"Hey you, how you feeling?"

Rebecca had just woken up in hospital (after being stabbed in the arm at the Jasmine Allen estate) to find Sergeant Smith sitting at her bed side. She glanced down at her left arm and saw that most of it had been bandaged up. Looking over at her Sergeant, Rebecca asked what had happened to which Smithy explained that Carl (the weird, cop hating, TV throwing man from the Jasmine Allen estate) had stabbed her in the arm whilst trying to escape and she must have fainted because she was unconscious by the time Smithy had found her. The ambulance had then arrived to take Rebecca to hospital and Smithy phoned the Inspector back at the station to inform her of the incident. Even though he had really wanted to accompany his new PC in the ambulance, Smithy had to follow down in the patrol car as he couldn't leave it at the estate. At the hospital, while Rebecca remained unconscious, a doctor and nurse had examined her injured arm before bandaging it up safely and organising suitable antibiotics for the pain.

The two officer's had been at the hospital for a little over an hour when a senior nurse entered the room and informed Rebecca that she was able to go home but that she needed to rest her arm and do light work. The nurse also supplied the PC with a small paper bag containing a course of antibiotics that were to be taken for the pain. After thanking everyone, Smithy and Rebecca walked down the long plain hospital corridors and out into the front car park where Smithy had left the patrol car.

Ten minutes later, Smithy drove into the car park space marked 1 at the back of the station accompanied by his passenger, Rebecca. As Rebecca stepped out of the car, Cameron came running down the ramp towards the car and called out
"Hey, Bec are you okay? I heard what happened!"

Before Rebecca had a chance to open her mouth, Smithy stepped in and answered for her.

"PC Jones is fine thank you PC Tait but there's no time to talk. She has to fill out an incident report then get off home to put her feet up and rest".

Glancing over at Rebecca, he added

"Come on you".

Rebecca just gave a slight smile to Cameron before following Sergeant Smith through the door, down the long corridor and into the staff canteen. Rebecca sat down at an empty table while Smithy bought them both a drink. Inspector Gold was going to be writing up their reports and to make sure she covered everything; the Inspector had asked to see Smithy and Rebecca separately. They had been ordered to wait in the canteen until the Inspector was free as she was currently in a quick meeting with Superintendent O'Karo. Rebecca was sitting at the table in a slight daze when Smithy approached the table and placed a hot cup of tea in front of her before taking a seat opposite her.

For a few moments he sat there watching Rebecca sipping on her hot cuppa before he spoke, questioning her.

"So err, why is PC Tait so protective over you?"

Rebecca looked shifty. She had known Smithy for less than a day but hated lying to him already. From what she had been told, Smithy was generally a lovely guy and a brilliant police officer. For a moment, Rebecca got lost in her thoughts and was only brought out of them when she heard the soft voice of her Sergeant again.

"Bec, is everything alright?"

Looking up at him, Rebecca replied

"Yeah I'm fine, just really tired. I suppose that's how you feel after you get stabbed"

Smithy didn't know whether to laugh or keep a straight face but before he had time to respond, Inspector Gold entered the canteen to get him. Smithy was the first to give his report and as he stood up from the table, he gave Rebecca a friendly smile before following the Inspector and leaving Rebecca sitting at the table on her own.

Ten minutes later, Smithy and Gina returned to the canteen and while Smithy bought himself another hot drink, Rebecca followed Gina into her office so she could give her report. As they walked through the doors, Smithy opened them and called after Rebecca.

"Bec, when you've finished with the Inspector, come back to find me and I'll drive you home".

Rebecca nodded before continuing to walk with the Inspector.

Thirty minutes later, Smithy was sitting at the same table in the canteen but was now accompanied by Dan Casper, Reg Hollis & Honey Harman. As he glanced at the ticking clock on the wall, Smithy realised that Rebecca was taking much longer giving her report than he had been but thought maybe she was deep in conversation with the Inspector and they were getting to know each other.

Another ten minutes went by and Smithy was debating whether to go and look for the new PC. That's when Yvonne came in and joined her four friends at the grey coloured table.
"Ah I do feel sorry for Rebecca. It's her first day and she gets stabbed, love her. Never mind, she's gone home now so she can put her feet up, relax and hopefully she'll have a better day tomorrow".

Smithy looked confused. Why had Rebecca left the station and gone home by herself knowing he'd offered to give her a lift? Getting up from the table, Smithy made his way out of the canteen to finish off some paperwork while the other officers took the hint and headed off to complete the last few hours of their shifts.

The following morning was a bitterly cold one. The temperature outside had dropped loads and the sun certainly wasn't planning on making an appearance. Most of the uniformed officers were in the locker rooms preparing themselves for yet another day on the streets of Sun hill. Once ready, they all piled into the briefing room where Inspector Gold and Sergeant Smith were waiting for them. PC Jones was one of the last officers to enter the room and she walked in alongside Honey and Yvonne. Just as Rebecca took her seat, she realised that Smithy was looking at her from his position at the front of the room. She looked up and for a split second, their eyes met but the female PC quickly looked away as the Inspector started to talk. The Inspector announced that the pairings would be the same as the day before but before finishing, she looked at Rebecca who was sitting on a seat in the front row.

"PC Jones, are you okay to return to the Jasmine Allen Estate with Sergeant Smith? I know it hasn't exactly made a good first impression on you but, second time lucky?"

Smiling, Rebecca replied

"Yes Marm, no problem"

The Inspector smiled back and added

"I'll make sure Sergeant Smith keeps you safe this time!"

As the inspector turned her attention to some of the other officers, Rebecca glanced over at Smithy to find him looking at her. He smiled at her in way that, for some bizarre reason, gave the PC a funny feeling in her stomach, a good feeling, almost butterfly-like. The Inspector dismissed her relief and everyone, including Rebecca and Smithy piled back out of the room and headed towards the back yard to start their shifts.

Fifteen minutes later, PC Jones & Sergeant Smith were walking around the Jasmine Allen estate for the second time that week but this time, they were determined to get an answer for all the racist graffiti there. They cautiously walked past the park and the patch of grass where Rebecca had been stabbed. No words passed between them. In fact, except for the odd word, they hadn't spoken a word to each other that morning. Just as she though the silence would last forever, Smithy broke it. "So, how come you went home after giving the Inspector your report yesterday? I told you I'd drive you home afterwards? I did wait for you".

Feeling guilty but not wanting him to discover the true reason, Rebecca made up that she was really tired and knew he'd had work to finish so had rung for a taxi instead. As they walked around the corner of the estate, both officers spotted two youths spraying something on a brown bricked wall.
"OI you two!" Smithy called out, running towards them, followed closely by Rebecca.

The two youths tried to run but the officer's were too fast for them. Rebecca caught the girl by grabbing the small pink rucksack on her back while Smithy grabbed the young boy's arm just as he tripped over, falling onto the floor. The officers had witnessed the youths spraying on the wall and the girl's rucksack was filled with coloured graffiti cans so there was enough evidence to take them both to the station and charge them. Smithy and Rebecca placed the two youngsters into the back of the patrol car and as they shut the doors, Smithy looked at Rebecca and smiled saying

"Second time lucky"