Hey again. Thanks for the reviews :)
We're nearly at the end of this fanfiction, just a few more chapters to go!
I don't own the song in this chapter. It's called
'Skinny Love' and is sung by 'Birdy'
Enjoy!
For the next few weeks, Smithy tried to stay away from Rebecca as much as he could, only saying a simple hello in the morning briefings and while passing in the corridor. One evening when the relief were having drinks in the local pub, Yvonne was involved in a hit and run accident which very nearly killed her. She was unconscious and in intensive care for two weeks and Rebecca sat by her hospital bedside almost every day. When Yvonne finally stirred from the coma, the first person she saw was Rebecca, who was sleeping in the chair next to her bed. Yvonne gently touched her sleeping friend's arm and Rebecca woke up, unaware that her friend was awake.
"Yvonne!" Rebecca exclaimed, jumping up and dashing out of the room in search of a doctor.
Just a few moments later, a doctor and nurse entered the room and checked Yvonne over.
"How you feeling chick?" Rebecca asked Yvonne once the doctor and nurse had left the room.
Yvonne gave a weak smile and whispered
"I feel like I've been run over by a ten tone truck..."
Rebecca didn't know how to take that statement so decided to quickly change the subject but Yvonne beat her to it.
"So, how long you've been here for?"
Rebecca rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Since you came in, two weeks ago. This room has really started to feel like home"
Yvonne gave a slight, weak giggle and asked
"Oh, I hope you've been home for a shower or something"
Rebecca made a funny face at Yvonne and laughed before announcing
"Well, I think someone's on the mend!"
A serious look spread across Rebecca's face as she knew what to say next. Taking Yvonne's hand and holding it tightly, Rebecca started to explain.
"You know, you really scared me. I thought I'd lost you. I've lost enough people over the last year so the thought of losing my best friend, well..."
"You aren't getting rid of me that easily missy. Besides, I'm fine" Yvonne interrupted.
Rebecca smiled, looked deep into her friend's eyes and continued.
"Yvonne, there's something I have to tell you" and with that, Rebecca explained everything about when he died and saw Kerry. The blonde PC also told Yvonne that George and Cameron had gone to the special place where Kerry was waiting.
"Have you told Smithy this?" Yvonne asked.
Rebecca nodded but told Yvonne that she didn't think Smithy believed her as he thought it was some dream or story.
"I believe you babe. And...am I welcome at this special place too?"
Rebecca smiled and nodded before adding
"Course you are. Kerry said that she would be waiting for us, when we're ready. You never know when that time's gonna be and honestly, I thought I'd lost you this week. So, I'm taking this time to tell you now, just so you know what to expect. When it is, you know, you're time to go, I don't want you to be scared ok because now, you know where you'll be going. You'll get to see Kerry, Cam and my Dad again and...they'll look after you"
Yvonne nodded before Rebecca stood up and gave Yvonne a big hug. Just then, there was a knock on the door and the same doctor from before walked into the room. He explained to the girls that, now that Yvonne had regained consciousness, she'd have to be taken for a number of different x-rays and tests so Rebecca decided to head home for a shower, knowing that Yvonne was now in safe hands.
"Oh PC Young, how's Yvonne doing?" Sergeant Smith called to Rebecca as she walked past his office.
Rebecca turned and told Smithy that Yvonne had regained consciousness and that the doctors were carrying out a number of tests on her so check her over.
"After two weeks of being unconscious, I actually thought she'd...you know" Rebecca admitted.
Smithy folding his arms in his usual manner and reassured Rebecca, saying
"If Yvonne's awake then the worst is over. She should be just fine"
Rebecca nodded and listened as Smithy told her she'd been paired with Tony Stamp for the afternoon, which she the blonde officer was happy about as Tony had become a good friend and always knew how to cheer her up. So Rebecca headed into the back yard in search of PC Stamp.
