An unexpected guest
As Smithy lay in his hospital bed, listening to the cold beeps of the machines that were keeping him alive and looking at the wires that snaked over his body, he let his mind wander. He thought about the incident; he could still feel that knife stuck in his chest, scratching against his rib cage. He shuddered and shut his eyes but images still plagued him. He shut his eyes tighter until they hurt; until he felt small tears trickle down his cheeks, trying to rid his mind of the bad memories, but to no avail. With an exasperated sigh, he relaxed his eyes but kept them closed. Pretending to sleep was the only way he could avoid questions.
Smithy heard the door to his room open and close again but didn't bother to open his eyes. Probably just another nurse he thought bitterly. But his eyes flew open when the mystery person took his hand. And he nearly died of shock and pure joy.
For standing before him, tears in her eyes, was none other than Gina Gold. His best friend in the whole world who Smithy thought he would hardly ever see again, and she was standing right in front of him, wearing her trademark green jacket and pink shirt like nothing had ever changed.
"Hello Smithy" Gina said, her voice hoarse where she was trying to keep back her tears.
"Ma'am..." Smithy started to say, his voice equally as rough. Gina laughed gently and shook her head before taking a seat next to the bed, still holding Smithy's hand.
"Please, I'm not your Inspector anymore, there's no need for formalities" Gina said with a smile. Smithy smiled back.
"Yeah, but you'll always be my Inspector... how the hell are you here anyway? I thought you were walking the length of England to Scotland, stopping at every pub along the way" Smithy said, laughing along with Gina as they recalled their last conversation when Gina had told him she was leaving Sun Hill and why.
"I am! Or I was. I was in Sussex when Heaton called me, told me you'd been hurt, that it was bad and that you were in hospital. So I got the first train to London and I came straight here. But I have to be honest Dale; I never quite expected to see you in this predicament! I suppose my lectures about personal safety fell on deaf ears did they?" Gina said with a smile and a hint of admonishment. Smithy smiled, a small ripple of pain running through his chest but he ignored it.
"Just a bit. There was no need for you to come all the way down from Sussex Gina! There's this brilliant thing called a phone!" Smithy cried, the machine monitoring his heart bleeped in warning. Gina gently placed a hand on his shoulder, calming him.
"Smithy, you are like the son I never had. I would travel across country if you needed me" Gina said quietly, looking away in nervousness. Smithy stared at her, shocked but touched by her confession. He gently placed his hand over hers and smiled when she looked up.
"Thanks Gina, I would do the same" Gina smiled.
"Well that's nice to know but there's no need. I'm coming back to Sun Hill, for good this time. So I'll be able to join you lot at the pub and still bark orders, although there's no telling whether I'd get a response or not" Gina said with a grin. Smithy laughed.
"I'm sure they'd trip over themselves to follow it because they know how much of a Dragon you can be and would probably worry about the power you could still have!" Smithy replied with a cheeky grin. Gina laughed.
"Seriously though Gina, are you sure Sun Hill is where you want to be? What about Scotland?" Smithy asked. Gina smiled and pulled a face.
"Oh good gosh no! I don't know what I was thinking when I thought that up?! I probably wasn't!" Gina cried. Smithy burst out into laughter which was cut short by a small alarm going off and him crashing back onto the bed in pain. A nurse came rushing in to fuss over him but he shooed her away; he wasn't going to let anything ruin his time with Gina.
"Well I'm glad you'll be around again, Ma'am" Smithy said.
Gina smiled at him and placed her other hand around the one she was already holding, but not before pulling a bag of grapes out of her bag and placing them on the bedside cabinet, causing Smithy to laugh again.
And for the rest of the afternoon, they talked and laughed about old times, good times and bad times. A Sergeant and his Inspector, like nothing had ever changed.