Hurrah, next chapter done! Now, I leave for uni this Saturday coming up, so I don't know how often I'll be able to update, especially cause my course is a full on five days a week 9am til 4pm one. I'm going to try and finish the Lightning Strike this week so I don't have to worry about that one, but I'll apologise in advance now if these updates become more few and far between. But anyway, thank you to Hollie, Em and littlebit 100. Enjoy!

For Jessica Hunter, it was a New Year New Start. She had filed the motion for divorce with her lawyer a few days after Christmas, and was dearly hoping that the whole thing would be over by February. Jess had invited all her friends over to the house for New Year, and had also taken the opportunity to invite her parents and little brother Andrew. They knew that she had split with Dan, but had no idea why. So the day before New Year's Eve, once they were settled in the house, she sat them down and told them everything. To say her parents were horrified was an understatement. Her mum held her for what seemed like an hour, telling her over and over again that she should have called them before. Her brother and dad wore twin masks of fury and anger, both desperate to meet Dan just one more time, to make him pay for what he had done to Jess. But once they realised that she was doing ok, and slowly feeling better about life, they decided to put it behind them, as Jess had, and just celebrate New Year with her and her friends. On New Year's Eve, Robert and Andy manned the barbeque, serving up hot dogs and hamburgers by the dozen. Michelle had made a punch, as well as buying a few crates of wine, and Jess had started putting a bonfire together. As her friends filled the house, and the sounds of laughter and celebration enveloped her little house, she smiled, a true smile, for the first time in weeks. This was what her life was about; being surrounded by her caring family and her supportive friends, celebrating bringing in a New Year, a fresh year, one that hadn't yet been tarred by tragedy. So as the clock struck midnight, as everyone filed into the garden, the bonfire was lit, the fireworks set off, and resolutions were made.


Jess and Sally were sat relaxing on the afternoon on New Year's Day, back at Sally's flat. Jess' family had decided to travel back to Cornwall, hoping that the traffic would be quiet. She was sad to see her family go, hating how much distance was between them, but she had promised the she'd visit them soon. The two women were finishing off a bottle of wine when Jess suddenly blurted out, "I've put my house on the market."

Sally looked round, surprised, "I thought you were going to wait until the divorce was finalised?"

"God knows how long that's going to take. The only reason I didn't do it earlier was because I wanted to use it for New Years. I can't live there Sal, not on my own. It wouldn't feel right." Jess explained.

"So are you going to split the money fifty fifty?" Sally asked.

"Yeah, I rang the solicitor, who had spoken to Dan's solicitor, and he agreed that the house could be sold as long as the money we got for it was split between us. I was surprised that he didn't put up more of an argument to be quite honest. In fact, I'm surprised he's going through with the divorce at all. I would have thought he would have done everything in his power to stop this happening." Jess mused, sipping her wine.

"Well just be grateful that he is going through with it. Hopefully it'll go quicker, seeing as he's co-operating." Sally said with a nod.

"Spose so. I go back to work on Tuesday, so I wanted to clear the house of my last few belongings on the Monday." Jess said, tucking her legs underneath her.

"Right, well I'm working Monday so I can't help you. How much more stuff have you got?" Sally asked.

"Just books and little things like that really. Once the house has sold I'm going to look for a flat for myself. I can't keep sponging off you forever." she said with a small laugh.

"Don't be silly, I like having you living with me." Sally said sincerely.

"Yeah I know, I like being here, and it'll be a while before the house sells anyway." Jess said with a smile.

"Good, and I'll look forward to a massive house party when you find somewhere. But seriously, stay here as long as you like." Sally said.

"Thanks Sal. Now, a toast, to a New Year!" Jess said happily, clinking glasses with Sally.


The following Monday, Jess parked her Mini in front of her house for the last time. She opened the boot, hauling out the pile of collapses boxes she had, ready to fill them with the last of her belongings. She walked up the icy steps, her keys ready in her hand. The door swung open, and she dumped the boxes in the hall before stepping in. She turned to shut the door, eyes widening in fear as a masked man bounded up the steps to her house, pushing her to the floor before slamming the door shut behind him.

"Are you Jessica Waite?" the man asked menacingly.

"N...no I'm not." she stammered, which was truthful in part.

"You sure bout that? See you look a lot like the woman in this photo, who happens to be Jessica Waite." the man said, showing Jess one of the photos of her and Dan on their wedding day.