"Sierra Oscar 202 from 595, I'm chasing suspect down Regent Lane, can you cut him off at the end of St Peter's street? Over"
Rebecca pushed her foot down hard and sped off in the direction of St Peter's street. She'd had to listen very carefully to Tony's shout as it sounds fuzzy and faint. Rebecca realised the batteries in her radio were going and it was quite distracting making an annoying noise all the time. It didn't help that her phone was vibrating on the passenger seat. Quickly glancing over at it, Rebecca spotted Smithy's name flashing up on the phone but Tony needed her so she ignored it. Turning the steering wheel quickly, Rebecca sped around the corner into St Peters Street and pushed down on the breaks, making the car screech loudly. The problem was, neither Tony nor the suspect were there.
Moving her hand onto her radio, Rebecca pushed the button and spoke into it, asking Tony where he was. However, the batteries had run out and the radio was dead. The mobile vibrated again and as Rebecca picked it up, it showed six missed calls, all from Smithy. Rebecca was about to ring Tony when she spotted the suspect running out of a street just in front of it. Throwing her phone down on to the chair, Rebecca sped off again in the direction of the young man, stopped the car, jumped out and started to follow him on foot. However, he must have been an Olympic runner because it didn't take long for him to disappear. Annoyed that she'd lost him, Rebecca lightly jogged back to the car so she could ring Tony to see where he was. As Rebecca arrived back at the car, she spotted Tony lying in an alleyway on the opposite side of the road.
"Tony!" she yelled, running across the road.
Tony was slumped against a wall and seemed to be out cold. His head was bleeding and his hand was cut. Rebecca started to speak into her radio but then remembered it wasn't working. Pulling Tony's from his shirt, Rebecca tried to communicate through his.
"Sierra Oscar from Sierra Oscar...202. It's Rebecca on Tony's radio. We..."
The radio started making a crackling noise and Rebecca knew what that sound meant.
"The radio's about to die on me. We need an ambulance to the alleyway on St Peter's Street. Tony's hurt and unconscious!"
There was silence but Rebecca listened hard and could just about hear Dean's voice through the crackling noises.
"Sierra Oscar 202 all received ambulance on way!"
Rebecca gave a sigh of relief and put Tony's radio back onto his shirt.
"Rebecca its Smithy. You need..."
That's all that Rebecca heard because at that moment, Tony's radio died. Smithy had left ten missed calls on Rebecca's mobile, a voice message telling her to contact him as soon as possible, a text saying the same thing and he'd tried to contact her over the radios. It must have been something important but for the moment it was the last thing on her mind. Rebecca needed to stay with Tony until the ambulance arrived to make sure that he was safe because she wasn't ready to lose yet another person in her life.
"Luckily, the bump to your head didn't do any damage, it just bled a little. Your hand is going to be fine too; we've bandaged that up for you. Here is a dose of antibiotics, just for the pain but, Mr Stamp; you're going to be just fine" the doctor explained to the two police officers as Rebecca as they sat behind a curtain in the hospital.
Thanking the doctor, Tony and Rebecca decided to pop in and quickly see Yvonne before heading back to the station to get new batteries for their radio's and fill the Inspector in on what had happened. As both officers walked towards 'Intensive Care' Tony spotted Smithy and Nick Klein standing just outside the door.
"Smithy, Nick. Looks like we had the same idea to check up on Yvonne" Tony called out.
Nick and Smithy turned around to see Tony and Rebecca standing in front of them.
"Rebecca, I've been trying to get hold of you for the past hour!" Smithy announced.
Taken aback by the tone in her Sergeant's voice, Rebecca replied
"Yeah the batteries in both mine and Tony's radios have gone. We came here for Tony to be seen to, then we're gonna head back to change the bats, as soon as we've checked up on Yvonne"
Smithy and Nick exchanged a look with each other that didn't go amiss by Tony.
"What's going on?"
Smithy took a few steps towards Rebecca and lowered his voice.
"Bec, you can't...you can't check on Yvonne. That's the reason I've been trying to get hold of you"
Rebecca glanced at Nick who looked sad and had red puffy eyes. Turning her attention to Smithy, Rebecca asked
"What's wrong with him? And why can't I see Yvonne? Serge"
Smithy reached out and touched Rebecca's hand, squeezing it tightly.
