Happy Easter everyone - an extra long chapter today. Moving into Series 2 and have borrowed some of Jed's words


Ted Hastings looked out his office window at the sound of chatter breaking the early morning silence of AC-12. It was Kate and Steve entering, laughing and joking about something. He had been a bit reticent about allowing them to be house mates when Steve had suggested it, but looking at them now, getting on so well and working together just as proficiently, it seemed like he had made the right decision. They were easily his best performing team. His go to people whenever a complex case came across his desk. Which made what he had to do all the more difficult. He was going to have to split them up. There was no way Kate could work on the case that had landed on his desk overnight as there would be a complete conflict of interest.

Sighing despondently, Ted got to his feet and opened his office door. "Steve! Kate! A word," he barked as he summoned them. He couldn't fail to notice the curious glances that went between the two as they wondered silently what this meeting could possibly be about. He took a seat behind his desk as the junior officers stood to attention before him.

"For some reason, the handler of a gentleman in Witness protection who had the works, called 4th Street Station out of the blue with an urgent request for assistance in moving him to a place of safety. The transit convoy was ambushed. Two 4th Street officers were shot dead. The witness and his handler were in the back; the gunmen assumed they were fatally wounded as well. The vehicle was set alight, causing the witness and his handler critical burns. The handler was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. We've been assigned to investigate if a police officer or officers tipped anyone off,".

"Who is the witness?" Kate asked.

"Classified,".

Steve and Kate looked at each other. It sounded like they had an interesting case in their hands.

"I'm afraid though that you will not be able to participate any further in this investigation DC Fleming," Ted concluded.

"What?" Kate asked, shocked. "Why, sir?".

"The handler was Jayne Akers," Ted revealed. He knew Kate understood what that meant as a resigned look crossed her face.

"This is bullshit, Sir," Kate complained.

"Maybe it's for the best," Ted pointed out. "You have your divorce hearing coming up which has needed you to have time off,".

"Yes, but,".

"My mind is made up, DC Fleming," Ted interrupted. "You are excused,". Kate stalked out of the office towards her desk and plonked herself down in her chair. She looked thoroughly pissed off.

Steve and Ted watched her go. "That's me off her Christmas card list," Ted remarked.

"If you were ever on it in the first place, sir," Steve joked which earned him a glare from Ted.

"Don't make me regret keeping you on this one, Steve," Ted warned and Steve looked contrite. "Right you're going to need a new partner for this case," Ted mentioned. "She's going to meet us at the hospital. Georgina Trotman I think her name is. Borrowed her from serious crime,".

"I should tell Kate," Steve mused. "Better coming from me before she sees Georgina,". Ted thought that was a good idea and after instructing Steve to be ready in ten minutes, Steve was dismissed and promptly headed over to Kate.

"Hi. You ok?" He asked as he approached and took a seat.

"Do I look ok?" Kate snapped.

"I'm sorry," Steve apologised.

"Not your fault," Kate replied. "As if I don't hate my ex husband enough, he's now cost me this high profile case. Of all the people he could have shagged, it had to be Jayne didn't it?".

"Listen, I've got to go to the hospital. We're going to check out the witness," Steve explained and Kate nodded. "The gaffer's giving me a new partner,".

"What?!" Kate said shocked. It was bad enough to be booted off the case, but losing Steve was the last straw.

"Just for this case," Steve quickly stated, hoping to settle her down.

"Right," said Kate, hoping that was the truth. "You better go," she told Steve a little despondently, when she saw Ted was waiting for him.

Steve looked behind him and saw she was right. "I'll see you when we get back," he said supportively before heading off with Ted.


Kate saw Steve and Ted return a couple of hours later with a young looking woman in tow. Steve's new partner. It turned out her name was Georgia, not Georgina. Ted was never good with names. She was young and very pretty and appeared to be getting on with Steve very well.

Out of nowhere Kate felt a pang of jealousy. She knew she had no right to be so possessive over Steve but since the wedding they had attended she felt that there might be something happening between them...

They had arrived back in their hotel room and had immediately put Josh in his bed before getting ready for bed themselves. The alcohol they had consumed at the wedding had loosened them up a bit and they talked about anything for a while whilst lying in bed; a lot more comfortable with each other's presence than they had been the night before.

"It wouldn't be too big a favour by the way," Steve had said out of the blue.

"What wouldn't?" Kate asked, not sure what he was going on about.

"Having a baby with you," he clarified.

"Oh!" Said Kate a little surprised, before chewing on her lower lip, not sure what to do with that piece of information. She knew what she wanted to do, but wasn't sure if Steve was on the same page. When he sidled up closer to her though, she got the feeling he was. Very slowly they leant in to each other. They were millimetres away from their first kiss when Josh had the most awful timing for a nightmare ever. Kate had had to break away and try and calm her son down.

