Scott & Bailey

Fa-arsed bitc

Dave gets told off.

Gill smiled as Emma helped her with the cooking. The little girl really did follow instructions to the letter. She was having a small meal with her friends, all of them except Julie who was away for a few weeks, and Rachel had left Emma in her capable hands. The toddler had stopped calling her 'gwandma' and now just called her 'Auntie Gill' though she wasn't sure if she preferred the new arrangement or not. Being called 'gwandma' had really brightened Gill's heart even though she had a granddaughter now.

Emma was happily doing some of the basic jobs of making cakes. She'd had good teachers. Alison and Kimberly were both amazing cooks. Rachel wasn't bad, but she rarely had time or the energy to cook a decent meal for herself, except for Emma.

"I'm finished, Auntie Gill," Emma held up her tiny hands covered in cake mix as she proudly stood over the messy baking tray but Gill didn't complain about the mess.

"Hold on, let me finish cutting up this carrot and I'll be there," Gill replied and then the phone rang. The words she wanted to use didn't reach her tongue because Gill was biting down on it. "God," she said instead, and reached for her mobile and kept chopping, "Hello."

"Hi Gill." She almost dropped the mobile, and cursed herself for not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hello Dave," she replied darkly, momentarily wishing that Emma was not here but decided that was unfair. Actually having a little girl nearby might have been what she needed. She hated losing her patience and temper with Dave. Her ex just wasn't worth her time and energy, not after what he'd done. "What do you want?" She was quite pleased by how reasonable her voice sounded, but as she expected Dave was suspicious.

"Well, you're in a good mood. Usually you're annoyed just talking to me," Dave made the big mistake of commenting how unusual her mood was. He also made the mistake chiding her for being annoyed when talking to her.

Gill closed her eyes and wondered what the sperm which fertilised the egg that spawned Dave had been thinking. Where was the intelligence and common sense? She opened her eyes and saw Emma blinking at her in innocent confusion. She smiled at her to put the usually observant girl off, and pressing her ear to the mobile against her shoulder, she picked up the baking tray to slide into the oven.

"And why's that? Oh, let me think. You saw someone behind my back, someone old enough to be your own daughter and got her up the duff, and I made the mistake of thinking naively it was just a passing fad when it wasn't. Tell me Dave, and please answer this question 'cause I've got a lot on my plate at the moment, why shouldn't I be annoyed with you? Don't I have a good reason?"

As Gill was talking she handed Emma another baking tray, trying to smile reassuringly at the girl when she looked up at her with worry about who was on the phone, and the little girl started on the next batch of cakes silently. Gill knew she couldn't stall Emma forever; she knew someone she (Gill) didn't like was on the phone.

"We've been over that. I'm sorry-"

"You're too many years too late for that," Gill interrupted and she returned to chopping the carrots. She wanted to tell Dave to piss off, but she had too many things to do first, but besides the last thing she wanted was for Emma to repeat any swear word. She really did not want Rachel to lose her temper with her either.

Rachel was one of the many things that kept Gill on her toes at the office. Best of all Rachel had leapfrogged further ahead than most, and she was still a DC. Gill had been planning to retire after that mess Helen Bartlett had pushed her in, but she couldn't leave just yet, not until Janet who'd renewed her interest in rising higher in the ranks became a DS like Rachel would in a couple more years.

But Rachel's excellent performance...It wasn't just her contacts and relationships that made her do that, but also because she and Gill had a warmer relationship now to the point where their relationship was a mother and daughter one. In the past Gill had kept Rachel at arms length, but since her pregnancy their closeness had grown. Now, Gill would sometimes find Rachel in her arms on the couch. Like a mother holding and reassuring her child. Gill didn't want to lose that kind of friendship because of an ill chosen word brought on by her ex-husband in the presence of her honoury granddaughter. Ever.

"Gill-"

"No," Emma looked up at the volume of Gill's voice, startled, and she bit the inside of her cheek to control her temper, and it bloody hurt. The amount of anger she channeled into her teeth, it hurt her cheek like hell. Gill had always tried to keep her temper under control whenever kids were around. At the office, she wouldn't hesitate to scream, yell, or curse if her officers made really terrible cock-ups but if there were kids nearby she would grin at them casually in the hope they hadn't heard much and keep her swearing in private or in her head. But Dave really knew how to push her buttons. Should've slammed the phone down, she thought to herself. "Dave, listen to me," she said, "when you knocked her up, you lost any right to consider Sammy and I your family. You walked out on us and we divorced. I know she's kicked you out 'cause you can't keep your eyes wandering. Me? I'm happier with Sammy. He's got a nice future ahead of him. He's already married a good woman, and I know he won't break her heart."

Like you did with me, she thought to herself as she furiously cut another carrot. She was furious, and her anger was growing with every breath coming from Dave over the phone, but she couldn't do anything with Emma there. A part of Gill, the part of her that governed her temper, was growing worried. She was cutting the carrots too quickly, she could see an accident coming. Get off the phone, now, she told herself. Why wasn't she cutting him off? Why was she letting him torment her with lies?

