Chapter 13
Hey guys sorry it's late, been working on multiple stories at once.
"We can't leave it forever." Frank said as he held her. "What are you thinking that you want to do?"
"Right now I want her thrown in a cell and throw away the key." Sally said as she took his hand. "She was watching us for two months to see who we left the kids with and where we took them. Knowing that she planned to take one of our kids makes me so angry but to hurt Elaine as well just because she thought she would be the easiest to overpower is making it worse. Then to top it all off she gave Sarah medicine that she didn't need. She was scared and all she needed was her Mummy, Daddy and twin brother. Plus the pain that she put James and us through with being separated from her and the two days we've lost not having family time together."
Frank could see how angry she was as she was speaking and was glad that Shauna wasn't in front of her just now or Sally could be up for assault charges.
After she finished letting her anger out, she took a breath to calm down. "Then there's the part of me that knows that pressing charges is wrong and that I'm partly to blame for this. If I hadn't had feelings for Mick and tried to make him leave Shauna, then she never would have thought that I was pregnant with Mick's baby. Even that night when she found out we were having twins, I shouldn't have stopped on the steps and just kept going then she wouldn't have known that we were having twins. Life would have just kept going as it was but we can't change it now. What are you thinking?" Sally said as she turned to face him.
Frank let out a heavy sigh. "Pretty much the same Sal. Yeah I'm angry with her for spying on us and how upset she made you and the kids. Part of me does want to see her locked up for what she's done as well." Frank said as he rubbed his hand across his face. "Then there's the other side to this. It's as I said yesterday, if I hadn't sleep with her none of this would have happened and it wouldn't have put Sarah and James at risk."
"I know what the right thing to do is but does it mean we'll be looking over our shoulders all the time now?" Sally asked as she squeezed his hand.
"Sal." Frank said as he squeezed her hand back. "We won't need to worry about that."
"What makes you so sure?" Sally asked him.
"Because it wasn't some low life that took her for any sinister reason. She was taken because we played a part in hurting someone. If Shauna gets the help that she needs, she'll see what she did was wrong and we won't need to look over our shoulders."
"Yeah I guess you're right." Sally said knowing that she was slightly over thinking this.
"The only thing is that Mick could report us to HQ now as revenge for us causing all of this." Frank said as he sat up slightly on the couch.
"If he does then we'll get through it. " Sally said as she turned to face him. "As long as we have the twins and each other, then we'll be ok."
Frank leaned in and kissed her. "You're right. In a weird way the last 48 hours seems to have brought us closer as well." Frank said as he pulled away.
"Yeah it has." Sally replied as she leaned in to kiss him again.
As their lips parted, baby noises started coming from the play nest and they turned to see what was going on. Sarah had decided that she had had enough of the toy she had and threw it to the side of the play nest. She made a growling baby noise at James as if to say "Gimme that" and took James's toy out of his hands to play with it. When she took the toy from him, James started laughing and took the toy that Sarah had thrown away to play with instead.
"Just like that, things are back to normal." Sally said as she smiled at the twins.
"Back to showing him who's the boss." Frank said as he looked at the twins as well.
"I just hope that the medicine that Shauna gave her settled her so it wasn't for nothing." Sally said as she stroked the tuffs of hair on Sarah's head.
"She probably gave her it to put her to sleep cause she was so upset and wouldn't stop crying." Frank replied as he smiled down at Sarah and James as well.
Without warning James threw his toy away and made loud grumpy baby noises as he looked at his mum and dad.
"What?" Sally cooed to him once he stopped.
James made more noises and waved his hands as if to say "Didn't you understand the first time mum."
"He can't be hungry already. What time is it?" Sally asked as she lifted James up onto her lap.
"It's just about their lunch time but he'll be making up for yesterday." Frank said as he picked up Sarah who had started to make grumpy noises as well.
"We'll get them fed soon. They might not sleep this afternoon cause they slept so long this morning." Sally said as she stuck James's dummy in his mouth to stop his noise making.
