A/N: I'm mean at times. This I accept. But I figured they could be happy for a while right? And that wouldn't be too boring... right? Anyhow, my kind of happy is still kinda angsty.

'What time is it?'

'Late,' Sheelagh yawned watching Samantha fiddle with the key.

'Very helpful. Thanks.'

As the door finally swung open, she shrugged. 'Do I look like a clock?'

Sam ignored that, waiting until they were both in the dark kitchen before she spoke again. 'I hope Connor's still here.'

'He is,' Sheelagh answered, waking herself up long enough to read a note on the counter. 'Abi put him in your room.'

'Where am I supposed to sleep?'

'The floor, apparently,' she smiled, passing Sam the note. 'I think I'll take the sofa.'

'Seems a shame to go to sleep really,' said Sam as she glanced out of the window. 'Another hour or so and the sun'll be up.'

'And I'll be asleep, thanks.' Without waiting for an answer Sheelagh went into the living room crashing onto the inviting sofa. 'This is nice.'

After a moment, Sam appeared with a blanket. 'Lucky for some.'

Taking the blanket, Sheelagh also grabbed the hand that offered it. 'Come here.'

She obliged, dropping next to her. 'You okay? It hasn't been the best evening.'

'I didn't expect it to be. But he's where he belongs now, that's all that matters.'

'Could've done without the five hours of interrogation though.'

'And I suppose you've never put someone through that?' teased Sheelagh lightly.

'I thought you were tired,' Sam retorted.

'I am,' she answered, resting her head on the comfortable shoulder beside her. 'Goodnight.'

Sam wrapped an arm around her. 'Goodnight.'

Awaking with a start, Sam was unsure why since the room was barely light. Then a muffled sound across in the chair alerted her to Sheelagh's presence and the fact that the woman she loved was crying. Clambering off the sofa, she was immediately holding her. 'Darling?'

'Oh, I'm sorry,' Sheelagh muttered through the tears. 'It's just... I'm being stupid.'

'No, no, you're not,' Sam assured her. 'I'm surprised you held it together this long actually.'

'You thought I'd fall apart?'

'I think anyone would. But you've been so strong, you've no idea how proud I am of the way you've handled this.'

Sheelagh seemed to snort. 'You've got your own reasons to say that.'

'Okay, true. But it doesn't make it anymore of a lie. You're an amazingly strong woman and I'm not just saying that to stop you blubbering over my jacket.'

The tears slowly dried up as Sam held her close. In actual fact she was pleased Sheelagh had finally seen fit to let it all out. Since the night of the rape she hadn't expressed much emotion at all, it had been becoming a bit of a worry. Then again, Sam supposed she was a fine one to talk about releasing feelings, Gina had gone as far as to suggest she was an emotional incompetent and the more she'd thought about it over the last few days the more she'd realised it could be an accurate assessment. Until Sheelagh there hadn't been one person she'd wanted to share absolutely everything with and when she'd found somehow a pig's ear had been made of it. An embarrassing lunge across a sofa and a few days of botched apologies. If it hadn't all miraculously worked out, thanks in no small part to Gina Gold (Sheelagh had confessed the Inspector had worked the same psychology on her as with Sam the previous week), it would've gone down as one of the more pathetic seductions in history.

It had worked out though, Sam reminded herself as she kissed Sheelagh's forehead. In the hotel room, when they'd been left alone, she'd been so apprehensive, wondering if she about to receive an earful for the evident spying/stalking she'd been doing but, no. Sheelagh had kissed her and that was that. Not much had been said between then and when they'd arrived back at the house but it hadn't needed to be. A comfortable silence, they'd have plenty of time to talk later. All that seemed to have happened was a conversion back to how they'd been before the disastrous kiss- brilliantly close. Sure, something had changed but it was a tiny thing, rather like putting on an old pair of shoes to find they fit better than they ever have.

Suddenly, something occurred to Sam. 'You haven't eaten.'

'I'm not hungry,' Sheelagh replied quietly.

'Wrong answer.' Sam pulled both of them up onto their feet. 'What do you want?'

'It's half-past four in the morning!'

'So it's breakfast! No arguments.'

After finally discovering something which could pass for edible food and burning it to a crisp, Sam sat them down at the table. For a little while all was silent until footsteps echoed from the direction of the staircase. The pair exchanged an apprehensive look as Abigail came into sight, Connor on her heels.

The young man was the first to break the deadlock. 'Mum! You're okay?'

Sheelagh was immediately on her feet. 'Oh, of course I am! I just didn't want to wake you, that's all.'

'Well, you should've! I was worried.'

Beside him, Abi rolled her eyes and took a seat next to her mother. 'Is everything alright?'

Sam glanced at Sheelagh, unsure of what they were going to tell them. How far they were going to go. 'Yes.'

'Connor, sit down,' Sheelagh instructed, nodding to the spare chair. 'I know I haven't been around to explain things, I should have been.'

'What was this assault you witnessed?' he asked. 'Did you catch the bloke?'

'Well, firstly, I wasn't a witness to the assault, I was the victim.'

'What?' He looked to Sam. 'You told me...'

'Connor,' Sheelagh interrupted. 'Forget that. It wasn't Samantha's place to tell you. I put it off because I didn't know how to tell you.' After a moment during which Sam reached under the table to squeeze her hand, she continued, 'It was a sexual assault. How could I tell you that?'

Sam watched closely as the boy absorbed that. Obviously, it was going to take some understanding but, from what Sheelagh had said about her son, he could come to terms with it. Glancing over to her own child, Sam felt like just holding her as she had when she was tiny. Making do with a reassuring smile though she felt warm when it was returned. Then Abi nodded her head to the door, an indication they should leave. Sheelagh's renewed grip on her fingers meant that Sam couldn't even if she'd wanted to. So she shook her head ever so slightly and turned her attentions back to Connor.

Finally, he swallowed. 'You were raped?'

'Yes.'

'Who wa..? Did you..?'

Sam took over the reins. 'He's in custody, Connor. We arrested him this evening. It's why we were so late back.'

'I don't understand this,' he said quietly.

'I don't think any of us truly do,' replied Sam, earning herself surprised glances from both Sheelagh and Abi. 'What I mean is, no one can get inside heads, however much we might want to.'

Sheelagh clandestinely squeezed her hand again. 'It won't stop you wanting you to try will it?'

'I don't know. Sometimes you just have to accept it for what it is.'