Gill wandered into the kitchen, picked up a tea towel and started to help Iris with the drying up from lunch.

"Oh, you don't have to do that love, you go and enjoy yourself. I bet you don't get much time to relax back at home?" Gill carried on with her task anyway and smiled at her hostess.

"Honestly, it's no trouble. Besides, I thought I'd give Julie and Anthony some space to talk." Iris placed some items in the washing up bowl from the pile next to the sink and proceeded to wash them up now that there was room for them to drain.

"Ah, she told you then? I understand your Sammy also wants to join the family business?"

"Yeah, he's already applied and just waiting for his training dates to come through."

"Caroline's none too happy about it. What about you?" Julie hadn't mentioned anything about Gill's feelings on the matter, only the fact that Sammy seemed fairly set on the idea.

"I wasn't keen at first, I thought that perhaps his dad had put him up to it to make himself look good but when he articulated so passionately about why he wanted to join the force I couldn't begrudge his choice. I worry for him but no more than any mother would." It could have been worse, Sammy could have opted for a career in the army, or fire service or any number of other highly dangerous jobs.

"That sounds fair and reasonable to me. I hope Caroline comes round and supports Anthony like you do Sammy."

"I'm sure she will, after all Julie's a wonderful example to follow." Gill was proud of Julie for having achieved the rank of DSI and she wasn't even the slightest bit jealous. She had made her own choices, some hadn't been the right ones but she had still managed to do well for herself and her career wasn't anywhere near over yet.

"Ah well, that's part of the problem." Iris briefly wondered how much she should say to Gill but then thought that they must share everything with each other anyway.

"Oh?"

"She thinks Anthony will end up with the same kind of lifestyle as her and she can already see a lot of similarities between them. No disrespect to yourself or Julie but it's not what Caroline had envisaged for her son." Gill didn't quite know how to respond, she didn't want to interfere with Julie's family's private business but she wanted to defend both herself and Julie at the same time. Fortunately Iris was fairly astute and continued to talk before Gill could say anything in response.

"That's just how Caroline feels my dear, it's not what I think at all. I'm very proud of our Jules. She clearly loves her job, works hard and has been rewarded appropriately for her efforts. I'm also very glad that she found you. It was a long time in coming but it was probably worth it to meet the right person." Gill blushed furiously; it was one thing saying that they would pretend to be a couple but it was another when she was directly faced with Iris's gushing praise.

"It's alright love, I know I'm not supposed to know and you're probably not supposed to tell me but I am happy for you both, I can promise you that." Gill felt an overwhelming urge to cry, Iris was so unbelievably sweet and kind it made her feel ever so slightly guilty for deceiving her.

"Now if only our Jules could see her way into making an honest woman of you I'd be tickled pink!" Gill couldn't contain her laughter as she looked at Iris in shock. The two women held onto each other as they let the hysterics take them over.

"Julie…?" During their lull in conversation, Anthony had decided to take advantage of the fact that he had his aunt all to himself for a while and pressed ahead with something that had been on his mind for a while.

"Yes love?"

"While you're here, can I tell you something in confidence?"

"Of course, you know you can tell me anything." Anthony tried to find the words he'd been so frightened of saying aloud but he looked at Julie and felt that he should be able to speak to her of all people. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Gill heading towards them from inside the living room and thought better of telling Julie at that moment.

"Don't worry, another time maybe." He shook his head but hadn't sounded disappointed, in fact if truth be told he was relieved as he realised that he wasn't quite ready for that conversation just yet.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Julie had a very strong feeling she knew what Anthony had been about to say. To be honest it wouldn't have been a surprise to anyone and if she knew her sister she probably already knew herself but was hoping that it would go away. Julie felt guilty that she hadn't been a better role model by being open and honest about herself.

"You two finished? I came out here to join you." Gill called out cheerily from the patio and walked up the length of garden to where they were standing by the shed.

"Oh no, we've only just warmed up!" Anthony encouraged her, grateful for the break in atmosphere and kicked the ball towards her. The three of them chased each other round the garden, although Gill was more keen on playing dirty and went in with some very dubious tackles to get the ball off Julie. She'd played with Sammy enough times not to be a novice and relished the opportunity to act like a big kid. Poor Anthony had no hope being stuck between those two and watched in delight as they fought for possession of the ball back and forth between them. Even Iris had stepped outside to watch from a distance, just in time to see Gill tackle Julie from in front of her and catch her foot instead of the ball. Gill ended up barrelling into the taller woman and the two of them came crashing down on the grass together. Julie was flat on her back with Gill on top facing her. For a moment they were both winded by the shock of the fall, but luckily neither of them were hurt in any way. Gill looked Julie square in the eye and felt the steady thudding of her friend's racing heart against her own. She felt Julie's warm breath on her face and was conscious that their lips were only millimetres away from touching. Time seemed to stand still around them until Anthony couldn't hold back his laughter any longer and coughed and spluttered in glee. Julie grinned and playfully slapped Gill on the bum to encourage her to move.

"Get your bony backside off me, yer daft cow!" Gill wasn't quite sure what made her do it but she bent her head to close the distance between them and planted a solid kiss to Julie's lips before finally sliding off her. It hadn't been a full on snog or romantic kiss, just a normal run of the mill familial kiss like the many they had shared before. Both Iris and Anthony chose not to interpret it that way but they kept their thoughts to themselves.

Gill lay on her side as she watched Julie's back rise and fall in time with her breathing. She'd fallen asleep pretty much as soon as her head had hit the pillow. Unlike Gill who had been kept awake by her churning thoughts and feelings. She'd actually had a really lovely weekend with Julie and her family, particularly Iris and Anthony and it almost made her feel like she was a part of it. But at the end of the day she wasn't was she? She hadn't really kept in touch with Dave's family, not that they had socialised much with them when they had been married. She occasionally heard from Dave's mum but she didn't have that easy, fun relationship that she did with Iris. Sammy had cousins of course but they were all old enough to keep in touch with each other of their own accord now. Sammy had more in common with Anthony than any of his real family and that seemed to have been enough for him. Julie let out a deep breath in her sleep and rolled over so that she was on her back but her head now faced Gill. She'd seen her friend actually relax and have fun this afternoon. She could see the striking similarities between her and Anthony and she had to admit that she could well imagine him as a police officer. Julie had told her the details of her discussion with her nephew on the drive back to the hotel and she'd admitted that he'd been speaking with Sammy about joining the force.

Despite being her best friend, Julie could be elusive with her emotions and it confused Gill when she tried to second guess what she was thinking. Julie was happy enough on her own but there were fleeting moments where she admitted that she had a certain dissatisfaction with life as a single person. She missed sharing experiences with someone and Gill was damn sure she needed love and affection like most other people. Her serious, professional persona aside, and whatever other barriers she liked to put in place to the outside world, Julie actually had a lot of love to give those around her. Anthony clearly worshipped the ground she walked on, not unlike her own son. Iris was very proud of her eldest daughter, whatever Julie thought and it was obvious Caroline loved her sister, even though they didn't get on quite as well as Julie did with her brother Andrew. And then there was herself, her best friend, someone Julie had seemed to let in almost to the very core of her. Gill wondered if Julie would be prepared to go that final step and let her in all the way? Because after this weekend, Gill was absolutely certain that was what she wanted.