Jo looked down at Sam, a vision of naked perfection below her on the unfamiliar soft, plush bed. Smiling gently, she dipped her head lower, stealing a kiss, luxuriating in the luscious feel of Sam's lips against her own. Hands begun to wander of their own free will, exploring the smooth plains of the stunning blonde's bare flesh; kneading breasts, tickling ribs, teasing sensitive inner thighs. Feeling the damp heat seeping out to greet her, Jo slipped her fingers between the fleshy lips eliciting a soft moan from Sam. They moved together in rhythmic harmony, as though their bodies were perfectly tuned to one another. The petite blonde arched off the bed, crying out Jo's name as she climaxed.
"Morning sweetheart, how did you sleep?" Alice asked her daughter as Jo shuffled into the kitchen groggily, slumping into one of the chairs at the breakfast bar.
"I need coffee!" Jo grumbled as Alice stifled a giggle, the scene reminding her of many a school morning.
"I see some things never change." George kissed his daughter on the head as he tossed the morning newspaper, still folded from where he had picked it up from the doormat in the hallway, onto the worktop in front of her. "You never were a morning person, were you love?" It was a rhetorical question, George knowing he would get no meaningful conversation out of Jo until she had sunk at least one mug-full of strong black coffee.
Jo accepted the beaker Alice offered her with a murmured thanks, still preoccupied by the dreams she had had throughout the night, wondering if any of them contained real memories – certain that the last one had to have been pure fiction. Shame considering it was rather enjoyable and downright x-rated. It was a good job Sam wasn't around, Jo doubted she would have been able to look her colleague in the eye so soon after such an erotic dream with her in a starring role. To prevent her thoughts from lingering, feeling a flush of colour springing to her cheeks as an image rushed unbidden into her mind, Jo spun the newspaper towards, unfolding it. Her breath caught as the front page photograph leapt out at her.
"I know him!" Jo tapped the picture, scanning the headline as she felt her parents' inquisitive stares land upon her. "He's the one who abducted Abigail Nixon, Sam's daughter. Hugh Wallis, the profiler who worked with Sam trying to solve the case when he was behind her disappearance all along." Skim-reading the rest of the article, Jo's thoughts immediately turned to what must be done, still a police officer despite being signed off for recuperation. "I need to phone Sam, see if there's anything I can do. They might be needing an extra pair of hands."
"Even if they do, they'll be no hands of yours doing the helping. Call Sam by all means, I'm sure she'd be glad to hear from you, but don't get any ideas about offering your services. You're in no fit state."
Jo had been only half listening, still pouring over the front page news. "It says here that Sam's a grandma, that it's Hugh's baby. She kept that quiet. Or is it something else that's slipped my mind?" Jo asked, presuming she already knew the answer given that she had been living with Sam – a baby in the house was not something that could be hidden. "Mind if I use the phone?" She asked raising her head to catch her mother shaking her head in response.
"Don't keep beating yourself up Sam, really, no harm's done. Anyway, it's understandable – there isn't a woman on the planet who can resist the sight of me in my boxers!" Phil trailed Sam into her office, laughing off her discomfort at the memory of making a drunken pass at him before collapsing into a weeping mess.
"Somehow Phil, I think you're over emphasising the hold you have on the female population. Can we just forget it?" Sam asked not quite managing to meet his eye as she scratched the back of her head, a nervous gesture she had developed many years ago. He winked and nodded before turning to leave, promising to return with her morning coffee. As he closed the door behind him, the phone on her desk began to ring, shattering her hopes for a peaceful start to her day.
"DI Nixon," she answered brusquely.
"I've got DS Masters on the phone for you, Guv." Honey informed her from the front desk. Her day suddenly taking on a decidedly sunnier turn, Sam thanked the ditzy blonde officer, waiting for the call to be transferred before greeting Jo warmly.
"Morning Jo, how are you feeling?"
"Morning Sam. I'm ok, bit tired after the journey and it feels weird being back at my parents' again. How are things there?" Jo asked, her mood instantly brightened by the affection in Sam's voice.
"Same as usual really. So what's on your mind? Missing us so much already?" Sam joked, half hoping to hear Jo confess she was actually missing her.
Laughing, Jo considered her answer, knowing that truthfully she was missing them, or rather missing Sam. She had quite got used to seeing her every day, enjoyed the banter that they shared and the casual way Sam had found excuses to touch her.
"Much as I would love to flatter your ego and tell you I can't live a day without speaking to you… I have to confess I was calling more about the news. Have you not seen a paper this morning?" Jo settled for hiding behind humour before getting down to the more serious nature of her call.
"No, I find them too depressing or just downright irritating if they're running a story on how incompetent we're supposed to be…again! Why? Something we should know about?" Sam thought she had an inkling of what would be attracting the attention of the national press but was keen to prolong her conversation with Jo as much as was possible.
"There's a photo of Hugh Wallis on the front page of the Daily Express with a cover story about how he's escaped from a prison transport truck! I presumed you'd already know about it," Jo explained.