"I'm not Jessica Waite." Jess said more confidentially, scooting back on the hardwood floor until her back pressed against the bottom stair.

"Stop lying to me or this will be a lot worse than it has to be. Now, to business. Do you know what, for a police officer you sure are dumb. Have you not noticed me tailing you for the past few weeks?" the man asked mockingly. Jess blood went cold in her veins. "I would have liked an invite to that nice New Year's party you threw, but no, I was stuck out in the cold."

"Who are you?" Jess asked.

"We've spoken before, or don't you recognise my voice?" the man jeered. It was him, the man who had threatened her, who knew that she was staying with Sally.

"But they arrested you!" Jess cried.

"They did yes, but the evidence didn't hold. Now, the reason I'm here. Dan isn't happy with the fact you're selling your marital home, nor is he happy that you've filed for divorce. He also suspects that you're seeing a new fella." the man said.

"You're crazy! Dan agreed that the house should be sold, and you're surely not stupid enough to think I'd stay married to the bastard who raped me do you?" Jess exclaimed.

"Don't call me stupid you whore." the man growled, leaning down so he was right in front of her.

"Don't act it then." Jess retorted, hoping to rile the man up enough that he would lose control...she didn't have a plan besides that.

The man laughed bitterly, "Dan said you liked to answer back. That you just wouldn't listen to what he told you. That's why he had to put you in your place."

Jess laughed at him, "No, that just shows he was weak enough to let a woman talk to him like that in the first place. His trial is in a month's time; he has to stay banged up, at the mercy of men who are murderers. He can't hurt me." It was the wrong thing to say, for the man smiled at her.

"No, but I can." he said, lunging for her. She dodged, turning and scrambling up the stairs. She had nearly reached the top step when the man grabbed her ankle, dragging her down the stairs. She was winded, unable to move out the way quick enough. "This is from your husband." The masked man raised a foot before stamping on Jess' face. She howled in pain, rolling onto her side, covering her face with her hands. They immediately became slick with blood, and she could feel her nose and mouth swelling. She didn't know how, adrenaline perhaps, but she managed to kick up at the man, catching him in the stomach, winding him. As he was bent over she kicked him again, this time in the groin. He yelped like a wounded dog. She managed to get to her feet, her bloodied hand slipping on the wooden floor. She snatched the phone from its cradle, hurriedly dialling 999.

"Police, I need the police, quickly! I've been attacked, the intruder is still in my home." she cried, willing the operator to be quick in dispatching help.

"Ok sweetheart, what's your address?" the operator asked. It was at that point her attacker straightened up, knocking the phone from her hand. It skidded under the sideboard. He knocked her to the floor again; she desperately tried to reach under the sideboard to get to the phone. But she knew they would come for her. The operator would be able to triangulate where the call had come from, and help would be coming.

"You think they're gonna help you? They didn't help you before did they; they didn't notice that you were a poor battered wife. They did nothing to help you!" the man snarled, pulling her by her hair so he could shout in her ear. Jess thought of Callum, of how he had noticed.

"They did notice! They tried to help me, but I stupidly thought Dan would change! More fool me! But now you can go and tell Dan that, in fact, tell him I said hi!" Jess screamed, because she had heard what her attacker had not; sirens. The next minute her door had been kicked open, the attacker tackled to the ground by Smithy with Will rushing to her side.


Will and Smithy had escorted the masked intruder back to the station, handing Jess over to the capable hands of Sally and Callum. She was sat in the kitchen when they came in, mopping the blood off her face.

"JESS!" Sally cried, her eyes widening in horror as she took in the bruised and battered mess that used to be Jess' face.

"Looks worse than it is." Jess said, weakly trying to make a joke.

"Who was he?" Callum demanded, his mouth set in a tight line.

"The same bloke who rang me on Dan's behalf. I thought he had been caught?" Jess asked, turning to Callum.

"We had him in custody but the evidence wasn't conclusive so we had to let him go." Callum admitted.

"And you didn't tell me that because...?" Jess demanded, suddenly angry.

"I was under the impression that Terry had told you. He's the one heading up your case, not me." Callum snapped, immediately regretting it as he saw Jess' face close up.

"Come sit down. Let me sort your face out." Sally said gently, forcing Jess into a chair, "Have you got a first aid kit?"

