"Joanne, if you come back with us, it will only be for a week or two. You can't run away from your life here. You've worked too hard and long to throw away everything you've achieved with the Met." Alice tried to reason with her head-strong daughter.
"I can transfer to the Greater Manchester Police. What's the point in having achieved so much if I'm not happy and don't remember half of what it is I'm supposed to have achieved?" Jo wheezed as she fought to contain her tears.
"Now you listen to me young lady; I didn't raise you to be a coward. You're stronger than this. You've been so happy here, especially these last few months and I know you don't remember that right now but hiding away from all that is familiar won't help the memories come back. Come back home to recuperate by all means, but once you're back on your feet, you're coming back even if I have to throw you in the car and drive you here with you screaming all the way. Do you understand me?" George spoke quietly but directly to his baby girl, his heart hurting from being so harsh but knowing he had to be for her own sake. Jo looked to her mother for support but found her resolutely and steadfastly agreeing with her husband. Knowing when she was beaten, the brunette nodded meekly, her energy already sapped by the short foray into wakefulness. "Right, well that's settled then. As soon as you're fit to be discharged, we'll get you home for some R & R. For now, you go back to sleep sweetheart."
"Am I glad to see you, Mum!" Abi hauled herself out of the chair she had been waiting in, hugging her mother before holding her at arms length to examine her. "Have you seen Jo today? How's she doing? Have you slept at all? You look exhausted." Joey keened softly in his carrycot as though agreeing with his own mother.
"Let's get you home shall we? Jo's doing a bit better, she has a chest infection but seems to be responding to the antibiotics. Her mum and dad are going to stay with us while they're down here. They'll be along later, I've left Jo's key with them. Did they feed you before turfing you out? Or do you fancy grabbing a takeaway on the way home?" Sam offered, not fancying the prospect of having to create a meal when they arrived home.
"I'll make us something, don't worry about food. I'm all set if you're ready. The sooner I'm out of here the better, I hate hospitals." Abi gathered together her belongings, arguing good-naturedly with Sam about who would carry Joey. Finally conceding to the older woman, Abi trailed her out of the hospital, more than ready to be heading home, looking forward to a night in her own bed.
Phil slammed a third photograph onto the table in front of James King. "Don't mess me about, we know this is you. Where did you get the explosives from? Did you nick the car yourself? How long had you been following Abigail Nixon? How did you know where she was going to be?" Phil paused between each question, waiting for some response from the detainee. When none was forthcoming, the sergeant let out a frustrated sigh and pushed back in his seat.
"Do you know the man in this photograph?" Suzie asked, pushing a mug-shot of Hugh across the table.
"Yes." James uttered stubbornly.
"How do you know him?" The oriental DS pushed.
"From prison," was the only response.
"How well do you know him? I mean, do you know his name? Did you talk to him in prison?" Suzie persisted, leaning forward, hands clasped in front of her.
"His name's Hugh Wallis, as you well know – he did work for you. I talked to him about as much as I talked to anyone inside – spoke when spoken to, that's all." James' eyes darted nervously round the room, foot tapping up and down in constant motion.
"Is that so? Well that's interesting cos we have witnesses who tell us you and Hugh were best buddies, always in each other's cells, heads bent together talking. So what did you find to talk about that kept you so vocal for six months?" Phil took up the reins from Suzie, his interest piqued by James' non-committal response to knowing Hugh.
"The usual; the weather, politics, judiciary system, that sort of thing." King answered cockily.
"He tell you about his family did he? About getting the daughter of a local detective pregnant?" Phil pushed, his disdain for the individual before him increasing exponentially each time he opened his mouth.
"He might have mentioned her, yeah."
"Did Hugh upset you before you left Longmarsh?" Suzie asked, resting back in her seat.
"No."
"So why kidnap his kid?" Phil shouted at the arrogant prisoner.
"The baby is Hugh's? Oh I never knew that." King's plea was obviously insincere, a smirk adorning his face.
"You think Hugh would be happy if we let slip to him that it was you who took the baby? I'm sure a man like Hugh has made some very interesting friends in prison – some maybe who wouldn't think twice about messing up the likes of you." Phil rose from his seat, incensed by the sheer smugness on display.
"Phil!" Suzie warned as King's solicitor intervened.
"Detective Sergeant, that sounded dangerously close to being a threat to my client's wellbeing. I suggest we take a break so that I can discuss matters further with Mr King and you can cool off."
"Interview suspended at 19.36." Phil barked into the recorder before marching from the room, Suzie trailing in his wake.
