Will wandered along the corridor towards the soft interview room. It had been a while since he had left Emma with Ruby and he knew she was always a little unsure around children. The truth was she was fantastic with them but had zero confidence in most of the thing she did. He opened the door quietly in case he was disturbing them and stepped inside. He smiled happily as he saw the cutest sight before him; Emma was sitting curled up on the sofa with Ruby asleep on her lap. Emma was nodding off still clutching one of Ruby's books.

Will turned to leave again but Emma stirred and her eyes flickered open. She smiled across the room at him and beckoned him over so he sat on the end of the sofa. Ruby began to mumble softly to herself and Emma started to play with her hair. Ruby turned round and buried her face in Emma's jumper before looking up at her and smiling still with her thumb in her mouth.

"Does it taste good?" Will asked laughing slightly as he pulled her thumb out of her mouth and wiped it on her jumper. Ruby nodded and grinned back cheekily. "You hungry toots?" He asked again as she clambered off Emma's knee and flung herself at him.

"Yes please." She said batting her eyelids at him.

"Oooh looks like you've got yourself an admirer there Will." Emma said getting up as well.

"Jealous are we?" Will said laughing at her. She scowled so he walked over to her while still carrying Ruby. "Aww sorry babe, didn't mean to offend you." He continued, kissing her.

"You're gonna squish Ruby…and if this goes any further she'll be mentally scarred for life you bad boy!" Emma said pulling away from Will but taking Ruby with her. "Us girls are going to get some chocolate aren't we Ruby, you coming Will?"

"Ooh I love chocolate!" He said excitedly, running to catch up with them.

"Who loves chocolate?" Gina said coming out of her office and laughing at the unlikely trio.

"Will does." Emma replied simply before trying to make her escape to the canteen with Ruby.

"Hey slow down tiger, you ain't going anywhere." Gina said at Emma's retreating back.

"Missus is hungry though." Emma whined trying to get out of doing some proper work.

"I'm sure Smithy would be happy to look after her, wouldn't you Smithy." Gina said staring him down.

"Yes ma'am. Come on toots lets go get some food." He said lifting Ruby out of Emma's arms.

Ruby pouted and held out her arms for Emma again but unfortunately for her Smithy was on a mission and didn't stop, even when she tapped him on the nose indignantly.

"Looks like he's got a handful there." Gina remarked beckoning them into her office.

"No she's actually really sweet, just very attached to Will. Ain't she?" Emma said resting her hand on Will's arm subconsciously. Will just smiled back at her and then they continued to listen to Gina ranting on about the fire at the social work offices.

"The whole bloody service has shut down just like that, leaving this poor little girl stranded. She'll have to stay with a relative or family friend tonight without all the background checks because there are simply no people spare!" Gina exclaimed.

Gina frowned as she stopped talking. They were certainly listening to her but what was bothering her was that Emma still hadn't moved her hand from Will's arm. He looked almost lovingly at her when she opened her mouth to speak. Gina had to use all of her energy to concentrate on what Emma was saying rather than on what Gina suspected was going on between the pair.

"She has no family, her mother was adopted and the father only ever had one parent living with him and unfortunately she died when he was young as well. There are no aunts, uncles, cousins or godparents. Even family friends are scarce as her mother was a bit reclusive. The neighbours say that the little girl never has friends over and the mother and daughter go everywhere together, practically joint at the hip one of them mentioned." Emma said sadly.

"So we've got an orphan with no relatives what-so-ever on our hands now!" Gina said exasperatedly.

"Looks like it ma'am. Listen though; I was thinking what if she stays with me until social services can pick up the slack. I mean she knows me a little and I think she trusts me." Will said nervously.

"Look Will, it's nothing personal but if it was a female making this request then maybe but I don't think I can authorise this kind of thing. I'm not sure you could handle it on your own either." Gina said trying to explain the best she could.

"He won't be on his own though." Emma said looking up at him.

"Oh and why would that be PC Keane?" Gina said raising her eyebrows.

"Oh erm…um Will and I have been seeing each other for a few months ma'am." Emma said looking away shyly.

"Well in that case I don't think Social Services should have much of a problem with it, at least not for a few days. I think you both should take the rest of the day off and I'll give you tomorrow and the next day as well. After that she might be able to be fixed up with some emergency foster parents but if not then Emma can have a few more days but I will be expecting Will back at work unfortunately. If you two want to get out of your uniforms and the meet me back here then everything should be sorted." Gina said brightly as she ushered them out of the door and made her way to the Super's office.

Emma stood in front of her locker looking at the photo of her and her Mum when she was a little girl. They were in exactly the same position that Ruby had been with Emma a few hours previously when she had been reading her a story. Emma's picture also had another memory for her; it was when her family had been normal. Before all the worry set in. Before her mother went mad. Before her father ran off with another woman. Before Emma had been placed in care.

She hastily wiped away her tears and finished lacing up her trainers. Meeting Will around the corner from the locker rooms they shared a quick kiss and then made their way back to Gina's office. She was standing waiting for them with a big grin on her face. "You have temporary custody of her. Congratulations you two; you're proud parents for a few days!" She said chuckling as she went back into her office.

"Well…that was strange if nothing else. Have you ever seen Gina chuckle before?" Will said to Emma, who was trying not to smile.