"There should be one in the bathroom cabinet." Jess spat, still glaring at Callum. Sally left the room in search of the first aid kit. Callum slowly came closer to Jess, crouching down in front of her. He took in her bloodied, but not broken, nose, her split lip that was steadily swelling up, to the bruising beneath her eyes. He got up and dampened a flannel, moving back to Jess.

"This might hurt a bit, so I apologise in advance." he said slowly. She nodded minutely, her lips slightly parted as Callum gently dabbed them with the flannel. She hissed in pain, squeezing her eyes shut, fisting her hands until he had finished. "I've got most of the blood off, but it's still bleeding a little bit."

"Thanks." she said, still not meeting his eye.

"We're gonna take you back to Sally's once she's sorted your face out." Callum said, standing up again.

"Great." she said dully.

"Jess I'm sorry ok? I honestly thought Terry had told you that we'd had to release Okufi." Callum said.

"Who?" Jess asked, finally looking at him.

"Okufi. Lloyd Okufi, the man who attacked you." Callum told her. She nodded, looking up as Sally came back in.

"Don't think there's much in here that'll be of use to be honest." Sally said, emptying the contents of the first aid box on the table.

"It's fine, I'll just get some ice on the worst of it. It should heal in a few days." Jess said, getting to her feet.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to hospital?" Sally asked for the fifth time.

"I'm positive. Can we just go back to the flat?" Jess pleaded, sick of this God-forsaken house.

"Course. Let's go." Sally said with a small smile.


Sally opened the flat, letting Callum and Jess go in ahead of her. She had just shut the door behind her when she heard Jess swear loudly from her bedroom. Both Callum and Sally ran to her bedroom, stopping when they saw the state of it. She turned to them, her face a mask of fury.

"The bastards been in my room!" she cried, sinking onto her bed, which had been strewn with her clothes. All her belongings had been upended and scattered everywhere; it looked like a hurricane had hit. Callum stepped into the room, stooping to pick up a piece of paper.

"Don't get too comfy, I'll be back for you, and maybe for your pretty little friend too." Callum read aloud from the piece of paper. He slipped it into an evidence bag.

"Oh my God, why can't he just leave me alone?" Jess said, defeated.

"Jess don't worry, we'll sort it out." Sally said, putting an arm round her friends shaking shoulders.

"Sal I can't stay here anymore, I can't put you in danger. Jesus." Jess muttered, her head in her hands.

"Don't be stupid! Where are you going to go? And anyway, Okufi's been arrested." Sally said.

"He might not have been the only one! I'm not gonna put you in danger, no way." Jess said, getting to her feet and stretching up to yank her suitcase of the wardrobe, grimacing as the action made her ribs ache.

"Don't be such a bloody hero!" Sally moaned.

"You can stay with me." Callum said quietly, but both women heard him. They turned and looked at him with identical disbelieving faces.

"Did I just hear you right?" Jess asked.

"Well if you're going to be a hero and refuse to stay here, I've got a spare room in my flat. There's loads of security so no need to worry about that, and if anyone unexpected comes knocking I'd be more than happy to sort them out." Callum said deadpan. Jess contemplated the idea. The pros were that she'd be keeping Sally safe; the cons were that it was Callum. And things...well she didn't know what was happening with them. It was complicated, and staying with him, even for a few days, could make it even more complicated.

"If I stay with you, no-one knows, except for the Inspector. Can you imagine the rumours that would be spread?" Jess said with a small smile.

"Deal." Callum said with a nod.

"Well then, thanks I suppose." Jess said gratefully.

"Sally, get your locks changed." Callum said, looking once more around the trashed room.

"I'll do it when I get home from work tonight." she said.

"I'm giving you the rest of the day off. You can help Jess move her things to mine, and then sort out security on the flat. I'll inform Gold of what's going on." Callum ordered.

"Right, thanks sarge." Sally said gratefully.

"S'alright. I'll be back in about an hour to take you to mine." Callum said, leaving the two women alone in the flat.


"Oh my God." was all Sally could say before bursting into laughter, "I know it's not really funny and I don't even really know why I'm laughing." she said apologetically.

"I would laugh if it didn't hurt my face and make my lip bleed." Jess said, laughter in her voice. Both women sobered up quickly though as the reason as to why Jess was moving out kicked in. "Sal I'm so sorry."

