A/N The following chapter contains scenes of female sexual assault that certain readers may find upsetting. If this is applies to you please skip this chapter. I have tried not to make things too heavy and nothing is explicit but please do not read it if you feel it will distress you. Thanks.

28th November 1973

It's shameful really. Sam is still here, in fact we haven't been apart for about thirty six whole hours. We eventually got up late on Saturday. Having already planned to go to the trade hall to see Roxy Music that evening, we went to Sam's bed-sit to pick up some clean clothes, and then he took me to a very nice restaurant for lunch.

After the gig Sam came back to my flat. This time I wasn't the slightest bit nervous. We were already trying to rip each others clothes off as we stepped through the front door. It's like we can't get enough of each other. I'm not exactly sure what's come over me, but I quite like it.

As a result we were both still lying in bed late Sunday morning when there was a knock at the door.

We just looked at each other. Sam I think, praying that it wasn't the Guv and me that it wasn't my mother!

I hastily pulled on a dressing gown and went to the door.

I wasn't prepared for who was on the other side. "Neil!" I gasped.

He stood there awkwardly on the doorstep. "Annie… yes… I've um… I've um been thinking about things, the way we broke up after university, when you wanted to join the police force. I wondered if you would like to go for a drink. I think there are some things we need to discuss."

I cringed for him. "I don't really think there is anything to talk about." I said as gently as I could.

"Ah… well… you see. I still stand by my opinion that the police are institutional thugs, but I thought you might have come around. And then that business with Sam, I'm not too proud to admit that I was jealous which I see now could have been completely unfound…"

He stopped mid word. His attention had been caught by Sams' jacket lying where it had been abandoned the night before. Neil peered into through the doorway his eyes following the trail of clothes, some of them clearly belonging to a man.

"Oh." He said. "You have company…" His brow furrowed. "I thought you said you were saving yourself?"

Sam chose that moment to wander out from the bedroom. Fortunately his jeans had been one of the last things to go last night so he had put them on. But that was about all. He bent down and picked up his shirt.

I thought Neils' eyes were going to pop out of his head.

"Ah, the man who thought taking a definitive step would be a good idea." Sam said amiably as he buttoned the shirt. "You have no idea how helpful that advice actually was in the end."

Neils' mouth was opening and closing like a goldfish.

Suddenly he turned to me his hands grasping my shoulders. "I can see what's going on here Annie. It's wrong, he had no right. What did he tell you, that you'd never go any further in the force? That he would make your life hell? You don't have to do what he says Annie."

I shook my head. "No… Neil… I don't know what you mean."

Sam rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand. "What he means Annie, is that he believes a superior officer – that would be me- either coerced or bullied you into sleeping with him."

Neil pushed me behind him, his fists balled awkwardly, he waved them at Sam.

"I used to box you know…" He said hopping from foot to foot.

Sam genuinely looked surprised. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"I'm not … You should prepare to defend yourself. What you've done… it's… illegal… it's immoral… it's…"

"None of your damned business!" Sam stepped forward. I could see he was getting angry at Neils' insinuations. Time to break things up before they got out of hand.

I stepped in front of Neil placing my hands on each of his fists. "Neil, listen." I had his attention.

"He took advantage of you Annie." Neil said uncertainly, "Of your good nature. All that stuff about being from the future… he drew you in… You would have seen sense and come back to me."

"No… no… I wouldn't." I wasn't sure how to explain myself. "I love him!"

Neil looked as thought all of the wind went out of him. His arms relaxed. "You…?"

"I love him, yes. And I'm sorry if that hurts you, but I can't help the way I feel."

"I'll just…" Sam said before disappearing back into the bedroom.

And I did, every word was true as I explained everything. Sam was going to stay and that was the only thing that mattered. As I closed the door behind Neil. I hadn't heard Sam come back. He put his arms around me and lay his head against my shoulder.

"I love you too." He said..

Alex stared at the page. It warmed her heart a little, but she was still angry. Sam had still covered up whatever evil scheme Litton was in on. She could almost excuse Annie… almost. She was a WDC, she didn't have any influence, but Sam. This was wasting time. She flicked back to 1976 desperately hoping to get some answers.

18th December 1976

I called Neil today. I'd been trying to pluck up the courage. I wanted an objective opinion as to whether I was going completely mad. Unsurprisingly my phone call out of the blue met with a frosty reception.

"So things are not working out with the crazy superior officer. Get bored did he and move on to talking to trees?" He said, unable to keep the glee out of his voice.

"It's not that. Things are great… we got married" It was true things were perfect between me and Sam.

"Oh." Neil sounded annoyed. "So why are you calling me?"

I agreed to meet with Neil later in the week in the hope that face to face I might not sound quite so insane.

