Disclaimers: Most of the dialogue is from the episode. I don't own The Ghost Squad or Downton Abbey. I don't own the characters either. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Anna had spent her whole weekend searching for information about Danielle Parker and DS John Bates. She had been searching for her criminal record and reading, again and again, her mother's testimony about her disappearance. She had now disappeared for 3 days.

Now, Anna was waiting to receive the CCTV footage she required, but those things could take some time. She'd meticulously watch them once she'd received them.

She was just coming back from a mission when Joseph saw her and came towards her. He seemed tired and worried as if he hadn't slept the previous night.

"Anna! Here you are!"

"Joseph, what is it? Are you all right?"

"It's about William," he said. When he saw the look of confusion on her face he explained. "Didn't you hear? He was attacked yesterday, near his house." She saw tears prickling in his eyes. "He's in the hospital, in a coma. They don't know anything yet."

"Oh my god…" she breathed out. "Do we know who could have attacked him?"

"We all know who did it, Anna. But proving it will be a difficult task. John went there this morning to arrest Nathalie and her gang to question them. They just came back, you should go and help."

"Thank you, Joe. I'm so sorry this happened."

"I know you are," he smiled at her, before leaving.

Poor William, she thought. She didn't even know if he had a family but he often talked about his wife, Daisy. Suddenly, she felt a wave of sickness coming. What must Daisy feel like? What would she feel like if someone she loved had been attacked and was now lying in a hospital bed, in a coma?

She wiped the tear that had run down her cheek and breathed in. She had to be strong. She needed to be there for her colleagues and bring justice to William and Danielle.


When she arrived in the great hall of the station, she saw her being escorted. Nathalie, being all smug.

"Can you get Harvey here?" she asked Gwen who was at the desk.

"Who's Harvey?"

"My lawyer, darling." She gave her a piece of paper. "That's his number there."

She went into the interrogation room, guarded by John himself. He looked tired, but in a different way than usual. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his peaked cap on as if to protect himself and to make him look like he was in control.

"Anna?" Gwen called her. "Could you escort Harvey in, please? He's waiting in front."

She went to the door and met him. He was a typical lawyer, wearing glasses and a nice suit, carrying files under his arm. She opened the gates to the great hall.

"This way, Harvey"

Seeing him seemed to get John out of his apparent calmness.

"Hey! Harvey!" he loudly said. "Nice work, mate." Harvey gave him a look as if to say 'that's only my job', but John continued. "Class. You must be bursting with pride, uh?"

He opened the door and Nathalie's voice came through again.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Anna saw just in time Harvey giving her a packet of cigarettes and sweets. So he wasn't just her lawyer, he was a bit like his valet, she thought. She found herself agreeing with John. The man was letting himself be dictated to by a teenage girl and he was granting all her wishes. She wished there was something they could do to teach her respect…

She stood next to John who was trying to remain calm.

"CCTV?" she asked in an attempt to find proof against the girl.

He shook his head.

"It doesn't pick up on the attack."

At that moment two detectives entered the room.

"Carl, Kathy, feels like only yesterday!" Nathalie said.

How many crimes had this girl committed and how many times had she been brought here without being convicted? Anna felt a little powerless, but she didn't want to give up yet. This time, she was there and maybe she could change something.

John walked away without saying a word, still obviously upset. She decided to come after him.

"John!" she called after him. He turned around and slowed down for her to catch up with him. She liked walking alongside him. She had this feeling in her stomach every single time he waited for her and he adapted his long strides to her small ones. She weirdly felt protected in her presence, even though she had suspicions about him, her guts were telling her otherwise.

"I'm sure we can find something against her."

He laughed.

"What? What did I say that was funny?" she asked, confused.

"You don't know how it works, do you?" He stopped walking and looked her in the eyes. "Every single time they're arrested, they are released. It is a waste of time."

"But surely…"

"No, Anna. You don't know these girls…" He paused. "Do you know what they did to William?"

"Joseph only told me that he had been attacked."

"Well, they managed to push him onto the ground and beat the back of his neck with the hill of a shoe. And after that, they peed on him." A tear ran down his cheek and his hands were shaking. "They peed on him" he repeated.

Anna touched his arm, trying to comfort him.

"I'm sorry"

"Don't be." He shrugged her hand off him. "I'm not the one in a hospital bed, fighting for my life."

Anna looked at him walk away. She felt sad and something else, but she couldn't let herself feel that. She had to remain professional, and after all, he was the man she was investigating.


Later that day, Anna joined her team at the cafeteria for lunch. There was John, silent, at the end of the table, sitting next to Joseph. Anna sat beside Thomas. They were talking about William's case.

"If forensics comes through…" Joseph said.

"They won't" snorted Thomas "They never do."

"The best we're looking at is probation," concluded Joseph.

"Wait 'till they're 18," Thomas said.

John's face contorted. He was trying to contain his anger. He wasn't talking or eating.

"I can't wait 'till they are, mate," continued Joseph.

"Any news on William?" Anna tried to change the subject.

"He's stable, but there's no real change. His wife's in pieces."

Anna felt this tinge again in her stomach. She tried not to look at John. What if it had been him? What would she have felt then? The same as she did for William, or something more?

