Four chapters to go! Thank you Hollie as always for your reviews! I've already started the new story so hopefully not too much of a wait between this one finishing and the new one commencing! Enjoy!
The Stone's stayed with Michelle and Andy for a month while their house was checked for any other damage from the fire, and also for the hall and front entrance to be re-done. It was cramped, as Andy and Mia had the second of the double bedrooms, so Jess and Callum made do with a double blow up bed in the nursery. The month passed slowly, all the couple wanted was to be in their own home and to feel safe.
As a precaution, Gina had insisted that panic buttons be installed in the house, and small spy cameras were placed facing the front and back doors for extra security. The alarm system was upgraded, as were the smoke alarms.
A few days after the fire, the couple had gone to the station, finding out what was going on. The fire, they discovered, had been started by a lit rag being shoved through the letterbox. The rag had burnt itself out, leaving only a tiny piece of fabric for Eddie to work on. There was nothing on it that could lead to a suspect; the only useful thing was that Eddie could determine what fuel was used, which was petrol. It seemed like they'd ran out of leads, and evidence.
Jess and Callum felt disheartened; everyone involved in the case knew that it was Ricky Cheung's doing, but they couldn't prove it. The Stone's understood that the case had to be put on hold indefinitely unless any new information came to light. Jess was more accepting of this than Callum, especially after his warning to Cheung. It had just got even more personal, and Callum wasn't having any of it.
It's that ancient love
That you won't outgrow
It's the fee you pay
It's the debt you owe
Finally their house was ready to be moved back into. They bid Michelle, Andy and Mia goodbye, thanking them profusely for their hospitality. Michelle held her daughter tight, kissing her, telling her to ring her if anything happened, not to hesitate to come round if they needed to.
It was with tentative steps that Jess and Callum entered the house, scouring the hall for any signs of what had taken place a month earlier. The decorators had done a good job though; the hall looked as good as new. While Callum put Jamie to bed, Jess deadlocked the door and locked it, setting the alarms to go off if any of the external doors or windows were opened. Her eyes drifted up to the spy camera hidden in the ceiling, wondering how long this would go on for. Would this be their life forever? Running from a criminal who had enough money to get low level scum to do his dirty work? What did Cheung want? That's what Jess couldn't understand. They weren't the only officers involved in Cheung's arrest yet they were the only ones so far being targeted. It didn't make sense.
Jess made her way slowly into the kitchen, putting the kettle on, checking the back door was locked. Callum entered the kitchen, sliding his arms around his wife.
"How're you doing?" he asked quietly, holding her close.
She sighed, shutting her eyes, just relishing the feeling of being safe, a rarity recently, "I'm feeling scared, if I'm honest. He's attacked us in our own home Callum. I just can't help but think what could have happened if you hadn't woken up in time. Or that he's going to attack again, but this time we won't be as lucky. I can't lose another child Callum, I can't lose you."
Callum kissed the crown of her head, "I know darlin', I know, but I promise you, he won't hurt us again, I'll make sure of it."
At that, Jess pushed against Callum's chest, her eyes narrowing at him, "Callum Stone, swear to me now that you will not go after Cheung." Callum hesitated, "I mean it Callum. So help me if I find out you've been round to see him or something. He's not going to leave us alone if you do that, he will just get worse. Please Callum, please, just don't do anything stupid. Leave it to CID to sort it out."
"But they won't! You know how smart Cheung is, he's not going to let himself be caught! If I don't do anything, no-one will!" Callum argued, defiance flashing in his eyes.
"I am begging you, don't start anything. If you get hurt because of it, what am I supposed to do? What about Jamie? He's not a low level criminal, he means business. Look what he did to Lana." Jess said softly, before shaking her head, "Please Callum, think of Jamie, and think of me. I want you whole and healthy and in one piece. Honestly I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you, I'd be broken."
Callum softened at his wife's tone, "Jess, I'd be doing it for you and Jamie, and for me, for our family. So we wouldn't be scared anymore and always looking over our shoulder. Can't you see that?"
