Boss into the office, and shut the door. Glaring at Kevin, trying to make him sit down. She had never been one to shout, unlike Gill, but she couldn't think of anything worse than the joker of MIT laughing at the fact another DC tripped over the SIO.
Janet and Rachel lent against the cabinet in Gill's office, before Gill forced Rachel to sit down. She then turned to Janet, who was looking eagerly at her Boss. "Ok, Rachel, have you got anything you want to tell Janet?" Gill began, nodding her head towards her. "Ummm, yeah, I think so?" Rachel said turning to Janet, looking really confused at what she was supposed to say. "What's going on Gill? Rachel? One of you?" Janet said, becoming impatient. "Rachel has something that should confirm our thoughts" Gill said, sounding as if everyone should be on the same page as her. Janet nodded her head as she began to piece together what Gill was talking about. "Yeah, so I'm, um, pregnant" she said as a massive smile began to spread across her face. "Oh my Gosh, Rachel, that's great news!" Janet gushed as she ran over to her, putting her hands on Rachel's stomach. "You don't mind that I'm touching you, do you?" Janet said, looking up at Rachel. "Um, no, I don't mind you touching the bump, but you're getting a little too low" Rachel said, trying to shift herself into a more comfortable position. "Oops, sorry" Janet said, retracting her hand. "So…" Rachel said, "How long have you two known?" Janet and Gill looked at each other. "Well, umm…you know, we um…" Janet stumbled. "We assumed that you were when you got back, you seemed to have a radiant glow, and you seemed um…how do I put this…more protective, more aware…you haven't had to go out for a cigarette and you have been on cranberry juice" Gill said, taking over from Janet. "Oh, I see, well I'm hoping to tell Chris tonight, and um…then I'll tell everyone else tomorrow, I think" Rachel said, smiling. "How long have you known yourself Rachel?" Janet asked. "About 4 or 5 weeks, I started feeling ill, and I never get ill so I went to the doctor because my stomach killed, and then he told me. I'm due for another scan in a couple of weeks." "Have you been eating properly? Three good sized meals a day? I know you have a habit of going without food but now you are eating for two so you need to eat more! Try and stay away from coffee as well, I always found that made me worse whilst I was having the girls. You've got to get enough sleep as well; don't get staying up till midnight if you're in work at seven. You need to get good hours sleep, and don't sleep on your stomach, obviously, it squishes the baby. I'm glad you've stopped the cigarettes as well, and the drink because they really do harm the baby, if there's any questions you have you can always ask me or Gill you know? We have been there before" Her mother instinct was coming back out, and she felt like she needed to protect Rachel even more now she was having a child. Rachel was persistent that Janet shouldn't keep 'mummying' her, and even though Rachel was a grown-up, Janet liked to look after her, and make sure she was well. "Aye-aye Captain!" Rachel said, saluting Janet. Gill began to smirk. She really did like Rachel. She knew she had a lot of potential. Both Julie and Janet agree they can see Gill in Rachel, and that their behaviour is exactly the same. Gill didn't really see it, until now. This is exactly how she had been when she found out she was having Sammy.
Janet and Rachel left Gill's office, and settled down at their own desks, burying their head in paperwork. Rachel could feel Kevin looking at her from behind his computer. She wasn't stupid; she could tell when someone was watching her, but every time she looked at Kevin he turned away and got back to his work. Rachel couldn't concentrate properly, mainly because Kevin was watching her, and for the fact the bump was starting to get in the way. She couldn't reach the other document that was in the middle of hers and Janet's computers, without squishing the bump or moving. Not wanting to disturb Janet, she slid her chair out quietly and stood up, grabbing the document swiftly and putting it in front of her. She turned to Kevin, who this time wasn't quick enough to turn away. "Kevin, what are you doing?" "What? Me? Nothing, absolutely nothing… just you know, working" he said, turning back to his computer. Rachel sat down and looked at the clock. It was fast approaching 1 o'clock, and most of Rachel's paperwork had been completed and was ready to be put into the filer, for whoever was on disclosure to sort it out. It was most probably going to be Kimberly, that woman loved filing and sorting out the office work. Who would actually want to do that? Rachel had always thought, but then Alison had said the same about her when she had announced she was joining the police. Why would you want to be up against those nutters all day? What if they attack you? Or attack your family? What's the thrill that you would get out of it? Putting your life on danger every day for worthless scum? Rachel drifted back to reality, and began to put the paperwork in the cabinet. She could feel her stomach rumbling. She remembered what Janet had said, about eating properly. After losing her first child with Nick, she didn't want to re-live that so she was going to do everything she could to make sure she protected this child. She walked up to Gill's office and knocked, quite a few heads looked up from their work, trying to listen to the conversation. Rachel never went to the boss's office voluntarily unless she had discovered new leads; she was usually dragged there by Gill, ready to give her a bollocking. "Hi Boss, is it ok if I go and grab a sandwich?" Gill looked up from her desk and looked outside her office to see everyone spin back around and grab something, pretending to be working. "Yes of course you can, you don't have to ask now, but all I'm going to say, is if you're going down to the canteen, you'd better bring us doughnuts back." Gill began to smile as the young DC waddled out of the office. She couldn't work out whether Rachel's bump was actually that obvious, or just because she knew about it. If anyone else knew, they certainly weren't saying anything.
