As always, I own nothing, make no money from this & do no harm (well not much) to any characters of anyone else's creation (my own are fair game so better duck & cover!). Thanks for reading, especially those who take the time to review as well, and my muse would love you to drop me a review to let me know what you think, be it good, bad or indifferent.
"Where is he? Where's my boy?" Zofia screeched as she entered the emergency department of St Hugh's hospital, eyes darting around looking for any familiar face.
"Can I help you?" The clerk at the reception desk looked unfazed, used to dealing with all manner of dramas during her shifts.
"My son was brought here by police. His name is Dawid… Dawid Podowski." Zofia informed her urgently, a hopeful gleam in her eyes.
The clerk tapped a few keys on her machine, asking Zofia to clarify the spelling, before signalling that she should take a seat and a nurse would fetch her just as soon as they had finished checking Dawid over. As Zofia and Izzy took seats, the clerk asked a porter to let the detective who had accompanied the young boy that his mother had arrived in the department. As soon as Sam was informed, she made her way to the waiting room from her post outside the side room where Dawid was being examined, indicating for a uniformed officer to take her place and make sure that no unauthorised personnel entered.
"Hi Zofia, Izzy. Dawid's a brave young man, he's been incredible. The doctors are just with him now, making sure he's physically well enough to come home with you." Sam was engulfed in a tight hug by a very grateful Zofia.
"I can't thank you enough, ever. We are so pleased to have my boy back, aren't we Izzy?"
"Yes Mama," Izzy agreed, tears causing her eyes to sparkle.
"We're very pleased to be able to bring him back to you as well. We will need to talk to Dawid at the police station but once he's discharged from here, I think it would be better for you all if you take him home and spend some time together as a family. He's been through a lot and he might act differently than you're used to. You have my numbers, if at any time you're worried about him at all, you can call me and I will do whatever I can." Sam advised after extricating herself from the mother's arms. "Let me go and see if the doctor has finished his examination."
"Ready to do this? You'll at least be a little more comfortable if we get this horrible gown off you." Lucy asked after an extended cuddle with her girlfriend.
"I am comfortable, right here." Jo murmured into Lucy's stomach where her head still rested, her eyes drifting closed again as she luxuriated in the warmth of the young woman's body and the feel of gentle arms around her.
"And as much as I love having you in my arms I really do think that you'd be better off lying down and getting some more rest," Lucy stated, once again running her fingers through Jo's hair.
"I don't want you to go," Jo admitted quietly.
"I won't, not until you're sleeping, I promise," came the heartfelt reply.
"You don't have to do this, you know. You can still walk away and I won't think any less of you." Despite how good it felt to have Lucy near, Jo was scared about what her reaction would be once the gown was removed and her ugliness was laid bare.
"No Jo, I can't. I need my heart to walk anywhere and my heart's right here with you. The sooner you get used to the idea of me sticking around, the better but I will tell you and show you as many times as it takes until you believe that I'm not going anywhere without you. Now, let's get this gown off you and your pyjama top on before the nurses come in to check I'm not shagging you senseless behind these curtains." Jo couldn't prevent the giggle that bubbled up from inside her at the idea of Lucy doing just that and them being interrupted by a disgruntled nurse. The sound of it warmed the young brunette's heart no end, igniting a glimmer of hope that Jo was not too depressed not to respond to humour. Lucy unfastened the ties which were keeping the garment closed and eased the flimsy material down Jo's arms. She was careful to keep her expression neutral as Jo's head turned away, her eyes clamped tightly closed. "Jo, sweetheart, open your eyes. You need to face it sometime, the sooner the better. I'm here, let me help you. Come on baby, it's not as bad as you might be imagining."
Jo took a shuddering breath, tensing as she felt her lover's hand running along her jaw, not forcing her to turn her head, simply gently caressing her encouragingly. "I can't."
