Chapter Four
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Chapter Four
Tony headed straight to the locker room and dived into the shower, thankful of the spare supplies that he kept at the station, he then brushed his teeth and pulled his uniform on. He did his belt up as soon as he had tucked his shirt into his trousers, and was just doing up his epaulettes when Roger appeared beside him.
"Hiya Tone, did I see arrive with Smithy?" the other man asked, he had been concerned since he had seen his sergeant at the hospital immediately after his rescue from the abduction at gunpoint. He had seen an awful lot of blood over his friend's one time white shirt, and he truly hadn't liked it. Tony looked suspiciously at his work colleague, a streak of protectiveness for his sergeant flashing through him.
"Yeah, why?" the larger man responded. Roger quirked his eyebrow, not sure why his friend seemed to be acting defensively all of a sudden.
"No reason, I just wanted to check that he was okay really. I've just been a bit worried that's all" Roger replied honestly. Tony sighed softly, regretting his defensive tone.
"Sorry mate, na the sarge walked home last night, so I gave him a lift in this morning" Tony replied telling the truth, just not all of it. Roger simply nodded, he knew that there was more to the story than that, mainly because Smithy lived quite a long walk from both the nick and Tony's house, so he knew that there were some underlying circumstances behind Tony driving the younger man in, yet somehow he also understood that there was more than likely a good explanation, that for some reason, most likely to protect Smithy, Tony did not wish to share with him.
"Okay mate, see you in briefing" Roger responded, not wanting to push Tony into betraying a confidence he decided to leave things be for the moment, as he stepped out of the locker room he collided directly with June who was heading towards the sergeants office.
"Sorry Sarge" Roger apologised, before being on his way, not dwelling on his collision with his one time dear friend. June shook her head slightly and continued to her path to check if her fellow sergeant required any help with the duties or handover packages left by the night shift. She headed straight into their shared office, and found her friend leaning both elbows on the desk in front of his, with his head resting on his hands, the view of his face completely obstructed.
"Dale?" she queried softly, not wishing to startle the young man who clearly had not registered her presence yet. Slowly realisation dawned and he looked up.
"Oh hi June" he greeted quietly, handing her the clipboard with the duties written out in shaky scrawl. "That okay with you?" he asked, she quickly scanned over what he had written, before she nodded.
"Yeah that seems fine by me. Don't forget that Reg has a bailer in at two, and Dan needs pre charge advise for that abstract job" June continued, and Dale nodded in acknowledgement before adding it onto the duty list so that the communications room would know which officers were going to be available at what time should jobs come in later. "Are you all right Dale? You look a little pale" June asked, she and the other shift sergeant had grown close throughout all of the business with Gabriel and David Kent, and she knew that he would be a friend for life for the way that he had supported her throughout the entirety of the ordeal pretty much thanklessly.
"Yeah I'm fine June, just a headache that's all" he replied, understating quite how bad his head felt at that moment. June nodded satisfied, before reaching into her desk drawer and pulling out a packet of extra strong paracetamol and handing them to the man. "Ah June you are a life saver" he thanked her as he popped two pills into his mouth and swallowed them dry, his smile reaching his eyes for the first time in days. June chuckled lightly, pleased to see his spirits lifted even slightly.
"Come on then, lets go and release the animals" June prompted with a roll of her eyes, Smithy smiled slightly before following her out of the room, and into the briefing where the relief were waiting for them to issue their duties. "Are you sure that you can cope with a whole day out with me?" June asked him with a wink, motioning to the duties that he had prepared. It was very unusual for both sergeants to go out and about together, but somehow Smithy had felt like putting down a change for the day. He knew that he paired up with Tony or Roger, or Reg for that matters his headache would be beyond his pain threshold within a couple of hours with their incessant chatter and questions, yet June respected his privacy and showed her concern with an offer to talk, yet accepted it if the offer was declined. He sat back in his chair and allowed June's voice to wash over him as she called out the call signs and pairings for the shift ahead. It was only when he heard the door open and people filing out that he realised that the briefing had in fact finished and it was time for him to move. Slowly he got up from his position in his chair and made his way over to the door, where he found himself face to face with Inspector Gold.
"Ah Sgt Smith, just the person, can I have a word in my office please?" she asked rhetorically, for she was already gone before he had even a second to respond.
"What have you done now?" June asked sympathetically from behind him, and he simply shrugged in response before going to see his boss.
"Take a seat" Gina barked at the young man before her. Smithy sighed audibly, having a hunch where this was heading, and not liking it one tiny bit. Gina observed the young sergeant carefully, he didn't look happy, but then again he hadn't looked happy for a while. "Did you have a visitor last night?" June asked, and Dale raised his head sharply, managing to disguise his wince at the last minute. He knew that Gina was blunt, but he hadn't expected her to cut to the chase quite so much.
"You know I did, why did you ring Bob?" Smithy asked, deciding that two could play at that game. Gina looked him straight in the eye as she spoke her reply.
"I think you know the answer to that. I am worried about you, and I knew that you won't talk to me, so I figured that a visit from Bob would be good for you." She told him, her gaze never wavering from his face. "Dale it is quite obvious to everyone that you need to talk to somebody, you are as white as a sheet and popping the painkillers constantly, not to mention the wince if anyone catches ya in your side. Plus if anyone so much as mentions Louise's name you look as if you could throw yourself from a building. That is why I rang Bob. When I told you about my cancer you supported me, but made me see sense, that is what I am trying to do for you" she told him sincerely. To be honest she was greatly worried about is physical health as much as his mental health, yet she knew that the former squaddie would bristle at any mention of that. Sometimes they were too similar for their own good.
"When you told me about your illness I accepted that, I didn't get anyone else involved" Smithy argued back, and Gina couldn't deny the truth behind the statement, his loyalty had made her realise what a friend she truly had in sergeant Smith.
"Yes I know, and I appreciate you accepting what I wanted to do, but I can't accept you allowing yourself to wither away, not when I know that if you let someone help you, you will feel a million times better. I know that this is rich coming from me, but you need to talk to somebody and explain what happened. If you won't talk to me then talk to Bob" Gina reasoned. Dale snorted at her words.
"Will that be all ma'am?" he asked her, his eyes locked on her, signalling a clear close to the conversation, Gina sighed in resignation, more than slightly disappointed at his reaction, but unwilling to push the matter any further at the moment.
"Yes, off you go Smithy, but you know where I am if you need me" she told him, he did not acknowledge her he simply strode out of the office and directly to the toilets down the corridor.
End Chapter Four
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