Thanks as always to Hollie, the reviews are a highlight of my day! Parts of this are based on a real Bill episode. Enjoy!
Two months had passed and London was in the grips of a heatwave. It had been unbearable being on patrol in uniform, and the officers would fight over who got to patrol in the squad cars, or even who got to do paperwork in the air con offices. Jess and Callum had finally bought a house together- Callum had kept his flat and was renting it out whilst Jess had sold her flat.
They had bought a mid terraced 3 bed with a small garden and a driveway which was almost unheard of in the area they had chosen. They had filled the house with furniture from both flats, merging their belongings until it felt like home, and it felt like it was theirs together. There had been plenty of painting and updating it to their liking, and replacing the two bathrooms and kitchen before they officially moved in.
They had been living together in the house officially for over a month. It wasn't what they first thought it was going to be like. When they had been living together on the undercover op, it had been completely different, because they hadn't had to accustom themselves to each other's stuff and habits so much. But now, well, there had been a few arguments. The latest was about how many pairs of shoes Jess had. Callum couldn't understand why one woman needed so many pairs of shoes. Jess replied that they were her guilty vice. Callum didn't want them clogging up the study; there were already enough in the wardrobe. Jess retaliated by saying that he could get rid of all his sport equipment that he didn't even use. Callum had wanted to argue back, but he bit his tongue and went downstairs, leaving her to cool off. Jess sat on the edge of the bed, then slowly walked to the wardrobe. She opened the doors, and did admit to herself that her shoes took up a lot of room.
"See, I told you." she heard Callum say quietly. Jess turned round and glared at him, but he had a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I suppose we have to compromise. I've never lived with a woman before though! It takes a while to get used to."
"I've never lived with my boss before." Jess muttered.
"I heard that!" Callum said, placing his hands lightly on her waist. "You know what's good about arguing don't you?"
Jess grinned, turning around slowly. She had an innocent look on her face, "No I don't. Care to explain?"
"How about I show you instead?" Callum said huskily, pulling Jess to the bed.
"How about you do that." Jess said with a laugh.
Mid August bought with it nearly a year since Luke's death and Jess was struggling with the impending date. Jess had booked a day off work the week before- Callum had offered to book it off as well but Jess declined. She kissed Callum goodbye mid morning as he headed to work, and she went upstairs to get dressed. A photo of her and Luke, taken not long before he died, had pride of place on her night stand, and on the fireplace in her bedroom was two more photos- one of Luke at preschool, and one of Jess and Luke the day he was born. Jess looked at all of them, before picking up the one on her nightstand and sitting heavily on her bed.
"I miss you every single day Luke. I don't understand how it's been nearly a whole year that you've not been here. You would have loved this house, your room would have been next to mine and Callum's, and it's right by the park too. I'm going to come and bring you some flowers shortly. I love you my little boy." Jess swallowed down the tears that were threatening to spill, gently putting the photo back before getting ready.
Jess walked through the cemetery to where Luke, and Dan, were laid to rest. She placed the bunch of forget me nots in the vase on Luke's headstone before sitting down, leaning against the headstone. She shut her eyes, feeling the warm sun on her skin, imagining and wishing it was Luke's arms around her. She almost thought she could smell him, that sweet musky Luke smell.
"I thought I'd find you here." said Callum quietly, getting on the ground next to her.
Jess opened her eyes, her face confused, "What are you doing here? Are you not supposed to be working?"
"I'm on my break and I thought you might like to enjoy a picnic lunch with your son." Callum said, handing Jess an iced coffee, a sandwich and some fruit.
Jess shut her eyes and sighed, leaning to rest on Callum's shoulder, "What did I do to deserve you Callum."
"You didn't have to do anything." he said, kissing her forehead.
The following day the couple headed into work for the night shift, and were told by the Inspector that they were to join the others in the van which would be going round all the pubs and clubs, making sure there was a high police presence to try and stop fights happening. The hot weather plus alcohol was making people more rowdy than normal. They quickly got their hats and vests and made their way out to the yard where everyone was waiting in the van. Callum got into the front passenger seat, while Jess climbed in the back next to Mel and Ben.
"Cor, you two are always last!" Nate said from his seat, grinning at Jess.
"Yeah, what took you so long?" Will asked.
"Seriously, you two are like five year olds!" Jess said, shaking her head, but she was smiling.
"Right so you all know what we're doing. Basically we're patrolling in the van until we get a shout. If we do get called to a shout, remember the protocol! I don't want anyone getting injured tonight!" Smithy warned from the front.
"Sarge." they all replied dutifully.