"Of course I can! I love you for it! I just don't want you getting hurt. And maybe before we had Jamie, I'd be joining you to end this, but we have to think of our son." she countered, pouring two cups of tea.
"Then I just won't get hurt." he said in an attempt to cheer her up. It didn't work. She handed him his tea, a hurt look on her face, walking off with tears in her eyes, unable to spare him a backwards glance.
Is that subtle way
That you throw me down
I am inches above
The dust on the ground
A few days later, Jess was still a bit distant with Callum. He had tried apologising to her, giving her massages, running her candle lit baths complete with a glass of wine and her favourite book, but nothing worked. He knew that she wouldn't relent until he could promise her that he wouldn't go after Cheung. But he just couldn't do that, and they both knew it. He walked into the living room, where Jess was playing with Jamie who was sitting on his blanket grabbing at toys, a small smile on his face.
"Hey." he said quietly. Jess didn't look up, just nodded. "Listen, we're getting a bit low on food, I was going to take Jamie and go to the shops, stock up."
"Ok, make sure you take his sun hat with you." Jess said, picking her son up and pressing a kiss to his chubby cheek.
"Right. Do you want to come with us?" Callum asked hopefully, taking the baby from her.
"No thanks, I'm sure you're more than capable of doing the shopping without me. The list is on the fridge." Jess said, sidling past Callum out of the living room, gently touching her hand against his as she walked past. She still loved him, he knew as much, but it was killing him for her to be so distant with him.
"Right then. Bye, I love you." he said sadly, bundling Jamie up, grabbing the list, and leaving the house.
I await your call
I await your crown
Lets change our roads
And chase them all around
Jess had finally got down to some much needed cleaning. Having both Jamie and Callum out the house meant that she could get right down to it without any distractions. She'd cleaned all the windows, cracking them open to let in the fresh air. The oven was clean and sparkling, both bathrooms had been thoroughly scrubbed, and she had just started hovering downstairs. She jumped as the doorbell rang, a piercing ringing. She turned the hoover off, wiped her dirty hands down her shorts and ran for the door. She cracked it open, leaving the sliding lock on.
"Can I help you?" she asked pleasantly to the man standing on the top step.
"Hello there. I'm from the gas company. I've come to read the meter." he said with a smile.
Jess shook her head, "I'm sorry, but I've had no notification that anyone would be coming."
The man produced what looked like a legitimate badge with his name, photo and the company on it, "You should have been contacted by phone a week ago."
"I haven't been home, and no messages were left. So could you please leave, thank you." Jess said, politely but forcefully.
It was then that Jess heard a smash coming from the back of the house. She slammed the front door shut, her heart kicking into high gear. She grabbed the baseball bat from next to the front door, pushing the panic button as she ran past it through to the kitchen. The back patio door had been smashed in, a single brick laying a few feet from the doors.
Jess immediately ran to the broken doors, looking for who had thrown it, the baseball bat held ready to swing. As she turned to pick the brick off the floor, she was shoved to the floor, a small scream coming from her. She glanced round in time to see a masked intruder about to lunge at her. She leapt to her feet, taking a step back and brandishing the bat at him.
"Get the fuck out of my house right now!" she yelled, cocking the bat menacingly. The man simply laughed, but he soon stopped when Jess swung the bat round with force, connecting with his knee, a sickening crunch echoing round the kitchen. He yelled in pain, his hands gripping his knee.
"You bitch! You've broken my bloody knee cap!" the man roared, limping at her, arms outstretched, meaty hands wrapping around her hair. She cried out in pain as his hands yanked her head down, forcing her to the floor, a heavy duty boot coming at her face. It connected with her jaw bone, and she yelped in agony, but before he could get another kick in Jess raised her arms, protecting herself and trying to scoot away.
He looked down and laughed, pulling a knife off of the counter, slashing at her arms. She managed to twist and kick up to his groin, tears streaming from her face and blood streaming down her arms. The man stumbled backwards, falling to the floor, his broken knee cap and injured groin rendering him unstable.
Jess sensed her opportunity, grabbing the baseball bat from where it had rolled away and launching herself towards the front door. She had just reached it when the team of armed police, dispatched at the pushing of the panic button, arrived.
