Disclaimer: I do not own Identity or any of the related characters

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews guys! I've never had such an amazing response to a fanfic (or so much of my own writing quoted back at me xD)! Here's another little ditty for you. Nothing amazing mind. Yes, I am well aware of how unrealistic it is for Martha to have a random old strip of material hidden away in her coat pocket. I haven't decided whether I want to bring Bloom back into the equation or not yet. Opinions? Reviews and crits are welcome - they feed my soul and creativity (and maybe my ego... just a bit).


Now cleaned up, with her hand hastily bandaged using a piece of old material she had found in the inside pocket of her coat, Martha made her way back to her desk. This time when walking through the room, she decided, she would stay calm and collected. If anyone asked what she had done to her hand she would blame a paper cut or the misplacement of an upturned drawing pin, something insignificant, and explain that the material had been the only available tool to stem the bleeding. Hopefully that would be enough to keep the hounds at bay and if it wasn't she had no intention of explaining further. Unanswered questions still buzzed through her head, but this time she chose to ignore them, at least for now.

"Martha," the Detective Superintendant looked up from her desk to meet the gaze of Anthony Wareing, "we need to talk." She gave him one of her best fake smiles,

"What is it we need to talk about Anthony?" she asked lightly, her voice the polar opposite of her earlier state. He looked at her confusedly for a moment; her whole demeanour had changed in less than twenty minutes. She leant her elbows on the desk, hands clasped together calmly, forgetting the makeshift bandage she had covered her cut with, "Well?" she probed,

"I, um... well, er..." He made a few false starts before noticing the strip of material wound tightly round her right hand, "What happened to your hand?" Martha was stunned to silence for an instant, suddenly all too aware of her earlier blunder. She steadied herself mentally. 'You've prepared yourself for this Martha.'

"Oh, just a nasty paper cut." She replied almost cheerfully, much to the surprise of Anthony, who was completely thrown by her rapid change in behaviour, "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" He stared for a moment, eyeing the crude bandage before shaking his head,

"Never mind." He replied gruffly, "It can wait."


Martha let out a shaky breath. She had managed to stave off any further enquiries for now, but she had no doubt that Anthony, or Jose or Tessa, would be back, probing her for answers. She stared at the computer screen before her and considered continuing her search. A quiet discussion in the corner, however, reminded her of the presence of Tessa, resident computer genius, who could hack into her computer and files in an instant, and she decided against it. The last thing she wanted was more questions.