9am and with bleary eyes, Steve patted all his pockets searching for his elusive keys. He heard the reassuring jangle he was looking for as he tapped his coat pocket and retrieved them. Gratefully he slipped the key in to the lock and unusually for this time of day let himself in to his flat rather than locking it on his way to work.
It had been his turn for the weekend shift and unfortunately for him it was a busy one requiring an all nighter on Sunday. He had been very happy to see Kate when she had strolled in to AC-12 an hour ago, and even happier to see the steaming cappuccino and croissant that she had in her hands for him after finding out how busy he had been.
Seeing he was nearly asleep on his feet, Kate quickly took his handover, promising the case was in good hands before she was shooing him out of the door, ordering him to get some rest.
The cappuccino had given him enough energy to drive home but its effects were short lived and were beginning to wear off as he closed his front door heavily behind him.
Steve toed off his shoes leaving them in the middle of his hallway as he removed his coat and hung it up. He started undoing his tie as he headed straight to his bedroom and once there also removed his suit jacket, trousers and waistcoat which he placed on a coat hanger ready to be taken to the dry cleaners.
In just his shirt and underpants he quickly drew the curtains to make the room as dark as possible before he diverted to the bathroom to empty his bladder and clean his teeth ready for bed.
Last to be removed was his shirt. He caught a whiff of BO from the armpits of his shirt as he took it off and briefly hoped that Kate hadn't smelt it before he dropped the offending piece of clothing in his dirty linen basket. In just his boxer briefs he trudged to to his bed and gratefully sank in to it, burying himself under the duvet ready to get some sleep.
It wasn't long before Steve felt his body relax and his eyelids grow heavy as he gradually succumbed to the sandman. He was just on the edge of consciousness when he heard it.
The rhythmic tapping of someone hammering.
Fucking hell! Of all the days his neighbours decided to do some DIY!
Just try and ignore it, he told himself. It'll stop soon, he thought.
Except it didn't.
And then the drilling started. This was some major project going on.
Steve rolled over and in a last ditch attempt to mute the godawful noise that was coming from next door, stuffed his pillow over his head.
It didn't last long. It was too difficult to breathe and he got too hot.
Frustrated, Steve rolled on to his back and stared at the ceiling as the drilling and banging continued. He seriously considered going round to his neighbours in just his underpants and giving them a piece of his mind but stopped himself when he remembered that most people were up and about at this time of day. It was him who was abnormal in trying to get some sleep.
An idea hit him. A bath! He would take a bath to try and relax before attempting to sleep again. He wasn't usually a bath person but Kate swore by them. In fact she'd given him some relaxing bath oil when he'd been having trouble sleeping after his back injury hadn't she?
Steve got up and started to run himself a bath. As the tub started to fill he searched through all the bottles in his bathroom until he found what he was looking for.
Looking at the rather expensive looking bottle he read the label declaring confidently that the stuff in it would 100% prepare his body and mind for sleep thanks to the wonderful array of organic oils and vitamins it contained within, from plants and seeds that Steve had never heard of. And apparently it had the added benefit of leaving his skin feeling luxuriously silky smooth.
Bless Kate for falling for this crap he thought as he unscrewed the lid and took a sniff, but he was that desperate for some sleep he'd try anything. It didn't actually smell all that bad he thought as he considered how much of this stuff to pour in to the waiting water.
Fuck it! Thought Steve as he tipped the bottle upside down and allowed nearly half of the contents to empty in to the bath. He really needed some help to sleep at the present time. Almost instantly large amounts of foam started growing. Maybe he'd overdone it a bit?
Eventually he decided that the water was deep enough to cover him and turned off the taps before removing his underwear. He dipped a toe in and found the temperature just right before settling himself in to enjoy his first bath since childhood.
Resting back against the edge of the tub, Steve felt all his limbs start to relax in the water and he grew tired again despite the insistent drilling that was still going on. Maybe Kate was right about the benefits of baths, Steve thought as he allowed his eyes to drift close.
The next drilling burst sounded very loud indeed. In fact it was so loud that the water around Steve started vibrating and making waves. Then came a noise which sounded a bit like falling rubble in the near vicinity.
What the fuck was that? Steve thought as his eyes flew open again. Whatever the hell it was it didn't sound very good. He scrambled out of the bath very quickly sending a torrent of water over the sides of the bath before he reached for a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He headed back in to the bedroom and stopped still.
It certainly hadn't been good news. The bedroom wall that bordered his neighbours' flat now had a massive hole in it and Steve could see two builders staring at him with very shocked looks on their faces.
"What the fuck have you done?" shouted Steve rather angrily.