Reaching the fifth floor, Jo looked around, wondering where to go from here. Countless doors led off from the corridor she was standing in and she quickly worked out which way to head to overlook the space outside where she'd been standing when she'd seen Hollie looking out of the window. Trying to work out which door lead to that window, her eyes fell on a metal grating a little way along the corridor and she made her way towards it quickly. Jo reached out and touched the ropes still attached to the grating, looking around quickly. Four loops indicated that the two girls must have been tied here at some point with their arms above their heads. Running her hand down the metal, she jumped as she felt something wet on her fingertips. Glancing at it, Jo realised with a jolt that her hand was covered in blood.

Relieved that they had managed to get free, but anxious at the sight of blood, Jo chose a door at random and slipped through it, looking cautiously around. Seeing that there was no one inside, she made her way towards the window in the far wall. Dragging a crate towards it, Jo climbed up and wrestled the sash window open, pushing it up as far as it would go and leaning through.

Hitting re-dial, she held her mobile to her ear and watched as the blonde figure of her girlfriend in the yard below answered. "Sam, look up." She ordered, waiting for the DI to spot her. "How far am I from the window Hollie was in?"

"Two windows to your right."

"Thanks… Any luck with SCO19?"

"Not yet, but you've probably noticed the shooting seems to have stopped." Sam told her. "Found anything?"

"They were obviously tied up and I found traces of blood. I'm guessing they got themselves free and went to hide." Jo explained, still leaning out of the window. Frowning, she watched as the blonde's attention shifted and she pointed at something slightly to her right. "What is it?"

"Hollie… she's back in the window."

"What?" Jo breathed, shuffling further forward so that she could see past the wall.

Her eyes widened as they settled on the dirty, bloodied face of the seventeen-year-old she'd been searching for for three long weeks. Beneath the dirt and blood, Hollie's face was pale and drawn and she looked far from healthy. The teenager's eyes widened and she let out a panicked shriek, almost overbalancing. Jo thought her heart was going to burst through her chest and she let out her own shout of fear.

"Hollie!" Jo called as loudly as she dared, fighting her temptation to reach out. There was no point; she was too far away. "Hols! Hold on tight. Carefully climb back inside, sweetheart. Take it nice and slow, alright? Don't worry; I'm coming!"

"Hurry up, Auntie Jo, please! I don't know how much longer Nat can hold on. She's lost too much blood and she's freezing." Hollie replied pleadingly.

Jo breathed deeply, hearing the pain in the teenager's voice. "I'm coming. I promise you; I'm coming." Wriggling backwards, she climbed off the crate and started moving towards the door. "Sam? Call an ambulance; I think Natalie might be seriously hurt."

"And Hollie?"

"As far as I can tell not seriously hurt. She's alright. Well, as alright as she can be under the circumstances. Obviously she'll need to be checked out as well." She pointed out, glancing along the corridor. Lowering her voice, she leant over the railings and looked down at the floors below for any sign of movement. "How many windows did you say?"

"Two."

"Right… keep your line open." Jo requested, walking towards the door she guessed the teenagers were behind.

"Hang on…" There was a pause and the sound of a muffled conversation and Jo waited impatiently until Sam spoke to her again. "Nikki's arrived. PCs Jackson and Oliver are with her now. I'm gonna go and sit with her."

Jo nodded although her girlfriend couldn't see the gesture. "Stay with her. When I get to the girls I'll phone you back so Nikki can speak to Hols. Any news on SC019 yet?"

"On their way." The DI assured her. "The Guv's not best pleased with you… I can't say I'm particularly happy either; putting yourself in danger like this. You could have jeopardised the entire thing."

Rolling her eyes, the brunette tried pushing on the metal door in front of her. It didn't move and she guessed that she'd found the right room. "Look, we're not out of here yet. You and the DCI can both read me the riot act when we are, OK? Just give me five minutes and I'll call you back."