Too late. Just as she was about to put the phone down, Dave said the worst thing he could've said.

The worst thing!

"Gill, I still love you-"

What happened next was so fast Gill would barely manage to rewind it in her memory later. Her finger was too dangerously close to the blade, and she was concentrating on Emma, cutting up the carrot, and Dave's hateful voice, and somehow she'd managed to balance between them and still keep her blood in her body.

But when Dave said he still loved her, when she knew full-well he did not, she lost her concentration, "Then why did you leave - ah! Damnit!" She dropped the knife. The blade, wet with water, orange with small pieces of carrot, was now stained red with blood. Gill hissed at the sudden pain and throb in her finger. Blood was slowly dripping from the cut. Unbidden memories of Helen Bartlett cutting herself came to mind. Suddenly Gill felt as though her head was swimming...

Emma was by her side in an instant, and the phone in her hand was ripped away from her hand. The little girl looked up at her with a shy smile of apology before placing the phone up to her ear. Gill blinked at Emma's audacity, but she didn't say anything as she watched Emma. The girl pressed the handset to her ear. She quickly pushed it away with a grimace, and Gill could hear Dave's panicky voice on the other end as he demanded in a tinny voice she could still hear what was wrong. She smirked a bit at the thought of Dave's voice sounding like a mouse from a distance.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise when Emma spoke into the phone, "How dare you make my Auntie Gill hurt! She's cut her finger 'cause of you. My mummy says if someone does somethin' bad, that person has to know it, so I'm telling you. You make her cut her finger."

Gill gaped at the forceful tone in the little girl's voice. It got better. Wait till her friends at work heard about this.

"Auntie Gill told me about you," Emma was saying, "she told me you hurt her and my big brother Sammy by leaving her. How can you hurt someone so nice and lovely?"

Gill shoved her bleeding finger into her mouth partially to stop the bleeding, but to also stop herself from laughing. None of this was hilarious, of course, but she couldn't help it. Emma might have stretched the truth a bit; Gill had never really told Emma about Dave. The girl was just too young to understand what had happened between her and her ex, and most of it was too adult for her to listen to. But Emma had obviously picked up on the details. Dave was a love/hate subject in the Murray house; Sammy's feelings towards him were mixed, at times he loved his dad and enjoyed spending quality time with him. That was normal and whilst it made Gill jealous, Sammy did have the right to know his dad, but other times he followed his mother's example and just hated the air he breathed.

But the subject of Dave was sometimes brought up though it was watered down for Gill and Sammy's sake, but Emma had heard about it and judging from what she was saying she had a good grasp of it.

What really warmed her heart was how Emma had described her.

"My mummy went through the same thing," Emma said, and her voice became very high pitched meaning she was getting herself worked up into a bad temper. Gill's eyes widened; it was rare, so rare, for Emma to even hint about her father. "The man she loved, the man who's supposed to be my daddy, walked out on her. Now he's not my daddy, and you are not a nice man. To me you'll all bad people. Don't call round ever again!"

Emma pressed the cut off button, and Gill bit her tongue to stop herself from laughing. She could hear the sound of Dave as he tried to tell the girl off. But Emma would not hear it as she just hung up on him. Ooooh, you sure are your mother's daughter, Gill thought fondly.

The girl turned to Gill, looking sheepish but she walked up to her dear auntie, and gently tugged Gill towards the sink. Emma got up on the tiny step ladder next to the sink. As a kid, Sammy had been taught how to cook and wash, basically learning how to take care of himself, but he'd needed something so he could easily get to the taps. Gill had made a point to keep all mementos of Sammy's childhood so she could remember fond memories, and besides this stepladder was useful for Emma.

Gill watched silently as Emma turned the tap on and she turned to face Gill as she started testing the water.

"Can you please get a plaster for me?"

Gill blinked when she found her body moving automatically towards a cupboard and selected a plaster before taking it back to Emma. The girl gently took it and lifted Gill's bleeding finger towards the stream of water. Gill gasped mentally at the temperature of the freezing water as Emma held it there for a few moments before she turned off the tap, ripped off a piece of kitchen roll and gently dried the cut. Then she put the plaster skillfully on it.

When she was finished she checked her work, nodded in satisfaction. Then she kissed the plaster and looked up at Gill.

"Mummy always says Tender Loving Care is one of the best healers in the world, but a kiss goes a long way," Emma explained, smiling happily at Gill.

Gill replied by smiling and she wrapped Emma in a tight hug. "Your mother's a wise woman, Emmy."

Emma chuckled and hugged back.

If Gill had replied to an adult she would've said "Rachel Bailey is sometimes weird, cool, kind, motherly, and is a whirlwind. But she makes my hair go grey."

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Emma opened the door and found Janet there with the girls and Dorothy. "Auntie Janet!" she squeaked and hugged Janet round the waist. She repeated this with Elise and Taisie, and added a very small but polite greeting to Dorothy. The old woman barely noticed, and Emma visibly wilted in front of their eyes. The girl twisted her hands awkwardly as she tried to smile at Dorothy. The old woman just ignored her, even when Janet elbowed her.

