Whooooooop 100 reviews in total! Wow, I'm humbled beyond words. Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to review so far, I really do appreciate your continued support (especially given the extended hiatus it went on!) and thank you to A for Antechinus and iheartsergeantsmith for the reviews on the last chapter - glad it provoked the kind of reactions I was going for! :o)

So yeah yeah, onto the boring disclaimer part (seriously why, we're 40 chapters in, do you think I'm going to claim some kind of ownership this late to the party?) I own nothing, I make no profit or money from this, I'm just exercising my muse with some characters who are otherwise languishing in the annals of tv history.

And now, on with the show...

"One of us should stay, despite what she says she shouldn't be on her own right now," Moira muttered as herself, Sam and Grace all huddled together in the entrance hall of Lorna's home.

"Grace, could you head back to the station and make enquiries about the possibility of a visual identification of the body? At this stage, I doubt it's possible but at least if you have the answers, it might help Lorna in some sense," Sam requested of her colleague, casting a fretful glance back at the doorway to the lounge where her lover had resumed pacing. With a brief firm nod, DC Dasari slipped out of the front door to do as she had been asked, offering promises to be in touch as soon as she knew anything more. The two remaining women watched one another, each mentally sizing up who would be best placed to appease the agitated Scot. "You've known her longer than me, what do you think is the best way to do this?" Sam enquired softly, fearful of being sent away but also of staying in case her presence only made things more difficult.

"Honestly, I don't know, Sam. I've never seen her like this, not even after James. I don't know how to reach out to her but I can't just do as she told us and leave her by herself." Moira's voice was rough from her own tears, fear clutching at her throat and making the formation of words a struggle.

"I want to stay, I want to be with her but I don't know if doing that right now would make things worse. The last thing I want to do is to make her feel like she's under even more pressure, like I'm only around because we've just begun this relationship and it's expected that I'll stand by her. I need to talk to her, to get her to listen to me and I need to make sure she gets some proper rest. Has she slept at all since I left this morning?" The DI was increasingly worried as her lover completed endless circuits of the cramped living room, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she wasn't alone.

Moira shook her head, watching the other woman sadly, "no, she insisted I lay down but unless she slept while I did, she's running on whatever sleep you managed to settle her enough for last night."

"Two hours, at most, then. Just in case, do you know the name and number of her GP? I'm hoping it won't come to it but I'd like to know we're prepared just in case she won't let herself rest." The blonde braced herself, hand resting on the doorknob, as she readied herself to go back into the lounge.

"I know where to find it if we need it," Moira assured. "I'll hang back, wait in the kitchen, give you and her some space. Give me a shout if you need anything." Turning away from the doorway, Sam wrapped her lover's sister in a brief tight hug.

"I know this can't be easy for you either but I really appreciate your strength and support and I'm sure Lorna does too," Sam whispered sincerely as she pulled away, ducking into the lounge without giving Moira chance to respond.

There was no recognition of her presence, no indication that Lorna was even aware she had company in the confined space, as Sam stood just inside of the doorway surveying the scene and formulating a plan. She watched and waited as Lorna completed a further two circuits of the room, passing almost within touching distance of her position, before she made her move. On the third pass, Sam fell into step beside her, not speaking, not touching, just being there beside her, navigating around furniture and obstacles to keep pace.

"I told you to leave." The tone was dead, flat, emotionless. The taller woman offered no break in her stride, no pause in her step, not even a sideways glance.

"And yet I'm still here," Sam responded evenly, matching Lorna step for step, never wavering from her own path in the hopes of avoiding crowding the already spooked CSE.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" Lorna spun on her heel and switched direction, circling back the way she had come.

Sam followed a fraction of a second later. "What kind of person would I be if I abandoned you at a time like this? How could I leave you and still purport to care about you in any way?"

"I can't do this. I can't handle you making this about us right now."

"It's not about us in any other sense than first and foremost I am your friend and friends do not leave each other to suffer and struggle and grieve alone."

