My Girl
Disclaimer: New Tricks belongs to the BBC, I am just borrowing.
Rating: T, but might go up later. We'll see where the story goes.
Pairing: I am not a huge fan of Sandra/Gerry, (no particular reason, I love both characters, it just doesn't work for me.) But in this story they will be an established couple. Strickland is my favourite, but he will be paired with someone else in this story (a woman! I don't do slash!) It's a bit of an experiment, I don't think It's been done before. Reviews will determine if I carry on.
Series: Starts somewhere in series 5.
Sandra sat on the park bench, watching affectionately as Gerry and little Gerry kicked the football around, the little boy was nearly four now and Sandra found herself enjoying his company more each time she and Gerry were asked to baby sit him. She had often found herself wondering what the little boy must think, his Grandad becoming involved with her, but they had been together nearly a year now, and she had found herself warmly welcomed into this family unit.
They had been taking little Gerry out a fair bit lately, Gerry senior hadn't noticed, he was overjoyed every time Paula asked if they could look after the little boy, but the last few times, Sandra's spidey senses had been set tingling. She was sure Paula was hiding something from them, something she was busting to tell them, and there was the time little Gerry had let slip about his Mum's new boyfriend, but he had refused to say any more, telling them that 'It's a secret, Mummy is going to tell everybody soon.'
Sandra saw the woman in question walking towards them, she gave a wave and moved the Gerry's coats off the bench so that her 'step' daughter could sit down. She and Gerry's daughter's had become very close, although she and Gerry had no plans at present to marry, according to Gerry, that's when it all goes 'pear shaped' for him. They were happy as they were, and the three girls had all told her that it didn't matter, she was now a member of the family. Paula sat down next to her.
"How has he been? I got back as quickly as I could."
"Which one are you talking about? Little Gerry has been a charm, but the bigger version has been a bit of a handful." Sandra deadpanned, Paula laughed.
"Mummy!" They heard the excited sqeal as the little boy came running up them. Gerry bringing up the rear.
"Hey sweetheart, have you had fun with Grandad and Sandra?"
"Yep! I've had ice cream." He told her proudly. She gave him a hug, then looked meaningfully at her Father.
"Do you think you guys could play a bit longer? I wanted to have a girly chat with Sandra." She looked troubled. Little Gerry just nodded and started to kick the ball about again. Gerry snr looked at his daughter, concern all over his face.
"What's up luv? You're not pregnant are you?"
"Dad, why is it that when I want a serious talk, you automatically assume I'm pregnant."
"Form?" He raised his eyebrows.
"If you must know, I want to ask Sandra about irregular periods. Ok?" She told him, Sandra tried to hide her amusement. Gerry paled and pointed to the other side of the grass where Gerry jnr was playing.
"I'll go and keep an eye on kiddo." He jogged over to join his Grandson.
"One mention of periods and they run a mile." Sandra grinned, "What's troubling you?"
"Is it that obvious?" Paula sighed, "I thought I'd managed to keep up a pretty good front."
"You have, but I can tell that something is bothering you." She turned and looked Paula in the eye. "Come on, it can't be that bad." Paula looked down at the ground.
"I'm pregnant." She whispered, so softly that for a moment Sandra had thought she had heard wrong.
"Ok." She paused. "Why are you so troubled, everybody supported you before, and it'll be great for Gerry to have a little brother or sister."
"It's just that... Well, Dad's going to hate who the Father is. Mum, Jayne and Carole will also hate him, and I don't know what Caitlin and Amelia will say. About the only people I can talk too are you and Emily."
"What's so bad about him? I assume your relationship is serious, or this wouldn't be troubling you so much."
"It is. He's a fabulous guy. We've been together for about three months." Paula looked so torn, it ripped at Sandra's heart.
"Tell me." She said. "Why won't your family like him?" Paula sighed and took a deep breath.
"For one, he's older than me."
"How much older?"
"Sixteen years." Paula looked up at Sandra. "He's forty six, but he's fit. He takes good care of himself."
"Ok, that's about the same age difference as me and your Dad, so I'm not about to judge you on that one. What else?"
"He's divorced, he doesn't get to see his two kids, his ex took them to live in America." Sandra nodded.
"Again, I can't judge you. Anything else?"
"He's a policeman." Paula sqeaked. Sandra smiled.
"You do know what Caitlin and Amelia will say."
"I know, They'll say I've got a Daddy complex. Which I havn't. He's nothing like Dad. All Mum and the others will see is that he's a divorced copper, and they'll try telling me our relationship is doomed."
"What about your Dad?"
"That's going to be the worst. He's going to go ballistic." Paula looked really scared. Sandra took hold of her hands.
"Why? Please love, tell me what's wrong." She couldn't stand the pain in Paula's eyes. Paula gripped Sandra's hands like a lifeline.
"You work with him. Dad hates him." Sandra's brain suddenly clicked into gear, a divorced policeman with two children, mid forties, who they worked with.
"Paula, is Robert Strickland your baby's father ?" She asked quietly. Paula nodded. "Does he know you're pregnant?" This time she shook her head.
"I only got it confirmed this morning. You're the first to know. Oh Sandra, what am I going to do, this is going to cause so much trouble. We never meant for this to happen, When I first met him, I had no idea who he was, and he didn't know who I was. When we found out, we tried to stop seeing each other, but by then, I had fallen for him, hook, line and sinker. And he felt the same, we only managed to stay apart for three days. Oh this is such a mess."
"Right, the first thing you're going to do is calm down. Getting stressed is no good for your baby. How far along are you?" Sandra was trying to keep calm for Paula's sake, she knew how it felt to fall for someone she shouldn't have. Ironically, it had been Strickland who had first rumbled the fact that she and Gerry were together, and had been quick to give them his support.
"Six weeks. You remember I had that dose of sinusitis?" Sandra nodded. "The antibiotics the doctor prescribed interfered with the pill." Sandra gave her a sympathetic smile.
"Ok. secondly, you're going to tell me all about it, because I think you've been dying to tell somebody. Thirdly, you need to tell Robert that he's going to be Daddy, because you're going to need his support. What does Little Gerry think of this?"
"Oh! He adores Rob. And Rob is fantastic with him." Paula's eyes lit up, Sandra could see the love she felt for her 'family'.
"Well, I'm listening, while those two are occupied why don't you start at the beginning."
Author; Well, should I keep going?