Disclaimer Not mine. Sorry for the delay in updating.

Realisations.

Kat watched her boss walk away from them as the image of Kezia's autopsy photos flooded her mind. The thought her boss could end up the same way made her feel sick. She turned to see Butchers take his glasses off before lookimg at her.

"Personally I dont think it is Kezia's killer."

"What?" Kat stared at him. "Why?"

Butchers shoved his hands in his pockets as the police search dogs began barking ahead. He shook his head. The last thing they wanted was for the dogs to alert the killer if he was still around but then the dogs were highly trained and knew what they were doing. He closed his eyes as he remembered the case that he prayed hadn't come back to haunt them.

"Before you started with us. There was this case. Right nasty case an all." He shook his head as he remembered. "Bloke killed three women, similar way to the way our current victim died. Only he thought we'd never arrest him. Course we did. Whole flaming thing turned my stomach." Butchers walked next to Kat as the young woman listened.

"So you reckon it's him? That he has got Janine?"

"Yeah." Butchers stopped in his tracks as he considered what he was saying. "Yeah, I reckon it's Morton. He said that if he ever got the chance she was dead."

"He threatened her? In court?"

"Yeah. The day the Judge read out the verdict. Yells from the dock like the psycho 'e is. Reckons 'er and Richard are dead already. That it was just a matter of time. She'd just come back from having the little un when we got the case. Well he is supposed to be serving life but you never know. He had some mates on the outside."

"Could still be the one responsible for killing Kezia." Kat mused as Butchers nodded.

"Yeah, but." He fell silent as the sounds of Shapps calling for paramedics and dogs barking filled the air. Kat broke into a run as she tried not to think about what she would find when she caught up with Shapps. The older detective caught her around the waist as she reached him, effectively stopping her in her tracks.

"Shapps."

"Ambulance is on the way." He spoke quietly. "No sign of the scum that did it."

"She's not." Kat almost sagged in his arms as he shook his head.

"No. Not dead. The Boss is with her." Shapps sighed. "Leave them, Butchers!" He called to his friend as the red haired detective closed his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Go and wait for the ambulance, make sure they know where they are supposed to go. I'll call Hogg, tell her she was wrong. Kat?"

"Yeah?"

"You ok?"

"Course." She looked at her feet as the anger began to whell up again.

"Can you deal with uniform?"

"Yeah." She smiled as she looked past him to where Richard was sat next to Janine on the cold concrete floor.

#########################

"Hey." He smoothed back her hair as the blood oozed out onto the concrete floor. "If you wanted some time off you could just av said." He pulled back his hand as he realised it was covered in thick sticky blood. "Open your eyes Janine." He closed his eyes as the tears began to fill them.

"Hey." Janine mumbled as she felt Richard smooth her hair away from the wound.

"Can you sit up?"

"I." Janine gulped air in as she tried to speak. "Richard?"

"Yeah." He smiled slightly as he pulled her into a sitting position, grateful that she clung to him rather than trying to be her usually independant self. "You ok?"

"Me?" Richard laughed. "Yeah, now I am. Come on. We need to get you checked over at the hospital."

"I'm ffine."

"No you're not. You're shaking. You have a huge cut on your head and have been knocked out. For once you are going to listen. The ambulance is on the way."

"Mmh?" She rested her head against his shirt as he held her.

"Janine?" He hugged her tighter to him as she fell back in to unconsciousness. "Janine? Come on. Don't do this." He kissed her hair, mindful of her head wound. "Please, don't do this. Not now." He had no idea Shapp was stood in the doorway watching them both as he tried not to cry.

##########################

A/N Short update. Wasn't sure about this as I was going to have another outcome but then just couldn't do it. Going soft in my old age! Please review.