"Then look at me. Look into my eyes and see for yourself that I don't pity you, I'm not repulsed by your body, that I love you with every fibre of my being," Lucy implored, applying a little more pressure to Jo's jaw in an effort to bring her face back towards her. When Jo still failed to open her eyes, Lucy dipped her head, kissing along the strong jawbone closest to her, trailing up to the older woman's ear, whispering words of love and devotion, distracting Jo from the movement of her hands. Before she knew it, the detective's pyjama jacket was being fastened up the front of her torso. Her expression telegraphed her surprise and earned her a teasing grin from her lover. "See , that wasn't so bad was it?" Jo could only shake her head in wonder as she allowed herself to be manoeuvred back into a prone position on the bed. Lucy re-covered the exhausted woman, watching her eyes battling to stay open, eyelids sluggish and heavy. "Sleep now, sweetheart and I'll be back before you know it." The young brunette kissed Jo's forehead and squeezed her hand before perching in the chair, planning on staying until she was sure the older woman was asleep.
Sam strode through St Hugh's labyrinthine corridors. She couldn't be so close to Jo and not make some attempt to find out how her friend was doing. The main reception had yielded the name of the ward to which Jo had been transferred and that was where Sam was heading, determined to know something more before she returned to the station. As she rounded the last corner, she almost bulldozed Lucy who was just exiting the ward.
"Sam," the brunette exclaimed. "Is everything ok? Are you here to see Jo?"
"I was here on a case but I couldn't leave without trying to see how she was. I was just planning on asking the staff, I didn't know if she'd be up to visitors." Sam explained, looking closely at the young woman.
"She's … you know, she's ok, I've just left her asleep. The pain medication she's on is still knocking her out a bit." Sam read between the lines, seeing the tension in Lucy's shoulders and around her eyes.
"Want to get a coffee and talk about it?" The raven-haired woman seemed to deflate at the suggestion, the reserves of strength and pride, which were keeping her tears from falling, threatening to crumble. She nodded as she gave Sam a watery smile. "Come on then, there's a Costa Coffee across the street, my treat." Once again, Lucy found herself thanking her lucky stars for Jo's friends as she trailed after the remarkable blonde.
Lorna busied herself sifting through the inordinate amount of detritus which served to make up her latest crime scene. The fire had been fierce and intense, that much was obvious from the level of damage to what had at one time been a respectable family home. The fire department were still hovering, raking over piles of debris and making sure all the embers were sufficiently doused to avoid any re-ignition. In truth, the Scot was inordinately grateful to have plenty of work to keep her mind occupied, knowing that sorting through the evidence from this incident would take her well beyond the end of her shift and give her little time to dwell on the talk she needed to have with her daughter over the weekend. Looking around her, Lorna's eyes alighted on an imposing building on the near horizon, standing proud above the rooftops of the terraced houses. The adornments on the roof tugged at the back of her mind, her memory grappling to recall the significance of the cross and dome. Figuring that the less she tried to recall it, the more likely it was that the memory would resurface, she moved on to another area of the devastated house which required her attention.
"Any evidence of what started the fire yet, Lorna?" DS Turner's smug voice rang out from behind a dust mask covering his mouth and nose in an effort to keep out the strong acrid smell which lingered in the air.
"Not yet, no but I've only just been given the go ahead to start processing the scene. Give me time and I might have some answers. How come CID are interested so soon?" Lorna placed one hand on her hip as she appraised the young sergeant with a cool stare.
"Houses don't tend to spontaneously combust. I thought it might be useful to take a look while the scene was fresh in case it turns out to have been started deliberately." Stuart felt his hackles beginning to rise at the indirect challenge on his presence from the red-headed woman. Lorna simply raised an eyebrow and returned her attention to her work, deciding the best course of action was to ignore him in the hopes that he would crawl back under whichever rock he had come out from. "Make sure you keep me informed of anything you find. If this does turn out to have been arson, I'll be heading up the investigation." Stuart told her, a supercilious smirk on his face which Lorna would have happily wiped off under different circumstances.
"Fine. Now if you don't mind, I've got a lot of rooms to process and I don't need you contaminating any evidence." Lorna made it clear that she was done with talking to the sleazy officer, not trusting him one iota and wanting him as far away from her as possible. Stuart watched her for a moment or two longer before turning and removing himself from her vicinity.
