This Woman's Work
Thanks loads to everyone who reviewed! And to Beccy for beta-ing some of it! Xx
2.
Once in the privacy of Sergeant Smith's office, Sam placed two chairs close together and helped her daughter into one of them. She took Abi's hand and in her's, squeezing it tightly and rubbing reassuring circles onto the palm of her daughter's hand with her thumb.
"Abi, you know I'm going to have to ask you a lot of questions..."
Abi nodded, wiping furiously at her tears as they continued to flow.
"Did a man or a woman ask you for directions?"
"A woman." Abi sniffed. "She was about thirty and a bit taller than I am."
"That's good, Abi." Sam tried to be reassuring but her heart was gripped with fear for her missing grandson. "Did she have any distinguishing features?"
Abi shook her head. "She was brunette, her hair was in a ponytail, she was wearing jeans and a green top. I think I saw a wedding ring on her finger when she showed me the map but I might have been looking at the wrong hand."
"Okay," Sam nodded, sensing that her daughter was close to another tide of emotions. "What about the map? Where did she want to go?"
"I don't know!" Abi exclaimed, pulling her hand roughly away from her mother's. "I've lost my son; your grandson! For once can't you think like a human being and not a copper!" She almost screamed the last part, bolting up from the chair and heading for the door. Max and Smithy stared in bewilderment as Abi Nixon went running passed. Sam groaned, the last thing she needed was for them to witness her failings as a parent.
"What's he doing here?" She snarled, turning her anger at herself outward.
Max opened his mouth to speak but Smithy cut in first, knowing he owed Sam an explanation.
"I thought you might need some more help and a friendly face. Jo isn't available but Max offered to help."
Most of Sam's hostility receeded, still she could not look Max in the eye. "Thank you." She whispered. "I have to go and find Abi."
"Let me." Smithy said gently and Sam just nodded, far too weary to argue with him.
To her surprise, once Smithy had gone, Max leaned out and squeezed her shoulder. Despite her bitterness of a few moments before, Sam was grateful for his touch and the moment of solace. He silently led her back to the chairs in Smithy's office.
"Tell me all about Jared." He said softly, he only knew that Sam was a grandmother because of station gossip, he didnt actually know anything about Jared Nixon.
Sam let out a breath. "He's two years old, three in October. He can talk and he's got the hang on walking now. He likes Spiderman too." Max smiled at this. She felt herself relax as she talked about the little boy she loved so much, she felt another rush of gratitude towards the man sat next to her. "I'm sorry about just now, with Abi." She added. "We're so alike that things get a little heated between us."
Max almost smiled at the irony, and in any other situation he would have made a comment but for now he stayed silent.
"Don't worry about it. Things between my mum and me were never easy when I was growing up." He confessed and Sam looked at him, realising how little she actually knew about Max Carter. Maybe she had been so set against becoming attached to another detective after losing Phil that she had refused to get to know Max as a person. "And you don't need to worry about Jared either, Smithy and I will make sure you get him back safe." He told her with his usual confidence but with a conviction he did not truly feel.
Dale Smith headed slowly down the corridor making sure that he didn't miss Abi. He stopped outside the women's locker room and hovered nervously outside. He was thinking about knocking on the door when it opened and he came face to face with PC Noble.
"Something I can help you with, Serge?" Diane asked with a smirk, noticing Smithy's face flush to a deep pink.
Smithy cleared his throat. "Have you seen a girl in there, about twenty?..."
Diane looked puzzled. "Bit young for you, Smithy."
"I'm serious PC Noble, I'm looking for DI Nixon's daughter, Abigail." Smithy said, rapidly losing his patience.
"Is she blonde, been crying?" Diane asked and Smithy nodded. "She's went in one of the cubicles as I was coming out."
"Thanks Diane." Smithy said gratefully, moving out of her way.
"Is everything okay, Serge?" Diane asked.
"Uh, yeah." Smithy replied, Diane raised her eyebrows in response but said nothing more as she went to join PC Roberts who was waiting for her at the end of the corridor.
Looking around, Smithy quickly entered the locker rooms, feeling seriously out of place.
"Abi," He called out. "Abi, it's Smithy, your mum wanted me to come and make sure you were alright."
"She couldn't face me herself, could she?" He heard Abi's tearful reply from behind one of the cubicle doors.
