Disclaimer not mine. Thanks for reviewing chapter 1. I know some people say this is a little like Forgotten Nightmares but it is really Natalie's story. If there are any other similarities to my old stories noted, let me know and I will delete it and start again. Takes place about six months after Church on Time. Very slight cross over with Scott and Bailey.

Old Friends.

Natalie smiled as she noticed her friend had walked in the meeting. It had been too long since she had seen her old friend. Gill looked just as harrassed as ever.

"Thankyou." The Chief Super ushered her to her seat as she rolled her eyes. "For those of you who don't know this is DCI Gillian Murray from the Major Incident Team in Manchester. She is here to advise us on how MIT's and MIU's can work more effectively with CID." Gill rolled her eyes as the senior officer talked. None of the others noticed how Natalie smirked.

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Matt narrowed his eyes as Ronnie outlined the case that had almost destroyed the MIU before it had began. Angie nodded, remembering the aftermath she and Matt had walked into the day Pope had been put in prison.

"This can't be happening again? Can it?" Sam asked as Ronnie shrugged his shoulders.

"Body found in Bletchfield Park has the same apparent injuries, mind you we wont know for certain until Joy gets back to us with the post mortem results."

"Christopher Pope is serving life." Angie started. "I'll see what CCTV I can get from the park. See who was around that time of night. You said the approximate time of death was what?"

"Between 10 pm and midnight." Ronnie answered as Matt sighed.

"Copycat? But why?"

"Who knows son, who knows. You up for a trip to see our Joy?"

"Yeah, why not?" Matt got to his feet as Ronnie headed towards the door. None of the junior officers knew why Ronnie was no worried about this case but Matt had a feeling he wasn't going to confide in him with Angie and Sam within ear shot. He just remembered the day he had taken the glass of scotch from his hand and shoved a bag of crips at him instead. It had been taken as a joke but Matt knew he had stopped him falling back into the pit his friend had worked so hard to get out of.

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"Well, that was about as interesting as watching paint dry." Gill smiled as Natalie handed her the coffee she had just bought.

"How's MIT in Manchester?"

"Oh great." She sighed. "Doing my head in at the best of times."

"You love it."

"Yeah." Gill conceeded. "What about MIU? You still ok there? No plans to try for DCI yet?"

"Nah." Natalie sighed. "I'm happy as I am. Good team, steady hours. Most of the time. Suits me and my boys."

"Talking of your boys. Ronnie and Matt still there?"

"Yeah." Natalie smiled slightly as she thought of the pair Sam had started referring to as Laurel and Hardy. "What about your lot? That girl that was stabbed?"

"Janet Scott. Yeah, she's back. Andy's still mooning over her like a love struck teenager. Rachel is far too headstrong for her own good. Far too ambitious, bordering on agressive at times. Bloody good copper though. Kev is a div." She sighed.

"Too ambitious, bording on aggressive but a bloody good copper. Reminds me of someone." Natalie teased as her friend pulled a face.

"Nat."

"Yeah?"

"I heard. About Pope and the killing in the park."

"Oh."

"You ok?"

"Yeah. Investigate major crimes is what I do, remember?"

"Nat. He tried to kill you." Gill's voice fell to almost a whisper as a gang of school kids stormed into the cafe on their linch break.

"I know. He's in prison." She sighed. "Seven murders and one attempted."

"You know, I thank God every sodding day Ronnie Brooks was there when he was. Right Knight in Shining armour, that one."

"Slightly tarnished armour." Natalie looked out the window as Gill sighed.

"Never the less, he worked out that scumbag was after you. Got there in time. He's a good one. You could do much worse."

"Leave it Gill." She closed her eyes as Gill rested a hand on her arm.

"I mean it. Pope was planning to do to you what he did to his last victims. Even if this is a copycat. Even if it is, don't you think there's a chance the same could happen? This one could come after you too?" She held her friends gaze as Natalie fell silent. Her own coffee now long forgotten.

"No." She lied. "No, I hadn't."

"I had." Gill spoke calmly. "And I'd bet next weeks wages Ronnie has too."

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"He did what?" Matt glared as he listened to Ronnie who drove towards the morgue cursing the rush hour traffic.

"Broke into her house. He knew the kids were at school. Her youngest must have been nine or ten. The husband was working away so it was just 'er at home."

"Pope tried to kill the Guv? Natalie? Why didn't we know about this?"

"You were brand new on the team. There had only really been a team for a few months. I was barely sober and she wanted it kept quiet. She asked me not to tell the world how I found her so I respect a lady when she asks me to be discreet."

"Bloody Hell."

"Exactly what I said when I found her. He was arrested five minutes later by Richard Jones, my former partner. He wasn't the same after, handed in his notice." Ronnie pulled the car into the carpark as Matt shook his head, knowing it must have been his boss' worst nightmare coming true.

"Ron."

"Look, there is no way he can be doing it now but I wouldn't put it past him to have a little sidekick on the go. If he has then I reckon we all need to be careful. He'll know about me and the Guv still being around and I reckon he'll have done his research. We're all going to have to be careful. That includes you and Alesha too."

"Yeah." Matt sighed as he thought of his wife and baby son. "We will be."

"Good boy." Ronnie smiled as he looked towards the morgue entrance. "Come on then, lets see what we got."

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A/N More soon x Please review.