Disclaimer: Owned by my serious lack of muse for LOTOS and too much for this! Bizarre? Yes!

Chapter Twenty-Two;
Our Histories

They'd been driving for half an hour, where Jennifer did not know (and she guessed Max didn't either), before she finally spoke. "How did you meet?"

Max glanced across at her with a blank look. "What?"

"You and Millie." The blank look stayed so PC Copeland nervously continued. "I just thought you might like to, I don't know, talk about her."

Max gave something that some may call a small smile but Jennifer suggested more was a smirk. "Because that's what they do in the TV shows right?" He looked back at the road. "But I'll answer, just to play along. We met through work. She's a PC at Sun Hill, remember?"

PC Copeland hid her embarrassment. "Oh, right, yeah I knew that, I mean how did she…"

"How did a pretty, smart, young thing like Millie end up in the arms of Sun Hill's most irrational, impossible DS?"

"I never said that guv!" Jennifer's tone rose a little in surprise. She'd only been at Sun Hill for two months but had already ascertained that the beginning of Max and Millie's marriage was still something of a mystery.

"You wouldn't be the first." But this time there was a genuine smile lingering at the corner of Max's lips and as he continued there was, dare say it, a fondness in his tone. "You'd have to ask Millie for certain, all I know is that we worked a few cases together, she had a rough time with some run-ins with some bad guys and I seemed to time it right."

"Sounds like fate."

Max glanced at her sideways. "Hopeless romantic right?"

Jennifer shrugged unapologetically. "Something like tha…" she was cut off as Max's phone rang for the third time since they'd left Sun Hill. The first two times had been Smithy calling to assure Max they had Reouth's place watched and that if Max knew what was good for him then he wouldn't go there, but this time Max actually pulled over as he saw the name on the phone. He pressed it to his ear without a word to Jennifer and she frowned. "What?"

Max shushed her then frowned, ignoring the traffic roaring past them on the busy Canley High Street, just staring at the wheel. After a second his eyes widened a little and he glanced across at Jennifer. "Millie? Is that you?"

Jennifer gasped and grabbed her phone, calling Smithy as Max continued to converse softly with his wife, asking if she was okay, had she seen Oscar, where was she? As Smithy came on the line Jennifer took Max's phone straight from his hand and turned on loudspeaker. She motioned for Max to continue and after a momentary glare in her direction he did so. "Repeat what you just told me Millie."

"They want me to call you and tell you I'm okay." There was a thump nearby and Max guessed Millie's hostage-takers were nearby. "And that if you want me and Oscar back you should head home and wait."

Max glanced across at Jennifer. "They're waiting for me at home?"

Millie paused for a moment then gave a brief answer. "Just enjoying the view." Max frowned as Jennifer tried to hide the confused look on her face. "Max, please, just do what they tell you to." There was a scuffle at the end and Max took the phone in one hand, his finger hovering over turning off loudspeaker. Briefly Millie returned. "I'll be okay if you do what they say. Just…"

Max turned off loudspeaker then and pressed the phone back to his ear, ignoring Jennifer's look, just frowning into the phone. "Okay, yeah, of course." His jaw set then as Millie spoke again. "I know, I…" he stopped with a frown and lowered the phone. "She's gone."

"What'd she say?"

Max paused then glanced at her quickly. "Nothing important." He dropped the phone back into the space between the two front seats and started the car up again.

"Where are we going?" Jennifer asked, ignoring Smithy's voice coming through the phone. The Inspector had already guessed Max's intended destination. "You know it's a trap don't you?"

"Of course, Millie told me it was." He looked at Jennifer and she guessed Millie's random quote about 'the view' was just that – a warning Max and Millie had created a while ago. "Doesn't mean we can't beat it. I know who has her and I've dealt with him before so I can reason a way out this."

"Oh yes, because Jankowski seems like such a reasonable man."

Max glanced across at Jennifer as she let out the outburst. "You sound like Millie." Jennifer's frown left as she saw the hurt in Max's eyes. "I have to get her out of this." Jennifer glanced down at the phone in her hand. "Either you help me or you don't."

Jennifer flicked the phone shut and turned it off. "Inspector Smith told me to stop you getting yourself killed so, I best stay in, right?"

Max nodded. "Thanks." Then, pulling back out into the traffic, they started back to his house.