A/N: This took longer than a weekend didn't it? Very sorry, just things on my mind that tended to infiltrate my writing mind.

'Samantha.'

'Mmm, two seconds,' she muttered, not looking up from Mark Griffiths' criminal record she was perusing on the computer screen.

'No, now.'

Recognising the strange tilt to June Ackland's voice, Sam looked up instantly. 'What is it?'

Holding her hat in her hands the uniformed Sergeant looked every bit the uncomfortable messenger. 'Ramani called an ambulance to your house forty-five minutes ago, there's been an incident with Abigail.'

'What do you mean, 'an incident'?'

'I'm going to take you to St.Hughes, I'll explain on the way.'

'June, please! I need to know!'

Her colleague sighed. 'Ramani said she tried to kill herself.'

Numbly, she allowed herself to be led out of CID and down to the car.

This was the type of situation in which pacing would be an ideal tool. Unfortunately, it wasn't a viable option when you were eight months pregnant. All Sheelagh did was stare at the leaflet in her hand, the one on contraception that she had been browsing over for the best part of an hour.

Finally, a set of footfalls she knew all too well reverberated around the empty corridor. Standing, she faced her girlfriend. 'Sam.'

The green eyes were moist. 'Where is she?'

'I haven't seen her yet. A nurse said they'd stemmed the bleeding, it was looking positive.'

After absorbing this, Samantha glanced to June Ackland behind her. 'You don't have to stay.'

The Sergeant shook her head. 'I'm not going anywhere.' Looking to Sheelagh, she questioned, 'Where's the baby?'

As the spectre of her granddaughter dawned on Sam, a fresh wave of fear washed over her face. 'Belinda!'

'It's fine,' Sheelagh pacified her. 'Ramani called Siobhan to take her. She'll be alright for a while.'

Samantha slowly nodded. 'What happened?'

Was honesty really the best policy here? Placing herself in the position of having to tell Samantha Nixon the suicide attempt was the result of an argument was the human equivalent of placing a kitten downwind of a herd of buffalo- it wasn't as if she was going to come up smelling of roses. Then again, she was a terrible liar, always had been. 'I was arguing with her. Yesterday I discovered some cuts on her arms, I confronted her about them.'

'Cuts? As in self-inflicted?'

Despite her mounting dread, Sheelagh pressed on, 'I think she's been struggling lately…'

'Self-inflicted or not?' Sam interrupted.

'Completely, yes.'

For more than a minute Samantha shut her eyes against the world. Glancing to June, Sheelagh felt her own fatigue returning and she steadied herself against a chair. When Sam's eyes reopened, though, she immediately grasped hold of her. 'Are you alright?'

A little surprised by the concern, Sheelagh could barely answer. 'Actually, I'm…'

'Sheelagh? Come on, I need you.'

'I'm not going anywhere.'

There were some parts of the situation Sam just couldn't get her head around even as she sat in the hospital ward with Abigail asleep on the bed in front of her and Sheelagh's head resting against her shoulder. The stillness of their curtained segment of the ward contrasted so much with the bustle of the rest that, at moments, Sam was convinced she was suffering from some sort of delusion. The whole fracas seemed ludicrous enough to belong in one.

The doctors had stitched Abi up, the scars (both mental and physical) would never truly fade but aside from that… She didn't want to consider how the day might have affected her granddaughter or her and Sheelagh's unborn son, or even the deeper ramifications on Abi which chilled her. She had seen enough to know that a suicide attempt was never in the background, it haunted you.

A swish of the of the curtain behind her caused Sam to stand, carefully resting Sheelagh's head against the wall as she turned to face Ramani and the unfamiliar. 'What's going on?'

Her colleague kept their eyes level. 'You know the score, Sam.'

'She wasn't trying to kill herself.'

'Still, Dr Richardson has a duty of care. It's standard procedure, you know that.'

'Twenty-eight days?'

'Just to be sure,' answered Ramani. 'You have to accept this.'

After a moment, she nodded. 'Yeah, I know.' Then, looking to the doctor, she implored, 'Let them sleep though. Just for a while.'

'Of course,' Dr Richardson smiled curtly and left.

Watching Abi and then Sheelagh in turn, Samantha was hardly aware Ramani was still around until a gentle arm took her out of the ward and into a small waiting-room off the corridor.

