The wonderful MauraBarton349, otherwise known as Hollie, has started a re-write of one of her stories. The story was brilliant to begin with, but now it's really turning into something special. Inspired by her, I decided that my first story, "Love Shouldn't Hurt", could do with a good dusting and a new lick of paint. Hence a sort of re-write. The plot line will run similar to that of "Love Shouldn't Hurt", but it'll be different enough to seem new, and I hope it comes across that way. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you.

Jessica Waite had just finished unpacking the last of the seemingly never-ending moving boxes. She gently placed the casserole dish in the cupboard, shutting it with a push. She exhaled tiredly. She'd spent the last week cleaning and unpacking, readying the house for the arrival of her husband from their old house in Cornwall. They'd decided that it would be better for one of them to come to the new house in Canley and ready it, while the other stayed in Newquay tying off any loose ends. So Jess had volunteered, like the good wife she was, to sort the house out. She would rather have done it anyway, than Dan and his haphazard "organising" ruining her meticulously clean house. She pushed a strand of long blonde hair behind her ear, wiping her dirty hands on an old pair of jeans that she'd stolen...well borrowed...from Dan. She sat down at the table, deciding she deserved a nice big mug of tea. Getting out her sky blue mug which had cute flying owls on it, which Dan affectionately referred to as "the trough" due to its size, she filled up the kettle and watched it boil. In went the teabag, the two spoons of sweetener, the milk. Quick stir, strain the teabag, and voila, a perfect cup of tea.

Jess woke the following morning with a start. There was a pounding on the front door. She screwed her eyes against the June sunshine which was shining merrily into the room, looking to the alarm clock and seeing that it wasn't even nine o'clock in the morning yet. She groaned and got up as more pounding sounded on the door. As she wrapped her silk dressing gown round her she realised that it was her birthday. Her twenty fourth birthday to be exact. And what a brilliant way to spend it; on her own in a new house, with friends the other side of the country, her husband and family also on the other side of the country, and being rudely awoken at stupid o'clock. The pounding sounded again.

"Alright alright I'm coming!" she shouted irritably. She unlocked the door, took off the latch and opened it, coming face to face with a massive bunch of flowers, obscuring the face of whoever was holding them. She couldn't help but smile; these must be from Dan. He was a soppy so and so deep down. Very deep down, a bitter voice at the back of her mind shouted. She shook her head, not wanting to go there today. "Erm, shall I take them from you?"

The person holding the flowers moved them to the side so Jess could finally see who was holding them, "Good morning beautiful. I believe it's your birthday." Dan said with a smile, his grey eyes gleaming in the sun.

"DAN! What're you doing here? I'm so glad, come, come in and see our new home!" she said ecstatically, taking the flowers from him and placing them on the small side table before dragging him into the hall. She kissed him deeply, throwing her arms around his neck. "I've missed you so much. I hated being stuck in the house on my own."

"I know I wasn't supposed to be coming until the weekend, but I couldn't miss your birthday. And anyway, everything has been settled, I exchanged contracts with the new owner yesterday, and the last few belongings are packed up in my car. I've also got a present from your parents and Andy in there as well. Now then, my gorgeous albeit sleepy looking wife, how would you care to show me the bedroom?" he said with a cheeky glint in his eyes.

"Why Mr Waite, I couldn't think of anything better." she said with a smile. She kissed him again before turning to look at him, "Welcome home Dan."

A week later and Dan had settled in to his new home with his wife. They'd taken the week to get used to their new neighbourhood, finding the best places to eat and shop, seeing where all the local amenities were. They needed that week to relax before they both started their new jobs. Dan was a lawyer with the Crown Prosecution Service and had recently been offered a job in a police station in London. He had taken it straight away, it was a brilliant career move with a much better salary, too good not to take. The night Dan had told Jess which station he would be based at, she burst out laughing. When he asked her what was so funny, she told him that she too had been offered a job in London. And it happened to be that she'd be working in the same police station as he would be.

"Wow, the chance to get to work with my wife again on a day to day basis." Dan said with a smile. Jess frowned slightly.

"You don't think it will strain our relationship? I mean we'll be together 24/7, at work and at home. You don't think we need a little separation in our jobs?" Jess worried.

"Jess, it will only strain our relationship if we let it. Come on now, we've been married for two years already, together for five years, we'll be fine. And it's not like we'll be working out of each other's pockets. I'll probably only see you if you put forward a case to me." Dan reasoned, stroking her cheek.

"I guess you're right." she said, a small smile blooming on her face. She raised her wine glass, clinking it against Dan's. "To us and our fabulous and very exciting new jobs in London."

