Disclaimer: I don't own the Ashes to Ashes characters or plots, though I have employed a few bits of dialogue from the actual series in this last chapter.

One more installment, already written, follows this one.

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The Heart of a Lion

Chapter 7: Now I've Come Back Again

Heaven would have a job to hold me; and as for Hell, I'd break it into bits.

- A Grief Observed, by C.S. Lewis


Can't say what it was woke me up, only that it happened all of a sudden. Like I was on a train that had come to a stop.

Found meself outside, with my back resting against stone, legs stretched out in front of me. It was still dark out – or maybe just gone dark; can't say which – and the streetlamps were on; I could see the light reflecting off my boots.

Boots.

I was out of the hospital gear, then, and wearing boots and a proper suit. Out of that bed, too, in Washington - no, London - and back on the street, or at least sleeping outdoors again, couldn't say where. Turning into a bit of a habit, that was.

And I was on my tod - no Terry, no Poirot, no Keats, and no nurse.

In fact the last thing I remembered was that nurse - the way she'd talked to me, and put her hand on my forehead. My head had hurt like a bastard, and my chest and all, but that was done with now. Felt like I could breathe properly for the first time in years too.

I reckoned I'd have a cigarette to celebrate all that, and found the packet of fags in my pocket, right where they should be. I'd just taken a long, satisfying pull at one when I heard a noise - something hitting the pavement.

A football came flying out of nowhere and knocked the cigarette right from my hand. Didn't burn me, though. Didn't even hurt.

"Sorry, Guv!"

Guv? I got to my feet and squinted at the darkness. There was a patch of white out there, moving towards me, and as I watched it turned into a t-shirt, with Viv James inside. He had on his uniform trousers and a pair of trainers, and that pure white t-shirt.

And he looked fit and well.

"What are you doing smoking anyway?" he said. "Thought you might at least give it up here."

"This is 'eaven. I can do what I want." Shit. Viv. "I mean, I thought - this isn't -"

Never expected I'd see Viv smiling again. "No worries, Guv," he told me. "They've sent you to the right place."

"They'd better 'ave. You bloody near gave me an 'eart attack." Didn't feel that way, though.

"I've only just got here myself."

Only just got here. I took a deep breath. "Yeah. Well, it's good to see you, Skip."

"And you, Guv."

"If you don't me asking, how did you - "

"I had help, didn't I." Viv took a seat next to me, grunting just like Marty Byrne as he lowered himself down. As though he'd aged. Or been sitting hunched up for a long time.

"Keats had told me I was alone."

"Keats," I said, "is a lying bastard. He said the same to me and all."

"Yeah, but you were different, Guv."

"Yeah, reckon I was," I said, taking out another cigarette.

"I was on my own, for a while," said Skip. "Caroline Price changed all that."

"Caroline Price?"

"The solicitor. You remember her, Guv."

I almost dropped the fag. I did remember. Famous lefty lawyer. Hadn't thought about her in God knew how long.

"Made Keats' life a living hell, she did. I mean -"

"Yeah, yeah." In point of fact, I could believe she had. "Go on, Skip."

"She took on my case, only she was up against her old man, Tim Price, and Keats of course. Then her daughter got the coppers involved, like she'd done with her mum."

I remembered something else then - me carrying a little girl into Fenchurch East. "Blimey, her daughter's here?" Poor kid.

"Tim was more than a match for them, though," said Viv. "Kept things going for years."

For years. "Still, you won."

"In the end, yeah, but it wasn't how I thought it would be. Always thought if anyone turned up, it'd be you."

"Couldn't have done, not when I was flat on me back. Who'd they send?"

"Strangest thing, Guv. I heard someone call my name, and there was this copper. Few blokes from the fire brigade had fought their way in, and he came along. Never seen him before, or them. Didn't recognize the uniform, either. Not one of ours; that was certain."

Not one of ours. "Did 'e 'ave an American accent?"

"Yeah, sounded like that Pacino bloke," said Viv. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess. What'd 'e say?"

Skip grinned. "First thing he did was turn the air blue. Can't remember it all, but he was in a right old state. Said Keats had got the transfer bollixed up - well, not 'bollixed,' that's not quite how he put it. But he told him, 'You've got one of our guys down here.'

"Then he clapped a hand on my shoulder, said I should come with him, 'on the double.' Of course Keats wasn't having that. Didn't show he was angry, though. Just told that copper he could send him back to anywhere he liked, even the autumn of 1945. I don't know what that was all about.

