Chapter 2:

Rachel raced home, ignoring the speed limit and the fact her phone was on non-stop buzzing. She ran into her flat, dumped her bags on the sofa and jumped in the shower. She spent half an hour trying to choose the right outfit. Classy, but subtle.She thought, but everything she had seemed wrong. Jeans and a nice top? Too casual. Black lacy dress? Too forward. In the end she settled for her favourite dress, deep blue, with her matching heels. She got herself dressed in record time, and began on her hair. What to do with the hair? Should she put it up? Does that look to 'worky'? Curl the front pieces, what if they fell out and she was left with an extraordinary length of hair down her face? Couldn't risk it. She decided she would straighten her longest layers, and then loosely curl her shorter ones, so if they did fall out at least she would still look normal. It was half past 6; Chris was coming for her in half an hour. She needed to get her make up done. She did her eyes with mascara, and rubbed powder on her face to make her skin look even. She applied her favourite perfume onto her chest and got out her jewellery. She wore the cute heart necklace that Janet had bought her for the last birthday, and put in the matching earrings. She went and stood in the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. Did she look ok? Was she trying too hard? Or not hard enough? She couldn't work herself out. What is wrong with me? I have never been bothered about anything like this before, not even with Nick.

It was quarter to 6; Chris would be on his way now. She kept thinking. She hadn't stopped thinking about him since she met him, she didn't know anything about him yet she was falling for him hard. She decided she needed to calm down, so she sat on the edge of the sofa, not wanted to ruin her dress or her hair. She checked her phone. She had 3 new messages and 1 missed call from Janet, all of the similar thing "who? X" "Rachel, who is this mystery man? X" "Rachel, answer your bloody phone and tell me who he is x" the voicemail message made Rachel smile; "Rachel, pick up your bloody phone and tell me who your lover is…or I will come around and pounce on you". All Rachel had time to text back was "Sorry Jan, phone you later, going out tonight na'night xx".

The buzzer went and Rachel stood up. Her stomach was doing somersaults and her heart felt as if it were to explode. "Hello?" she said through the intercom. "Hiya, it's me, Chris" "I'm coming" she said as she grabbed her keys and her bag. She walked down the stairs carefully, so she didn't break her ankles on her heels, and opened the main door. She heart did somersaults as she saw him. "You look fabulous" he said smiling, taking her arm as she came down the three steps. "You don't look so bad yourself" she said, in a jokey way. "I'll take that as a compliment shall I?" he said as he opened the taxi door for her. "Thanks". Oh my God, he looks even more gorgeous than he did in the office, is that possible? Oh my God, he is actually gorgeous, such a gentleman as well, that suit looks lovely on him, and it would look even better off but… stop thinking like that Rachel. Why am I talking to myself when I have that handsome dude to talk to?

They pulled up outside the hotel restaurant. She had been here once with Nick before, so she knew how expensive it was. "Wow, this place looks lovely" she said, as he helped her out of the car. They walked into the reception and Chris spoke to the waiter. "Table for two please, preferably on the balcony" there is a balcony? They had finished ordering their food and Chris turned to her. "I'm so glad we are able to do this tonight" he said "aw, me too" Rachel said, smiling at him. "So, tell me a bit about yourself" Rachel prompted, trying to break the eye contact. It was like she was in a trance, she was completely fixated with him, and she couldn't not look at him. She was like a kid looking into a sweet shop. As the evening progressed they were talking more and more, Rachel felt so comfortable with him, and it was only their first date. ..

