A/N Hello, just to let you know that this is set at the end of 4x1 (What Will Survive)
Title: Shelter
Pairings (Mentioned or otherwise): Annie/Alan
Rating/Warning: T
Summary: Annie turns to face the house as the door swings open, revealing Alan, a confused look etched upon his face."Annie?" he calls, gesturing for her to come inside. She makes her way to the door, the rain falling like ice sheets. Without speaking again, Alan steps to one side, letting her in.' - After Alan's mother dies, Annie goes to see if he's okay. Post 4x1 (What Will Survive) '
Annie stares forward, the rain lashing at the windscreen of her car. The wipers move from side to side furiously and she glances back to make sure Isla is okay in the back. She turns her attention back to the road and clicks down the indicator. Annie places both hands on to the steering wheel and spins it round, turning the corner and coming to a halt on the driveway. She turns the engine off and removes the key from the ignition as Isla stirs. Annie opens the car door and steps out on to the gravel. The rain is lighter but it's still falling and she regrets not bringing an umbrella. She isn't wearing a coat but luckily Isla is. She picks up her daughter and turns, slamming the car door and staring down at the sleepy toddler. Annie turns to face the house as the door swings open, revealing Alan, a confused look etched upon his face.
"Annie?" he calls, gesturing for her to come inside. She makes her way to the door, trying her best to keep Isla dry but the rain has got harder, falling like ice sheets. Without speaking again, Alan steps to one side, letting her in. He closes the door behind her and they stand in his hall for a good few moments. Alan leans forward and Annie lets him take Isla as she tries to regain circulation is her freezing hands. She watches as he takes Isla's coat off, speaking as he does so. "Why are you here Annie? I thought you and David were going out for a meal or something?" His eyes are on Isla, and she doesn't reply to start with, so they just wait in silence until she does.
"No, we… I wanted to see how you were doing, you know, after your mum." Her eyes drop to the floor and Alan, turns leading them both into the sitting room. Annie takes Isla back and sits down on the sofa as Alan starts to search for something. Annie looks down at her daughter and takes a deep breath, her reason's for being here are more complicated than what she said to Alan. He returns to the sitting room, a child's puzzle under one arm. He swings it round, so that Annie can see, before explaining it presence in his house.
"It's left over from when the kids where little, I thought Isla could…." He tails off, placing it on the carpet in front of Annie. She nods, placing Isla on the floor, and they both watch her stumble over to puzzle and Alan crouches down next to her, removing the lid of the puzzle. "Why did you come , Annie?" he asks as he puts the puzzle pieces on to the floor and sits back, watching Isla starts to pick them up. Again, they lapse into silence, both pretending that they're watching Isla play with the puzzle pieces while they keep looking at each other both waiting for the other to speak. After a couple of minutes Alan stands and takes a seat on the sofa next to her. The silence remains, both unsure what to say – they seem to have run out of words, so they watch Isla, picking up puzzle pieces until Annie speaks.
"Thank you, Alan." Her words are quiet, and for a moment she doesn't think he's heard her. He turns to look at her, a sad smile playing out across his lips, and she see's that he is on the edge of tears.
"Why did you come here Annie?" She can tell that he's fighting the tears and it is hurting her to see him like this, it feels like there's something being ripped apart in her chest – she doesn't think about that too much, though, and concentrates on him. Alan's eyes fall back to Isla when Annie doesn't reply, his hands clasped in front of him.
"Alan." It isn't a question, but it makes him turn to face her. Annie leans in and hugs him, for a moment he doesn't react but then he does, holding her tight. "It's okay, Alan," she whispers, pulling back from the hug. They stay close, their eyes locked together and he moves forward, kissing her like it will be the last time he ever will. Annie responds in kind and it's desperate, as if they need each other to breath. And then Alan remembers David Hornby and pulls back, his arms falling to his side. Alan can't look at her, for fear that he would kiss her again, and he's not like that – he would never do that. Annie's eyes have turned to her daughter and Isla is picking up a puzzle piece when Alan speaks.
"I'm sorry Annie…." But his words, his apology, are interrupted by his phone ringing, and Alan reaches into his pocket to retrieve it. Helen is calling him, and he sighs, Helen only calls him if its work related. Alan presses accept. "Helen?"
"Alan, there's been a Major Incident – it's the Osgood's house, it's been burnt down."
"Arson?" His question causes Annie to look up and give him an odd look.
"Yeah or could be an accident, we probably won't know till morning though."
"Okay, I'll be there in twenty minutes." He's about to end the call when Helen speaks again.
"I'm going to pick you up, drive you to the Osgood house."
"I don't need a bloody minder Helen." Alan says exasperatedly.
"I'll be round in ten minutes." Alan goes to reply, but she's already ended the call. He takes a deep breath in and he looks round the room – Annie is sat on the floor, helping Isla with the puzzle and occasionally looking up at him.
"There's been a major incident," he says, holding his phone up as if that is proof he is telling the truth. "Have you got anyone who can look after Isla? Is David busy, your mum?" Annie's attention stays on her daughter for a few moments then changes to Alan.
"David is…. He's busy and mum's out of town, so no not really." Annie's thoughts are everywhere and she can't get them straight, not even to think of people who Isla would be comfortable with, people who Annie trusts. Since she got back with David she hadn't had to worry about a baby sitter, so most of the names, the people she had used, have gone out of her head.
