This story is part of my Alex stories and chronologically comes after everything but A trip to the Zoo but I don't think you have to read any of them before reading this one if you don't want to.
Disclaimer- I own nothing I wish I did but I just get to play with the characters
Hermione's Bad Day
"I really think we should look into swim lessons for Alex before we go on holiday" Sandra told her partner Robert Strickland. They were sitting in the main UCOS office drinking tea. She was stretched out on the small red sofa while he sat nearby in the matching red chair.
"She isn't even two yet can you teach children that age to swim?" he asked unsure of her idea.
"They have classes to teach infants how to swim" she scoffed at him.
"Yes but does it actually work? I don't really understand why you want to do this?" he asked still confused. They had a beach holiday in Spain planned in a few months and Sandra had gotten it into her head that Alex needed to know how to swim.
"She is moving a lot faster now, we take our eyes off her and she is half way up the stairs. I don't want to risk something horrible happening while on holiday." She argued with him and he had to admit she had a point, better safe than sorry.
"Okay I can see your point I suppose it couldn't hurt. You are the one getting in the pool with her during these lessons right?"
"Yes I am don't worry" she laughed before taking a drink of her tea.
"Good" he sighed. "I thought you said Gerry and Jack were on their way back with some key evidence?" He asked looking at his watch, they had been waiting for the last half hour.
"They should be back any minute—ah here they are—wait is that Hermione with them?" she asked sitting up in alarm.
"Hermione?" he asked looking around confused. Right next to the two older men was his 15 year old daughter. He searched his brain for a reason why she was here and came up with nothing but upsetting and serious scenarios. He stood up as the three entered the room his heart trying to escape his chest from worry.
"Hermione what are you doing here?" he asked immediately.
"Daddy" she wailed bursting into tears and running towards him. When she was close enough he pulled her into his arms holding her tight.
"We found her in the lobby demanding to see her father" Gerry explained. "Though it best to bring her right down with us."
"Thank you Gerry" Sandra replied softly grateful for their actions.
"Darling what's wrong?" he asked very concerned, he rubbed circles on her back as she sobbed into his chest.
"It's Theo" she cried loudly.
"Who's Theo?" Gerry whispered to Sandra.
"Boyfriend" she answered him so only he could hear.
"Ah…um Jack why don't we go get some coffee…or take away…or something" Gerry said dragging the other man out of the room.
"Mione sweetheart you need to tell me what happened, did he hurt you?" he asked afraid of the answer.
"Yes" she moaned and his blood ran cold.
"Tell me what he did to you" he demanded. His mind was already plotting the boy's murder he would make him pay for laying a finger on his daughter.
"I gave him my heart and he tore it up and smashed it under his foot." She exclaimed dramatically and he let out a sigh of relief.
"That's terrible" he replied choosing his words carefully, he didn't want to accuse her of over reacting. "Why don't we sit down and you can tell us all about it?" He offered catching Sandra's eyes and she nodded in agreement confirming that he was doing the right thing.
"Okay" the girl agreed. Strickland loosened his embrace and guided her towards the sofa. Sandra quickly shifted over to the red chair allowing the two of them to sit on the sofa together.
"Now I know you're upset by why don't you try and tell us what happened?" he suggested trying to make it clear he supported her.
"Two days ago I told Theo I loved him and I meant it and he said it back and then we kissed and it was perfect dad you have no idea how wonderful it was." She began to gush and it took all his resolve just to control his thoughts and emotions. The idea of a boy kissing his daughter made him panic. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sandra hide a smirk in her cup of tea at Hermione's suggestion that he had no idea how wonderful it all was.
"Where was this?" he asked, he couldn't resist wondering where the two had managed to kiss each other while at school. He ignored the glare Sandra sent him, he had a right to know how she managed to kiss a boy unsupervised at school.
"Before lunch and then we walked to the cafeteria hand in hand, it was magical." She told them wistfully completely oblivious to his reaction.
"Did something happen today to change all that?" He asked trying to pull the story out of her, he didn't think he could take hearing anything more about this 'magical relationship'.
"You bet it did" her whole demeanor changed and she became angry. "Before lunch today he tells me he is breaking up with me. Said he didn't think I was the right girl for him. I couldn't believe it we were in love. I asked him why now after he said he loved me. And do you know what he said? He said that he only said he loved me because I said it and that he didn't actually love me at all. Can you believe that?" she wailed angrily at them.
"No I can't" he replied telling her what he knew she wanted to hear.
"As if that wasn't bad enough at the end of lunch I saw him walking with Margo Hunter, she is the most popular girl in school and they were holding hands." She cried to him as her tears returned and slid down her cheeks. "He dumped me for her after I said I loved him."
