Once Upon A Time
Disclaimer: New Tricks belongs to auntie Beeb, but she keeps letting Alibi play with them, and they lose bits!
Rating: T+ To be safe.
Author's note: Don't know where this came from, but if it cures my writer's block, so be it.
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"Auntie Sandwa, We want a storwie!"
Detective Super Intendant Sandra Pullman, fearless, ball breaking, dog shooting, pride of the metropolitan police force closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her head was throbbing, and every time she looked at the clock, it seemed to her that the hands had moved backwards.
It had seemed like such a simple request, could she look after her friends four year old twin girls while their parents attended a family funeral. It was just for an afternoon, they would be back before seven o/clock in the evening and all Sandra had to do was keep them occupied until then. Easy.
"Yeah, easy." She sighed. She looked around at her normally spotless apartment, the remains of dinner was still on the table, who'd have thought that spaghetti could spread so far! And as for the lounge area, it looked as though a bomb had gone off in Hamley's.
"Pleeeeease Auntie Sandwa, tell us a storwie." Sandra looked at the sofa where two pairs of eyes were staring at her imploringly. Katie put her hands up in a praying gesture, or was that Jessica. Sandra normally had no problem telling the twins apart, but at this moment she felt so frazzled, she had no idea which was which. She sighed.
"Okay, why don't you pick out a book."
"We don't want a book storwie, Daddy makes up storwies for us." Jessica frowned, or was that Katie. To think she had taken an afternoon off work to be tortured by cbeebies, she just couldn't face any more children's television, yet she had no idea where to start with a story. Just then the doorbell rang, Sandra jumped slightly, it was only just after six, it couldn't be the twins mother yet, could it?
"Hang on, I'll just get that." She said as she picked her way through the minefield of Barbie and lego. 'Please let that be her!' She thought. She peered through the spyhole and slumped, bumping her forehead on the door.
It was her boss, DAC Robert Strickland. She took a breath and opened the door. Strickland took in her dishevelled state and raised an amused eyebrow.
"Have you been shot?" He asked. She looked at him puzzled, he pointed at her front, she looked down and saw the bright red stains on her blouse. She shut her eyes and blushed.
"Ummm, No Sir. It's spaghetti. What can I do for you?" He produced a sheet of paper from inside his jacket.
"You forgot to sign off on Gerry's holiday request before it came to me." He told her. "I can't put it in until you do."
"Oh, sorry." She opened the door and invited him in. "Umm, sorry about the mess. I'm babysitting." She blushed again. He smiled.
"Don't worry. I remember the mess my two used to make. I actually miss it sometimes." He assured her, his voice soft. She smiled at him. He followed her too the kitchen where she started to look for a pen. She had known exactly where to find one earlier, before the tiny tornados had arrived.
"Auntie Sandwa...?" She heard the singsong voice of one of the girls, she didn't know which, and she had given up trying to guess.
"Yes...Sweetheart."
"Is that your boyfwend?" She closed her eyes at the sound of girlish giggling.
"No! It's not. This is... is...Robert, he's a friend from work." She tried to explain. She caught his eyes, his expression was unfathomable, clouded.
"When are you goin' to tell us a storwie?" The other twin whined.
"Sorry girls, but I'm not very good at making up storwies. I mean stories!" She tried to placate them.
"Wobert, can you tell us a storwie?" One of the girls focused her blue puppy dog eyes on the newcomer.
"Girls, I don't think..." Sandra began, Robert stopped her.
"That's a good idea. Why don't I tell a story, and give Auntie Sandra a chance to clean up a bit." He smiled softly at her, she couldn't believe what she was seeing, as her boss shrugged out of his jacket and shed his tie, putting both over the arm of the sofa. He sat down and seemed totally relaxed as the little girls cuddled up either side of him.
"Right, what kind of story do you want?"
"Pwinces!"
"Pwincesses!"
"Bwave Knights"
"Okay, let me think a moment."
Sandra started to clear the mess of spaghetti away, thankful of the respite. She loved the little girls to bits, their mother was one of her closest friends, but she had been ill prepared for the amount of devastation two small children could wreak on a normally organised human being.
As she worked on the mess of the kitchen she listened as her boss started the story.
