A/N: Well, here we go with the third and final instalment! Apologies for the delay in posting this, real life is a pain sometimes.
Disclaimer: Think of the fun I would have if I owned New Tricks…unfortunately I can only dream.
All thoughts of the bureaucratic prat who had been the source of his earlier anger were behind him as he raced to the UCOS office. He desperately needed to explain to her the reasons for what he had said, to apologise for the hurt he had caused her and, most importantly, to ask if she could forgive him. In a moment of clarity, he realised that trying to protect her had only backfired on him, had caused both of them pain, instead of the happiness which, quite frankly, they both deserved after all the crap they'd both been put through over the past few years.
He may have lost his wife, children and most of the money he'd practically fought his way up the promotional ladder to earn, but he'd tried to get them all back, just like he would try to make things right with Sandra.
Running down the stairs to the UCOS basement, he looked through the glass in the door directly in front of him, unable to see the familiar blonde figure in the room. He burst through the door, greeted by three clearly surprised pairs of blue eyes. Suddenly realising that he must look terrible after his sprint down five corridors and four flights of stairs, he decided to break the awkward silence so he could get out of there as fast as possible.
"Where's Sandra?" he asked, still catching his breath. It seemed he wasn't as fit as he thought.
"She said she was going to talk to you about that conference next week," the youngest of the trio piped up.
"Oh, she did, but…she must have gone out since I suppose. Never mind." He replied quickly, making a hasty retreat out of the room and back up the stairs.
"What the bloody hell was the matter with him?" muttered Gerry.
Jack turned in his chair to face him. "One word: Sandra."
Trying to rationalise his thoughts, he decided to try the car park. Sitting in his car was something he did when he wanted to escape the bustle of the Met, or more specifically the gossip.
Crossing the car park to her usual parking space, looking for her silver Audi, he thought of what he could possibly say to persuade her to give him another chance. It wasn't going to be easy, things never were when it came to Sandra, but he was determined to right his mistake. He finally spotted her, sat behind the steering wheel, scrolling idly through her phone to make it look like she wasn't hiding out in her car.
She was so focused on this charade that she jumped a little when he tapped lightly on the window. Obviously apprehensive about what had the potential to happen in the next few minutes, she reluctantly put the window down.
"Sandra, we need to talk," he began gently, "Can I sit with you?"
She sighed and nodded her head almost imperceptibly. He opened the unlocked car door and slid into the passenger seat.
"Go on then, talk away," she said, deciding to take the sarcastic route.
"I will if you look at me first, I need you to understand why I said what I did," he challenged, taking the gamble that her copper's curiosity would take over.
"Just cut to the chase." She replied bluntly, eyeing him with slightly narrowed eyes. His gamble had paid off.
"Look, you must know that I've…had feelings for you for years now," he opened, choosing his words carefully, "but you don't know the real me. You think I'm a rich bastard who is only motivated by politics, drives around in a flash car, is a member of a sailing club and all that, don't you?"
She opened her mouth to reply but then paused for a moment, clearly thinking about her words as much as him. "I think you're rich and posh and your car is very flash but I don't think that you're a bastard at all. You're a decent bloke who clearly loves his kids, I know that much. Would I have asked you out if I did?"
He laughed a little at the last part, but really he was touched that her opinion was different from everyone else's. "Probably not, but although my car is flashy I'm really not that rich, or posh. I lost most of my money when Lynne divorced me and I've had to work all the hours that God sends to get it back. I'm a member of the sailing club for reputation- politics pays the bills, you see."
She was confused but at least she was looking him in the eye now. "Why do you need to get all the money back, can't you just work enough to get by?" He sensed there was going to be a 'like normal people' tagged on to the end of that question, but it never came.
"Lynne demands that I pay the kids school fees and send them money, it was part of the custody agreement. Basically it's the only way I can see them," he admitted, "Twenty grand a year for each of them isn't cheap."
"What? How can she do that?" Sandra exclaimed.
"It seems she can do whatever she bloody wants. Her partner is a family lawyer, he manages to find every legal loophole in the book." He shook his head, still finding himself in disbelief at the situation, even after five years. Of course his children were his main priority, he wanted the best for them, but he wasn't blind to the fact that he was basically being blackmailed by his ex-wife.
Her hesitant hand rested on his shoulder gently. He looked up to meet her brilliant blue eyes. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realise how much you'd been through. I knew it was a bad divorce but I'd no idea she was doing that," she started to apologise before he cut her off.
"Listen, you weren't to know, I've hidden it well. Anyway, I thought I was the one apologising to you for turning you down like that. I just wanted you to know what you were taking on, that's all, I promise." he explained, waiting for her response. He was glad to finally get everything off his chest- she was now the only person who knew the extent of his problems over the last few years.
"Well, seen as we both feel like we need to apologise to each other, how about we go out for dinner tonight?" she asked for the second time that day, however this time without the nervousness in her voice.
He laughed. Apparently all had been forgiven.
"How could I ever say no to that?"
A/N: I hope you've enjoyed this, thank you so much for all your lovely feedback. And I did my research, it's true about the £20,000 a year boarding school fee! Honestly, what is the world coming to…
Eden x