"Only when she's drunk!" Emma replied giving in to the temptation and grinning. "Let's go get our 'daughter'!" She said taking a hold of his hand. Will smiled at her and they walked through the doors to the canteen. "Ruby, how would you like to stay with me and Will for a few days?" Emma asked sitting down next to the little girl.

"Me…stay with you? Uh huh that is good. You said I was going to stay with nice people for a few days. You were right!" She said throwing her arms around Emma's neck.

"Awwww you're so cute." Emma said picking her up and kissing the side of her head. "Let's get you back to me and Will's home. Do you want to help me cook tea?" She asked tilting her head to the side to look at her.

"Mmmhmmm I liked cooking with Mummy." She replied burying her face in Emma's neck. Emma carried her out to Will's car and they drove back to their flat, listening contentedly to Ruby's constant chatter.

Emma turned back to the cooker and began to stir the contents of the pan. Ruby continued to drink her juice and watch Emma potter about the kitchen with a wide-eyed innocence that only a child so young can have. She really had no idea of the horror behind what had happened to her mother. Emma felt a strange sense of empathy towards Ruby. She too had lost her mother and father, just not in quite such a brutal way. Her mother was taken from her and her father had left her whereas Ruby's parent's lives had been taken away from them. Still she knew the feeling of being completely alone while being surrounded by a sea of people. No matter what the social workers told her, she knew that putting Ruby into a care home would only destroy the innocence that a child like her needed. A care home would open her eyes to just how bad the world could really be. Emma had been introduced to this very early on in life as a result of her stint in a care home, fortunately for her she'd had loving foster parents to guide her away from trouble but for some kids it just isn't enough or it's a case of too little too late.

Emma felt the tears prick at the back of her eyes so she quickly busied herself with the pan of spaghetti bolognaise again. "Ruby, can you go and tell Will that tea's nearly ready?" Emma asked her, lifting her down off the units. She nodded and ran off towards the living room where Will was watching football on the telly.

"Will…Emma says it's nearly tea-time." Ruby said looking shyly at him from underneath her fringe.

"Oh really." He said lunging towards her and pulling her squealing onto the sofa beside him. "You tickly?" He asked, already knowing the answer as she was wriggling and giggling at his tickling fingers.

"Oi Will behave yourself!" Emma said pretending to be angry but failing miserably as she was giggling at the sight of him being such a softie. "Tea's ready, what do you want to drink Ruby?" She asked taking her back through to the kitchen where they ate tea.

Emma sat in the corner of the bathroom flicking contentedly through a magazine while Ruby sat splashing around in the bathtub. "Can I get my hair washed please?" Ruby asked her, hanging her arms over the side of the tub. Emma nodded and began to rub the sweet smelling shampoo into her hair.

"Okay missus I think any longer in that bath and you'll turn into a prune!" Emma said jokingly while lifting Ruby out of the bath. Ruby pouted but cheered up when Emma told her that she'd let her choose her bedtime story if she was good. She sat smiling happily while Emma French plaited her hair before tucking her up in bed and sitting down to read her a Peter Rabbit story. When she'd finished reading she looked up to see Ruby already fast asleep in the middle of the spare room bed. She looked quite comical as all Emma could see was her little face and a tuft of hair sticking out from the masses of duvet that surrounded her. She gently kissed her forehead and turned off the main light before making her way back through to the living room.

"Babe, are you okay?" Will asked coming to stand behind Emma who was looking out of the large window in the living room. Emma shook her head slightly and sighed when she felt Will snake his arms protectively round her waist. "What's wrong? Can you tell me?" He asked looking slightly upset.

"Yeah but it's…it's difficult." Emma said leaning back into him. "I…I lost my Mum and Dad too. I was the same age as Ruby but they didn't die. My Mum had a mental breakdown and went mad; my Dad left shortly afterwards and ran off with another woman. I only saw my mother a handful of times after that, they wouldn't let me visit much and…and then she committed suicide. My Dad hasn't been in touch since the day he left. He abandoned me and I was forced to live in a care home until I was eight. Those four years were the worst of my life. I…I hated it but nobody would listen to me. Eventually I was fostered and those two people became the parents I had been missing for so long. I forgot what it was like to be loved unconditionally, what it was like to have someone I could turn to no matter what. People who would love me for me and never judge me no matter how bad I was. I was Ruby about 20 years ago!" Emma finished turning into Will and burying her head in his chest.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It's just not something I like to share. Mum and Dad, well the people I call Mum and Dad are actually my foster parents, I'd like you to meet them. They're lovely people, you'd get on great I know it." She said cuddling him.

"Emma…I don't know if this is what you want but I want to spend the rest of my life with you. It may seem a bit soon but I don't want Ruby to end up in a care home like you did. I don't think that's what you want either. I want us to be a proper family, for Ruby to be our daughter and for us both to be able to give her the love and attention that she needs." Will said kissing the top of Emma's head.

"How do you feel about that babe?" Will asked a still silent Emma.

"I…I'd love to Will." Emma replied letting him pick her up and carry her through to their bedroom.

It's the state of bliss you think you're dreaming
It's the happiness inside that you're feeling
It's so beautiful it makes you wanna cry

OKAY NOW THIS IS OFFICIALLY THE LONGEST CHAPTER I HAVE EVER WRITTEN…PLEASE READ AND REVIEW…I LIKE THE REVIEWS…I LIKE THEM LOTS…GETTING REVIEWS MAKES ME WRITE MORE LOL XXPIPPAXX