Road to Destiny
Chapter 11
The twelve weeks flew by and Charles had met Terry a couple of times. With Molly being stationed in Chepstow if they were both on days it was silly taking two cars so he would drop her off and pick her up. They had got on quite well, he thought Terry had a very dry sense of humour, very patient but with two teenage daughters he probably had to be. Charles found it difficult enough with one teenage son.
Mind you he wasn't over impressed when she came home with a split lip. Turned out there was a fight in a bar at closing time which escalated onto the street, between a couple of squaddies and when Molly tried to break it up one of them had swung round and hit her. Although she kept on insisting that he didn't mean to, was apologetic once he realised, didn't realise she was there, which is why she called the gatehouse and they were brought back to barracks by the Redcaps. Turns out the two lads were under Blue's command.
"See that they are confined to barracks Blue conduct unbecoming" Charles told him as he finished the story of what happened "and give them latrine clean and any other shitty job you can think of for the next month so they learn the error of their ways" closing the files on his desk and handing them to Blue "Make sure they realise just how lucky they were that Molly called the Red Caps, drunk and disorderly charges along with assault of a police officer would not have look have done their careers in the army any favours."
"My pleasure" Blue grinned "So does she like it, no regrets about leaving the army?"
"No regrets, she likes it most of the time, but there is always an idiot that's pissed up and thinks they can hit her or spit on her" he said with some sadness "and she is only trying to help, keep them safe."
"Well," Blue shrugged "If she was still on missions to Kabul it would be a hell of a lot worse."
"True" he sighed
"So, the girls are going away for the weekend and Nicole has arranged for Susie to go to her parents, so how about we go see a Rugby match and have a few pints?"
"Sounds good" he grinned
"Spanner and Peanut are coming down and I think Brains said he wouldn't mind either."
"Well guess I phone Dangles then and see if he wants to join in a weekend of Rugby and beers". Both men laughing.
-OG-
A few days later Charles was driving through the gates and saw two men on their knees with tooth brushes cleaning the edging stones.
"What's going on here Sergeant?" asked Charles nodding his head at the two men in all his time stationed here, well anywhere really he didn't think he had seen a sight like that.
"Captain Blewes orders Sir" grinned the Sergeant "Clean the camp"
"I see" he smirked "With a toothbrush?"
"Yes Sir and after that they have to repaint them white"
"They are chalk stones Sergeant, they are white" raising his eyebrows
"Yes Sir" the Sergeant grinning from ear to ear "But I don't think they've noticed" he gave a slight cough "How's the wife Sir?"
"She's fine Sergeant" Charles nodded and broke into an equally big grin "Not sure this is what we should be doing in the modern army but carry on."
"Yes Sir" grinned the Sergeant and Charles put the car back into gear and drove slowly past the two young men who jumped to their feet and saluted as he drove past grinning. They didn't look much older than 18 and this he hoped would be a valuable lesson for them.
"Who was that Derek?" asked one of them still standing to attention and saluting until the Majors car had passed
"Think that was Major James" answered his colleague
"Blimey he looks happy about something, I thought Rupert's were all miserable sods."
"YOU TWO" bellowed the Sergeant "Stop gossiping and get back to what you are meant to be doing."
"Yes Sarg" they both replied kneeling back down and continuing the laborious task of cleaning the stones.
"You know this is all your fault Derek for clumping that copper."
"Yeah but if she had arrested us we would probably have been chucked out the army so let's just get on with what Captain Blewes has told us to do" sighed his mate "and you started the fucking fight in the first place."
-OG-
It had taken months for her training and mentoring but she was now a probie and still stationed at Chepstow. She loved it, the variety of the day, people she met and worked with. OK there were the Friday night pissed up idiots and the odd teen that felt they needed to stab each other. The fear in the 18 year old boys eyes as she held his hand, her other trying to plug his stab wound while they waited for the ambulance reminded her of Smurf, where he thought he was going to die after having been shot by an insurgent. It was the same but different. She didn't have to keep her head down, she wasn't under fire but the bravado that had been in this boy to get him into this situation was probably the same as Smurf and ebbing away and being replaced with terror as to what might happen to him.
