Disclaimer I do not own New Tricks.

A Good Day?

It had been a long day. Sandra leant against Gerry's desk as she stared at the floor. She was exhausted but glad that the doctors at the hospital was happy to let her home and that Gerry hadn't recieved a broken cheek bone. She closed her eyes as she listened to Strickland congratulate them on a job well done.

"Sandra?" Jack watched as she opened her eyes.

"Yeah"

"Are you ok?" His voice was full of concern as she smiled and nodded.

"Yeah" She sighed "Yeah I am. What I don't get, is how did you know where I was?" She looked around the room as Clarky smiled proudly.

"Detective work" He answered as Sandra's eyebrows shot up to her hairline.

"Detective work?"

"Yeah well" Clarky glanced towards Emily "You always taught me people will do what is obvious to them. What we have to do is work out that that is. I just thought that I would probably go home if I was them"

"And they did" Emily answered as her father handed her a mug of tea.

"Anyway" Sandra smiled slightly. Gerry and Jack exchanged glances. Her smile was not fooling anyone, even Brian wasn't taken in by her smile. "I just wanted to say well done for catching up with Lincoln and McCarthy and thank you. Oh and as a way of saying thank you I've arranged for us to have a drink at the pub" Pushkar shook his head and smiled as the team began packing up, ready to go to the pub.

"Oh I won't if that's alright with you" Brian pulled on his wooly hat as he spoke "Only Esther is cooking. Our Mark is coming over"

"That's nice" Sandra smiled "Another night yeah?"

"Yeah" Brian nodded before leaving the UCOS office. Sandra watched as each of her team along with Emily and Clarky began to leave. Before long she was left with Jack and Gerry. She hated the concerned looks that passed between the two older men.

"Oh come on you two" She put her mug on Jack's desk as she spoke "You can stop worrying now. I am fine. Lincoln and McCarthy are back behind bars and all is right with the world" She watched as Jack nodded.

"If you say so" Jack ran a hand over his face. "I'm shattered. I think I'll give the pub a miss tonight" He watched as Gerry slumped in his chair. "Looks like you both could do with some sleep for once"

"Yes Dad" Gerry laughed as Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Well goodnight" Jack walked out the office as Sandra called after him.

"Night Jack, thanks" He waved as he left.

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The worst thing about Sandra's job she decided was definately the paperwork. It seemed the others had the majority of the paperwork as for once she didn't have to write up evidence reports. "Some perks to missing half of the case because I was locked away" She muttered to herself as she turned the computer off, in the end she was glad that her team had opted for an early night rather than head to the pub.

"Sandra?" She looked up as she heard Gerry call her name.

"Thought you had gone home" She was glad her friend was there but had no idea why he had come back.

"Yeah well" He shrugged "Look, you really alright? I mean I thought you were going 'ome hours ago. When you weren't there I came back 'ere"

"You were looking for me? Why?" Sandra felt her stomach clench in fear. She wasn't ready for another case. Not just yet.

"Seem to be making an 'abit of looking for you Guv" Gerry smiled and shrugged his shoulders like a naughty school boy. Sandra smiled slightly.

"You can stop worrying about me" She got up and crossed the room to him. "I'm a big girl"

"Yeah" Gerry closed his eyes "It's just me and Jack"

"You and Jack what?" Sandra folded her arms, immediately suspicious as to what Gerry and Jack had been up to in her absence.

"When you were reported missing we went round to your place yeah? Standard procedure. SOCO were all over it." He sighed.

"Yeah" Sandra couldn't work out what he was trying to say.

"Well, I saw what they did to the place. I saw the mess to the hallway, the front door. The blood Sandra. It looked like you had been massacered" He closed his eyes as she shook her head.

"I'm fine Gerry"

"I know that now. We all know that now" Gerry opened his eyes as she held his gaze. "We didn't know that then. We all thought you were dead. None of us wanted to admit it like, but we all thought we were looking for your body rather than you"

"Oh God, Gerry" Sandra suddenly realised why her team had been so quiet. Especially her three oldest friends. "I'm so sorry"

"Not your fault is it?" He watched as she looked at the floor "You didn't set out to be kidnapped. Did you?"

"Course I bloody well didn't!" Sandra huffed as she saw Gerry smirk at her.

"Look av you seen your place yet? Have you been 'ome?" Gerry watched as her eyes darkened.

"No" She refused to meet his eye "Too much to do here. I had to talk to Strickland, convince him I don't need to see a shrink. Catch up on paperwork. All the rubbish you know?"

"You wanna sleep in my spare room tonight?"

"That"

"That is one mate looking out for another" Gerry tilted her head to make her look at him. "A mate"

"Ok" Sandra smiled. "Thanks"

"Right, come on then" He ushered her out of the office as Sandra began to realise just how lucky she really had been.

xxxxxxxxx

Esther stared at Brian as he pushed his food around the plate. Mark had long since gone home to his fiance, leaving his parents to absorb the news they were to be grandparent.

"Brian" Esther tutted "Are you going to eat that?"

"I am" Brian put his fork down. "You and me, we are lucky aren't we?"

"I suppose so Brian" Esther had no idea where he was going with his latest revelation.

"Well I think we are anyway. I mean today we found out Mark is going to be a dad. Oo he'll be a cracking dad I reckon. A new baby, a new start" He smiled. "We got Sandra back in one piece, the future of UCOS seems certain and just for once it seems we are in Strickland's good books"

"So a good day all round I'd say" Esther smiled at her husband.

"Yes luv, a good day all round"

xxxxxxxxxxx

Jack sat in his garden nursing a mug of tea. He was cold but had to talk to the one person that made everything make sense.

"Mary" He smiled as he looked at the little tea lights around the stone in the garden. "Don't you think it was just a little too easy to find Sandra and arrest those two idiots?" He paused as he drank his tea. "Yes, I know I am being paranoid. But as Clarky says just because your paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you" He smiled as he pictured the way Mary would roll her eyes at him.

"I know luv, I know. There's no fool like an old fool. It's just too easy thats all" He drank the last of his tea. "Night my love" He stood and walked back into the house wondering if it really was the last the team would see of Eleanor Lincoln and Pete Mad Dog McCarthy.

A/N Is Jack right to be worried? More soon? Please review.