"Just need to tickle them again until they get tired." Frank replied as he tickled Sarah's cheek. " Or get them more food to make them sleepier."
"I won't be to long down at the station." Sally said as James started to squirm in her arms again.
"No rush Sal. I'm just gonna chill with my best mate and little girl but when they sleep, Daddy's gonna do a work out." Frank replied as he kissed the top of Sarah's head.
"If you two don't sleep, Daddy's workout will be juggling you both until Mummy comes home." Sally said as she stood up and lightly bounced James to stop him squirming in her arms.
Frank smiled back at her as Sarah was touching all the buttons on his watch like James had done yesterday. He did want to work out but spending time alone with the twins did sound better than that.
…..
Sally leaned against the wall as she was trying to contain her anger, nerves and anxiousness. She and Frank had given the twins their lunch and played with them for a bit to tire them out for their afternoon nap. Luckily Sarah and James seemed to be playing catch up for the last two days, so they were out like lights not long after their lunch and they put them back in their cribs to sleep. Once they were down, Sally had called Detective Campbell to ask about seeing Shauna again. He had just got back to station after being with Elaine and told her he had cleared it for her to come down. She had said bye to Frank and drove down to the station in record time to see Shauna then she would finally be able to put this behind her.
Campbell had greeted her outside and then led her into the station, down the same corridor that she and Frank had been taken almost two days ago to answer questions about who could have taken Sarah. Campbell told her that Shauna and her would be alone however he would be watching from the other room with a glass-viewing screen. Once they approached the interview room, Campbell had gone in to make sure Shauna was alone and secure before he let Sally in, which gave her time to think about what to say and remember to remain calm no matter how much she wanted to slug her.
The sound of a door opening pulled Sally out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Campbell coming out of the interview room.
"You ready Miss Fields?" Campbell asked her as he closed the door.
With all the emotions going through her head, she couldn't speak so she nodded her head yes to show that she was ready.
"Ok." Campbell said as he walked to the door next to the interview room. "Take your time but remember I'm next door to monitor what happens."
"Ok" sally managed to say as she walked to the door that Campbell had come out of.
Campbell turned and went into the other door to wait for Sally to go in and see Shauna. She placed her hand on the door handle and took one last deep breath before pushing the handle down and walked into the interview room.
When she walked in Shauna was sitting at the table with her hands cuffed and she looked like crap. Shauna had been watching the door once it open but once she seen Sally, she turned her head down to look at the table. As Sally walked to the opposite side of the table and sat down, she studied what she could see of Shauna closely. She had lost the entire colour in her face, her hair was a mess and her make up was smeared all over her face. It was either from crying out of guilt or feeling sorry for herself as her plan had failed.
Once Sally sat down, she looked across at Shauna but she didn't move from looking down at the table. An awkward silence soon filled the room and Sally had had enough.
"You can't even look at me. I guess you feel some guilt for what you did." Sally said hoping this would make her look up.
"I'm so sorry." Shauna muttered without moving her head up.
"I want to say thank you." Sally replied as she tried not to shout at her to make her look at her.
Her last words did the trick as Shauna lifted her head up and finally looked at Sally confused. "Thank you. What for?"
"Even though you kidnapped one of my babies." Sally paused for a moment as the angry rose inside her. "Besides giving her medicine that she didn't need, you didn't hurt her so for that I'm grateful."
"I wouldn't have hurt her and I only gave her the medicine because she wouldn't stop crying, fussing or go to sleep. It was heart breaking so I gave her a small amount and she finally went to sleep." Shauna said as she relaxed a little as Sally wasn't screaming at her.
"I know exactly how she was acting because my other baby was exactly the same. Upset and confused that he wasn't with his twin sister anymore. Frank and I tried everything to soothe him but almost nothing worked either. Eventually he went to sleep but it was torture not just for us but for James as well." Sally replied as her voice got lower and her tone got angrier.
Shauna could tell Sally was getting angrier and lowered her head again as she fought back tears.
