Lending A Hand

By ten in the morning Cheryl had woken up fully and the Captain and Mark were sitting talking to her.

"You are saying that it was Detective Robertson who shot you?" Captain Newman looked at his officer. She still, to him, looked a little pale, but her eyes were bright.

"Yes, Sir. I set off an alarm within the warehouse complex and all the floodlights came on. The guy on the ship who was making the delivery was someone I had busted a couple a times. He recognized me and I guess Martin knew that Larry or the guy from the ship would shoot to kill so he got in first." She gently flexed her shoulder and smiled ruefully. "He did a good enough job for me, though."

"Robertson left a message yesterday admitting to everything that you have told me, but also insisting that he stay undercover because he felt he could get closer to the centre of the organisation that way. Who is Larry?"

"He's the guy that pays Martin off when there is a drop."

The Captain took a breath. "I am gonna have a real hard job getting this by IA. You will have to speak to one of their teams in the next few days, so will Reagan. I don't know how they will react to one of my officers shooting another, just so that he could stay on the job, but I would imagine that they will say that there must have been another way."

Mark looked at the officer lying in the bed; she looked very worried about her partner. "Do you think that Martin will be able to cope with being out there alone?"

"I don't know, Mark. I haven't been working with him long enough to say either way. If it were Steve I wouldn't hesitate to say yes. Maybe even Rae. I don't know her very well either, but she is an experienced officer, but Martin. No, I can't say." She tried to stifle a yawn and Mark stood up.

"I think that is enough for now, Cheryl, I want you to get a little more sleep. If things carry on the same way as they are, I will happily discharge you in a couple of days. It is only really your shoulder which is keeping you here."

Cheryl smiled. "Thank you. My mom is looking forward to pampering me for a while. She has missed having me around."

The two men walked over to the door. As they exited Captain Newman turned round. "I won't expect you make a habit of this detective. I need my best officers available at all times."

"Yes, Sir." Cheryl's smile was broad as she lay back down on the pillow. It is so good to be home.

I wish I were home! "Steve, move away from the door, Honey. I can't help you if you won't let me in the bathroom!"

"I am not letting you in! There are some things that a man has to do alone. This is one of them."

"Ok, when you realise that you can't do it alone, you just give me a little call, an' even though you are behavin' like a spoilt child, I will still come an' help."

With that she turned and went back up into the main part of the house, making sure she left all the doors open, just in case he called. She picked up her coffee cup from the kitchen counter and drank the last dregs down. Then she moved around the kitchen and after searching through a couple of cupboards she found the cereal and bowls. She placed two of the bowls and the boxes on a tray, and then she took them down to Steve's apartment. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she smiled.

"Jo? Ok, I give up. You were right, as usual, I can't get washed or dressed without you." Steve's voice was full of rage and humiliation. He had stood inside the bathroom of his apartment for ten minutes now. He was more embarrassed than he could ever remember being in his entire life. He tried to take a couple of deep breaths so that his anger was under control when Jo arrived.

Jo put the tray down and tapped lightly on the door. She put a smile on her face and then opened it. Steve was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. He was wearing just a pair of boxer shorts and a face full of so many emotions that Jo wanted to just hug him.

"Ok, honey, now if you smile an' relax this will be much easier for both of us. I have two plastic gloves here, extra large, which I need to put over your casts. Then you can stand in the shower an' let the water calm you down some. She pulled the gloves on for him and then smiled. Steve now had two yellow hands. Jo walked over and turned the shower on and then moved back towards him.

Steve watched as Jo leant forward and with one swift movement he realised that his humiliation was now complete. "I would appreciate it if you would leave."

"No, Honey. I can't leave until you have finished. If you should slip you would have no way of savin' yourself."  Jo sat down on the toilet seat, folded her arms and looked at him.

"Dammit, Jo, it's a good job I love you."

Jo stood back up and walked up to her man. "Steve, maybe you should re-think that. It is because I love you that I am here. But I expect you to treat me with some respect, or I will leave you to Michael. Now, I suggest you get in that shower an' wash before all the warm water runs out."