"If you say sorry once more I'll give you a black eye!" she said, before realising too late that Jess already had two black eyes. "Erm I meant..."

Jess held her stomach, trying to stop herself from laughing, "Gee Sal, you sure know the right thing to say to a gal don't you."

"I'm sorry! Right, let's stop apologising to each other and get your stuff all packed up." Sal said.

"Agreed. I may as well start living out of my suitcase." Jess said jokingly.


A knock at the door an hour later indicated that Callum was back. Jess let him in, her suitcase stood up next to the door.

"I've explained to the Inspector what's happened, and I gave her the note that was left as well. They're going to go over it for prints, but I think we all know that it was Okufi." Callum said.

"Yeah well apparently you all knew it Okufi who rang me but he still got let out didn't he." Jess said pointedly.

"Well that won't happen this time. I promise." he said sincerely.

"I hope not. I'm going to go and say goodbye to Sally, I won't be a minute." Jess said.

"Right, I'll take this down to the car. I'll wait there for you." Callum said, lifting her suitcase.

"Thank you." Jess said quietly, "For everything I mean. Especially for giving me somewhere to stay until I'm sorted."

"I don't mind." Callum said gruffly, turning away. Jess smiled, turning to go and find Sally. She was in the kitchen, the Yellow pages in front of her.

"Locksmiths are so expensive!" she moaned.

"I'll pay for it, don't worry." Jess said.

"Don't be silly!" Sally argued.

"Sally, it was my fault, I'll pay, no arguments. Ok?" Jess pushed.

"Ok fine." Sally conceded, knowing when she was beaten.

"Right then. Well, I'm off. I'll be in work tomorrow, so I'll see you then. I'll put in a word with Callum, get us paired together." Jess said with a smile.

"Aw Jess I'm gonna miss having you here with me. It's gonna be empty without you." Sally said sadly.

"Also be a lot quieter. Thank you so much Sal, for letting me stay here and helping me through everything. I couldn't wish for a better best friend." Jess said sincerely.

"I've loved having you here. Come round anytime you want ok? And when you find a new place let me know and I'll help you move in and christen the place." Sally said, pulling Jess into a close hug. Both women had tears in their eyes.

"You'd think I was emigrating with all this drama." Jess said with a hiccup.

"Well you are, to the other side of London." Sally said with a laugh.

"I'll text you later ok? Bye Sal, missing you already!" Jess called as she walked down the hall and out the flat, the door slamming behind her.


Callum walked ahead into the flat, Jess slowly following behind her. It was a smallish flat, a bit smaller than Sally's. The living room was open plan with the kitchen, with a small dining set pushed against a wall. The two bedrooms were on the left with the bathroom in between them. It was very sleek and modern, and very sparse. There were no photos on the walls, only generic prints. No little personal touches, nothing to tell her about the man who lived here. Callum came out of the first bedroom on the left.

"That's your room there, I put your case on the bed." he said looking around at his flat as if seeing it for the first time, "Erm it's not much, but it does what it needs to."

"It's fine...a bit sparse though." she said, looking round.

"I don't spend that much time here. I don't really like clutter and stuff like that. Not my thing." he said.

"That's fair enough. Is it alright if I go and have a bath?" she asked, turning to him.

He smiled sheepishly, "I don't have a bath, but I do have a walk-in shower."

She looked at him out the corner of her eyes, smiling slightly, "Right then, can I use the shower then?"

"Course you can. You don't need to ask." Callum said with a smile.

"Thank you. Have you got to go back to work?" Jess asked.

"Yeah but I'll be back about sevenish. I can pick up a takeaway on my way back?" Callum offered.

"No, I'll cook for you as a thank you. Lasagne ok?" she asked.

"Lasagne sounds good. One problem." Callum said slowly.

"I think I can guess." Jess said suspiciously, walking into the modern kitchen and opening the fridge. The only items in there were beer, butter and milk. She looked at him silently before opening the cupboards. Bread, baked beans, jar of marmite. Freezer next. This was rammed with ready meals. "Not a big fan of cooking then?"

"I can't cook very well. And most the time I eat at work." Callum admitted.

"So what I'll do is I'll have a shower, try and make myself look a bit more presentable, then go online to order some food shopping. By the time you get back tonight hopefully there will be a nice hot lasagne waiting for you with garlic bread." Jess said with a smile.

