Fic: Picking Up the Pieces (Taggart) 1/6
Title: Picking Up the Pieces
Fandom: Taggart
Author: Lullabymoon
Rating: MA
Relationship: Jackie Reid/Robbie Ross
Characters: Jackie Reid, Robbie Ross, Mita Rahim, Matt Burke, Duncan Clark, CS Karen Campbell
Words: 44430
Summary: Normally it's bad enough investigating a brutal attack, but when the victim is Matt Burke and his life is still hanging in the balance, it's even worse. With things already strained, the case pushes Jackie and Robbie, and their friendship, towards breaking point and beyond. (Some descriptions of violence.)
Notes: Set after the latest series.
Huge thanks to the awesome Leanstein for the beta.
For the associated art, please see the awesome Book Covers, by Peanutbutterer.
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six
Friday
Jackie paused before she stepped into the restaurant. She was technically five minutes late, which was still the closest to on time she'd managed to one of these family events in a long time.
Susie looked particularly pleased to see her and Jackie kissed her on the cheek, her grin widening all on it's own as she said, "Congratulations. The gown suited you."
Susie beamed back. "Thanks, Jackie."
Kyle wasn't quite so pleased. "How would you know?" She saw the smile dim on Susie's face and didn't rise to the bait.
"We watched the live stream. Probably got a better view than you." She couldn't resist the small dig though and she sat down and turned towards Dad before she got into a fight and ruined Susie's party.
At least Dad waited until she had said hello to everyone else, no mean feat given it was almost the entirety of the Reid family, before he asked, "We?"
"Robbie, though Burke did keep popping by suspiciously often." Her dad cracked a smile, having met Burke on one occasion that the entire office still joked about.
"So we'll no be expecting any phone calls to interrupt tonight then?" At least Alan's jest was in good humour.
"No, I've threatened them both with my paperwork for the next month if they interrupt." There were snickers all around the table; most of them had heard her complain about her paperwork at one time or another.
Conversation moved swiftly on to dinner as the menus were handed out and after a heated discussion they finally ordered. The waitresses already looked slightly harassed.
They settled into the usual sort of dinner conversation as they waited for the food to start arriving, mainly the general catching up chit chat that usually accompanied these events but she wasn't above admitting that she used her knowledge of her brothers secrets to wind them up and amuse her nieces and nephews; there were advantages to being the youngest of four siblings.
Dinner itself passed in a blur of laughter and food and she was surprised to see how late it was when she glanced at her watch when they collected their coats. She followed everyone out the restaurant as they made their way to Kyle and Moira's house, everyone meeting there for the party proper.
She caught a ride in Kyle's car, and sat squeezed in the back row with Susie, catching up with her gossip. She'd deliberately taken a taxi to the restaurant as she knew from previous experience that she would need plenty of alcohol to get through the pitying glances and pointed questions that she would inevitably face from everyone who seemed to think they had the right to interfere.
She must not have been hiding her annoyance as well as she thought because Susie hugged her arm.
"I didn't say thank you for coming did I?"
Jackie laughed it off. "As if I'd miss my favourite niece's graduation do."
Susie grinned. "Should have said thank you for coming despite the torture it'll be!"
They both laughed at that, biting their lips and ducking their head when Kyle glanced back at them in the rear-view mirror. She didn't want to see whatever expression was showing on his face.
Susie distracted her again. "I'm telling everyone later but I wanted to surprise you."
Jackie looked properly at her.
Susie grinned. "I heard yesterday that I got onto the Police Graduate Scheme." She looked rather nervous but excited all the same.
Jackie grinned leaned in to hug her, ignoring the pull of the seatbelt as it dug into her shoulder. "That's brilliant! Congratulations!"
Susie looked ecstatic and Jackie gave her another hug, not caring about Kyle and Moira's facial expressions.
--
Kyle of course grabbed her pretty much at she took her coat off in one of the spare bedrooms.
"It's because of you, you know."
She put her coat down on the bed and stood ready for a fight, but she didn't say a word.
Kyle's shoulders dropped and he sighed. "Sorry, I don't mean to be confrontational, but you're her favourite aunty and she thinks you walk on water." He sat down on the edge of the bed. "It's just she's our wee girl and we want her to be safe and happy."
She sat down beside him. "You said the same thing when I joined the force."
He snorted. "Aye." He looked down at his feet.
"You think I'm not happy."
"Jackie,"
"Kyle, I get this every time I come to one of the parties." She tried not to let her voice sound too annoyed, though it was an effort. "Just because I'm not married with kids does not mean I'm not happy."
He looked at her before he sighed. "I suppose. We just worry."
"You can say that again." She sighed as well. "I know but honestly, there isn't a reason to."
Kyle nodded. "How's the promotion going?"
She managed a small laugh. "Apart from the extra paperwork?" She smiled. "It's good."
Kyle smiled. "Good. You know, we never realised how a big deal your promotion was until we saw the numbers in Susie's information pack."
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh we knew it was good, but when you see the actual numbers… We're proud of you, you know that."
