He left Jill's office, glancing at his own door across the corridor, knowing his wife was in there. He hoped she was okay, hoped she wasn't nervous or scared or upset, though he knew she would be.

He'd wanted to see her before she went in for the interview, but it wasn't permitted. PC Bellamy looked regretful as he'd said this, but assured Gordon they wouldn't take too long. After all, they were certain there had been no crime committed, it was just a terrible, tragic incident. They'd received most of the facts from Gordon himself anyway. They'd grilled him, wanting every little detail, although not pushing him, both constables sympathetic to his obvious distress at what had happened.

All they really needed from Jill was a brief account of the events after Gordon's arrival, just to be sure both their stories matched. And they also need her to fill them in on the time before Gordon's arrival. Gordon too, needed to know this; Jill hadn't told him, nor had he asked. But he would, when she was ready. It worried him, something else could have happened to her that he didn't yet know. He just hoped they wouldn't take too long with her.

It was daft, he'd only been away from her for half an hour, yet he didn't think he could bear to be another second without her. In fact he'd felt that way the second he'd left her in his office. He just wanted to take her home, see the children, and spend the whole night telling them he loved them, making sure they knew, because knew he wouldn't be able to go on if he lost one of them.

He made his way to the back of reception and leant back against the wall, watching as PC Younger entered his office, and moments later exit, with Jill following closely behind him. It took all his willpower not to dash over to her and gather her up in his arms. To anyone else, she looked fine, perfectly calm, composed, confident. But he knew her, knew all the little signs. Like how she held her hands clasped tightly in front of her, her posture erect, but her head lowered slightly. He couldn't see her face, her hair acted as a curtain, but he could imagine her expression; her eyes focused, giving nothing away, no worried furrow of her brow, the only way her face betrayed her emotions was the gentle hold her tooth had on the right side of her bottom lip.

He watched as she disappeared into her office. Sighing, he pushed himself off the wall and made his way to the reception desk. "I'm just going to clear my head." he said once he'd gained Lizzie's attention.

"Right ho doc." she sang, before returning her attention to whatever she was doodling, thus leaving him free to escape into the cool evening air.

"Thank you." Jill said, smiling at PC Bellamy as she left through the door he was holding open for her. Upon entering the corridor, she exhaled slowly. It was all over, and it wasn't as bad as she feared it would be. It was difficult, painful at times, but they'd let her take her time, and swiftly moved on when they could see she was struggling.

She just laid her hand on the cool metal of Gordon's door handle when PC Bellamy called out to her.

"We need to interview Mr Heath. Do you know where he is?"

Jill turned to face the constable, resting her shoulder against the door frame. "Well, Doctor Goodwin was treating him, but I don't think it's a good idea to interview him today; he's been through an awful lot. Wait until tomorrow at least."

PC Bellamy sighed, but nodded. It would make his job more difficult, but he wasn't going to put the man through anymore torment. "You take care Doctor Weatherill. We'll be in touch."

She nodded, flashed a smile, and turned back to the door, gently depressing the handle and entering, she was sure, to see Gordon. But it was empty. She stepped further in, and glanced into the examination room just to be sure, but he wasn't there.

Frowning, she made her way to reception. "Lizzie, have you seen Doctor Ormerod?"

"Erm..." She receptionist spun round, looking slightly flustered as a few sheets of paper fluttered to the floor. "He said he was going to clear his head." She answered whilst bending down to pick up the paper.

She thanked Lizzie, returned to Gordon's office. She plucked her dusty coat from the hook where it lay over Gordon's, and picked up his aswell. She had the urge to put his coat on instead of her own, but thought better of it; it was doubtful Gordon would be able to squeeze into her own. She smiled softly at the image as she made her way out the hospital, the slight chill providing a little relief from the stuffy confines of their offices.

She had a good idea where Gordon would be, and sure enough, as she passed under the clock tower, her suspicions were confirmed. He was seated on the bench that for some reason always drew them. Perhaps it was the panoramic view of the headland to the left, the coast sweeping into south bay, backed by the lights of the arcade. To the right was a virtually bare expanse of cliff, the geology allowing for fairly frequent slips of the rock, not really giving plants a time to colonise the newly exposed surface before that too slide towards the sea.

Jill took in these surroundings as she approached Gordon from behind, until she finally settled on what was view directly in front of them when they settled onto the bench; the sea. A vast, undulating blanket, sometimes gentle rises and falls, and other times huge waves, peaking before crashing into the base of the cliff, something that could be heard, though from the position of the bench, they could not see it.

But whatever the reason for their choice, Jill always thought of it as 'their bench'. And she reached it now, laying her hand on the smooth, weathered wood, near Gordon's shoulder. "Hey." She said softly.

"Hey." He relied, gesturing for her to come round. She did so and seated herself next to him.

"I thought you might want this." She offered his coat to him.

"Thanks." He said, standing up and putting it on before settling back down beside her. He draped his arm across the back of the bench and rested his fingers lightly on her shoulder. "How was it?" He asked, turning his head slightly to look at her.

"It was okay. Not as bad as I expected. You?"

"Pretty much the same really. They just said it was routine anyway."

She nodded and they lapsed into silence. Her fingers absentmindedly traced a light pattern on the material of his trousers as she let her mind wander, though forcing herself to avoid the afternoon as best as she could.

Finally, Gordon broke the silence. "Want to go home?"

She shook her head. As much as that appealed to her, she knew she had something to do first. "I'd like to see Alex before we go."

"Is that wise?"

She sighed. "I just want to apologise to him..."

She felt Gordon shift. He placed a finger beneath her chin and gently raised her head so he was making eye contact with her. "Sweetheart, you have nothing to apologise for."

But she merely shrugged and snuggled tighter against him.

Despite what he said, she knew she had an awful lot to apologise for.