Steve knew when he was beaten. Jo had offered to get Michael over and he had said no, he didn't feel that comfortable around him. He moved across and stood in the water making sure that he wasn't right under the jets, that way his hands could be outside of the steady flow. As Steve let it pound against his back he had to admit Jo was right, the water did feel good. It seemed to massage his battered body, and he was aware of the warmth, as it seemed to seep into his very soul. He turned carefully round, and as he did so felt one foot slip on the floor. He managed to keep his balance but was conscious of a chill as it ran through him. Once he had regained his composure he let the water run over his chest, while he kept his arms out from his sides. There was still pain in his ribs, but he knew that it was getting a little better each day. He took a breath. "Jo, I need someone to just make sure I smell sweet." He hoped that she would accept his words as an apology.

"Sure, I would be glad to help… this time. But if you treat me this way again, when you know that there is no way you can do somethin' on your own I will leave you just where you are. Now move over."

Steve turned round to see that Jo had removed all her clothes and was getting ready to join him. He felt himself respond to the sight of her beautiful body and a groan escaped him. "Oh, God, Jo, don't do this to me."

"Shhh, Honey, it's all right, I don't intend to do anythin' you don't want me to, but this seemed like the best way to wash you without gettin' my clothes soaked." She took the shower gel off the shelf and squeezed some out into her hand. Then she slowly and gently began to rub it into his back. "Steve, you are so tense. Darlin' you have got to relax. I know this is difficult for you, but I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't want to, so please let me help you."

She saw him nod, just slightly, but it was enough for her. She reached up and began to massage his shoulders and neck. She wanted to mould her body to his, but she knew that at the moment he wouldn't be able to cope with it. Gradually she washed the whole of him and then when he was clean once again, she kissed him gently on the lips and left the cubicle.

Steve ran his tongue over his lips. He had wanted so badly to just push her against the wall of the shower and take her right there, but she was right, he would never have been able to keep his balance, or his temper and he also knew that his body just wasn't up to it. He let the cooling water play over him for a few more minutes and then he heard her voice.

"Ok, I am dry now so, carefully, you can come out of the water." Steve waited as Jo, now back in her jeans and t-shirt watched him. Then he cautiously moved towards her. She held a large bath sheet in front of him and he gratefully stood and let her wrap it around him and begin to dry him off. As she began to rub gently at his upper body he leant towards her and began to kiss her.

"Jo, honey, I am so sorry. Please, understand, this is just so… so… damn hard."

"Shhh, it's all right, Steve, I do understand, but you have to try to keep your cuttin' remarks to yourself. Now, let's get some breakfast, before I have to start thinkin' about lunch."

Levington had spent the night in Samuel's van. He couldn't believe his luck in being picked up by someone who had a house on wheels. It wasn't luck, it was destiny. I'm supposed to be with Rae, and this is all falling into place because it is part of a bigger plan.  He looked over at the cupboard in the back of the van; nobody would ever guess that there was a body lying in it. Big Dave had already proved useful. He had stripped the body of all the personal effects, and he was now to all intents and purposes Samuel Middleton.

He joined the mid-morning traffic and headed back out towards the Pacific Coast Highway. He had managed to seriously mangle Samuel's driver's licence that morning, and now he had one with his own photo on it. He smiled, now all he needed to do was get rid of Sammy and he was home free.

Two hours later he was wishing he had kept the bucket as well as the fork. The ground around Los Angeles was so hard and dry because of the heat wave that it was like digging in solid concrete, and he could have used the bucket like a shovel. Still he now had a hole big enough for his needs and he was putting the soil back. He had contacted his Mother in the prearranged way and knew that she would have put some money in his account before close of business yesterday, so later he could go and withdraw some. The plans had taken a long time to come together, but he had everything he needed to blend into the population until he could vanish.

Captain Newman walked back into the station and smiled at the desk sergeant on duty. It still surprised him to see someone other than Bob standing there, but he supposed that every cop deserved his annual vacation. He had been gone for four days and had another two to go. There was no doubt that the station ran far more smoothly when he was on duty. He walked up the stairs and in towards his office, hearing phones ringing as he went.

He indicated to Detective Chapman as he walked through the squad room. The officer stood up and followed his boss into his office.

"Sit down, Detective."

"Yes, Sir. What can I do for you?"

"I want you to go back to the docks. Not as a cop, I think maybe as a journalist. I want to find out what is happening. We need to get back in there. Martin has to all intents and purposes disappeared. He says that he is still working undercover, and as he contacted Mark Sloan I have to accept that this is the case. However, I don't have to like it, and I want information, and lots of it as soon as you can."

"Yes, Sir. How are Rae and Cheryl?"

"Better, at least Detective Banks is. Detective Yeager was still asleep when I left."

