I hope this last chapter is a bit more refreshing for you all. Enjoy!
She's the One
Chapter 13
It seemed as though fate had been reversed the next day. All the events which had taken place had changed the lives of two young people. Less than a week before, Kerry Young, a traumatised blonde police officer had been gunned down by a colleague. The man who loved her stayed by her side, though now, it was he who lay in hospital on the brink of death, with Kerry at his side.
When Dale Smith had been brought in, he had a shard of metal trapped in his throat, internal bleeding and bruising, a broken wrist and a broken leg. Despite all the injuries, the operation to save his life had been a success. Even after a beam had fallen on his chest and nearly suffocated him, the surgeons managed to stop all the bleeding.
His face was pale, his skin cold, his eyes shut and his breathing faint. His chest moved up and down while taking in small amounts of oxygen. A bandage had been wrapped carefully around his badly bruised torso, and his wrist and leg lay in tight casts. Dale suddenly felt a burst of energy surge through him. His eyelids fluttered open.
His vision was cloudy. He shook his head, and the outline of a dark haired person in black clothing came into view. His eyes snapped back into place and his vision became focussed.
Gina Gold sat with her arms folded, legs crossed and a warm smile on her lined face instead of the usual frown.
"How was re-entry?" she asked, seeing that he was awake. Dale managed to find what was left of his voice.
"Painful," he admitted. Gina noticed that his voice was raspy, as though he was recovering from a bad bout of laryngitis. He opened his mouth to speak again, but Gina cut him off, seeing he was in pain.
"Best not to speak," she murmured. He nodded gratefully. Gina didn't know what to say. The usual tough as rock Dale Smith was lying helpless in a hospital bed!
"You know, when those firemen pulled you out of that warehouse," Gina began, "we all feared we'd loose you. The looks on everyone's faces were as if you had already died twice."
"Most would be glad to see the back of me," Dale muttered, his dark eyes narrowing.
"You gave us all quite a scare, Sergeant Smith," she remarked, almost wincing at his words. "But you're safe, that's all that matters, and Gabriel has been arrested."
Dale had nearly forgotten who had done this to him. Hate erupted in his chest. Gabriel was the one man who had ruined their lives. It was about time he had his just desserts.
"Oh, and Kerry promised she'll see you after she's had some rest," she continued. "She's in a better state than you, so you can stay here!"
"Great," he rasped in utter annoyance. His eyebrows formed a frown.
"DI Manson and DC Sim want to see you later, if you're up for it."
"Whatever," answered Dale shortly.
"I'll take that as an enthusiastic yes," Gina retorted with a soft smile. "Oh, and Smithy, I may not like Kerry that much, but if she means that much to you, I suppose we can put our differences aside."
"Thanks, Gina, that means a lot." Dale sighed deeply. "Sleep…" he muttered drowsily, "…sleep…"
"Okay, night, night Dale."
Dale drifted off into the land of nod once more, and Gina rose from the armchair by his bed. He looked peaceful. She placed her hand around his and clutched it gently.
"You'll pull through this Smithy, I'm sure of it."
"Let me out!" yelled a man from behind a red door. He was being kept in custody in Sun Hill Police Station. "Bloody hell, let me out!" He thrust fists against the door keeping him in the tiny cell. He heard footsteps approaching. The eye hole door swung open, and the man was faced with the large narrowed eyes of PC Roger Valentine.
"What the hell do you want now?" inquired Roger with a grin of mock concern.
"I want a lawyer!" the man screamed. His temples were throbbing from a bad headache and his eyes were pulsating with rage. "For pity's sake, Roger, open the bloody door!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, mate," Roger replied in a false sorrowful voice. "You'll have to wait for another, what, five hours until the Super comes in."
The man let out a loud shrill scream and threw himself back on his bench. Roger slammed the door shut and left Gabriel to it.
"Is he alright?" Tony asked as he came in holding a youth by the cuff of the neck.
"The poor thing's wallowing in self pity," Roger whined, rolling his eyes.
"That's no change then," replied Tony with a grin, "at least we know he's sane."
"Yeah. Who's that you've got there?"
Tony realised who Roger was on about. "Oh, this is Fred Gallagher, arrested for joy-riding the Super's car. That's why he called in late."
"Idiot," muttered Roger, shaking his head.
Grumbling, Adam Okaro finally got into work at about eleven thirty that day. Marilyn looked up from her paper work.
"Sir!" she exclaimed. "It's great to see you finally made it!"
"Thanks, Marilyn. Now, would you mind buzzing me through?"
"Sure!"
Once inside, Okaro strode to his office. He threw the door open and seated himself at his desk. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, he found a pile of papers in front of him and the Smithy kidnapping to wrap up.He groaned loudly.
The dark haired Scottish woman took deep breaths as she entered the hospital. She switched her mobile off; she didn't want Bruce or Neil interrupting this. She reached the front desk.
"Can you tell me where Kerry Young is, please?" she asked in her Scottish accent.
The man at the front desk did so, and Andrea directed herself to the third floor. It seemed Kerry had been moved since last time. She spotted Kerry lying in bed reading the latest issue of the Cosmopolitan magazine. Andrea took another deep breath before entering the ward.
"Hey," Andrea said warmly as she sat beside Kerry's bed.
"Andrea, it's nice to see you," soothed Kerry, closing her magazine. To Andrea, Kerry still looked slightly battered, but her face looked cheerier and fuller of life.
"How're you feeling?"
"Not bad, now that I think of it," Kerry chuckled softly. "I've been better I suppose."
