Working with 'murdering nutters' all day was a difficult, exhausting task for even the best, most experienced police officers. For DCI Gill Murray, it was even more taxing, having to put on that cold, tough exterior every day, when sometimes all she wanted to do was let rip. Gill was the last one to leave the office, and had decided that a bottle of red wine and dinner with her son in front of the television sounded like the perfect evening. She pulled on her long beige jacket and lifted her handbag onto her right shoulder; car keys in her hand ready.

Her heels on the stairs echoed through the deserted building and on reaching the bottom of the stairs, held her head high and walked past the drunks, the druggies and the shitbags being brought into custody. She reached the big blue doors, and with a lot of effort from her fine-boned body, opened the door and stepped onto the wet street of Oldham. Her hair already looked a mess from a long, gruelling day, so a little bit of rain did not bother her. The young girl walking past Gill did not catch her eye; she just kept her head down and walked on. The quiet night was disrupted by a motorbike, which was clearly over the speed-limit, racing past her. What really caught Gill's attention was the fact the motorbike mounted the pavement and was heading straight for the girl. Gill had no idea whether it was deliberate or if the person on the bike had just lost control for one reason or another. But at this precise moment, there wasn't much she could do. She turned and ran towards where the girl was walking, to try and push her out of the way to save her from being hit; but two steps later the bike was already on its side, the girl lying very still on the wet concrete.

Gill felt as though she had been hit by a truck; her chest was heavy and she felt weary. Despite her own anxious state, she still bent down next to the girl and searched her pocket for her mobile phone. Her blood red nails pushed three buttons, and there was a brief moment of silence before she spoke,

"Ambulance please, Oldham police station, young girl been knocked over by a motorbike" she was blunt, but needed to give the girl her full attention.

"Can you hear me love?" Gill asked, realising the girl was breathing and conscious.

She nodded slightly and whispered "yes"

"I'm Gill, Gill Murray, I'm a police officer, DCI" Gill began. "What's your name?"

"Lily"

"Hi Lilly, how old are you?" Gill asked, just trying to keep the girl awake and talking until the ambulance arrived.

"Nineteen"

"Is there anyone I can call for you?" Gill asked

"No, there's no one"

"What about your parents?" Gill questioned, growing more concerned.

"I said there's no one" Lily replied, a little firmer this time.

"Okay, okay, you just keep nice and calm for me" Gill smiled, trying to reassure Lily, but knowing that if her face showed how she felt inside, there wasn't much hope.

Like a light bulb switching on in her head, Gill looked over to the bike to see if the person was injured. But there was no one there. 'How the hell did he survive that and get away so quickly and so quietly?' Gill thought to herself. She looked back to Lily. The ambulance still hadn't arrived.

"Gill" the girl whispered frailly.

"Yeah?" Gill answered with a smile, diverting her eyes from Lily to the road and back again.

"I'm scared" she confessed with a stray tear.

"I know, but you're going to be fine, alright?"

"Please don't leave me, please" Lily begged, her crying becoming harder. Gill slipped her fingers around Lily's cold hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Look, I really should be getting home" Gill replied quickly; she wasn't the squishy, caring, motherly type, she wouldn't have been any good at all this, in her own opinion.

"Please, I'm begging you don't go. You're the first person in years to even ask me what my name is, please don't go now"

Gill nodded. "I'm not going anywhere, alright?" she asked rhetorically.

"Thank you"

At that moment the ambulance pulled into the side of the road, metres from where Gill and Lily were.

"DCI Murray" one of the ambulance men greeted; having known each other from other jobs where Gill had to visit hospitals to collect statements, their meeting was more friendly than expected.

"Ah, John, nice to see you, well, it would be under nicer circumstances" Gill tried digging herself out of the whole she was creating, but decided it was easier to shut up before she made it worse.

"What have we got?" he asked.

"This is Lily, nineteen years old, hit by a motorbike doing at least 80 miles per hour; mounted the pavement, she had no chance of moving" Gill informed, just as she would when briefing her team on a case.

"Right, we need a trolley, spinal board and collar" John shouted to his colleague who waited by the ambulance for instructions.

The equipment arrived and Lily was soon on the trolley, being wheeled toward the ambulance.

"Is it alright if I go with her?" Gill asked John.

"Of course it is"

Gill smiled a reassuring smile at Lily, taking hold of her hand once more. "It's all going to be alright, I promise"