Chapman rose to his feet and left the room, as he did so a young patrolman knocked.

"Yes, officer?" The Captain smiled at him and waited.

"I have a message from the front desk for you, Sir." He handed over a piece of paper from a message pad, which the Captain began to read.

"Ah, what do you think the name of this man is?"

"The top one says Daines, I think, and the second one is Plerington." The young man who had only been working at the station for three days looked at his Captain. He hoped he had helped.

"Yes, yes, I agree, I thought that too. Right, thank you." The man left the room and Newman, his brain not quite happy with what he had just agreed to, started to think. As he picked up the piece of paper again there was another knock. Sighing he looked over and seeing a complete stranger standing there, stood and moved towards her.

"Yes, Ma'am, may I help you?"

"I hope so. My name is Abigail Jenkins. My husband was… was murdered on the docks." The woman stopped talking, and the Captain looked at her more closely. She was about twenty-six, and he would have been able to tell from her face, if he hadn't known already, that she had suffered some personal tragedy.

"Won't you please sit down? Would you like some coffee?"

"No thank you, I don't drink it. I don't expect you have any herbal tea?"

Captain Newman smiled then. "In fact we do. I have an officer who doesn't drink anything else." He moved over to the door. He looked out and saw Campbell getting ready to leave. "Detective Campbell, before you go could you please make Mrs Jenkins a herbal tea? I'm sure Detective Yeager won't mind sharing."

The woman smiled at him and he saw that she was clutching a black book to her. He sat back at his desk. "Now, Mrs Jenkins, how may I help you?"

"I have been sorting some of my Danny's things out." She stopped as her eyes filled with tears. "I haven't been very brave about it I'm afraid. I didn't even open his closet until yesterday, and he has been … been … gone for a couple of months now." She knew to the minute how long her husband had been dead, but she didn't think that this man would want to know that.

"I would guess that you have found something that you think will be of use in our investigation?" The Captain stood up and moved some of the papers on his desk out of the way. He didn't see a message sheet fall to the floor as he held his hand out for the book.

"This was at the back of the closet. I started to read through it, and I think that you really need to see it. I also think you need to have this." Slowly she offered the book and an envelope to the Captain. Part of her didn't want to let go of the book, because her Danny had written it, but the other part wanted to throw it out the window, because it detailed everything that had happened to him up to the time of his death.

Captain Newman sat back down with the manuscript. He opened it to the first page and began to read it.

Tuesday 20th.

I really liked this job y'know. It meant I could get home before Abbi had to go to work, and we could spend some time together. I could clean house for her so that she didn't have to do so much, and still get paid enough for a few nice bits and pieces.

But that has all changed. I got a visit. A guy wanted me to think about turning a blind eye to a few drops. I said I didn't mind. He said I would get paid for doing it, and we could do with the money. Maybe even start to save. That would be nice.

Well the drop was last night. I went for a walk just like I was told. Lord knows I'm no saint, I didn't think I cared what they were bringing in. But I had a look when I got back and it's drugs.

There was $500 in the drawer in an envelope. I put it in the bank this morning, and I felt guilty the whole time.

I don't know what to do about this.

Newman looked up. Abigail Jenkins was sitting, wide eyed just watching him. He flicked through the pages and he could see that there were about ten pages of writing. Then he opened the envelope. Inside it he could see five one hundred dollar bills. "Mrs Jenkins, would it be acceptable to you if I kept this? I will write you a receipt for the book." As he spoke he was already writing on the pad he kept in his drawer.

"Yes, Sir, that is fine with me. I would ask that you let me have it back. I'm not sure what I will do with it, but I think I will keep it." She put her hand on her stomach. "My husband didn't know about the baby I'm carrying. Maybe I ought to keep it for him or her." Abigail stood up then and held her hand out to the Captain.

As he shook it Captain Newman began to speak. "I have to say, Ma'am, that I think that your baby will have a very brave lady for a mom."

"Thank you, Captain." The words were very faint, but he saw a smile hover around her lips. Then she turned and left him. He sat down and began once again to read.

Rae moved slowly in the bed and a faint moan escaped her lips. Alex was just writing on her chart at the end of the bed and so he moved towards her. "Hey, how are you this morning?"

"Alex? What am I doing here? Jesse? Oh, God, Alex where's Jesse?" She felt the panic rise in her and she tried to move, to sit up, and once again she felt the tightness in her throat, and her breathing began to get short and laboured.