She hung up and pushed the mobile into her coat pocket, trying the door again. When it didn't move, she moved as close as she could and put her ear against it, listening for any movement. A scuffling sound and then a metallic bang made her jump.

"Hollie?" She called softly.

Relief flooded through her as she heard the reply. "Auntie Jo? Is that you?"

"Yeah, I'm here, sweetheart." Using more force this time, Jo pushed the metal door firmly. It shuddered slightly, but still refused to open. "Hols, have you locked the door? Can you let me in?"

To the brunette's distress there was a muffled sob from the other side. "I'm sorry… I can't… I can't do it."

"You can't do what?" She demanded as gently as she could, trying not to let her panic show. Shooting a glance over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't about to receive any surprise company, Jo tried shoving the door again. "You can't unlock the door? Is there a key?"

"I pushed a cabinet against the door… But I can't move it now…"

Examining the door carefully, Jo tested it by pushing against it using more force each time. Leaning all her wait against it, the detective felt the metal judder slightly and there was a low squeak as metal scraped on metal. Bracing herself against it and leaning on her shoulder, Jo prepared to use all the force she possessed.

"Stand back, I'll see if I can shove it from this side." She said determinedly.

Beginning to push against the door, Jo was a little alarmed at the loud screech that was emitted as something behind it gave. Desperately, sure that someone would have heard the sound and come to investigate, she increased the force she was using until the gap was just big enough for her to squeeze through. Wrenching her jacket free from where it had caught, Jo pushed the door closed and glanced around. Replacing the metal cabinet behind the door to ensure she wouldn't be followed inside, her gaze swept around the room.

"Hollie?" She muttered, seeing the slumped figure on the ground beside the door. "Hollie!"

Dropping to her knees, she pushed the teenager's hair away from her face and quickly felt for her pulse. It was thin and weak, but it was definitely there. Jo's eyes lingered for a moment on the long, deceptively deep cut on Hollie's face which ran from just above her right eye to her jaw. Then she pulled off her coat and wrapped it around the girl tightly, not surprised that she was freezing considering how little she had on. Spotting the blood on her shirt, Jo swore and examined Hollie's stomach carefully before removing her scarf and pressing it to the wound.

With a wince and a weak cry, Hollie blinked several times. It took a moment or two for her gaze to focus on the woman kneeling beside her. "Aun… Auntie Jo?"

"Shhh…" Jo murmured, pulling the teenager into her arms and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I've got you, sweetheart. You're gonna be alright. What happened to your stomach?"

"When I was at the window… bit of wood got me…"

"It's not too deep. It's deep enough so you'll have a gorgeous scar, but you should be fine, a tough cookie like you. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"My ankle."

Moving to check the damage, Jo winced. Hollie's ankle was definitely broken and broken badly, as far as she could tell. "We'll get that strapped up as soon as possible and you'll be running about in no time."

"I don't… Nat… she's… she was stabbed…" Hollie choked out, gripping the detective's arm tightly and widening her eyes.

Extracting herself gently, Jo moved across the room to where Natalie was lying against the wall. Checking her pulse, she realised with concern that it was almost non-existent and carefully lifted the girl as best she could, moving her closer to Hollie so that she could keep an eye on both of them more easily.

"Where's her wound?" She asked, glancing at Hollie who, thankfully, had more colour in her cheeks now she was slightly warmer.

"Right side…"

"What happened?" Jo asked as she began examining the teenager carefully.

"Natalie distracted the men while I grabbed one of their mobiles so we could let you know where we were. One started waving a knife around… I don't think he meant to stab her, but one of the other men bumped into him and he fell forwards and caught her on the side." Hollie explained as best she could.

Nodding, Jo gently removed her coat from around Hollie's shoulders and wrapped it around Natalie instead. The older girl needed it more, especially as her sister seemed to have perked up a bit. Raising her arm, the brunette invited the teenager to snuggle up to her.


A/N: Last update of 2012!

Thank you so much for all your support this year, guys! Happy New Year and see you on the other side! :)

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