Hey, this is my first fanfiction of The Bill. I know the show hasn't been on for ages but never mind, I was never really into it when it was o but now I miss it. Hope you enjoy it and please review.

Chapter 1

NEIL

"Night gov." Came a voice through Neil's doorway, he sat up straight and casually replied whilst staring at some papers,

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, seven am sharp" he heard a slight muffled giggle, he looked up, it was Grace. How did he not recognise her voice? She gave him a small smile and left CID for the day. Neil sat back in his chair, clicking his pen impatiently. He had paperwork to do, but his mind was on something else, he couldn't work out what though, so he decided to call it a day. His eyes looked around CID, of course there wouldn't be anyone else there, and he was the last to leave, like always. He nodded to himself as he saw that everything was vaguely in a respectable state. He noticed a tray though on Stevie's desk marked 'DI MANSON' he smiled, she had obviously forgot to give it to him. He considered going back to his office but instead he decided to take it home as he had nothing else to do. He went down the stairs, he heard some uniform officers asking about the pub. He wasn't going to go. He just wanted to get home, it had been a long day and Max had been almost unbearable.

When he arrived home, he took of his jacket and tie and laid them on the table. It was so quiet. He was usually accustomed to the silence but tonight he didn't want it. He wanted someone to talk with and share a bottle of wine, but there was one else there. Just relax, that's all he needed to do. He switched the TV on and skimmed through the channels. Nothing. Well not nothing, there was plenty on, but nothing he wanted to watch. So he just sat on the sofa tapping his phone on the coffee table. Grace he thought. He tried to banish the name, but he was unsuccessful. He dialled her number.

"Gov," she answered, "Something wrong with my paperwork?" He avoided he question,

"Grace, what's my number saved under on your phone?" he asked, she paused.

"Neil Manson" she replied cautiously.

"Good," he replied abruptly, "I'll see you tomorrow." He quickly said as his courage began to drain.

"Ok, bye gov," she replied, trying not to sound confused.

"Neil," he simply stated, "We're not at work and I have a name."

"By Neil, see you tomorrow"

"Yeah, night" he hung up to avoid being caught up in a conversation. Why did he hang up? He thought after. Why couldn't he just carry on talking? He wanted to call her number again, but he couldn't.

GRACE

She sat there, at the table in her apartment. She had her phone in her hand, she was still confused. Why had he rung her, they were friends, yeah but, they hardly ever talked outside of work. Why hadn't she kept him on the phone, she wanted to talk to him. She sat there for a few minutes, she sighed and got up. She looked at the clock, 22:30. She went over to the fridge, grabbed a ready meal out of it and put it in her microwave. He stood waiting for it the buzzer to go off. It seemed like hours. It eventually went off. She took it out, she started to eat the pasta, she wasn't particularly hungry but she needs some food. She finished, washed the plate and went for a shower.

She got into a slouchy top and trousers. She sat watching the TV, she didn't like the programme but there was nothing else. Her phone went off,

"Neil?"

"Grace, sorry about before."

"Its fine, problem?"

"No, about the case today"

"Its fine," she interrupted him,

"No, it was unfair to question you and your integrity, wasn't it?" she laughed,

"Yeah"

"You're perfectly capable of your job and I over reacted. I'm sorry; I've had a lot on my mind recently."

"I've noticed. I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but it might help"

"Yeah, I need to tell you something. My son, Jake, he has..."

"Neil?" her voice sounded concerned.

"Jake has..." Grace waited patiently, "Jake has leukaemia, I couldn't tell you because you would know how badly I am coping with this."

"Neil," she heard slight sobbing from Neil, "Neil, listen, Jake will be alright. He's your son, has bound to be alright, I promise"

"He gets some test results back tomorrow"

"For what?" Grace asked, the quickly thinking about it, "If you want to tell me,"

"See if he's in remission."

"Well at least they are testing to see if he's in remission, they wouldn't if they didn't think there was a chance that he wouldn't be, would they?" she asked,

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Please can you come with me to find the results?"

"Neil, I'm at work, it will only take an hour at most, and ill clear it," he paused, "with myself."

"Ok then, what time?"

"11?"

"Ok I'll see you then, St Hugh's I'm guessing."

"Yeah, I'll meet you at the main reception."

"Ok then ill se you there."

"Night Grace"

"Yeah, night Neil."