'No! I thought after all that business with Jim, you would want to keep your private life just that?'
'Are you ashamed of me? Scared your mates will laugh at you for dating an old fogie?'
'No! Look now is not the time to discuss this', Gabriel snapped.
'Ok I am sorry, see you in a bit.' Gabriel gave her a kiss on the forehead, before getting out of the car.
'Oh no!' Gina gasped in horror as she watched them both from further up the street. After a heavy night last night, she had taken the bus to work. She didn't want to make the mistake of getting caught drink driving again. Gina had known the truth about Gabriel's true relationship with June for a few weeks now. Gina thought that it was best for all concerned to keep things quiet. She never thought that anything like this would happen. What on earth is Gabriel up to, would he really sleep with his own mother? Gina felt sick at that thought, she realised that she had had to do something about it now.
****
As the end of the briefing, everyone began to file out of the room as Gina grabbed hold of June. 'June, I need a word with you in my office, now!'
'Can't it wait? I am supposed to be going to the William Wallace School to give a talk about joining the police force.'
'Smithy can do that, this is important!'
'He wouldn't like that!'
'Well I give the orders around here, not him!'
****
June entered the Inspector's office, and was motioned to sit down by an unusually serious looking Gina. 'Ma'am! What's this all about?'
'June I need to know, are you having a relationship with PC Kent'
'No!' June lied.
'Look your not in any trouble, although this is not exactly the first time...'
'What has that got to do with this?' June snapped. Look me and Gabriel are just mates. He is not as bad as you think, if you just took the time to get to know him...'
'I saw you two kissing this morning. I just need to know in case it affects your work.'
'It wouldn't. Look are you jealous?'
'So it is true.'
'Yes ma'am.' June looked down embarrassed.
'June, are you sure you really know him. Do you know much about his past?''Well I was hardly planning on marrying him tomorrow!'
'Have you slept with him?'
'I am NOT going to answer that! June rose from her seat and started to leave the office.
'June I am sorry, there is something I have to tell you. You had better sit down.'
'I will stand thanks!'
'Ok, there is no easy way of saying this.' For a second there was complete silence. For once Gina was stuck for words.
'What?'
'Erm, Smithy and I did some digging into Gabriel's past, as we believed he was hiding something.'
'Why? You...'
'Let me finish! Oh god, like I said there is no easy way of saying this. I��ll just come out with it. We found his birth certificate, he's your son!'
June felt a little lightheaded at the shock of this, but she didn't quite believe it. 'No he can't be!' June whispered.
'He was born on the 21st of December 1972, Robert Ackland.'
'Robert, oh god I...I slept' June struggled to say, before staggering back and collapsing onto the floor.
****
June came round, and then the truth hit her again like a ton of bricks. 'Oh god, I have to go.' June tried to get to her feet, but she stumbled and fell back down. Gina grabbed her hand, and helped her onto the chair. 'Look in a minute; I don't want a repeat performance. I am sorry, I should have told you earlier.'
'You knew!'
'I am sorry. I didn't think...'
'You let me sleep with him! I will have to tell him!'
'He already knows!'
'What! Oh my god! just like his father. I can't take anymore!' June cried, and ran out of the office. 'June wait!' Gina ran after her, realising now was not a good time for her to be alone.
'Ma'am Ma'am!' Tony chased after Gina. 'Is June all right? She ran straight past me in floods of tears. I asked her if she was OK, but she didn't seem to see me.'
'Not now Tony, but if you do see her, stay with her and call me.'
'Why? What's...'
'I said not now!' Gina barked as she ran off to find June.
*****
June slammed her front door shut, and fell down onto the floor, curling herself into a protective ball. She didn't know how she had managed to get home. At first she had just kept running. Then once she slowed down due to tiredness, her mind wandered back to when she was 15. A walk in the park on the way home from school, the fear she felt as she was grabbed from behind. Trying to bite him as he pulled at her skirt... It was all too much for her again and she wandered aimlessly, sobbing. Eventually she had come round a bit, and realised everyone was looking at her. So she decided to rush home, and shut the world out. As far as she was concerned, she was never going to leave her house again.
****
Gina was beginning to get worried. She had searched the entire station for her, and had found no one at home when she had called at her house. Gina knew the whole truth about Gabriel's conception, as she had found the old police reports from back then. She couldn't imagine what she was going through, but she thought that she could be a danger to herself. Gina realised she needed a hand to find her, so she called Smithy into her office, as he was the only other person who knew about this.
****
Jim walked down the corridor, towards Gina's office carrying some files he had for her. He was about to knock, when he realised the door was ajar. Smithy and Gina were arguing so he stood and listened.
'This is a nightmare! They were sleeping together; I had to tell her'
'How did June take it?'
'How do you think she took the fact that her new boyfriend is the son she gave a way at birth?'
'What!' Jim gasped in horror. He pushed the door open, and Smithy and Gina looked at him. 'What's this about June? Please tell me, I need to know!'
****
At first Jim was shocked, he couldn't take it all in. How could a woman he had known for over 20 years been through all of this and not told him, a woman he had been so close to? His next emotion was one of utter fear. What if Gina was right, she might try to kill herself? Whether this was the case or not he had to be with her, so he got into his car and went out to look for her.
