I'd just like to say a special thank you to Antonia Caenis, Batteredpen and LadyDunla for being so supportive and for all your help and insight into Connie. Without you guys I wouldn't have gotten this far, love you all xxx

Chapter 12

Connie managed to get her breathing back under control and she stepped back from Lucas. He still held onto her wrist, still looking at her with worry.

"I'm sorry about that Lucas. It's unlike me."

"What did Ros say to you just now."

"It's nothing, silly really."

"Connie, please."

"I don't think she truly believe's that King raped me. She probably thinks I deserve it, maybe I do."

"Don't be stupid, ofcourse you didn't."

"I don't deserve you being nice to me, helping me. As Ros herself said, I should rot in hell for what I did."

"Connie. You can choose to walk away from us right now if that's what you truly want. The thing is, no matter how depressed you are and despite how certain people are treating you, I think you want to and need to be here."

"To show them I'm not afraid."

"Exactly. You're a strong woman Connie and I know there will be times when you feel like falling apart but don't let them see you like that. When you need to fall apart, you come to me. We'll talk, we'll get pissed and you'll feel better. Deal?"

"Deal." She replied, smiling at him.

"Why don't you go and finish inspecting the CCTV."

"Thank you Lucas."

Lucas wached Connie walk back through to her desk and he left to go outside. When he stepped out onto the main streets he saw Ros with a cigarette.

"I didn't think you smoked."

"Yeah, well I'm bloody stressed, aren't I."

"Ros, you need to back the hell off from Connie."

"What's she been saying."

"She didn't have to say anything, the state she's in is bad enough."

"Typical, a woman bats her eyelids at you and you crumble."

"She's upset, she says that you don't believe she was raped."

"I don't."

"Malcolm's not a liar Ros, he was with her at the hospital that day. He saw for himself what King did to her."

"Why the hell didn't we see it."

"See what."

"All of it. Qualtrough, King. We're meant to be the best and yet we never saw any of this coming. We didn't see what they were doing to Connie. Like you said, Connie's a tough woman but what she was going through, how could we miss something like that."

"You almost sound concerned."

"Don't push it Lucas. Up until all of this, I did repsect her. She was one of the best, like you yourself said and I'm not denying that."

"But…"

"She fucked it all up. All it took was one stupid bloody decision and she fucked it up."

"She already said she couldn't come to us with this. They threatened our lives."

"We're MI5 Lucas, we can protect ourselves from the best of them. She could have just come to us and Ben would still be alive now."

"It's happened and we can't change it. All we can do is move forward. I know you're angry with her and I do understand but can you please, for me, just try and go a little easier on her. She's having a tough enough time as it is. She's the one that has to live with what she did. I certainly wouldn't want to be in her shoes."

"I never thought you'd be the one helping her."

"No, I didn't either."

"So why are you?"

"I see how much pain she's in, how hard it is on her, what it's done to her. Listening to Harry tell what King did to her, I just wanna kill him."

"You actually care about her, don't you."

"I spent a great many years looking up to that woman, I still see some of that woman inside her. I want at least a fraction of her back."

"You think it's actually possible."

"We can try. Please Ros, for me, just try. I know how hard it is for you but please."

"I'll do my best but I'm not promising anything."

"Thank you."

"I'm doing it for you, not her. Don't think I've forgiven her, far from it."

Malcolm came out from his little cove and over to Harry who was standing beside Connie.

"Harry, can I have a quick word."

"Ofcourse old chap. Malcolm are you alright." Harry asked, noticing the worried look displayed on his face.

"Can I talk to you privately."

"Fine."

Harry followed Malcolm back into his little area of computers and gadgets and sat down beside him.

"What is is Malcolm."

"I didn't want to say this infront of Connie. I didn't want to worry her."

"Say what infront of her."

"The voice recognition."

"Yes, what about it."

"The voice that was used to get into that building to steal those explosives."

"Come on Malcolm, what."

"It's Davey King."

To Be Continued…