"To us!" Dan echoed happily.

The first of June couldn't come quick enough for Jess. It was the day that one of her dreams would finally come to fruition; working as a police officer with the Met. Ever since she had graduated from Hendon it had been her aim to work in the London police server, and four years after she had graduated, the moment was finally here. She got out of bed, heading for the shower, only to find Dan already in there. She stripped off, creeping towards the shower, opening the shower door slowly where she was immediately engulfed in steam.

"Room for a little one?" she said with a laugh, sidling into the shower, facing her husband. His black hair was plastered against his forehead, and his skin was slick with water as he pulled her to him.

"What a pleasant way to start the day." he said softly, nuzzling her neck.

"Now I only got in here with you for convenience. You see I needed a shower, you were in the shower, ergo I got in the shower with you." Jess explained, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"Are you sure it's not because you just wanted to see me in all my naked glory?" Dan suggested, pushing her wet hair away from her neck and trailing kisses from her neck to her collarbone.

"Mmm, that could possibly be it." she said, shutting her eyes in bliss.

"It would be very unprofessional of us to be late on our first day, you realise that don't you?" Dan whispered into her ear.

"Oh of course, but we're not going to be late." Jess said with a smile, her hands sliding south. Dan gasped and looked down at her smiling face.

"As you wish." he murmured, smiling at her.

The couple pulled up to the station half an hour later, just about making it in time thanks to Jess' wild driving skills.

"Jesus Christ, they don't actually let you drive the police cars do they?" Dan asked in mock horror as he made his escape from the car.

"Haha darling, haha. You forget I am trained for pursuit driving, not everyone is you know." Jess said with a wink. She grabbed her bag from the backseat and locked the car. They both looked up at the station.

"Hmm, doesn't really look like a bustling London police station does it." Dan said a bit despondently.

"Looks aren't everything." Jess said with a smile as he took her hand, walking towards reception. Manning the desk was a tall brooding officer with dark hair, a little bit older than Jess. She smiled at Dan as they walked up to the desk.

"Hello can I help you?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"I sure hope so." Jess held out her hand, waiting for the other officer to shake it. He looked at her curiously before tentatively shaking it, "I'm Jessica Waite, the new police officer? I believe Inspector Gold is expecting me?"

"Right, a new officer do you say? Do you have any proof?" the man asked.

"Why does she need proof?" Dan asked incredulously.

"Because I don't let people I don't know into the station, ok?" the man said angrily.

"Here you go. Will my warrant card do? Or do you want my driving license, passport and National Insurance number?" she asked sweetly as the officer scrutinised her warrant card. He handed it back and chuckled.

"I had to be sure, can't be too careful round here. Nice to meet you PC Waite, I'm one of your new sergeants. Sergeant Callum Stone." he said genuinely, finally meeting her eyes. She blinked quickly; his eyes were the clearest blue she had seen. "And who are you?" he asked, turning to Dan.

"Daniel Waite, I'm the new CPS lawyer for the station. Here's the paperwork." he said, handing over the letters to Callum, who quickly scanned them and gave them back.

"Nice to meet you. Right, if you go through that door, PC Waite go left, then left again, and then it's the second door on the left. It does have a sign on it. Mr Waite, go left and left again, up the stairs, take a right through the double doors, and your office is on the right, also signposted. I'll be seeing you in the briefing PC Waite." Callum said with a nod at the couple, pressing a button gaining them entrance to the main station.

"Well he seems like a gigantic prick." Dan muttered as they got through.

"He's just doing his job. Come on now; play nice on your first day." Jess said with a small smile, kissing him on the lips before they started their journey. As Jess stood outside the Inspector's office, she waved him goodbye. "I'll see you later hopefully, if not I'll see you at home. Good luck, love you!"

"Have fun, stay safe. Love you too." Dan replied as he headed up the stairs.

Jess had a brief meeting with her new boss, who just explained the ins and outs of the station, and handed her all her new kit. Once that was done, another officer came in and smiled kindly at Jess.

"Hi, I'm Sally Armstrong. Looks like you're with me for today. I'll help get you settled in and show you around." Sally said with a smile. Jess liked the look of her.

"Jessica Waite. So you drew the short straw then?" Jess said with a laugh.

"PC Armstrong offered up her services, don't worry. Now, any problems come and see me or one of the Sergeants ok? Off you go." Gina said with a dismissive nod.

"Thanks ma'am." Jess said politely, scooping her new kit up and following Sally down a corridor. "So where're you from then Jess?"

"Cornwall, a little town called Newquay." Jess said, following Sally into the changing rooms.