****
After driving around for a bit, Jim pulled up outside June's place. Gina had said that no one was home, but he thought that he would have another look. He still had a key from when they where together. He didn't want to use it, but when he got no answer from knocking, he let himself in. He wandered through the hallway, and pushed open the living room door. He spotted June lying on the couch, eyes half open, staring at the ceiling. On the table there was a whisky bottle with only a drop left in it, a glass, and an empty bottle of tablets lying on one side. 'Oh my god June, what have you done?' Jim cried as he ran over to her.
'June! June! Can you hear me!' Jim cried, as he knelt down next to where a semiconscious June lay. 'Jim! What are you doing here?' June whispered in a barely audible voice.'June thank god! I am going to call an ambulance.'
'No!' June sat up, 'Leave me alone, this is none of your business'
��none of my business? How can you say that? June, even though we are not together anymore, I still care a great deal about you. I just want to help you get through this. I am going to kill that Gabriel when I get hold of him! How could anyone be so sick as to do something like that'
'Who told you? Oh god, leave me alone Jim! If you care for me as much as you say you do, then you will leave me to do this in peace.'
'What! You expect me to just walk away, and live with this for the rest of my life. It would finish me off. I might as well join you'
'Well I didn't expect anyone to find me until it was to late, and anyway for once don't you think I have the right to be just a little selfish? Good old Aunty June hey, listens to every ones problems. Well I have had enough! Who is there for me? No one, that's who! Every time I get a little taste of happiness, it gets snatched away from me. Well no more, enough is enough!'
'June I am so sorry, this is all my fault! If I had only seen what I had right in front of my nose, and not run off at the first sign of trouble.'
'Well you only did what every other man has done to me, taken what you wanted and left.'
'That's not fair! I would never intentionally hurt you. Look, let me at least get you a glass of water. We can talk things through, you might change your mind.'
'I will not, I can't take any more!'
'You might, but by then it will be too late. You know as well as I do how slow, and painful a death this can be. Remember Lucy Tyler a couple of years back, it took what, 10, 12 hours for her to finally die'
'I don't care! I just want this pain to go away! I can't get it out of my head; I can see him standing over me, pulling at my top. Ohh!' June sobs 'After all of these years, I had managed to push it to the back of my mind. But now I feel like it has happened all over again. I am not strong enough to go through all this again, not on my own.'
'Your not on you own, you've got me. We can work through this together, and I promise that I will never leave your side again.' June looked into his eyes, they were both crying. Jim reached hold of her hand and squeezed it. June pulled her hand away from him, leaned over the couch and was violently sick. Jim rose from his knees, 'I will just get you some water.'
'Don't leave me!'
'I won't me a minute.'
Jim entered June's kitchen and closed the door behind him. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his mobile. He called for an ambulance, hoping that it was not too late to save her. When he went back into the lounge he found that June had lost consciousness Tears flooded down his face. The woman that he loved to pieces was dying in front of him, and there was nothing else he could do. He prayed to God, something he had not done since he was a little boy.
****
Jim had been waiting at the hospital for over an hour, and no one seemed to be able to tell him anything. Gina had arrived, and offered him her support. Jim however shut her out, as he blamed her for letting things go so far with Gabriel. Then a young nurse came out of the room where June was being treated. Jim rushed over to her, 'how is she?'
'Are you a relative?'
'She's my fianc��e,' he lied.
'Well the next few hours are going to be crucial. We have pumped her stomach; thankfully we don't think that she had taken that many. The bottle probably wasn't full.'
'Can I see her?'
'In a minute, when the doctor has finished with her.'
****
Jim entered June's room, and was taken a back by the sight of her lying there, hooked up to loads of machines. She looked so pale, yet at the same time peaceful. Jim knew that even if she pulled through, the road to recovery would be a slow painful one. But Jim was determined to help her, how ever long it took. Jim sat down, and held her hand, determined to keep his promise not to leave her.
'Oh June, I love you so much, more than I ever felt it was possible to love anyone. I need you June. Please, I beg you. I would do anything to see you smile again, to hear you laugh. Please wake up.' Jim broke down again; even at the worst point of his drinking he had never felt so low. He couldn't imagine his life without June in it.
****
A few hours later Jim lay asleep head down on June's bed, his hand still firmly holding hers. June stirred, and quietly whispered, 'Jim.' Jim woke instantly, and smiled. 'Oh thank god. How do you feel?'
'My head is killing me. Why am I here? Oh... Gabriel' it all came flooding back, and she sobbed.
'It's OK June. Let's not think about it now. Your tired, you get some more sleep.'
'Jim, please stay with me until I drop off. I am scared.'
'Of course I will.' June fell asleep straight away. Jim kissed her on the forehead and whispered, 'I love you.'
Epilogue
June was released from hospital a few days later. Jim moved in with her in order to see her through the difficult days which lay ahead. Jim never quite got round to moving out again.
Although they decided to take things slowly, they knew that what they had was special. All of this, and Jim's problems with Marie, only made their for each other love stronger.
June returned to work 2 months later. Gabriel had taken a transfer by then, shocked by his part in June's suicide attempt.