He wiped away the tears that were rolling down his face and tighten his grip around their daughter, she was the only person that could ease his pain, he kissed her blonde hair, closed his eyes and recalled in his mind the day that June had told him she was pregnant and then turned his thoughts to nearly a year ago to the day in which Amiee had been born. If only he knew then what would be happening now, he would have changed so many things about that day, he would have told June he loved her as she walked out the office that morning or would have gone instead of her, then again if he had gone she would now be burying him, the day before their daughters first birthday.
He looked down at Amiee who was asleep against his chest, she had been asleep for most of the funeral, he knew he should have left her at home but he needed her there to keep him strong. Amiee was a miniature version of her mother, with deep brown eyes and bright blonde hair and like her mother she was keeping him from losing himself in alcohol, he was so tempted to reach for the bottle of vodka that was in the front room the day June had been killed, but the unconditional love of Amiee had prevented him from doing so, he couldn�t bear the thought that Amiee would grow up with neither parents if he did so.
Jim was brought back from his thoughts by the sound of voices � Jim, you ok?� Polly put her hand on his back as he sniffed loudly
�Yeah I think so, look I can�t face everyone at the station for the moment,
I need some time, I�m going to pop home and get Aimee�s buggy so she can sleep at the station�
�Ok, do you want some company?�
�Thanks Pol, that would be good�
Polly was stood looking at the photos on the mantelpiece, there were many of Amiee playing with her mum and dad, but it was two photos that drew
Polly in, one was of a pregnant June at the Christmas party dressed up as the Virgin Mary, complete with bump. Polly smiled to herself recalling everybody laughing hysterically as Jim and June turned up as Mary and Joseph, complete with a straw donkey. The other photo that caught her eye was of them on their wedding day, looking so happy. She was still finding it hard to believe that June was dead, she could still hear the words that June had been shot coming across the radio as if it was just happening now, she could still picture the look of horror on Jim�s face. June had been there for Polly so many times and was her best friend, she had helped her during her problems with Dave and had helped her become a stronger person, working in CSU had been so good for Polly, working alongside June had been brilliant, it had been strange working in there the past week without her.
Polly turned round on hearing Jim�s footsteps.
Jim looked at Polly and realised by the tears in her eyes that she had been looking at the photos �I waited 19 years for June to tell me she loved me too, 20 years for her to marry me, she looked so beautiful that day, I�d never seen her look so stunning�
�You both looked so happy that day, nothing could wipe those stupid grins of your faces for months, then when we thought it had worn off, you both turned up with even bigger grins, we could not work out why you were grinning like idiots, then when June told everyone she was pregnant it all became obvious, just one thing I didn�t get, why did she announce it to the whole canteen?�
Jim laughed � She did it because that was how she announced to the station that we were an item, so she thought it would be a fitting thing to do, well you know what her sense of humour was like, we did look like a pair of prats after June told me she was pregnant, how no one guessed is beyond me. I could not stop smiling when she told me, every time I go into the office in CSU I can her the words she said, I still smile each time I go in there... well, until last week... but I look at this little angel...� He secured Amiee into her buggy and tucked a blanket around her. �And I am able to smile again, I look at her and I can see June in her eyes, her character, her spirit.�
�Jim, if Aimee�s got at least half of June�s character, god help you when she�s older�
�If she�s got a quarter of it, I will be in trouble�
Tony walked into the canteen, he could not believe the number of old faces that had turned up or even the number had contacted the station since it had happened, all of the them were amazed at what had happened and most of them were completely amazed to discover that June and Jim had married and had a child together. He watched as the old faces mingled with those currently at sun hill. Bob Cryer was talking with Gina Gold, Dave Quinnan was talking with Reg and Des and Gary Best was talking with Craig Gilmore, Vicky Hagen and many more old faces from uniform and CID. He knew that Jim would be touched by the amount of people who had turned up to say goodbye to June, throughout the funeral Jim had rarely taken his eyes from June�s coffin and when he did it was to check that Amiee was ok, even at the grave side Jim had not really noticed who had actually turned up.
Ever since June had died Jim�s main priority had been Amiee, everyone at the station were grateful to this as if it hadn�t been for this little girl
Jim�s world would have fallen apart. June had saved Jim so many times, she�d been such a calming influence in his life, Tony had never known them both so happy, he could not still believe that he had been so petty and jealous of their relationship, how guilty he felt about trying to split them up, he was glad that they had sorted things out. He knew he owed it to both of them to be there for Jim now, stupid things that had happened between them no longer mattered, it was now that counted.
�Tony, where�s Jim? Gina asked worriedly
�Is he coming� Bob said, reflecting Gina�s concern
�Yeah, him and Polly have gone back to the house, Jim wanted some time out and wanted to get Aimee�s buggy as she was asleep�
�Is anyone staying with him tonight?�
�Yes ma�am, Polly is going to stay with them, Jim is going to find tomorrow difficult�
�Indeed, thanks Tony�
Tony walked away as Bob rubbed his forehead �What�s happening tomorrow?� he asked Gina rather confused
�Tomorrow is Aimee�s first birthday�
�Oh god, I completely forgot, I still can�t believe that all this has happened�
�I know, the whole nick is still in shock, June and I never got on brilliantly but she didn�t deserve this, Jim doesn�t deserve this and there is a little girl who certainly does not deserve to grow up without her mum�
Jim tapped a glass, the canteen fell silent and everyone turned to look at
Jim, who swallowed hard to overcome his own emotions before beginning to talk. �Um... I would like to say a few things... Today has been one of the hardest days of my life. I know that I still have many more to face, but I would like to thank you, well Amiee and I would like to thank you all for coming... it has meant so much to me that many people thought so much of my wife and have made the effort to come today, I�ve been flooded with messages from ex colleagues and members of the public who thought so much of June.
She was a fantastic woman in many ways, I know to different people she meant different things, she was a brilliant officer, a sparring partner to many, she could become fiery when crossed, as many of you discovered. She was a loyal friend to many as well, to me she was much more to me... she was my best friend, she helped me so many times, picked me up so many times� more importantly she loved me, despite all my faults, she made me the happiest man in the world when we got married, I was still in shock that she loved me and wanted to be with me. I was extremely lucky that my best friend became my wife. She was such a caring and compassionate woman and more importantly she was such a wonderful mother to Amiee... this time last year she had been in labour for 18 hours already and was threatening to chop off parts of my anatomy� Jim laughed �12 hours later she was threatening to divorce me but luckily 1 hour later Amiee arrived and we had never felt so happy, yet scared at the same time.
We have always called Amiee little angel, as we were amazed that we could ever produce something so perfect� I wish that she was still with us, so that she could watch our little angel turn one... but at least a part of June will live on in our daughter and I will always be grateful to my angel for leaving me such a beautiful little angel.'
Back to Homepage Back to Stories