Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and followed this story. It's so heartwarming and encouraging to know that your labour of love is being enjoyed and appreciated by other people.

Sammy Murray rang the doorbell of Julie's house and waited for her to answer. He bounced on the balls of his feet with nervous energy. He'd been to Julie's place plenty of times before over the years but this time there was a lot at stake; he was hoping to be able to push her and his mum back together. The door opened to reveal Julie barefoot and dressed casually in jeans and a loose fitting shirt.

"Aunty Julie!" The teenager exclaimed and she chuckled before she ushered him in and closed the door behind him.

"Hello love, bit old for that now aren't you?" She grinned in spite of herself. No matter what had happened between her and Gill, he was still her best friend's son and the only child she had seen grow up in front of her eyes. "Go on, take a seat." Sammy sat down on the sofa in the living room and waited for Julie to join him. "Do you want a cup of tea or something?"

"No, I'm fine thanks. I just wanted to talk to you." Julie perched herself on the arm of the armchair facing Sammy.

"Okay."

"She made a mistake, Mum I mean. She loves you but she's scared so thought it would be easier to push you away." There hadn't been any point in beating around the bush, so he'd just come out with it. There would be time for pleasantries later.

"I know that Sammy." Once she'd recovered from the shock of Gill's decision and the heartache it had left behind, Julie had quickly realised that Gill had put up defensive barriers instead of going along with what her heart wanted. Julie understood all the reasons why, she'd watched Gill fall apart in the wake of Dave's infidelity after all.

"You do?" Julie nodded, realising that he might now be engaged and about to embark on a career in the force be he still had a lot to learn about relationships. "So why don't you try again?"

"If she doesn't love and trust me enough to make that leap of faith on her own then I'm not going to force the issue. I gave her time and space to really think about what she wanted and she did. It wouldn't be fair to keep pestering her." She was disappointed that Gill had failed to understand that she wasn't going to let her down like Dave had done. She thought their friendship had been built and defined by trust and would be a good indication of Julie's intentions and treatment of Gill as a partner. Gill obviously felt that she wasn't worth taking that risk over.

"But she's miserable without you!" Julie hadn't known for certain but she had a fair idea how Gill had been dealing with the fallout of her decision if their meeting the other week was anything to go by.

"And I without her but what's done is done." Sammy couldn't understand how Julie could be so matter of fact about it.

"So that's it? You're going to give up on her?"

"It's not about giving up on her love. I simply don't have the energy to fight about it. I'm under enough pressure at work and it's clear this has made even a friendship awkward between us." Julie looked at Sammy's deflated expression and felt guilty for putting it there.

"I understand. I just…I thought… Once I'd got over surprise of seeing you together it made a lot of sense. Orla and I talked about it and I realised that I wanted you to be together. I wanted Mum to be happy again and I couldn't think of anyone better than you to do that." Julie gave the young lad a watery smile. She felt honoured to have been thought of in such high regard. It was just a shame that Gill didn't quite feel the same way.

"Thank you, I appreciate that, more than I can say. Look Sammy, there's something I think I should tell you…"

Sammy arrived home and called out to let his mum know. She responded from the front room and Sammy turned to Julie who had been waiting on the doorstep behind him and ushered her in.

"I'll just uh…" He nodded his head in the direction of the living room.

"Warn her?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not sure this is such a good idea Sammy."

"You owe it to her to tell her Julie. Whatever has happened between you recently can't erase nearly fifteen years of friendship. She'd want to know." Sammy disappeared off into the living room and left Julie to stand in the hallway like a lemon. It immediately brought to mind the night everything had fallen apart and their final goodbye right on that very spot. She had no idea what Sammy thought he'd achieve by doing this, although she conceded that he was perhaps right on this issue. If it had been Gill wouldn't she have wanted to know even after everything that had happened? Sammy came back into the hallway and ushered Julie into the house properly.

"What did she say?"

"She was surprised but I told her it was important so she's okay." Julie took a deep breath and headed into the living room.

Gill was sitting on the sofa, a discarded book next to her and cup of tea on the coffee table. Julie walked in and her heart rate sped up in nervousness.

"Hi." Julie didn't know whether to remain standing or take a seat on the sofa next to Gill. Normally she'd have just made herself at home without even thinking about it.

"Sammy said that you've got something important to tell me?" She sounded casual but her posture told a different story. She was sitting bolt upright, almost defensive as though Julie's mere presence would break down her protective shield.

"Yeah. I hadn't planned on seeing you today but Sammy insisted so I'm a little unprepared." Julie had opted to remain standing, her arms crossed in front of her protectively. Anyone would have been hard pressed to guess that these two women were long-standing friends who, only a few short weeks ago, had shared an intensely passionate night of love-making.

"Go on."

"I've been offered a secondment in London and I'm going to take it."

"London?" Gill was surprised, it was certainly somewhere Julie had never mentioned wanting to work before. They'd been socially of course, both together and separately, but Greater Manchester was home.

"Yeah." Julie confirmed for her friend and wondered how long this stilted conversation was going to last. She was certain they were both more than aware that there were two conversations taking place, the most important one being the one without words.

"How long?"

"Two years."

"Two years?! Why are you even thinking about it?" Finally Gill reacted with some sort of emotion and looked suitably shocked by Julie's news. The older woman looked at her friend is if to say 'you're kidding, right?' because you'd have to be several inches of dense to not understand that one. She opted for the professional explanation first.