Sally knew her true emotions were coming out and took a minute to get herself back under control as tears welled up in her eyes. "Why did you take Sarah and not James? They were both with Elaine but why Sarah?" Sally asked once she was calm again.
Shauna lifted her head back up knowing Sally was calmer. "Do you remember the night in the fire station when I found out you were having twins just after my miscarriage. I accused you of taking of my baby?"
Sally nodded her head at Shauna's question to show she was listening.
"Mick tried everything to convince me it wasn't true but I didn't believe him and held onto the idea that one of them was my baby. After more time had passed, I did realise that the idea seemed slightly strange that you stole my baby but then it changed again." Shauna said as the tears welled up in her eyes. "Mick had forgotten his mobile at the house one day so I drove to the station to give it to him but when I got to his office, he wasn't there and there was no one about. I left the mobile on his desk and as I went out of his office, I could hear noises from the mess so I went to see what was going on. I got half way up the stairs and could see you, Frank, Mick and the rest of the crew looking into the twins car seats on the mess table." Shauna said as a stray tear fell down her cheek.
Sally remembered the day that she was talking about. Sarah and James were only three weeks old and Sally hadn't been out the house since they brought them home. She was going star crazy and decided to take the twins on their first trip to the fire station. She had called Mick before to clear it with him and he was more than happy for her to bring them down. Everyone cooed around the twins and wanted to hold them but no one had realised that Shauna had been watching them the whole time.
"I knew then that one of them was definitely mine and I had to get my baby back. Once I started to tell Mick that one of them was mine that's when he had the idea of separating for 6 months and then see where we stood 6 months later. It hurt that he didn't believe me but I knew once I had our baby back, he would understand and it gave me more time to plan everything." Shauna continued as Sally kept listening. "I know how strong you and Frank are so I wouldn't have been able to get one of the babies while you were with them, so I waited until you went back to work to see who looked after the babies. I knew I wouldn't be able to overpower Andy or Kate so that only left Elaine, so I watched her routine with all the kids and had a few ideas of how I would get my baby. Mick had called me to tell me something about Liam and he mentioned about the fire keeping you guys up all night so I knew this would be my chance."
When Shauna told her about watching them for the past month, Sally's anger was bubbling away inside her and she was fighting her inner self not to lunge across the table at her.
"I went to her flat not knowing exactly how I was going to do it. I seen a loose rock and grabbed it to use in my plan. I didn't plan to do it this way but when Elaine opened the door, I whacked her with the rock and she was out cold so I could get my baby. I walked into the living room, looked into the playpen and was met by three smiling babies. I knew which one was Ajay so I left him, as he definitely wasn't mine. I turned and seen the other two babies to see which one was mine and I knew right away which one I was mine. Your son is beautiful but he is his dad's double so I knew just by looking at him that he wasn't mine so it had to be the little girl was mine. I looked at her eyes and could see that they were the same colour as Mick's, which made me believe more that she was mine. I picked her up and when she smiled at me, my heart melted away. I wanted a little girl when I was pregnant and I knew in that moment that she was mine. I locked the door on my out so that the boys and Elaine would be safe but when I locked the door that's when she started crying so I took her home to soothe her."
Sally sat silent for a few minutes processing everything that she had just heard. Part of her was relieved that Shauna had taken Sarah because James looked like Frank and not some other sinister reason but it was still unbelievable how much planning she had put into this and the lengths she had gone to.
"Do you still think that she's yours?" Sally asked her hoping that she wouldn't lie to her.
Shauna didn't answer her right away as another tear fell down her cheek. "No and I'm not just saying that. When she was with me I would look at her and see that she looked like Frank when she did certain things. At other times I could see that she looked like you. I wanted her to be my baby that I lost but I knew deep down that she wasn't mine but she was your baby. I was scared to return her after people were looking for her and what would happen to me as well." Shauna wiped away her tears and looked nervously back at Sally again. "Are you and Frank going to press charges?"