"God, I'm nearly fifty and yet you still manage to make me sound like a wee girl."
Kyle laughed. "Anyway, we'll through you a party to properly celebrate."
"Oh god."
"Don't worry, we'll get a load of booze in, invite the team and it'll be a right laugh."
She didn't have time to say how thoroughly a bad idea that was as Moira stuck her head round the door.
"We thought the pair of you might have killed each other. Come on and join in. Susie's about to make her announcement."
Kyle stood up. "Come on, better do as my better half says. You know what she's like."
"Yeah, you better show me when the gin is first."
Kyle looked amused but guided her to the makeshift bar anyway.
--
Susie's announcement had went down better than she expected, though she did get more than a few jibes about setting a bad example. It was nothing more than she normally got about not being settled down and being a workaholic so it wasn't too bad, at least until everyone started chipping in with advice for Susie about how not to follow her lead.
She'd didn't have enough gin left in her glass to handle that so she left to find the bottle, set up in the bar in the dining room. She snorted to herself as she remembered the text Stuart had sent earlier, jokingly telling her not to get too drunk that Robbie would have to come and pick her up. She'd just sent back an emoticon of sticking out her tongue but it looked like he might have been closer to the mark than she would like to have admitted.
She was rather surprised to find Dad sitting down on one of the chairs at the table. He noted her look as she poured herself a large G and T, going lighter on the tonic than she would have normally.
"I'm all right, darling, just not as young as I used to be."
She sat down beside him and took a sip of her drink. He smiled. "Positive, I'm fine. Dinnae you go gein me that look, I'm still your faither."
She smiled as well. "Just you're usually the life and soul of the party."
"Getting old. Needed a break from Joanne." She snorted. "Don't we all?"
Dad grinned. Joanne was the most overbearing of her sisters-in-law, and that was saying something. Still Dad normally coped with her just fine so she sat quietly until he said more. The tactic usually worked on him.
"Just missing your mum. That's the last of the grandweans all grown up now and I'm just missing her." He smiled weakly in her direction and took a sip of his lager.
She tried to ignore the gentle plea behind the last of the grandweans part, surely seven was enough, and squeezed his hand and smiled softly.
They sat quietly for a minute, listening to the music and laughter drifting through from the living room. Dad broke the silence and she immediately wished he hadn't. "Chris not coming?"
"Dad," she sighed and he looked at her with an innocent expression.
"We broke up a couple of months ago. I know I told you."
She could remember the phone call clearly, trying to explain that nothing was wrong, they were both just too busy with their jobs and it had simply fizzled down into friendship.
They still spoke, had the occasional lunch together and to be honest, everyone else took it much worse than either she or Chris had. Burke had let her leave comparatively early for once, and both he and Robbie had taken her to the football that weekend. They'd even bought her a pie at half time. It had been hugely amusing but they so rarely did anything so demonstrative that she had just let them carry on.
Dad sighed and broke her out of her thoughts. "And Robbie?"
She rolled her eyes. "Dad," She stretched it out.
He let out a small huff of laughter. "Aye I know." He sighed again and it was starting to make her feel guilty. "I just don't want you to be lonely, love."
She squeezed his hand again. "I know, Dad." The kicker was, she knew he really didn't want her lonely they way he had been ever since Mum died, but that didn't make the almost nagging feel any better. "How can I be lonely with this lot?" She steered the conversation in a different direction and gestured towards the living room. "Unless there's something you're not telling me?"
Dad gave a small chuckle and shook his head." No. It's just a father's job to worry."
"I know." She leaned in close for a hug and they stayed like that for a minute. "Come on," she picked up her drink. "We can go face Joanne together."
Dad snorted but stood anyway.
--
Jackie paused from picking up her jacket when her phone started playing the ring tone she had assigned Robbie. She cursed under her breath as she searched through her bag for the phone.
"This had better be you asking about how the party's going."
There was a pause on the other end and she sighed. So much for wishful thinking.
"Jackie," Robbie paused and her heart sunk at the lack of sarcastic reply to her greeting. "It's about the Boss." She recognised his tone as the bad news tone he used on relatives and she felt a spike of terror drive through her. "He's in the hospital but he's in a bad way."
"How bad?" Her voice was shaky and her breath caught in her throat.
"It's bad, Jackie." She could hear the terror in his voice now as well and she had to take a calming breath, willing her years of experience on the force to help keep her going.
"Where are you?"
"The Southern." She nearly dropped the phone.
"They took him straight there?"
"Aye." She felt like she was going to be sick. Where Burke lived, they would have only taken him straight to the Southern if his head injuries were so severe… she didn't think she could stand upright if she finished that thought.
"I'm on my way."
"Head Injuries Unit, I'll meet you at the front door."
"Okay." She took a deep breath. "What happened?" She asked as she forced herself to finish putting on her coat, transferring the phone to the opposite hand to do so.
"All I know is that it was some sort of beating."