"Kitchen." she muttered as well as she could through her likely broken jaw, moving past to let them through before sinking to the floor in shock. She mentally checked herself over. Bruised cheekbone and swollen and probable fractured jaw. Bruised back. Superficial slash wounds to the lower forearms. But other than that, she was ok. Miraculously, she was ok. It was there on the hallway floor that Sally and Ben found her five minutes later.
"Jess, come on honey, let's sit you down in the living room." Sally said, pulling Jess to her feet and leading her steadily to the living room. Jess fell onto the sofa, taking deep breaths, staring straight ahead.
"Ben, there's a brick in the kitchen on the floor. I touched a bit of it, but other than that it hasn't been contaminated. There should be a knife somewhere as well, one of my kitchen ones, he used it. I broke his knee cap." Jess said through clenched teeth, trying not to move her jaw too much. A small laugh escaped her, which slowly turned into sobs.
"It's alright Jess; we'll get him this time." Ben said, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder, turning to go to the kitchen.
"Ben, give Callum a ring." Sally said under her breath. Ben nodded and left the living room. Sally took a seat next to Jess on the sofa, pulling out some bandages and sterile gauze from the first aid pack.
"Where else are you hurt, besides your arms?" Sally asked, using the antiseptic wipes on the slash wounds before placing sterile gauze on and bandaging them.
"Just bruises on my jaw and back, I think my jaws fractured judging from the noise it made and the pain. God Sally, why won't they leave us alone?" Jess asked, her eyes glistening with tears.
"I don't know sweetie. Come on, we should get you to the hospital really, especially for your jaw. You'll need x rays." Sally said, putting the first aid pack down.
"No, no hospitals, you've done a good job for my arms. I don't need to go, it'd be a waste of time." Jess said quietly.
"Are you sure? The wounds might be infected." Sally pushed.
"My knives are clean." Jess said, a small bubble of laughter erupting at the absurdity of the situation. "Sal, just before the back door got smashed in, a bloke came to the door claiming to want to read the meter."
"What'd he look like? Did you get a name?" Sally asked, pulling her pen and pad out.
"No name, but he was about six foot tall, sandy coloured hair, white, grey eyes. He had on a dark pair of jeans and a navy polo shirt." Jess recalled.
"Right ok. I'll put it in the system and take the recordings from your cameras, see what the computer comes up with. You'll need to come in later, see if you can make a positive ID. Are you up to giving me a full statement now?" Sally asked.
"Yeah sure. Just, can I get a drink first?" Jess asked.
"Course. I'll get you a nice sweet tea and some painkillers. Be right back." Sally said with a smile, giving her best friend a quick hug.
Is that such a way
You throw me down
I am inches above
The dust on the ground
Ten minutes later, Callum burst into the house, Jamie crying in his arms.
"Jess? What the hell happened?" Callum demanded, trying to rock Jamie but trying to hug Jess as well. He took in her battered face, the bandages on her arms, and felt rage build. Jess felt tears prick her eyes, but quickly wiped them away.
"The back door got smashed in and someone attacked me. They got him though, I broke his knee cap."
"That's my girl." Callum said in relief, brushing kisses across her face. "How're you?"
"Fine, just a few bruises and some cuts, but Sally sorted me out. They've got evidence this time, we might get some prints." Jess said in a hopeful voice.
"Let's hope. I think we should get to the station for now, we'll be safe there. Pack a bag with some stuff for us in, I'll go sort some stuff out for Jamie." Callum ordered.
"Where are we going?" Jess asked with a frown.
"We're not staying here. We'll see if we can get a hotel, I don't know. But anywhere but here." Callum said in a resolute tone.
"Callum, she needs to go to the hospital." Sally said, as she came back into the living room with another tea for Jess. She gave Jess the tea, and took a crying Jamie from Callum.
Callum looked back at Jess, "What haven't you told me?"
Jess glared at Sally who just shrugged, "You need an x-ray and they need to check your arms."
"I told you I'd be fine!" Jess retorted.