"Oh darling I am so sorry he did that to you, he didn't deserve you" he said pulling her closer to him trying to make her feel better. Though he had little experience with teenage girls and broken hearts. He shot Sandra a look for help.
"Hermione I know it hurts right now and you probably feel like it will never go away but it will get better I promise you. There are nice boys out there." She told the teen attempting to help make the girl feel a little better.
"I hate him so much he was only with me till someone better came along" she huffed as her tears began to dry.
"That's right I promise you he wasn't good enough for you" Sandra added.
"You will feel better in a few days give it time, he will regret what he did" he told her building off what Sandra had said hoping it was the correct response was to his daughter's comments.
"I don't want to feel better I want to get even. Daddy will you arrest him for what he did?" she asked him an evil look in her eye.
"Hermione you know I can't do that" he replied unhappily because secretly nothing would give him greater pleasure.
"But he hurt me, I want you to arrest him and scare him" she demanded.
"Darling I would love nothing more than to arrest him but he didn't do anything illegal, I can't arrest someone unless they break the law. If I did then I would be unlawfully detaining him and then I would be the one breaking the law." He tried to explain the situation to her.
"It should be against the law" she huffed.
"If it were we would have to lock up most of the country" Sandra warned her.
"But couldn't you find a way just this once? I want to see his face when you lock that door with him in a cell." She begged him sounding rather vicious.
"I'm sorry sweetheart I can't" he apologized.
"Hermione when you calm down I think you will actually be happy your father can't arrest your ex-boyfriend. When people at school found out all the other boys would be too afraid to ask you to be their girlfriend." Sandra advised her wisely of the repercussions she would face and Hermione seemed to consider the idea before she replied.
"I guess that is true, I want them to be too afraid to dump me but I guess that isn't possible" she sighed in defeat.
"No it isn't" Sandra confirmed.
"Are you sure you can't scare him?" she asked her father one more time.
"I'm afraid I can't" he said shaking his head.
"What about your handcuffs? Could you use them on him?" she asked him hopefully.
"No Hermione I can't handcuff him unless he breaks the law" he told her again with a sigh.
"Then can I borrow them?"
"No" he didn't feel the need to inform her that he didn't carry handcuffs anymore and hadn't since he became a DAC six years ago.
"Can Rufus borrow them?" she pushed him grasping at straws.
"No he can't, no one is borrowing any handcuffs. Hermione I know he hurt you and I would love to make him pay for it but then I would be breaking the law. I can't go around having your ex-boyfriends falsely arrest." He told her trying to be both firm and supportive.
"Fine" she replied with a huff finally giving up.
"Why don't we go get something to eat?" he offered trying to cheer her up.
"I could eat" she agreed.
"Does your mum know you are here?" he asked her. Now that he had calmed down Robert began to wonder what his daughter had told her mother about her after school activity.
"I told Rufus to tell her but you know how he can be" she told him unconcerned about the possibility that her mother would be worried about her.
"Yes I do, why don't you call her before we leave" he suggested.
"Okay, I can do that" she agreed her phone out of her pocket already.
"How did you get here?" he asked all these thoughts only just began to occur to him.
"I used my emergency taxi money" she told him and he just stared at her in disbelief. "What it was an emergency" she added. Before Robert could say anything she stood up and put the phone to hear eat. As it rang she continued to walk further away from him till she was on the other side of the room. Strickland looked over to find Sandra grinning at him trying not to laugh.
"What?" he asked folding his arms in front of him.
"I think you handled that very well" she replied softly.
"I really would like to arrest that punk" he growled.
"I know you do and I am glad you didn't give in to that desire, I would hate to see you suspended." She both praised and warned him.
"Maybe we should let her borrow your handcuffs" he suggest.
"Are you crazy? No, not going to happen" she fired back at him.
"Of course you're right, I just wish there was something I could do to make her feel better" he lamented, he hated feeling useless.
"Taking her out to dinner will help, everything else she will work through on her own just give her time." She assured him and he trusted her judgement on this issue as he had never been a teenage girl.
"Dad, mum wants to talk to you" Hermione called holding out her phone to him. He took the phone and prepared himself for his ex-wife.
"Hi Helen…No I had no idea she didn't call she just showed up…How about we talk about this when I drop her off so she can tell you herself…I am going to take her out to dinner…Yes I know it is a school night I plan to bring her straight home after dinner…Yes don't worry…I'll see you in a little while…bye" He said finally hanging up.
"Mum is…" Hermione began biting her lip nervously.
"Isn't thrilled with what you did but it is done now and we will get it all worked out with her. Come on lets go and eat so you can get home and do your homework" he told her with a sigh.