"I'm absolutely snowed under and stressed out at HQ and Karen's noticed. She knows I'm capable of doing the job, just not the way things are at the moment. There's going to be a review and she said they would keep my job open for me once a restructure has taken place. One of the MIT teams in London needs a shake up and my brief is to turn things around in those two years." The timing had worked out perfectly and Karen was more than happy to send Julie off to London temporarily.

"Why don't they just pull the team?"

"There's plenty of work for them and they're an experienced bunch, just not producing results. The outgoing DCI was dismissed from service so you can just imagine what was or wasn't going on there. Anyway, the reason Sammy wanted me to come and talk to you was because I've offered him and Orla my house while I'm gone and he thought that perhaps you should know about it before we confirmed anything." It suited Julie to have someone she knew and trusted look after her house for her. Of course she wouldn't hear of Sammy paying any rent, her mortgage was already paid off anyway, but he would have to pay the bills for what he used while he was living there. It would be a good life experience for him and Orla before they officially moved in together. Gill realised that Julie was serious about London if she had offered her house out to a young couple just starting out.

"When were you going to tell me, if Sammy hadn't prompted you?" There was a tinge of hurt in Gill's voice but she knew that she had made any sort of communication between them difficult over the last few weeks.

"I don't know, we haven't exactly been speaking much recently for me to just drop it into conversation." Julie answered honestly and she refused to feel guilty about it.

"Don't go." Gill could already feel her friend slipping from her grasp and her world turn inside out; it was a feeling she was far from comfortable with.

"What have I got to stay for Gill?"

"Me?"

"Have I? Really?" At Gill's silence she continued. "I'm fifty-two years old, my job is my life and I rarely socialise or see the few friends I do have. I need to make a fresh start, meet some new people maybe even meet someone special." Gill's heart clenched painfully in her chest at that last remark but she knew deep down that you couldn't keep pushing someone away and expect them to keep coming back indefinitely.

A couple of weeks later.

Gill sat in her car and watched from a discreet distance as Julie packed her car full of her belongings. Sammy and Orla had left the house early to help and move the last of their own stuff in. Sammy had tried to persuade his mum to come with them and give things one last go with Julie but she knew there wasn't really anything left to say. She wondered how things had become so bad between them that it had got to this point? Gill knew that it had mostly been her fault and her inability to put the past to one side and trust someone again. Julie was nothing like Dave, never had been, and Gill knew wholeheartedly that out of anyone in the entire world Julie would be the one she trusted most with her heart. It was herself she didn't trust. How long would it have been before Julie had grown tired of sharing Gill with the job? Perhaps that had been an excuse all these years and the plain and simple fact was that Gill was just crap at maintaining relationships and it had been her fault that Dave had grown bored of her?

She looked on as she saw Sammy and Orla carry some bags out to Julie's car, who then proceeded to fit them in. She looked just about ready to leave and Gill felt her heart plummet in dread; she was about to lose her best friend and with her a damn good chance to be happy. Nervous energy thrummed through her body and she watched as Julie exchanged hugs with Sammy and Orla. She looked happy, as any woman should when she was about to embark on the a new and exciting stage in her life. Gill couldn't let her go without at least saying goodbye, if anything happened to her while she was away…it just didn't bear thinking about. Gill recalled the evening she pushed Julie away and how it was too late to call her back and suddenly she found the courage to get out of the car. Every step felt like she was wading through mud but she couldn't let Julie just walk out of her life like this. She couldn't find the voice to call out to her friend, the power of speech seemed to have been taken from her as well as her ability to think clearly. Sammy and Orla waved as Julie started the engine and Gill hoped that she would be spotted before Julie began reversing out of her driveway.

"Wait!" Gill finally found her voice a couple of doors down from Julie's house and the kids turned in time to spot her. Sammy gestured to his mum to hurry up while Orla signalled to Julie to wait. She pointed to her right and Julie followed her line of sight. Relief eased across her face and she turned the key in the ignition to stop the car. The relief on Gill's face mirrored that of Julie's. Julie stepped out of the car and made her way round to meet Gill on the pavement outside her house as Sammy and Orla discreetly went back inside.

"I didn't think you were coming?" Julie began and allowed Gill to get her breath back. She'd all but given up hope of seeing Gill before she left and the disappointment had begun to turn into hurt as the morning had gone on.

"I thought about it but I couldn't let you leave without a proper goodbye. Whatever's happened between us recently and however things work out, you're still my best friend and I love you." Julie smiled wistfully and pulled Gill in for a hug. She buried her face in her neck and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening.

"I love you too, you daft old bat." Gill wrapped her arms around Julie tighter and took a few moments to compose herself. They eventually loosened their hold on each other and drew back slightly.

"I am sorry, for everything." Julie stroked Gill's cheek as a single tear escaped her watery eyes.

"I know and you're forgiven." More tears spilt from Gill's eyes and Julie could feel herself welling up too but she desperately fought to keep it together, there would be time enough for that when she was in London.

"I don't suppose there's anything I can say that will change your mind?" Julie smiled at Gill ruefully and shook her head gently. London was too good an opportunity to pass up and the distance would probably do her the world of good. Besides, everything had been arranged for her arrival and the kids settled into her house. Julie leaned forward and met Gill's lips in a firm but chaste kiss.

"Goodbye Gill."

"See ya Slap."

Gill stood and waved Julie off as she finally left Manchester for her new life in London. Sammy eventually stepped out of the house and put a comforting arm around his mum as she cried silently for all that she had lost.