"Rae, listen to me." Alex had his hands on her shoulders now. "Jesse is in with Brian, he will be right back. Now, breathe slowly and deeply, and you will be fine." He looked at her but he could see that she wasn't listening to him. "Rae!" His voice was more insistent and she began to focus on him. "Breathe, slowly and deeply. In and out come on, you can do it." He took a deep breath himself as he saw her begin to respond to him. Gradually she came back to him and he sat down on the bed and let her lean against him. He pressed the buzzer and asked the nurse to let Brian Dobson's secretary know that Jesse would be needed in Rae's room as soon as he was able.

"Alex, please help me. Why isn't Jesse here? He hasn't gone again has he?"

"No, Rae, of course not. He loves you, and I don't think that he will leave you again. He just had to go speak with Brian." Alex paused. He knew that even though Rae was talking rationally to him, she still wasn't far removed from the panic, which threatened to overwhelm her. "Rae, I need to do a couple of tests, is that ok?"

"Tests, what tests?" Her hand went to her mouth as she realised what he meant. "Oh my God, Alex, the water is that why you have to do tests?"

"No, Rae, it's ok. I already know that the water didn't do any damage, ok?

"You're sure, it didn't do any damage, none at all?"

"I'm sure, but I still have to do some tests, is that ok?" He saw her nod so he continued talking. "I have to touch your neck, Rae, or would you prefer that I wait and let Jesse do that for you? He won't be long."

Rae stiffened as she heard Alex's words. She trusted the young man, she was very fond of him and was more than happy to have him as her doctor, but she didn't think she could let him touch her, not there, not yet. She had asked Steve to tell him about her throat, because even though it scared her so much, explaining it was almost as bad. "I think I will wait, if you don't mind." She shut her mind to the memories, which were trying to come back. It was ironic, but when she had been so badly injured before, she had learnt to regulate her thoughts. She could still do it, and she knew that she needed Jesse with her before she let anything escape her.

Alex put a thermometer under her tongue and then set about his tests. Her temperature was back up to normal now, and apart from the panic which seemed so close to the surface every time she was awake, he could see no problem with her going home in a few days. But he knew that he couldn't sign her health certification so that she could return to work. He sighed to himself. When he had finally received his medical license a short while ago Rae had come to him and asked if he would be her physician. He had been so surprised that he had asked her if she was sure, which, as he realised later, was not the best way to gain a patient's confidence, but she had said she was. Now he was going to have to tell her that she couldn't work. Not a great start.

There was a knock at the door and Rae and Alex both turned. Jesse was standing there, and as she saw him a sob escaped from Rae's lips and before she knew it she was in his arms. Alex moved back out into the hallway and let them have a moment to themselves.

"Jesse, oh, Jesse, I thought you had gone, you weren't here, and I thought you had gone." The tears were on her cheeks now, and the words were tumbling out at speed, but she didn't care, he was still here, and he was holding her tight.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. I had to go see Brian. Shhh, Baby, it's ok now, shhh." Jesse sat himself on the side of the bed, and even though she was so upset he enjoyed the feeling of her body against his. He gently ran his fingers through the long blonde hair that was now tangled and untidy. Even though he knew it wasn't really hers, he loved the feel of it.

Gradually the tears began to subside and she moved away. As she did so she saw Alex standing outside the door. "Jesse." She tried to take a deep breath, but it felt so restricted. "I need you to … to check, you know." She lay back on the pillow and shut her eyes as she heard Alex begin to talk.

"Jesse, can you check the wound on Rae's throat for me. She would rather that you touch it instead of me."

"Of course. Rae, can you hear me, Honey?"

Rae opened her eyes. "Yes, Jess. I had my eyes closed, not my ears." She watched as his fingers moved towards her and jumped as she felt them on her skin.

"Shhh, it's ok. I need to remove the bandage and have a look, ok?" He felt and saw her nod and then he began to pull it back. Her whole body stiffened as he pulled at the patch, but he could see that there was no problems with it, in fact it was healing very nicely. He moved aside so that Alex could see it and then he picked up a clean dressing and applied it. "There that wasn't too bad was it?"

"Thank you, Jesse. But why is it so sore…" She swallowed and felt the pain once again.