"No way! I was just down there for a friend's hen night. I love it there." Sally said, showing Jess which locker was hers.

"Thanks. Ah, hen nights and stag nights are what's ruining my little town." she said sadly.

"I must admit, the clubs were completely packed with stag dos and teenagers and whatever." Sally said with a nod, sitting on a bench, "So why did you decide to come to London?"

"It's been a dream of mine to become part of the Met, and so I went for the job, not thinking I'd really get it. But I got it, and my husband got a job here as well, so we took the plunge." she said with smile, pulling her shirt on.

"You're married?" Sally asked incredulously, "But you're only like twenty aren't you?"

"Aw you're sweet." Jess said with a laugh, "No I'm twenty four, and I've been married for two years. Dan's the new CPS lawyer."

"Ah right, I didn't think we had another new officer as well. So, you ready to get to briefing and out on the beat?" Sally asked, leading a now uniformed Jess down another corridor.

"Sure, bring it on." she said with a grin.

The women took seats at the back, the only ones left. Sally introduced Jess to a small crowd of officers. She could only remember a few names, like Will and Nate, and she thought one was called Beth, and maybe Millie. It would take her a while to remember all these names, but everyone seemed nice enough so she didn't think it'd take her long.

"Right children, everyone quiet please. I've got a croaky throat and I'm not going to talk over you." Gina announced to the room, which immediately quietened down, "Ok first and foremost I'd like to introduce our new officer, PC Jessica Waite, previously of the Devon and Cornwall police force. Let's give her a warm welcome." Jess smiled at everyone as they welcomed her, some whooping and catcalling, she had a feeling that was Nate and Will. "Right now that that's done, on to the agendas for today..."

Fifteen minutes later, Jess and Sally were out in the sunshine, patrolling the mean streets of Canley.

"This is the Farmeade Estate. Not quite as bad as the Jasmine Allen, but a close second. You mainly get domestic shout outs, and a few drug dealings and gang crime thrown in the mix. We get called here every day." Sally explained as they walked past a grim looking block of flats.

"How bad is the drugs situation here? We had a bad time of it in Newquay last summer, mainly weed, but we managed to get a lid on it." Jess said.

"It's pretty bad round here, mainly for ecstasy, heroin and cocaine. We try hard to get the dealers, but it's difficult. No-one wants to be known as an informant for us, no-one wants to give us information in case they get done over. It's a slow and hard process I'm afraid." Sally said with a grim smile. They walked for a few minutes in silence before Sally started her questioning again, "So, how come you got married so young?"

Jess laughed, "I guess I was young wasn't I? Probably a bit naive as well," she said sadly, "I love him, very much, and I thought we'd be together forever. He asked me after we'd been together for three years already, so it wasn't like we just met then a few weeks later we got married."

Sally paused before asking, "Forgive me if I'm intruding, but you didn't sound very sure of yourself then."

"No it's fine. I love Dan so much, perhaps too much. But he's my husband, and I respect him. He has a temper, most people do, but I forgive him for that. Everyone snaps once in a while. Lately we've been really happy though, perhaps the happiest we've ever been since we first got together." Jess said happily.

"Are you saying that he hits you?" Sally asked in disbelief.

"No no, course not, that's not what I was saying at all." Jess said quickly, "All I meant was, he gets angry, he shouts at me. That's all. We're just like every other couple."

Sally looked sideways at her new colleague, not really believing what she was saying. She was about to ask some more questions when she saw a man up ahead, looking like he was hassling a woman. "Here we go, your first experience of crime in Sun Hill. I'll call it in. Come on, let's go." The two officers ran towards the man and woman. The man turned around, snatching the handbag off the woman as he spotted the officers running at him.

"I'll get the mugger, you stay with the woman." Jess shouted over her shoulder as she took chase. She heard Sally call it in over the radio, asking for back up. The adrenaline was flowing through Jess' body; this was what she did best.

It had been over ten minutes, and frankly Jess was getting tired.

"OI! Stop!" she shouted half heartedly. She could see that he was starting to slow as well, but he was still going fast enough that soon she would lose him. She saw a main road up ahead, and radioed Sally to tell her the location. She radioed back, confirming that back-up was on its way. Jess took a deep huff and pushed through the cramp radiating in her side. The man slowed as he got to the main road, quickly looking before he started to run across. "OI! I told you to stop! So bloody stop already!" Jess yelled. She slowed briefly to check for traffic before crossing herself. The man hadn't looked properly though, and a car approached him, it was going to hit him. "Get out the way!" Jess shouted, but he didn't hear her. She put on a last final burst of speed, pushing him out of the way, but she wasn't quite fast enough herself. The car clipped the side of her, spinning her and throwing her to the ground. She threw out her hands to stop herself from face palming the ground. She cried out as her hands got all cut up from some broken glass on the road. The driver of the car had stopped as soon as she hit Jess. She got out the car, shakily walking over to Jess.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry, I...I'm sorry, I tried to stop." the woman pleaded, getting down next to Jess.