"It's not like that Abi, she was going to come but I told I could handle it. She and Max are starting work on the investigation." Smithy explained gently. He had forgotten how difficult teenage girls could be. He finally heard the lock slide open and Abi stepped out of the cubicle, her eyes even more redrimmed and puffy than they had been earlier. She walked the short distance to one of the benches and Smithy took a seat beside her.
"Are you ever going to find Jared?" She asked, bunching some tissue up in her fist.
"We've got uniform teams out patrolling the area and the park. You'll be the first to know as soon as we get a lead." Smithy assured her. Appearances aside, Smithy could see that Abi Nixon took after her mother in other ways, they shared the same sense of strength of character for one thing.
Abi looked up at him, her eyes looking straight into his, demanding an honest response.
"Smithy, you didn't answer my question."
He sighed. "Jared hasn't been missing long which gives us time to be hopeful, but you have to know the importance of time in investigations like this. I can promise you this though, we will do everything we can to find Jared, and I mean everything."
"Thanks Smithy." Abi sighed, leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes. She knew she had to be realistic but she wasn't ready to except losing her son, not until every avenue of possibility had been exhausted.
"What was all that about with Smithy?" Nate Roberts asked as he and Diane left the station.
"He was looking for DI Nixon's daughter." She explained.
"Oh," Nate said, the information sinking in and making sense now. "When I saw that we were looking for a little boy called Jared Nixon it didn't strike me that it'd be the DI's grandson." He paused. "DI Nixon; a grandmother. I never would've guessed it. She's far too fit to be a grandma."
"Nate!" PC Noble exclaimed, trying to hide her smirk.
"Sorry, Di." Nate blushed slightly and they carried on towards Canley Park in silence.
When they arrived at the park it was already a hive of activity, mothers with small children were being interviewed by members of CID and uniform were searching the bushes and grassland surrounding the park.
"This is hopeless." Diane muttered as they walked through the gate. She knew that if this was a child abduction the perpetrator would have covered their tracks. She shuddered, longing to see her own young son. Snapping on forensic gloves, she and Nate walked into the park and joined the rest of the officers.
"Do you want to go back up and see how your mum is getting on?" Smithy asked, Abi's sobbing had finally abated and she looked a little calmer now. She nodded and he helped her up and led her out of the locker room. Out in the corridor he came across Inspector Gold who raised her eyebrows but said nothing. Smithy took Abi upstairs to CID where they found Max at a computer terminal with Sam leaning over his shoulder. Smithy felt a twinge in his gut as he witnessed the proximity but forced it away, he had to put things into perspective, Sam's grandson was missing and Max was just doing his job, nothing more.
"What are you doing?" Abi asked, approaching her mum and DS Carter at the computer. Sam hadn't heard Abi and Smithy enter the room as she and Max were absorbed in what they were doing. She didn't have time to take the mouse from Max and minimise the screen before she reached them. "You think Mark is responsible?" She asked, losing all of the calm that Smithy had tried so hard to restore. "You are unbelievable Mum! You've always had it in for my boyfriends! And it's not like you're one to judge, your taste in men sucks!" She lashed out.
Max and Smithy exchanged a glance, if they felt this uncomfortable they couldn't imagine what Sam was feeling.
"Abigail," Sam said sharply. "You're upset, why don't you go and get a drink in the canteen."
Abi began to protest but Max stood up. "I'll take her." He offered. He wanted to help Sam and Abi but he also didn't want to party to Sam's fireworks which were bound to follow her daughter's outburst.
"Thank you, Max. We'll let you know when we find something." She assured them both.
When they were both gone Sam sank down into the chair Max had vacated with a sigh.
"Are you okay?" Smithy asked gently.
Sam looked up at him, green eyes fusing together. "No, not really, but thanks for everything you've done."
"You're welcome Sam, you've always been there for me." He replied with a warm smile. Sam reached over and took his hand.
"Thank you." She said again, her eyes filling with tears as she looked away.
Smithy pulled his hand away from her's and took her face in his hand instead. He tilted her chin so that she had no choice but to look directly into his eyes.
"We will find him, Sam." He said. They suddenly both became aware of what was happening and Smithy removed his hand before Sam quickly turned back to face the computer screen. She couldn't let the seriousness of this investigation make her lose her head.
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