Work at least gave me an opportunity to escape my own thoughts.

There was a lead we had to follow up at a rather interesting shop in town. I'd gone out with Ray to take a statement. As we approached it became apparent that this was a shop of particular interest of an adult nature. Ray froze as he realised he would have to walk into a sex shop with me.

"You can't go in there!" He said, taking a drag from his fag.

"We have to take a statement."

"But… but… you can't go in there!" Was all he could manage. "What would the boss say?"

"He would say, Annie where is that statement?"

"It's not right!"

In the end I had to go in on my own. Ray stayed outside smoking endless cigarettes and fidgeting, I could see him through the gaps in the blinds. Eventually I came out to find him almost beside himself with indignation. He said nothing all the way back to the station.

We had barely been in CID five minutes before he stalked up to Sam.

"It's not right!" Ray growled squaring up to his DI. "There is no way I would let a bird of mine go into a place like… that… it's not right!"

Sam looked up from his report and regarded the older man. "Annie is a police officer, just like you." He said dismissively.

"She's also your bloody wife!" Ray was getting angrier by the minute. I thought the time had come to play peace maker.

"It was all right Ray, really. It was just pictures of people with their dangly bits out."

DS Carling took a draw from his cigarette blowing the smoke into Sams' face. "It's not all right Cartwright… he should have sent Chris instead of you!"

"So the pair of you could spend the rest of the day in a thorough investigation of the merchandise?" Sam said waving the smoke away. "You know Ray, one day there will be shops like that catering especially for women. They'll be on the high street, not with blacked out windows, but just normal shops. The chain will even hold parties to sell their stuff…"

Ray looked disgusted. "No decent bird is going to be interested in that…You're… sick…" He said before stalking back to his desk.

As usual I made a note of what Sam had prophesied.

20th December 1976

We'd all been to a pre Christmas do. There was an open bar… courtesy of RCS which should have given us a warning. But no, the Guv said if Litton was prepared to put his hand in his pocket then we should do him the honour of drinking our own body weight in booze. I'm not a great drinker; however the Guv, Ray and Chris were taking things to an extreme. Before it got too messy Sam and I left.

"Ray seems to have made a conquest?" Sam said as we walked home.

I laughed. "There's no accounting for taste."

"Hers or his?"

The next morning I walked into CID to hear the tail end of Rays' account of the night before. Sam saw me come in and shook his head in resignation. I suspected some of it might have been quite graphic.

"Nice one Raymondo!" The Guv said clapping his hands. "Get stuck in there my son... you know, after hearing that I could almost fancy my own missus."

I'd settled down to some overdue paperwork when Phyllis appeared. She had a look about her that suggested something terrible had happened. Unusually, she marched over to Sam's desk and whispered something in his ear. I could tell by the look on his face, this was bad. Shooting a glance at me he followed Phyllis out into the corridor. I took the hint and, as inconspicuously as I could, went after them.

Sam was reading a report. Poor Phyllis looked as though she would rather be anywhere else.

"Can I leave it with you boss?" She asked. I knew it had to be something really awful to have got the battle hardened WPC rattled.

"Yes. Phyllis, thank you." Sam said.

"What's up?" I asked as she made her escape.

Sam paused for a moment. He shook the report at me. "That woman… the one that was with Ray last night…"

I smiled. "The one with the dodgy taste in men…"

"Indeed." But Sam wasn't smiling. "She's come in this morning… she's claiming what happened afterwards wasn't consensual."

It took a good few minutes for it to sink in. "You mean she is saying that Ray…?"

Sam nodded his head. He looked completely shocked.

"But… But she was all over him last night…?"

"That's as may be… but this says otherwise. We're going to have to interview her Annie, I'd like you to be there as female officer present. It might not be very pleasant."

I could tell that Rays' words earlier must have stung a little.

"Sam, in this job, life is very rarely hugs and puppies."

He gave a small smile and took a deep breath. "But first I have to go and tell the Guv."

"The dozy… rabid… ungrateful… evil… selfish… frigid…" The Guv had for once run out of words. "RAY!" He screamed from his office.

DS Carling got up wearily from his chair and sauntered over to the office. The door closed behind him.

Chris glanced across at me, I could see the confusion and concern on his face.

Judging by the amount of arm waving that was going on, Ray was not taking the news well.

The door was practically wrenched off its hinges as Ray was about to storm out. Sam stopped him.

"You cannot go down there Ray." He said in warning.

"You try and stop me. I need to sort the stupid bitch out."

"After the allegations she's made she needs to be interviewed by someone else."

"I'll do it!" The Guv said.

Sam sighed. "It needs to be someone who doesn't have the sensitivity of a two ton wrecking ball."