"Yeah, I had heard. Abi is staying with friends, out of the way and I'm being babysat by Phil Hunter in my own home as a result of it." Sam grumbled. Jo was surprised by the flash of jealousy that shot through her as she thought of Sam sharing a house with Phil.
"I'll bet that's interesting for you." She rejoined, sounding a little more terse than she had intended.
"That's one word for it. An overreaction, tedious and more than a little irritating would also sum it up well." Had that been a hint of the green-eyed monster Sam had detected in her lover's tone. "I wish…" She began before cutting herself off, not wanting to pressurise the brunette or give her cause for alarm.
"What? You wish what Sam?" Jo pressed, wondering what the DI could have been about to say; her imagination running away with her as that morning's dream sprung to mind.
"I wish we could just see the back of him once and for all so we'd never have to look over our shoulders again in case he's there hovering, waiting for his chance to pounce. Do you know what he told me the day we arrested him? 'As long as I'm out here, you'll never be free of me.'" Sam improvised, covering with a truth she had told no one else. "I'm worried he'll never give in until he's completely destroyed me and anyone close to me."
"Sierra Oscar from 595, show us dealing." Tony said into his radio as Will flicked the sirens on and floored the accelerator. The call had come through moments before; a break in at a property by the river, the same area where Joey Nixon had been found a week earlier. The two uniformed officers pulled up outside the new waterside development, clambering from the car and hurrying to the address given.
"This isn't just the same block of houses, it's the same house that the DI's grandson was picked up from. Think we ought to let her know?" Tony consulted his colleague as they approached.
"Let's take a look first, might just be opportunistic thieves, seeing that no one's home and nicking anything worth flogging." Will decided taking the lead as they approached the smashed in front door.
"No prizes for spotting the point of entry." Tony remarked humourlessly. They wandered silently through the house, asps drawn in case the intruder was still on the premises, stealthily making their way from room to room. After discovering no one inside, Will turned to Tony a puzzled expression on his face.
"Nothing's been nicked. The telly's still here, DVD player, hi-fi. There's even some loose change on the counter in the kitchen that doesn't look like it's been touched."
"The drawers have all been turned out, the contents rifled through. I think we ought to get CID down here, something doesn't sit right about this." Tony agreed, wondering if it could be coincidence that the flat had been ripped apart the day after Hugh Wallis absconded from prison.
"So what are your plans for the next few days? Got anything lined up?" Sam asked, making casual conversation to keep Jo on the line, her voice a much needed balm against the stress of knowing Hugh was on the loose. A knock at her door elicited an involuntary growl. "Come in," she called irritably, slightly softening as she heard Jo laugh on the other end of the phone line.
"Sorry to interrupt Guv but thought you'd want to know. Uniform are at James King's flat, someone's turned it over and we're not talking petty thieving." Mickey informed her, ducking back out of the office as Sam took in the implication.
"Sorry Jo, I have to go, something's come up." Sam apologised, wishing that she knew when she would have another excuse to talk to her again.
"It's ok, I know you're at work and have things to do. I just wanted to make sure you were ok. You've been good to me and my parents this last week, it's the least I could do really. Any time you need to sound off to someone safely, feel free to call me. I'll probably welcome the distraction, I have a feeling recuperation is going to drive me stir-crazy!" Jo offered her ear to bend.
"You'll be sorry when I hold you to that, Jo. I really appreciate you calling. You rest up and stay out of trouble. You'll be back here, where you belong, striking fear in the heart of Sun Hill's criminal elite before you know it." Sam informed her lover, still thinking of her in those terms despite their platonic relationship at present.
"Take care Sam… and I meant it, call me, any time." Jo ended the conversation, wondering why she felt so deflated as she heard the line click dead.
"We've spoken to a neighbour – a Mr Jarvis Porter. You might want to have a word with him yourself though Guv, he's adamant he saw who the intruder was." Tony beckoned Will over with Mr Porter in tow. "Mr Porter, this is Detective Inspector Nixon. Would you care to tell her what you told us earlier about the break in nextdoor to you?"
"It was him, that fella from the newspapers, the one who did a bunk from that prison truck. I saw him with my own two eyes, was just putting some rubbish out when he strolled into the yard bold as brass. I asked him what he was doing there, he told me to mind me own business and get back inside. I did as I was told, he didn't look like he was in the mood for arguing. He went inside the house and then I heard crashing and banging about, like he was turning the place upside down. I watched as he came out, he had some papers in his hands, seemed to be very interested in what was on them." Mr Porter recounted sincerely, eyes never wavering from Sam's despite his obvious nervousness. His hands fidgeted constantly, picking at the cuffs of his brown jacket, smoothing his combed-over white hair across his bald pate.
"And you're absolutely sure the man you saw was Hugh Wallis?" Sam asked, knowing that Hugh was arrogant but wondering why he would show himself so openly and risk being caught.
"Aye, Hugh Wallis, that's his name. It was him alright, I'd swear on my life." The old man nodded vigorously as he confirmed his story.