A/N: Just a little something that wouldn't leave me alone and turned out completely different to how I had expected. But never mind. Slight reference to the episode Legends. Hope you enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
This Time
To all intents and purposes the situation was different.
Instead of Stuart delivering the message, it was some other Detective Constable. Even the message was different. Instead of "D.S. Reid has been in an accident" the detective had reported that "D.S. Jardine has been in an accident."
But it had still been Jackie.
Not Jackie his friend, but Jackie his wife.
So this time he didn't have to pretend that the message didn't affect him as deeply as it did. He didn't have to continue with his duties at the station. Instead he could get up from his desk, with deceptive calm, and leave for the hospital without so much as a backward glance.
This time he had a right to be with her, the right to hold her and give her some comfort.
Fortunately there had been no casualties, except for the cars that were involved. The other drive had come through a red light, effectively taking off the bonnet of Jackie's car and smashing his own in the process.
Because Jackie wasn't seriously injured, he could forgive the man.
However, next time Jackie might not be so lucky.
And if that were the case, then Michael knew he would be out for blood.
This time, however, he just held her close, assuring himself that she was ok. This time he just took her home.
This time.