They hadn't had a chance to talk about that evening since it happened and now it looked as though she had missed her chance. Feeling miserable she went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea.

From across the room, Steve had seen the looks Kate had given him as he returned to AC-12 and followed her in to the kitchen. "Alright?" He said as he entered the room.

"Oh yeah," Kate replied. "These parking tickets I'm looking at are really exciting," she continued as she made her drink.

"How's your case?".

"Ok,".

"How's your new partner?" Kate asked changing topic.

"Temporary partner," Steve corrected, trying to brush Kate's concerns away.

"She seems lovely and you look to be getting on well,".

"She's ok….but she's not you," Steve confessed.

"How bad was it?" Kate asked changing topic to something that was troubling her. "Did Jayne suffer?".

"You are something else Kate," Steve admitted. "Not many people would be that charitable,".

"I know she shagged Mark but she didn't deserve that. She tried to apologise for what she'd done a couple of times, but I didn't want to talk to her. Sort of wish I had now,".

"We went to see her husband,".

"Rich?". Steve nodded in response. "How's he doing?".

"Ok I suppose," Steve said. "Listen, Jayne's funeral is Tuesday next week. He wanted me to let you know,".

"I'm at the solicitors all morning running through everything before the hearing," Kate commented. Her divorce hearing was finally going to court.

"Well I'll leave it up to you to decide. I'm not going to push you one way or the other" Steve said.

"Do you think Mark will be there?" Kate asked, voicing her one concern if she did go to the service.

"No. Rich has told him to stay away," Steve answered. "Me, Georgia and the gaffer are going. See who shows up. Might give us some leads,".

"Ok. I'll see," Kate finally replied.


As it happened, Kate was finished earlier than she expected with the solicitor on the day of the funeral. She had the day off work and had again used public transport to get into the city. She had called a taxi to take her home but after a sudden change of heart directed the cab driver to take her to the crematorium instead.

She was one of the last to enter the chapel and as such had to take a seat at the back and it gave her a good vantage view of the mourners. Up the front was Jayne's husband Richard plus a few family members she recognised. There were a few senior police officers paying their respects after the heinous crime Jayne had suffered. Lindsey Denton was present, the officer who had escaped the ambush. Kate recognised her from the photo Steve and Georgia had on their ops board. It was the first time that Kate had seen her in the flesh and she didn't quite know what to make of her. There was something a little odd about her for sure. Steve had thought the same and they were concentrating their investigation on her.

Speaking of Steve, he was near the front with Ted and Georgia. The new girl was still getting on well with Steve, too well by the looks of it. Kate was fairly sure she was flirting with Steve which put Kate in a bad mood. She shouldn't have come.

The ceremony was soon over and Kate followed her colleagues to pay her respects to Rich, although she kept a certain distance. She watched them as they headed to their cars. Georgia looked to be heading to Steve's car until Steve spotted his flat mate. "Kate?" He said surprised to see her. "I didn't realise you were here. Why didn't you sit with us?".

"Got here quite late. There wasn't any room," Kate explained. Steve could see and hear that she wasn't happy.

"Want a lift home? That's all right isn't it?" Steve asked Ted.

"I'll see you back at the office later," Ted said by way of agreement as he headed to his car. "Hope tomorrow goes well, Kate,".

"Thanks sir," Kate replied as she ignored Georgia and took the front passenger seat. Georgia realised Kate didn't want her in Steve's car.

"I'll ride with the gaffer," she said to Steve. "I'll see you later,".

"Yeah. See you," Steve said as he looked a bit worriedly at his passenger wondering what was wrong with her. She was never usually that rude.

The ride to Steve's was nearly in complete silence. Steve tried making idle chit chat but only got one word responses from Kate so gave up after a while and concentrated on the road. "Am I allowed to come up for a bite to eat?" He asked once they had pulled up in front of his apartment.

"It's your flat," Kate responded as she got out the car.

Not really relishing the prospect of lunch with Kate in the mood she was in, but knowing he should try and be friendly, Steve followed her. "Have I done something wrong?" He asked as they entered the flat.

"Not that I know," Kate responded over her shoulder as she headed to her room. "Why?".

"You've just been a bit…..prickly this morning. That's all,".

Kate stopped in her tracks and turned to face Steve. She knew she had been a bit tough on him. "Sorry. Shouldn't have gone to the funeral," she offered as way of apology.

"I don't think anyone would have thought bad of you if you hadn't shown up," Steve mentioned.

"I don't feel bad at attending the funeral," Kate retorted. "I didn't like watching you with Georgia," she clarified.

