She was running down the stairs from CID towards the front desk, running as though her life depended on it. She skidded to a halt as she entered the interview room at the front of the building, seeing Tessa standing in the middle of the room, refusing to meet her gaze.
"I've been worried sick, where've you been?" She heard herself ask, listening as her world was pulled from beneath her feet. She knew that things hadn't been perfect between them for some time but that didn't make it ok for her to sleep with someone else. And not just anyone else but with a man Jo had trusted her with, a man who had now made her pregnant.
Jo was dragged back to the present by catching movement out of the corner of her eye. Struggling to compose herself as she sat in the café in Manchester's City Centre, she forced her face into what she hoped was a warm smile of greeting.
"Gary, thanks for meeting me. It's good to see you again. I was going crazy stuck in the house all the time."
"Hiya Jo, how ya doin'? Want a refill?" Gary gestured to the cup in front of the already seated brunette.
"Thanks Gary but I think it's about time I got the drinks in don't you?" Jo smiled more genuinely as she remembered the times Gary had become fed up with being the tea boy on cases they had worked together. Gary grinned cheekily, flopping into the chair opposite Jo's making it clear he wasn't about to argue the point. "So, what's your poison?" She asked wryly.
"Black coffee cheers Jo, the stronger the better." Gary stifled a yawn, still trying to recover from the late night out with the lads the night before. Jo left the table waiting patiently in the short queue, reflecting on her latest recollection, knowing in her heart that it was real no matter how much she might wish it wasn't. After being served, the brunette returned to the table pushing Gary's coffee towards him with a clatter, having to suppress a giggle as his eyes shot open and he bolted upright in his seat.
"Good night was it?" She asked with a broad grin, shaking her head slightly at the realisation had changed with the hapless young man.
"Thanks, I need this! So how are you? Remember anything yet?" Trust Gary to forego the normal diplomacy and crash straight in to the heart of the matter, Jo thought.
"I've been better but I'll live. Things are beginning to come back little by little I think. It's a bit hard to tell what's a memory and what's a dream sometimes but you know, I have to be patient." Jo shrugged, sipping her own black coffee. "Anyway, how are you getting on? How's things with your mum now? GMP treating you well?"
"I'm loving it up here. Me and Mum are like that now…" Gary crossed two of his fingers over one another, eliciting another smile from Jo in the face of his enthusiasm. "And I'm a full time DC now, with me own desk and everythin'. And none of 'em take the Mick like Suzie did." A shadow passed over Gary's face briefly, a sullen petulant expression settling as he recalled his reasons for leaving Sun Hill. "She still there?" He asked nonchalantly, not quite passing it off as a casual enquiry.
"Yeah, she just went for her sergeant's exams. She failed!" Jo informed him, suddenly stopping as she wondered where she'd dragged that little nugget of information up from, wracking her mind to see if she could recall anyone telling her recently. A thrill of hope coursed through her as she found no such memory. Gary watched as the brunette's brain worked overtime behind her eyes.
"When was that?" He pressed, knowing the answer but wondering if Jo would be able to recall the exuberant telephone conversation they had shared after she had heard the news, knowing Gary would delight in hearing of Suzie's downfall.
"I don't remember, I don't even know how I remember that!" Jo moaned frustrated, wishing her memory would make its mind to return fully rather than in tantalising snippets.
"It's a start though, a step in the right direction and all that." Gary placated his friend. A few moments silence passed between them, both lost in their own thoughts, comfortable enough with one another for it not to be awkward. "Fancy going seeing a film or something, my shout? I'm not on shift today and I've nothing special planned. It's not often I get to see you these days." Jo considered the alternative, spending the day at home with Alice tiptoeing around her constantly and George's false cheerfulness.
"Sure, what've you got in mind? Not another one of those pathetic horror films you inflicted on me last time! I swear I will never forgive you for taking me to see that horrific excuse for a film."
"It wasn't that bad! You're just squeamish you are!" Gary fired back with a grin.
"Bad? Gary, there wasn't even an attempt at a plot, just a load of people being killed in the most gruesome way imaginable." Jo countered, remembering how her stomach had turned at the images on the screen. "Tessa nearly left me that night because she'd spent the whole day preparing a special meal and I couldn't eat a thing!" Both of them laughed, Jo thinking that Gary reminded her so much of Guy, contemplating that was possibly why she was so fond of him, and so protective.
"Ok, fine you choose something then – but no soppy chic-flicks, I'm not seeing Pride and Prejudice or anything!"
"Not even for Keira Knightley?" Jo teased him gently.
"If I want to drool over her, I'll watch Domino thanks," he shot back, bottom lip jutting out as he nodded his head.
"Ah Gary, ever image conscious!"
"Yeah well, I've got to be 'aven't I? Got a reputation to maintain!" Jo spluttered the mouthful of coffee she had just taken over the table in front of her, hand flying to her mouth to disguise her mirth at the young DC's words. "I gotta take a leak, then we can head off yeah? Get in before twelve and it's half price."
"Gary, you know just how to spoil a girl don't you?" Jo shook her head mopping up the liquid she had ejected with a paper napkin.
"I'm not made of money, us lowly DC's get a pittance for a wage up here ya know!" Gary complained before scuttling off to the gents' as though his pants were on fire.
'Never could hold his coffee,' Jo recalled with a smirk.
Jo felt small strong arms wrap around her as her tears fell, kisses lightly dropped into her hair, the first bars of a familiar song playing quietly in the background. Despite the crushing tiredness, Jo became aware of her comforter's body pressed so close to her own, wrapping her own arms tightly around the slender frame, hearing Sam's voice murmuring reassurances in between the soft kisses before darkness descended.