"Bec, Yvonne's...she's gone"
Tony and Nick froze, realising what Smithy had just said but Rebecca took it the wrong way.
"She's been discharged already? She only came out of the coma this morning. Where's she gone?"
Smithy could feel himself filling up with tears as he shook his head.
"No Rebecca, she's gone. She died in theatre about 90 minutes ago"
Rebecca shook her head in shock, pulled her arm off Smithy's, pushed past him and ran onto the ward. All three men rushed after her and followed her into the room where Yvonne had previously been laying. Rebecca pushed open the door to find an empty bed. With that, Rebecca fainted and luckily, Smithy was there to catch her. Tony called for help and Nick helped pick Rebecca up from Smithy's arms and laid her onto a bed that a nurse had just wheeled over.
Fifteen minutes later, Rebecca awoke to find herself laid in a hospital bed with Smithy sitting on the chair next to her. Tony and Nick had been sent back to the station to fill in Tony's incident report and fill the Inspector in on the whole situation with Rebecca. They already knew about Yvonne and were currently informing her family. Opening her eyes, Rebecca turned her head to look at Smithy and he stood up, taking her hand in his. However, Rebecca flung his hand away, stood up and put her uniformed jacket back on, all in silence. Pushing down the handle on the door, Rebecca opened it but before she stepped out of the room, she turned to face a confused looking Smithy and emotionally stated
"You said she'd be okay" before heading out of the door. Taking a deep breath and feeling emotional, Smithy quickly realised that Rebecca had no way of getting back to the station so rushed out of the hospital and found her sitting on a low brick wall. Smithy sat down next to her and for a moment, stayed silent, not knowing what to say. Thankfully, Rebecca broke the silence.
"I told her. About Kerry"
Smithy looked over at Rebecca and asked
"What about Kerry?"
Not looking Smithy in the eye, Rebecca explained that she'd told Yvonne about where she'd go when she died and that Kerry, Cameron and George would look after her. A part of Smithy took in what the emotional PC was saying but another part of him was still unsure whether or not to believe it.
"I know you don't believe me Smithy but, that's okay because we'll still wait for you"
"We?" Smithy questioned.
Rebecca nodded and looked up into Smithy's emerald green eyes.
"We" Rebecca added.
"And what makes you think you're going up there before me?" Smithy asked.
Rebecca stood up before admitting
"I just have that feeling" before walking over to Smithy's patrol car and jumping in as soon as Smithy unlocked the door.
A week later, Yvonne's funeral was held. This was the third funeral or memorial service the Sun hill officers had attended in a matter of months and Rebecca was feeling especially emotional. Not only had she lost her sister and father, but also two close friends. As it was a member of the Met's funeral, the officers at Sunhill arrived in full uniform except for Rebecca, who had the day off work so dressed in the usual black funeral attire. A few members of Yvonne's family said a few words about how lovely Yvonne and about her life. Afterwards, everyone at the funeral made their way into the cemetery where Yvonne was to be buried. The cemetery was the same one which Kerry, George and Cameron were buried in so, after Yvonne had been buried, Rebecca, Honey and a few of the boys visited Cameron's grave which was the other side of the cemetery. For a while, the group of officers sat and talked to Cameron as if he was sat there with them. Honey told him all about her new relationship, Gary excitingly shared about his upcoming move to CID, Dan and Will both delved into their love lives and Rebecca told Cameron that she misses him very much. Ten minutes later, Superintendant O'Karo gathered all the officers up and asked them to load themselves onto the mini bus that they had all arrived on. Everyone said goodbye to Rebecca and after getting back onto the bus, headed back to the station to carry on with their work. Rebecca left Cameron's grave and walked to the other side of the cemetery, unaware that she was being watched. Stopping by a tap, Rebecca pulled out two small vases from the plastic bag she was carrying and filled them both with water. Then, reaching back into the bag, Rebecca took out two bunches of flowers and placed them delicately into the vases, one in each. Walking down the narrow stoned path, the blonde female stopped by a grave and placed the vase down.
