A/N

AU story.
Could be themes that people may find distressing as a cautionary note, but nothing worse, I don't think, than you'd find on the show.
Not necessarily factually accurate.
Hope you don't mind what I have done with our favourite characters. I don't own them, I am just borrowing and will return them as found.
Please R&R and enjoy!


Witness - Chapter One

Ste Hay sneaked and weaved his way through the mass of heaving bodies in the town square. It was occasions like this when he found his slight build really came in useful, as he squeezed unnoticed between people in the crowd. After weeks of grey miserable rainy weather the sun was finally beating down brightly in the azure blue sky. It was perfect for the free music festival that was happening in the city centre. The main stage was overlooked by the majestic Victorian built Town Hall on one side and on the other side the imposing City Hall in its neo-classical style with magnificent Roman-style columns rising from the stone steps. The steps were currently completely hidden by the number of people standing, sitting and dancing trying to get a better vantage point to see the band performing on stage. All around Ste were people enjoying the music, the atmosphere, the feeling of freedom filling the air.

Only the occasional wisp of a cloud floating in front of the burning rays gave any rest-bite from the stifling summer heat. Ste smiled as he thought of the small kids that would be enjoying a good cool-off by running through the jets of water that erupted from the ground in the small gardens on the other side of the Town Hall. He wished that he could join them there as he felt his T-Shirt cling to his back, slick with sweat. The crowd around him were making the most of the newly arrived summer, dressed in the skimpiest of shorts, vest-tops, dresses, and sandals. Ste was dressed in his usual attire of loose tracksuit bottoms, T-Shirt and a pair of scruffy trainers, which had most definitely seen better days. His mousy brown hair lay flat to his head, the front falling into a soft fringe that he had to keep flicking from his eyes. His blue eyes were alert, darting from side to side, not missing a thing.

Finally Ste reached the back of the crowd, and revelled for a moment in being able to breathe freely for a moment. He hiked his trackie bottoms back up which had fallen low down on his hips, exposing the hint of an inking he had tattooed there. He tried to pull the cord a little tighter to keep them in position but as soon as he let go they began on their journey south again. As if to emphasise just how skinny he was at the moment his stomach promptly began to rumble. Ste moved further away from the crowds into a shaded side street and emptied his pockets. He looked around himself carefully checking he was alone and that nobody was watching him before pulling out three wallets and eagerly opened them up, removing the notes and shaking out the coins they held. He tossed the wallets to the ground then counted the money. Forty-Two pounds, sixty-five pence, and some coppers. Ste sighed, it was a start, but no way was that going to cover the last few months' rent that he had fallen behind on. His stomach growled again, so Ste carefully pocketed the money and made his way to the nearest chippy. He reassured himself that it was still early, he had plenty of time still today to prey on the unsuspecting crowds, conveniently diverted in their masses by the entertainment, so that they did not notice a bony hand slipping in to their bags and pockets.

The smell of the fish and chip shop caused Ste's mouth to fill with saliva in anticipation. He decided to splash out a little and got himself a portion of chips, a fish, and covered them with mushy peas, and then he got a small portion of chips to go as well. He left the chippy and hurried down the busy street, teaming with people walking between the various locations where music was playing. Ste walked past a pub where the strains of blues music were emanating then ducked down an alleyway next to it. At the end of the alley he turned onto a small back street, just wide enough to fit a car down, if you turned in the wing mirrors first. He knocked sharply on a shabby door, black paint beginning to peel and flake off. There was shouting from within, then the sound of heavy footsteps coming down some stairs before the door was cautiously opened a fraction.

A head of wild blonde curls peaked through the opening before the door was flung open wide and Ste was dragged into a warm embrace, head nestled in the soft curves of a bosom.

"Ste!" he was greeted forcefully, pulled tighter into the woman's arms, squashing the bag of chips in between their bodies.

"Hey Cheryl!" Ste managed to get out though muffled in the hug. Cheryl broke the embrace closing the door firmly behind them drawing the chain across.

