Sandy

Prompted by Llanea, this covers Sandy's return at the end of 2014, where she finds out what's been going on since she's been away.

"What have you been up to?"

Sandy shook her head in disbelief as she wandered through the village. Freddie murdered Mercedes? She knew that he was a loose cannon, but he surely couldn't be capable of something like that. However, she was brought out of her trance by Diane, who had spotted her from a distance.

"Hey Sandy" Diane greeted, "I didn't know you were back, how are you?"

Sandy grinned, "I'm great, how about you?"

Diane's smile faded slightly, "Yeah, I'm good, thanks" she replied, "How long are you back for?"

Sandy shrugged, "Not long, really" she admitted, "I just wanted to spend the New Year with my boys"

"Well I bet they're pleased to see you"

Sandy pulled a face, "As 'pleased' as a group of burly lads can be to see their mum"

Diane chuckled and Sandy glanced around, "Actually, speaking of the boys, you haven't seen Robbie, have you?"

Diane shook her head, "No, I haven't, sorry"

"I thought he might have been hanging out with your Finn or something, getting up to all sorts" Sandy suggested

Diane suddenly turned pale and Sandy was worried, "What's wrong?"

Diane glanced to the floor, "You haven't heard then?"

Sandy looked puzzled, "Heard what?"

Diane gulped, "Finn's been sent to prison"

Sandy was shocked, "Why? What did he do?"

Diane took a deep breath, "He raped John Paul and tried to rape Nancy"

It took a moment for Sandy to comprehend what Diane had told her, but eventually Sandy's eyes widened, "Are you serious?"

Diane nodded reluctantly and Sandy sighed, "I can't believe it. I've spoken to the boys a few times since I left and I even spoke Darren after the wedding but nobody ever mentioned it"

Diane shrugged, "Can you blame them for not wanting to talk about it?"

Sandy shook her head, "I guess not" she admitted, then looked annoyed, "I was so horrible to John Paul" she realised with a groan

Diane hung her head, "Not as horrible as I was" she murmured, "I thought that John Paul had been forcing himself on Finn so I treated him like some kind of pervert, when in fact it was the other way around"

Sandy glanced at her sympathetically, "We all make mistakes" she assured the younger woman, "It must be difficult not having him around anymore"

Diane nodded, "You know, I miss the kid that he once was, not the one that he became. Besides, I know that he's getting the help he needs there"

Sandy smiled slightly, "Then that's the most important thing" she noted.

Diane nodded and there was a pause, "Anyway, if I don't see you before you leave, Happy New Year and I hope you have a safe trip back"

"Thanks" Sandy replied as she walked past and waved, "Happy New Year"

Sandy exhaled deeply and regretfully thought back to Robbie being beaten up by John Paul. Upon reflection, the former teacher's change in behaviour made it seem so obvious that something was wrong: he looked tired all the time and his whole attitude and persona had become more subdued. Sandy realised that everything would have been different if she had known what he had been through, and she was remorseful about the way she treated him earlier in the year.

xxx

"Hey, check this out" John Paul instructed Ste eagerly as he waved his phone in front of his husband's face, "What do you think?"

Ste glanced away from his own phone where he was browsing baby cots and looked at the property website that John Paul was showing him. The apartment that John Paul was looking at had all of the qualities that they were searching for, but it was just over their budget and Ste pulled a face.

"Not bad, apart from the price"

John Paul grimaced, "Yeah, well I'm sure I can get some part-time work which will increase our income"

Ste smiled slightly, "Ok then, put it on the 'maybe' list"

John Paul looked puzzled, "Haven't we put all of the places that we've looked at on the 'maybe' list?"

Ste considered this, "There's nothing wrong with keeping our options open"

John Paul nodded and glanced ahead, noticing Sandy approaching.

"Sandy, hi" he greeted hesitantly

Ste smiled as he noticed her, "Hey, you're back" he noted, "I didn't think anyone would voluntarily return to this place"

Sandy chuckled, "It's only a fleeting visit to bring in the New Year with my boys"

"That's lovely" John Paul commented

Sandy nodded then swallowed heavily, "I heard what happened to Carmel and Mercedes, I am really sorry"

John Paul shrugged dismissively and glanced to the floor and Sandy hesitated slightly.

"And I also heard about what Finn did to you and Nancy" she continued, "John Paul, if I'd have known-"

John Paul looked at her, "No-one knew, that was the problem" he argued

"Why didn't you say anything?"

John Paul avoided her gaze, "Because he was one of my students and I was too ashamed of myself to say it out loud"

Sandy shook her head, completely devastated, "I'm sorry for how I treated you after you attacked Robbie"

"Why?" John Paul interrupted, "I assaulted a student, no matter what the situation was, I shouldn't have done that"

"But I slapped you!" Sandy objected

"And I don't blame you" John Paul responded, "I would have done the same thing in your position" he paused, "Heck, I did do the same thing. I nearly hit Peri after she dropped Matthew"

Sandy considered this, "But I still made Robbie submit his statement against you" she told him, then sighed in realisation, "That's why he was considering letting you off the hook; he knew that Finn had done"

Ste nodded, "And the statement that was read out was Finn's, he swapped it with Robbie's"

Sandy shook her head in disgust, "I can't believe this" she murmured, "Robbie knew the whole time but didn't do a single thing to help" she grabbed her mobile and searched for Robbie in her contacts, "Once I get hold of that boy-"

John Paul covered her mobile with his hand, "Don't do anything stupid" he begged her, "Yeah, Robbie's made mistakes but he's turned over a new leaf. Finn threatened him to stop him from helping me so he didn't have a choice"

Sandy considered this, "Well I suppose some good's come of all of this" she nodded at the ring on John Paul's finger, "Congratulations"

Ste and John Paul exchanged a smile and Sandy was pleased that they had found happiness together, "When was the wedding?"

"Christmas day" Ste replied

Sandy nodded, "And why wasn't I invited?"

Ste and John Paul's faces dropped and Sandy burst into laughter, "I'm kidding" she giggled, "Look, I'd better go and rally the troops"

Ste and John Paul nodded, "Happy New Year" they replied.

Sandy smiled, "You too"

Sandy watched the couple as they linked hands and strolled through the village. She thought back over the events of the past year, realising how obvious the situation was. Although she planned to punish Robbie for everything that he had done, she knew that she should be proud of him for changing his ways when it was important. Nonetheless, she was remorseful about her own actions towards John Paul now that she knew what was going on. Turning away from them, Sandy wandered through the village in search of her sons.

Thanks for reading, and thanks Llanea for the prompt: I hope this is close to what you were expecting. I did enjoy Sandy as a character, though a lot of her storylines were unresolved (I mean, what was really the point of her being Darren's mum?), especially this one. Now with Gillian back in Eastenders we probably won't see Sandy again, unless she's recast. Anyway, all reviews and requests are welcome!