The Bill: Beech is Back.
Chapter 8: Normal Life and Important Decisions.
The next morning, Marion wakes up to find herself once again in Stephen's arms. Looking out the window, she sees a cloudy sky which threatens rain. Reaching over to the bedside table, she puts the radio on, hoping to find the weather forecast, and nearly falling out of the bed when she accidentally catches the volume dial, deafening them.
Stephen jerks awake and hits his head on the headboard. "Oww, shit, that hurt," he says rubbing the lump now forming on his head.
"Sorry," says Marion, "I was trying to find the weather forecast, it looks like it's gonna rain today."
"Oh, no, not again, British weather is a pain. Just rain, rain, rain and more rain."
"I can't argue with that. Have you gotta work today?"
"No, thankfully; it's my day off, you?"
"Same!" says Marion, "You got any plans for the day?"
"No, not really; I thought of repainting the kitchen but ..."
"... You don't feel like it?"
"Exactly, what were you gonna do?"
"Don't know really, probably get up late then watch whatever craps on the TV all day."
"We have such exciting lives hey Mar," says Stephen sarcastically.
"Tell me about it," says Marion before suddenly leaping out of the bed and running into the bathroom., just making it in time to avoid throwing up on the floor.
"You ok?" asks Stephen coming up behind her and gently rubbing her back until she feels ready to talk.
"Yeah," replies Marion, slowly standing up.
"I guess this means I wasn't just imagining what you said the other night," comments Stephen, "I think we need to talk."
"Yeah, Ok, but can we get breakfast first, I feel like I haven't had anything to eat all week."
"Sure Mar," says Stephen, following her to the kitchen to get breakfast.
Stephen pours some cereal into bowls and puts them on the table with some spoons before removing the milk from the fridge. They both sit down to eat in silence.
"So," says Stephen breaking the silence.
"You don't have to be involved if you don't want to Ste; I can cope on my own."
"No, I want to be involved. I've got a part in this one too Mar. I'm just not sure what I can do to help."
"Are you sure? I don't want to trap you into something your not ready for Ste."
"I'm sure; you're not trapping me into anything. I'm just scared; I've never had to deal with anything like this before."
"Neither have I; I'm scared too Ste. Everything's changed; I've got to think of more than myself now and I'm not sure how."
"We can do this together Mar, I'll look after you. Together we can do anything; everything will work out fine."
"Yeah, maybe everything will be ok in the end, we just need to work together," says Marion giving Stephen a big hug.
They clean away the dishes from breakfast and then curl up together on the sofa, drinking their tea.
"How are we gonna work this then? Are we gonna tell anyone? Work could be a problem, what with all the rules and everything," Stephen thinks aloud.
"I think the best bet might be to take each day at a time for now and see how things go. I wasn't really planning on telling anyone just yet. Claire already knows, she was with me when I found out and there's a good chance she's told John, but other than that nobody knows, but it'll be impossible to keep quiet for long. People are bound to notice sooner or later," explains Marion.
"True, but don't worry about that too much, I don't think they'll say much. Its work I'm worried about. It's the Governors I'm worried about. When they find out God help us."
"I know what you mean. At the very least, one or both of us will be suspended. What can we do Ste?"
"As stupid as this sounds, it might be a good idea to talk to Commander Ford about it first. It'll be better if he hears it directly off us rather than through the gossip chains, and that way we get the hardest part over first. We can then figure out what to do next."
"Good idea Ste; lets talk to him this afternoon then. Get it over with."
"Ok," Stephen agrees before they both get ready to go talk to him.
At Sun Hill, John and Claire are in DCI Meadows' office telling him about yesterdays bomb incident and explaining that Beech was behind it but has now been caught and locked in a high security prison. The DCI seems to accept the explanation quite easily and gives them the rest of the day off to recover. They both make their way home, wondering if any more surprises await them.
The End.
Authors note: Look out for the sequel to this story "A Few Little Surprises" coming to a site near you soon. Don't forget to leave a reveiw to say what you think about this story.