Hope?
Sasha parked the car in a quiet street on the outskirts of London. The terraced houses reminded her of the street she had grown up in. The small street was lined with cars, a corner shop and a depressing gloom, just like the street she had known so well.
"This it?" Steve asked. Sasha nodded.
"Yeah."
"Right."
"Jim Stevens hates Sandra. He blames her for his teenage son going to prison. The boy died."
"How is that her fault?"
"It isn't. Meningitis is an awful disease. The boy just happened to be in prison for murdering a young girl at the time." Sasha shook her head. "Two lives ruined. Two families destroyed."
"This was before UCOS."
"Yeah." Sasha nodded. "When we discovered the death threats I did some digging."
Steve sighed, checking his mobile phone. He felt sick, knowing Gerry and Jack were still at the hospital waiting for news. Sandra was still in the operating theatre. He knew they'd have contacted him if there was any news.
"She's going to be ok. Isn't she?" Sasha turned to her friend. Steve paused. He felt sick.
"She has to be." He opened the car door, knowing Jack and Gerry would never be the same if she wasn't.
Xxxxxcc
Gerry glared at the floor. He had known Jack had suspected he felt something for their Guv. Whereas things like relationships and feelings bypassed Brian and the others Jack was far more astute. It was what made him a good copper. He glanced up as he realised the doctor had been talking to them.
"Intensive care." Jack sighed.
"Sandra lost a lot of blood. She's had the wound to her head cleaned and closed, the fracture in her left wrist has been set."
"She's going to be ok?" Gerry felt as if he had been punched in the gut.
"As I was saying." The surgeon smiled kindly. "Her liver had a large laceration and her spleen had completely ruptured."
"Oh dear Lord." Jack felt his voice waver. He had always been close to the younger woman, had always thought of her as being a surrogate daughter - even more so since Mary had died. Thinking of her as a victim, laying on a theatre trolley with surgeons fighting to save her life made him want to cry.
"We've taken the spleen away and fixed her liver. She needed a lot of blood but she made it through the operation. The recovery nurses are taking her to the ITU. One of the nurses will come to see you then."
"We can see her?" Gerry asked.
"Yes. When she's settled in the ITU."
Jack thanked the doctor, shaking his hand as he did so. Once alone with Gerry he turned to the younger man.
"When the nurses say we can go in I think you should go first. I'll call Sasha and the others. Brian will be having a nervous breakdown about now."
Gerry huffed in agreement. Brian loved the team as family. Any disruption or anything unforeseen would be a risk to his mental health. The last thing any of them wanted was Brian drinking again.
"And for God's sake tell the girl how you feel! You've both danced around each other long enough. Life is too short." Jack raised a hand as Gerry stared at him. "I'm 79. An old man but I promise you this. You break her heart and I'll kill you. Understood?"
"Crystal."
"Right then. I'll call Brian." He stepped out of the small waiting room before heading in search of a pay phone.
Xxxxxxxx