The phone startled Sam awake. She groggily reached for her touch lamp, illuminating the room enough to see by without facing searing pain from the brightness. She squinted at the clock on her bedside cabinet as she picked up the still ringing mobile.
"Samantha Nixon," she mumbled, hoping whoever it was had a damn good reason for waking her at three in the morning.
"Sam? Sarge, it's Jo Masters. I'm really sorry to call you so late but I need help, I didn't know who else I could call." Jo's voice sounded panicky, worried and slightly slurred, an edge to it that Sam hadn't ever heard her possess before.
"What's happened? Where are you?" The last vestiges of sleep faded instantly.
"I'm at Watergate Road police station in Nottingham." There was a brief pause. "I've been arrested… Sarge, they're trying to charge me with sexual assault." The edge hardened as Jo spoke, admitting the reason behind her early morning wake up call.
"What!" Sam barked into the tiny handset, thinking it was too early in the morning for jokes, particularly ones in such poor taste. "This is ridiculous! What on earth makes anyone think you've assaulted someone?" She asked, sitting upright and running a hand through her hair.
"The DI I've been working with told them I forced myself on her earlier tonight." Jo told her quietly.
"Jo, I hate to have to ask you this but… you didn't, did you?" Sam posed the question tentatively, cringing as she heard the sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.
"NO!" Jo insisted, although not as forcefully as Sam was expecting. "At least, I don't think so. It's all a bit hazy Sarge. I can't really explain it now, I've only got a few minutes. Can you arrange for someone to represent me? I know it's cheeky but you're the only person I trust enough to tell about this, you're the only real friend I've got at Sun Hill." Jo didn't want to admit that she considered Sam as much more than just a friend any more than she wanted to admit she had no other friends to speak of, them all having deserted her after her split with Tessa.
"Yeah of course. I'll make sure someone's there and make a few enquiries, see if I can find out a bit more about what's going on. Hang in there Jo, we'll get this sorted, ok?" Sam attempted to reassure her colleague, her mind already in overdrive thinking of the best course of action.
"I'm sorry Sarge." Jo's voice threatened to crack. Sam could almost see in her mind's eye the brunette consciously harden herself with the determination Sam had come to admire so much.
"Don't apologise, you did the right thing in calling me. Now you listen to me – you aren't a criminal and certainly not a sex-offender. This is all a big misunderstanding and we'll have it cleared up in no time." Sam heard murmuring in the background at Jo's end of the line and knew that their time was up. Without stopping to consider her motivation, Sam hurriedly said, "try and stay positive sweetheart, I won't let this go until I've got to the bottom of it." Jo felt her flagging spirits revive somewhat in the face of Sam's heartfelt promise. "I've got to go now." Jo confessed, wishing she had found a way to phone Sam over the months she had spent in Nottingham, realising how much she had missed talking to her.
"Detective Sergeant Samantha Nixon, London Metropolitan Police. I'm here for Jo Masters, I believe you have her in custody." Sam flashed her warrant card at the pimply faced young desk clerk.
"Are you here as her legal representative?" He asked, officiously.
"I'm here as her Fed Rep and as her friend and colleague." Sam barked in response, the long drive and early start making her irritable.
"I'll get the officer dealing with the case to come and talk to you." The young clerk dialled an extension, casting nervous glances towards Sam who stood motionless at the reception desk, eyes fixed on the nervy man. Replacing the receiver, he addressed Sam again. If you take a seat, DI Carter will be down in a few minutes."
Jo leant back on the narrow bunk, long since having given up on sleep. Her head pounded from the lack of air in the tiny stuffy cell, her mouth dry and bitter tasting. For the umpteenth time she tried to recall the events that had led to her arrest.
"Great result Jo, you don't have to dash off straight away, do you? I'm sure everyone would love to buy you a drink to thank you for your help nailing this guy." DI Brennan clapped a friendly hand on Jo's shoulder, her brown eyes sparkling with good humour.
"Thanks Guv, I'd like that, give me a chance to thank everyone for letting me in on this investigation and for making me feel like part of the team." Jo answered honestly, filling in the last of her paperwork.
"You sound like you're sorry to be leaving us." Siobhan Brennan commented with a dazzling smile. "The rosy hue of Sun Hill not looking so appealing anymore? And here was I thinking you had a gorgeous woman waiting for you back at home." Jo had engaged in harmless flirting with the raven-haired DI from the moment they had met. Siobhan had insisted on being Jo's contact for whenever she was required to report in, actively initiating the suggestive exchanges.
