Chapter Three
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Chapter Three
Bob sighed as he sat back down on the sofa, he missed Sun Hill greatly, he missed his job and he missed his colleagues. He had always been close to Dale, he had helped him with his previous application to SO19, and had been proud when Dale had been accepted, yet his heart glowed with warmth and pride at his one time jack the lad PC now being a responsible sergeant off his own back. He sighed to himself; he truly did miss those days. He couldn't help but feel concern now for his friend, Dale had been evidently favouring his left side a lot and had clear bruises over his face, bruises that Bob suspected were just as clear where his skin was hidden by clothing, yet somehow he felt that he should be more concerned by the bruises on the inside of his skin rather than those on the outside. The retired officer rubbed his hands over his tired face, he wasn't used to the drama anymore. Just as he was about to make himself comfortable in the spare room, a soft knock at the door caught his attention. He hesitated briefly before walking across to answer it; opening it slowly he was greeted by a very familiar and friendly face.
"Tony?" he greeted warmly. Tony's face lit up into a smile that reached the depths of his eyes.
"Sarge! What are you doing here?" the large man asked his long-term friend and colleague. Bob grinned in response, pleased to see the response car driver that he had known for so very long.
"Come on in" he told him, not wanting to leave him stood out on the doorstep. "Gina Gold rang me, worried about Smithy. I take it that's why you are here as well?" Bob asked, his eyebrow quirked in question.
"Sort of, I was worried about him, so I thought that I should just call round and check on him" Tony replied honestly, the two men were interrupted by a figure dashing past them into the bathroom behind where they stood. The two exchanged a quick look of shared concern for their friend, after a second Bob turned around and gently pushed the door open, to reveal a sweat soaked police sergeant sat on the floor beside his toilet retching violently. When he had finished the younger man reached and flushed the toilet before slumping unceremoniously back down to his position leant against the floor. Carefully Tony and Bob stood on either side of the shivering form, and between them lifted the pitiful figure to his feet and helped him back to his bedroom. Once there Tony supported the full weight of the much smaller man, whilst Bob straightened the tangled sheets of the bed, before they carefully laid the evidently sick man back down onto the bed. Glazed eyes stared up at the two men.
"Tony?" Smithy questioned softly, as if only now realising who had been holding him upright.
"Yeah sarge, it's me" Tony replied, noting the alarming size of his sergeant's pupils, signalling to him that the younger man had one hell of a headache at that moment, and the sweat that glistened on the too pale skin clearly showed that Dale was far from all right after his recent traumas. It also showed that both he and Gina Gold had been more than correct in worrying about the young man.
"What ya doing here?" Dale asked, his voice barely a whisper as his eyes drifted shut, losing the battle at staying awake.
"Just came to check on ya, that's all" Tony replied. Dale nodded slightly and was fast asleep before either of his guests knew it. Silently the two left the room, not willing to disturb their friend when they had their inevitable conversation.
"What's the matter with him?" Tony asked, his concern clearly evident in his voice Bob looked at him, unsure of how to answer the question.
"I don't know Tony. I mean he has the physical injuries, but I don't know if it is that or maybe flashbacks of what happened" Bob replied, his mind was whirling at a hundred miles an hour, trying to see what Smithy's symptoms could possibly mean. "He did get checked out at the hospital after didn't he?" he asked the other man, and Tony nodded immediately, and then paused for a moment.
"Well he kind of did" he replied eventually.
"Kind of?" Bob prompted, knowing in his gut that he wasn't going to like what was going to come next.
"Well I was with him while the nurse examined him. She started cleaning up the cuts and wiping away some of the blood, but then he told her to leave it, he wanted to check on Louise you see. Anyway I told him that he needed to get sorted, every movement was hurting him, ya could tell. Anyway when I went to get the nurse back he snuck out when I weren't there to stop him. I got ordered to go back to the nick for a debrief, then got caught up in fudge" Tony told the other man, and upon seeing his confused expression shook his head slightly. "Yeah best not to ask about fudge" he continued. "When smithy got back to the nick later he was cleaner, like he had been treated, and I guess that we just assumed that he had been" Tony told him, his own mind now forming the same conclusion as the retired sergeants. "You don't think he got treated do ya sarge?" Tony asked, his question clearly rhetorical. Bob shook his head in reply.
"No Tone, no I really don't" he responded, his tone crisp and his frustration clear. The two men chatted into the night, catching up on what had been happening in each others' lives, until eventually they had to concede defeat and turn in for the night.
"I think I'll kip on the sofa Bob" Tony told his one time superior; Bob simply nodded and headed off to the spare room. Both men had a restless night that night.
The figure groaned as consciousness returned, he turned his head slightly to his left and groaned once more as he caught sight of the alarm clock beside the bed, he was knackered, yet it was already time to get up for another day at work. He sighed as he thought back to the previous night; he knew he still had his two friends to deal with, but how? He rubbed his hands carefully over his face and swallowed against the sand paper feel of his throat. His mouth tasted like a rat had died in it, and he was dying for a drink, so without pondering for any longer he got to his feet, closing his eyes to get his balance back as he reached his full height. He made his way as quietly as possible to the bathroom and soundlessly brushed his teeth and washed himself. He leant against the sink and stared at his reflection in the mirror in front of him, he looked like a ghost, a ghost that had had a rough week. His lips curved slightly at the thought, moving back into the lounge he tapped Tony awake, as unwilling as he was to talk he didn't really wish to make his colleague late for their shift.
"Sarge? What time is it?" Tony asked, slowly regaining his senses.
"Half six" Dale replied.
"Bloody hell!" Tony retorted, promptly moving from the sofa directly into the bathroom. He re-emerged seconds later, washed and ready to head to work. "Are you gonna wake Bob?" he asked his sergeant.
"Na, leave him to sleep in, he'll still be here when I get home" Smithy replied, not for a second doubting his words. Tony chuckled lightly and the two men left the building quietly, walking separately to their cars. As Smithy walked away from Tony he suddenly realised that his car wasn't there, for he had in fact walked home from work the previous day, he turned his confused gaze back at his friend.
"Er Tony, can I get a lift off ya, me cars at work" he asked, Tony smiled slightly, to be honest he had been concerned about his friend driving, even though Smithy was an advanced driver the same as Tony, he wasn't sure if he wanted to see him behind the wheel anytime soon.
"Yeah sure, hop in" Tony replied, and Dale flashed him a smile as he did as he was bid. The journey to the station passed in silence, Dale leant his head back against the seat and closed his eyes, his mind a million miles away from Sun Hill and the Met at that moment. "Sarge are you okay?" Tony asked, snatching the younger man from his thoughts. Dale seemed to ponder the question for a moment.
"Tony I am getting there mate, I'm getting there" he replied eventually, shocking the other officer with his answer. Despite the sincerity behind the question, he hadn't seriously expected an honest answer from his friend. Tony remained silent, at a complete loss for what to say in response, so he chose to stay quiet. When they arrived at the station Smithy thanked the other man for his lift then headed off to the sergeants office to find out about any handovers and to fill out the duties for the day. For the first time he was extremely glad that Gina was off work, he knew that she would practically be smothering him, especially after last night and he couldn't help but feel slightly angry at her for bringing Bob in on it as well. He sighed as he slumped down in his desk chair, pulling the clipboard towards him and taking his pen out he began to prepare for the day.
End Chapter Three
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