With what Nathan told them and Eddie's forensic evidence, Stevie and Grace had enough to arrest Darren Miles for the break in and threatening Alice. The four children had been taken into care but Ellie had persuaded the social worker to keep them together. She had assured Nathan that it was only until Alice was well enough to look after them again, but he didn't seem to believe her. Ellie wasn't entirely sure whether she believed what she'd told him, either.
"You did well, girls, well done." Max told them, insincerely.
"It was Ellie, really, Sarge." Kirsty told him. "She got through to the kids and they told us what we needed to know."
"On the same wavelength as small children… I'll remember that." He replied smirking.
Stevie laid a hand on the young red-head's arm. "Well done."
"Thanks, Sarge." Ellie smiled at her, understanding what her mother had meant about DS Carter's attitude. She had thought that Hannah had been over-exaggerating, but now she saw that he really was as bad as she said.
"Pub?" Kirsty asked as the two PCs headed to the changing rooms at the end of their shift.
"I would love to, but my Mum's organised this dinner thing. If I'm late she'll kill me." The red-head thought for a moment. "Although it is supposed to be a surprise and I don't suppose one drink will hurt."
She winked and laughed. Within a short space of time the female PCs were ready and waiting for their male colleagues who were taking longer to get changed. Leon appeared at the same time as Jo walked along the corridor on her way to the changing rooms.
Jo arched an eyebrow. "I hope you're planning on being home by seven?"
"Course. I'm just going for one. It is the end of my first shift after all." The young woman reasoned. "Why don't you come with us? That way you can make sure I'm home on time."
"Oh, go on, Sarge!" Mel encouraged her with a grin.
Rolling her eyes, Jo nodded and disappeared into the female changing rooms. When she emerged, she threw an arm around Ellie's shoulders and they headed out of the station to the pub. Jo bought the first round and Smithy bought the second. At twenty to seven, the brunette Sergeant stood up and pulled the red-head to her feet, ignoring the complaints and calls for them to stay.
"I am not sleeping on the sofa tonight." Jo told her step-daughter firmly. "So hurry up."
Ellie drained her glass before grabbing her jacket and following the brunette from the pub, pushing her arm through Jo's. "What's she cooking, anyway?"
"Who knows? Lobster… a full roast dinner… cheese on toast? It could be anything where your mother's concerned."
"Isn't Abs a vegetarian now?"
Jo snorted. "Like that's going to affect Hannah's limited menu."
"Fair point." The younger woman conceded, grinning at Jo as she started the car and began driving them home. "Mum's back at work tomorrow, ain't she? That could be fun."
"She'll be alright; she'll forget about you as soon as she gets her head stuck into a case, just like she forgets about me. No one could ever accuse Hannah of giving preferential treatment."
They pulled up on the drive and Jo stood back to let Ellie enter the house first. The red-head rolled her eyes and walked into the house. She was immediately leapt on by her siblings and son. Hannah appeared in the kitchen doorway and grinned at her eldest daughter.
"How was your first day on the beat?"
"Great." Ellie told her at once. "I loved it."
"She was brilliant, apparently." Jo announced squeezing the young woman's shoulders before moving past her to head upstairs.
"Where are you going?" Hannah demanded. "They'll be here soon."
"They? Who?" Ellie asked innocently, earning herself a smirk from Jo who continued up the stairs and out of sight, much to Hannah's annoyance.
Hannah grinned. "Sam, Phil, Abi and Harry are coming over for dinner to celebrate your first day!"
"You're kidding?"
Her mother paused, narrowing her eyes. "You knew, didn't you?"
Ellie laughed. "Yeah, sorry Mum; Abi's got a big gob. I appreciate the thought though."
As the older red-head had predicted, moments later the doorbell rang and Theo and Molly jostled to be the first one to the door. Theo, being taller and faster, arrived first and yanked it open. Molly immediately dragged Harry away to play, while her older brother threw himself at Phil. Apart from his seventeen-year-old uncle and Jo's seventy-one-year-old father, Phil was the most influential male in Theo's life and the boy worshipped the ground the detective walked on. Jo and Hannah weren't entirely sure that Phil was always the best role model for him, but as long as Theo was happy so were they.
Sam and Abi, not required by the younger members of the family, made their way through to the kitchen and were immediately handed glasses of wine by Freya.
"Dinner here is certainly an experience." Sam joked as she helped Hannah plate up the meal. "Usually the host does all the work."
"You wouldn't be able to sit back and be waited on; you'd get bored." Her friend pointed out, moving to shout up the staircase to her teenage brother.
He slouched down the stairs and dropped into his chair without a single word. The three older women exchanged a glance, smiling at each other at the impossibility of teenagers. As generally happened when the four career-orientated detectives got together, talk soon turned to their latest cases. Phil was telling them about a raid he'd been involved in when Molly climbed on her chair in an attempt to attract her mother's attention.
Jo winked at the six-year-old before telling the kids they could be excused. Not needing telling twice, Max, Theo, Harry and Molly made an immediate break for freedom. Freya and Abi left the table too, not wanting to sit around listening to the others talking shop all night, taking Dylan and Caitlin with them.
"So, PC McKay, how was your first day?" Phil asked, leaning back lazily in his chair and resting his arm along the back of Sam's.
Ellie proceeded to tell them about her day. When she reached the end, she turned to her mother and pulled a face. "You're right, though… DS Carter is a complete arse."
"What's he done now?" Sam asked.
"Kirsty and I went up to CID to give Stevie and Grace some information and he told me that my Mummy had the day off." The young woman told them bitterly, her eyes flashing with irritation. "And he said that he'd remember that I'm on the same wavelength as small children."
"He's a knob." Jo told her bluntly with a shrug. "Ignore anything he says that isn't repeated or acknowledged by someone else. Anyway, Grace told me that Neil had another go at him about his attitude just before the end of the shift."
"What is his problem?" Hannah asked, pulling a face. "I'd have said that he was a sexist pig, but he's like that with everyone."
"I don't want you jumping in and fighting my battles for me." Ellie warned her quickly. Then she glanced at Jo. "Either of you."
Hannah shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm going to be pretending that I don't know you." She winced. "Surely I don't look old enough to have a daughter in the police?"
"Maybe not, but you do look old enough to be a Granny." Phil told her with a grin, holding up his hands as, in unison, Sam smacked him on the chest, Jo threw her bread roll at him and Hannah kicked him under the table. "Sorry, sorry!"
"Yeah, well, Granddad Phil, we can't all have your youthful good looks." Jo told him with a grin.
"I dunno… the view's pretty good from where I'm sitting." He replied cheekily, winking at each woman in turn.