"Oh so you're going to do it then?" Ray raged. "I bet you'll just love that, get all the details about what it is to be a real bloke. I might as well start clearing my desk out now then."

"We'll follow the evidence Ray. Why don't you give your statement to the Guv… this time without the more colourful language?"

The Guv looked thoughtful. He put a hand on the DS's shoulder. "Right now, what you need Raymondo is a picky, pedantic pain in the arse. Luckily we have our very own one of those."

Sam motioned to me to follow him.

"You're not taking Cartwright down there!" Ray said shocked.

"We need a female officer, unless you want Chris to put on a dress and some lipstick Annie is the best candidate. We're going to have to do this by the book."

The woman sat in lost property fiddling with her cigarette. She must have been in her early forties with badly dyed auburn hair and too much makeup. She looked up as we walked in. The WPC waiting with her discretely left the room.

Sam placed the tape recorder on the table and pressed the record buttons.

Interview with Mrs…" Sam read the report again. "Mrs Janice Reeves, DI Tyler and DC Cartwright in attendance."

"You've made a very serious complaint against Detective Sergeant Ray Carling" Sam began.

The woman glanced at the tape machine and flicked her ash on the floor in defiance.

"Yeah I did. After what that bastard did."

"Right… could you explain to me and DC Cartwright exactly what happened?"

"Came back to my house dint 'e? I was a bit tipsy so I wanted to get some kip. Next thing I know 'e's all over me, pawing like a bloody dog. I told 'im to piss off, but he dint take no notice. Then 'e left."

"So you are saying that you told DS Carling no?"

"That's what I just said weren't it?"

"And despite this he still continued?"

"Yeah. And my neighbour Vic, he works the night shift… he seen 'im running away." She said firmly.

"What about your husband Mrs Reeves, it was late, was he not at home?"

"'e buggered off years ago wiv some tart from Barnsley. What's that got to do with it?"

"I'm just trying to establish the facts."

Sam looked pensive as we escorted Mrs Reeves out of the building. "Do you think he did it?" I asked.

"I have no doubt after his very detailed story this morning that they did have sex. What we need to establish is whether she did say no, and if she's lying then why?"

The four of us stood in the Guvs' office. "Open and shut case." Gene said. "She's obviously lying." He patted Rays statement in front of him. "The stupid bitch realised her husband would find out what she'd been up to so made up this cock and bull story to get herself out of the shit."

Sam and I exchanged a look. "Husband?" He said.

"Yeah." Ray said as if the matter was all sewn up. "I had to leave cos her husband was on night shift and she didn't want him to catch her at it. First I'd heard of the bloke, but I didn't want to risk meeting him. Good job I did too, just saw him coming round the corner as I legged it."

"Mrs Reeves claims that her husband no longer lives with her and the man you saw was in fact her neighbour." Sam said with exaggerated patience. "Basically without any other proof, it's your word against hers. It has to be proven beyond reasonable doubt."

23rd December 1976

Neil came round to the house today. I had managed to take some time off to get the last of my Christmas shopping done. I knew Sam would be working so it seemed the perfect time to get Neils' opinion. His nose crinkled with disdain as he walked in. "How very 'suburban'." He said.

"We like it." I tried to be bright and cheerful.

I'd already prepared Sams' list with the things ticked off that had actually happened. I also had a notebook with other things that he'd said would happen. Little slips like the supposed chain of sex shops just for women. I stood nervously by as Neil read them. "You called me here just for… this?" He said indicating the paperwork.

"Yes." I bit my bottom lip. "What do you think?"

He took a step towards me. "What do I think about what? This charade?"

I was confused. "What charade. Neil you're a psychologist, I want your unbiased opinion."

He nodded his head. "I think I know what's going on. You've finally realised your mistake haven't you? I knew it would happen. What is it? He's violent? Out all night drinking and sleeping with other women? I know the sort... police!" He almost spat the word.

"What?" I said in amazement. "No… Sam and I are very happy, I just wanted you to look over these things and give me your opinion on whether I am going mad… or whether he might have been telling the truth... he might have been in a coma in 2006?"

"So you can justify why he clicked his fingers and you leapt into bed with him!" Neil sneered. "We had been courting for two years… two whole years… and you wouldn't even let me touch you."

I began to feel a little frightened. "We were students, Neil. We went out together… I was young, I just wasn't ready…"

"You weren't ready… but you obviously need me now, why else would you have asked me here after you rubbed my nose in it all those years ago. I can read you like a book and you are saying you want me." He lunged at me grabbing hold of my shirt which ripped as I struggled. He was trying to force his mouth onto mine. I lifted my knee hitting him squarely in the balls. He folded forwards with a groan. It was then I looked up to see Sam standing in the doorway.

He looked murderous.