Disclaimer: I don't own The Bill. If I did, it would still be on our screens now.
Stone and Kirsty stared each other down, both stubbornly refusing to back down after their latest explosive row.
In the end it was Kirsty who spoke first, albeit very loudly,
"You know what sarge, I just don't get it. Ever since I've arrived here you're constantly having a go at me. I haven't done anything wrong half the time! What is it about me that you dislike so much?"
Stone, who had had enough by now said, "You remind me too much of her!"
"What do you mean?" asked Kirsty carefully.
Stone sighed, before explaining himself quietly.
"A couple of years before you arrived, we had a WPC called Emma Keane. She was just like you; witty, hard working, and not afraid to tell me if she thought I was doing something wrong. We had numerous shouting matches, we rarely saw eye to eye, and even though I was her superior officer, it always seemed to be me backing down in an argument. She was extremely stubborn. Remind you of anyone we know?"
Kirsty nodded, noticing the similarities between her and this Emma.
Stone continued,
"Anyway, there was something unique about her, some sort of sparkle that I haven't seen in anyone else before or since, and I started to fall for her. But she died in the bomb blasts. Do you remember them?"
Kirsty nodded.
"I remember the news report saying that an officer had been killed," she said, "but I didn't realise that you knew her."
Stone nodded.
"It was one of the worst days of my life. I finally thought that I could be happy, and she was taken from me. Anyway, it's taken me almost two years to start to get over it, and then you come along. You reminded me of her so much, and I just couldn't handle that. I thought that if I was rude to you, impolite, cruel even, you would back off and leave me alone. But I should have known that you wouldn't. Just like Emma you gave as good as you got. It isn't that I didn't like you, I just couldn't cope with being around someone 24/7 who reminded me of Emma."
Kirsty was shocked. She hadn't realised that this was the reason Stone was angry with her all the time. She just assumed he didn't like her.
She chose her next words carefully.
"Sarge, I can't promise that I can change. It's embedded in my DNA to act the way that I do. But I can try and tone it down a bit, and I'll try to keep my distance where possible. Would that work?"
Stone nodded.
"Thank you Kirsty," he said, "That would mean a lot to me."
Kirsty smiled gently and held out her hand. Stone shook it and smiled back, a mutual agreement made between them.
Maybe things could be better now.
A/N: I honestly think that's why Stone doesn't get along with Kirsty. What do you think?