"Why don't you phone around, see if there's anyone available?" he starts as Annie stands, moving in the direction of the phone. "Why don't you try Tracy?" Alan's daughter had moved out three moths previously to go stay with her brother in Bradford, and now lived twenty five minutes away. Brian was enrolled in a journalism course at Uni and Tracy had got a place there too, studying art and her mother – against Alan's advice – had persuaded her to go live in Bradford to get used to the atmosphere in the city before term started. Alan doesn't think he'll ever understand why Sandra thought it would be a good idea to send their recently kidnapped daughter to live in a busy city when she could have stayed with him, been safe with him, but she had. He looks down at his watch, and then across at Annie. "Her number's in the book by the phone."
Before Tracy went missing and Annie got back with David, Alan's daughter had been on babysitting duties a couple of times – and had always said that if Annie was desperate, she was there to help.
"Thanks Alan," Annie says, picking up the phone and punching some numbers into it. Alan leans down and picks Isla up, mouthing to Annie that they're going to have a look at the stars. After Alan has put the toddlers coat back on he opens the door and looks up – seeing that the rain clouds have rolled out to be replaced with a maze of stars. He takes a few steps out, making sure that Isla is warm enough, and then takes a deep breath. Alan suddenly feels very overwhelmed – his mother is dead, she's really dead – and he can't quite believe it. He'd always has this feeling that his dad would go first, so it'd just be him and his mum against the world as Roy had already gone. Roy, his little brother he'd barely even known, at least he had his mother with him know.
Alan points up at the stars, pointing out the big dipper and other constellation to Isla. He tells her about how his mum taught him when he was little. Alan has just started to talk about the time he saw his first shooting star when Annie opens the door and tells him that Tracy is coming.
"Brian knew who I was. Do you talk about me to your children?" she asks, coming to stand next to him.
"Tracy probably told him – I have mentioned you though – in passing."
"Okay," Annie says, pausing. "She said she'd be here in twenty minutes." Alan nods as a car screeches in to his driveway. It comes to a halt on the gravel and Alan and Annie share a look, neither sure who it is. He looks down at Isla, making sure she's okay, as Helen exits from the car.
"Boss," she says, nodding in his direction. "You didn't say DS Cabbot was with you."
"You didn't ask," he replies a moment later. "I also said I didn't need a minder, Helen," he continues, his tone more serious. Annie motions to take Isla back and Alan obliges, handing the toddler over.
"DS Cabbot, I assume he's filled you in?" Helen asks and Annie nods, looking over to Alan.
"There's been a fire at the Osgood's house hasn't there?" This time it's Helen's turn to nod, and she does.
"Who's there, did you phone Ken or Tariq?" Alan asks, taking a deep breath and trying to get his head back in the case.
"DC Blackstone is there, yes…."
"Okay, I'm going to phone him – get an update. Annie take Isla and go inside, Tracy won't be here for another fifteen minutes at least." Alan says, retrieving his phone from his pocket. "You too, Helen,"
Alan scrolls down his contacts as the others make their way in to his house. Annie stands to one side as Helen enters, and together they make their way to the sitting room. Once there Annie puts Isla down near her puzzle and pulls the curtain back to see Alan, in mid sentence on the phone. She smiles and turns back to the room – Helen is standing slightly awkwardly by the door, looking like she wants to say something but isn't sure if she should – but in the end she does.
"Tracy? As in his daughter Tracy?"
"Yeah," Annie says, sitting on the floor next to Isla, helping her with the puzzle. "She's babysitting for me while we go see what's happened to the Osgood's," she continues, looking up at the brunette.
"Oh…." Helen says, looking down at her watch to check the time. "I thought you were going out for a meal with David tonight?" Her words make Annie look down, as if she doesn't want to answer the question but after a pause, she does.
"We were, but I got in late and we had an argument about it – you know, work stuff." Helen nods understandingly, smiling as Isla puts another puzzle piece in the right place.
"So you came here….?" Helen inquires, taking a seat on the sofa.
"Yeah, I wanted to make sure Alan was alright – with his mum and everything." Annie says, nodding as she does so.
"And David was alright with that?" Her words make Annie laugh, quietly, almost bitterly.
"I would say that – not quite. We argued about it, actually." Annie shrugs and turns her attention back to Isla. "I said stuff I shouldn't've," Annie adds, quietly, a heartbeat later.
"You argued about Alan?" Helen asks, equally as quietly, and Annie nods – still facing away.
"Yeah, yeah we did." Annie closes her eyes and breaths in – tears starting to prick at her eyes. She blinks, trying to stop them but it's futile and one falls, a solitary tear. "I said I loved him," she adds in a whisper, her eyes desperately trying to focus on her daughter.
"David? You said you loved him?" But Helen's words don't get the response she was expecting and Annie shakes her head, refuting the brunette's words.
"Alan." Her words cause their conversation to come to stop, for Helen has nothing to say – she feels she can't say something for fear of intruding on something she's not involved in. Annie picks up a puzzle piece and helps Isla place in as they hear Alan open the front door and watch him come into the sitting room, Tracy behind him. Annie gives her the low down – how long they're likely to be – but Tracy knows where everything is, having lived here previously.
They're ready to go 5 minutes later, Alan having announced that there has been a fatality at the Osgood house. Helen exits first, and is climbing into her car as Annie walks through the door – car keys in hand. Alan closes the door and the two of them stand for a moment until she turns to go. He reaches out and takes her hand, making her turn back and face him. "Thank you,"
"There's no need, its fine." She smiles as she talks and it makes Alan smile too.
"I have no idea what I was going to do before you turned up. Thank you Annie, really." They both know he's not just talking about tonight – thought the words do apply – but is also referring to when they first met – in Gerry Rydell's office three years previous.
"It's fine Alan."
A/N Please review if you have the time. :)