A massive thank you as always to Hollie!
Jess rolled over in bed. She didn't feel well at all. The night before, the night that the rapist had been caught, Jess had been given a lot of drinks as congratulations. A lot. She knew she didn't have to drink them, but it would have been rude not to. She was definitely suffering for it now though.
As Callum jolted the bed, she felt her stomach start to heave. She threw the thin covers off of her and ran to the toilet, one hand over her stomach, the other over her mouth. She had just managed to kneel down in front of the toilet when she threw up. Once she was finished, she flushed the chain, shut the toilet lid and laid her cheek against the cool porcelain. It didn't help that the night was warm and their bedroom was stuffy. She shut her eyes and just sat there, leaning against the toilet.
"Jess? You alright darlin'?" Callum's voice came from somewhere above her, full of concern. She slowly opened her eyes, and looked up at him. She shook her head before shutting her eyes again. She felt the air move, and when she next opened her eyes, Callum's face was level with hers. He moved so that he was sat on the floor against the door, and in his hand was a damp flannel. "Come here." He held his arms out, gently guiding her into his arms. She collapsed against him, her cheek now leaning against his bare chest. Callum placed the damp flannel on her forehead, stroking her hair with his hand.
"Thanks honey." Jess murmured after a while.
"Too much to drink last night?" Callum asked, a trace of laughter in his voice.
"I think so, that last tequila shot may have been one too many." Jess muttered.
"Do you want to get back into bed?" he asked, noting the goose bumps on her arms.
"I don't know if I can get up." she said quietly.
Callum gently manoeuvred himself out from behind Jess and moved her out the way of the door. He gathered her up in his arms, nudging the door open. He walked slowly along the hall to their bedroom, placing Jess softly down on her side of the bed. He laid the covers over her, put the flannel on her forehead and went downstairs to get a bowl in case she was sick again. By the time he got back upstairs, she was fast asleep. He smiled before getting into bed himself, one arm flung over her stomach, the other tucked under his head.
A few days had passed, and the couple were back at work on the night shift. Jess was midway through some paperwork while Callum had returned to the station after being on patrol with Will. Their shift finished in half an hour, and they could go and get some breakfast before sleeping for the rest of the day. Jess was passing through reception, looking for something, when a woman entered and nervously approached the desk. Jess smiled at her before resuming her seeking. Millie, who was on the desk, asked the woman if she was alright.
"Erm yeah, I'm hoping you can help me. I'm looking for a police officer who works here." the woman said. She had dark brown hair styled in a slick bob, and her eyes were dark brown, framed by long, mascared lashes.
"Sure, what's the officer's name?" Millie asked.
"PC Stone." the woman said. Jess looked up in confusion. Millie turned round and pointed to Jess.
"This is PC Stone." Millie answered. The woman shook her head.
"No, that's not who I want. I'm looking for a man." the woman said.
"Sergeant Stone?" Jess suggested.
"Is he a man?" the woman asked.
Jess smiled, "He most certainly is."
"Then yes, that must be who I'm looking for." the woman said with a nod.
"I'll go and get him for you, Ms...?" Jess asked.
"Claire. Just Claire." Claire replied distractedly. Jess wondered who this woman was, and why she was looking for her husband.
Jess knocked on the Sergeants office door. "Come in!" Callum shouted.
"There's a woman in reception asking for you, her name's Claire." Jess said, not beating about the bush.
"Claire who?" Callum asked, looking up from the computer.
"I don't know, just Claire was what she said." Jess said, "You better not have any secret wives hidden away!"
Callum smirked, "Damn, you found me out! I'll go see what she wants, and then it should be time to leave. Breakfast at Matteo's?" Matteo's was their favourite cafe to go to for breakfast. They did the best muffins and smoothies in the city.
"Oh yes, as long as you're paying." Jess said with a grin as she held the door for Callum.
"As always! I'll come find you in a bit." he said with a smile as he headed to reception to talk to the mysterious Claire.
Callum approached the brown haired woman sitting opposite the reception desk. "Claire?" he asked. The woman looked up, and as soon as she saw Callum her mouth dropped open. She didn't say anything, and Callum wondered if he should say something to her when she said, "You look so much like him."
"Excuse me?" he said, confused.
"Oh sorry. Is there somewhere private we could talk?" Claire asked, standing up, still gazing at him in awe.
Callum's face was one of mistrust as he led her into the small room off of reception. "Who are you? You seem to know me, but I don't know who you are."
"Oh, sorry, my name is Claire. Claire Stone."
"Claire Stone?" Callum checked. She nodded.