Sally took a deep breath before her eyes met Shauna's again. "No we aren't. You need professional help and prison won't help you but we have one condition"
"Anything." Shauna said.
"When you get out of hospital, you stay away from our family. If Mick is still our SO we will be civil at family events or gatherings but if you ever go near Sarah or James I won't be responsible for what happens." Sally replied through gritted teeth. She knew Campbell would think this was a threat but right now she didn't care and if Shauna was smart, she would listen.
A flash of relief flashed across Shauna's face as she looked back at Sally. "I won't I promise but i'm not sure Mick and I will be together after all this."
"That's between you and him" Sally said wondering if Shauna said that to see if Sally still had feelings for Mick. "Mick's my boss and friend but that's it. I love Frank and our family. Nothing's going to change that."
Shauna seemed to get that Sally genuinely didn't like Mick that way anymore but only as a friend. "You're right."
Knowing that she wasn't going to try this again and she had the answers that she wanted, Sally didn't have anything else to say. "I hope you get the help you need and get better." She said as she stood up off the chair.
"Thank you even though I don't deserve it." Shauna replied as she gave Sally a weak smile.
"Goodbye Shauna." Sally replied as she walked towards the door.
"Bye Sally." Shauna replied as her eyes filled with tears of relief.
As Sally approached the door, Campbell opened it from the other side and opened it for her.
'You handled that well Miss Fields. I hope it gave you the closure that you needed." Campbell said as he closed the door once she was out.
"Thank you." Sally replied as she turned to face him once he locked the door. "I needed that."
"That's great to hear." Campbell said giving her a soft smile.
"So what happens now?" Sally asked as she leaned against the wall.
"It's over now Miss Fields." Campbell said. "I will give you a final update in a few weeks as to how long Mrs Callaghan will be away for but right now everything is all over. Go home, spend time with your family, go back to work and soon this whole thing will have seemed like a horrible nightmare.
Sally knew he was right and knew it would take some time to get over this but she had to remember that she had her baby girl back and her family was still in tact.
She let out a heavy sigh and pushed herself off the wall. "Thank you again for everything but hopefully I won't see you again for a long time.
Campbell laughed knowing what she meant. "If I had a pound for every time I heard that, I could retire early to the Bahamas."
Sally laughed at him as well as they both started to walk towards the station exit. She and Frank would never be able to thank him for bringing Sarah back to them quickly and safely. As they reached the door, Sally turned and shook Campbell's hand hoping that if they met again it would be under better circumstances and headed for the car.
Sally jumped back into the car, started the engine and started driving. After speaking to Shauna, she did feel better and more at ease with their decision. Ultimately everything let back to her and Frank's actions the previous year and not pressing charges was the right thing to do. Even though she had been spying on them with the twins, to know that she only took Sarah because James was Frank's double was better than taking her for some other sinister reason. Sarah was back where she belonged, she was young enough that she hopefully wouldn't remember anything, Elaine was going to be ok, James was back to his normal self, Shauna would get the help she needed and Frank and her were still strong together. In a few weeks this would be a distant memory that only a few people would remember.
After ten minutes of driving, Sally arrived at her destination, got out the door, locked the car and walked up to the front door of the house she was looking for it and rang the doorbell. As she waited for the door to be answered, her stomach dropped as she wasn't sure if she would be welcome here and might get the door slammed in her face. She didn't have to wait to long as she heard the door being unlocked from the inside and waited nervously as the door swung open.
"Hi Sal." Mick said slightly shocked to see her.
"Hiya." Sally replied nervously.
"Come in." Mick gestured as he stepped aside to let her in.
"Thanks." Sally said nervously as she walked inside the house.
She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch while Mick locked the door. Once the door was locked , Mick came into the living room and sat down on the couch opposite her as an awkward silence soon filled the room.
"Where's Liam?" Sally asked starting the conversation.
"Down the park with some of his mates playing football. Making the most of the light before the dark days come." Mick replied happy that Liam hadn't been to fazed by the recent days as well.
