Seven Years Previously

What a day, thought Steve as he walked out of his en-suite. He'd just had a shower and was towelling his hair dry as he thought about the days events. Driving with Kate all the way to Liverpool to question Steph Corbett. Driving back to AC-12 and realising something was wrong at HQ. Interrupting the Gaffer's interview and bringing down Gill Bigelow before shooting someone in the Ladies. He and Kate made a great team, whoever was the more senior officer. It just happened to be Kate's turn at the moment.

He tightened the towel that was around his waist and sat down heavily on his bed before wishing he'd been a bit more gentle. All that sitting and running around had played havoc with his back and he felt it twinge. He'd taken a shower in the hope that the warm water would soothe it a little but he was going to need something else. He got dressed slowly before heading to the kitchen and opened the cupboard above his hob where he kept his pill bottles. His dirty little secret. Hanging his head in shame he reached for one and opened the bottle pouring a couple of tablets in to his palm. He stared at the two white pills in his hand. Who would guess that such tiny things held such power over him? Hating himself for feeling so weak, he popped them in to his mouth and swallowed them down with a gulp of water. Quickly followed by two more.

His self pity party was brought to a sudden halt by the ringing of his doorbell. Who could that be? he wondered as he put the pill bottle back in its hiding place and shut the door before heading to his front door. It was Kate. With a load of suitcases and bags that held all her worldly possessions. It didn't take a genius to work out what was going on. She'd arrived with a similar amount of luggage when Steve had invited her to stay at his after her husband had thrown her out the marital home after she'd confessed to having an affair.

Although Steve had some misgivings, Kate had informed him several months ago that her and her husband, Mark, were going to give their marriage another go. This didn't look good. "Oh mate," Steve said sadly, feeling bad for his best friend.

"It was my decision to leave this time," Kate informed him quickly, not wanting any pity. She had had some control in their break up which was completely different to last time. "We both decided it wasn't working out,".

Steve nodded. "You know where the spare bedroom is," he said as he headed back inside his flat before Kate could ask her question. There was no doubt that he wouldn't let her stay with him again. "You unpack whilst I order us some food,".

"Cheers," replied Kate as she started moving her things inside the flat.

"So what happened?" Steve asked when Kate joined him in the living room after moving in.

"Found some passive aggressive note from Mark when I got home," Kate said as she recalled the piece of paper waiting for her on the kitchen table. Waited as long as we could it had read. Went to the pictures as promised. "Last thing I needed after the day we've had," she said.

"One of our more eventful ones," Steve agreed as he uncorked a bottle of red wine and poured them both a glass.

"I realised Mark's never gonna accept my job as a police officer," Kate continued as she accepted the glass Steve was offering her and took a sip. "I'm always gonna get one of those notes because there are going to be times when I can't make family things. It's not all the time and it doesn't mean I don't love my family. I just can't control when I'm going to have to work late,".

"Is this separation going to be as nasty as last time?" Steve asked, preparing himself for the worst . Mark had changed the locks previously which had caused Kate to make a scene. He'd received a call from some uniformed officers to try and calm her down. Then there were the spiteful phone calls, the use of Josh as a weapon to taunt Kate with. He'd seen his friend become rather weather beaten by it all and he really hoped she would be spared that this time.

"We've agreed to be as amicable as possible," Kate answered.

"Yeah?" Steve enquired.

"Yeah," Kate repeated. "The lawyers had basically agreed all the terms of our divorce before we reconciled," she explained. "We're gonna try and do one of those do-it-yourself divorces and agree to everything we'd agreed to before. It'll be a lot quicker,".

"And cheaper," Steve pointed out.

"God yes," Kate agreed as she took another sip. "I can't afford anymore solicitor fees,".

"Well good on the pair of you for being so adult about this," Steve commended. "I hope it lasts,".

"So do I," Kate agreed. "I'm gonna head to town tomorrow and see if I can find one of those packs and get started before Mark changes his mind,".

The door bell rang heralding the arrival of their food and Steve went to retrieve it. On his return he plonked himself next to Kate on the sofa and they both tucked in to their meal.

"So how about you?" Kate asked after a couple of bites of the lovely food. "You ok?".

"What do you mean?" Steve asked a little worriedly before reminding himself there was no way Kate or anyone for that matter knew about his bottles of pain killers.

"Are you ok after shooting your first person?" Kate asked concerned.

"I'm fine Kate," Steve promised.

"Ok," Kate said, accepting what he said, "but if you change your mind you know you can talk to me," she said. "About anything,".

"I know," Steve replied feeling bad. Kate would not be judgemental at all if he told her about his problem. He was just too ashamed to do it. "I promise you I'm fine," he reiterated. "Much better than the gaffer anyway,".

"Don't," agreed Kate. Their SIO was not having a good time at the moment after being arrested and questioned about being H. He'd also been distraught to learn who John Corbett's mother was. It had been unpleasant to witness.

"Do you think he'll come back?" Steve asked. Ted Hastings' name in the police force had been muddied somewhat by all the sordid allegations.

"Who knows?" Kate said with a shrug. "I hope so," she said, "otherwise it's a major win for the OCG,".

"Gill Bigelow's got a lot to answer for," Steve added.

"Never liked that bitch," Kate said. She would never forgive Gill for her role in Steve's temporary removal from AC-12 when she first worked in anti-corruption. "I really thought we were going to have a repeat of Dot's escape for a moment there," she revealed as she briefly reminisced about that dramatic episode.

"Well she's got what she deserved now," Steve pointed out. Kate had told him about Dot's downfall. It sounded horrifying and he wished he had been there to help his friend out.

"Hope so," Kate said through a yawn. She was suddenly tired after the day's events finally caught up with her. "Think I'm gonna hit my bed," she said.

"Me too," Steve said before Kate leant over and gave him a brief kiss to his cheek.

"Thanks for letting me stay again, mate," Kate said.

"You're welcome," Steve said. "You're actually not that bad as a flat mate," he teased. Kate shot him one of her looks as she headed to bed.