"Took him a minute, but the bloke brushed him off. Well, not brushed. More like, erm, kneed."

I felt myself start to smile. "Good man."

"Then the copper turned to me and said, 'Come on, buddy, we ain't got all night.'"

"And that was that."

"Well, he did say, 'Move along, people. Nothing to see here.'

"We went up to the street then, the lot of us. Those lads from the fire brigade went off to join their mates and left me alone with that bloke.

"I asked him why he'd come. 'You guys never gave in,' he told me. 'They bombed the hell out of you and you never gave in. Damnedest thing I've ever seen.' He shook his head, couldn't speak for a moment. Then he grinned at me and said, 'Besides, I wanted to show my son the old man's still got it...'"

I thought back. A copper's copper...would have gone through hell for any of them.

"...he wouldn't come this far with me, though. Said his buddies were waiting for him, and 'some limey bastard' would see me the rest of the way."

"And then you found me."

"Yeah." Viv looked at the ground. "Guv, I never - I mean, that day - "

That day. No need to ask which one.

"I'm sorry, Guv. I'm sorry. I should have - "

"I let you down, Viv."

"How do you reckon that?"

"You tried to talk to me. I wouldn't listen." Blimey. Are you here for confession? "What happened was my fault."

"No, Guv, it was mine - "

"Should 'ave 'ad your back, Skip," I said. "My fault. End of. Keats was right about that."

Viv turned to look at me. "I thought you said Keats was a lying bastard."

"Yeah," I said, chuckling for the first time. "Yeah, 'e is and all."

I clapped a hand on Viv's shoulder.

"Come on, Skip. Time to go 'ome."


In the end it was the sign that helped me get my bearings. I'd seen it a million bloody times.

Welcome.

But as we got nearer the Railway Arms Viv was dragging his feet.

"Guv - "

"Yeah, Skip." I knew what was coming next.

" - they're going to let me in, aren't they?"

I turned to face him and saw the look in his eyes - Keats' doing again. Jimbo dealt in doubt and despair the way scum like Layton dealt in heroin.

Only one way to sort it, though. "That Yank bastard didn't get your miserable arse out of 'ell so I could leave you standing outside the Railway Arms till the end of time, did 'e now?"

"No, Guv."

"Right. Let's finish the job, and 'ave one for 'im and all.

"In we go. Bold as a lion now, Skip."

But we didn't need to do anything in the end, either of us. Right as we were standing there, the door of the Railway Arms opened, as if on its own.


Of course it didn't bloody open on its own. Nelson stepped out, grinning the way he always did. "Welcome, Sergeant James!" he said, reaching out to shake Viv's hand. "Nice to see you."

"Oi! Nelson!" Ray Carling came barreling through the door. "Thought you were going to give me the signal soon as the - "

He spotted Viv then and stopped in his tracks. Shit. Going to be bloody awkward, this was.

Only Raymondo looked like he was about to mist up. "Skip, is it really you?"

"Yeah, it's really me." Viv looked down at the pavement. "How are you keeping, Ray?"

"How do you think, you daft bugger!" said Ray. He threw his arms round Viv then and held on, eyes shut tight. Thought for a moment he was going to blub, but he got himself sorted soon enough, slapped Skip on the back a couple times, pulled away and said the only sensible thing.

"Now, how about a pint?" Then he clapped eyes on me. "Flaming Nora. It is true, then?"

"What's true, Raymondo?"

"We've been expecting you, mon brave," said Nelson. "Guv's here," he called back to the punters.

The doorway filled up, then bloody well exploded, with people I hadn't seen in years: Sam Tyler was the first one out, but Annie Cartwright was right behind him, and Chris Skelton and Shazzer.

"Guv." Tyler had his hands on my shoulders, big daft grin on his face, tears in his eyes. He leaned forward and put his arms about me, slapped me on the back. "Good to see you," was all I heard him say, what with all the laughing and the sniffling.

"Danger of getting poofy there, Sammy Boy." But it was good to see him and all.

Then Annie nipped forward and gave me a little kiss on the cheek, and it all turned into a scrum, only with birds in it - everybody crowding round, shaking my hand and Viv's, and talking all at once.

But DI Drake was AWOL.

Right. No Bolls. Welcome to heaven, Detective Chief Inspector Hunt -

"There isn't any car, not this time, but there are those boots...and you. "


To be continued...