Disclaimer: I don't own Taggart, it belongs to STV...
Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for the end of "Law"!
Author's Note: Right, I'm nervous now - first attempt into this fandom. I watched the episode "Law" the other night on the internet, and this is what happened. Now, considering I know hardly anything about Taggart, I really hope this is alright... My thanks go especially to Lee (AlternativeRocker), who helped me with some of the details for this, and I know she's eagerly awaiting this, so... On with the story!
***
Almost Flawless
"Robbie, are you alright?" Jackie asked the aforementioned man, who was sitting at his desk with his head in his hands.
He looked up at her as she perched on the edge of his desk. "I suppose… I'm just…"
"… Worried about Stuart?" she finished for him. He nodded, wondering how she managed to read his thoughts. "I am too… But I'm sure he'll be fine…"
Robbie sighed heavily. "You know, I can't help but think this was my fault, though…"
It was. Jackie thought. "Why's that?"
"Well, the boss ordered us to stay put, and even you told me not to go, but I went anyway, and now Stuart's in the hospital…"
"Robbie, you weren't to know that Samuel was going to look out of the window, or that he had a knife…"
"I should have listened. I'm a bloody DI, I'm meant to look after my junior officers, not get them injured! I should have listened!"
Jackie felt for Robbie. She really did. She could see he was beating himself up about this. "Hey, don't worry about it. What's done is done. No point crying over spilt milk, you know…"
"I know."
"Anyway, I'm sure Stuart doesn't blame you for what happened…"
"He probably does. I wouldn't blame him if he did…"
"I think I might go and see him in a bit. You gonna come?"
"I don't think I could face him right now… I'll go later…"
"As long as you do actually go to visit him. I'm sure he'll want to see you; you're his friend, after all…"
Robbie snorted. "Some friend, huh?" Jackie rolled her eyes. "Oh god…" Robbie groaned. "I bet I'm gonna get a right bollocking from the boss…"
"Probably." Jackie thought for a minute. "Right, I'm going…"
"Talk to you later?"
"Yeah. Well, if the DCI hasn't killed you by then!"
"I'm sure I'll be fine…"
"I'm sure you will…" Jackie walked towards the door.
"See you later, Jackie!"
"Bye, Robbie!"
A little while later, Robbie's phone went off, announcing the arrival of a text. 'You really should have listened, though…' it said. Robbie laughed. Typical Jackie.
***
Meanwhile, in the hospital, Stuart awoke to find himself being watched by Burke. "Hello, sir…" he yawned, raising his right arm to cover his mouth.
"How are you feeling, Stuart?"
"Alright so far, sir…"
"That's good. What have the doctors said?"
"Mainly that I was very lucky… Unfortunately, I won't be very helpful to you for at least a couple of weeks…"
Burke chuckled at Stuart's words, and at the expression on his face. "Never mind, Stuart, it could have been worse…"
"I know." He thought for a minute. "Sir, you do realise that my plan was almost flawless?"
Burke raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"Well, it worked, didn't it? I got the confession…"
"I suppose…"
At this point, Jackie arrived in the doorway. "Hi Jackie…" Stuart said, smiling and beckoning her in.
"Hello, sir…" she said. Burke nodded his head in acknowledgement. "How are you, Stuart?"
"I've been better…"
"Stuart was just about to explain the flaws in his plan, weren't you, Stuart?" Burke stated, looking at the young officer.
"Yeah. Well, the only flaws were that we didn't plan for the unforeseen circumstances…" Stuart replied. "Such as the officer spotted by Samuel, which was probably Robbie… Like Samuel having a knife, and being killed with said knife, thus making this completely pointless…"
"It wasn't completely pointless, Stuart…" Jackie responded.
"As you said, had it not been for some of the unforeseen circumstances, then we may have been slightly more successful…" Jackie glared at Burke. "But at least we did actually find out who the murderer was, and why he did it…"
Silence followed his words, with none of the officers knowing what to say to each other. Burke cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "Right, I think I'll get back to work… Jackie, can I have a word?"
"I'll be back in a minute, Stuart…"
"Well, I'm glad you're making a full recovery, Stuart… I'll come back soon, and we can… talk, alright?"
"Yes, sir…"
With that, Burke and Jackie left the room temporarily.
"I need to talk to Robbie. Do you know where he is?"
"I've no idea, sir. Last time I saw him, he was still in the office…"
"Right."
"Go easy on him, will you, sir? He was only trying to look out for Stuart, and he's beating himself up about this enough as it is…"
"A great lot this 'looking out for Stuart' did to help him!" Burke snapped. He sighed, noting the look Jackie was giving him. "Alright. I'll try not to be too hard on him…"
"Thank you, sir." Jackie stepped back into the room to talk to Stuart. Burke watched the two for a minute before walking off.
***
"Are you alright, Stuart?" Jackie asked as she sat in the chair next to him.
"Yeah. Very lucky, I guess…" He sighed and looked Jackie in the eye. "You know, this could have ended up a lot worse… I mean, if Samuel had aimed a bit further right and a bit further down, then I wouldn't be talking to you now…" He looked away.
"Hey, Stuart, look at me…" Jackie said softly. He did, albeit reluctantly. "You're right. It could have been a lot worse! But it wasn't. Samuel didn't aim further right and down, and you're still here! There is no point worrying over what might have happened!" This conversation sounds vaguely familiar… Jackie thought.
"You're right. I'm sorry, Jackie…"
"Don't worry about it."
Neither of them spoke for a minute. "I don't blame him. It wasn't his fault." Stuart said. Jackie looked at him questioningly. "I know he feels guilty, but I understand he was trying to help. I know he wasn't sure about this, and I realise he was worried. He was trying to do what was best, and I accept that."
Jackie looked stunned for a minute, before she reached over to hug him. "Thank you, Stuart. But I'm not the person you need to say that to…"
"I know. If you could give him a gentle nudge in my direction…"
"I will, don't worry." Jackie thought for a moment. "How did you know it was Robbie that Samuel saw?"
Stuart smiled. "Process of elimination. I know Burke was listening on the wire, so he would have been too occupied with that to do it, and anyway, if it was him, that would have been a show of hypocrisy. And it wasn't you, for the reason that I don't think you would do something like that, let alone disobey Burke's orders for fear of being suspended. Therefore, that leaves Robbie!"
Jackie laughed. "Nice work, detective!"
"Why, thank you!"
Jackie looked at her watch. "Right, I think I might go and find our elusive friend, before it's too late, and probably before Burke gets to him…" Stuart laughed. "I'm gonna miss you being around, Stuart…"
"I'll miss you too. Don't worry though, it won't be for long…"
"I guess. I'll try to get Burke to let you come in to do the paperwork for us!"
They both laughed. "Thanks, Jackie…"
"That's alright. See you later, Stuart!"
"See you later, Jackie!"