"Once upon a time, there was a king. He lived in a castle with his son, the prince. But he was a very sad king because his queen had got very ill and had died..."
"Like mummy's uncle Peter. He's gone to heaven." One of the girls interrupted. Robert nodded.
"Yes, that's right."
"Shhhh Jessie, I wan't to hear the storwie!" The other twin scolded.
"The king fell in love with the daughter of one of his lords, but she loved someone else, one of the town's guards. They were very happy, but the guard had to go away to protect the land against the dragon. So the lord's daughter was left behind, with a baby boy. She was very sad, but the King told her that if she married him, and became a mummy to his little prince, he would raise her little boy as his own and be his Daddy.
So they were married, and the little baby became a prince. And though he was raised as a prince, the King never really loved the little prince as much as his other son. No matter how much he tried, the little prince could never make the King like him, so as he grew up into a young man, he decided to leave, and he joined the King's army to be a soldier.
He didn't do very well as a soldier, he was shy, and quiet, and he used to see other soldiers being cruel to the people, which he didn't like, so he left and didn't know where to go. One of the King's guards told him he would make a good guard, so he went to the school where they trained the guards, and he was very good at it, but while he was there, he fell in love with a princess who was also learning how to be a guard, she was a few years younger than him, and she was beautiful, and friendly, and everybody liked her, so he was afraid to talk to her. Then one day, he passed all his tests and was about to leave the school, so he decided to talk to her, but as he went to find her, he found out that she was already in love with another lord. So the prince left, without ever talking to her."
Sandra was spellbound. The emotion in his voice told her that this tale was more of a life story, more fact than fiction. She had stopped clearing up and was watching intently. The little girls were sat, almost hypnotised by her boss's soft, musical voice.
"So the prince did his job, and went about his life. Then one day, many years later, he found himself face to face with his princess again. She was one of the best guards that the kingdom had ever had, and she had three knights of her own under her command. The prince had the chance to serve with her, but he had become cold hearted and lonely and her knights thought that he was the type of prince who had always been spoiled, and given everything he had always wanted and had only got to be a guard because of the king. And no matter how much he tried, he couldn't tell the princess how much he loved her. Whenever he tried, he just ended up looking silly." He paused, trying to think of the next part of the story. One of the twins sat up and looked him in the eyes.
"I know, I know! The pwincess fell in love with the pwince, and they got married!" She almost shouted.
"And they lived happily ever after!" The other finished. Robert smiled.
"Yes, that's right. They lived happily ever after." He looked towards the woman behind the kitchen counter, her eyes glistening as she stared in his direction. He cursed himself, he hadn't realised he had been pouring his heart out without even meaning to. He had rambled on without paying any real attention to the story content, and now he had been found out. He shifted slightly.
"What next?" The first twin asked.
"Well, the prince and princess are happy, so I think we should pick up all your toys before anything gets lost or broken." He suggested, ignoring their protests. He led the clear up, while Sandra cleaned the kitchen and table. She was cleaning on autopilot, her mind a million miles away, when she was interrupted by a knock on the door, she crossed the room and opened it, smiling at her friend.
"Sandra, thank you so much. I hope they've not been any trouble."
"They've been fine..."
"Mummy!" Sandra laughed as the two whirlwinds shot past her to greet their mother. She stooped down and gathered them into a bear hug.
"Hi, I hope you've been good for your Auntie Sandra." Both girls nodded.
"Yes Mummy." One replied.
"And Wobert." The other chimed.
"That's her boyfwend." The first finished, making Sandra blush.
"He's not my boyfriend." She hastily added, as her friend looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She grinned.
"Oh yes..."
"Really, he's just a friend."
"Mmmmm."
"No, really, he is.." Sandra was blushing furiously. Just then, her friends eyes widened as Robert bought the bag full of toys to the door.
"I think I got it all." He said, handing the bag to the twins mother.
"Thanks." She said, smiling as Robert turned back towards the lounge.
"Come on girls, lets leave Auntie Sandra to enjoy the rest of the evening." She winked at Sandra.
"It's alright Faye, you can come in for a bit if you like..."
"Oh, no I'd better get them home to bed." She replied, but leaned in and whispered. "I'll ring you tomorrow and you can tell me all about him." She grinned conspiratorially. Nodding towards the man who was picking up his jacket. "Say bye to Auntie Sandra."