Rachel went to the toilet before going to the canteen, to freshen up and make sure Chris was still on for tonight. 'Hey, you still good for tonight? X' she text him. He replied almost immediately; 'Deffo, you finish early today don't you? I'll be at yours for 4 X' she smiled to herself. She really hoped he wouldn't freak out, after all they had only been together 9 months, but Rachel felt sure that this time it could work. Chris seemed like the family sort of guy, but she couldn't be too sure, not after the luck she'd had.
Twenty minutes later Rachel came back into the office carrying doughnuts. She carried the tray around, letting everyone take one. "Thanks Rach" Janet said, biting into one. "Boss, do you want one?" Rachel called. Gill pushing her chair back and came out the office. "Do you really need to ask?" she said, giving Rachel a smile. "So, how's everyone doing with their paperwork?" Gill asked looking around, no surprise, Kevin still had the most left, but at least it had got a little smaller since this morning. Kevin answered her, with a mouthful of doughnut. "I'm getting good at this paper thing Boss!" he said proudly, spraying Gill with crumbs. She dusted herself off for the second time this morning and turned to him. "Ok, well, well done Kevin, at least your learning, but I asked for the news NOT the weather" Kevin looked over his boss's shoulder to see Mitch and Andy smirking. "Oh, I'm very sorry Boss" he said, again forgetting he had food in his mouth. Gill took three steps backwards and turned back around to him; "Well, for next time maybe" Janet rolled her eyes and took her glasses off, balancing them on her desk. Rachel slid back into her seat, still trying to contain her bump. It will be so much easier when I can just tell them. She thought, settling back into her work. Gill went back into her office and everyone else sat back down, trying to get it finished as quick as they could so they could go.
Another hour passed and nearly everyone had finished. Except Kevin. Obviously. "Right everyone! Listen up!" Gill shouted. "As far as I can see everyone had finished, which is great because that means you can go!" she turned to Kevin, who wasn't impressed with the fact he had to stay behind to finish. "Kevin, you can go, so long as that paperwork is completed by tomorrow, take it with you of something ok?" "Yes Boss, thank you!" Kevin said, jumping up, putting his jacket on.
Everyone, even Gill left the office together. She couldn't remember the last time she had left whilst it was still light, but she wasn't complaining. They were all going to the grapes for a bit, everyone except for Rachel. "But why aren't you coming Rachel?" Kevin had asked, like a little child, pulling her hand. "She's seeing her lover later Kevin and I'm sure she would much rather spend time with him than you" Mitch piped up. "Oh, I see… How is Christopher anyway? Has he reached your bedroom standards yet? You know, tickled your fancy, that kind of thing?" Kevin said, sniggering. "He's good thanks Kev, but just for future warning, if you want to avoid a dead leg, I suggest you keep it clean" Rachel shot back. Kevin didn't have time to say anything, because Gill had already understood what Rachel had said and kicked the back of his leg, making him buckle in the middle of the street. The whole team erupted in laughter at the fact he let out a girlish scream. "You lot pick on me" he said, going into a strop as if he were a teenager. Rachel ran over to him as best as she could without looking ridiculous. "Awwww is little Kevin upset because the big bad monsters are coming to get you?" she said in a ridiculous voice, pinched his sides making him jump. This forced further laughter from the team as they walked out of the car park. Janet gave Rachel a hug and tapped her stomach subtly as if to say bye, even Gill touched her hand as she headed towards her car. "Bye-bye my little Kevvykins" Rachel said, mimicking a silly wave. "Kevvykins?" Kevin said as he looked up. "What are you, on drugs? I'm not your Kevvykins!"
Rachel arrived home 15 minutes later than normal. Janet was right; there was road-works everywhere. She walked into her flat and dumped her bags on the table, and went and flicked the kettle on. She got herself a fruit pot out of the fridge, and sat down on the sofa, turning the television on, resting her hands on her small bump. It felt weird, but a good weird. It was starting to become a perfect bump, but just something that looked like a watermelon. She started making circles on her stomach, as she stroked it. Anyone would think she was crazy if they saw her, but it was her baby and she would do what she liked with it.
Four o'clock came quickly, and before Rachel knew what she was doing the doorbell went. "Come on in" Rachel said. She put the kettle on ready for him, and got the mugs ready. Chris crept up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "Hello Gorgeous. I haven't seen in a while" he said. Rachel tensed when he did that. It wasn't that she didn't like it; it was that she didn't want him to feel the bump before she told him. She pulled away quickly, before he had chance to notice. "What's the matter? Rachel, are you okay?" he looked concerned. "Yes, I'm fine, but I need to tell you something." She dragged him into the living room and made him sit down next to her on the sofa. "Ok, what I'm going to say is life changing. I completely understand if you freak out, because it is quite soon, but I hope you will feel the same way as me" "Um ok, what is it Rachel?" Chris asked, turning to face her more. Rachel took in a deep breath and moved her hands to her stomach, as if to protect her bump. "I'm pregnant" she said.
The look on Chris's face said it all.