Thomas interrupted her thoughts.

"We should do a whip-round."

Joseph and Anna agreed.

"Sarge, are you in?" Thomas asked John who had remained silent.

Anna drank from her bottle as she waited for an answer from him. But it never came. His face was red and he was frowning, looking at his hands.

"Sarge?" Thomas asked again.

Suddenly, John hit the table with his fist, making Joseph's coffee fly on his shirt, rose to his feet and left the cafeteria. They all rose, surprised at his reaction.

"Oh, that's great!" Thomas yelled after him. "John Bates has another temper tantrum!"

Everyone looked at their table, chatting about the incident and murmuring to each other.

"Have you got a spare shirt?" Joseph asked Alfred, William's replacement.

"Yeah, sure."

They left Anna with Thomas at the now-empty table.

"Is he always like that?" She asked him.

"Anna, you haven't seen a thing."

Thomas seemed to know some stuff, so she decided to go on, seeing this as her opportunity to learn more about John.

"Well, I have heard that…"

"Everyone's heard," he cut her. "He's an embarrassment."

Obviously, he didn't like John much. She decided to entertain him.

"Yeah, I was with him Friday, we were checking on Danni Parker."

"Don't get me started," he said.

"No. Go on," she encouraged him.

He looked around them to make sure no one was listening. Everyone else had returned at their lunch and wasn't paying attention to them anymore.

"You go looking on Crimmons. See how many times that little bitch has been arrested."

"I can imagine," she sighed.

"Yeah, well, look who's doing it." She turned her head towards him. "Almost every time."

"John?"

He nodded.

"He nicks her, but then after that, somehow, she almost always gets off." He paused. "So what's that about?" She had to admit that Thomas was raising good points.

"What are you saying?" she asked.

"I'm not," he denied. But then he continued. "Just a pretty little thing like her, who know's what's happening."

Joseph reappeared next to Anna and leaned on the table.

"Thomas, watch your tongue."

"She should know who she's working for," Thomas answered.

"Well, she can make up her own mind," Joseph replied angrily. "What are you stirring it up for?"

Anna felt awkward being in the middle of their argument and a bit guilty to let Thomas talk like that about John. But she had to know if there was anything about that that was true.

"Can you actually back up any of that shit?" Joseph asked.

"You can tell," Thomas retorted. "I mean if he beat up his wife…"

"Shut up!" Joseph cut him. "You can't, can you? What a cock," he said before leaving.


Anna decided she needed a bit of fresh air after all that. She went outside the station and saw John standing, smoking a cigarette over the balustrade. She decided to join him.

When he saw her, he shook his head and exhaled some smoke.

"All right," he said. He waited for her to reach him and take side beside him, putting his cigarette to his mouth.

"What did they say?" he asked, choosing to acknowledge the big elephant in the room. She liked that about him, he wasn't trying to hide behind the bushes. He owned up to what he did. "Sarge is a bit of a fuck-up? Can't control himself, shit like that?" he continued.

He handed her a cigarette that she took. She thought about Joseph's reaction, coming to John's defence, William who always seemed to look up at him and even Gwen who seemed to like him. It was confusing because it wasn't in line with what Thomas said to her nor with John's behaviour, getting drunk night after night or dismissing important evidence in a case.

"They like you," she said truthfully.

"Bollocks," he laughed. His self-loathing was showing.

"Yeah, hard to believe, I know" she teased him. "A big old loser like you?"

He lit up her cigarette. She didn't like smoking, but she pretended, just to have a reason to stay up there with him. His hand so close to her face made her shiver.

"What's with the old?" he joked. "What did they say?" he asked again, seriously.

"What do you care?" she answered. She didn't want to lie to him but she didn't want to tell him what Tomas said either. He looked down at his boots.

"You wake up in the middle of the night, and you cringe at the things you've done," he said out of the blue. Again, Anna wondered what could have made him say that. What things were keeping him awake at night? But it wasn't the moment to ask and she knew he needed some lightness. So she chose to joke.

"There's an incident with a dinosaur costume and some K-Y jelly that keeps creeping back." He looked at her and they both burst out laughing. Now that she had assured herself he wouldn't get angry again, she decided to question him.

"What were you so angry about in there?"

He tsked.

"Joseph, Thomas… 'Wait 'till they're 18'" he imitated them. "Then what?"

He looked again at his boots.

"They're good cops," he said. "They're good lads. But do you ever look at all of us, big blokes in blue, just seeing another gang? You got Nathalie and Danielle over there. Drugs in one corner, pimps in another, and us, all in blue, just another gang." He looked at her and smiled. "Jesus, listen to me," he said, shaking his head.

"How come you're so sure Danielle's coming back?" she tried again. She needed to know and she wanted to give him a chance to explain himself.

But instead, he looked at her and ignored her question. A noise got his attention.

"Look at them," he said, nodding towards a group of policemen getting ready in a van, carrying shields. "If I'd have known it was gonna be like this, I would have joined the army." He paused, looking at them, putting their futile equipment in the back of the van. "At least they've got a gun," he coldly said before crushing his cigarette on the ground and leaving her alone.