"Hey Dad, how you doing?" she whispered, bending down in front of it.
Rebecca talked to her Dad for a while and then said
"See you soon Dad, love you" and stood back up.
"Come on skinny love, just last the year
Pour a little salt, we were never here
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer
I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Right at the moment this order's tall"
Next, Rebecca was going to visit her sister's grave and she didn't have to go far because it was the one right next to her Dads. Once again, Rebecca delicately placed flowers on the grave then sat down on in front of it and crossed her legs.
"Hey Kez, how are you?" Rebecca started.
"It was Yvonne's funeral today. She was in an accident last week and, I was told she was going to be fine but...she wasn't. Apparently, she had a blood clot and when she went into theatre, her heart stopped and..."
Rebecca stopped and pulled out a tissue from her jacket pocket to wipe her teary eyes.
"I would say Yvonne died but, I know she didn't. Her body might be buried but I know that she's up with you, Dad, Cam, Mum, Ryan and everyone else and that you're all looking after her"
Rebecca stood up from the floor but after turning around to sit on the brown wooden bench, she realised that it was already occupied. By Sergeant Smith.
"And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And in the morning, I'll be with you
But it will be a different kind
'Cause I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines"
"Hey sorry, I didn't mean..."
"It's fine Serge" Rebecca interrupted as she sat down on the bench next to Smithy.
For a moment, both of them just stared at Kerry's grave in silence until Rebecca broke it.
"She loved you, you know"
Smithy didn't move his eyes from Kerry's grave and just stayed silence.
"Can I ask you a question?" Rebecca asked.
Smithy nodded and Rebecca asked away.
"Since Kerry died, has there been anyone else? For you"
Feeling a lump in his throat and his eyes filling up, Smithy stayed quiet but shook his head. When Rebecca asked why he hadn't, the young sergeant realised he'd have to break his silence.
"Nope. It took me so long to tell Kerry how I really felt and I left it too late. If only I had told her before then we'd..."
Smithy lowered his head and he felt tears leave his eyes and roll down his face. Sniffling, Smithy continued
"We'd be together now"
Rebecca placed her hand onto Smithy's shoulder and smoothed it comfortingly before admitting
"Kerry wasn't very good with her feelings either but I know that she loved you because she always kept talking about you. She used to call you her knight in shining armour"
"Come on skinny love, what happened here?
Suckle on the hope in light brassiere
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Sullen load is full, so slow on the split
And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind"
Wiping tears from his face, Smithy confided in Rebecca.
"I didn't do enough to save her. I wish she'd trusted me enough to tell me about Kent. If I told her that I loved her, maybe she would have confided in me and things would be different. She wouldn't be dead"
"Smithy you can't blame yourself. I believe that...things happen for a reason. Everyone dies sometime and, as much as we miss Kerry, I'm guessing it was just her time to go. The same for my Dad, Cameron and Yvonne but it's alright because at least we know they're together. Smithy..."
"And now all your love is wasted
Then who the hell was I?
'Cause now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines
Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?
Come on skinny love
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my"
Smithy turned his head to look at Rebecca.
"They're together and looking after each other. That place, the one I told you about, It wasn't heaven, it wasn't hell and it wasn't a dream. Kerry said it was a special place that we all made together so that we could find one another. They're all waiting for us there so that, when we're ready, we can all go to heaven together and..."
"Rebecca. Look, I loved Kerry and wish that things were different so that her and me could have had a chance to be together but, we didn't and we can't. It's taken me over a year to realise that, Kerry is gone and I'll never see her again. So I'm sorry but, I don't believe you" and with that, he walked off leaving a shocked and emotional Rebecca sitting on the bench in front of Kerry's grave on her was hurt that Smithy still didn't believe her but all Rebecca could do was hope that once day, he would.