She was looking forward to this weekend away with the girls in a luxury spa. Fiona had called her a few weeks ago, apologising profusely that she had mentioned it while Marie was about and she had commented that she would love a weekend spa trip, it had been a long time since she had had time to herself since having Frank junior. Since reading the letter from Georgie all those months ago, that last shadow from the past put to rest she didn't have a problem with Marie coming as well. Before it had all gone to shit with her and Charles, when she and Georgie were friends, she had got on quite well with Marie.
They were all sharing rooms, her and Jackie, Fiona bunking in with Marie, Jenny and Laura, Chris and Nicole. Dyno's wife pulling out at the last as he was having yet another operation on his arm. Two nights relaxing with good food, good friends in a Spa all of them looking forward to chilling out by the pool or in the hot tubs.
Her, Jackie and Marie were in a hot tub with a glass of Prosecco each.
"Thanks for agreeing that I could come Molly" said Marie with a tentative smile
Molly raised her eyebrows, sighed and looked across at Jackie who looked down at her glass hoping the conversation didn't get too deep with the past being raked up again. They were supposed to be on a relaxing weekend away. "I don't mind you being here Marie" she looked at her in the eye "in the past we had got on."
"I just thought you might hate me."
"Why? For being her sister" Molly snorted a laugh "I take it that Georgie knows you are here and who with?"
Yeah!" Marie nodded "she's had a lot of counselling over the last couple of years, realises she got a lot of things wrong, that the PTSD took over and things got muddled as to what was right" she sighed "screwed up her career…
Jackie looked up and snorted "Yeah she did that right enough" remembering the effort Captain O'Brian had made to try and make her see that she needed help. Marie nodded and continued "she knows she lost friends" looking at both Jackie and Molly in turn.
"I read her letter" said Molly "I know she regrets what happened between her and Charles and me, I'm glad she got the help she needed and that she is happy now" she took a sip from her drink "tell her I forgive her if it helps but we can't go back to what we had. That friendship has gone and to be honest I don't really want to think about a time when I was so unhappy and the part she played in that" she put her hand on Marie's "If you want to come to our girly weekends you are more than welcome and by all means update me from time to time on how she is and you can do the same about me to her, but I doubt I will ever want to meet or talk to her face to face" Molly sighed again "I don't think it would be any good for any of us to try to go back to a time that ultimately made us miserable."
Marie nodded knowing that the conversation was closed as far as Molly was concerned. She could understand her reasoning. If one of her best mates slept with Fingers, she didn't think she would ever get over it. At least she could go back to Georgie and say that Molly had read the letter, understood and forgiven her but didn't want either of them to go back to a time that had caused such pain.
"Right then" said Jackie raising her glass, glad that the conversation was over and it wasn't about to spoil this weekend for her mate who she knew could do with a break after all the worry and hard work she had put into her training. "Let's get this weekend underway, to the future". The girls clinked their glasses and grinned.
The girls had a smashing weekend of laughter and treatments and the men likewise only with copious amounts of beer, curry and rugby.
-OG-
Molly was pleased that she would continue at Chepstow for the three years she was on probation and not moved on after she finished the on the job part of the training. So although not always with Terry anymore they did sometimes still work together. She had got quite used to the looks they got about their height differences. The criminal element thinking she wouldn't be up to much but thanks to her Special Forces training with Bones and Blue, she was able to prove she was more than up to the task in hand.
Part way through her first year Charles came home to say that he, Blue and some sections were off to Belize and her heart plummeted at the mention of that place.
"Don't worry Moll" he smiled his hands on her shoulders "I'm the Major this time and will be in the ops room it will be Blue out on the exercise" he kissed her forehead "He needs to do this, last part to prove his leadership and he gets promotion to Major" she couldn't help but run her hand up and down his thigh knowing that there were scars under those camos, months of ops and physio so he could walk after getting speared by that boar trap. He knew what she was doing and why. "It will be fine" he grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles "I'll be fine" giving her that smile and those puppy dog eyes.
He was gone for two months and she took the opportunity to do extra shifts, it was better than being on her own at home. Although she did pop up to Catterick for a weekend to help Spanner and Jenny when they were moving down from Edinburgh. Peanut and Laura also came up to help, Laura saying it was a lovely house and just to let her know if she wanted any ideas for it.