"You okay Mum?" Abi placed the plate of food in front of Sam, placing a concerned hand on her shoulder as she watched the older woman lost in her own thoughts.
"Mmm, sorry love. This looks great, thanks. You didn't have to cook on your first night home." Sam picked up her fork, toying with the meal before her.
"Eat whatever you want, leave the rest. It's the least I could do for you – you're always there for me, no matter what sort of mess I get myself into. I know I haven't always shown it, but I do appreciate everything you do for me, Mum. If I can be even half the mum to Joey that you've been to me, I'll be happy." Abi seated herself across the kitchen table from Sam, smiling encouragingly at her, sensing that there was something bothering her. "So what's on your mind?"
Sam took a moment, chewing a mouthful slowly and deliberately as she debated whether to tell Abi about Jack's plan to snare Hugh.
"Come on Mum, you know you're not going to sleep unless you work through what's got you so pre-occupied and you really do need to sleep." Abi prompted gently, taking a healthy mouthful of her own dinner.
"I went to Jack today to ask for a transfer, to another station, somewhere away from Jo. I can't be around her and not let my feelings show. If I stay at Sun Hill, when she comes back, I know I'll treat her differently. From what she remembers of me, that will only serve to drive a bigger wedge between us, I'm not that masochistic to want to stick around to see her grow to hate me." Sam put her fork down on the plate of largely untouched stir-fried vegetables and seasoned rice.
"Did Jack accept your request? You're already talking as though Jo's never going to remember. What if you transfer and then she regains her memory? How do you think that will make her feel, knowing you'd rather run away than stand by her? Mum, you're engaged to her – for better, for worse, those vows mean anything to you? You can't just walk away now, you're no quitter. I've never seen you so settled and happy. If she doesn't remember what you had, that doesn't mean to say the feelings aren't still there. She's told me so many times that she was attracted to you from when she first came to Sun Hill – that's part of the reason she took the Seth situation so badly, she was trying to mask the fact that she could forgive you anything. If you're really serious about wanting to spend the rest of your life with Jo, you need to stick it out and fight for her – show her why she fell for you in the first place." Abi spoke earnestly to her mother, not used to seeing her back down from any challenge.
"It's irrelevant anyway – Jack wouldn't hear of it. Maybe it's some higher power's way of telling me that I need to be here." Abi sensed there was still more to Sam's subdued mood.
"Well at least Jack has some sense, that's good to know. Any developments with Joey's kidnapping? The two suspects you arrested talking?"
"A little, Lisa Carmichael is at least. Jack mentioned that Mickey suspects Hugh is involved but proving it is going to be difficult. He wanted me to use Jo as bait, let Hugh know how much she means to me and where she is, see if he arranges for someone to finish what the plunge into the Thames started…" Sam broke off abruptly, tears springing to her eyes as she thought of risking the life of the woman she adored.
"What did you tell him?" Abi enquired softly, already suspecting she knew the answer.
"At first I told him there was no way I could consider it but the more I talked to him about it, the more I realised it's exactly the sort of thing Jo herself would push to do. I asked him to leave it with me and I'd think about it overnight. I have to let him know my decision tomorrow morning, first thing so we can get something organised if I agree." Sam pushed her plate away, apologising to Abi for her lack of appetite.
"What will it achieve if the plan succeeds? If you prove Hugh's involvement, what's the best case scenario?" Abi ferried the plates to the worktop, depositing the remains of Sam's food into the bin before setting to work washing up, shooing Sam's attempts to help.
"Hugh will be behind bars for the rest of his life, far, far away from any of us. He'll likely be denied any access to his son and be charged with conspiracy to abduct a minor, amongst other charges." Sam crossed to the cupboard reaching down a bottle of whiskey and pouring herself a generous measure, knowing it was pointless asking Abi to join her, the teenager preferring vodka.
"Is that worth risking losing Jo permanently? I'm not the same naïve child I was when Hugh took me, I'm not about to succumb to his charms again and I will do everything in my power to make sure he is never able to poison Joey's mind. The idea of never having to worry about him again is appealing but at what cost?" Abi watched Sam drain the glass, stopping her before the petite troubled blonde could refill the glass. "That won't help you make the decision."
"Jo would want me to say yes, if I say no it would be for purely selfish reasons." Sam eyed the whiskey bottled wistfully as Abi replaced it in the cupboard.
"You sound like your mind's already made up?"
"I guess it is." Sam replied quietly.