"Whatever gave you that impression?" Jo asked, affecting an air of coy innocence, one eyebrow cocked.
"Usually no woman can resist my charms for a week, let alone six months. She must be pretty special." The DI fished, realising she still knew very little about Jo Masters the person, despite their casual flirting. Jo looked into eyes so expressive she could read the DI's exact mood in them, idly wondering how they would look when aroused, knowing they would probably melt Jo with their intensity. Inevitably, that got Jo to thinking of the other eyes she had long thought about, wishing she could seem them in the throes of passion, eyes which were as stunningly blue as Siobhan's were brown.
"She sure is special." Jo replied, a flush of colour spreading across her cheeks the way it always did when she thought about Sam Nixon. Grabbing her jacket, Jo trailed after Siobhan and the rest of the team, making their way to the bar the relief often frequented.
"What can I get you?" Siobhan asked casually leaning on the bar, the air of a well practised bar-fly about her.
"I'll have a vodka, lime and lemonade, thanks." Jo replied, glancing over to where the rest of her temporary colleagues were busy making themselves at home around a table, jostling for space and leaving barely enough room for Jo and Siobhan to join them. It was going to be a cosy night, Jo thought to herself.
"DS Nixon? I'm DI Amanda Carter of the DPS. I'm in charge of investigating the case against DC Masters." The Amazonian, muscular blonde extended a hand towards Sam in greeting, looking as though she could crush walnuts in her palm without breaking into a sweat.
"When can I see Jo?" Sam asked immediately, foregoing pleasantries, her main priority hearing Jo's version of events for herself.
"All in good time. I thought first I would bring you up to speed on what we know so far. To be honest, DC Masters is probably still sleeping it off. She was somewhat inebriated when she was brought in last night." DI Carter asserted.
"Is that a fact or an unfounded opinion DI Carter? Has a blood sample been sent to the lab for testing?" Sam asked instinctively, having watched Jo drink her colleagues at Sun Hill under the table without any visible effect on her coordination.
"It wasn't necessary, we have witnesses who saw her drinking numerous vodkas prior to the assault." Amanda bristled visibly at the insinuation they had overlooked something.
"Alleged assault DI Carter, let's be sure to remember DC Masters is innocent until proven otherwise. I want a blood sample taken immediately to rule out the possibility that another substance is involved. I have seen Jo Masters drink vodka with Tequila chasers without so much as slurring her words whilst those around her are sliding off their seats." Sam supplied, her own defences pricked by the other woman's attitude.
"Fine, I'll arrange it now." Amanda Carter left the room she had ushered Sam into, seething about the Met interfering in her investigation but knowing that she had to play nice if she was to secure the desired result. 'Trust the dopey brunette to have a persistent little terrier looking out for her,' Carter thought as she enquired about the blood test. Sam was left wondering what exactly had gone on and why the Nottingham police, and it seemed the DPS, were so eager to believe Jo was capable of such a crime.
"Jo, are you ok? You look a little peaky." Siobhan placed a hand tenderly on the buxom brunette's forearm, her face a mask of concern. Jo struggled to focus on her face, alarm bells ringing dimly somewhere in the dark recesses of her mind but failing to register fully.
"Nothing a trip to the ladies and a good night's sleep won't cure, Guv," she managed to stutter out, feeling disoriented and nauseous. She hadn't had that much to drink, had she?
"Come on then, you look like you could use a hand getting there." Siobhan offered, ignoring the leering glances and wolf whistles exchanged by some of her male colleagues.
"Detective Inspector Siobhan Brennan was concerned about DC Masters so followed her into the ladies lavatories. DC Masters allegedly pulled DI Brennan into one of the cubicles, pushing her up against the door. In DI Brennan's own words, 'DC Masters then held my arms down by my sides and tried to kiss me. I turned my head away but she pressed her body up against mine, pinning me against the door and forced my face back towards hers with her left hand. At this time, DC Masters placed her right hand between my legs, not stopping fondling and kissing me until the door to the bathroom opened and another woman entered the lavatories.'"
"Sarge! What are you doing here? I didn't mean for you to come all the way up here." Jo swung her legs to the floor, resting with a hand either side of her things ready to stand but unsure if it would be mistaken as an aggressive move by the constable standing by the open cell door. Sam turned and waved the PC away pulling the door to behind her.