She nodded before she remembered she was on the phone. She heard a car horn out side. "That'll be my taxi. I'll see you shortly." She snapped the phone shut without saying anything else, not worrying about how abrupt it must have seemed. Robbie would understand anyway.
She headed out to the hall and bumped into Sam. "That's your taxi," Sam trailed off when he saw the look on her face. "Fuck, Jackie, could you no leave it at work for one night?"
"It's Burke, he's been attacked." Funnily enough the familiar complaint about work was enough to put her back into officer mode. "He's been taken to the Southern."
From the way his expression dropped, Sam understood the implication. "Fuck, aye. I'll let Dad know. You all right to get there?"
She nodded. "I'll take the taxi and Robbie's meeting me there."
Sam patted her on the arm. "Let us know how he gets on eh? I'll let everyone know in the morning."
She slumped slightly; glad she didn't have to fight anymore. "Thanks."
Sam drew her into a quick hug and she tried not to fall apart on his shoulder. "Wait here," he said as he vanished into the kitchen and when he returned he pressed a bottle of water into her hands before he saw her into the taxi.
--
She couldn't sit still in the taxi, he finger clutched the now empty water bottle and caused it to crinkle, the sound loud in the otherwise quiet cab. The driver had taken one look at her and note of the new destination and he hadn't even tried to banter her into relaxing even slightly. She was grateful for that and she cracked open the window, the noise of the air rushing past as they nipped onto the M8 and over the Kingston bridge a small price to pay for the fresh air on her face.
Between that and the water and the shock, she felt a lot more sober, though she was still clumsy enough to give away the fact she had been drinking, especially to Robbie.
They pulled off the motorway, the road still quiet at this time of night and drove into the main entrance.
"Where exactly love?" The driver's words jarred her slightly.
"Head Injuries Unit, should be down the far end."
The driver dropped her off at the door, and sure enough, Robbie was waiting for her. He stood inside the entrance, just out of reach of the automatic doors as she paid the driver.
"Hope every thing's all right, love." The driver nodded and she smiled weakly as she put her purse back in her bag. She turned to the door, heard the taxi drive off. Robbie had moved and was now standing under the canopy. He reached out and arm and grabbed her elbow to steady her as she stumbled slightly on the edge of the kerbstone.
He fussed and she let him have his moment of concern as he needed the distraction as much as she did. She could tell by the way his fingers were flexing that he was dying for a cigarette and given how recently he had quit, it was something of a miracle she couldn't smell smoke on him.
She paused as the doors opened. "How bad is it really?"
Robbie paused, running a hand through his hair. "He's bleeding everywhere. They've got him in surgery to try and stop some of it."
"Have the doctors said anything else?" She tried not to feel like she was pulling teeth.
"Not really, just that they were worried about his head injury but they needed to get him stabilised first." He pulled her though the door, and it closed behind them, shutting out the cold. "They won't know anything for at least a few hours."
She could feel herself sagging with exhaustion now she was actually here and Robbie still hadn't let go of her elbow. "Where's the waiting room?"
He gestured towards the lift. "I need coffee first."
She nodded and kept pace with him as he walked down the corridor.
It was crappy vending machine swill but it was better than nothing, especially at this time of night. It had started to cool even as they walked past the nurses' station. The nurse behind the desk nodded at them both and Jackie guessed Robbie had spoken to her earlier as she didn't question her appearance.
She sat down, rearranging her jacket and taking a sip of the so called coffee before she looked at him.
He looked completely dishevelled, more so than she had seen him in a while and his face looked tired under the harsh lights of the corridor.
"What happened?"
He shook his head. "We don't know yet. Got Mita and Duncan going over his flat."
She couldn't help the snort. "Just as well he's unconscious then."
Robbie grinned weakly. "Yeah." It dropped quickly. "The whole place is a mess, Jackie. He's a mess." He took a deep drink of his coffee, his fingers flexing again. She didn't say anything, she knew him well enough to know he didn't need pushing this time to tell her what her knew. She was right. After another long gulp of his coffee, he carried on.
"He wasn't answering his phone so I went over to check on him. The door was open and he was lying on the living room floor. He was barely breathing, blood everywhere." He took another sip. "Had the shit beaten out of him but I wasn't too worried until he wouldn't respond to the paramedics' tests. That's when the ambulance diverted. Got checked in with the nurses then phoned Mita, got her in charge of the SOCO team." He slumped in the chair and she did the same, taking in the information. At least he'd managed to say it in the scene he used at crime scenes, it stopped her from collapsing completely.
She took a couple of deep breaths. "It's probably just as well he's got such a hard head then isn't it. He'll be up and bossing everyone around in a couple of weeks."
She was trying to reassure herself as much as him but she only got a snort from Robbie. When nothing else was forthcoming, she looked at Robbie, properly this time and she could see how much he was struggling. Shit. It only just occurred to her that he'd said Burke wasn't picking up his phone. Robbie hadn't said anything about a new case so the only other reason Robbie would have been phoning Burke at that time of night would be because he was struggling. She saw the way his fingers were still flexing and looking closely she could see they way he had been wound up for more than just an hour. She didn't say anything, just rested her head on Robbie's shoulder. Neither of them had told her anything but she knew that Burke was helping Robbie stay off, well everything really. It was actually quite hilarious and adorable how the pair of them thought they were keeping it secret from her so she had let them keep their illusions. It just made moments like this a pain though.