"Right then. Rog, off we go." Smithy said to Roger, clapping him on the shoulder.
They had been driving around for what seemed hours around the streets of Sun Hill when a call came in.
"Come on Nate, rise and shine." Ben said, nudging Nate awake.
"What? What did I miss?" he asked, confused.
"We've got a call to Joshua's night club. There's been a big fight outside. Think you can stay awake long enough to help out?" Smithy asked Nate.
"Yes Sarge." Nate said with a stifled yawn as the van pulled up into the alleyway that led to the side entrance of Joshua's. The officers put on their hats and pulled out their asps as mayhem greeted them. There were people everywhere, either fighting or trying to pull apart the fights. The officers got immediately stuck in, trying to separate as many people as they could, making arrests as they went along. Ben had waded into a fight between two men when one of the guys suddenly flipped and grabbed Ben in a headlock. Ben pulled at the man's arms, trying to get free, but the man wouldn't let go. Callum immediately rushed to Ben, pulling the man off him and cuffing him while Ben recovered. Callum bundled him into the van and went to check on Ben.
"Ben? You alright?" Callum asked quickly.
"Yes Sarge, cheers." Ben said with a nod, going to pull other warring people apart. Callum scanned the large crowd, seeing if anyone was injured. It was then that he saw the young woman on the floor, hysterical, with a stiletto sticking out her groin.
"Mel!" he yelled to the passing officer.
"Sarge?" Mel said, coming to his side.
"Stay with this girl until the ambulance arrives. Do not let anyone remove that shoe, ok?" Callum said quickly.
"Yes Sarge." Mel said, nodding. Callum ran off to get the medical bag when he heard the girl's screams. He ran back to Mel, medical bag in his arms, to see Mel looking panicked with a streak of blood on her face and the stiletto that had been in the girl's thigh now lying on the floor.
Callum rapidly placed his hands over the wound, "Mel, look at me. Don't panic, just keep pressure on the wound. Here, put your hands where mine are, just keep pushing it ok?" Callum said, making sure that Mel was listening. He handed her the gauze and she pushed onto the wound. "You need to push harder than that, ok?"
Mel looked a bit pale but she nodded and pushed harder on the wound, "I'm sorry, but we need to stop you losing blood." Mel said to the girl apologetically.
"Jess!" Callum shouted as Jess went by him, shoving a man to the van.
"Sarge?" she asked.
"You alright?" he asked.
She smiled briefly, "Yeah fine. How's the girl doing?"
"She's ok, Mel's doing a great job. Be careful alright?" Callum warned. She nodded before continuing to shove the man to the van.
The people fighting had slowly been pulled apart and arrested, and there was a crowd growing around the girl. The ambulance still hadn't shown, and the girl was panicking.
"It hurts so much!" she screamed, hysterical.
"It's ok, it's going to be here soon. You're doing great." Mel said comfortingly.
"Am I going to die?" she asked Mel, and there was such fear in her eyes that Mel paused.
"No, of course you're not. Just concentrate on taking deep breaths." Mel said with a smile.
"You alright Mel? Do you need me to take over?" Jess asked, kneeling next to Mel.
"No, it's ok, I can keep the pressure on. Can you try and calm her down though? She's really starting to panic now, she thinks she's going to die." Mel asked.
Jess nodded and moved so that the girl could only look at her, "Hi, my name's Jess, can you tell me yours?"
The girl looked at her, her breath quick, "I'm Scarlet."
"How old are you?" Jess asked.
"Twenty, today. We were celebrating my birthday." Scarlet said, and then she started to cry. Jess placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort, and noticed that she was shivering. She pulled her jacket off and placed it around Scarlet's shoulders.
"What a way to spend your birthday! But at least you'll remember it hey?" Jess said with a small smile. Scarlet laughed shakily.
"I guess so." she said.
"All I can remember from my twentieth is getting home in an absolute state and throwing up on my brand new bedroom carpet, that my mum had specifically told me not to vomit on." Jess said with a laugh.
"Oh wow I bet she was mad." Scarlet said, eyes wide.
"Yeah mad is an understatement!" Jess said smiling.
"I was drunk before this happened, that sobered me up quickly!" Scarlet said, trying to look at her leg again. Jess could hear Callum shouting at people.
"Get back! You've been told to move back! Now give this girl some room!" Callum shouted to the crowd. When the crowd had moved back slightly, Callum knelt down by his two officers. "How're you doing?" he asked Scarlet.
She nodded at him, "Ok I think."
He smiled, "Good. The ambulance will be here in a minute, ok?" Callum could feel someone tapping his shoulder. He turned to see a man, "Look sir, could you get back please?"