"What?".

"She's flirting with you, Steve," Kate explained. "And I don't know why, but I don't like it. She does know you are just on loan right? That after this case is over she's gone and you're my partner again,".

"You're sounding a bit territorial there, mate," Steve chanced.

"I know," Kate replied. She knew why she felt the way she did. Just wasn't brave enough to admit it to Steve.

Hearing Kate's reply made his heart soar. His feelings hadn't changed since he had first set eyes on her, despite his best efforts to ignore them. It looked like Kate might feel the same way about him. "Kate, I'm not blind," he reassured her as he moved into her personal space. "I know exactly what Georgia is up to. There's just one thing you haven't noticed,".

"What?".

"I'm not flirting back," he informed her. Kate realised he was right. She felt Steve's hands come to cup her face. "I'm not interested in her. The only one I am interested in is standing in front of me,".

"Really?".

"Yes really," he confirmed before giving Kate the gentlest of kisses. She didn't pull away after and Steve felt her smile against his lips before she met his again in a much firmer kiss. He felt her hands come to rest at his waist as her tongue begged entrance to his mouth and before long she was tugging his shirt free from his trousers.

"Are you sure?" Steve murmured. He wanted to make sure Kate was absolutely sure about this before it went any further. It would save a lot of heart ache if she regretted it afterwards.

"Yes," Kate confirmed honestly although she was a bit nervous. This was the first time she would be sleeping with someone new in a very long time. She was moving on and it was a big step, but she knew that it was the right time and that she wanted to do it with Steve.


An hour later and Steve and Kate were lying in Steve's bed, wrapped in each other's arms as they basked in the afterglow of their love making. The earlier tension was gone and the feel good hormones that were buzzing around their bodies after their sexual high had left them relaxed and very content.

"That has sort of been waiting to happen for a little while, hasn't it?" Kate asked, breaking the silence and Steve agreed.

"There's something I have to know," Steve chanced as he kissed the top of Kate's head. "Please tell me that was better than average," Steve said, remembering what Kate had said about her husbands ability in bed, the night she had first come to his flat.

"Much better," Kate confirmed truthfully as she moved so she could see Steve's face before bringing his lips to hers for yet another kiss. Steve was far and away the best lover she had had. "You think so too, don't you?" She asked as she pulled away.

"Absolutely," Steve confirmed, happy at her verdict. "Wish I could spend the rest of the afternoon here with you in bed," Steve said, "but the gaffer will be expecting me back and I have a lovely afternoon planned interviewing Lindsey Denton,".

"I know," Kate answered knowing their time together was drawing to a close.

"I'm going to have a quick shower before I head back," Steve said as he slid out of bed very at ease at letting Kate see his naked body. Kate watched his retreating form. She hadn't moved when Steve returned a couple of minutes later with a towel around his waist. She looked very good lounging around in his bed he decided as he changed back in to his suit.

Realising Steve was almost ready to leave, Kate got up and wrapped herself in his dressing gown before following him to the front door. "Steve wait," she said just as he was about to step out the open door. She pulled him into her arms for a very thorough good bye kiss. A neighbour of Steve's was returning home and couldn't help but notice the loved up couple. With Kate in a dressing gown, it was fairly obvious what they had just been up to, but Kate didn't care.

"I gotta go but I'll be back soon," Steve said as he tore himself away from Kate who stood at the doorway and watched him go until he had disappeared around the corner. She caught the neighbour's eye and smiled bashfully before heading back inside.

On the floor was the morning post which they had walked past earlier. Stooping to pick up the envelopes, Kate saw one was addressed to her. Roughly tearing open the envelope she cast a look at the letter inside. Her new flat was ready for her to move in to. Ordinarily, this would have been good news but after what had just happened between her and Steve, Kate really didn't want to move out.

The afternoon didn't get much better. Steve rang her as she was preparing for her divorce hearing. He had an apologetic tone to his voice when he called. "I'm really sorry, Kate but I'm going to be busy this evening. The gaffer wants to take me and Georgia out for dinner. Meet his wife,".

"He's never done that for me," Kate pointed out, a little put out.

"Well I wish it wasn't tonight. I'd much rather spend it with you," Steve said, honestly.

"You'll jut have to eat fast and think of me in your bed. Naked," Kate teased suggestively.

"Don't say that Kate," Steve begged. The night would be torture if he knew she was doing that.


Ted was at the restaurant alone when Steve arrived. He joined Ted at the bar and they chatted about the case over a drink before Ted's wife arrived and Steve was finally introduced to his boss' other half.

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs Hastings," Steve said, taking note of the woman in front of him. Kate had demanded details when he returned back to his flat later that night and he didn't want to disappoint her.