"I can't give you what you want. Please just go." Desperation was creeping back into Lorna's voice as though she was having a battle to remain aloof and detached.

"And what is it that you think I want?" Sam asked, growing tired of the incessant march and stepping in front of Lorna as she moved, effectively trapping her in a corner beside the chair beneath the window. Lorna attempted to dodge out around her but Sam still matched her move for move, giving her no room to escape. The tall Scot emitted a warning growl but Sam still refused to back down. "What do I want from you that you can't give?"

"I… I… you… we…" Lorna floundered, seeming to run out of steam as her words dried up.

"I know you're scared. I know you're hurting so badly it's almost more than you can bear. I know you're angry and confused and want to lash out to release some of that pent up tension inside you. I understand that your only focus is and can be on your daughter, your family, right now. I don't expect you to be a girlfriend, a lover, a partner right now. I just want you to be you, to do what you need to do, what you feel you have to do and I want you to be safe in the knowledge that, whilst I'm not going through exactly what you're going through, I will be by your side, supporting you through it all without any kinds of expectations. There isn't a thing in the world I want from you right now other than your honesty... and maybe an assurance that you'll at least think about getting some food and some sleep once in a while." As she spoke each heartfelt word, Sam pressed a little closer to the jittery redhead, forcing her to take a seat in the chair at her back.

"How can I? How can I even think about food or sleep when my little girl could still be out there having who knows what done to her by those men? What if she needs me and I'm asleep and can't get to her?"

"What if she needs you and you're too tired, too weak from lack of food and sleep, to get to her?" Sam countered softly.

"What if it's really her in the morgue? What will I do then?" The full extent of her devastation shone through in her voice, eyes glistening with tears she refused to shed.

"Then you will learn to go on living, to do all the things Katie would want you to do. You'll take each day as it comes and you'll be supported and surrounded by those of us who care about you and whom you will allow to help you."

"I can't… I can't go through this… not again. James…" Lorna slumped forward, arms folded across her knees, head resting against her forearms, her posture and her words screaming defeat. Sam crouched down in front of her, sliding her arms alongside Lorna's thighs to steady herself as much as to offer support.

"I'll help you find the strength to, as will Moira and all your friends. I know it seems hopeless at the moment and too hard to contemplate learning to live with but people do get through situations like this and learn to go on." Sam wished that she could offer more; promises that Katie would be fine, that the body found her not been hers, promises that Lorna would soon find comfort and solace from the world around her, promises that she could keep but there were no such assurances she could give. Leaning in closer, she ran one hand up her lover's taut back, resting her head beside Lorna's bowed own in an awkward embrace. Moira hovered in the doorway with silent tears streaking over her cheeks. She had fully intended to remain in the kitchen unless her presence was required but as the minutes ticked on, the quiet had crowded in on her, making her already fraught nerves raw with worry. On silent feet, she crossed the lounge, crouching in front of Lorna on the opposite side to Sam and wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders, burying her own head in between their bowed ones.

"Lorna wants to make a visual identification of the body. She doesn't want to wait around for DNA and dentist records to come back. Any chance the coroner will hold off on the PM and let us show Lorna the girl if we promise no evidence will be compromised?" Grace knew it was a long shot but felt compelled to ask DI Manson anyway, if for no other reason than so she could honestly tell Sam she had tried.

"Not a chance. With the amount of scrutiny this case will be under if that body does turn out to be Katie Hart, we can't afford any suggestion that the chain of evidence was tampered with, however slight that possibility might be. We've seen firsthand how the people behind this whole operation work. If we're going to get them, we have to do everything by the book and make a watertight case." Neil ran a hand over his jaw, feeling the vague stubble beginning to break the surface of his chin and remembering that he had not had time to shave before heading into work that day. Undoubtedly, by the time his shift ended, he would be sporting a distinct five o'clock shadow. "I understand why Lorna would want it over with as soon as possible but for the sake of ensuring our best chance at getting justice, we have to let the post-mortem go ahead first. The DNA results should be back within the next 24 hours. I know that'll seem like a lifetime to the family but it's better we do this right than risk it all backfiring on us somewhere down the line."