Her fellow DS was silent for a time then she asked, 'How are you coping?'

'Is that what I'm doing?'

'It's a great shock, I know. You obviously had no idea something was wrong.'

'And what kind of mother does that make me?'

'You had Sheelagh to worry about,' Ramani reminded her. 'Not to mention the baby.'

'It doesn't make a difference. I let her down. I didn't think I could do it again. I thought… It doesn't matter.'

'No, go on.'

Sam frowned, trying to organise her thoughts into some kind of coherent utterance. 'I told you about the baby, me being useless when it comes to parenting. I suppose I had this notion of working past that, we were all going to be okay.'

'You still can be.'

'But what made her feel like that? Why would she want to end her life? And why… why couldn't she talk to me?'

'Sam,' said Ramani gently. 'You don't have control over the past. Yes, you can learn from it but you can't change it. If you want to help give her the time she needs. No questions asked.'

'How much time?'

'There's no answer to that,' her colleague answered with a wry smile. 'As you well know.'

'There's no harm in asking is there?'

Having woken to find Sam gone Sheelagh was concentrating her gaze on the young woman in front of her. After a few minutes, Abigail stirred, probably due to the scrutiny. Giving her a few seconds to gain some kind of composure, she questioned, 'How are you feeling?'

Briefly, Abi squeezed her eyelids shut. 'I thought it was over.'

Sighing, Sheelagh reached for a pale hand only to have it pulled from her grasp. 'I want to understand.'

'Forget it.'

'Now, you know that isn't something I can do. Abi, you're like a…'

'Don't say that,' interrupted Abigail. 'I don't want to hear that.'

'Well, it's the way I feel.'

The young woman stared for a moment then turned her face away. 'I want you to leave.'

'Oh, Abi, why?'

'I want to be alone.'

'That's not what you need.'

'Well, I don't need you!'

Some of the jigsaw pieces were falling onto the table and she realised with another pang of dread where the problem lay. 'Abi, have you got a problem with your mother's relationship with me? Or just me?' There was no answer, the head remained low. 'If I was in any way responsible for this…'

The question hung for more than a minute until Abi replied quietly, 'Don't put the blame on yourself, Sheelagh, alright?'

'You've practically told me I've had a hand in this,' objected Sheelafg. 'You can't say that and not…'

'It's not like you think.'

'What is it like?'

'I can't…' Abi answered with an evident struggle then finally looked up and met her eye. 'I don't hate you, Sheelagh.'

The implication of the words hit giving Sheelagh more than food for thought. Knowing some kind of answer was expected she swallowed then said, 'Right.'

Ramani had gone to confer with Dr Richardson leaving Sam to organise her thoughts before going back to see if Abi was awake. As she stood though the door opened and Sheelagh entered. Immediately on her guard, she questioned, 'Is it Abi? Has she woken up?'

Sheelagh held up her hand. 'She's alright, she woke up ten minutes ago.'

'I've got to see her.' She made to move past her girlfriend but was halted. 'What?'

'She doesn't want to see you. Or me. Or anyone, for that matter.'

'Well, I'm her mother!'

'Yes, but in this instance I think you're better off respecting her wishes. She's fragile, Sam.'

Part of her wanted to argue but it was futile, she knew that. Allowing Sheelagh to close the door, she sat back down. 'What did she say?'

'Nothing relevant,' she answered. 'It was gibberish really. You disappeared suddenly.'

'Ramani brought the doctor for a chat. She's been sectioned, you know the procedure.'

'I do,' replied Sheelagh diligently. 'But that doesn't make it any easier on the family.'

'The family…' repeated Sam with a sardonic smile. 'We better pick up Bel, get her home. Won't do to ruin her routine anyone.'

'We can catch the doctor before we leave, see what's going to happen.'

'I think I know that by now.'

'Still,' Sheelagh went on. 'Put your mind at rest.'

'Somehow, I don't think that's going to happen, do you?'

'Maybe not but we can try.'

Nodding her agreement, Sam smiled a little at her girlfriend. 'How are you feeling? The baby alright?'

'To be honest, I feel a bit strange. It's been a long day.'

'Tell me about it.'

'But, Sam,' Sheelagh said, taking her arm. 'We'll get through this.'

She was slightly confused. 'Of course we will.'

'And I love you.'

More baffled, she answered, 'I know.'