OK this is the last chapter of this story now, to be honest i was getting a bit bored of writing it, and i didnt know how i could keep it alive, and keep you guys reading it alive.
Thankyou to all the amazing reviews that you have posted, they made me smile when i read them;')
well, this story had to come to an end, and well, because i'm a sucker for a good ending;D
hope you enjoy this! wasnt sure where i was going with it but hopefully you will think of it as a nice ending:)
last thing;) , sorry for the long a/n but yeaah, please read and review this!
Here we go!
Chapter 7:
They had all arranged to go out that evening, to celebrate the closing of the case, and the fact that it was Kevin's birthday. 'You'd kept that one quiet Kev!' Rachel had said when she had found out, 'afraid we were going to buy you a Spiderman toy and a Thomas the Tank engine card?' 'Oh haha Rachel, aren't you the funny one' he had replied, he knew how much they loved taking the mick out of him, and since Rachel had joined MIT his mental age had improved quite a lot.
They were going to go to go to the posh restaurant, on the other side of Chadderton for a meal, then they were going to go to the Bridge Water tower, Level 27 for drinks. There were a few going, Gill and Chris, Janet, Rachel and Sean, Andy, Pete, Mitch, Kevin and Lee.
Gill had dismissed them at 4:00pm today; it was the earliest they had got out in weeks, they were going to each go home and freshen up, then they were meeting at the restaurant for 7:00. They all left the briefing room and went to get their coats. Rachel was the first to leave the office. She was going to go and see Melanie, and give her the low-down on what had happened. She had text her throughout the investigation, and had spoken to her on the phone at the weekend but hadn't seen her since the night she went for tea.
Rachel turned up outside Melanie's flat, ran up the stairs and knocked on the door. Luke answered it. 'Hi Luke, is Melanie in?' Rachel spoke. 'Yeah, she's just in her room, ironing I think' Luke replied, gesturing towards the living room for Rachel to sit down. 'Melanie! Rachel's here to see you!' Luke shouted towards the bedroom. He smiled back to Rachel, 'would you like a drink?' 'Yes please' Rachel smiled 'could I just have some water?' 'Yeah sure' Luke said, as he went over to the cupboard. 'You're looking very smart tonight!' Rachel complimented, 'Going anywhere nice?' 'Umm yeah, just out with some mates' 'oh cool, hiya!' Rachel said as Melanie came out of her bedroom. Rachel got up and gave her a hug 'how are you?' 'I'm ok thanks how are you?' 'I'm good thanks' Rachel replied.
At that moment the doorbell went. 'That's for me I think, id best be off, we are going go karting! Nice to see you Rachel!' Luke said as she kissed Melanie goodbye and put on his coat. Then went to answer the door. Rachel could hear the muttering of some of his mates outside the door. Rachel smiled back at Melanie. 'Ok, well I've just come to tell you, that we have finished the case on your Nan...' Melanie took a deep breath and sat down 'go on...'
Rachel replied, 'we have arrested and charged three people, one with the attempted murder, one with the murder itself and one was assisting an offender. I'm so sorry to tell you this but, it was your mum, and her fiancé, who had tried to pay someone to do it for them, but when they refused, her fiancé, did it himself. I'm so, so sorry' Rachel placed a sympathetic hand on top of Melanie's.
Melanie gave a weak smile, 'it's fine. I'll be fine. I think I've grieved enough. It not come as a surprise, my mother's always had a screw loose. It's in the past now. I hate her even more, but I've got to move on, because deep down, I know if I'm upset or depressed for much longer, my mom will have got what she wanted... so, I'm going to move on, and not think about it! But thank you Rachel, thank you so much, for everything you've ever done for me and Luke I really mean it. I'm so grateful'
Rachel could feel herself welling up, she was overjoyed that she was able to help someone, and she felt quite proud. She then had an idea. 'You know what? You should come out with us tonight! Me and my work mates and my fiancé are going out for a meal to celebrate solving this murder, you should definitely come! It will do you good! And you can meet everyone! It's better than you being stuck in all night by yourself!' Melanie looked unsure, 'are you sure? I don't want to intrude on your life or anything?' 'No! No! Its fine! You should come! Let your hair down! C'mon, you deserve it; after all you've been through! We are meeting at 7:00, at that posh restaurant the other side of Chadderton, the one by the Bridge Water Tower?' 'Oh yeah, I know the one! Umm, ok sure I'll come! It will do me good' Melanie replied, a massive smile wiping across her face. 'Ok, well I'd better go and freshen up! See you in an hour then!' Rachel said, as she stood up and walked towards the door. She gave Melanie a quick hug and then shut the door behind her, running down the stairs and out towards her car.
She got home and shouted at Sean to get out of the bathroom. 'C'mon Sean it's my turn now! We are going out in an hour and I need to shower! Hurry up!' she ran into her room and fetched out her best dress, black heels and cardigan. She set her jewellery out on the side, sliding her engagement ring off her finger so she could go in the shower.
Sean came out of the bathroom, he was fully dressed, he was in a lovely shirt and Rachel recognised the shoes she had brought him for his last birthday. 'Aw, you look lovely!' she said, in return he gave her a twirl and she started laughing. 'Didn't you want to use the shower?' he said, 'oh yeah!' she said, as she ran into the bathroom.
Forty-five minutes later, they had arrived at the restaurant, everyone else was already there, everybody apart from Melanie. They sat down and ordered their drinks, when Rachel got a text 'Ok, I'm here, where are you? I'm by the entrance x' Rachel replied quickly, 'come around the corner, the other side of the buffet, we are there – I've already ordered you a drink, tonight's on me x'
Rachel looked up from her phone, and followed everyone's gaze as they looked across the restaurant. Kevin's mouth dropped and he went 'woahh'. Even Rachel couldn't believe it, Melanie looked beautiful. She had a lovely white lacey ¾ sleeved dress on, with white heels and a shawl. She had curled her hair and had done her eye make-up lovely.
Rachel stood up and went over to her 'you look amazing' she said, giving her a quick hug. Melanie said hello to everyone as Rachel introduced her, and Janet and Gill got up and gave her a hug. She sat down next to Rachel; Kevin still had his mouth open a little. Gill coughed at him, and told him to stop catching flies, much to the amusement of everyone else, and he slumped back into his seat, embarrassed, muttering something about how it was his birthday so everyone was supposed to be nice to him.
They all had a lovely evening, and most of them got drunk after leaving the restaurant and going to Level 27. As they slurred their goodbyes, and got in taxis, Melanie came over to Rachel, and took her aside 'thank you again Rachel for everything, and for tonight. You were right; I had a fabulous time, even with Kevin looking at me' she gave a drunken giggle. Rachel laughed with her, 'it was my pleasure, keep in touch yeah? We will meet up again – soon. I can fill you in on wedding arrangements' Rachel said, giving her a nudge. 'Yeah defo, it's a start if something new now, fresh start. Goodnight Rachel' Melanie said. 'Goodnight Mel' she replied, giving her a hug and walking back towards Sean who had now flagged down a taxi.
'A start of something new' she thought as she got into the cab, 'A start of something new indeed...'
The End - please Review!
