For ChocolatePaddlepop, just because without you I wouldn't be updating this.

I'm aware that it's possibly awfully disappointing, and also a bit of a filler chapter; sorry. I'd appreciate reviews x

"Is it just me, or is Godzilla worse than usual?" Rachel asked, giving Janet the 'I love you' Love Heart instead.

"Aw, you love me, Rach? You're so cute."

"I'm being serious. She's so snappy at the moment. I mean, I'm still pissed off at her for the whole bridesmaid thing, but I was trying to be normal, and she's just treating me like I'm the one in the wrong."

Julie held out her mug for Kevin to refill. He poured the boiling water more carefully than he'd ever done anything in his life, and was treated to another smile.

"I think she's having a hard time," the other DCI said, eventually, "Don't be too hard on her."

"Have you just ignored everything I've said?"

"Oi, don't speak to her like that."

"It's alright," she told Kevin sharply, slightly worried by him defending her. What the hell had happened to them being arch enemies? She looked down at the skin on her hand, already blistering, and resisted the urge to pour the coffee over his head, the clumsy, well-meaning bastard. "I know she's being a bitch; she's the same with me. But you know what happened with her and Dave."

"Yeah, about a decade ago. Can't she get over it?" Rachel asked, adding slightly more quietly, as though trying to defend her point, "She sees dissected children before breakfast, for God's sake."

"She can probably hear all of this, you know. She's not going to be any nicer to you for slagging her off."

Rachel rolled her eyes at Janet, "Why's everyone defending her?"

"I'm not. I think you're both – I said both – being a bit unreasonable, to be honest. I know it was unfair of her to react the way she did when you were trying to be nice, but if she doesn't want to be the bridesmaid, then get over it. It's not the end of the world."

Julie held out her hand for another Love Heart. She smirked when she saw the message: Take It Easy. Fat chance.

"I'll go and see her," she said.

"Just don't blame me if you never come back out of there."

XxXxX

"Are you okay?"

"I wasn't aware that you cared."

Julie sat down, uninvited, in front of her friend. Gill's hair was ruffled, as though she'd just run a hand through it; her glasses were on the desk, folded in front of the keyboard, as they tended to be when she was at her most emotional, and yet trying to hide it. Why did Gill always find it necessary to pretend she was okay, even when she blatantly wasn't? Was 'friend' the wrong word to describe their relationship?

"Of course I care. How's Sammy?"

"Seems okay."

"Hangover from hell, I hope."

Gill shrugged, shifting her gaze for the first time from the screen, so that she looked directly into Julie's with her own sharp green eyes, "I left him my shoes to clean."

"What's wrong, Gill? What's going on?"
To her surprise, Gill's eyes immediately filled with tears. She bent her head and tried to pretend she was interested in her pile of paperwork – which looked a good few inches taller than it had been last time Julie had sat here.

"Is it to do with Rachel? I'm sure you heard what she said: she thinks you're being unfair. And you are – you've been a miserable cow for the past few days. It's not like you. Well, you're normally a cow, but you're not normally miserable, or unfair."

Gill didn't even smile at the weak joke. She just shook her head. "You can tell Rachel I'm sorry, but I don't want to talk about it."

Julie had always been able to read upside down, which had come in handy for reading private notes on her teachers' desks when she'd been called up to be shouted at for chattering. She looked at the top sheet of paper in front of Gill now.

It seemed to be some sort of questionnaire, printed with an official Manchester MET logo. There were numbers down the side, and a paragraph promising anonymity; it had been filled in with swirly black writing.

"Do you feel safe at work?" she read.

"The Chief Con's idea. It's all the crap you get in any workplace: how valued you feel, and whether you think you get enough holidays. There's even a box for comments about the canteen."

"Never enough bacon sandwiches left when I get there."

Gill nodded, "I put that."

Julie didn't like the pained expression on Gill's face, which made her eyes look dull and her cheeks drawn. She leant across and took the pile of papers from her before she could be stopped.

"Ah, do you feel your boss treats you fairly?"

Whoever had filled this one in wasn't particularly complimentary. Rachel – so much for anonymity, hey? – had written something about how her boss's moods always seemed to dictate the way her team went about their jobs, and how she had clear favourites and treated the rest like shit.

"She's hot-headed," Julie said, "He won't read anything into it. He probably doesn't read them anyway, does he? Like you said, they happen in every workplace."

"I know, but–" she faltered, her voice cracking, like a child's might when they were frightened, "Is that really how she feels about me?"

"Hang on, a few days ago you told her it was inappropriate for you to be her bridesmaid when she was trying to include you in her big day, and now you're complaining because she's a bit miffed?"

"I said I didn't want to talk about it."

"Okay." Julie stood up, making sure she held her hand in front of her body so that Gill could clearly see the injury. I hope you feel guilty for not asking if I'm okay. "Well, I'm here for you, Gill, if you need anything; of course I am. But I'm not going to pretend to understand, and I hope you know I don't approve either."

Gill took the questionnaire back.

"I never thought I'd said it," Julie managed a half-smile, but it faded into a frown, "But this isn't Rachel's fault."

XxXxX