"Don't worry, I'm fine, now where's that little bugger gone?" Jess wondered, looking around. She looked up and smiled in spite of the pain; the asshole was cuffed and being led to a squad car by Will.

"Am I going to be arrested?" the woman asked, scared.

"No course not, you helped me out actually. Go on, there's no damage to your car, I'm fine except for a few cuts. Honestly, go." Jess said kindly.

"But...but, I can't just go can I?" the woman asked.

"Oh actually, while you're here could I have a quick statement, just telling me what you saw?" Jess asked, slowly trying to get to her feet, but realising that her legs didn't want to co-operate.

"PC Waite?" a deep voice called, "Need a hand?"

Jess looked up and sighed. Standing above her with an unreadable expression on his face was Sergeant Stone. He offered a hand to help her up but she shook her head, showing him the scratched up palms. "There's a bit of glass in there I think." she said nonchalantly.

"Right, what's your name?" Callum asked, turning to the driver.

"Um, Mary Langley. Am I in trouble?" Mary asked shakily.

"No, I've already told you that." Jess said with a reassuring tone.

"No Ms Langley, as PC Waite said, we just need a quick statement of what you saw, and then you're free to go." Callum said, pulling out his pen and pad.

"Erm well it happened really quick. That man, I saw him look, but he didn't see me for some reason, he just ran straight out, I tried to stop, but it was too late. And then this policewoman pushed him out the way. The side of my car caught her and she fell to the ground. That's about it." Mary answered.

"Thank you very much Ms Langley. I suggest you go home, have a sweet tea and stay home. Could I have your contact details in case I need anything else?" Callum asked.

"Of course. I live at number 15 Rawley Close." Mary said slowly.

Jess looked up with a smile, "I live at number 21."

Mary looked slightly scared, "Erm, wonderful. My contact number is 07825421762. Anything else?"

"Nope, that's everything. Be careful driving home Ms Langley. Thank you." Callum said with a nod. Once she had driven off, Callum rounded on Jess, "And what exactly were you playing at?"

"Excuse me?" Jess spat out.

"It's your first day here; you don't know the neighbourhood and you decide to pursue a mugger. You should have stayed with the victim and let Sally go after this asshole." Callum stated.

"Well excuse me for not stopping and chatting to Sally about what the best course of action was." Jess said in disbelief. She had just caught a mugger hadn't she?

"Don't get cocky with me PC Waite. Now stay there while I get the first aid kit." Callum said in a dangerously low voice. Jess rolled her eyes, all of a sudden wanting to have a good old cry. She swiped the tears away angrily as Callum crouched in front of her. His face softened as he saw her crying. "I'm sorry Jess, I didn't mean to snap, but you didn't exactly go about things the right way."

"Yeah well, I'm sorry I stopped a mugger from getting away, never mind hurting myself. You're welcome by the way." Jess said tearily. Callum tried not to laugh, but failed. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Now this is gonna hurt." Callum said with a wince as he got some tweezers out the kit, pulling out a piece of glass. He wiped an antiseptic wipe over her hands, causing her to let out a hiss of pain, "Sorry." He carefully placed a gauze dressing over both hands, bandaging both up. "Now that'll do for now, but get Sally to take you to the hospital once she get's round here. Ok? I'll be over there once I've dropped this mug back at the station to see how you're doing." Callum paused before saying, "Do you want me to tell Dan what's happened?"

Jess' head shot up, her eyes wide, "No, do not utter a word. He'll only worry, and I'm perfectly fine. Thanks sarge."

"No problem. See you later." Callum said with a nod, gathering up the first aid kit and walking back to the patrol car.

"Is she alright?" Will asked with concern.

"She'll be fine, she seems a tough one." Callum said with a nod, speeding back to the station.

An hour later and Jess had finally been seen by a nurse.

"I just want to run some more tests." the nurse said to Jess, quickly jotting something down.

"What kind of tests?" Jess asked.

"Well an x-ray to start with, to check you haven't broken anything." the nurse replied.

"No thanks, I don't need an x-ray; it'd be a waste of my time and yours. All the other tests came back fine. Seriously, I don't want an x-ray. I'd like to discharge myself." Jess said clearly.

