Episode
8/12 Breathe easy

Review
The IRA hold The Royal staff hostage and a takedown by the SAS proves fatal for a Royal regular.

Cast list
Robert Daws, Amy Robbins, Paul Fox, Polly Maberly, Anna Madely, Wendy Craig, Michael Starke, Andy Wear, Zoie Kennedy, Linda Armstrong and Michelle Hardwick

"Hello Charlie." Charlie closed her eyes, the moment she'd been running from had finally arrived, it was all over. Strangely she felt no fear, there was no-where left to run, no-where left to hide, nothing she could do would prevent the inevitable, all there was left to do was to die honourably and make sure that everyone knew the truth."Hi dad." Charlie turned around to face her father, everyone in the room apart from Jill, Gordon and the other members of the IRA gasped, they couldn't believe it, Charlie the daughter of an IRA chief.

"I didn't want it to end like this Charlie." Patrick Reid, (Charlie's dad) muttered.

"End like what? You can't kill your own daughter can you?" Charlie asked with false bravado, she knew all to well he could and would do it, she had no illusions on that score.

"I don't want to Charlie believe me, but I have no choice."

"No choice," Charlie snorted, "What do you mean no choice? It's been five months and I haven't told a soul, I knew what would happen if I did."

"You didn't think it would happen anyway?" Patrick raised his eyebrows, obviously sceptical.

"At first I counted on you not knowing where I was. Then I figured that you'd have realised I hadn't talked, making me not a worthwhile target. When I realised that wasn't so I split, unfortunately I didn't get far." Charlie glanced at Jill and Gordon, she'd told them of the danger, they just hadn't accepted it. Patrick frowned, he'd thought he'd achieved surprise.

"What tipped you off?"

"Today's newspaper, the IRA men caught by customs. I know your operational pattern, it wasn't hard to work out. Every four months you pull some stunt or other, except for rescues and special operations. Now two months after your last op went sour, you're back again, with no-one to rescue that meant a special operation and I didn't want to hang around and see if it was me you were after." Patrick nodded, he'd always known she was sharp, but how much of her mother was in her?

Meanwhile on milner ward, no-one as yet was aware that anything untoward was taking place.

"Matron," Meryl called, sticking her head round the entrance to Milner "The water's running again."

"Oh good, the plumbers must have fixed it. Go find them would you Staff Nurse, I think I saw them heading into reception." Meryl shook her head.

"Sorry Matron I can't, I'm minding casualty, I should be there now." Matron nodded, she didn't reprimand Meryl for taking the time out to let her know, after all it was something she had needed to know.

"I'll go Matron, you're here watching my ward." Sister Bridget offered. Matron smiled her thanks and went back to her ever increasing pile of paperwork.

A minute later and Sister Bridget had reached reception, the doors were closed and the blinds were pulled down, how strange. Thinking nothing of it Sister Bridget pushed open the doors to reception, Patrick saw her first.

"Grab her." he yelled, Shane or the imposter Paul Wilde obliged, Sister Bridget had barely registered the abnormal scene she was confronted with before she was grabbed. "Shane let her go." Patrick ordered, startled Shane released her, Sister Bridget was so deeply in shock she hadn't even had time to scream. "Sorry Sister, didn't know who you were. Shane apoligise to Sister." Shane raised his eyebrows, he was the least devout of the four, joining the IRA for money and glory rather than because he believed in it's ideals.

"Sorry Sister." he muttered, Patrick glared at him but said nothing.

"Now Sister, I'd like you to convey a message to the police for me." Stunned all Sister Bridget could do was nod.

An hour later the hospital was surrounded, all the patients and staff not caught in the siege had been evacuated to Ashfordly general, Liz Merrick was on the scene and trained negotiaters had arrived from London.

Inside the hospital, the four IRA men Bryan, Marc, Shane and Patrick were standing in one group, conversing quietly while watching for any signs of trouble, their guns safed and slung across their chests, within three seconds they could be firing.