Back at Janet's house, she was getting more and more itchy to find out who this 'mysterious guy' is that Rachel's going out with. Her thoughts were disrupted by the doorbell ringing. She was surprised to see her Boss standing there. "Gill, are you ok?" "Um, yeah I think so…I'm not quite sure" gill replied, sounding uncertain. "Well…come in, sit down, ill flick the kettle on." "Thank you Jan, sorry to just drop by." "No, don't mention it!" Janet came back a few seconds later with big mugs of tea and she sat down on the sofa, her legs up on the stool. "So, what's going on then?" "Ok…well I think I'm falling for someone" she blurted out. "What? Who?" what was it with all her close friends falling in love these days? Did Kevin sprinkle his fair dust around the office today? Gill chose to ignore that question, and carried on talking. "He is a lot younger than me, probably around Sherlock's age, so there is no way he would like me…but his general charm and looks made my heart melt. He was lovely, he works for the NPIA. I only met him today and I don't know anything about him but I can't help myself" "what's his name, Gill?" Janet pursued. "Chris Latham" she said, trying to hide a smile as she said his name. "Ask him out? You won't know until you try!" Janet was worrying now, was this the same guy Rachel was talking about? This out her in a horrible position. Does she tell Gill Rachel may have gone out with him tonight or let her friend ask him and him say no? "I'm not so sure, he seemed to pay Rachel more interest than me" bingo. So it was the same guy. I want to have a look at this fellow, see if I can see what everyone else sees. Janet thought to herself. "Well then, leave it for a while; see if these feelings develop, and if they do just ask him for a drink or something, then see what happens?" "Yeah, okay, I'll try that, thank you Jan" Gill said, as she finished her drink and stood up. "I'll see you at work tomorrow"

Back at the restaurant, Rachel and Chris had finished their meal, and he was just paying the bill. It had come to about £120 and Rachel cringed at the price. For two of them, that was really expensive, but then the three bottles of wine didn't help, each around £20 a bottle. He must be loaded. Rachel thought, as he was determined to pay for it himself "you're the Lady, you don't pay for the meal." He persisted.

"Thank you so much, it's been lovely" Rachel said, as the taxi stopped outside her flat. "Yeah, I've really enjoyed it" Chris said, giving her a kiss. Their lips met for the first time, and Rachel's heart began to melt. Rachel decided it was time to take control. "Would you like to come in for a bit?" she asked, hoping. "Yeah, okay" he said as they stumbled out, the taxi. He thrust a tenner at the taxi driver as Rachel tried to unlock the door.

They stumbled into her flat and she closed the door, him pressing her up against the wall as he kissed her. Rachel was struggling for breath as she led him into the bedroom. She tripped on her heels and landed on the bed, pulling Chris down with her. They both began to chuckle as it got more and more intense. What was she doing? She had never slept with someone on their first date, but he wasn't just anyone. She could feel it from the moment they met, there was a connection. She ripped open his shirt and began to kiss his neck as he slid her dress down; their body's finally meeting…

Gill sat at home watching the latest episode of 'who wants to be a millionaire' she used to watch it all the time with Dave and Sammy, but since he went and Sammy went to university, she hasn't felt like she has wanted to. Her mind kept drifting back to Chris. She couldn't ask him out, she was old enough to be his mother. How ridiculous would they look? She couldn't help thinking about her young DC; she could feel there was something when she introduced them to each other. Maybe that's why Rachel had been so scatty; it wasn't because of Kevin, but because of Chris.

Janet had said earlier that Rachel was going out and that she hadn't heard from her, maybe she was going out with Chris? The DCI picked up her phone that was lying on the sofa arm and dialled Rachel's number. She was going to call her, and if she picked up she knew she wasn't out, and if she didn't, Gill would sob into her glass. What had turned her like this? She didn't want to ruin Rachel's chances with Chris, hell if she was a young DC again she would certainly jump, but she needed to confirm it so Gill could stop thinking about him. "Hello, this is Rachel, sorry I am unavailable to take your call right now, please leave your name and a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible" bloody answerphone. Gill thought as she shut her phone and placed it back on the side. She was going to have an early night, no point dwelling on something she couldn't have. She drifted off almost immediately, and didn't wake up again till 6 this next morning. It was the best sleep she had had in a long time.

