PUNCTURE REPAIR by ELBOW

I leaned on you today

I regularly hurt, but never say

I nearly wore the window through

Where was air sea rescue?

The cavalry with tea and sympathy

You were there, puncture repair

I leaned on you today

I regularly hurt but never say

You patch me up and send me on my way

I leaned on you today

"Night Guv," Steve heard at the door of his office. He looked up. His DI stood at the open door. DCI Arnott went by the nickname of 'Guv' to the rest of his team. It was his choice. It was all there was really. Gaffer was completely off the table. There would only ever be one gaffer to Steve, and it wasn't him.

"Night Jay," Steve replied before his DI left allowing Steve to see out in to the main office. His DS was sat at his desk doing some work on his computer. Steve sighed a deep sigh. He was worried about the young man. He'd been meaning to have a chat with him and now looked like the time to do it with the rest of the team having departed for home. He picked up his phone and dialled a number. "Hi," he said in to the phone.

"Hi," a female voice replied. His wife.

"I think I'm going to be late back," Steve apologised.

"How late?".

"You know that talk I've been meaning to have?".

"Yeah,".

"I think I'm gonna have it now,".

"Oh, ok," his wife said, realising it may be a while before her husband was home. "I'll have a bath before I make a start on the meal. I'll keep yours in the oven if you're not back by the time it's done,".

"Thanks babe," Steve said gratefully. Other wives might be upset at him for being late but he knew his wife understood how serious this talk was to him and that it would take some time to do it properly.

"Wish me luck," he said before hanging up. Leaning back in his chair, Steve opened the top drawer in his desk and grabbed a few leaflets he'd stashed in there when he'd first become worried about the member of his team. Tapping the leaflets on his desk, he slammed the drawer shut decisively, got up and headed over to to his DS.

"Alright Guv?" His DS asked nonchalantly. "You heading home to the missus?".

"Not just yet," Steve replied. "Thought we'd have a chat first,".

The DS looked startled. "Is everything ok, Guv?" .

"You tell me," Steve replied.

"Everything's good," the younger man replied. Steve noticed he wasn't quite able to look him in the eye as he said that. A sure sign he was lying.

"Good," said Steve playing along. "I've received word that we're going to be getting a visit from the drug squad in four weeks time," he revealed. That particular email had prompted him to have this talk sooner rather than later.

"Why you telling me?" His DS asked, as Steve saw a brief look of panic pass over his face before quickly covering it up. Just like he had done several years earlier.

"As a favour," Steve answered. "Allow you the opportunity to get yourself cleaned up," he continued as he dropped the pamphlets he'd been carrying on to the desk. They were advertising therapists to conquer addiction.

"I don't know what-" his DS started to reply.

"The pill cartons in the glove box of your car," Steve interrupted. He'd seen then when last being driven by the young man in his service car. He leant over and opened the top drawer of his DS's desk. There was a pill bottle lying there. "And at work. Drinking at home by yourself instead of with the rest of your colleagues,".

"They're just pain killers, Guv, for when I have a headache at work," the DS protested. "In this line of work it happens quite a lot," he tried to joke.

"I don't know what it is that you're taking but I know you're addicted to something," Steve ventured.

"Guv! I'm not!".

"You can't bullshit me," Steve revealed. "I know the signs of dependancy…. because I did exactly the same," he confessed.

"It was codeine for me," Steve said a little later as he sat down and placed two cups of tea on his officer's desk. "When I was a DS I got thrown down some stairs. Broke my back," he admitted. "It's never been quite the same since,".

"You wouldn't know," the DS said. He'd come clean when he realised Steve knew exactly what was troubling him.

"Started playing up a couple of months when I was back on the job," Steve continued, remembering back to the time in AC-12. "Kept it to myself though. Didn't tell my partner or my gaffer because I was ashamed. I'd just got back to full active duty and didn't want to have to admit there was a problem. So I started taking pain killers for the pain,".

"How did you get found out?".

"Well that all happened when I let my partner lodge at mine for a bit….,"