The weeks went by and the Sunhill officers were working hard as usual. Rebecca hadn't mentioned anything about Kerry and the 'special place' since he left Kerry's graveside that day. They had been paired up a few times but not much conversation was passed between them. Rebecca didn't have the energy to keep telling Smithy that she hadn't made up the whole 'Kerry's waiting for us' thing and Smithy could tell that he'd pushed Rebecca too far. One morning, Rebecca decided to sort things out with Smithy. They had been paired together and she waited until they were patrolling Canley high street to bring the subject up.
"Serge I just wanted to say, I know you don't believe me about the whole...heaven thing but, I have to believe I'm right and that I will be re-united with them again one day. So I think it's easier if we agree to disagree on this occasion yeah? That way, we can put it behind us and be mates"
Smithy nodded and agreed. Both officers secretly gave a sigh of relief and felt a weight have been lifted off their shoulders. Rebecca was still hurt that Smithy didn't believe her but for now, was willing to let it go. Smithy was just pleased that Rebecca had forgiven him for being so sharp with her. He realised that nothing would ever happen between them and would have to work on getting rid of the feelings he had for her but was grateful that they were friends. In fact, Rebecca and Smithy became the best of friends and made a great team. Even though they'd had their differences since Rebecca had arrived at Sunhill, she was glad her and Smithy were friends, especially when her Uncle, the Chief Superintendant Eddy Roberts passed away. He suffered a sudden heart attack and Rebecca was obviously devastated. Except for a few cousins, she was Eddy's only family member left so it was up to her to arrange the funeral. Honey moved in with Rebecca for a few weeks so she wasn't alone through her grieving process. The two girls had become really close too, meeting up a few times a week for girlie nights in, or out. Even though it was sad that Eddy had passed away, Rebecca continued to believe that what she saw wasn't a dream and that her Uncle had now joined Kerry, George, Cree, Yvonne, Cameron, Ryan and everyone else in that 'special place'.
It was cold, wet October day in London and the uniformed relief were piling into the briefing room ready for their morning briefing. Nearly all of the relief had spent the previous Saturday at a private leaving party for PC Nick Klein, which was arranged by Inspector Gold and Superintendant O'Karo. He had decided to go over to America and live with his sister and the best part, was that Nick had been offered a police job out there. It was his idea of perfect and after a lot of thought, decided to go for it. The Sunhill lot gave him one heck of a send off and some of them were still suffering on Monday morning.
"Morning everyone, right please take your seats" Inspector Gold called out as she walked into the briefing room accompanied by Superintendant O'Karo and Sergeant Smith.
After scanning the room with her eyes, Gina turned to Adam and informed him that their new officer, Nick Klein's replacement was yet to turn up. Everyone quietened down and listened as the Superintendant informed them of their latest breakthroughs, news and crimes. Just then, there was a knock on the door and a tall brown haired man dressed in a brand new police uniform entered.
"Ah you must be our new officer, take a seat" Gold ordered.
The new officer spotted a seat at the side of the room and headed towards it when Gina asked
"Sorry, what's your name again?"
Smiling, the new recruit replied
"Oh I'm Kent. PC Kent"
The room fell silent. Smithy and Rebecca shot a horrified look to each other, as did Gina and Adam. Not a single sound could be heard and the poor new guy looked confused. Rebecca turned her head to face her new colleague and he looked back at her.
"Ummm...hi. PC...Kent right?"
The tall guy nodded and replied
"Yes that's right, PC Samuel Kent" before holding out his hand expecting Rebecca to shake it.
Everyone waited in silence to see how Rebecca was going to respond.
Rebecca looked at the new guys shaking hand but didn't shake it. Instead, moved her big blue eyes back up to his face and after taking a deep breath, questioned
"Any relation to Gabriel...or David Kent?"
Shaking his brown haired head, Samuel replied
"Nope, it's just me"
Rebecca turned her head and glanced at Smithy who smiled at her. Rebecca turned her head back to face her new colleague, smiled, shook the hand that he was still holding out and announced
"Well in that case...welcome to Sunhill PC Kent"