Jesse took a breath, he wasn't sure how she would feel about what he had to say. "When you were rescued, the paramedics did what is called a finger sweep to remove any obstructions from your throat, so I guess it is sore from that, because you had stuff in there from the docks. Alex did the same again once you arrived." Jesse had her chart in his hands now and was checking it. "And the bits that were left were removed in the OR before you had your tracheotomy."

Rae had shut her eyes as Jesse had explained what had happened, but with relief. Now she knew why her throat hurt she wasn't worried about it quite so much. She smiled now and took Jesse's hand in hers. "I feel better for knowing." She rested on her pillow, and both men could see that she was a little more relaxed than she had been.

"Jess, could you wait outside for a moment or two please?" Alex had taken a deep breath before he had spoken. He so admired the doctor standing next to him, but he knew that he wasn't here as a doctor, but as Rae's lover, and he needed to speak to her alone.

"Ok. Honey, I'll be right back."

Alex pulled up a chair and sat next to Rae. He took her hand in his and looked at her.

"Alex, what is it, you said I was alright?"

"Rae, I can't sign your LAPD health certification form. I don't think you are any where near ready to go back to work. In fact I think you need to consider taking a break from it for a month or so." To his relief and surprise Rae just nodded.

"I know. Alex, I have some very frightening thoughts trying to get out. I know that any minute I will begin to panic again. I can't even start to sort out my thoughts, or think of anybody but me or maybe Jesse. In fact I don't want to think at all right now. I just want to sleep."

"It's just putting off the inevitable, Rae. You need to face it. And you know that you still need to speak to Jesse."

"No! Not now, Alex, please." She took her hand from his and ran her fingers distractedly through her hair.

He could see the panic in her eyes and he knew that she was right, if they weren't careful it would overwhelm her, but if she didn't let some of it out she would have no idea why.

"Ok, I am going to give you a very mild sedative. You have had quite a lot of it lately, but this should be ok." He saw her begin to relax a little. "But, not enough to send you to sleep. I want you to talk, to Jesse, or Brian, or whomever you want, but you have to start talking now, or this will get worse and worse. Rae you have beaten this before, and you can beat it again."

As he said this Rae's hands flew to her throat, and then she clenched her fists. "My God, Cheryl, Alex, what happened to Cheryl?"

He gently depressed the sedative into her IV before he began to speak. "She's fine. She's just next-door. Rae we don't know what happened, but from what you said when you came round before, we think you saved her life."

"Oh, I did, I wasn't sure." Alex turned and waved Jesse back in, and Rae seeing him move so that he was beside her began to talk again. "We were watching the drop that had been planned on Martin's warehouse. You remember, Jesse, Martin phoned us at home." She blushed, and then smiled.

Jesse looked at her. He could see that the panic was receding now. Whatever it was that was frightening her hadn't happened that night. "Yeah, I remember."

"Cheryl and I met up at the docks, and then we got settled into places where we could hopefully watch what was going down without being spotted. I don't know what happened, but suddenly all the lights came on and sirens were going off everywhere. Then I heard a gun go off… and Cheryl fell into the bay." She stopped talking as she relived the moment when she had seen her friend disappear from view. It had been quick, but she had known that she had been hit.

"Rae, do you know who shot her." It was Alex who spoke. Rae just nodded. She didn't want to say. "Rae, you will have to tell somebody, it may as well be us."

"It was Martin, Martin shot her. I just ran. I knew that I had to get to her before they did, or before the cold did. I dived in and it was so bitter and black and …. Ohh it was just awful." She stopped talking.

"Ok, sweetie, that's fine. You will have to tell IA about it all, but I think you will feel a little better now you have told us." Jesse ran his finger down her cheek and Rae put her hand up and trapped his against her face.

"Can I go to sleep now?" Her face was haunted again now that she had finished talking.

Jesse and Alex looked at each other and then they both nodded. "Rae, I have to leave you for a while, but I promise I will be back before you wake, ok?" Rae nodded, but Jesse could tell that she was already half asleep. The two doctors left the room together and then Jesse started to speak again. "So, what happened on the dock doesn't frighten her. Not in the way that she is frightened. So what the hell is it? Thank you, Alex. If you need me I am going back to Brian."

The two men parted company, and as they headed off in different directions their thoughts were full of problems that had no answers. Rae meanwhile was once more fast asleep, and for a while, away from her problems and fears again.

By the time Phil Levington arrived back in central Los Angeles it was three in the afternoon. He headed for an ATM machine and withdrew five hundred dollars. Then he bought a paper and headed back towards the shopping mall he had passed about ten minutes earlier.