"I'll tell you now it's against medical advice." the nurse said seriously.

"Yep, understood, could you get me the discharge papers please?" she asked again.

"Of course, I'll be back in a few minutes." the nurse said with a nod. A minute later the curtain to her cubicle was opened to reveal Callum.

"Sarge." Jess said with a nod.

"PC Waite. How's it going?" he asked, indicating her hands.

"Fine, you did a good job. They just cleaned it up again and checked for more glass, then gave me a few stitches for the deepest cut. The rest have just got plasters on. Nothing I can't handle." she said with a smile.

"I don't doubt it. When are they letting you out?" Callum asked, taking a seat.

"In a minute hopefully, I've just discharged myself." she answered.

"And why did you do that?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Because I'm taking up a bed they actually need, and I don't need any more tests. And anyway, I'm fine." Jess said. The nurse came back and handed Jess the forms.

"Just sign there, that's just to say I've said it's against medical advice due to wanting you to have more tests." the nurse explained.

"Thank you. Here you go. So can I go now?" Jess asked.

"Yep you're free to go. Just make an appointment with outpatients to get the stitches taken out in about a week. Have a good day." the nurse said with a smile, taking the paperwork back.

"Thank you, you too." Jess said, hopping off the bed. Callum grabbed her jacket and hat, "Thanks sarge."

"Let's get you back to the station. The Inspector wants to see you." Callum said, leading her to the car.

"Is that bad?" Jess asked.

"Not sure. She could want to see you because of this, or she could want to see you to see how you're getting on." Callum explained.

"Right." Jess said quietly.

Jess had just emerged from the Inspector's office, looking rather sheepish with herself. Callum walked past at that moment, smiling slightly at the look on her face.

"Went well then?" he said, trying not to laugh.

"Well, she yelled at me a bit, berated me, was quite disbelieving about how it's my first day and I've already had to go to St Hugh's, but then she commended me on the arrest. Then she said she's got a feeling St Hugh's will be seeing a lot more of me, and that she's getting old and her heart can't take it as well as it used to." Jess said, accepting the cup of coffee from Callum.

"So she gave you the whole spiel about how disappointed she was?" Callum asked.

"Pretty much. I'd rather she shouted at me the whole time to be honest." Jess said with a laugh.

"Jess? Jess are you ok?" Dan said in concern, rushing towards his wife, pausing to quickly throw a look of contempt at Callum.

"Yeah I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" she asked innocently, sitting on her hands.

"I heard someone walking past my office saying something about the new copper having to go to hospital." Dan asked hurriedly, crouching down in front of her.

"Erm, well, it was an arrest that's all. I saved a man's life and got his arrested all at the same time. You should be proud of me." she said with a forced smile.

"Proud? You could have got yourself killed! Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Dan cried in frustration. He stood up, rounding on Callum. He wasn't quite as tall as the Sergeant, but his anger made him seem bigger, "And you! Why weren't you looking after her? How did you allow this to happen?" Dan demanded.

"I'm going to ask you to take a step back from me right now." Callum said in a dangerous soft voice.

"Dan come on, please, let's go and get a drink in the canteen." Jess pleaded, standing up and placing a hand on Dan's arm. He turned and took her hand roughly, "Dan let go, that hurts."

"Look what you've done to her." Dan stormed.

"Let go of her, she's just said you're hurting her." Callum growled.

Jess wrenched her hand away, "You two can be all macho at each other for as long as you like. I'm going to do some paperwork." Jess said, shaking her head in disgust at each man before walking off.

The car journey home was a silent one. Both Jess and Dan were still fuming at each other, for different reasons. Once Dan had pulled up to the house, Jess got out the car, storming up the path and letting herself in. She heard Dan shut the door behind him, before he walked into the living room. Jess went into the kitchen, finding the largest wine glass she owned before filling it nearly all the way to the top with some red wine. She kicked off her shoes in the hallway before heading upstairs.

"Where're you going?" Dan demanded.

"For a bath." she said in a clipped tone.

"Are we not going to talk about what happened?" he asked, moving closer to her. She took a step up the stairs, shaking her head.

"Not until you've calmed down." she walked as quickly as she dared up the stairs, grabbing her nightclothes from the bedroom before locking herself in the bathroom.

"You can't hide in there all night!" Dan yelled through the door, "And when you do emerge we're going to talk, even if it takes all night!"

Jess sank into the steaming water, slipping her head under the water. It burned her face, but she didn't care because that meant it was burning her tears away. She thought of this morning, of how happy they'd been. And then she started crying.