Cheryl stood just a little taller than him, especially if she had her crazy heels on, and she always had her crazy heels on. Even her fluffy pink slippers had a kitten heel. Her hair normally piled up in a crazy cascade of curls added even further height. Together with her outlandish dress-sense, today being a classic example of orange and purple patterned leggings teamed with a red lacy top and purple jacket, meant that Cheryl cut quite the imposing figure. Ironic thought Ste for somebody who mostly should fly under the radar. Ste wasn't sure how old Cheryl was, it was hard to tell under the thick layer of make-up she always wore. 'A woman should never be without her war-paint' Cheryl would always say to him. He fancied though that she couldn't be that much older than his twenty-one years. There was still a youthful sparkle in her brown eyes that life had not totally extinguished yet.

"How are they?" Ste asked her.

"Come see them, they will be so excited to see you!" Cheryl grabbed his hand dragging him down the hallway and through a door to the side. They entered the front room, it was relatively inconspicuous looking. You would never have known you were in a brothel to look at it. Two large inviting sofas sat against two badly wallpapered walls. As Ste walked through the door two small children huddled up together in the crook of one sofa watching the large flat-screen TV in the corner jumped up and ran towards him.

"Daddy!" the little girl called, an even smaller boy toddling after her. Ste bent down scooping the girl into one arm, "hey Princess I've bought you and Lucas some chips for lunch," he said holding the carrier bag of chips up in the air.

"Yummy" Leah replied patting her tummy.

Ste plopped Leah back down on the sofa and put the bag of chips down next to her, before reaching down to pick up Lucas whose arms were outstretched begging for attention. "How you doing little man?" Ste asked him. His reply was a bright smile and a gurgled "Da," causing Ste to squeeze him even tighter. Lucas had only just started walking and talking even though he was now nearly two years old and it was a joy for Ste to behold. He wondered if the traumas of his young life were to blame for Lucas' delayed developments.

Whenever he was with his children Ste's thoughts always drifted towards their mother. Amy, skinnier than even him, long long blonde hair that fell all the way to her waist, that when she was well shimmered like gold, but as she became ill lost its shine until it was a dull yellow, and then that fateful day when she had chopped it all off. Ste shuddered as he remembered coming home that day. Little two-year-old Leah was sat crying in the middle of the kitchen floor, completely naked and covered in what looked like milk. He could hear the baby wailing in the bedroom. He had picked Leah up intending on taking her into the bathroom to clean her up, but had stopped dead as he had swung the bathroom door open. There red-eyed staring into the vanity mirror Amy stood holding large clumps of her hair, chopping at them with a pair of large sewing scissors, heaped piles of hair already building around her feet.

"Amy?" he had whispered, scared to startle her. She had ignored him and carried on cutting. He had taken Leah back into the kitchen to quickly wash her off in the kitchen sink before hurriedly placing her on her bed kissing her lightly on the head trying to provide some reassurance. Lucas had continued wailing in the background but Ste headed back into the bathroom where Amy was still methodically cutting off chunks off her hair, getting shorter and shorter and closer and closer to the scalp.

"Amy?" he asked again daring to approach her now that he did not have Leah in his arms. This time Amy whipped around, brandishing the point of the scissors towards Ste as a makeshift weapon. Her eyes were dancing with wild danger. "Amy," Ste repeated using his tone of voice to plead with her. Amy just stared through him blankly before turning back to the mirror and continuing with her mission.

Ste stood there feeling completely helpless as he watched as patches of Amy's skin started to show where she had cut the hair away to the scalp. Every time he tried to reach out to her Amy kept him as bay with the scissors, at one point actually catching him on the upper lip with them causing a shallow gash to open up. Finally Amy felt finished with her mission and dropped the scissors with a large clatter into the sink before collapsing into a heap on the floor, fondling the strands of hair between her fingers. Ste immediately stepped forwards cradling her tightly and whispering over and over that he loved her and that everything would be okay. Amy did not respond other than for the dry sobs she kept choking out. Wrung-out from emotional exhaustion Amy finally slumped lifeless into Ste's arms. He lifted her easily and carried her into their bedroom laying her carefully onto the bed.

The house had fallen eerily silent. Both children had cried themselves into fitful sleep. Ste had to gingerly wake Lucas in order to change his neglected nappy and to try and feed him, though the baby was too agitated to really take his bottle. In the end Ste had given up and placed the tiny child back in his cot, rocking him back to sleep, trying to sooth him with his words. But there was nothing Ste could say to a baby that they would understand, and even if they could how do you explain why their mother is rejecting you, why their mother cannot love you like she wants to, why their mother never holds you, or picks you up, or provides you with comfort. Ste sat in the kids' bedroom for a few hours that night, silent tears making tracks down his face, just allowing himself to feel. Feeling their presence, feeling his despair, and feeling the hopelessness of this situation.