Everything faded except for the closing bars of Coldplay's 'Fix You' as Jo looked up into Gary's expectant face. "I need to speak to Sam." Jo's voice held a note of urgency, something telling her it was important to ring the woman who had obviously offered her compassion in the face of her relationship breakdown.
"You have reached the O2 voicemail messaging service for 07832561298, please leave your message after the tone." Jo growled in frustration as her call was immediately diverted through to Sam's answer phone, tapping on the dashboard of Gary's car.
"Try the station, she might be in an interview or something." Gary suggested, nudging Jo towards keeping trying to contact the woman she had been involved with prior to her accident.
Jo scrolled through her contacts list trying to find an entry under 'work'. Finally locating the number, she punched the button to dial, bouncing one leg up and down agitatedly as she listened to the front desk clerk run through the standard greeting. "This is DS Masters, I'm trying to reach DI Nixon."
"Just a moment please." The line clicked as Jo was put on hold. She rolled her eyes at Gary, butterflies beginning to gather in her stomach at the thought of speaking to Sam.
"Jo? It's Phil Hunter. How you doin'?" Phil's voice was gruff on the other end of the line as though trying to mask his affection for Jo.
"I'm fine thanks, well… as well as I can be in the circumstances. Is Sam about?" Jo asked wondering why it was so difficult to reach the cute blonde when she really wanted to talk to her.
"Sam's not here just now, she's had to take a few days off." Something about the tone of Phil's voice set alarm bells clanging in Jo's mind.
"Why? What's happened? She is ok right? Why's she not answering her mobile?" The brunette asked hurriedly.
"Sam's fine physically, she's just taken some time out for a family matter." It felt strange to Phil not filling Jo in on the details but he was unsure how much he could tell Jo without jeopardising her recovery.
"What family matter?" Fragments of memories crowded the edges of Jo's consciousness, eluding her attempts to draw them forward.
"There was an incident involving her daughter and grandson, she's taken some time off to be with Abi. The house they were staying at was torched." Phil elaborated slightly, hoping he was about to do the right thing. "The baby's in hospital, in a pretty bad way. Sam's not left his side for three days." His concern for Sam's welfare overcame his fear that Jo might have a setback, knowing that despite everything, the brunette was the only one who held any power over Sam.
"Which hospital?" Gary's head snapped round at that, his face a picture of concern, frown deepening as the colour faded from Jo's cheeks. Phil gave Jo the details, offering her a phone number which she accepted gratefully. "Thanks Phil, I'll be in touch." Jo ended the conversation, turning to Gary waiting impatiently in the driver's seat.
"Well?" Gary prompted when Jo failed to speak immediately.
"I need to go back, I need to be there. Sam was there for me with Tessa, I remember that now. She needs a friend… I owe her that much at the very least." Jo told him with a quiet intensity, compassion burning in her eyes.
"What's happened? She is ok, isn't she?" Gary asked, still confused.
"Her grandson's in hospital, someone set light to the house while he was inside it. Sam won't leave his bedside. Gary, do you mind dropping me at Mum's? I need to pack and make arrangements for getting back to London." Jo explained.
"I'll take you all the way to London, be quicker and easier than the train and save your Dad making the trip again." Gary offered generously.
"I can't ask that of you Gary but thank you. You'll make someone really happy some day you know, don't ever change." Jo smiled fondly at her friend.
"I'm on leave for the next week anyway and I'd be happier knowing you weren't on your own worrying all the way to London," Gary insisted, starting up the engine and deftly negotiating his way out into the city traffic.
Jo walked along the hushed corridor, her spine tingling in her unease at being back in a hospital so soon after leaving. Rounding the corner she spied the lonely figure intently watching through the window of the paediatric intensive care unit. She gestured silently for Gary to wait where he was, closing the rest of the distance between herself and the petite blonde woman alone.
"Sam…" she muttered softly, not wanting to startle her, reaching an arm out to wrap around her shoulders but letting it drop again before making contact, unsure how the overture would be taken. Jo looked into the room, her heart clenching at the vision of the baby's tiny form surrounded by paraphernalia and machinery, the young girl she had awoken to in her hospital room sitting beside the cot. "How's he doing?" She asked quietly, afraid to speak any louder and risk disturbing the eerie peace.
"Not great, he's on a ventilator to help him breathe; the smoke inhalation's made it difficult for him to breathe on his own." Sam replied, eyes never wavering from the scene before her despite Jo's sudden, unexpected appearance.
"What happened?" Jo remained rooted to Sam's side, facing the blonde with her body as her head twisted to look through the blind-slatted window.
"Abi had been staying with a friend, Sarah after Hugh escaped from prison, I thought she'd be safe. Four days ago, someone poured gasoline through the letterbox and then pushed a lit rag through after it. Abi had nipped out to the shop, Sarah was looking after Joey, both of them were caught in the fire. I arrived on the scene just as the fire brigade were getting ready to rescue Sarah and Joey. As they carried Joey down the ladder, the fire reached the boiler and blew the house apart. Sarah didn't make it, two fire-fighters were seriously injured and if it wasn't for the bravery of the guy holding Joey, my grandson could have died too. He used his own body to shield Joey from the worst of the blast, even having the presence of mind to stop himself from landing on him when they fell. And it's all my fault." Sam recounted monotonously, her words devoid of emotion except for the contempt that filled her last statement.
"How do you figure that out? You didn't set alight to the house. None of this is down to you." Jo watched as Sam produced a single sheet of folded A4 paper from her pocket, dog-eared and scruffy from numerous readings.
"This was waiting for me at home. I picked it up the day after the fire, I haven't been back since." Jo unfolded the paper carefully, knowing any useful forensic evidence was long since gone if Sam had been handling and carrying it for days. Her breath caught in her throat as a photograph of the exploding house was revealed with a jaggedly typed message beneath the image, in blood-red lettering:
Suffer The Children