On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me... twelve elves in custody
'Lads, lads. You have got to get down here and see this.' Pete stuck his head round the door and beckoned manically. 'Jan, Rach, come on.'
'Have they got 'em?' Rachel grinned. Pete nodded. Everyone started to gravitate towards the door.
'Get a move on before they're all processed.'
'I'll just...' Janet stepped back and waved through the window to Gill. The entire office trotted downstairs at top speed. By the time they reached the custody desk they were already chuckling together. One peep inside was enough.
Twelve fully-costumed elves were lined up being booked in for conspiracy to murder.
...
Eleven mince pies
Four o'clock tea time saw a very weary Janet reaching for the kettle. She had been staring at evidence logs so long her eyes were going bleary. She made her tea with them half closed, then reached for the tin of mince pies. It was surprisingly light. Suspiciously so.
'Kevin!' Janet growled when the open box revealed nothing more than crumbs.
'What?' Kevin's head popped up, all innocent eyes and open mouth.
'There were eleven mince pies here this morning.'
'Wasn't me.' The trouble with his innocent expression was that made him look guiltier than ever. Janet narrowed her eyes.
...
Ten seconds to keep your temper
7... a dozen hurtful things chased each other through Rachel's mind.
8... another ten home truths, harsh truths, down to earth she-should-have-heard-them-years-ago truths followed them.
9... Rachel took a deep breath. She unclenched her hands and teeth, let her shoulders drop. What was the point? Was any of it ever going to get through to this woman. Sharon rocked where she was standing, took a step forward and staggered sideways. Automatically, Rachel reached out to her.
10... 'Come on Mum, let's get you a taxi.'
Her words already forgotten, Sharon clung to her daughter and let her guide her away.
...
Nine unwanted presents
It was a beautifully wrapped box that fit perfectly in her hand. The necklace inside was beautifully simple. And beneath, a phone number, signed K.
Rachel phoned Janet. 'You won't believe what I just got.'
.
When she read the note she didn't want to open it. "Love Andy." She was bewildered.
Janet phoned Gill. 'I don't believe this.'
.
She had never seen anything more sickening, one of those cheesy family photo cards – him, the whore and the brat.
Gill phoned Julie. 'You won't believe this. The cheek of them.'
'You want to see what my brother sent me.'
...
Eight missed calls
at 5.07pm
'Hiya love.' A smile teased at the edges of Gill's mouth at the warmth emanating down the phone.
'Have those tight buggers in HQ still not let you out of their clutches? I suppose not. Listen, I just wanted to say that I've got all the stuff except cranberry sauce. Don't know what's happened, there must have been a rush on it or something, international shortage, who knows! Anyway, we can live without. And I'll be round by seven. See you then. Oh and I've got loads of wine.'
Gill checked her watch. Oh she was looking forward to tonight.
...
Seven resolutions
Pete shuffled on the doorstep, partly from the cold, mostly from nerves. It got him in the gut, having to ring the bell here, what used to be his house, his home for so long. He scuffed his feet. He deserved it, couldn't blame Laura for wanting him out. He was still sick at the thought of what he'd done himself. But he'd been thinking, and now he'd made up his mind, he'd ask her one more time... to forgive him, take him back.
Laura opened the door. They both hesitated. She spoke.
'I think we should talk about divorce.'
...
Six New Year's kisses
Sammy laughed, blushed, but kept hold of his fiancé.
.
Pausing for breath, Gill grabbed Mitch's tie and pulled him down to her level.
.
Janet wasn't really surprised by what a good kisser Rob was, she knew he couldn't be as innocent as he looked.
.
Rachel was dizzy. She wanted to gasp for air but more than anything she wanted desperately for Gill not to stop, not to let her go.
.
Julie tugged gently at Gill until she was sitting in her lap, not releasing her from their kiss for a second.
.
As the girls cheered, Janet pulled Rachel into the kitchen for more privacy.
...
Five (g)old rings
Janet's phone beeped. She looked from the ring to the phone for a whole minute. Sighing, she checked the phone, expecting work.
Rachel. Janet smiled, feeling the familiar tug at her heart.
She snapped the ring box shut and concentrated on texting back.
.
A week after finding the ring, Gill put a substantial cheque into the account for Sammy's wedding.
.
When it fell out of her pocket in the toilets at work, Rachel amazed herself by bursting into tears on Janet's shoulder.
.
Clasping the precious ring tight in hand, Julie rang Gill's doorbell.
.
Helen realised she couldn't imagine being married.
...
Four used Advent calendars
Very slowly, with obvious reluctance, Taisie drew out the Advent calendar. She smoothed it with her fingers and pinched one corner back into shape. Keeping her head down, she looked up at Janet through her lashes and froth of hair. Janet was baffled. What on earth was it this time? She sat down on the end of the bed and patted the duvet beside her till Taisie twisted round and shifted up so that her mum could put an arm round her.
'It's off Dad. Y'know cos it's the first Christmas he wasn't here. I wasn't sure... if you'd mind.'
...
Three bald coppers
'Gill...' It was Mitch who got the courage up first. 'We are really sorry we're late. We all are.'
'Err yeah.' Pete cleared his throat. 'Yes. It was silly. Sorry.'
Everyone looked at Kevin. He tried to put his face into an expression of penitence. The trouble was, the sheer amount of head he suddenly had made this ridiculously comical. There were several snorts as the gathering tried to reign in their laughter. Kevin looked affronted but quickly switched back to sorrowful.
This last was too much for Gill. She put her head on the table and wept with laughter.
...
Two Christmas dinners
Five o'clock that evening, Gill's phone rang. With great difficulty, she prised her arm off the sofa and reached for it.
'Hiya slap.' Her speech was almost slurred.
'Never again.' Julie sounded worse.
'Awww you poor thing. Is anyone dead yet?'
'Me. Nearly. Are you pissed?' Julie sounded almost jealous, which was odd, Gill thought, because she also sounded pissed.
'A bit. Mostly just knackered.
'Me too... Gill, next year?'
'Yeah?'
'Can I come round yours for Christmas dinner.' The pleading in her voice was very gratifying and Gill allowed herself a smirk.
'Only if you promise not to help.'
...
And a whole Scott & Bailey family
Gill gave Janet a small sad smile, Rachel a sharp nod and looked further round the table. Rob, was starting to relax into the case which was a relief. He was no fool but his high-strung nerves were not something she had time or use for. She gave an encouraging glance at his notes. Beyond Rob, Mitch looked about ready to crash but was keeping his eyes bright and fixed on her. Pete was staring fixedly at his daybook, obviously struggling to take in his own writing. Lee was ticking methodically through a list.
'Good work everybody. Get some rest.'
Right, this is it. This was supposed to go up last night but the website was having issues.
Thank you for reading and sticking with this - I hope you could follow everything. Thank you especially to you lovely people who reviewed - you really kept me going with this one. It's been an experiment and in a way I've enjoyed it but it has absolutely wrecked my head, so I probably won't be repeating it!
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and I wish you a very happy New Year! xx
