Shortish chapter here, but the fact that is was a quick update should make up for that, right? Thank you so much Hollie for your continued support, its much appreciated. Enjoy!
The Saturday after Callum's birthday was his mini stag do, which the guys at the station seemed more excited about than Callum himself was. He was looking forward to going out and drinking without feeling guilty though. Now that Jess was pregnant he didn't like to drink when they were out as he felt bad for her, even though she assured him time and time again that she didn't mind. So he allowed himself to be slightly excited for that, but not much. It was eight o'clock on the Saturday evening of his stag do when Callum came through the door, back from a shift at work. He called hello to his in-laws who were in the living room while dumping his rucksack by the door. He kicked off his shoes and made his way up the stairs, searching for Jess, finding her in their bedroom. She was walking around the room with clothes in her arms, folding them and neatly packing them into a small overnight bag on their bed. For a horrible split second Callum feared that she was leaving him, that maybe his secret past with Catherine had affected her more than she had let on and she couldn't love him anymore.
"What are you doing? Where are you going?" he blurted out as he walked to the opposite side of the bed. Jess looked up, startled, before smiling at him.
"I'm packing my bag, isn't it obvious?" she asked, eyebrow raised.
"Yeah I can see that, but what's it for?" he pressed, flopping onto the bed and watching as she packed a few books.
"It's my labour bag. It says in one of the baby books that packing a bag ready for when you go into labour is advisable from about thirty weeks. So now that I'm past that I thought I may as well do it." Jess explained, "Why did you think I was packing?"
Callum let out a laugh as he realised how stupid he'd been, "Don't worry, my brain is tired and came up with the idea that you'd had enough of me and after the whole Catherine revelation you were going to leave me."
Jess laughed, and laughed and laughed, at the stupidity of it before walking round the bed and sitting down next to him. "Oh Callum, you are stupid sometimes, do you know that? But I love you anyway. And anyway, this big old belly would prevent me from getting far, wouldn't it." He smiled at that, rubbing his hand in a circular motion over her stomach, leaning up so he could kiss her. She leant into him, her hands balanced on his chest. Things were beginning to get heated when she broke off abruptly, a look of shock combined with pain on her face. Her hands flew to her stomach as she bent forward, a small cry escaping her lips. Callum sat up, hands fluttering over her, not knowing what was going on. He leaned forward, peering at her face, fear and worry creasing his face.
"Jess? Jess what's wrong? Is it the baby? Where does it hurt?" he said urgently, one hand settling on her back, the other on her stomach, above hers.
"Oh jeez, it feels like the worst goddamn period pain cramp thing I have ever experienced. Ever." she spat out, groaning as the pain grew again, before slowly receding.
"You don't think...you don't think you're in labour do you? Should I shout for your mum, what should I do Jess?" Callum asked, begged her even.
"No just wait, its easing off. Ah God, that hurt. Help me stand up a minute." Jess requested, rubbing her stomach slowly. Callum got up, holding his hands out to help her to her feet. As soon as she was standing she started to walk round the room, stopping every now and then to rock her hips. The look of pain on her face slowly vanished, and she turned to Callum with a scared smile on her face.
"So? Do we need to go to hospital? What do we do?" Callum asked, panicking.
"Ok, no, we don't. I'm good. I'm all fine." Jess said, exhaling slowly and coming back over to sit on the bed.
"So you're not in labour?" Callum asked cautiously.
"No, let's call that a pre-game show." she said with a small smile. Callum looked at her in confusion, not understanding. "Braxton-Hicks. That's what I just had."
"What are they?" he asked, sitting next to her, watching her face intently for any other signs of pain.
"Sort of like practice contractions. And I tell you what, it bloody hurt." she said, laughing.
"How do you know? What if you are in labour? There's no way I'm going out now, not after that." Callum said vehemently.
"Callum, I promise you I'm not in labour. If I was in labour, walking around the room wouldn't have helped stop them. Trust me, I'm fine. And yes you are going out tonight." Jess said sternly.