"So how was she really?" Sam asked once she and Lucy were settled in a corner of the coffee shop away from other patrons, each nursing a hot mug and sinking gratefully into the cosy leather arm chairs. She watched Lucy toy with the rim of her cup as she chose how to answer.
"Honestly? She was depressed and had told the staff she didn't want to see anyone, no visitors at all. Fortunately, they didn't take that too literally and still let me sit with her but she wasn't impressed too see me to begin with. She was telling me to leave, not just there and then but to walk away and not go back to her." Lucy paused to take a sip of her latté, her mind wandering back over the bleak expression on her lover's face when she had arrived.
"That's Jo's way of dealing with things. Pushing people away, she thinks she's protecting them and doing what's best. You might find yourself dealing with a lot of that and sometimes, you might have to honour her wishes, give her some space and trust that she will let you back in when she's ready to," Sam advised, sporting a troubled expression.
"I told her that I understood what she was doing and why but that she couldn't protect us this time from being hurt, that we are all hurting for her but I made it clear that I'm not going anywhere, I'm not leaving her no matter what she says. I couldn't survive if I walked away, I'd never forgive myself. Sam I… I undressed her, changed her into her own pyjamas rather than that grotty hospital gown they had her in. I couldn't react, she was so insecure about being ugly and grotesque she couldn't even open her eyes. God Sam, it was so hard to hide my shock – don't get me wrong, I don't… it hasn't changed how I feel about her or that I think she's beautiful but it was heartbreaking to see the stark evidence of her disease like that." A wave of nausea washed over the young brunette as she recalled the large dressing and faint discolouration peeking out beyond it. "All I could do was hold her close and tell her how much I loved her, everything that I love about her and hope that it was enough."
"Oh Lucy, that was a very brave thing that you did, facing the reality of her surgery straight away. I'm not sure I'd have been strong enough to do what you did, that took guts and even though you found it hard, you've got that first glimpse of it out of the way. You did exactly the right thing. You showed her at the best possible time that you adore her and want that physical contact. You didn't shy away despite seeing her at her most naked and vulnerable." Sam implored Lucy to believe her, to accept that she was doing the right things and not to over-think everything.
"I knew it'd be hard but I didn't think it would be this hard, this soon." Lucy was physically shaking, her strength giving way to overwhelming terror at the prospect of what lay ahead. Almost as though she was trying to persuade herself, she murmured over and over, "I can do this, I can do this."
"We can do this," Sam agreed, determinedly, reaching across the low table and squeezing the young woman's clammy palm.
"Sam, a word in my office?" DCI Meadows caught his DI as she strode back up the stairs towards CID.
"Of course, Sir." Sam followed, closing the door behind her and taking a seat in the chair opposite her superior officer, crossing her legs and resting her joined hands on top of her knee to disguise the fact that they were shaking.
"How did it go with Dawid at the hospital?" Jack asked, after settling himself in his own chair.
"As well as can be expected. There's extensive physical evidence of trauma from the abuse but nothing that warrants keeping him in hospital overnight. The family were overjoyed to be reunited. When I left them, a uniformed officer was just about to take them all home," Sam informed her boss.
"So you're confident you can close the case by the end of today?" Jack pressed.
"Well, we appear to have the man responsible for Dawid's abduction in custody but until he's been interviewed and the loose ends tied up, we can't be sure of anything. With all due respect sir, you know that." Sam sensed that Jack was under increasing pressure to make the Podowski investigation go away, which made her all the more suspicious about the neatness and convenience of the circumstances which had led them to find Dawid.
"Don't chase shadows on this one, Sam. We've got our man, let it go. The website is CEOPs responsibility, not ours. They have the manpower and the resources to dig into that whereas here, there are other investigations requiring your attention. Where did you go after you left the Podowski's at the hospital?" Jack asked, changing tack as he saw Sam's defences rising.
"I thought I'd check on Jo, see how she was doing and let her know Dawid had been found. I bumped into her partner, Lucy, as I got to the ward. Jo was asleep so I took Lucy for coffee." Sam felt under scrutiny, immediately deciding it was a sensation she could live without experiencing again in a hurry. Despite knowing she had done nothing wrong, there was an irrational pang of guilt which shot through her.