It was gone midnight when he finally returned to his own room where Amy was still lying dead to the world. He climbed into bed next to her, pulling her close to his body, wrapping his arms tightly around her. I will save you he had vowed into the darkness.

He hadn't though. The next morning when he groggily woke-up he noticed the other side of the bed was empty. He was not immediately worried, and just assumed Amy was already up and about. He hoped my some miracle that she was feeling better today, as she was up earlier than him for a change. He had no idea though how to deal with the events of the previous day though. He allowed himself to sink back into the pillows for a moment. Perhaps he should remind Amy about her Dad's offer to pay for some professional help for her. She had turned him down flat, still upset about her parents divorce. Ste rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He should really go and check on her and the kids. He popped his head in through the doorway of the children's bedroom and saw that they were both still fast asleep. As he passed the bathroom he noticed the lino floor was free of hair, and the sink was empty. Amy must have cleaned up. Was that a good sign? He continued into the main living area, a walk-through kitchen/living room. There was no sign of Amy. Ste started to feel the first indications of panic bubbling up in his throat. "Amy?" he called out though he knew it was pointless, there were no more rooms in the tiny flat where she could be. Over on the kitchen counter Ste spotted Amy's phone, it was acting as a paperweight for a slip of A4 paper lying underneath it. On it was scrawled in Amy's neat writing:

Sorry I can't do this anymore. Don't try to find me. Don't try to contact me.
I love you.
A x

Ste felt all the blood drain from his body. He ran back to the bedroom throwing open the wardrobe doors, dragging the chest of drawers open. All of Amy's clothes and other belongings were still there. If she had gone why hadn't she taken anything with her. She would still need her possessions. That was when it hit Ste like a sledgehammer to the heart. He ran through the house empting drawers, cupboards, boxes until he had completely scoured everywhere her could think of. He had turned the house upside down when finally he found the scissors that Amy had removed from the bathroom sink at the bottom of the kitchen bin along with a bag full of her hair. Ste could feel his body collapsing in on himself. He ran for the phone dialling 999 as quickly as he could.

The operator on the line had been understanding, but Amy was an adult and could not be reported as missing yet. Not until Ste had made it clear that his girlfriend was suffering from post-natal depression did the operator say he should go to his local police station with a recent picture of her and they would help him there.

Ste had not seen Amy since that day. Not heard from her, didn't know anybody else who had heard from her or seen her. He had no idea what had become of her. That was the day he had met Cheryl.

He had gone to the police station that day, carrying the only picture he could find that Amy had destroyed during one of her 'episodes'. It was her school portrait, she looked so young, innocent, carefree. They were only nineteen now, still teenagers, but since Lucas' birth Amy had looked drawn, haunted, haggard even. With no one to look after the children he had loaded Lucas into the pram, and carried Leah along on one hip. He was asked to sit and wait 'somebody will deal with you shortly' a frustrated PC sitting at the reception desk kept telling him.

Ste could feel himself becoming more and more frantic with worry, the children started to grizzle, then cry, and then wail. Ste felt like pulling his hair out, did not realise his girlfriend was emotionally unstable and out there somewhere alone with nothing and nobody to help her. Leah started clinging tightly to his neck where she was sitting snuffling in his lap. He prised her away reluctantly so he could go back up to the desk again. As she started wailing again a woman who had been sitting opposite him for the past hour asked "can I help?"

"Erm, thanks I'm okay," Ste replied, not about to trust his children to a complete stranger.

"Are you sure, I'm great with children," she smiled warmly speaking with a friendly Irish accent. Ste looked at her. She was in a police station after all, hardly a good reference point. She was wearing a leopard print catsuit and the largest gold hoop earrings he had even seen. "I'm Cheryl," she extended a hand to Ste in greeting. Ste took it gingerly and shook it. "My friend had a bit of rough night, I'm here to bail her out," she said as way of explanation for her presence at the police station.

"I don't know," Ste was still wary, but she genuinely looked nice and Ste needed the help.