Once he had got there, he parked his van and walked into the first men's store he saw. He had been lucky that the fire watch uniform had been jeans with a blue shirt and a jacket. Poor old Sammy had no idea who he had given a lift to, and once he had disposed of him, his clothes had been adequate until now. He bought a couple of pairs of pants, some polo shirts and a longer jacket with the large pockets he liked and then he drove off to find a motel for the night.

He lay on the bed, the empty take out trays on the nightstand, and he scanned the paper for any mention of his love, but there was nothing, absolutely nothing. He rummaged about in the package he had picked up from the bus station. He had known that his mother wouldn't let him down. Every week she had taken the bus to her sister's house. Every week she stopped at the station and put a package in her locker. Now he had newspaper clippings for the whole time he had been away. He shook them onto the bed and began to read.

She had been a very busy girl. Slowly he began to put the clippings into some sort of order. It seemed to him that she had disappeared off the face of the earth recently, but then his mother had found a cutting saying that Rae and another lady cop had been found in the dock area and been rushed to Community General Hospital. It was always that damn hospital; she never got taken anywhere else. He knew that he wouldn't be able to go and see her there, that annoying doctor of hers would be sure to be with her. Still maybe he should go and see them. Now that he had the knowledge gained from Big Dave, nobody would be a problem to him anymore. Isn't that right, Sammy boy? He picked up his new jacket and headed out of the room. He had more urgent things to do.

Louise had been reading the magazine she'd found on the bus. She got up to get a drink and as she did so heard a knock on the door. She moved over cautiously, she was a month behind with her rent and didn't want to see her landlord. But the person she saw through the peephole thrilled her beyond measure and the door was soon open wide.

"Phil, what are you doing here?"

Levington shut the door behind him with a smile and handed her a beautiful bunch of flowers.

"Thank you, they're lovely."

"I got parole, I knew it was coming up, but I wanted to surprise you. So are you pleased to see me?"

Louise smiled broadly. "What do you think? I can't believe I can actually touch you, without the glass being in the way."

Levington smiled back at her. She had been visiting him regularly in prison, and he had always made her put her hand up to the glass before she left. He moved his hand close to her face and watched as Louise placed her fingers on the back of his hand and gently stroked it. He moved a little closer to her and ran his other hand down her cheek before he began to kiss her.

Captain Newman had been interrupted on and off almost all afternoon. It was now four thirty and he was coming to the last page of the notebook. His eyes scanned down the page and he began to read the neat writing. Suddenly he stopped and the book dropped to the desk. He moved over to his computer and typed in a name and waited. After a minute he began to read the screen in front of him, and then he picked up his phone. "Campbell, is that you…? I need you to get back here, and hurry. We have got to find Martin… Cheryl said he was with a guy called Larry. Well if Larry is Larry Griffith, he is wanted in four states for murder, 8 counts and I think Martin is in serious trouble."

Louise smiled over at the man in the bed next to her. It was a long time since anyone had cared for her. She wasn't sure she wanted to do what he had asked her, but she was thinking about it. "I could lose my job if I get you that information, and to be honest I still don't understand why you need it. Arghhh" Louise cried out as she felt Phil's hand slap her hard across the face. Tears sprang to her eyes and she tried to move away from him, only to feel his hand in a vice like grip on her arm. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please don't hit me again." For a moment the vision of her Father, belt in hand, flew into her mind, but she pushed it away.

Levington looked at her, she really was a stupid girl, but beggars couldn't be choosers and she had been available. Taking a breath he began to explain it all over again. "Louise, my darling, I am so sorry. It's just that…" He paused and wiped his hand across his brow. "It's just that I know I caused her a lot of pain and suffering and I want to make it up to her. I heard rumours in jail that she was having problems and if I could just see her notes from when she saw that councillor of hers then maybe I could write to her and ease her fears. I was helped so much myself by the victim support scheme and as she was the one who was hurt it seems unfair that she shouldn't be helped too."  This time he knew he had her. "And then my darling, we can start to plan our new life." That did it she was hooked.

Louise looked at him, and realised that he hadn't meant to hurt her, he was just upset. "I will get it for you, as soon as I can." She leant over towards him then and began to kiss him.

Levington's mind was busy as he began to caress her body once again. There was something about Rae that had escaped him, but now he would find out why she had exploded when he had touched her throat.