As much as Robbie was good at offering comfort, he could be a right pain about accepting it so she felt a brief moment of pleasure when his arm came up about her shoulder and she could feel the way he gripped her tightly. If she had to give comfort by stealth, then that was fine by her.
The tightness of the hug distracted her anyway.
She wasn't entirely sure how long they sat like that, long enough anyway for the coffee to grow completely cold and bitter and for her neck to start to cramp. She must have dosed off slightly, despite everything, and the next thing she knew Robbie was moving and she had to sit up right. He looked half asleep himself and she wondered if he had been asleep as well before what the nurse was saying sunk in.
"They're just closing up now, but the worst of the bleeding is stopped and he's made it this far, which is a very good sign." She paused as they blinked themselves into more awareness. "He'll be taken into recovery once they are finished and onto the high dependency unit after that. Given his injuries, it will be a while before he wakes up and he won't be allowed visitors until sometime this evening."
They were awake enough to understand the underlying message to go home and get some sleep themselves.
"Thanks," Robbie's voice was hoarse and he gave a pale version of one of his charming smiles. The nurse nodded in response and moved back down the corridor. They creakily untangled themselves from the chairs and stood.
Jackie looked at Robbie. "Did you drive?"
He nodded. "I'll give you a lift home."
"I want to see his flat first."
"It's", he looked at his watch, "half two, Jackie, it can wait."
"Robbie,"
He stood straighter, obviously recognising the warning tone in her voice but he still didn't back down. "It's a mess that can wait until the morning." He tried to use his 'I'm the DI here' tone, but she'd long been used to that, even before she'd been promoted.
"Either way, I'm going to imagine it."
He sighed and reluctantly nodded. "C'mon then."
--
They pulled up outside what looked to be a circus, bright lights and people milling about everywhere. No one was going to be unaware that something happened. They ducked under the cordon after the PC standing guard recognised them and walked through the building door, following the noise.
They paused in front of his main door. Robbie turned to her. "There's blood everywhere in the living room and it looks like there's been a fight."
He looked at her and she felt annoyance wash over her at the way he was trying to convince her to turn back. She didn't say anything though, just walked in to save herself from snapping at him.
She paused in the living room doorway. "Shit." She could feel Robbie stop behind her, incredibly close and he put a hand on the small of her back in reassurance.
There was indeed blood everywhere, sprays on the remains of the coffee table, the couch, the walls, the floor, and a larger puddle in the spot where he must have been lying. There were pieces of the coffee table lying all over the floor, couch cushions completely askew, pictures lying on the floor, glass under foot and generally the room attested to a long and brutal fight.
She took a deep breath, and then another, and took a step into the centre of the room. Duncan looked up from his position in the floor and stood when he recognised her.
"Jackie,"
She nodded in greeting, not sure if her voice would hold to speak.
"How is he?"
"He's come through the surgery okay but they're still worried." She managed to keep her voice even by some miracle.
Duncan frowned and nodded. He saw her continuing look around the room and quickly spoke. "We're collecting all the blood evidence and whatever else we can find. We've found no sign of a weapon yet."
She nodded again, not entirely sure what to say.
She was saved by Mita appearing. Mita touched her hand lightly, as if afraid of showing more. She managed a small smile in response.
"Door to door is under way and uniform are canvassing the area for any clues." Mita looked at Duncan, who shook his head.
"Nothing else yet, just more blood."
Mita turned back to Robbie and Jackie. "The rest of his flat looks virtually undisturbed but we'll get SOCO to check anyway. CS Campbell has been notified and she wants to see both of you at 9am." Mita paused and looked unsure for a second.
"I can handle supervising here. Why don't the two of you get some sleep?"
Beside her Robbie snorted and she saw Mita's uncertainty return briefly before she stood a little straighter. "I won't be the one that will need to justify to Campbell why I'm staying on the case."
She couldn't help the small smile at that, especially as Robbie had to concede defeat. It vanished as soon as it came when she turned and saw another spray of blood beside the door.
They walked out into the hallway and she saw the splintered wood around the lock on the main door, more spots of blood dotting the carpet where it looked like the attack had started. She forced herself to quicken her steps to get past them and the cold air outside was a relief, easing the queasy feeling she hadn't fully been aware of until it was gone.
The drive to her house was quiet but it was comfortable enough. Robbie dropped her off at her front door, looking exhausted as he said good night. She nodded and on impulse leaned across and kissed him on the check as she gave him a quick cuddle.
His 'just couldn't resist me' smile was a weak copy of his normal flirtatious grin that she just smiled softly instead of the giving him the normal eye roll.
"Night, Robbie," she said and she shut the car door.
She went straight to her bedroom, kicking off her shoes and changing into her pyjamas quickly. She set her alarm and hoped she could get some sleep.