Ste ended up spending the whole afternoon sitting in that police station waiting room with Cheryl. He ended telling her his whole life story it felt like. How Amy had gotton ill after Lucas was born. How she wouldn't accept any help. What had happened the night before. And now how she had disappeared. Cheryl had listened and comforted and when she left with her friend (who was dressed in the shortest skirt Ste had even seen, he really did not know where to look), muttering something that to Ste's confusion sounded like telling her not to bite next time, she gave him her mobile number and told him to call at anytime.

And that was why now when Ste did not have enough money to pay the bills so the flat was cold and dark, or could not afford to buy food to feed Leah and Lucas he would take them around to Cheryl's where she and her 'girls' would coo over them and smoother them with love. Ste dreaded to think what would happen if Social Services ever found out that he sometimes left his kids in the care of a Madam in a brothel, but he knew they were well looked after there and Cheryl was now the best friend he had, only friend really.

Cheryl bustled back into the front room with two plates in her hand. She placed them on the low coffee table in the centre of the room then took the bag of chips dividing them up onto the plates. She handed a plate each to Leah and Lucas asking, "drinks kids?"

"Yes please Auntie Cheryl," Leah answered, Lucas nodding along in agreement. As Cheryl left to go make some drinks in the kitchen on of her 'girls' poked her head into the room.

"Hey Ste," Rae said shyly.

"Hey Rae," Ste smiled at her. She was fairly new to Cheryl's group. Younger than him he guessed, probably too young to be doing what she did.

Sometimes Ste questioned Cheryl about how she could be okay about what it is she did. Cheryl would sigh and look at him sadly 'better than them being alone and unprotected on the streets.' Ste sensed Cheryl knew just how dangerous and hard it could be to be alone on the streets. Though she never talked about her past a look would cross her face of too much knowledge too young whenever she brought a new girl back to the house. That was what Cheryl did, where her girls came from. Ste knew about the need to make money anyway possible. But still to sell your body was something he could not imagine. Cheryl would explain to him that the girls would be doing that whether here or not. She was just providing the means for these girls to do it with less danger and more control.

Still Ste couldn't help but wonder how somebody so seemingly full of life and light most of the time, could have gotton into this shady underworld that she now existed in. Something must have happened to her, something bad to give her that hard inner core which she had.

"How you doing Rae?" he asked the small blonde haired girl who was hovering in the doorway. When he had first seen her he was struck by how similar to Amy she was. Petite, all blonde hair and big eyes. And so so young, but with that same air of maturity that Amy had carried after being forced to grow up too quickly after the birth of Leah.

"Yeah okay thanks." She said venturing into the room further. Of all the girls currently living there Rae probably took the most care of Leah and Lucas. Leah looked up at her and said "will you come watch Disney with us?"

"Yeah sure, which one?" Rae asked

"Cinderella, she looks like you."

Rae blushed a little at this popping the DVD in then settling onto the couch between Leah and Lucas. Cheryl re-entered the room with drinks smiling as she saw the kids snuggled up on either side of Rae. Ste looked on warmly too, pleased to see his kids looking so settled

"I should head off Chez." Ste said heading towards the hallway.

"Okay honey," Cheryl followed him out.

In the hallway Cheryl dropped her voice to a whisper, "you be careful now Ste, don't do anything stupid like getting caught!"

"Just a bit of pick-pocketing today Chez, child's play" Ste tried to form a genuine grin. There was always risk, and he already had a record for nicking cars when he was younger. Needs must though as Cheryl always says. He shuddered to think what would happen to Leah and Lucas if he were to be caught though.

"Perhaps you could take young Rae out with some of your earnings, I think she really likes you, she'll make a great Mum someday."

"I dunno Cheryl." Ste hadn't told her that since Amy had disappeared he hadn't really felt much like dating and that all the dates he had been on had been utter disasters. He couldn't even remember the last time he had felt attraction to another person. He pecked Cheryl quickly on the cheek before heading out the front door.

Ste made his way back to where the main crowds were enjoying the festival in the centre of the city. It was now mid-afternoon so he had plenty more hours to scout out good possible targets. Hopefully by night-fall he will have made enough money to get his landlord off his back about missed rent payments, though he could hardly believe that someone could get away with charging him for the damp dump he and his kids called home.

As he pushed his way back into the packed mob of people jumping and bouncing in front of the main stage Ste could feel the air growing heavier around him. He sensed there would be a big storm tonight.