Neil ripped open the envelope with the familiar postmark and tipped out the contents eagerly. He knew what it was, but he had been in a rush that morning, so had simply picked up the post on his way out the door to open at work.
"Alright, guv," Phil greeted, arriving at Neil's office door, "I got those files you wanted."
"Thanks. Just put them on the desk," Neil replied, his eyes fixed on the piece of paper that came from the envelope.
Phil dropped the thick files on a clear spot of desk, "What you got there?"
Neil held out the paper towards him, "Andrea's twenty-week scan."
Phil looked closely at the image, "You're lucky, you know. I never got to see any of this stuff with Madison."
"Problem is, it might be all I ever see."
Phil lay the photo back on the table in front of the DI, "Look at it. Surely it's worth the risk?"
O>
Sam and Jo were finishing up on a case and Sam knocked on the DI's door to hand over the completed files. She got no reply, so decided to go in anyway. She only had to leave it on the desk, after all. As she lay it down, a small square piece of paper caught her eye. She gasped when she realised what it was.
"Phil," she whispered, after practically running to his desk, "You'll never guess what I just saw on the DI's desk."
"Probably not," he replied, although really having a very good idea of what she might have seen.
"A pregnancy scan!" she announced, "Why would he have one of those on his desk?"
"How should I know?"
"Well, you two have become very chummy recently. I thought he might have told you something."
Phil stood up from his desk and tried to get past her, "He hasn't, okay?"
Sam stared at him suspiciously, before deciding, "You're lying."
"I'm not."
"Yes you are. I can tell. You can't look at me when you lie. Come on, tell me the truth. Whose baby is it?"
"Sam, I can't tell you."
"Then I'm afraid I may not be able to go out with you tonight. And after I'd bought that new dress too," she threatened.
"Sam," he warned, but she started to walk away, "Sam, don't be silly! Sam!"
O>
"Can I tell Sam about Andrea and the baby?" Phil asked quickly, as Neil re-entered the CID office.
"Why?"
"She saw the scan on your desk. She asked me about it and I tried to play dumb, but somehow she could tell I was lying. I don't know how women do it. Anyway, she's in a mood with me and I really need her to be in a good mood tonight."
"Oh yeah, and why's that?" Neil asked, as the men arrived at his office. Phil closed the door behind them and carried on quietly.
"I'm going to ask her to move in with me."
"What about Abigail?"
"I've talked to her about it. She said she'd be happy to move. In fact, she was so excited for her mum that I nearly had to gag her to stop her talking. Besides, I've got loads of space and she could do with a fresh start before the baby arrives."
"Sounds like you've got it all planned out."
"Yeah, but it wont work if Sam's not even talking to me," he explained, "So can I tell her?"
Neil leaned back in his chair, then sighed, "Yeah, go on then. But swear her to secrecy. I don't want the whole station talking about it."
"Thanks guv."