Part Two
Fandom: Taggart
Author: Lullabymoon
Rating: MA
Relationship: Jackie Reid/Robbie Ross
Characters: Jackie Reid, Robbie Ross, Mita Rahim, Matt Burke, Duncan Clark, CS Karen Campbell
Words: 44430
Summary: Normally it's bad enough investigating a brutal attack, but when the victim is Matt Burke and his life is still hanging in the balance, it's even worse. With things already strained, the case pushes Jackie and Robbie, and their friendship, towards breaking point and beyond. (Some descriptions of violence.)
Notes: Set after the latest series.
Huge thanks to the awesome Leanstein for the beta.
For the associated art, please see the awesome Book Covers, by Peanutbutterer.
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six
Friday
Jackie paused before she stepped into the restaurant. She was technically five minutes late, which was still the closest to on time she'd managed to one of these family events in a long time.
Susie looked particularly pleased to see her and Jackie kissed her on the cheek, her grin widening all on it's own as she said, "Congratulations. The gown suited you."
Susie beamed back. "Thanks, Jackie."
Kyle wasn't quite so pleased. "How would you know?" She saw the smile dim on Susie's face and didn't rise to the bait.
"We watched the live stream. Probably got a better view than you." She couldn't resist the small dig though and she sat down and turned towards Dad before she got into a fight and ruined Susie's party.
At least Dad waited until she had said hello to everyone else, no mean feat given it was almost the entirety of the Reid family, before he asked, "We?"
"Robbie, though Burke did keep popping by suspiciously often." Her dad cracked a smile, having met Burke on one occasion that the entire office still joked about.
"So we'll no be expecting any phone calls to interrupt tonight then?" At least Alan's jest was in good humour.
"No, I've threatened them both with my paperwork for the next month if they interrupt." There were snickers all around the table; most of them had heard her complain about her paperwork at one time or another.
Conversation moved swiftly on to dinner as the menus were handed out and after a heated discussion they finally ordered. The waitresses already looked slightly harassed.
They settled into the usual sort of dinner conversation as they waited for the food to start arriving, mainly the general catching up chit chat that usually accompanied these events but she wasn't above admitting that she used her knowledge of her brothers secrets to wind them up and amuse her nieces and nephews; there were advantages to being the youngest of four siblings.
Dinner itself passed in a blur of laughter and food and she was surprised to see how late it was when she glanced at her watch when they collected their coats. She followed everyone out the restaurant as they made their way to Kyle and Moira's house, everyone meeting there for the party proper.
She caught a ride in Kyle's car, and sat squeezed in the back row with Susie, catching up with her gossip. She'd deliberately taken a taxi to the restaurant as she knew from previous experience that she would need plenty of alcohol to get through the pitying glances and pointed questions that she would inevitably face from everyone who seemed to think they had the right to interfere.
She must not have been hiding her annoyance as well as she thought because Susie hugged her arm.
"I didn't say thank you for coming did I?"
Jackie laughed it off. "As if I'd miss my favourite niece's graduation do."
Susie grinned. "Should have said thank you for coming despite the torture it'll be!"
They both laughed at that, biting their lips and ducking their head when Kyle glanced back at them in the rear-view mirror. She didn't want to see whatever expression was showing on his face.
Susie distracted her again. "I'm telling everyone later but I wanted to surprise you."
Jackie looked properly at her.
Susie grinned. "I heard yesterday that I got onto the Police Graduate Scheme." She looked rather nervous but excited all the same.
Jackie grinned leaned in to hug her, ignoring the pull of the seatbelt as it dug into her shoulder. "That's brilliant! Congratulations!"
Susie looked ecstatic and Jackie gave her another hug, not caring about Kyle and Moira's facial expressions.
--
Kyle of course grabbed her pretty much at she took her coat off in one of the spare bedrooms.
"It's because of you, you know."
She put her coat down on the bed and stood ready for a fight, but she didn't say a word.
Kyle's shoulders dropped and he sighed. "Sorry, I don't mean to be confrontational, but you're her favourite aunty and she thinks you walk on water." He sat down on the edge of the bed. "It's just she's our wee girl and we want her to be safe and happy."
She sat down beside him. "You said the same thing when I joined the force."
He snorted. "Aye." He looked down at his feet.
"You think I'm not happy."
"Jackie,"
"Kyle, I get this every time I come to one of the parties." She tried not to let her voice sound too annoyed, though it was an effort. "Just because I'm not married with kids does not mean I'm not happy."
He looked at her before he sighed. "I suppose. We just worry."
"You can say that again." She sighed as well. "I know but honestly, there isn't a reason to."
Kyle nodded. "How's the promotion going?"
She managed a small laugh. "Apart from the extra paperwork?" She smiled. "It's good."
Kyle smiled. "Good. You know, we never realised how a big deal your promotion was until we saw the numbers in Susie's information pack."
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh we knew it was good, but when you see the actual numbers… We're proud of you, you know that."
"God, I'm nearly fifty and yet you still manage to make me sound like a wee girl."