Callum ignored the last part of her sentence, instead saying, "As long as you're sure you're not in labour? Don't do that again ok? You had me worried! I was ready to call an ambulance!"
"Hey! Don't tell me off, tell the little monkey in my belly!" Jess said, patting her bump.
Callum placed his hands on either side of her stomach and leant down, "Now you listen bubba, don't do that again ok? Not until its really time for us to meet you. We were worried! Well, I think I was more worried than your mum."
Jess laughed at him, kissing him as he straightened up. She got back up, aiming to finish the rest of her packing, "Now come on, you need to go have a shower and get ready."
"What? No Jess. I already said I'm not going, not after that." Callum said, shaking his head at her. She paused and gave him a good impression of a Dragon stare.
"Callum I am fine! How many times do I have to tell you? Don't let this get in the way of you going out and enjoying yourself. I won't have it." she said stubbornly.
Callum handed her some sleepsuits and nappies that were on the bed. "But what if it happens again? And it's really it this time? What then?"
"Sweetheart, we both have mobiles, I'll ring you if anything happens! If it's that bad I'll get mum to take me to hospital ok?" Jess said, trying to placate him.
"You promise?" Callum asked sternly.
"Yes you big worrier, I promise. Now go! Go and shower! Oh, and I've left you a new shirt on the back of the bathroom door that I want you to wear. You'll look especially sexy in it." she said with a sly smile.
"Well we could always have a sexy night in and I'll wear this new shirt for you, and you can wear that..." Callum started to say before Jess cut him off, pressing a finger against his mouth, quietening him.
"No. As much as that sounds delightful, no. You need to go out, get away from me and bubba for a while. Just be you, act like your age, not like a father to be who also happens to be a pretty grumpy police sergeant." she laughed, winking at him.
"That's going to be hard! But I'll try, if it'll make you happy." he sighed, pressing a kiss to her nose.
She smiled up at him, "Try hard. And listen, don't tell mum and dad about this ok? They'll only worry and overreact like you did. So go and have fun, and look after dad please?"
"Of course. I better go and shower then if I want to be on time." he said, walking down the hall to shower.
Callum, Robert and Andy had met up with Smithy, Nate, Will, Ben, Leon, Mickey and some others from the station at one of the favourite haunts of the coppers, a club/bar called *X-R*. It wasn't like the rest of the nightlife in the area that was full of underage kids; it consisted mainly of over 21's having innocent fun. The atmosphere was always good and so far everyone was really enjoying themselves. At some point over the course of the evening Callum had ended up with a pink sparkly sash around him reading "Bride-to-be". He'd also had a few pints and a few shots, but he wasn't in the mood to go all out and get plastered, not like he used, when he tried to forget himself in the bottom of a bottle. He didn't need to do that anymore. Andy, however, seemed to have other ideas. For every shot Callum had, he had five extra, and it wasn't long before he was legless and making out with half the girls there. The guys were taking bets on how long it would take Andy to chunder. Will leant over to Callum and shouted, "Cor, your future brother-in-law certainly knows how to drink, doesn't he?!" Callum just nodded, keeping a close eye on Andy as he made his way across the bar to find Robert, who was sat with Mickey chatting. Callum waited for them to finish talking before sitting down next to Robert.
"Are you alright?" he asked Robert, passing him a pint.
"Aye, good thanks Callum. I see my son is enjoying himself." Robert said, shaking his head at the state his son was in.
"Don't worry about him, I'm keeping an eye on him." Callum assured him.
"Good thanks son. Now, you don't mind if I make a move in a minute do you? I don't quite have the stamina I used to." he said with a smile.
"No course not, thanks for coming. Do you want me to order you a cab?" he offered.
"If you wouldn't mind. I'll just go for a leak and then I'll be ready." he said with a nod, turning to Mickey and saying, "And I look forward to talking to you more at the wedding Mickey."
As Robert walked off Mickey said, "Nice guy, you're lucky to have him as your father-in-law. He was telling me about when he used to be a RAF copper. Sounds pretty interesting."