Back at Rachel's flat, Chris was still asleep. Rachel lay in his arms that cuddled her. She could feel his heartbeat as she lay. The sun was shining through the window, and birds were chirping. It was a bright day, and hopefully was going to be warm. Rachel's alarm disrupted her thoughts. Shit. It was 6:30, and she needed to be in work in an hour. "Chris, love, what time are you supposed to be in work?" Chris opened his eyes and looked at her. "Umm…7 I think today" "me too, come on, we've got to get up." she turned around as she sat up, looking into his eyes. "I can drop you off at your house if you want, so you can change before work?" she said as she got up, kicking last night's clothes out of the way. "Yeah if you don't mind!" he shouted to her. She was in the bathroom sorting out her hair and make-up, trying to make herself at least decent before work.

Chris got up and put his trousers and shirt back on, trying to nurture the headache that had formed from all the wine. He really liked Rachel, she remained true to herself and he enjoyed her company. Rachel came back out of the bathroom, dressed in her work clothes. "Do you want anything to eat before we go?" she asked. "No I'm ok, I never eat in the morning" he said, pulling her close. Their lips met again, it was getting so much easier now. Rachel wasn't feeling as dizzy when he came close, and her heart beat was remaining regular. "Come on, we'd better go, otherwise Godzilla will kill me!" "Um…Godzilla?" Chris said looking puzzled as he pulled on his shoes. Shit. "Oh yeah, that's my name for Gill, she's not that bad but…don't tell her will you?" "Of course I won't, your secret is my secret he said, winking.

Rachel dropped Chris off outside his house. It was quite modern and from the outside, looked well kept. "You want to come round tonight?" he asked as he got out of the car, kissing her cheek. "Yeah I can do, hopefully I won't be too late" "Ok, I'll see you later then, DC Bailey" he walked up to his front door and opened it as Rachel spun the car around. He winked as she drove off, and she waved to him through the window.

She arrived in work 10 minutes later. Janet was the first to spot the massive smile sweep across her face when she checked her phone. "Who's that from?" she asked, trying to look at the screen. "No-one" Rachel said, turning away. "Come on, who?" Rachel beckoned her to come closer. She whispered in Janet's ear "Chris Latham – but you can't say anything, its early" Janet shot up, her eyes wide "did you…?" "I'm not one to kiss and tell Janet Scott of Scotland Yard!" Rachel went back to work, still smiling, whereas Janet was the complete opposite. Should she tell Gill Chris is seeing her DC, prevent her from having her heartbroken by another man? Or should she respect Rachel's wishes and keep it quiet?

Her thoughts were disrupted when a tall man walked into the office. Rachel kept her eyes on the desk trying not to break into a smile and Gill had stood up in her office, waiting for the man to approach. "So that's him is it? Your one and only?" Janet said, across her computer. "Jan, shhh, someone may hear" Rachel said, in a hushed voice. "Someone may hear what Rachel Bailey?" Kevin said, sneaking up behind her again. Give me strength. Rachel thought as she turned around. "Kevin! A) it's got nothing to do with you B) stop creeping up on me like that!" Kevin's eyes widened in disbelief "you've got a boyfriend haven't you? Boss, Rachel's got a boyfriend!" Kevin shouted to Gill, who had just sat down. Rachel had her head in her hands as the Boss came out of her office, Chris following. "What did you say?" Gill said, glancing from Rachel to Kevin to Chris, who was looking uncomfortable. "Rachel's got a boyfriend! Look, she isn't denying it! And she was surprisingly nice to me this morning!" Rachel got up and ran out of the office, leaving everyone looking on. "I'm going to follow her" Chris said, as he chased after her. Gill looked shell-shocked. She looked at Janet who was looking at her sympathetically, and then looked at Kevin who had just twigged. "Oh my God! She's going out with Latham!" Kevin said gleefully, whilst everyone else looked on him and shook their heads, Janet messing with her glasses and Gill was looking at the floor, before she decided to walk out the office after Rachel and Chris.