Kyle laughed. "Anyway, we'll through you a party to properly celebrate."
"Oh god."
"Don't worry, we'll get a load of booze in, invite the team and it'll be a right laugh."
She didn't have time to say how thoroughly a bad idea that was as Moira stuck her head round the door.
"We thought the pair of you might have killed each other. Come on and join in. Susie's about to make her announcement."
Kyle stood up. "Come on, better do as my better half says. You know what she's like."
"Yeah, you better show me when the gin is first."
Kyle looked amused but guided her to the makeshift bar anyway.
--
Susie's announcement had went down better than she expected, though she did get more than a few jibes about setting a bad example. It was nothing more than she normally got about not being settled down and being a workaholic so it wasn't too bad, at least until everyone started chipping in with advice for Susie about how not to follow her lead.
She'd didn't have enough gin left in her glass to handle that so she left to find the bottle, set up in the bar in the dining room. She snorted to herself as she remembered the text Stuart had sent earlier, jokingly telling her not to get too drunk that Robbie would have to come and pick her up. She'd just sent back an emoticon of sticking out her tongue but it looked like he might have been closer to the mark than she would like to have admitted.
She was rather surprised to find Dad sitting down on one of the chairs at the table. He noted her look as she poured herself a large G and T, going lighter on the tonic than she would have normally.
"I'm all right, darling, just not as young as I used to be."
She sat down beside him and took a sip of her drink. He smiled. "Positive, I'm fine. Dinnae you go gein me that look, I'm still your faither."
She smiled as well. "Just you're usually the life and soul of the party."
"Getting old. Needed a break from Joanne." She snorted. "Don't we all?"
Dad grinned. Joanne was the most overbearing of her sisters-in-law, and that was saying something. Still Dad normally coped with her just fine so she sat quietly until he said more. The tactic usually worked on him.
"Just missing your mum. That's the last of the grandweans all grown up now and I'm just missing her." He smiled weakly in her direction and took a sip of his lager.
She tried to ignore the gentle plea behind the last of the grandweans part, surely seven was enough, and squeezed his hand and smiled softly.
They sat quietly for a minute, listening to the music and laughter drifting through from the living room. Dad broke the silence and she immediately wished he hadn't. "Chris not coming?"
"Dad," she sighed and he looked at her with an innocent expression.
"We broke up a couple of months ago. I know I told you."
She could remember the phone call clearly, trying to explain that nothing was wrong, they were both just too busy with their jobs and it had simply fizzled down into friendship.
They still spoke, had the occasional lunch together and to be honest, everyone else took it much worse than either she or Chris had. Burke had let her leave comparatively early for once, and both he and Robbie had taken her to the football that weekend. They'd even bought her a pie at half time. It had been hugely amusing but they so rarely did anything so demonstrative that she had just let them carry on.
Dad sighed and broke her out of her thoughts. "And Robbie?"
She rolled her eyes. "Dad," She stretched it out.
He let out a small huff of laughter. "Aye I know." He sighed again and it was starting to make her feel guilty. "I just don't want you to be lonely, love."
She squeezed his hand again. "I know, Dad." The kicker was, she knew he really didn't want her lonely they way he had been ever since Mum died, but that didn't make the almost nagging feel any better. "How can I be lonely with this lot?" She steered the conversation in a different direction and gestured towards the living room. "Unless there's something you're not telling me?"
Dad gave a small chuckle and shook his head." No. It's just a father's job to worry."
"I know." She leaned in close for a hug and they stayed like that for a minute. "Come on," she picked up her drink. "We can go face Joanne together."
Dad snorted but stood anyway.
--
Jackie paused from picking up her jacket when her phone started playing the ring tone she had assigned Robbie. She cursed under her breath as she searched through her bag for the phone.
"This had better be you asking about how the party's going."
There was a pause on the other end and she sighed. So much for wishful thinking.
"Jackie," Robbie paused and her heart sunk at the lack of sarcastic reply to her greeting. "It's about the Boss." She recognised his tone as the bad news tone he used on relatives and she felt a spike of terror drive through her. "He's in the hospital but he's in a bad way."
"How bad?" Her voice was shaky and her breath caught in her throat.
"It's bad, Jackie." She could hear the terror in his voice now as well and she had to take a calming breath, willing her years of experience on the force to help keep her going.
"Where are you?"
"The Southern." She nearly dropped the phone.
"They took him straight there?"
"Aye." She felt like she was going to be sick. Where Burke lived, they would have only taken him straight to the Southern if his head injuries were so severe… she didn't think she could stand upright if she finished that thought.
"I'm on my way."
"Head Injuries Unit, I'll meet you at the front door."
"Okay." She took a deep breath. "What happened?" She asked as she forced herself to finish putting on her coat, transferring the phone to the opposite hand to do so.
"All I know is that it was some sort of beating."
She nodded before she remembered she was on the phone. She heard a car horn out side. "That'll be my taxi. I'll see you shortly." She snapped the phone shut without saying anything else, not worrying about how abrupt it must have seemed. Robbie would understand anyway.