"I'd rather you didn't Laura" laughed Spanner "It will be me doing the decorating mate."
She had also seen Fingers and Marie when she was up there and had found out that she was pregnant again. Both of them so excited as this time they were having a little girl.
-OG-
The second year brought her more experience. Her first suicide for one. Having to tell his devastated family, holding his mother's hand while she sobbed constantly asking why. The way the father thanked her for being so kind and she really didn't feel she had been able to do anything.
It also brought a thawing of relations in her family. Bella was getting married at long last to her long term boyfriend and she wanted her there as her maid of honour. Her and Charles travelling to London a few times in the run up for dress fittings, and the hen and stag nights. Even Dave seemed to have got used to the idea that she was in the police, although he had told Charles he hadn't told anyone down the pub yet and they thought she was still in the army. He couldn't believe he was going for a drink with him down the Earl. Even more shocked at who was still on the door.
"Evening Charles" said Jack in his customary pose he hands over each arm and a smirk on his face.
"Nice to see you too" answered Charles with a small smile, if anything the bloke looked even bigger, he must spend his whole life down the gym or he was swallowing serious quantities of Steroids. He thought by the look of him it was probably the former.
The wedding went off without a hitch. Molly and Jade both brides' maids, Bella looked stunning on Dave's arm and the smile on her face showed just how happy she was. They were moving a little way out into Essex but she would still be able to get to Canary Wharf for work. That's all 3 girls gone now, we just need to get rid of the boys he told Belinda, then we can have the house to ourselves he grinned at her.
"Aint you the lucky one Bells" cackled Nan and rolled her eyes
-OG-
Her third and final year as a probie and her Sergeant said she was doing well, her experience from the army had transferred well. He was however going to send her across to Cardiff to support some football fixtures where they were expecting trouble from fans.
"Who are they playing Sarg?" she asked
"A London club, Millwall I think"
"Bleedin' hell Sarg" Molly snorted a laugh "there's bound to be trouble with that lot, the only time me Dad never took us to a game if they were playing at Upton Park."
"Well should be home from home for you then James" he grinned "and at least you will understand what they are saying and can translate for us."
"You won't wanna' know what their saying Sarg" she burst out laughing.
It was also the year that Charles had his 40th birthday. Not that he was going to be home for the actual day. He had come home saying that they were being deployed to Kenya for four months to support the Kenyan Army on an anti-poaching initiative. Molly brought all her plans for him forward to before he left, a big party with all their friends, even Colonel Beck was coming with his wife. He had been promoted to a full Colonel a year ago. Between, Jackson, Blue and them they were able to put most people up. She had even managed to track down, with the help of the Colonel some of the newer 2 section members and Monk and Colour Sergeant King were both attending with their wives.
Jackie, Chris and Nicole had been absolute stars in helping with the food preparation. While Charles knew that she was organising a party for him he had no idea it was so big and how many of his old colleagues and friends were coming.
It was a warm evening and they had spilled out into the garden as the evening wore on. Molly looked across to see Charles in deep conversation with Colonel Beck and a couple of other officers from his Aldershot and Catterick days. He always seemed to have a sixth sense with her and knew she was looking at him and turned to look at her, his face breaking into one of his big smiles as he winked at her before returning to the conversation with Beck. She was going to miss him when he left next week. When he came back she would have finally finished her probationary period and be a fully-fledged and trained Police Constable.
Molly loved her chosen path, when she had come up with this idea after her 29th birthday years ago there was a bit of her that worried about it. Would she miss the army and the camaraderie? But she didn't. She still felt she was helping people, every day was different, some days were exciting and others boring, yes she had people spit at her, make honking noises as she walked past, but then there were the people who walked up asking for help, tell her their fears about a neighbour or relative that was in trouble. It was a job with no half measures, she saw the best and worst of people and everything in between.
In the same way that Charles had always said the army was all he ever wanted, all he had ever known, she felt that this was her destiny. She had found her place. Her career, Charles, their home. She was still watching him talking animatedly to Beck, her stomach somersaulting, she was going to miss him. It was going to be a very long four months.
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A/N thank you again for all your reviews. This is the penultimate chapter and the final one will be loaded tomorrow tying up the last of the loose ends