She cheered up immensely when she saw Mitch, Pete, and Lee. She threw herself at them, and she hugged Lee first. Lee grinned and he carefully picked her up. "Hello Emma. It's been ages, have you been good?"

Emma pretended to be mock sincere. "I'm always good Uncle Lee, have you been good?"

Everyone laughed at Lee's surprise at the turnaround, and the little girl soon went to Pete. "Uncle Pete, have you been good?" Pete chuckled. "I try to be," he said as he hugged Emma.

Emma threw her arms around Mitch's legs, but she pulled back quickly. "EWWW!" She scrunched up her face in disgust as she looked at Mitch as though he were suddenly something she'd scraped off her shoe. Mitch looked at everyone in surprise, wondering what was wrong with him to get that reaction from Emma. "What is it, Em?" he asked, worried he'd done something.

Emma wrinkled her nose again and she pointed at his suit, "You smell, Uncle Mitch."

Mitch sniffed his jacket, and he winced. He'd smoked a couple of fags in the last few hours and the smell was clinging to his clothes. "Sorry, Emma," he apologised. Emma hated smoking. He forgotten when he'd smoked she would smell it.

"That's okay, just don't do it again. Smoking's disgusting," Emma shuddered, making everyone laugh though they laughed more at her attitude.

She grinned when she saw Rob. Emma bounded over and wrapped her arms around his legs. Rob chuckled, and he bent down to hug her tightly, giving her a gentle squeeze.

"Have you had a good day, Uncle Rob?" Emma asked.

Rob smiled. Though he hadn't been to her birth like the others, he'd quickly fallen in love with Emma and her bubbly, cheerful outlook on life, and saw her as a little sister or niece though sometimes he thought her mother was crazy, irritating, and rude. He pulled back with a genuine smile on his face. "I think I have," he replied and he picked himself up again.

Then the little girl had spotted Sammy and Orla, and her newest little sister, Abby. "Hi, Big bro and Big sis, hey little sis!" she said and hugged them both. She kissed a gurgling and cooing Abby on the nose. Abby giggled.

Sammy grinned and he effortlessly but gently picked the girl up. Emma squealed happily and Orla came to hug her, wrestling her hold on her daughter. Over Sammy's shoulder she saw her mother looking mock hurt. She blinked; she had been so desperate to greet everyone, she'd forgotten her mother.

"Oh fine, everyone gets a hug but not me!" Rachel said pretending to sulk sadly. Emma's eyes widened and she wriggled and kicked in Sammy's grasp as she shoved her arms out to hug Rachel.

Sammy chuckled and he carefully put the girl into Rachel's arms. "I'm so sorry mummy," Emma apologised. Rachel snorted but she grinned as she hugged Emma tightly before she pulled back. Her smile grew when Emma kissed her lightly on the nose. "Have you been a good girl for your Auntie Gill?"

Emma glared at her indignantly. "I'm always good for Auntie Gill," she said, then added, "mostly, but I told off a bad man today," she said proudly.

Rachel almost dropped Emma in surprise and looked at Gill, who was busy tickling a happy Abby under the chin. The DCI had been amazingly quiet for the last five minutes. "What happened?" Rachel asked the older woman, who turned around startled when she realised the question was directed her way.

Gill lifted her chin. "Dave," she said shortly like that explained everything. It did, and everyone grimaced. Silently and absently Gill lifted a finger to push a hair out of her eye. Unfortunately it was the same finger the plaster Emma had put on her finger, and Elise noticed. "Gill, what happened to your finger?" She asked when she saw the clearly fresh plaster.

Gill shifted. "I was cutting carrots when Dave said he loved me still-" she smiled inwardly at Sammy's protective growl, "and I cut myself. Emma put a plaster onto the cut. She told him off too."

Rachel looked at her suddenly shy daughter as everyone turned their gazes her way. She was so cute, burrowing her head in her hand like a rabbit, peeking out at everyone. "Well, done, Emmy," Rachel said.

Orla went over to Emma, and rubbed noses with her. "Nice one kiddo." Orla was genuinely pleased with Emma. She had met Dave before, and he certainly lived up to the names Gill called him. Dirty Dave. Captain Shagbandit. The moment he'd met her, he'd turned on the charm. The sleazy bastard. She disliked him immensely, hated him for the way he'd treated his ex-wife, and she knew Sammy hadn't been impressed by his father's sudden mood shift when he'd met her.

But it wasn't just the way his dad had treated his mother and his wife that annoyed Sammy; he hadn't even bothered to attend the christening of his own grandchild. That had hurt him. Sammy knew his grandmother had torn off strips, but it did hurt and disillusion him about his father.

Sammy himself used a hand to tuck a lock of brown hair behind Emma's ear. But what really impressed Orla was how quickly Emma had taken control, and placed a plaster onto Gill's finger.

Emma smiled happily, pleased she'd done something good today.