Jenny took a deep breath and glanced towards Dennis, who offered her a smile. "It's only a drink, Jen. If anyone asks you anything you don't want to talk about, refer them to me and I'll break their nose."

Jenny smiled at this and climbed from the car. "You would not."

Dennis slid his arm around his wife's waist. "I would. At least, I would seriously consider it."

"Jenny!" Mike jumped to his feet, interrupting his wife mid story to greet the blonde. "It's great to see you. Can I get you a drink? Oh, and you, Sarge."

"You're the Sarge now, Bradley." Dennis reminded him again. "Aren't you going to introduce us to your wife?"

"Ah yes, sorry Sa…Sir. This is Marie. Marie, this is Jenny and-" He hesitated, unsure how to introduce the man who, in the last few weeks, and become more of a friend than superior.

"Dennis." The scot held out his hand, and Marie shook it firmly, but her eyes were on Jenny as she wondered if she should be jealous of this woman Mike had spoken so much about.

"It's lovely to meet you both. Why don't you come and sit with us? I would love to have someone to moan about being married to a policeman with!"

As Jenny sat with Marie, Dennis accompanied Mike to the bar where a distracted Gina gave them a wave to let them know she'd be with them soon.

Since Jenny had been back, a week now, Gina had spent most of her evening's at the Merton household, but that morning Oscar had put his foot down and told her she would have to work that evening.

Two days earlier, Gina looked down at a photo album, this time with permission. "He was tiny! And look at that hair. He must have been a favourite with the nurses."

Jenny gave a sad smile and looked away from the photos that still pained her to look at. "I'm sure he was, but I wasn't there to see it."

Gina glanced up from the photo to her friend and finally asked gently. "What happened, Jen?"

Jenny sighed and played with the blanket that rested over the arm of the couch. "…Apparently it can happen sometimes. I have this… illness. My mother had it too, only I didn't realise or at least no one told me. Most of the time it's fine, and I take medication, but sometimes, particularly during stressful periods, I can get...well, you heard and saw how I got. They think I always had the potential for it to happen, but after getting hepatitis, and then getting pregnant, my body just…stopped fighting it, I suppose."

Gina edged forward in her seat and took Jenny's hand. "Oh, Jen. I'm so sorry."

Jenny took a deep breath, then looked up with a smile. "There's nothing I can do about it. It is what it is, and I'm stuck with it, so I just do my best. We all do."

"Well, now you've got me, too."

Jenny's smiled widened and she squeezed Gina's hand. "Thank you."

"You're that Jenny? I always wondered about the woman whose name was scribbled all over everything."

Jenny smiled and then glanced towards Dennis where he still waited at the bar. "I was a scribbler, I'm afraid. Especially when certain women came in and thought I'd love to meet their son, or look after their child or hear about their fancy new radio."

Marie laughed, nodding. "Oh, I know the sort. Although they're not as bad as the people who think they have the right to walk right to the front of the queue."

"Joyce Jowett?" Jenny asked, making Marie laugh again.

...

Dennis watched from the bar and gave a smile when he saw Jenny laugh, allowing him to relax a little.