"You didn't think I'd leave it to someone else did you?" Sam asked softly, crossing the tiny space and crouching in front of Jo so that she could take a proper look at her. "You don't look like you got much sleep. What's this mark on your face? Have the officers been dishing out their own brand of justice?" If she were honest, Sam was asking questions only partly because she needed to hear the answers. She was shocked by how deflated and resigned Jo looked, her colleague having lost weight and gained a few more faint creases around her face in the six months since Sam had seen her last.
"Siobhan slapped me, that much I do remember." Jo admitted, averting her face, not wanting to see Sam's reaction. Shame welled up inside of her, sweeping through her soul like a raging torrent tearing down every barrier in its path. "I think I did it Sarge. From what I can remember, everything points to me having assaulted her."
"Let's save the self recrimination for afterwards. For now, I want you to talk me through everything you do remember. And I do mean everything Jo, this is no time for being coy." Sam leant one knee on the ground, resting one arm beside Jo's thigh, momentarily distracted by the heat she felt emanating from the brunette's toned limb.
Falteringly, Jo recounted what she could of her recollection of events. "DI Brennan invited me for a drink with the team to celebrate getting a result. We arrived at the pub, she and I went to the bar to get the drinks in. The others were already seated, there wasn't much space so Siobhan… DI Brennan and I were sitting next to one another, fairly close together. We all chatted about the case, slapped one another on the back verbally for cracking the gun running gig, and drank a fair amount."
"How much is a fair amount? Come on Jo, you know the drill – the key is in the details." Sam prompted, moving to sit beside Jo as her leg threatened to go to sleep. She felt Jo stiffen and move away slightly, jaw clenched tightly. Sam allowed her to compose herself again without pushing for her to continue.
"I'd had three vodka, lime and lemonades – well technically only two and a half really, the third got spilt over the table somehow. One minute it was in front of me upright, the next Siobhan swatted one of the guys over the head and the glass was on its side, contents all over the table. Siobhan immediately apologised and offered to buy me another. Mike, the guy she'd hit, also offered but Siobhan insisted, saying he could buy the next round for everyone and stop trying to get out of it by offering just me a drink. I had the drink Siobhan bought me and then another one from Mike. Then it all starts getting a bit hazy from there on in. I remember feeling nauseous and like my head wasn't quite attached to my body – as though everything was happening in slow motion. Siobhan asked me if I was alright, I told her I needed to go to the ladies'. She offered to come with me, she was worried I was drunk I think. I don't remember getting to the toilets or how we came to be in a cubicle together but I remember being there, kissing her. The next thing I remember is her slapping my face, hard, screaming at me that I was disgusting and that she'd see I never worked again for what I'd done." Jo's face was ashen as she finished telling her version of the evening, nausea and bile rising at the thought of forcing herself on another person. She rubbed her face with shaking hands, wiping away the beads of sweat that had broken out across her top lip and chewing on a thumb nail nervously.
"Okay Jo, it's really important that you try to remember this… do you remember initiating the kiss? Did you make the first move?" Sam asked, studying the confused, concerned brunette intently, not believing for a moment that Jo was capable of assaulting a woman, such was her abhorrence at the thought.
"I must have done, mustn't I? Otherwise why would Siobhan have reacted the way she did? Why would she have slapped me?" Jo answered miserably.
"I'm working on that. What would have made you think about kissing her? Say you did initiate it, why would you have done that? Had she given you cause to think it would be reciprocated?" Sam asked, frowning.
"We've flirted with one another since I arrived here, ask anyone."
"Jo, you and I flirted when you were at Sun Hill and we've drunk together on numerous occasions – often totalling a lot more than you had last night – and you've never made a pass at me!" Sam tried to force the regret from her voice as she made her observation, hoping her point was clear.
"With Siobhan it's different. I know you're off limits." Jo concluded, jaw muscles bunching beneath her skin as she looked away but not before Sam caught a flicker of disappointment fleetingly reflected in her expression.
"Why? Because she's openly lesbian? Or because you know you're leaving here soon and won't have to see her again?" The blonde terrier pressed.
"Yeah maybe a bit of both." Jo exhaled heavily. "Oh I don't know Sarge, how can I say for certain if I don't remember what the hell happened?"
Sam changed tack, backing up and trying to get Jo to focus on what she could recall. "Where were you when DI Brennan replaced the drink that got spilt?"
"Putting money in the jukebox, listening to numerous requests from the rest of the team." The buxom brunette answered with a faint smile as she recalled the banter.
"What about when - Mike was it? - bought you a drink? Was anyone else at the bar? Anyone who might have seen if your drink was tampered with?" Sam asked gently, broaching the subject that had led her to insist on a blood test.
