Rob. Lovely, caring Rob. All he offered was a coffee, but Janet knew he was telling her to let it all out. And she did. She checked to see if he was ok listening to her ramblings and he assured her that he was. She heard herself go on and on about Rachel, making her out to be a criminal. Janet thought that what Rachel had done was a crime. Had they fallen out before? Janet hated the fact that they'd fallen out at all, it made her insides hurt.

Reminiscing about that first time she met Rachel was just lovely. She remembered being introduced to the young DC. 'We were brilliant together.' Saying were was so painful for Janet. It was almost as if Rachel had died. She knew she was lying when she said there was never a personal connection. Of course there was. These words were just coming out of her mouth and she couldn't stop them. Rachel had comforted Janet after she had been stabbed and apparently was at her bedside as much as possible in that week when they weren't sure what was happening. Janet had been there for Rachel when all the shit with Nick kicked off. They had been best friends and Janet knew that, even though Rachel had screwed up so badly, she couldn't do without her. Of course she liked Rachel. Bloody hell, she loved her. But denying it seemed to be Janet's best defence.

In the office with Gill, Rachel was being so snappy. Janet was pained but decided to ignore it because addressing it would only make matters worse. It was obvious that Gill knew they'd fallen out – God, she hadn't made it to DCI for nothing – but she didn't bring it up. Janet kind of wished that she would, actually, because having a referee would make it a lot easier, for the both of them. However, Janet knew better than to drag Gill into this even more so than she had been already.

As they left that evening, Janet was very slow in packing up, not wanting to have to walk out with Rachel lest she get cornered and have an emotional outpouring. She looked out of the window to check that Rachel had left. She was just walking out of the station. Janet was about to turn away when she saw Kevin come up behind Rachel and make her jump. She had always believed that spying was never a good thing, but something kept her watching. Whatever they were talking about, Kevin didn't like it. Rachel shook her head and walked away. Janet could have sworn her heart skipped a beat as she realised that Rachel didn't want Kevin, not that she was completely sure why it had such an effect on her. Like Rachel was ever going to give her a second thought, seeing as thought they weren't even talking to each other.

All the next day, she couldn't help herself pushing a mountain of snide comments Rachel's way. She didn't understand what she was doing or why. The news about Kevin being the mole only made her worse. She should have been there to support Rachel, to support the whole team, but she found herself being more selfish and bitchy than ever. Rachel took this badly, she could tell, and even refused a drink down the pub after Janet said that she was going.

Day three without Rachel and Janet's emotions were running high even before Rachel had a little 'chat' to her about the report that Janet had asked for. Why had she said that Rachel was pig-headed? Well, it was sort of true. Only, if they'd been on good terms, Rachel would have taken it with a pinch of salt.

'Uh, where's Gill? Does anyone know where Gill is?'

That changed the day a bit.

That car journey over to the RED centre was horrible for Janet. That is, until Rachel spoke. They never thought they'd realise, on that little journey through Manchester, that Helen Bartlett was the person holding Gill hostage. All the time that Julie was informing them about what was going on, Janet realised that she and Rachel were going to have to put aside their differences and work together to help Julie, and Gill for that matter.

'I want two people who communicate with each other well. Well, who better than you two?'

Oh, if only you knew, Julie, thought Janet as she winced.

Gill was out. Free at last. The day had taken a toll on Janet. Nearly losing your oldest friend to a suicidal woman wasn't exactly a daily occurrence.

'I don't know about you but I could do justice to a cup of tea.'

Screw it, thought Janet. If she and Rachel were ever going to talk again, then she needed to do something now. She checked her watch and made a decision.

'Sod that, I want a proper drink.'

There's at lest one more chapter of this, maybe more if I get inspired!