"Yeah good for them to be out and about." Sally said as she took a breath ready to acknowledge the elephant in the room. "Mick, Frank and I are so sorry for all of this."
Mick looked at her in shock. "Sal, what have you's got to be sorry for? You guys were the ones who had your baby stolen. We're the ones who need to be sorry."
"Come off it Mick." Sally said as she knew there wasn't just one single person to blame. "With all the drama that went on last year, the things Frank and I did made Shauna's condition worse. Then when she miscarried it was a horrible thing and it pushed her further away but she choose not to get help. When she found out I was having twins, it was the final straw and I don't think there was any turning back from that. Whatever way you look at it, it all comes back to what happened last year."
Mick stood for a moment after hearing what she said and knew she was right. Nobody was innocent in what happened to Sarah and there was things that they all could have done differently. As much as he knew they were all to blame, it was still nice to hear Sally and Frank admit that they were at fault as well.
"Yeah I know Sal." Mick replied to her. " I know we're all to blame but I am sorry. There were times I could have gotten her help or been more forceful but I thought she would get over it on her own. When she said you had taken our baby, I knew she couldn't be helped so I buried my head in the sand and suggested to separate as it was easier than to deal with it. If I hadn't done that I might have been able to see when she started planning all this."
"Maybe but we'll never know. I just can't thank you enough though." Sally said as she gave him a light smile. "
Mick looked up at her confused as to why she was thanking him. "What for?"
"You got Sarah back to us. You could have played along with Shauna and ran off with her together meaning we'd never have got Sarah back. You brought her home to us." Sally replied still smiling.
"I couldn't do that to you Sal. I know how much you love those kids and I could see how much Sarah missed you. She belongs with you Frank and James. Not me, Shauna and Liam." Mick said as he smiled back at her. "How is she? The lass has got some set of lungs on her."
Sally laughed at him. "Oh yes she does but she's fine. When she seen me and Frank again she stopped crying but was still unsettled until we got her home. James had been crying and fussy since she was taken as well but as soon as they saw each other, it was like someone had flicked a switch. They're both back to themselves which is good."
"That's good to hear. Hopefully she's so young she won't remember of this." Mick said genuinely happy that Sarah was ok.
"I was thinking the same thing." Sally replied. "How's Liam after all this?"
"Yeah he's fine. When we got home we went straight upstairs but when I saw Sarah was here, I sent him to his mates for the night and he only came back this afternoon so he doesn't know Sarah was even in the house. Told him that Shauna wasn't feeling to well so she's gone to stay with grandpa for a while." Mick said, as he was relieved that Liam hadn't seen anything that had happened yesterday.
"That's a relief for him as well. One minute there's a baby in the house and then she's gone. That would have been hard for anyone to explain." Sally replied relieved for him that he was sparred that burden.
"I know right." Mick said before he turned serious again. "Campbell called me this morning to tell me what Shauna's outcome would be. Have you and Frank talked about it?"
"We did." Sally said. "We're both angry at what she did but we know we're partly to blame for all this. I told Campbell we're not pressing charges so Shauna's going to get the right help that she needs."
"Sal." Mick choked as Sally seen his eyes tear up. "I know it couldn't have been easy for you both but thank you. What Shauna did was wrong but I know she can get better with the right help. Taking Liam to see her in prison. I don't know what that would have done to the lad."
"We knew it was the right thing to do but I wanted to see Shauna first. Campbell let me see her this morning and I told her we're not pressing charges but if she tries anything like this again, we will press charges next time." Sally replied. "How you going to manage with Liam on your own?"
"I'll be ok." Mick said as he regained himself. "With Shauna and I being separated for the last six months we've already got child care in place. I've worked with a lad on the site since we left school and his son and Liam are good mates. He goes to their house after school until I finish work on day shift and then stay there when we're night shift. Means I can still be station officer, work on the site and be a single dad to the lad."
"That's great but I am still genuinely sorry about everything." Sally replied.