"You didn't see her, Neil. 24 hours won't be a lifetime to her, it'll be an eternity of self-recrimination and endless questioning. She ordered everyone to leave, completely, she just shut down. I can't imagine what Sam must be going through right now." Grace was not normally one to gossip about her co-workers private affairs but since it was intrinsically tied to the case and they were alone in Neil's office, she felt safe enough to let her guard down slightly.

"Sam's professional enough to know how to handle it. She might no longer be actively investigating the case but she would never jeopardise a conviction arising from it," Neil replied coolly, not understanding the depth of her connection to the family.

"I doubt professionalism will help her much right now. The daughter of her partner is missing presumed dead, her best friend is battling breast cancer and she's in the midst of one of the biggest cases this force has ever been a part of. Do you not think she's entitled to be feeling the pressure just a little?" Grace snapped testily. She cared for Neil a great deal but honestly, sometimes the man could be so obtuse!

"Sam… and Lorna? I thought… Jack said conflict of interest, I just assumed it was because of her involvement in the investigation. How long has that been going on?" Neil asked, genuinely shocked. He hadn't seen that coming, in fact he had still been harbouring suspicions that Sam cared more for Stuart's welfare than she was leading him to believe.

"Does it make a difference? All that matters right now, surely, is that we can't treat Sam as a colleague in this. We can't depend on her to think with her DI mind when she's going to be focused on being there for Lorna as part of the family. I think we need to make it clear to them both that there's no way Lorna can view the body, at least not until after the autopsy and only if we get confirmation that it's Katie."

"And by 'we', you mean me?" DI Manson enquired with a tiny hint of a smile in his eye.

"Well, Guv," Grace intoned, emphasising his title, "I think Sam is more likely to accept it from you than from me. We might have to treat her like a civilian but she still outranks me!"

"OK, well why don't we head over there at the end of the shift? We can inform them both of what they need to let happen and then maybe I could interest you in a drink?" The slender brunette DI cocked an eyebrow as he regarded his companion, a woman with whom he had had numerous flirtations over the years but never really pursued. He wondered if it wasn't perhaps time to remedy that.

"I'd like to Neil, but perhaps not tonight? I'm exhausted and really, I'd just rather get my head down for a few hours before I'm back here. Tomorrow's my last day on for three though so could we take a rain-check?" Grace absentmindedly fiddled with the blotter on Neil's desk, nudging it with her fingertips until it was perfectly aligned against the straight edge.

"A rain-check it is," Neil replied quietly, allowing himself to feel a small glimmer of hope that there might yet be a future for himself and the enigmatic, raven-haired detective.

Sam heard her mobile phone ring again, having ignored it the previous two times in favour of continuing to assist Moira with getting Lorna up the stairs and into bed. Snatching the irritating device out of her pocket, she glanced at the display, frowning in confusion when her own home number came up. She stepped back out into the hallway, moving a little away from the bedroom.

"Hello?"

"Mum, thank God, where are you?" Abi's voice screeched hysterically through the speaker and into Sam's ear, making the older woman wince noticeably.

"I'm at a friend's house, why? What's the matter?" Sam was tired and as much as she loved her daughter and grandson, she wasn't sure she had the energy for one of her dramas.

"When will you be home? I need to stay for a few days, Mike and I need some time apart." Mike was Abi's latest boyfriend, a pleasant, well-meaning young man who obviously adored the younger Nixon and her son but was perhaps too laidback for his own good.

"I'm not sure I will be home tonight, Abigail, I need to stay here." Though their relationship had improved over the years, especially since Jared's birth, there were still times when Abi's selfishness instantly riled Sam's temper. She attempted to take a step back and be more tolerant, realising that her daughter had not been privy to the happenings of the previous weeks; she had no idea about her relationship with Lorna, or her involvement in the high profile investigation into the paedophile ring, nor about Katie's disappearance.