"Of course you have!"
Kerry noticed Andrea's eyes held guilt within them.
"Andrea, what's wrong?" she asked carefully. Her friend struggled with her answer.
"You know what's wrong," she stated, attempting to keep the venom in her voice to a minimum. "About Neil and me, I really need to keep this quiet. If hadn't been for Neil, we wouldn't have discovered Smithy was missing until much later on."
Kerry was confused. It didn't make any sense.
"What do you mean?"
Again, Andrea pondered.
"We left the pub and started to make out," she began uncomfortably, "and then Neil spotted Smithy being shoved into a car by someone. He alerted everyone inside."
Kerry felt her heart melt at Andrea's words. Both she and Neil had done so much to help them find Smithy. She couldn't grass them up.
"Don't worry, Andrea, your secret is safe with me," said Kerry with a warm smile. "Oh, you can tell Neil that too."
Andrea's eyes lit up in gratitude. "I really love him. If he wasn't married, I'm sure we'd be by now!" Kerry laughed.
"I feel the same way about Smithy," she exclaimed, "although he isn't married."
Both women gave a sigh.
"What have we got ourselves into?"
(Six months later)
Gabriel stood on trial in the court room. All the evidence had been presented to the jury, and they were about to give their verdict. The speaker rose.
"Gabriel Kent, you are charged with using a false identity, rape, and two cases of attempted murder. Our verdict is…guilty."
The judge brought the court to order.
"You are sentenced to life in prison. Court dismissed."
(A year later)
It was a gorgeous summer's day. The sky was a vibrant blue, there were tiny fluffy white clouds and the sun was radiating light and heat. Sun Hill's local church was filling with people, many from the station. Adam and his wife, Jack and Laura, Gina and Jonathon, Sam, Ramani, June and Jim, Ken, Jo, Terry, Suzie, Reg and Marilyn, Steve and Amber, Sheelagh, Lance and Mark, Tony and Roger were all assembled in the pews dressed in fantastic summer dresses and tuxedos. Smiles were plastered on everyone's faces.
A car revved up outside the church. Four men in smart suits jumped out, clearly late. They practically ran inside the church.
Dale Smith, Phil Hunter, Neil Manson and Gary Best stumbled up the aisle, catching the reproving looks from their colleagues. Smithy spotted some familiar faces near the front of the church.
"Mum, Dad, Sadie!" he called. He ran to them. Mr and Mrs Smith looked over-joyed to see their son.
"Dale, it's good to see you!" his mum exclaimed, planting a kiss on his blushing cheek. He embraced each one of them.
"Well, isn't my big brother looking nice for his wedding day?" Sadie mused. She was the image of Dale, though their smiles were different.
"Thanks, sis," he murmured gently. Smithy felt so alive. Nothing could spoil their special day.
Less than five minutes later, the church fell silent as the gravel outside crunched loudly. The vicar gave the signal to the organist, and the music began to play.
The doors of the church burst open to reveal a radiant young woman in a low cut white dress arm in arm with her father. The sweeping gown dragged gracefully along the floor as she walked. A cute tiara was placed on her blonde head, ringlets draped her shoulders and a transparent net veil was placed over her face. She held a large bouquet of white lilies. Behind her walked Yvonne Hemmingway, Honey Harman and Andrea Dunbar in pale blue bridesmaid dresses, each holding a smaller bouquet of white lilies.
They strode up the aisle, each smiling warmly at the guests. Smithy couldn't contend himself; his face held a grin wider than the Great Wall of China.
The young woman reached him, and they turned to face the vicar.
"Today is to celebrate the marriage of Dale Smith and Kerry Young," the vicar began loudly. "These two very special young people have come a long way, but they have finally made it."
The service went on; singing joyful hymns, reciting prayers and blessings. It came to the receiving of rings.
"Gary," muttered Phil in annoyance, "where are the rings?" Gary looked clueless.
"What rings?" he murmured back, not knowing what Phil was on about.
"You idiot, the ones Smithy told us to bring here! The ones he entrusted you to look after!" exclaimed Neil, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Oh, now I remember!" Gary said proudly. He dived into his pocket and brought out simple matching gold rings, though one had a tiny diamond encrusted in it.
They exchanged the rings with nervous glances, both smiling. Smithy cleared his throat.
"Umm, before the kind reverend says the next bit, there's something I need to say," he said slowly.
"Kerry, I didn't think we'd make it, but we have. You made me the happiest man alive when you said you'd marry me, and I didn't think my life could get any better but it has. You're the one I've always wanted to be with, you're the one I've always loved. And now, I get to say that properly by becoming your husband."
The guests let out gentle 'awwws' at this romantic speech, and Mrs Smith wiped away a few tears.Smithy gave the reverend a nod, and he continued.
"Well, in the eyes of God, and everyone present today, I pronounce you husband and wife."
Smithy and Kerry turned to each other. He pulled her veil back and they pressed their lips together. The wedding march began. They turned and almost skipped down the aisle, taking their first steps together.
THE END
Well, that's finally finished! I hope you all enjoyed my fic, and thanks so much for all the great reviews! You all deserve a pat on the back! So, I'm off tomorrow on holiday, and I'd love to see some reviews in my inbox for when I get back!
Oh, and I'd just like to say, for all the Gabriel haters, go to w w w . t h e b i l l b i o s . c o . u k and to the news section. The top article will reveal his downfall coming in October. Obviously, take out the spaces!
It's au revoir from me, Smithy and Kerry for now, but you can be sure we won't be gone long for long…