A/N: Just to clarify for those who I've given the wrong impression: Shaz did not abort the baby, she miscarried and blames herself. She is not actaully responsible for it. Aaaanyway, don't hate me too much for killing her off; flame me through reviews!

"Who the hell does she think she is?" Gene stormed around the office. Ray looked down at his knees, not wanting to witness the inevitable look of anger on Chris' otherwise pleasant features.

"Oi!" Gene turned to Chris, his look simply daring him to go on, to defend her, "I reckon that's my wife you're talking about!"

"So it is!" said Gene, nastily, "your wife who's just seriously disrespected me and stormed out. So at the moment Chris, I'm wanting some bloody good answers!"

"I'll give you an answer," said Chris, annoyance rising, "she stormed out of here because you constantly treat her like shit!" Gene felt, suddenly, as though a huge weight had hit him around his midriff; Shaz was one thing…but Chris too?

"You know what Guv, you're always expecting us to be there at your beck and call-"

"Yeah, that's because I'm your frigging DCI Christopher!"

"Not only at work, for other stuff to! Alex having that accident doesn't have anything to do with CID, but you expect us just to drop everything and do another department's job!"

"Oh right, so you want her to end up in prison?"

"Of course I bloody don't," shouted Chris, "She ain't done nothing wrong!" he breathed heavily, "But you don't give a shit about Shaz! You don't care what's wrong with her, just as long as she's there to make you tea and do whatever you tell her! Loyalty and trust go both ways!"

Ray looked up at this. 'Loyalty and trust go both ways'? What on earth was that? He had never heard Chris speak like this before, like a dodgy Hollywood movie.

"Alright then Einstein," said Gene, matching Chris' anger, "what the hell is bloody wrong with her?" There was a short silence in which Chris seemed to deflate, flopping back into his desk chair and putting his head in his hands.

"I don't know…I don't bloody know. She keeps crying all the time, and when I ask her what's up, she just cries harder…when she's not crying she just stares into space…I think it's something bad."

"Hello Sharon, love." Shaz whirled around, almost overbalancing on the roof ledge, but was pulled back by the surprisingly strong hand on her wrist.

"M-M-Mille?" stuttered Shaz, "What-?"

"Oh, yes. I suppose you're wondering why I'm here darling," she said, her eyes twinkling, "I thought I'd drop in on Gene…all that nasty business with Alex…but then I thought I'd come up here and enjoy the view…" Shaz did not answer, but barely noticed that Millie's hand was now tight upon her own.

"Lovely weather for it, I must say," Shaz did not answer again, "I always say, if you're going to kill yourself, it may as well be nice weather," after a pause, Millie continued, "look at me darling." Shaz felt compelled to do so, turning her tear stained face towards the old woman. Millie squinted at her behind her glasses, scrutinising Shaz closely, as if to make a diagnosis, "Well," she said, more to herself than to Shaz, "somebody's died, that's clear enough," she adjusted her glasses, "but who…why the roo-" a stab of realisation hit Millie, "Oh darling…poor love…how far along were you pet?"

"O-only a few days, maybe two weeks." Shaz cried again, renewed tears streaming from her.

"Well darling, I know it doesn't make any difference, but you baby wouldn't have known anything about it…that's a tiny blessing in itself."

"So what? You're just expecting me to hop down from here and carry on with my life-" Millie cut her off, her tone sharp.

"No you silly girl, I expect you to grieve." there was silence, "I expect you to grieve with your husband. I expect you to cry, even when you're an old woman like me, I expect you to cry. Shaz, I'm expecting you to grieve your child, and God knows, you can't do that from six feet under."

"I-It was my fault." Shaz dissolved into yet more tears. It was then that Millie took a huge gamble, stepping away from the ledge, and releasing Shaz's hand she said:

"Yeah. Alright then. It was totally your fault. You did it on purpose."