"Please, I need to get out of here, the crowd keeps pushing me forward." the man said quickly, sweat trickling down his face.
"Just move back. An ambulance is coming for this girl in a minute and it won't be able to get through. Now move back!" Callum ordered.
"Please..." the man said, tapping Callum again.
"I have told you over and over to get back, now do it before I arrest you!" Callum shouted. The man looked uncertain and was moving back but the crowd surged forward again. He pushed against Callum, nearly knocking Callum forward into Scarlet. Callum turned and shoved the man back, then turned back to Scarlet. The man fell to the floor, taking others with him, and began to have a fit.
"Sarge!" Jess shouted, getting to her feet and running to the man, moving people away from him, holding his head steady once the fit subsided.
"What happened?" Smithy asked, running over.
"I don't know, he was moved back by Sergeant Stone and he fell and started to fit. We're going to need another ambulance." Jess said hurriedly. As Smithy radioed for an ambulance, Jess exchanged a look with Callum.
Back at the station, things were rapidly starting to become bad for Callum. It had just been found that a member of the public had filmed the incident of him pushing the man away on a mobile, which had then been posted on a video sharing website. The video had been titled "Police brutality" and it had already had a hundred hits within an hour of it being put up. The Superintendent had spoken to Gina about it, and they were deciding what to do. To top it off, the area Commander was visiting in connection with the incident. Callum hadn't yet been told about the video, because Gina wanted to talk to Smithy first.
"Ma'am, you wanted to see me?" Smithy asked as he entered Gina's office.
"Yes, take a seat." she said, indicating the chair in front of her desk. "You know Sergeant Stone fairly well don't you?"
"I guess so, but PC Hunter knows him the best." Smithy answered.
"Yes but she is also dating him and would be biased. Would you say that he would be violent towards a member of the public?" Gina asked, straight to the point.
Smithy didn't even have to think about it, "No ma'am he wouldn't. He didn't hit that man earlier, he pushed him away."
"Are you sure? Did you see it clearly?" Gina asked.
"Not clearly, but clear enough to see that it wasn't a punch. The man knocked into Callum, he was moving him back out the way to stop him falling on the injured girl." Smithy said confidently.
"Do you know that a video of the incident has been posted online?" Gina asked.
Smithy looked taken aback, "No ma'am I didn't. Have many people seen it?"
"Yes, and they're demanding that the police officer be sacked and charged immediately. They're all quoting police brutality and such, you know, the usual. I need the troops to do their notes as accurately as they can and give them to me as soon as possible. Oh and Smithy?" Gina asked.
"Yes ma'am?" Smithy replied.
"No-one else is to know about this yet. I need to talk to Sergeant Stone first." Gina said with a curt nod.
"Ma'am." Smithy said with understanding.
An hour later Callum was sat in the Sergeants office after being confined to station duties. The Inspector had just finished talking to him about the video. He couldn't believe that they seriously thought he would punch a civilian. He knew he could be tough sometimes, but that was only on those who really deserved it. His eyes were glued to the computer screen as he watched the video. He paused it at the point where he was supposed to have punched this man. He could clearly see that he had pushed the man away using an open palm, there was no way that could be classed as a punch. He was distracted from this when the door to the office opened. Mel was standing in the doorway.
"Come in PC Ryder." Callum said, leaning back in the chair, folding his hands across his stomach.
"Sarge, I just wanted to say thanks for earlier. You really calmed me down." Mel said, and then she looked behind her before shutting the office door, "I'll tell the Superintendent and the Inspector that I saw you push the man away, not punch him."
Callum held up a hand, stopping her. He smiled grimly, "That's very kind of you Mel, but you need to tell them what you saw. And I'm fairly certain you were facing away from me so wouldn't have seen it anyway. Go on, I'm sure you've got a lot of paperwork to do."
"But Sarge..." Mel began to protest.
"No Mel, go." Callum said firmly but kindly. Mel sighed, but nodded and walked out.
A short while later there was another knock on the office. Callum didn't look up to see who it was when he called for them to come in.
"I brought you coffee and a bacon bap, and also some cake." Jess said quietly, placing the food on Callum's desk. She walked over to the windows and pulled the blinds shut before locking the door.
"Thanks. I needed this." he said gratefully, eating the food.
"What's happening? All we've been told is that a man has made an accusation and there's a video online of you punching someone." Jess said, perching on the corner of Callum's desk.
He swallowed and sighed before answering, "Someone filmed me pushing that bloke back, but they've been saying I punched him and caused him to have a fit. The Super has seen it, and now I'm confined to the station while they figure it out. And the Commander is coming."