She headed out to the hall and bumped into Sam. "That's your taxi," Sam trailed off when he saw the look on her face. "Fuck, Jackie, could you no leave it at work for one night?"
"It's Burke, he's been attacked." Funnily enough the familiar complaint about work was enough to put her back into officer mode. "He's been taken to the Southern."
From the way his expression dropped, Sam understood the implication. "Fuck, aye. I'll let Dad know. You all right to get there?"
She nodded. "I'll take the taxi and Robbie's meeting me there."
Sam patted her on the arm. "Let us know how he gets on eh? I'll let everyone know in the morning."
She slumped slightly; glad she didn't have to fight anymore. "Thanks."
Sam drew her into a quick hug and she tried not to fall apart on his shoulder. "Wait here," he said as he vanished into the kitchen and when he returned he pressed a bottle of water into her hands before he saw her into the taxi.
--
She couldn't sit still in the taxi, he finger clutched the now empty water bottle and caused it to crinkle, the sound loud in the otherwise quiet cab. The driver had taken one look at her and note of the new destination and he hadn't even tried to banter her into relaxing even slightly. She was grateful for that and she cracked open the window, the noise of the air rushing past as they nipped onto the M8 and over the Kingston bridge a small price to pay for the fresh air on her face.
Between that and the water and the shock, she felt a lot more sober, though she was still clumsy enough to give away the fact she had been drinking, especially to Robbie.
They pulled off the motorway, the road still quiet at this time of night and drove into the main entrance.
"Where exactly love?" The driver's words jarred her slightly.
"Head Injuries Unit, should be down the far end."
The driver dropped her off at the door, and sure enough, Robbie was waiting for her. He stood inside the entrance, just out of reach of the automatic doors as she paid the driver.
"Hope every thing's all right, love." The driver nodded and she smiled weakly as she put her purse back in her bag. She turned to the door, heard the taxi drive off. Robbie had moved and was now standing under the canopy. He reached out and arm and grabbed her elbow to steady her as she stumbled slightly on the edge of the kerbstone.
He fussed and she let him have his moment of concern as he needed the distraction as much as she did. She could tell by the way his fingers were flexing that he was dying for a cigarette and given how recently he had quit, it was something of a miracle she couldn't smell smoke on him.
She paused as the doors opened. "How bad is it really?"
Robbie paused, running a hand through his hair. "He's bleeding everywhere. They've got him in surgery to try and stop some of it."
"Have the doctors said anything else?" She tried not to feel like she was pulling teeth.
"Not really, just that they were worried about his head injury but they needed to get him stabilised first." He pulled her though the door, and it closed behind them, shutting out the cold. "They won't know anything for at least a few hours."
She could feel herself sagging with exhaustion now she was actually here and Robbie still hadn't let go of her elbow. "Where's the waiting room?"
He gestured towards the lift. "I need coffee first."
She nodded and kept pace with him as he walked down the corridor.
It was crappy vending machine swill but it was better than nothing, especially at this time of night. It had started to cool even as they walked past the nurses' station. The nurse behind the desk nodded at them both and Jackie guessed Robbie had spoken to her earlier as she didn't question her appearance.
She sat down, rearranging her jacket and taking a sip of the so called coffee before she looked at him.
He looked completely dishevelled, more so than she had seen him in a while and his face looked tired under the harsh lights of the corridor.
"What happened?"
He shook his head. "We don't know yet. Got Mita and Duncan going over his flat."
She couldn't help the snort. "Just as well he's unconscious then."
Robbie grinned weakly. "Yeah." It dropped quickly. "The whole place is a mess, Jackie. He's a mess." He took a deep drink of his coffee, his fingers flexing again. She didn't say anything, she knew him well enough to know he didn't need pushing this time to tell her what her knew. She was right. After another long gulp of his coffee, he carried on.
"He wasn't answering his phone so I went over to check on him. The door was open and he was lying on the living room floor. He was barely breathing, blood everywhere." He took another sip. "Had the shit beaten out of him but I wasn't too worried until he wouldn't respond to the paramedics' tests. That's when the ambulance diverted. Got checked in with the nurses then phoned Mita, got her in charge of the SOCO team." He slumped in the chair and she did the same, taking in the information. At least he'd managed to say it in the scene he used at crime scenes, it stopped her from collapsing completely.
She took a couple of deep breaths. "It's probably just as well he's got such a hard head then isn't it. He'll be up and bossing everyone around in a couple of weeks."
She was trying to reassure herself as much as him but she only got a snort from Robbie. When nothing else was forthcoming, she looked at Robbie, properly this time and she could see how much he was struggling. Shit. It only just occurred to her that he'd said Burke wasn't picking up his phone. Robbie hadn't said anything about a new case so the only other reason Robbie would have been phoning Burke at that time of night would be because he was struggling. She saw the way his fingers were still flexing and looking closely she could see they way he had been wound up for more than just an hour. She didn't say anything, just rested her head on Robbie's shoulder. Neither of them had told her anything but she knew that Burke was helping Robbie stay off, well everything really. It was actually quite hilarious and adorable how the pair of them thought they were keeping it secret from her so she had let them keep their illusions. It just made moments like this a pain though.