"Roisin," Ted's wife corrected.

They were led to their table by their waiter for the evening.

"Well, it's about time. Ordinarily this'd be home cooked, but we're having the kitchen done," Ted said as they took their seats. Steve didn't miss the awkward look that Roisin gave Ted. Something was going on between the husband and wife, but Steve wasn't sure what.

They made small chat as they waited for Georgia to arrive and complete their table. They didn't have too much longer to wait before she arrived and drinks were ordered.

"Steve's been in AC a year now," Ted said to his wife once the waiter had left with their orders. "Every day's felt like a lifetime!" He joked.

"That'd make me about your age, sir!" Steve retorted.

"He likes the banter, the cheeky wee b-," Ted responded to Steve's remark.

"Ted," interrupted Roisin, giving her husband a glare. She knew that at work, foul language was used frequently, but she didn't want it used at the table.

"I was going to say 'boy. Cheeky wee boy," Ted defended himself although everyone knew he was lying. "See Steve, you need a good woman to keep you on the straight and narrow,".

Steve wanted to tell Ted that he'd found her and she was back at his flat waiting for him, but knew it was going to have to be a secret for the time being. Instead he bit his tongue and changed the topic of conversation. The dinner went smoothly with talk flowing easily between all parties. Soon it was time to pay the bill, which Ted insisted on doing himself.

"That's very generous, thanks sir," Steve thanked Ted as they were leaving the restaurant. They all said their goodbyes before Ted and his wife departed, leaving Steve and Georgia together.

"Fancy a nightcap?" Georgia asked. Steve knew that wasn't all she had on her mind. Usually he would have taken any woman up on that offer, but not now. Now he had Kate, he wasn't interested in anyone else.

Not tonight," Steve answered and Georgia knew she wouldn't have any luck in changing his mind. "Need a lift?" he offered instead. It was the least he could do if he wasn't taking her up on her offer- make sure she got home safely.

"Thanks," Georgia answered and followed Steve to his vehicle. The car was silent as Steve followed Georgia's instructions to her place. Rather wanting some back ground noise, Georgia leant forward and pressed the 'on' button on the entertainment centre wondering what Steve's taste in music would be like. Instead of the cheesy pop she had expected, her ears were unexpectedly now listening to some children's music CD. She looked at Steve for an explanation.

"Had Kate's son Josh in the car a few weekends ago," Steve explained. They had found themselves in a long traffic jam on their way to an amusement park that was to be the entertainment for the day. Kate had popped in the music to try and keep him entertained whilst hoping they wouldn't be stationary for long.

Steve mentioning Josh sounded very cosy and triggered something in Georgia. "Are you and Kate shagging?" she asked bluntly. Steve blushed whilst remaining quiet. Georgia instantly knew it was a guilty silence. "I thought you smelt of sex when you returned to work this afternoon,".

"I had a shower!" Steve said without thinking and saw the triumphant look on his passenger's face as he realised he had just outed his relationship with Kate unintentionally. "Please don't say anything to anyone. It's in its really early stages and I don't want to ruin it,".

"I won't," Georgia promised. "It's a shame you're taken though. I think you and me could have had some fun,".

"I'm looking for something more than fun," Steve admitted. "See you in the morning," he said later once they were outside Georgia's place and she was exiting the car. He waited until she was safe inside before driving off. The drive home gave him time to think. He really was looking for something more than fun with Kate. It hadn't been that long ago when that thought would have scared him, but with Kate it seemed so right that he wasn't afraid at all.

He finally reached home and found the place in darkness. Kate had obviously gone to bed. It wasn't surprising as it was her day in court tomorrow and she wanted to be fresh. Quietly making his way to his bedroom, he flicked the light on.

"Turn the light off!" Kate said firmly from the bed as she pulled the covers over her head.

"Sorry," replied Steve quickly as he did as commanded. He really hadn't expected Kate to be in his bed. Using touch, he found his way to the en-suite and turned the light on once he had closed the door. He quickly got ready for bed and once again felt his way before climbing in beside Kate. She had been there for a while as she had warmed the bed nicely for Steve. Not quite knowing how to act now Kate was in his bed, Steve just lay still and tried to go to sleep. It wasn't long before he felt Kate lift his arm and tuck herself into his side before placing his arm around her. "That's better," she muttered into his chest. "So?".

"What?" Steve asked.

"What's the gaffer's missus like?".

"Nice," Steve said and didn't expand on his conclusion.

"Is that it?" Kate asked in disbelief. "Useless," she declared before settling herself down. "Night," she whispered before settling down to sleep again. She would probe Steve more in the morning.