"Sarge I was surrounded by coppers, I think someone might have noticed if my drink had been spiked, don't you? Besides, I'm the one accused of assaulting someone else, not the victim." Jo scoffed incredulously. "I appreciate you trying to find a way to get me out of this, but the sooner I face facts the sooner I can come to terms with what I've done," she proclaimed resignedly.
"How are things with Tessa?" Sam asked, blindsiding her colleague.
"I don't see what that has to do with anything." The DC responded cagily, edging slightly further away from Sam as though she might catch something from her if she remained too close.
"It's a question that might come up in the interview, I'd rather know the answer now." Sam responded, part of her knowing she had asked for purely selfish reasons.
"They're non-existent. I stopped being a part of her life the day I decided to come up here."
"Did DI Brennan know you're single?" The blonde DS asked, trying to ignore the tingling thrill she felt at the news Jo was unattached.
"I guess I might have given her the impression there was someone for me back home. Last night, before we went to the bar, she made some joke about women not being able to resist her for a week let alone six months, that whoever was holding me back must be special. I think I told her she was." Jo admitted, blushing slightly and hoping that Sam wouldn't press her for details of the woman who held her heart.
"So you let her think you still held a torch for Tessa. That doesn't fit with you making a pass at her Jo. Why would you try and kiss her if your heart belonged elsewhere?" Sam deduced.
"Why do any of us do anything when we're drunk?" Jo countered deliberately avoiding confirming the point regarding Tessa.
"I don't believe you were drunk Jo. I've seen you drink three times that volume in alcohol and still be able to walk in a perfectly straight line and act like you've not touched a drop. The blood test should confirm it but I do think your drink was tampered with." Sam insisted, twisting to try and face Jo, to show her that she was sincere. "Do you trust yourself so little around women that you are so ready to believe you're capable of assaulting one?"
"Before last night, I'd have said no chance." Jo admitted, shoulders slumping as the door to the cell opened and DI Carter appeared, summoning the pair for Jo's formal interview.
Jo's hands wouldn't move, couldn't move, they were held in place. She felt a curvaceous body press against hers as soft lips sought out her own. For a split second she responded, relishing the erotic contact, having craved such attention in her months away from Tessa and Sun Hill, before stiffening and turning away. She felt the woman's body recoil from her, the stinging slap across her face leaving her reeling as the door was flung open.
"DC Masters, we've discovered something rather interesting on the results of your blood test. Can you offer any explanation why traces of the drug known as GHB should be found in your system? Are you in the habit of supplementing your drink with recreational narcotics?" DI Carter leant her formidable bulk across the table, her low cut top riding down and revealing a generous expanse of cleavage. Sam silently fumed at the deliberate attempt to incite Jo.
"The strongest drug I've ever knowingly taken is aspirin. I have no idea how or why that came to be in my system." Jo responded evenly, keeping her gaze level with Carter's eyes refusing to rise to her bait. With an almost imperceptible smile, Sam mentally chalked one up to Jo.
"Were there any times when another person could have slipped the drug into your drink? Did you leave a drink unattended at any time?" Carter questioned, her scepticism obvious.
"Numerous. I only went to the bar once, the rest of the evening, my drinks were bought for me. I can't say that I watched them from the moment they were poured to the moment they arrived in front of me. And I was a little too caught up in talking to my colleagues to keep my drink in sight at all times. I didn't consider it necessary when surrounded by fellow police officers." Jo's words were stilted, the only sign that her temper was beginning to fray.
"How much alcohol did you consume yesterday evening at the bar?" Jo repeated what she had told Sam earlier. "Is it usual for you to drink that much?" DI Carter asked, feigning nonchalance badly.
"From time to time, yes. I'm blessed with an usually high tolerance and a fast metabolism – rarely drunk and never hung-over." Jo admitted candidly, feeling slightly more confident now that she knew she could explain the seeming drunkenness.
"What happened when you went to the ladies' room?" Carter shifted in her seat, thrusting her chest further into Jo's line of sight. Jo deliberately averted her gaze, finding it settling on Sam naturally who gave her a small smile of encouragement, eyes glittering with myriad emotions.
