DEATH UNITES US

By basket-case1880

A/N: Based on the night after Micheal's funeral and inspired from the prompt table with the word 'death'. How Jackie and Robbie respond to Micheal's death and how Michael helped them from beyond the grave. Sorry if you like Brian, but there will be some Brian-bashing.

Disclaimer: Don't own them. The closest I am to owning Taggart is the small collection of DVD's I own and my iPod who is called Robbie. Oh, and the almost encounter I had with the team in Glasgow Central two or three years ago (I almost walked into Blythe).

The silence in the house was deafening and Jackie couldn't take it anymore. Michael was dead and Brian refused to come home for the funeral. One of her best friends, a fellow police officer had been killed by an escaped inmate of Her Majesty's Pleasure and he was acting like he couldn't care less.

Robbie was doing his usual, trawling the pubs and clubs for his latest bimbo, but he wasn't getting his usual pleasure from it. His mind just wasn't on blondes tonight, it was on brunettes, in fact, a specific brunette and he knew it shouldn't be. She was a married woman and one of his best friends. Also, Mike would probably come back and haunt his sorry ass if he did try anything with Jackie. Mike had been very protective of Jackie while he was alive and he doubted that would change now he was dead.

But that thought wasn't going to chase away Robbie's concern and care for Jackie. If anything it was making it stronger, like Mike was urging him to go and see Jackie and reassure her that she would get over this, that he was there for her even if her 'husband' wasn't.

Jackie was just about to open the bottle of wine she had sitting in front of her when the doorbell rang.

"Who the hell is knocking on my door at this time of night?" Jackie asked herself as she made her way to the front door. She could tell that her visitor was male from his shadow through the door and from the way he was slouched she had a good idea exactly who was at her door. "Robbie, what are you doing here?"

"Dunno, Jacks," Robbie said as he slid past Jackie and into her house. "I was in the pub and every time I eyed up a girl, I just felt like it was wrong. As if Mike was telling me you were sad and alone. Trust me, coming here tonight wasn't in my plans, but that urge came over me in the pub and has only just settled like I'm meant to be here."

"Aye right, Robbie," Jackie scoffed as she made her way back into the living room. "Tell me why you're really here."

"Why won't you believe me, Jacks?" Robbie demanded as he grabbed Jackie's wrist in his hand. "I was sitting in the pub trying to flirt with this young thing that reminded me of Gaby when she was younger and I felt nothing. So when she got my drift that I wasn't interested, she left. And after that I got this urge to see how you were doing."

"That sounds like a load of tripe, you know, Robbie," Jackie sighed as she collapsed onto the sofa. "Especially after that case involving Martin Strange and your reaction to me telling you Jim Taggart was helping from beyond the grave."

"Will you just listen to me, Jacks!" Robbie almost yelled at his best friend. "Mike knew of how I felt for you and he warned me off you. I had a feeling there was some history between the two of you and went to Mike to ask if I could ask you to dinner and he told me to stay away from you. You deserved someone who wasn't married to the job like us cops are..."

"Ha," Jackie snorted. "Lot of good that did me, I've gone and did just that. Married Brian and he can't even tear himself away from that bloody taskforce to attend the funeral of a fellow police officer or support his wife at the funeral of one of her best friends if he didn't care much for Mike."

"Hey, hey," Robbie soothed as he wrapped Jackie in his arms as the tears cascaded down her face again. "I'm here for you, Jacks. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on or an ear to bend, I'm just on the other end of the phone. You can call me any time day or night and I'll be there for you in whatever manner you want me to be."

"I need you now, Robbie," Jackie said through her tears. "I need someone who understands my pain and what I'm going through. I need someone to hold my hand like you did when I found Mike and then when I was honouring his memory at the funeral."

Robbie grabbed onto Jackie's hand at that. "I'll do all that for you, Jacks," he reassured his long time friend. "You don't even have to ask me to do all that. I'll always be here for you in any way you want me to be."

At that, Jackie climbed onto Robbie's lap and nuzzled into his neck, inhaling his comforting scent. "Just hold me," she whispered as she began to fall asleep and he breathing evened out. "Just hold me close so I can sleep tonight."

Robbie wrapped his arms around Jackie and pulled her closer to him, this caused Jackie to snuggle closer to him and fall into her first restful sleep since Michael's murder.

A/N: So how was it? I'm thinking of continuing this one shot with another chapter. Perhaps a morning after where Brian walks in and finds Jackie wrapped up in Robbie's arms. What do you think, let me know in a review or PM (I allow anonymous reviews).
Laura xx.