Saucy Jack.
Words scored in blood adorning the dirty bricks of the East End. Bloody scratches plummeting down the wall, drawing the eye down, down, down…
Bloody bundle of cloth in a heap on the cobbles. Bloody flowers adorning the darkness of the street. Bloody man, asleep, asleep, asleep…
Bloody face turned up towards the sky. Bloody eyes no longer see, see, see…
The scream was torn out of her throat, throwing her upright and sending the tears spilling down her cheeks. Her breath came in ragged sobs as she held her face in her hands.
"Annie?"
Strong arms encircled her thin shoulders, and she gave herself over to her husband. Geoff Lestrade pulled her close, stroking down her long, blonde braid as their infant daughter began to wail pitifully beside them in her pram. He did not speak, but only waited, trusting her to speak when she was ready.
"You were dead," she whispered. "Ripper. Dead."
Lestrade only held her tighter, before he gently sat her up so she could see his eyes. "I'm all right, Annie," he said quietly, reaching for her hand and holding it tightly against his chest. "I'm all right."
She fell back into his arms again, blinking back the tears that were left. "I'm sorry. Geoff?"
"Yes?"
"Promise me… promise me you'll call on Mr. Holmes tomorrow."
Lestrade lifted the crying Sadie out of her pram, hugging her close and pulling Annie close again as they lay back down in the bed. All he could do was hold them both. Send them back to sleep, so that they did not realize his own nightmare…
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