"My mouths salivating already. Will you be ok til I get back?" Callum asked, shrugging on his coat.

"I'm sure I'll be fine." she said.

"If you need me just call me. I'll see you later." Callum said, smiling at her as he left.

"Bye!" she called after him resisting the urge to shout "Have a good day honey!" after him. Laughing at herself, she walked into what was now her temporary bedroom, pulling out her laptop to order the groceries. Once that was done she pulled some clean clothes out her case, walking through into the bathroom, ready for a nice hot shower.


Callum walked through the door just as Jess was getting the lasagne out the over. He sniffed the air appreciatively.

"God that smells so good! I might have to start calling you Nigella!" he said jokingly, hanging his coat up and stripping off his scarf and gloves.

"Delia if you please." she said back, cutting the lasagne up and putting a generous portion on Callum's plate. He leaned against the counter, watching her put some salad on the plates. He scrutinised her face, noting that the swelling seemed to have gone down a little bit, but her whole face was bruised.

"How's your face?" he asked.

"Aching. I took some painkillers earlier to try and ease it a bit, seems to have worked. I got some wine as well; I didn't know what you liked so I got red wine. Is that ok?" she asked, eating a piece of cucumber.

"More than ok. Do you need a hand?" he asked.

"No go and sit down, I'll bring it right over." she said with a small smile. He took a seat at the small two person dining table, pouring the wine out. Jess placed the plate of lasagne and salad in front of him before sitting down with her own.

"I appreciate this." Callum said with a smile, taking a sip of wine.

"I enjoy cooking, and it's my way of thanking you." Jess said.

"Do you know, this is the first time that this dining set has been used?" Callum said with a chuckle, taking a bite of lasagne.

"Doesn't surprise me at all after seeing the contents of your fridge and cupboards." Jess replied with a small smile.

"Can I just say, this lasagne is heaven." Callum said appreciatively.

"Thanks. I was going to go into the restaurant business before I found my calling as a cop. Oh and by the way, I took the liberty of binning every single ready meal in your freezer. Homemade meals for you from now on." she said sternly.

"Yes ma'am. Was the shower ok?" he asked.

"Lovely. I've got to make sure my new flat has one of them walk in showers." she said.

"Good. No-ones slept on that bed in your room yet, so I have no idea if it's comfy or not. If it's not just let me know and we can do a swap." Callum offered.

"It's fine, honest. It's better than what my alternative would have been, which was the car!" she said.

"True." he agreed. They finished the rest of the meal in silence, Jess washing up while Callum dried. "I've never felt so domesticated before."

Jess chuckled, mindful of her face and ribs, "Well get used to it, this is how it'll be for as long as I'm here." she said jokily.

"I like having you here." he said softly. "I liked opening the door knowing you'd be here, and the fact that you'd cooked me dinner. After a long day of chasing criminals and doing paperwork, that was the highlight of my day."

"It's not surprising that was your highlight if you were doing paperwork all day." she said, trying to joke.

"That's true. I want you to stay here for as long as you need. I mean that. Don't feel like you have to find a new place straight away." he said seriously.

"Thank you Callum. And anyway, it'd be cruel to leave you now that I've just emptied your food supply from the freezer." she said with a small smile.

Callum smiled before frowning, "Your lip, it's bleeding again." She immediately covered her mouth with her hand, searching for kitchen roll or anything to wipe her mouth with. Callum wet some kitchen roll, gently pushing Jess' hand away. He wiped the blood away as carefully as he could, trying hard not to cause her pain. She stood there mutely while he mopped her up, looking anywhere but his face. "There, all done." She pressed a finger to the cut, wincing at the pain. "You were so brave earlier. Weren't you scared?"

She shook her head, "I was at first, but then I realised he's just like Dan. He does enough damage to make you bend to his will, but he won't really hurt you, not in a life threatening way."

"They should lock him up and throw away the key." Callum said bitterly.

"They should, but I have a bad feeling they won't. He knows the system; he'll find something he can use to get him off the hook. That's what scares me." she admitted.

"You don't have to be scared." Callum whispered. Jess finally looked up at him through her puffy eyes.

"I don't?" she whispered. Callum shook his head, gently pulling Jess into his arms. She fit perfectly against him, like two pieces of a jigsaw. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as she shut her eyes and finally felt a bit better.