"Don't be Sal." Mick said as he gave her a smile. "Even before I moved to Blackwall things between me and Shauna were at breaking point but we thought the move would be what we needed. Everything we went through last year proved that it wasn't going to help us. Then when we separated last year it was the push I needed. It was hard being away from Liam more but I felt more like myself again. If Shauna wanted to give it another try I would have done it but when I seen Sarah crying in her arms, I knew Shauna needed help and it was time to call it quits."
As he spoke to Sally, he genuinely meant every word of it. He would always love Shauna but it was finally time for their marriage to end. If she had been better on the night that they we're due to review their marriage and wanted to give them another chance, he would have done it. When he seen Sarah in Shauna's arms, it was the final push he needed. Now that he had spoken to the police and got everything sorted for Liam, Mick knew it would be hard work as a single dad especially with his job but he was looking forward to the future with the two of them together. There was part of him that was angry at Frank and Sally for the roles that they had played in the situation but for Sally to come and apologise made his anger go away. It showed that they knew they were partly to blame and he couldn't imagine that they must have gone through while Sarah was gone.
Most people might assume Sally came here just to see if Mick was going to report her and Frank for being in a relationship on the same watch but Mick knew different. Even though Mick was her boss they were still mates and she was here as a mate not for anything work related. The thought did cross his mind yesterday to report them but he couldn't do that to Sally and that she was here apologising, he knew he wouldn't no matter house jealous he still was of Frank.
"I guess everything worked out the way it was suppose to but as long as your ok." Sally asked him.
"Yeah I'm good Sal. Are you?" Mick asked her back.
"I'm good. I guess we just try and go on as normal. We're not gonna tell anyone who took Sarah either. The only people who will know the truth is me, you, Frank, Shauna, Elaine, Adam and Kate." Sally replied.
"Agreed. How is Elaine doing?" Mick asked. "With sorting Liam and Shauna I haven't had a chance to check in with her."
"She's doing well." Sally replied as she checked the time on her watch. "Very tired and dizzy from the mild concussion but she'll be fine in a week or so. Kept blaming herself for Sarah being kidnapped. Doctors have told her to rest for that time so she's moved in Adam and Kate until she's ready to go home. Kate's working from as well so she can be there encase Elaine needs anything and also watch the kids while we're on day shift."
"I'm just glad she's ok. With everything she's been through this was the last thing she needed. She just caught in the middle of it all. Tell her I'm asking for her when you see her next please." Mick asked relieved that Elaine was ok.
"Will do." Sally replied as she stood up off the chair. "We're over tonight for dinner so I better get back to the everything ready for heading out. Sorry it's just a flying visit."
"Just the fact that you came over means a lot Sal. Thank you." Mick replied as he walked over to her and hugged her.
Sally hugged him back even though she was surprised by it. They had only ever hugged for congratulations but that was very rare. As Mick pulled back from her, his face was inches away from hers and he knew what he wanted to do. He still regretted his decision not to sleep with her when he had the chance but after what they had just been through, was this a sign that he another chance? Sally had sensed what he wanted to do and quickly stepped back before he could that mistake. She did have romantic feelings for him last year but any feelings now were platonic. She loved Frank who she was going home to.
"If you ever need to talk, I'm always here." Sally said as she walked towards the front door.
"I know Sal. Same to you." Mick replied as he unlocked the door and opened it for her.
"I'll see you later." Sally said as she walked out the door and towards the car.
"Bye Sal." Mick called after her as he closed the front door.
Sally got into the car, turned the engine on and starting driving home. She felt so much better and felt like a weight had been listed since she spoke to Shauna and hoped she would be ok. Going to see Mick and knowing he was ok after what had happened was a relief to although when she sensed he was going to kiss her, she knew it was wrong but she wouldn't mention again so he didn't feel uncomfortable.
They would find out tonight what Elaine was planning to do with the assault charges then they could all finally move on from the past 48 hour nightmare they had all been living in.