"Okay" she agreed picking up her book bag from where she had dropped it earlier.
"You want to come?" he asked Sandra.
"No you two go on I got Gerry and Jack to deal with and a case to solve. Alex and I will fend for ourselves don't worry" She grinned at him. They both knew she meant she would grab a curry on the way to pick up Alex from Ester's.
"Okay see you at home" he agreed giving her a kiss.
"Bye Hermione sorry you had a bad day" she called out to the girl sympathetically.
"Thanks, bye" she replied.
"Oh look here are your boys right now" Strickland commented at the two older men walked back into the room.
"We miss it all?" Gerry asked hopefully.
"Yes-" Sandra began to confirm his hopes but Mione cut her off.
"Gerry will you arrest my ex-boyfriend?" she asked him.
"Of course I will-" he began before catching Sandra's glare. "I will not I'm sorry" he finished saving himself.
"Come on lets go" Strickland said pushing her towards the door.
"It was worth a try" she replied as they left the office.
"You know if you give me the kids name I could-" Gerry began before Sandra curtly stopped him.
"No you couldn't Gerry" she told him sternly.
"Come on Sandra just a little?" he begged her.
"No Gerry you do anything to that boy and I will let Alex play with your phone again" she threatened him with an evil look.
"Fine that is a rather evil threat, how did she mange to change the language to Turkish?" he groaned giving in.
"She just hit a bunch of buttons" she told him with a laugh.
"Took Catlin an hour to fix it" he cried.
"Good that means you wouldn't want my toddler doing it again now would you?" she laughed.
"Nope I would not" he sighed.
"So is that what this was all about a boy?" Jack asked.
"Yep, a boy broke her heart to date a popular girl, Hermione wants revenge, you don't get to help her either Jack understand?" She threatened him as well she knew how her boys thought.
"Yes you don't have to worry about that, I got to miss all that drama thank god, I guess that is the upside to not having a child" he assured her with a smile.
"So what did you find out? Do we have the brother for the murder?" she asked getting back to the important topic at hand.
"I think we found exactly what we need" Gerry told her smiling.
"I'm home" Strickland called out several hours later as he entered the house.
"In here" Sandra called from the kitchen. He found her standing at the counter making tea with Alex balanced on her hip. The toddler was already dressed for bed in her fuzzy footed pajamas.
"Hello" he greeted them kissing Alex on the top of her head and then Sandra received a longer kiss on her lips.
"How was dinner?" she asked him.
"Good I heard all about this Theo" he responded darkly.
"And any great revelations?" she asked warily.
"Sounds like me and all my friends were at that age" he admitted.
"So you broke a few hearts did you" she teased him.
"More than a few I'm sure" he laughed.
"Is Hermione doing better?" she asked removing the tea bag from the cup of hot liquid.
"I think so, she will be fine in a day or two."
"You and I know that but she doesn't" she reminded him.
"Growing up is hard, but it is also hard watching your kids grow up, watching them make mistakes and getting hurt and not being about to do anything about it" he said with a sigh.
"And she is just the first" she pointed out with a knowing look.
"Yes though Rufus will be complete different trust me and possibly more destructive, I foresee many more trips to A&E. But what about you?" he asked taking Alex's hand getting her attention.
"Hi Daddy" she replied her head was resting on Sandra's shoulder it was close to her bed time and anyone could see she was tired.
"Hi sweetheart, you are going to break a lot of hearts aren't you?" he asked her playfully. The little girl shrugged her shoulders not really understanding what he was talking about. "Of course you will you are just as pretty as mummy." At that the child smiled, she was often being compared to her mother both in appearance and temperament.
"Let's not rush it, she is only about to turn two after all" Sandra objected.
"Well if I had my way she would never date" he admitted.
"I promise you that would never work. If you do that she will only sneak around with the boys instead. I promise you, she is my daughter—as you pointed out and I doubt you provided the necessary genetic material to counter it" she laughed.
"No I most certainly did not I am just as guilty of sneaking around as you are" he agreed with a deep laugh at the memories.
"I say you are too young to worry about boys. Shall we go read a story before bed?" she asked Alex.
"Ya" she replied happily story time was her favorite time of the day.
"Good night darling" he said kissing her forehead.
"Night daddy" she replied happily from her mother's arms.
"What should we read tonight?" Sandra asked as they walked out of the kitchen.
"Paddington Bear" Alex squealed eagerly.
With a sigh Robert poured himself a glass of scotch and sat down on the sofa to relax. He loved all three of his children dearly but sometimes he wished they didn't have to grow up.
a/n - I hope it was a fun little read (sorry for any typos) and you enjoyed it let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!