"I never knew that." Callum said, looking over at Robert as he meandered his way round the bar.
"Yeah, you should ask him about it. Right, another pint I think. Want one?" Mickey offered.
"Go on then, why not." Callum followed Mickey up to the bar.
Robert left half an hour later after Callum gave the cabbie the address and paid him in advance. He waved to Robert as the cab pulled away from the kerb, heading back in to find Andy. He hadn't seen him in a while and wanted to make sure he was ok. Callum joined the others at the bar to buy more drinks when an ear piercing scream came from the back of the bar by the toilets. The officers all went on alert right away, scanning the club for where the scream had come from. A second after the scream, Leon spotted a woman just outside the toilets, her hands and white top bloodied, her face white beneath all the make-up.
"HELP PLEASE! SOMEBODY!" she screamed again, the whole of the bar staring at her and panicking as they took in the blood. The woman appeared to be hyperventilating and fell to the floor, clutching her chest and gasping for air. The officers rushed over to her, Callum and Smithy getting on their knees next to the woman as Mickey rang in for support.
"You're alright love, we're police officers. Are you injured? Is this your blood?" Smithy asked her urgently. She managed to shake her head and point behind her to the toilets.
"Leon, come here and keep her calm, wait for back up." Callum ordered, standing up and turning to his friends, "Will, Nate, with me, we'll check the toilets. Ben, call an ambulance."
Callum stepped forward, slowly pushing the door that led to the toilets open. He looked around the corner, his gaze drawn to the prone figure of a man surrounded by blood. The officers hurried over, getting down on the floor beside him, trying to figure out where he was injured.
"Sarge his leg, look." Nate said, pulling off his jacket and balling it up to press on the man's leg where a big slash had cut across his thigh, blood pumping out at alarming speed. "It looks like he was trying to stop the bleeding before he passed out."
"Will go and get a first aid kit and get Ben to update the paramedics. Nate keep pressure on that." Callum ordered, standing up so he could pull his belt off. He knelt back on the floor, trying to avoid the puddle of blood, and secured the belt above the wound, making a makeshift tourniquet. The bleeding slowed down but didn't stop. "Shit. He's gonna bleed to death before the paramedics get here. Here, let me keep pressure on. Check to see if he has a pulse."
Nate moved his hands, now covered in blood, off of the jumper, moving to feel the unknown man's wrist, searching for a pulse. He slowly started nodding, a grim smile appearing on his face, "I've got a pulse but its weak sarge, really weak."
Will skidded back into the toilets, first aid kit in hand, "Ambulance has an ETA of five minutes. How's he doing?"
"I don't think he's still going to be alive in five minutes." Callum said honestly. Will scrambled next to Callum, opening the first aid kit and pulling gauze, bandages, gloves and other equipment out. Callum simply shook his head, "I don't think any of that's going to be really helpful to be honest."
"Sarge his pulse is getting weaker." Nate said, looking from Callum to Will, to the dying man in front of them.
"Will check his pockets, see if we can ID him." Callum said, staring intently at the man's face.
Will fumbled through the blood soaked pockets of Mr John Doe, searching for a wallet or anything to help identify him, "I've got a wallet." Will flipped it open, pulling out the drivers license, "Joe Gardiner, 23, lives not far from here."
"Keep hold of that so we can give it to the paramedics and they can get a next of kin. Will, take over from Nate. Nate check these cubicles, see if we can find a weapon." Callum said, wiping his face on his sleeve.
There were three cubicles in the toilets and a block or urinals at the end. Nate pulled on the gloves from the first aid pack and searched around the urinals first, but there was no weapon there. He moved onto the first two cubicles which were empty, but on reaching the third, the one next to the wall, he found it to be locked. He signalled to Will and Callum. Callum nodded at him, mouthing "Be careful". Nate confirmed with a nod before going back into the second cubicle, standing on top of the toilet so he could look over the top of the locked one. Collapsed on the floor next to the toilet, vomit down him, was Andy. And by his bloodied hands was a knife.