"B-but, I didn't mean to-" Shaz twigged what Millie was up to, "Oh, very clever."

There was more silence as Shaz stared out across Fenchurch. Millie gave it a good half a minute or so before continuing.

"Come on then Sharon, if you're going to jump, then have done with it. If you wait any longer, you'll make the bloke who scrapes you off the pavement late for his tea." Shaz appeared to take no notice of this.

"You don't know how I feel…you don't…"

"Don't I?" Shaz looked up to see Millie smiling ruefully, "I'll tell you darling, it's a lot harder to lose one at four months, especially when she's the only thing you have left of your husband."

There was silence as Millie led Shaz back towards the office. Just outside it, Millie turned to face her.

"You ready for this love?" Shaz nodded, but spoke uncertainly.

"B-but, the Guv'll…"

"Don't you worry about him," said Millie, I'll sort him out." and with that, they walked through the double doors together.

"What the hell are you doing back here?" barked Gene, barely registering Millie, vision clouded, as it was, by his anger with Shaz.

"Shut up and get back in that office!" Millie said, staring daggers at him. He froze for a second, compelled to obey, but incredibly conscious that this was his realm, not hers. "Go on!" letting go of Shaz, she began to chivvy Gene into his partitioned office. He allowed himself to be moved firmly along by her, and didn't even react as she said, "Haven't you caused enough trouble for today?" as she closed his office door behind them.

"Millie?" he began, but he was cut off quickly.

"Shut up a second!" Millie gazed anxiously through the blinds as Shaz took her husband by the hand and led him from the room, "What?" she said, turning to face Gene.

"You can't just-"

"I bloody can, you stupid man! You know where I just found that lass after you'd finished with her? Want to take a guess Gene, what her DCI drove her to?" he did not speak, looking at her blankly, "SHE WAS ON THE ROOF! ON THE ROOF GENE!" Millie breathed heavily, fuming, "She'd have done at as well Gene, mark my words…lucky I got to her before she did…"

"I-I didn't think…" stammered Gene.

"DIDN'T THINK? DIDN'T THINK?" Millie berated him once more, "OF COURSE YOU DIDN'T THINK! YOU NEVER BLOODY THINK! DIDN'T THINK TO ASK HER WHAT WAS WRONG, DID YOU?"

"N-no I…"

Millie sighed, flopping into the chair closest to the door. As she spoke, she sounded almost defeated. "You didn't think, did you Gene? Oh God…Gene love, she's had a miscarriage."

The effect of these words were profound, Gene turned white, and sat down himself. For a few moments, the pair sat in silence. It was broken as a gut-wrenching sound partway between a scream and a sob carried loudly from the hallway. So Chris knew.

"And I…I said all that stuff to her? I drove her to it?" Millie shook her head, regretting her earlier choice of words.

"No love, no. Course you didn't. She blames herself…she'd have tried to do it one way or another. It's bloody lucky it happened here actually…no guarantees that she'd have been stopped anywhere else." Millie ran a wrinkled hand down her face. Gene continued to stare across at her, mouth gaping. Finally, in a hoarse voice, he managed to speak.

"I've been such a git…"

"Slight under statement there Gene."

The pair sat in silence, one stunned, the other simply tired, tired of the world and it's unkindness.

Chris's strangled sobs seemed to swell from the very heart of the building, the floorboards reverberating along with them. CID mourned along with him.

Each cry pierced Gene like a knife, though no matter how he tried, he could not block out the sounds of a grieving father; the lamentations that could, ten or so years ago, have been his own.

A/N: Teehee! I didn't kill off Shaz! This joke is getting old now, isn't it? I make it look like I'm going to kill someone off and then don't. One day I'm just gonna flip and have them all zapped by aliens...speaking of, I'm thinking of writing something totally rediculous after this in which the team get abducted by aliens. Should be a laugh if nothing else. Have just realised that my A/N does not fit in with the tone of the chapter...Oh well!