As much as Robbie was good at offering comfort, he could be a right pain about accepting it so she felt a brief moment of pleasure when his arm came up about her shoulder and she could feel the way he gripped her tightly. If she had to give comfort by stealth, then that was fine by her.
The tightness of the hug distracted her anyway.
She wasn't entirely sure how long they sat like that, long enough anyway for the coffee to grow completely cold and bitter and for her neck to start to cramp. She must have dosed off slightly, despite everything, and the next thing she knew Robbie was moving and she had to sit up right. He looked half asleep himself and she wondered if he had been asleep as well before what the nurse was saying sunk in.
"They're just closing up now, but the worst of the bleeding is stopped and he's made it this far, which is a very good sign." She paused as they blinked themselves into more awareness. "He'll be taken into recovery once they are finished and onto the high dependency unit after that. Given his injuries, it will be a while before he wakes up and he won't be allowed visitors until sometime this evening."
They were awake enough to understand the underlying message to go home and get some sleep themselves.
"Thanks," Robbie's voice was hoarse and he gave a pale version of one of his charming smiles. The nurse nodded in response and moved back down the corridor. They creakily untangled themselves from the chairs and stood.
Jackie looked at Robbie. "Did you drive?"
He nodded. "I'll give you a lift home."
"I want to see his flat first."
"It's", he looked at his watch, "half two, Jackie, it can wait."
"Robbie,"
He stood straighter, obviously recognising the warning tone in her voice but he still didn't back down. "It's a mess that can wait until the morning." He tried to use his 'I'm the DI here' tone, but she'd long been used to that, even before she'd been promoted.
"Either way, I'm going to imagine it."
He sighed and reluctantly nodded. "C'mon then."
--
They pulled up outside what looked to be a circus, bright lights and people milling about everywhere. No one was going to be unaware that something happened. They ducked under the cordon after the PC standing guard recognised them and walked through the building door, following the noise.
They paused in front of his main door. Robbie turned to her. "There's blood everywhere in the living room and it looks like there's been a fight."
He looked at her and she felt annoyance wash over her at the way he was trying to convince her to turn back. She didn't say anything though, just walked in to save herself from snapping at him.
She paused in the living room doorway. "Shit." She could feel Robbie stop behind her, incredibly close and he put a hand on the small of her back in reassurance.
There was indeed blood everywhere, sprays on the remains of the coffee table, the couch, the walls, the floor, and a larger puddle in the spot where he must have been lying. There were pieces of the coffee table lying all over the floor, couch cushions completely askew, pictures lying on the floor, glass under foot and generally the room attested to a long and brutal fight.
She took a deep breath, and then another, and took a step into the centre of the room. Duncan looked up from his position in the floor and stood when he recognised her.
"Jackie,"
She nodded in greeting, not sure if her voice would hold to speak.
"How is he?"
"He's come through the surgery okay but they're still worried." She managed to keep her voice even by some miracle.
Duncan frowned and nodded. He saw her continuing look around the room and quickly spoke. "We're collecting all the blood evidence and whatever else we can find. We've found no sign of a weapon yet."
She nodded again, not entirely sure what to say.
She was saved by Mita appearing. Mita touched her hand lightly, as if afraid of showing more. She managed a small smile in response.
"Door to door is under way and uniform are canvassing the area for any clues." Mita looked at Duncan, who shook his head.
"Nothing else yet, just more blood."
Mita turned back to Robbie and Jackie. "The rest of his flat looks virtually undisturbed but we'll get SOCO to check anyway. CS Campbell has been notified and she wants to see both of you at 9am." Mita paused and looked unsure for a second.
"I can handle supervising here. Why don't the two of you get some sleep?"
Beside her Robbie snorted and she saw Mita's uncertainty return briefly before she stood a little straighter. "I won't be the one that will need to justify to Campbell why I'm staying on the case."
She couldn't help the small smile at that, especially as Robbie had to concede defeat. It vanished as soon as it came when she turned and saw another spray of blood beside the door.
They walked out into the hallway and she saw the splintered wood around the lock on the main door, more spots of blood dotting the carpet where it looked like the attack had started. She forced herself to quicken her steps to get past them and the cold air outside was a relief, easing the queasy feeling she hadn't fully been aware of until it was gone.
The drive to her house was quiet but it was comfortable enough. Robbie dropped her off at her front door, looking exhausted as he said good night. She nodded and on impulse leaned across and kissed him on the check as she gave him a quick cuddle.
His 'just couldn't resist me' smile was a weak copy of his normal flirtatious grin that she just smiled softly instead of the giving him the normal eye roll.
"Night, Robbie," she said and she shut the car door.
She went straight to her bedroom, kicking off her shoes and changing into her pyjamas quickly. She set her alarm and hoped she could get some sleep.
Part Two