"So you're off enjoying the 'company' of a 'friend' rather than supporting your daughter through a traumatic break-up? Nice to know you put getting laid above helping out your family, Mum!"

"Abigail Clare Nixon, that was unnecessary and uncalled for. You know nothing about my circumstances at the moment but I can guess with fair certainty what yours are. Once again, you've been picking and picking and picking at your poor boyfriend over something trivial because you wanted a reason for a fight and when he finally gave in and fought back, you walked out." Sam released a tired sigh, "look Abi, I'm sorry things are difficult between you and Mike right now but I'm where I have to be. A very good friend of mine, her daughter has been abducted and earlier today she was informed that a body has been found which matches her description. Please understand that it's not that I don't care about you, just that right now, someone else needs me more. I need to be here for her right now, at least until we know for sure whether it was her daughter who was found."

"I'm sorry for your friend, Mum, really I am, but I'm family, doesn't that take priority? We rarely get to see you as it is, your grandson adores you and doesn't get to spend enough time with you. Doesn't your friend have other family who can take care of her?" Abi whined into the receiver of her mother's phone, scowling at the thought of the woman dropping everything to run to her friend's side.

"It's complicated and not something I wish to get into right now over the telephone. Feel free to stay as long as you need to, help yourself to anything in the cupboards and fridge. You know where everything is. Once I know what's what and I know when I can get away, I'll call and tell you. If you're still there when I do come home, I'll see you then. If not, we'll make some time soon to get together and talk." Sam's tone brooked no argument, realising that appealing to Abi's better nature was futile once her mind was made up on something. And right at that moment, Abi had obviously decided that Sam's place was with her and nothing and no one else mattered.

Jo awoke to a dark room and a cold, empty bed. Rolling onto her side, she squinted at the clock on the table beside her bed attempting to make sense of the digital display. She groaned when she saw that it was just short of midnight. Knowing that she wouldn't get back to sleep unless she quieted her restless mind and assured herself that Lucy hadn't run off, the newly shorn brunette clambered out from beneath the duvet, swiftly snatching up the oversized t-shirt and checked brushed cotton trousers which currently served as her pyjamas and dressing herself. Despite having fallen asleep in such a haze of contentment, she couldn't seem to silence that niggling little voice in the back of her mind which still pushed her to believe Lucy would bolt at the first opportunity. Creeping stealthily down the stairs, the detective listened keenly for any sounds of her lover's whereabouts. A quiet knock signalled the placement of a glass tumbler onto the kitchen table or work surface. Jo followed the noise, standing in the doorway to her kitchen – their kitchen – and allowing herself a moment to admire the sensuous body wrapped in just a simple, shimmering maroon robe. Her girlfriend's attire assured her that the young woman had no intention of running off into the night, at least not any time soon.

"Hey baby, the bed's mighty cold without you there you know," Jo murmured tenderly, slinking across the kitchen and wrapping her arms around her lover's waist, dropping a brief series of kisses against her cheek and exposed neck.

"Sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to wake you up. My brain wouldn't keep quiet enough to let me sleep so I got up, I didn't want my tossing and turning to disturb you." Lucy kept her weight slightly rocked forward, conscious of not wanting to lean her weight onto Jo's still tender chest. She did manage to twist her neck sideways and meet the taller woman's lips with her own in an exploratory kiss which left them both flushed with desire.

"This is how it works, ok? If you expect me to wake you if ever I can't sleep during the night, I expect the same of you as well. I seem to spend most of my time sleeping at the moment so keeping you company for a while when you're up is no hardship to me at all, I'll soon catch it up elsewhere," Jo cautioned, gazing intently into the young woman's mesmerising eyes. "Want to grab a brew and sit cuddled up under a blanket on the couch while we chat about whatever's keeping you awake?"

"You're sweet to offer but really you should get back to bed. It's too cold to be down here in just a t-shirt, you'll catch a chill." Lucy trembled slightly in Jo's embrace, a miniscule movement which the DC mistook for a shiver.