"I have something to show you." she whispered, her eyes alight with excitement. She pulled a picture out of her bag, and held it out. Callum took it cautiously, looking at it. The photo was of a man and a girl, presumably his daughter. He looked closer, and with a shock, noticed that he knew the man. That was his father.
"Why have you got a picture of my dad?" Callum demanded.
"Our dad." Claire said fondly.
"Our dad? What are you trying to say?" Callum asked, trying to keep his voice level.
"I'm trying to tell you that I'm your sister Callum." Claire said with a smile.
"I don't have any brothers or sisters. I'm an only child. Now, you're wasting my time, let me see you out." Callum said brusquely.
"No, listen to me. Before dad met your mum, he was with my mum, Lisa. I was two when dad left, and mum told me that you were born when I was six." Claire explained.
"I don't believe you. My dad wasn't with anyone before mum; they were together since they were teenagers." Callum said.
"You're wrong. You're my brother Callum. You must be what, thirty four now? I've been looking for you for a few months. When dad died, mum felt like she should tell me about you. I was surprised and hurt at first, but then I thought how I'd always wanted a younger brother or sister. And now I have one." Claire said happily.
"No you don't. I told you, I don't have any brothers or sisters." Callum said, his face shut of emotion, his arms crossed.
"Please, I feel like I've approached this the wrong way. Let me explain everything. How about we go for breakfast?" Claire suggested, a hopeful look on her face.
"My shift finishes in ten minutes and I'll be going for breakfast with my wife." Callum said.
"The blonde woman? Yeah, when I asked for you, I asked for PC Stone, not Sergeant Stone. When I searched for you, years ago now, that's what you were." Claire said.
"Yeah well, I got promoted and transferred here. I'm going to go and ask my wife what she thinks, because I don't really want to talk to you anymore. You may be biologically related to me, and I don't even know if you are, but if it's yes, it doesn't make me your brother. Excuse me." Callum said, almost rudely, as he left Claire standing staring after him as he left the room in search of Jess.
Jess was walking down the corridor towards reception when Callum came through the door. The look on his face was one Jess hadn't seen for a long time, one he frequently wore before they were together.
"Callum, are you ok?" she asked in concern, laying her hand on his tanned arm.
"Erm, not sure. You got a minute?" he asked, and when she nodded, he pulled her into his office, shutting the door firmly behind him.
"What's going on?" she asked, watching as Callum paced the room.
"That Claire woman in reception? She's claiming to be my long lost older sister." Callum said, wanting to laugh at how absurd it sounded.
"Seriously? But you're an only child!" Jess said, her face shocked.
"That's what I thought. But she said that my dad was in a relationship with her mum before he met my mum. She claims that he left when she was two, and I was born when she was six." Callum answered, running his hands through his hair, making it stick up.
"Do you believe her?" Jess asked cautiously.
Callum stopped pacing and looked at her. He threw his hands up in the air.
"Honestly?" he asked. Jess nodded. "I don't know. If it's true then my parents have told me a lot of lies."
"What are you going to do about it?" asked Jess, sitting on the edge of his desk.
"She wants us to go and have breakfast, now." Callum said, looking down at her.
"Well go then, find out what she's got to say." Jess urged.
"I want you to come as well." Callum said, coming to sit next to her. He took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb against her wedding ring as if it was soothing him.
"Are you sure? I'm sure she'd rather it was just you and her." Jess said.
"Frankly I don't care what she'd rather. I want you to come. Please?" he asked, his eyes so unsure of himself.
"Of course, let's go have breakfast with your long lost sister." Jess said with a small smile.
Once they had changed and walked back into the room Callum had left Claire in, she was sat at the table with the photo in her hand. She looked up in dismay as she saw Jess with Callum.
"I was hoping we could be alone." Claire said, completely ignoring Jess.
"I was hoping that I didn't have any family members hidden away but here we are." Callum replied straight away. Jess concealed a smile, but she felt affronted at this woman already. Claire looked taken aback but quickly recovered.
"I saw a small cafe down the road, is that ok?" Claire asked.
"That would be lovely." Jess answered with a smile. The three of them walked out the station, over the road and round the corner, entering the dark, wood panelled coffee house.
"Do you want your normal?" Callum asked Jess. She nodded as he picked out a blueberry muffin with a mango, peach and honey smoothie for her. He ordered himself a chocolate muffin with a black coffee. Claire ordered a tea, and once their orders were ready, they sat near the back of the cafe on some comfy chairs. Jess and Callum sat on the leather sofa, while Claire sat opposite Callum in a chair. She got the photo out again, placing it on the table.