The girls gave Sandra hugs and kisses and the little family disappeared. Sandra shut the door, giving herself a moment to think before she turned back to her boss.
"Thank you." She said, he looked at her confused for a moment. "For the story. I was out of my depth there for a minute."
"Oh, that's quite alright." He looked sad for a moment. "I always enjoyed telling my two stories. The bedtime story was one of the few times I ever had them to myself, Kaye couldn't be bothered with that sort of thing." He admitted. Sandra took a breath, she could ignore the past hour, but that wasn't in her nature, and she felt the need to confront the subject which was bothering her.
"That was an interesting story. I don't think I've ever heard it before." She said as she wandered towards him. He shrugged.
"I was just making it up as I went along."
"It sounded quite real to me, more like a life story." She probed. He flushed and started to edge towards the door.
"Well...I..."
"Just one question, I'm assuming that you are the little prince. Who is the princess?" She asked, standing in front of him, getting between him and the door. He looked at the floor, sighing.
"You really need to ask?" He said in a quiet voice. She shook her head.
"No. Not really. I never realised we were at Hendon together."
"Why should you. I was two years ahead of you. You were the most popular, the most stunning woman there, I was just the posh tosser that nobody paid any attention to. There was no reason for you to notice me."
"You really loved me from a distance?"
"Sounds a bit creepy when you say it like that." He shrugged, she smiled.
"I don't think it's creepy. But why haven't you ever said anything?" He laughed harshly.
"Oh, let me see. One, I was married, maybe not happily, but I'm not the type to be unfaithful. Two, from the moment I was introduced to you at the reception, it was quite clear that not only did you not remember me from Hendon, but that you considered me to be on par with something nasty you had stepped in. Three, even on the few occasions that I managed to pluck up the courage to ask you out for a drink, your three bodyguards would get in the way." He swallowed, his eyes shining. "You only tolerate my presence at work because you have to. I know that."
"I don't..."
"I'm not stupid, or deaf. I know I'm not your type..."
"Oh, what's my type then?" Sandra asked, an edge of anger creeping into her voice. He shrugged, he was used to Sandra Pullman being angry with him, he was on familiar ground now.
"Well, I know you're not into a politicians puppet, with a posh accent and the social skills of a limpet, who is the last person on earth that any woman wants to spend any time with." He replied bitterly. Her eyes widened.
"Is that how you view yourself?"
"It's how everybody views me. I know that. Christy told me that no woman in her right mind could ever find me appealing, that I am boring and bland. Kaye made it quite clear that she had only married me because she thought I would go all the way to the top, and that I'd disappointed her in all area's of our marriage..." He gave a bitter laugh. "This prince has given up on finding his happy-ever-after, he's better off on his own."
"Maybe the prince has never met a princess who appreciates him." She took a step closer to him, struggling to put this new information into some kind of order. She really didn't know what she felt towards the man in front of her. He was attractive certainly, Sandra knew she would be lying to herself if she denied that she had ever admired him, and on the few occasions she had seen him in his uniform, well, her insides had turned to jelly and she had found it hard to concentrate. And his voice, well that could be pure silk one moment, then as sharp as steel the next.
He brushed his fingers across her cheek, gently tucking a stray lock of golden blonde hair behind her ear. He smiled.
"Let me tell you the end of the story. The prince finally plucks up the courage to tell his princess how much he loves her, and for a while, she tries love him back, but then the princess comes to realise that he isn't very special, also, the princess's knights really don't like the prince, and the princess has to choose between her loyal knights and the prince. But the prince wants to spend his life with the princess, so when she finds herself a better prince, who she wants to spend her life with, the little prince is left broken hearted and defeated. So the little prince decides he'd better go before he does something stupid, that they will both regret." He leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss against her cheek. "Or, it could all just be a silly fairy story and I am going to leave before I make more of an arse of myself than I already have. And tomorrow, everything will just be the same as it always has been."
He gave her a quiet smile as he sidled past her and opened the door. Sandra watched as the door closed softly, she leaned against it, thinking back over the last few minutes.
The only thing she was sure of was that he was wrong. Things would never be the same again.
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Author's note: Not my best work. What do you think? Another chapter or not?