"What? The Commander?" Jess asked, shocked, her eyes wide.
Callum nodded, "Yeah, so it must be bad."
It hurt her to see Callum looking like that; the job was a big part of his life and he loved it. If he wasn't allowed to do it anymore, it would break him. "I'm sure it's just routine. They know you wouldn't hit someone!"
Callum placed a hand on her thigh, "It's politics Jess. I could lose my job because of politics. They're going to want to show the public that they don't tolerate this kind of thing."
"They can't! I won't let them. Now you eat up, I'll be back soon." Jess said in a determined voice. She swooped down and kissed him before leaving the office.
"PC Hunter, what can I do for you?" Gina asked, looking up from reading the notes of the fight that night.
"He didn't punch that man, ma'am." Jess said.
"And can you tell me that for sure?" Gina asked, eyebrows raised.
Jess paused, "He wouldn't hit a member of the public. He told that man repeatedly to move back, I heard him, and he didn't listen. Sergeant Stone had no choice but to push him back after the man pretty much fell on top of him, and nearly onto the injured woman."
"So he did push him?" Gina questioned.
"Yes ma'am, but it was with an open palm. He didn't punch him." Jess said strongly.
"Jess, you didn't see it happen. I can't take your word for it, I can't use you as a witness because you didn't see it happen." Gina said wearily.
"But surely I can be a character witness for him?" Jess demanded.
"PC Hunter, if this did go to court, they would just laugh at you, because you are in a relationship with Sergeant Stone, so of course you would give him a perfect character witness. And on top of that you're a police officer, you know how to play the courts." Gina explained.
"Please ma'am, you can't let him go down for something he didn't do!" Jess begged.
"I'm doing everything I can, believe me. I don't think he did it either. But now the Commander is coming, and it'll be out of my hands. I am sorry." Gina said sadly.
Callum was called up to the Superintendent's office a few hours later. The Superintendent and Commander Kennedy were behind the desk, while Callum and Gina stood in front of them.
"Now Sergeant Stone, the man isn't going to pursue the criminal charges." the Super said.
Callum breathed an internal sigh of relief, but kept his face steady, "However, it's unacceptable having videos posted online of one of my senior officers handling a member of the public with such force." Callum stiffened. "We will be holding an internal investigation. We need to show the public that we deal with these allegations in the appropriate way, and that being a police officer doesn't make you invincible to the law."
Callum laughed bitterly, "So it comes down to politics and the public image. What a surprise."
"Sergeant." Gina reprimanded.
"I'm going to have to ask for your warrant badge. From the end of this shift, you are suspended from duty." the Super said seriously. Callum just looked at the Super and Commander Kennedy and shook his head in disgust. He reached into his pocket for his warrant badge and slammed it down on the desk. Then he left the office, slamming the door behind him.
"Sir, he's right. This is about the media isn't it? You're worried about what they'll say." Gina said, keeping her voice steady.
"No Gina, it's not just about that. I want to know if the man was punched or pushed, and I want to clear Stone's name." the Super said with steel in his voice.
"Fine, but you can be the one to tell my officers that you've just suspended their Sergeant who acted fairly and within the law." Gina said fiercely, leaving the room.
"Well, that could have gone better." Commander Kennedy said.
"Callum?" Jess called into the house. She took her key out the front of the door, locking it behind her. She walked through the house to the kitchen. "Callum?"
"In here." he called, and Jess followed his voice. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of something in front of him. Jess picked the glass up and sniffed its contents; it was whiskey. She handed him the glass back, not wanting to deny him.
"What happened? I waited for you but Smithy said you'd already gone." Jess asked gently, pulling her chair next to his.
"I got suspended." he muttered.
"What? But you were cleared of criminal charges!" she cried.
"Yep, but as I said, politics." Callum replied, sipping his whiskey.
"This is unbelievable! What did the Inspector say?" Jess asked, taking one of his hands in hers and rubbing them.
"She's on my side all the way. She's looked at the different videos of the incident, and she said it's quite clear that I pushed and not punched the man. She's going to fight for my reinstatement." Callum said.
"Well that's one thing. And all of us are on your side. And Smithy as well, he was talking to the Inspector about it I think. We're going to make them reinstate you, don't worry." Jess said confidently.
"But what if you can't? What if I get fired? I will never be able to work as a police officer again!" Callum said in despair.
Jess didn't know what to say. She had no idea how to help him, because she could be wrong, and then he wouldn't thank her. "I don't know honey, I don't know."