"And you're so much more suitably dressed aren't you? Are you hiding a full jumpsuit beneath that robe Ms Sorella?" As Jo asked her teasing question, one hand slipped inside the gap between the two folds of the silky material, sliding her hand over cool, naked flesh. "Mm-hmm, just as I thought. Don't fob me off, love. I won't sleep until I know you're ok and resting with me." The hand closed over a succulent breast, simply resting there as though testing its weight in her palm.

"Jo…" Lucy groaned arching into the touch. "Torture is not an acceptable interrogation technique in this day and age, you know?"

"Torture? You call this torture? Oh darlin', you ain't seen nothing yet!" Jo quipped, tweaking the burgeoning nipple bud between her thumb and forefinger, rolling it and tugging on it playfully. Moving her lips to rest beside her lover's ear, she whispered huskily, "I could get you so turned on, so desperate to cum, that you'd tell me whatever I wanted to know just so I'd get you off if I really wanted to torture you."

"Oh fuck…" Lucy's swarthy skin was flushed with a rosy hue, her head lolled back onto Jo's broad shoulder and her breath came out in short pants as a fresh flood of arrival seeped from her core coating not just her sex but the tops of her inner thighs too.

"I intend to…" Jo breathed, rocking her hips forward into Lucy's own before pulling away and retrieving her hand, "but first we are going to talk. I don't care if it's here, the lounge or back up in bed but we are talking about why you're awake."

Lorna's head rose wearily from where it had been drooping between her knees as Sam re-entered the bedroom. The dynamic blonde offered a gentle smile, crossing the room and dropping onto the bed beside her lover, sliding a hand across the back of her shoulders and rubbing at the tense muscles.

"Why don't you lie down and try to get a bit more comfortable?"

"Who was on the phone?" Lorna countered almost belligerently.

"Abigail. She came home and was checking where I was," Sam admitted with a frown, not wanting to talk about her own daughter in case it made Lorna's situation even more painful for her.

"What are you doing here then? You should be with her." A mournful sigh escaped from Lorna's lips, her eyes drifting closed to mask her anguish.

"She doesn't need me with her, she just needed somewhere to escape to after the latest spat with her boyfriend of the moment. I'd rather be here, with you," she replied, placing her free hand over Lorna's clasped fists. The fiery Scot's head snapped up at that statement, eyes moist but filled with incredulity.

"Don't you dare waste a single second you have with that girl, not one single solitary second. You never know when it might be the last you'll get. So you get yourself home and show her how much she means to you. I'm a big girl, I'll be fine." Moira observed the exchange with interest, opting to remain a silent witness. She understood the sentiment behind her sister's assertion but doubted her final statement was wholly accurate.

"I don't want to leave you…" Sam confessed tenderly.

"Go to Abi. Please do this for me. If anything happened to her, what would that do to us? How would we get past that? It would destroy any kind of relationship between us, over time you'd come to resent having spent that time with me instead of with her and as an extension, resent me too. Please don't make me live with that as well." There was a weary resignation, a desolate acceptance that her perception would indeed come to pass, that Abi would come to harm if Sam were to stay.

Finally Moira spoke up, sensing the battle raging within her sister's partner and knowing that further discourse would only lead to greater tension. "I'll stay here, I'll keep Lorna company and we'll ring you as soon as we have anything new to tell you."

With a heavy heart, Sam nodded her agreement knowing when she was fighting a losing battle. The blonde dynamo wrapped her lover in a firm embrace, squeezing her tightly and brushing her lips over her cheek. Sam indicated she would see herself out as she fled from the room. Lorna retained her stoic poise until the dull click of the front door's lock sounded as it engaged, signalling Sam's departure, then the Scot's posture collapsed, her facade slipping to reveal the full extent of her devastation at having to let her rock go.

"That was a very selfless thing you just did, Lol," Moira assured, trying to sooth her sibling as she pulled her into a warm hug.

"Then why do I feel like my soul just walked out of that door?" Lorna sobbed.