"An x-ray?" Callum asked, gently touching Jess' jaw, "I'm guessing for this?"
Jess paused before nodding.
"Right ok, let's quickly get some bags sorted then we'll head to the hospital. They can x-ray your jaw, check your arms don't need stitches and give you some good painkillers." Callum said, moving into Sergeant mode.
"Callum I really don't…" Jess started to say before being cut off.
"Jess do not argue with me about this. I want to make sure there is no other damage that is missed. This will also go towards evidence for when we finally nail that bastard. Please darlin', let me take care of you." he said softly.
Jess looked to Sally then back to Callum and nodded slowly, "Ok."
Callum nodded and kissed Jess' forehead, "Good girl. Right come on, let's head upstairs and get stuff put together. Sal are you ok bringing Jamie up?"
"Of course, right behind you." Sally said, smiling at Jamie and tickling his tummy.
And all is quiet
All is quiet now
And all is silent
All is silent now
Now I don't hide it
I don't hide it now
Later on that night, the family were holed up in a hotel round the corner from the station. After packing up their overnight bags Callum had taken Jess to the hospital where they'd checked her over. She had 2 broken ribs, a fractured jaw, plenty of bruises and the slashes on her arms. Her arms had been properly cleaned and redressed but didn't need stitching. Jess has been sent home with some strong painkillers and anti-inflammatory meds and a discharge summary noting everything, ready to give to the detectives looking into the case.
Once they had checked in to their hotel, they had taken Jamie to Michelle's so they could go to the station. Michelle was horrified at the state of Jess, bursting into tears when she saw her. Michelle knew that being in the force was potentially dangerous, but seeing it affecting her daughter was horrifying. She had pleaded with Jess to stay with her, but Jess wouldn't put her in danger by staying there. They told Michelle they'd be back as soon as possible for Jamie, and to call them if she needed anything. A patrol car had been stationed near to Michelle's house, with a visual on it, as a precaution.
The couple headed to the station for Jess to give her statement and see if she could ID the "gas man". She had been able to positively ID him as Tony Porter, a no name criminal with a history of petty theft. The man who had attacked Jess had been identified too, Jacob Donovon, another low level criminal with a few convictions for GBH. The team's job now was to tie them to Cheung.
When the Stone's were finally done at the station, they picked up Jamie, got a pizza and got settled into the hotel, Jess reassuring Michelle again that they were all ok. They had set Jamie's travel cot up in the corner, where he was peacefully sleeping, unknowing of all the horrible things that were happening to hai family. Jess and Callum were lying in bed, Callum curled around Jess.
"Amazing how he can sleep like that." he murmured against Jess' neck.
"Lucky him." she replied.
"Jess, I know you've already gone on at me for this, but I can't let this go anymore. He's come into our house and attacked you, in broad daylight. I'm not standing for it. I know, and you know, and the whole damn station knows that Cheung is behind it. It ends. I will stop him." Callum vowed. Jess twisted in his embrace, looking him solidly in the eyes.
"I'm going to tell you again what I told you before. Think of our son, Callum. Think of Jamie, lying there, peaceful, with his daddy just a short distance away. Think of me, Callum, your wife. Think of me, lying here, feeling safe in your arms. Think of everything we have been through to get here." Jess said in a low voice that Callum knew signified the slow building up of anger in his wife.
"That's all I bloody think about! All I think about is you and Jamie and of keeping you safe. You must know that! That is why I have to do this." Callum said loudly, making Jamie jump and wake up. Jess just shook her head, pushing Callum away from her. She slipped her feet into her boots, wrapped a cardigan round her and scooped Jamie up from the cot. "Where are you going?"
"Away from you. I can't stay in here with you right now. I love you Callum but I need you to not put yourself in danger. I will not lose you." Jess said quietly, leaving the room with their son safely encased in her arms. Callum watched her go, a sigh escaping his lips, his head hung dejectedly in his hands.
It's that ancient love
That just moves along
And there's an itch so slight
Even when you're gone
Well I met you right
But I kept your wrong
And I must wait until I've found the ground that you are walking on
Song: Dust on the Ground- Bombay Bicycle Club