"I was feeling unwell, presumably from the drug I had been given. I felt nauseous, I wanted to get some water. DI Brennan escorted me under the pretence of being concerned for my welfare." Jo held Sam's gaze beside her as she recalled the remainder of the evening's events, her memory returning as the effects of the drug wore off. "She pulled me into one of the toilet cubicles and locked the door. She told me that it was time to move on from the flirting and pushed me against one of the walls. She pinned me there and kissed me. To start with, I did kiss her back but when I realised what I was doing, I turned away, just as someone else entered the bathroom. That was when she slapped me and left the cubicle, tried to make out that I had touched her and kissed her against her will." Drawing both women's attention back to her presence, DI Carter cut in.
"DI Brennan alleges that you placed your right hand inside her underwear and fondled her for a prolonged period. Did you at any time touch her?"
"How could I with her holding my arms down by my sides? The whole thing was over in seconds. I was under observation from the moment she made the allegation in the ladies' until I was brought here. If I touched her like she says I did, there would be evidence beneath my fingernails – you took samples, the results will corroborate my not touching her inappropriately." Jo stated, a small flicker of doubt crossing her face, hoping that her memory was now accurate and not fabricating what she wanted to be true.
"I still can't believe you won't press charges against her – for assaulting you and for falsely accusing you of doing just that to her!" Sam shook her head as she walked out of the station with Jo by her side. The brunette took a healthy lungful of fresh air, drawing it into her lungs as though enjoying it properly for the first time.
"I just want to forget about the whole thing. Listen Sam, thank you for believing me, for not being pissed at me for waking you in the middle of the night, and for trekking the whole way up here to be with me. It means a lot." Jo admitted, stifling a yawn.
"Don't mention it but you owe me big time now." Sam smiled rakishly, eyes twinkling mischievously. "So what now? Back to Sun Hill to make things up with Tessa?"
"I need a shower… and then sleep! What about you? Where are you staying?" Jo asked feeling a little weird at just going their separate ways but fighting fatigue.
"Erm, I don't know, I hadn't really thought that far ahead. There's bound to be a Travelodge around here somewhere with a room going spare." Sam looked about her as though one would magically appear from nowhere.
"If you can cope with me being totally antisocial and leaving you to your own devices, you're welcome to crash at my flat. It's not much, but it's been home for these last six months." Jo offered, part of her terrified of being alone with Sam but a greater part screaming at her to voice the proposal.
"Sure, that'd be great, thanks. My car's this way." Sam headed off towards her electric blue Peugeot, Jo trailing in her wake, automatically cruising the gently swaying backside of her friend.
"You never replied I asked what you were going to do now that this secondment's over. Do you think there's any hope of getting back with Tessa?" Sam asked from her position lounging on the couch.
"No, the death knell was sounding for Tess and I weeks before I decided to up-sticks and force the issue. I'd been aware for some time her affections lay elsewhere… and so did mine." Jo admitted, curling her legs tighter around her in the cosy armchair, cradling the steaming mug of hot chocolate.
Sam's eyebrow's shot up, chocolaty liquid leaking into her windpipe and causing her to choke. "Really? I had no idea! You seemed really happy together at the Christmas party." She spluttered after regaining her breath.
"What can I say? Appearances can be deceptive." Jo conceded, patting Sam's back gently having moved beside her when she inhaled her drink, feeling tiny quakes in the muscles beneath the surface of Sam's skin wherever her hand travelled.
"So you're free to follow your heart then?" Their eyes locked and for a moment Jo thought Sam would kiss her. Her panic must have been reflected in her eyes as Sam drew back slightly and looked away. "Will you let her know how you feel, this mystery woman?"
"I'm not sure she'd be open to considering a relationship with a woman."
"How will you know if you don't ask her? Life's too short to let it pass you by. You've had a shocking experience over the last 24 hours but you can't let that put you off." Sam pointed out gently, hoping she wasn't misreading the tension between them. She could feel every nerve igniting as Jo's hand continued to idly sweep across her back, despite Sam's choking fit having subsided, resulting in an intense throbbing sensation in her groin. "Trust your instincts Jo," Sam instructed.
"Sam, I…" Jo trailed off as the distance began to close between them so slowly it was almost imperceptible and would have gone unnoticed were it not for the increasingly distracting press of Sam's modest breasts against Jo's arm.
"Trust me to know what I want." Sam whispered huskily, allowing her lips to brush across Jo's with feather-light touches, inviting her to deepen the kiss and take control. Arms wound themselves around bodies; stroking, kneading, stoking the fires smouldering in both women. Jo lay Sam back on the soft cushions of the sofa, pulling back to make sure she wasn't about to receive another slap, encouraged and inflamed by the hooded-eyed gaze Sam fixed her with. "Make me yours Jo, I've always loved you."