Disclaimer not mine.

Fight

"You really think that's what she wants to do?" Butchers asked as Kat closed her eyes for a moment.

"I really wouldn't put it past her. She has wanted rid of Murder Squad ever since she came to this force. She sees scrapping us as a way of balancing her books. With Richard off at the hospital and the Guv as poorly as she is there is only us who can stop her."

"How?" Butchers looked genuinely depressed.

"We have the best clear up rate of any of the specialist squads in this area." Kat stated calmly.

"Yeah." Shapps agreed. "Lets make sure it stays that way."

"How do we do that?" Butchers frowned.

"We find the scum that killed that young lad. And we do it quick." Kat stated. "I'm off to the ME's office. Chloë called, she thinks we might have something."

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"Richard!" Charlotte slipped her hand out of Lucy's grasp and ran towards him. Richard smiled as he picked her up. The little girl squealed in delight as he lifted her up in the air.

"Hello Titch." He swung her so that she landed on his hip. "Have you behaved for Lucy?"

"Yeah." Charlotte nodded. "And Tom and Ellie did."

"Good." Richard caught the teenagers eye as Tom skulked back behind his sister, clearly worried. There was no way Janine's middle children would be as reassured as quickly as Charlotte had been. "Ok, Lottie let's sit down. I think I need to have a chat with Ellie and Tom."

"Ok." Charlotte nodded. Lucy held out her hand so that Charlotte took her hand.

"We'll go and see if we can find the pop machine." Lucy watched as Richard nodded gratefully. He had no idea what he was going to tell Tom and Ellie but he knew he had to find the words from somewhere. He sighed as Lucy and Charlotte walked away.

"Ok." Michael appeared behind her. "You need to be really grown up now. For Mum and Charlotte. She's still only a baby."

"Michael." Ellie stared at her brother. "You're really scaring me."

"Yeah? Well, I'm terrified." Michael stated before returning to the family room as Richard closed his eyes and sent up a silent prayer that a God he wasn't sure he even believed in would give him the strength to do what he had to do.

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"He was shot." Shapps stated as the curly haired pathologist raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, he was. Point blank range to the back of his head. We established that."

"So?" He walked alongside her as they headed down the antiseptic smelling corridor to the office she shared with two other forensic pathologists and a forensic medical examiner.

"So, he was already dead when he was shot."

"What?" Shapps looked at her in disbelief. "Someone murdered a dead bloke? Why?"

"I do the facts you do the rest. I don't know why. I don't know what was going through the gun man's mind before he pulled the trigger but your victim was dead before that bullet went anywhere near his cranium."

"Thanks Clo." He turned on his heel and walked away.

"Shapps?" She called as he stopped walking. "Tony!"

"If 'e was already dead?" Shapps looked at her as she raised both eyebrows. "How did he die?"

"Follow me." Chloë ushered him into the small office. "This is blow your mind. And probably all your lines of enquiry out of the water."

"Oh great." He moaned. "This is just what I don't need."

"I thought you'd be pleased." She smiled as he shook his head.

"You agreeing to come to dinner with me, that would cheer me up." He flashed his best charm smile.

"Keep trying, Tony. Keep trying." She smiled at him as he nodded.

"Yeah. I will." He winked at her before following the scientist into her office.

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"I want to see Mum." Ellie stared at Richard. The small waiting room almost claustrophobic.

"And you will." Richard stared at the floor, trying to order his thoughts.

"But?" Tom narrowed his eyes. Richard lifted his gaze to the young boy, once again amazed at how much he looked like Janine. Her mannerisms had clearly been picked up by the children.

"Mum might die." Michael stated. "That's the worst that can happen."

"No she wont." Tom glared at him. "Take that back! My Mum is going to get better! She is! She is! I know she is because she has come to hospital. Doctors and nurses make you better! Mum is getting better."

"Hey." Richard raised a hand, suddenly aware that Ellie had started crying. "Your Mum is very poorly. I mean she is very very poorly."

"But she's going to be ok?" Ellie sniffed. "This isn't like before? Someone hurt her before. She's just caught something this time."

"She has something called a P.E."

"You get that at school." Tom frowned. Richard smiled slightly as Michael took a deep breath.

"No, it's short for a Pulmonary Embolism." Michael stated. "The doctor told us it's like a blood clot. A scab like when you cut your leg? But it's inside her lung. They've given her some medicine to thin the blood out and try to get the clot to wash away."

"So she is getting better?" Ellie asked. "Tom's right."

"They are trying to make Mum better." Richard sighed. "She's very very poorly. Michael knows the doctors and nurses are helping her but she is really unwell. Even the doctors and nurses can't make everyone better." Ellie sniffed as she realised what Richard was trying to tell them. She nodded once as Tom burst into tears, all the anger had passed. He leant into Richard and let him hug him, all the while hoping that Janine would fight, that she would be back with them soon.

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A/N More soon x please review.