DISCLAIMER: I still don't own The Bill, and I doubt I ever will! I do, however, own the character of the barman, Mattie.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to SO943 and A for Antechinus for reviewing! Next chapter's here (sorry for the wait!)!

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You'll Never Walk Alone

After driving around for a while, Stone arrived at one of the pubs which wasn't frequented by anyone at Sun Hill.

He walked into the pub, went to the bar and sat down.

"What can I get you, sir?" said the barman.

"Can I have a pint, please?"

"Sure, coming right up!"

Stone observed thoughtfully as the barman pulled the pint, watching the way his muscles flexed as he pulled the arm of the pump down, secretly wishing that it was Smithy he was watching. Like I'm gonna get a chance to see that! thought Stone.

Stone was still deep in thought when the barman put the glass onto the bar in front of him.

"There you go, mate..." the barman said. He got no answer. "Hello?" he said, clicking his fingers in front of Stone's face. Stone looked at the barman questioningly, who pointed at the drink on the bar.

"Sorry, I was miles away..." Stone said, as he dug some money out of his pocket and handed it to the barman.

"That's alright, mate. Been one of those days, has it?"

"Nah... more like one of those weeks!"

"I know the feeling, mate..."

"And the bombings haven't really helped things... in fact, it's made things worse for us..."

"You a copper or something?"

"Yeah... but I suppose business here has probably gone down a bit since the bombs?"

"A bit... probably 'cos people are scared for their safety..."

"I suppose..." Stone said, taking a sip from his beer. As he sat at the bar, however, there was one thing that he could not get out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried: Smithy. But he had an idea, which could potentially make things better or worse between them. Even though they weren't the best of friends, it was only earlier that day that they had decided to be nicer to each other.

While pondering this, Stone had subconsciously drunk most of his pint, so when he picked it up again, he was surprised at how much he had drunk. He finished what was left of his drink and put the glass onto the bar. Time to put this plan into action..., Stone thought. "Excuse me, can I have another pint please?" he said.

A little more than a bit worse for wear, Stone put the glass that hand only minutes earlier held his 10th pint down on the bar. He opened his mouth to ask for another, but before he could make any sound, the barman, Mattie, guessed what he was going to do.

"Don't you think you've had enough already, Callum?" he said. Mattie knew all about Stone and what he thought about Smithy, as Stone had just spent the last few hours telling him about it.

Stone muttered something incoherent.

"Is there anyone that I can call to pick you up? I'm not sending you in a taxi like this..."

"You-could-call-Smithy..." Stone slurred.

"What?"

"You could call Smithy..." Stone repeated, a bit more clearly.

"Alright then... Come on, give us your phone..." Stone handed his phone over to Mattie, who quickly found Smithy's number and called it.

"Hello?" said Smithy.

"Hello, is this Smithy?" said Mattie.

"Yes it is, who's asking?"

"Hi Smithy, I'm Mattie, a barman at The Rat and Crown Pub..."

"Hi Mattie. So how have you come to get Callum's phone?"

"I was just about to get onto that... Well, Callum here's a bit inebriated, to say the least... and there is no way in hell I'm letting him attempt to drive home, well, as you guys are coppers, I'm sure you'll know what I mean, and I refuse to stick him in a taxi, 'cos god knows what will happen to him then... So I was wondering..."

"...if I could come and pick him up?" Smithy finished Mattie's sentence.

"Pretty much, yeah..."

Smithy sighed. "I'm on my way... Anyway, Mattie, do you know why he did this?"

"Well, I do, but I think I'll leave that for him to tell you..."

"Okay... See you in while, then..."

"Bye, Smithy!" Mattie hung up and turned to Stone. "Right, Callum, Smithy's coming to get you, and he'll be here soon..." He didn't get any response. "Callum?" Mattie said, poking Callum's shoulder.

"Hmm...?" Callum said.

"I said, Smithy's coming to get you, and he'll be here soon..."

"Oh, okay..."

A couple of minutes later, Smithy walked through the door of the pub. To Mattie, Smithy looked like he'd just woken up, thrown some clothes on and driven right over to collect his friend: his dark hair was tousled but had the look of being deliberately styled, his blue jeans were crumpled, his white Converses were dirty but still managed to look cool, the red t-shirt he wore didn't look like it had been ironed; all this topped with the worn black leather jacket made Smithy look effortlessly cool. Mattie let out a low whistle. Now I'm not gay, but he looks amazing... he thought, I bet all the girls fancy him...

Smithy looked around the pub, trying to find Stone. He saw him at the bar and headed over.

"Callum, he's here..." Mattie said, poking Callum again.

Smithy stopped behind Callum. "Hi, you must be Mattie..." he said, holding his hand out to Mattie.

"Yes I am... So you must be Smithy..." Mattie replied, shaking Smithy's hand.

"Oi, what are you doing here?" Smithy said to Callum, poking him just under his ribs. Callum jumped, and attempted to hit Smithy back, but missed.

"Has he been annoying you?" Smithy said. Mattie looked into Smithy's hazel eyes, seeing the concern in them.

"Not really... But he has been telling me a lot about you..."

Smithy blushed. "He has?"

Mattie nodded. "But all good stuff..." he said, blushing as well.

Smithy smiled. "How much does he owe you, Mattie?" he asked, pulling his wallet out of his pocket.

"£10.80..."

"My god, how much did he drink?"

"10 pints in total, but he paid for the first one himself..."

"Jesus..." Smithy said, handing over £15. "Keep the rest for yourself..."

"Thanks, Smithy..." Mattie said.

"Anyway, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'd better get this one here home... We've got work tomorrow..."

"He's gonna have one hell of a hangover tomorrow morning..." said Mattie, wincing.

Smithy rolled his eyes. "Don't I just know it..."

Mattie laughed. "Do you want some help?"

"Nah, I'll be fine..." Smithy said, grabbing Callum. "Come on, you great lump... Let's get you home..." He dragged Callum to his feet. Mattie started laughing again.

"Well, I'm sure I'll see you again sometime, Mattie... It was nice to meet you... And thanks for looking after Callum..."

"That's okay, my pleasure! See you around, Smithy!" said Mattie, as Smithy escorted Stone out of the pub.