"That's me with my father. Jake Stone. He died when I was twenty three; my mum said his business went broke and he killed himself. I wasn't allowed to go to the funeral, even though I had a right to." Claire said sadly.
"You didn't have a right to go. Just because you know this, doesn't mean you're my dad's secret daughter." Callum said vehemently, really not wanting to be here. Jess laid a comforting hand on his thigh. He took a deep breath, waiting for her to say something.
"I thought I might have a hard time convincing you. So I brought this with me." Claire pulled a piece of paper out her bag and handed it to Callum. It was her birth certificate. She was born on the eighth of August, 1977. Her mother was listed as Lisa Hale, and her father Jacob Stone. That was his father. He passed it to Jess, who quickly looked at it before silently handing it back to Claire.
"Honey, you ok?" Jess asked Callum quietly.
"I don't want to be here. Come on, let's go home." Callum said, finishing off his drink, his muffin untouched.
"But I want to get to know you. The reason I started looking for you all those years ago was because my mum got ill, breast cancer. She died last year. I don't have a family anymore. I'm your sister; you can't just ignore me and pretend that I don't exist." Claire begged.
"I never wanted a brother or sister. I don't want to get to know you. The only thing we share is the same half set of genes from Jake Stone, that's it. You are not my sister, understand? I don't want to hear from you again." Callum said firmly, unable to look at the woman who was his sister.
"Please Callum!" she cried.
"Look, he's already said that he wants to go home, so we're going. I'm sorry you had a wasted trip." Jess said politely.
"Shut up! I wasn't talking to you!" Claire spat at Jess. Callum swung round, fury in his eyes.
"Don't you dare come to my place of work, drop a life changing bombshell and then act like a complete bitch to my wife. You are not my sister, I am not your brother, get that into your head!" Callum hissed.
"I don't have anyone else! You're the only family I have." Claire pleaded, coming to stand right in front of Callum. Jess tried to move past him to tell her to back off, but he held his arm out to hold her back.
"I will tell you this one more time, and then I'm going. I already have a family, ok, this is my family, Jess is my family. I'm sorry that you don't have anyone else, but I am not your family, so don't come to me again." Callum said bluntly. He took Jess' hand firmly in his, and they walked quickly out the coffee house.
Jess glanced over her shoulder as they left, and saw that Claire was just stood there, shocked, watching her brother leave her forever.
They got to the house and Callum immediately went upstairs. Jess watched him go, and decided to leave him for a minute. She couldn't imagine how he was feeling right now. Betrayed most likely. Confused. Upset, hurt. She was loathe to admit it, but she felt a bit sorry for Claire, even if she had acted like a complete arse towards her. To think you have no-one left, then to find out that there is actually someone, and to then be rejected...but she also understood fully where Callum was coming from.
She was pondering all this as she made Callum an egg, bacon and sausage sandwich with a black coffee. She plated the sandwich up, placed the plate and the cup of coffee on a tray and headed upstairs. Their bedroom door was shut; Jess knocked gently before opening the door. He was sat on her side of the bed, facing the window. As Jess walked around the room, she saw that he had a photo in his hands of him and his father on a fishing trip. Jess placed the tray on the dresser and sat next to him.
"Do you think I did the right thing?" Callum asked quietly after minutes of silence.
"I think you did, yes." Jess replied, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I didn't like her. I didn't want to be related to her. I didn't want my memory of my dad tarnished by her." Callum muttered.
"I know. You did what you thought was right." Jess answered.
"I thought you would have told me to go for it, to get to know her." Callum said honestly.
"What, why?" Jess asked, looking Callum in the eye.
"Because you and Andy are so close, and I bet you can't imagine not having him in your life. I thought you would want me to have that, and to have the family that I never really had." Callum said, placing the photo on his side table.
"You're right; I can't imagine not having my little brother in my life. But, like you said, you have a family already. I'm your family, mum, dad and Andy are your family. Your mum, although not very involved or very maternal, is still your family. Claire might be your sister, but she's not your family." Jess answered truthfully.
"Thanks for understanding and not judging me." Callum said, kissing her lightly on the lips.
"You don't have to thank me silly. You've stood by me through everything that was thrown at me, big and small, from even before we were together. It's my turn now to support you through this, together, as your family." she replied, interlocking her fingers with his, "Now come on, we've had an eventful morning. Get that sarnie and coffee down you and then let's sleep the day away."
"There's nothing you could say right now that could make me love you anymore than I do Jessica Stone." he said with a laugh.