Jack's voice softened, the man behind the rank peeping through at the mention of his stricken officer. "How's Jo doing?"
"She made it through the operation ok. Now the uphill battle really begins though. Time will tell." Sam's heart held a now familiar ache as she thought of her close friend and the fight she faced.
"She's a strong one, Sam. If anyone can beat cancer, Jo can. She'll be back here before you know it, driving you mad and pushing the boundaries." Jack could only hope that was the case. Despite his gentle teasing, he considered Jo to be one of his best officers and would be devastated if she was no longer part of the team.
"I hope so," Sam admitted quietly. There was a brief pause where neither of them knew what to say before the DI sighed and asked, "was there anything else you needed me for, sir?"
"No, I don't think so," Jack replied, adding "Sam, please be careful and try to wrap this up quickly and quietly. I'm getting an unusual amount of pressure from above to make this go away and whilst, off the record, I'd like to know why, I can't afford to have you suspended."
"With all due respect, Sir, I appreciate your concern but we do still need to talk to Andrew Kirk regarding Izzy's allegations of abuse at his hands. We would be negligent in our duties if we ignored such an accusation, especially regarding someone who works in a school." Jack nodded resignedly, accepting Sam's logic and hoping he could persuade the powers that be that it was a separate investigation from the Dawid Podowksi case.
"What's that building across the road?" Lorna asked PC Green as she emerged from the scorched front door of the fire ravaged house.
Following the direction of the crime scene technician's outstretched finger, Beth answered, "St Barnabas School. It's an old workhouse though dating back to Victorian times but was converted into a school in the 1960's, first as a private boys school and now as a mixed private boarding school. Imposing structure isn't it?"
"It certainly is. Thanks PC Green, you're a font of information." It had come back to Lorna during her processing of the house what the importance of the cross and domed roof was, recalling Sam mentioning it during one of their conversations about the missing child case. There was sufficient evidence of accelerant patterns in the burn marks for Lorna to be confident of ruling the fire suspicious and she couldn't help but wonder if it was in some way connected. She resolved to speak to Sam about it the next time she could be sure there were no ears around to listen in, the thought of that necessitating being alone with the blonde woman making her pulse race with desire and fear in equal measure.
"Most of it useless, I know," Beth quipped self-deprecatingly.
"Not at all, I'm sure. And what one person might consider useless may be priceless to another," Lorna assured her warmly with a smile before hefting her case and trudging off towards her car, white coverall suit rustling as she walked. She stripped out of the unflattering overall at the back of her vehicle, pulling a disposal bag out of her boot and stuffing the garment inside, gloves and shoe protectors following suit.
"So what's the verdict on the cause of the fire?" Stuart's oily voice sounded close behind her sending shivers down her spine.
"My report will be on your desk as soon as I have finished examining all the trace evidence collected. So far, I'd have to say that there are sufficient markers to suggest that it is suspicious, beyond that I'm not prepared to commit yet."
"So you think it was set deliberately? For what purpose?" DS Turner pressed, fishing to see just what the technician had discovered.
"That wasn't what I said. The evidence I have found cannot rule out the possibility but nor does it conclusively prove arson was the cause, at least not as yet. I cannot tell you what further examination of that evidence will turn up and it is not in my nature, nor in my job description to speculate on motive. I believe, Sergeant, that that is where you come in." Lorna stowed her kit in the boot of her car, initiating the central locking to secure all doors before unlocking just the drivers door. She was overcome with a strong need to get away from the detective's shadow and back to the laboratory where she could lose herself in analysis and facts and figures. Stuart watched her drive away as he pulled out his phone and dialled Heaton's number.
"DS Turner, what can I do for you?"
"Lorna Hart, that red-haired Scottish crime scene technician, is nosing around into this fire on Dickens Avenue. She seems to suspect foul play. Could be something that needs keeping an eye on." Stuart informed his superior officer coolly.
"Keep me apprised." Heaton ended the call without any further exchange, slamming his hand down on his desk in frustration. "Damn careless idiots and nosey women."