Banksy's got a Secret.
Legal stuff: Still not mine such is life. (The Red Rose speaks of passion belongs to John Boyle O'Reilly.)
A/N: A short one off story that popped into my head unexpectedly after watching the last two episodes of The Bill just how sweet have the Grace/Neil scenes been eh?
Jacob 'Banksy' Banks had a secret well technically it wasn't his secret it was somebody else's he'd appropriated it if you can appropriate secrets that is; but all the same second hand or not this secret made him grin from ear to ear as he left work for the night.
"Somebody's in a good mood" Stevie Moss commented as he sauntered past her in the entrance way hands in pockets, whistling to himself "Did you win the lottery or something?"
"Can't tell you it's a secret" Banksy cheerily replied as he headed off into the night.
It had started with such a simple thing this secret he now shared, a single perfect scarlet rose bud and a smile a lover's smile. This morning he'd been assigned to a multiple burglary case along with another DC working at Sun hill, Grace Dasari. Several flats belonging to either afro-Caribbean or Asian families living on the Jasmine Allen Estate had been robbed the culprit or culprits leaving a swastika symbol on each victim's living room wall. Because of both his and Grace's ethnic backgrounds they had been specifically selected for this case by DI Manson since he believed that they would have a better rapport with the victims than any of the other officers in CID would. They had spent the morning on the Jasmine Allen interviewing several people and had returned to Sunhill just after lunch time Grace had gone to her desk to access her computer Banksy in tow sitting down she'd picked up something off her desk a puzzled frown on her face.
"Oh" She murmured softly to herself examining the object carefully, a perfect scarlet rose bud tied with a silky ribbon in the exact same shade of red; Banksy watched on fascinated as her lips began to form a smile and what a smile at that! Her whole face seemed to light up she radiated happiness and that in turn made Banksy smile too. Completely oblivious to her colleague now Grace gently placed the rose to one side and picked up a folded piece of cream paper which Banksy hadn't noticed before had been under the rose. Opening the note Grace began to read it and over her shoulder so did Banksy some of it anyway.
"The red rose tells of passion, the white rose tells of love….." Banksy made out then nothing till the last few lines which said "…..Thank you for last night and every other night N."
N as in Neil Manson wondered Banksy and instinctively he swivelled round to face the guv's office the door was shut and the blinds closed but Banksy would happily swear his life away that Neil Manson was peeping through his blinds watching Grace discover the Rose and love note just like Banksy himself had been doing. If Manson ever was there he disappeared as soon as he realised Banksy was watching him the blinds closed completely.
"Ah hem" Behind him Grace tactfully cleared her throat "Banksy are you feeling alright?"
"Yes fine….." He swivelled around to face her to find both the rose and the note had vanished completely.
Fortunately for Grace and Banksy Smithy had recognised the Swastika's as the handiwork of a known graffiti artist called Tony Tankard or pintpot to his friends and it hadn't taken long to locate and arrest him. After all of two minutes in interview Tony had identified his two accomplices and all three teenagers were now in the cells waiting to see the magistrate in the morning. Banksy had finished his paperwork and was about to head off for the evening but before he went Banksy wanted to check in with Grace to say well done if nothing else. Where was Grace though? She wasn't at her desk or in CID at all; the DI's office was empty too were they together? Banksy thought back to the rose N had to be Neil didn't it? His curiosity won out and Banksy decided to find out so he set off to find the two officers.
He started off in the canteen but had no luck then he tried the interview suite still no sign so he tried custody but found only Jo Masters filling in paper work.
"What can we do for you Banksy" Jo looked up from the stack of forms she was completing.
"Nothing really I was just looking for Grace I don't suppose you have seen her at all" Banksy asked carefully.
"Try the evidence locker she said something about needing to retrieve some stuff for the Benson case last time I saw her" Jo suggested.
"And that was" Banksy tried not to sound too desperate.
"About five minutes ago" Jo confirmed.
"Was she alone?" Banksy enquired.
"She is over twenty one" Jo snorted "Alright are you going to tell me what's going on? Does this sudden interest you've developed in Grace's whereabouts involve Neil Manson by any chance?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about" Banksy grinned and dashed off.
"Right Dasari I want all the gory details when we have lunch tomorrow" Jo muttered under her breath as she returned to her form filling.
Upon entering the corridor where the evidence locker was located Banksy could see the door was slightly ajar casting a beam of light into the hallway and he could hear voice's two voices to be exact he'd been dead on the money Banksy had the urge to punch the air in delight but thought better of it and decided to earwig outside the door instead.
"Did you like your gift" Neil Manson's voice asked softly.
"You know I did thank you" Grace replied as Banksy reached the door.
"Your wel….." Before Manson could finish his sentence something stopped him; something that sounded exactly like his guv being kissed full on the lips.
"You really did like it didn't you" Manson mumbled a few moments later.
"I really did" Grace confirmed.
"Good in that case….." This time it sounded like Manson had returned the favour and was kissing Grace.
Forgetting where he was Banksy leant forward causing the door to swing wide open and the startled DC to fall flat on his face.
"DC Banks can we help you at all" Manson enquired, looking suspiciously pleased with himself.
"I just….er wanted to see Grace" Banksy babbled getting to his feet "…..say goodnight."
"Well now you've seen her haven't you" Neil pointed out.
"Good night Grace" Banksy backed off along the corridor.
"Good night Banksy" She grinned as she and Manson headed back into the evidence locker closing the door firmly behind them. The last glimpse of them Banksy got was of Neil Manson pulling a certain DC into his arms once more just before the door clicked shut.
"Well I never" Banksy chuckled to himself the guv an old romantic on the qt who knew? Their secret was safe with him for as long as they wanted it to be they knew that but it still made Banksy feel like dancing "About time too" He chuckled again.
In fact he was still chuckling to himself when he arrived home "Naomi it's me" He called out to his wife.
"I'm in the kitchen" Naomi called back.
When he finds her she's got her back to him fussing over a wok, grinning Banksy sneaks up and slides his arms around her waist "Good evening my love" He kisses the back of her neck.
"Ok what have you done?" Naomi turns round to face him.
"Nothing" He insists presenting her with a perfect scarlet rose bud of her own.
"Your not working all weekend again are you?" She asked suspiciously taking the rose anyway "That's the third time in six weeks Neil Manson wants keel hauling….."
"No" He shuts her up by planting a soft kiss on her lips "I'm celebrating."
"Celebrating? You're not pregnant are you?" Naomi quips.
"I'm celebrating romance and true love conquering all" He replies.
"Ok are you feeling alright" Naomi touches his forehead.
"Never better" Banksy beams "In my job all you normally see is the bad things in life, the darkness never the light. Today though I saw something precious, something that makes me believe it's not such a bad world after all."
"Well don't keep me in suspense" Naomi begged.
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" He asked "I do after today because I know two people who fell in love and should have been together from the moment they met and who have finally realised what everybody else on the entire planet knows that they were made for each other no matter what."
"Jacob you're making no sense whatsoever" Naomi shook her head.
"Love isn't supposed to make sense" He grinned turning off the cooker "Lets go work up an appetite for dinner shall we?"
Across town Neil Manson was thinking much the same thing as he laid Grace gently down on his bed "I love you Grace" He tells her as the space between them evaporates.
"I love you too" She whispers back their lips meeting.
The End.
A/N: All feedback gratefully accepted as always.