Everyone else was sitting in one corner, yet still in groups, still separated. Ken, Alun and Lizzy sat together, Ken had his arm around Lizzy who was crying quietly while both Ken and Alun cursed themselves for not doing anything earlier, for putting them all in this situation. Samantha and Paul sat together talking quietly, catching up on events that had happened since they'd last seen each other. Lucy and Jeff both made an unspoken vow that when this was all over they'd do exactly what they wanted to do, no putting it off until tomorrow, because you never know how many tomorrow's you have. Gordon and Jill couldn't look at Charlie, they didn't know what would have happened if they'd followed her advice but it couldn't be worse than this, they'd put their colleagues in danger.

Suddenly the silence was broken as Charlie spoke.

"Why all this? If you wanted me you could have grabbed me anytime coming home from school. Why go to all this trouble?"
"Oh a couple of reasons, one if I'm going to put my men at risk we might as well get something for it, I gave that Sister a list of demands. Two we wouldn't have grabbed you, there's always someone who notices something and the police are just too good on kidnap cases particularly when it's a child, no if it had been just you we would have had you killed." Patrick paused, he'd been waiting to say this for months now, he had to say it if he was to prevent the inevitable. "Which I didn't want to happen. I wanted a chance to talk to you first, you are my daughter. There is a way out of this you know." Charlie stared at him, he was lying, he'd got to be, there wasn't a way out or she would have found it by now, god knows she'd thought about it long enough, what did he want? "Join us?"

Meanwhile DI Shiner was getting more than a little angry, the negotiaters weren't doing any good because the IRA weren't talking. They'd given them a list of demands along with a deadline, if they didn't deliver they would execute the first person at 9pm tonight and after that someone on the hour every hour. It was now 8.42.

"Sorry Inspector," the most junior negotiater apoligised. "They're just not talking." DI Shiner glared at him,

"Then don't you think it's about time you let the armed response team do their job!" DI Shiner shouted. Hearing the co-motion, a tall, muscular man walked over, he was dressed in army fatigues.

"Sorry Detective, but that ain't gonna happen. Your boys are going home."

"Join you?" Charlie repeated "Join you. What have you got a training program or something?"

Patrick shrugged,"Something like that." Charlie smiled, this was so absurd it was funny, she stood up.

"Go to hell." Instantly Charlie's face had hardened, "I wouldn't join you for the world. You killed my mum, I watched you do it. I was helpless, nothing I could do, mum had made me promise. I ran away, I blocked it out, ended up here. Never went to the police, never told them, mum had made me promise. She thought you'd leave me alone." Throughout her tirade she'd moved forward, poking her dad with every sentence, to punctuate it. She'd backed him into a wall, Shane pulled her roughly back. There was nothing Patrick could think of to say to that, it was true every word.

"Boss, it's nearly 9 o'clock." Patrick nodded, out of an arm holster he withdrew a pistol.

"Goodbye Charlie." Then three things happened, the lights went off, flash grenades smashed through the windows and Charlie tackled Patrick, struggling for the gun, it went off.

"We are all gathered here today, to commerate the loss of a young life. This young lady was like no other and I know she will be greatly missed. Please turn in your hymn books to page 259. All things bright and beautiful." the congregation stood and began singing. Both Meryl and Lizzy struggled through their tears, although many people were crying. They remembered how she had hung around reception all the time or the cups of tea they'd had together. After four more hymns,a sermon from the vicar, and three eucologies it was time to wrap this thing up."A bright, enigmatic young lady, may she rest in peace."
A week later Paul went to put flowers on his fionce Samanthas grave. He'd asked her to marry him during the siege. They'd met at St Thomas's hospital, she was at nursing school and he drove ambulances, it had been love at first sight. But when she graduated she'd moved up here to get a job and he'd been transferred, they'd lost touch, now she was dead. Paul cried, he cried for missed oppertunities, he cried for the life he'd now never have, he cried until he could cry no more.

Whatever you do, live for today, because you never know about tomorrow.