Part 1
'I have bought you a sandwich; I wouldn't want you to waste away. I noticed that you hardly touched any of your breakfast'
'Jim, I'm fine! Stop fussing! I am not an invalid' June snapped.
'I'm sorry; I just love you so much. I can't help worrying.'
'No, I am sorry. I guess I'm just not used to having someone care enough about me to fuss.'
'Well you had better get used to it lady, because I'm not going anywhere!' Jim leaned over to kiss June on the lips. She responded, and kissed him tenderly for a few seconds, before pulling away. 'Ohh, I was enjoying that!' Jim moaned. 'Well, I wouldn't want to spoil your appetite for tonight. Any way constable, we both have work to do!'
'Yes Sarge!' Jim smiled, and walked out of the sergeant's office, almost skipping down the corridor towards SCU.
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A while later June left her office, and walked towards the custody area, in order to get the files she needed, to complete the mountain of paper work she had on her desk. Kerry was stood at the custody desk with a young girl, who had long, scraggly, brown hair, and was wearing a green duffel coat. 'Busy night?' June enquired. Kerry and the girl, who she could now tell was pregnant, turned around. 'Not too bad Sarge.' Kerry replied.
'Lucy!' June gasped, and then pulled Kerry to one side
'Sarge, do you know her? She won't tell us much.'
'Yes, she's my brothers kid.'
'Oh I see, I didn't think you had any family around here?'
'No, they live in Manchester. I have no idea what she is doing down here. I didn't even know she was pregnant. I'm afraid I haven't kept in touch with them as often as I should have. What has she been brought in for?'
'Shop lifting from a newsagents. She only took a carton of milk and a packet of biscuits, but the shop owner insisted on us bringing her in. The state she's in, it's quite obvious that she's been sleeping rough.'
'What on earth has happened to her? She's only 15 for god sake!' June gasped, her mind wandering back to when she was that age, pregnant, and alone. 'Sarge are you OK?'
'Er, yes Kerry. Look do you mind if I have a quite word with her?'
'Yes of course, I will just get Sergeant Smith to book her in.'
'Cheers Kerry.'
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'Auntie June! I am so sorry!' Lucy cried as June entered the soft interview room. Kerry smiled at June and left the two of them to it. 'It's OK Lucy, it doesn't matter. I am more worried about the state that you�re in. Come here.' June held her arms out to Lucy, and took her into her arms. Lucy started to cry, as she held on tightly to her Aunt. After a few seconds June pulled away, and asked her. 'How far gone are you?'
'5 months. I tried to keep it quite for as long as possible. I guess I hoped that it would just go away. Silly ah?'
'No' June replied, remembering how long she had left it, before finally telling her mother about her own baby. 'I take it your parents didn't take it too well?'
'Well Dad hit the roof, as I bet you can well imagine. Mum doesn't know, she left us about a year ago. I haven't heard from her since.'
'I didn't know that, your Dad never mentioned it when I phoned him at Christmas. Oh I am sorry Lucy; I clearly haven't been in contact as much as I should have. I haven't even seen you for a couple of years.'
'It's OK, Dad has always said that you are totally dedicated to your job.'
'That's no excuse. Look Lucy, they will probably release you with just a caution. It's not as if you have been in any trouble before. Please promise me that you will come and stay with me tonight. I am off tomorrow, so I can drive you back to Manchester.'
'No! I am not going back there! You can't make me!'
'OK, we can talk about that tonight. Please come back to mine, its going to be a cold tonight.'
'Oh, ok. But please promise me that you will not call my Dad.'
'I am afraid we have no choice, you are underage. However, you don't have to go back to him, not if you don't want to.'
'Thanks, I don't deserve your kindness.'
'Don't be silly! And anyway, I would like you to meet my Jim.'
'Oh, you've finally found someone. I am so pleased for you.'
'Thanks Lucy', June smiled.
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Jim was already home, and was busy cooking when June and Lucy got back from the station. 'So you must be Lucy then.' Jim smiled. 'I am Jim, June's, well I suppose you could say boyfriend. Pleased to meet you!' Jim held out his hand to her. She shook his hand, and replied, 'Auntie June told me so much about you in the car. She's obviously a very lucky woman.'
'As am I. Look you girls must have a lot of catching up to do. It will be a while yet before dinner is ready, why don't you go into the living room and relax. I will shout you when it's ready.'
'Thanks Jim,' June replied. 'Come on Lucy, we had better leave him to it. He doesn't like to be disturbed when he is creating one of his masterpieces. I use the term masterpiece very loosely of course!'
'Oi! I heard that!' Jim laughed, as he threw a tea towel at her. Have you ever tasted her cooking Lucy?'
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'How's Mark?' June enquired.
'Fine, as far as I know. He joined the navy a few months back, he's based in Portsmouth now. He couldn't wait to get away.'
'Why's that?'
'Since Mum left, Dad has been drinking heavily. He gets very angry when he's drunk. I was planning on running away before he found out about this.' She placed her hand on her neat bump before tearfully continuing, 'I knew he would go mental. He caught me sneaking down the stairs with my bag one night. He grabbed hold of my arm and angrily threw me onto the floor. As he did that, my coat came undone, and he noticed. He angrily slapped me over the face, and demanded to know how it had happened. I knew I had to get out of there. He had attacked me before, but I felt that I deserved everything I got. However, this little thing doesn't, so I grabbed my bag and left.'
'Oh Lucy, I am so sorry.' June grabbed Lucy's hand and held it. 'Why didn't you call me? I would have driven straight up to fetch you.'
'Well you�re partly the reason that I chose to come to London. But I got my purse pinched on the train, and I didn't have your address. Also I wasn't sure that you would welcome me with open arms. Dad did always say that you were the moral one of the family.'
'Oh Lucy, I should have made sure that you knew me better than that. It's not as if Manchester is the other side of the planet. I should have been there for you.' Both were now crying. Jim entered the room with a tray containing two mugs of tea, milk and sugar. 'Oh I am sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Are you both all right?'
'Yes thanks Jim,' June replied.
'Well dinner will be ready in ten minutes. I hope your hungry Lucy, I am afraid I got a little carried away!' Jim left the room, cursing himself for barging in.
'I am so scared; I haven't got a clue what to do. When I found out I was pregnant, I was devastated, yet I knew straight away that I couldn't get rid of it. But I'm not ready to be a mother. Oh I have been so stupid.' Lucy sobbed. 'Well you can stay here as long as you need. Take your time, this is a big decision, it will affect the rest of your life.'
'Thanks Auntie June, you have been so kind. You haven't even asked how I got myself into this mess.'
'I am not here to judge; I just want to help you the best I can. Just remember you�re not alone.'
'Can I ask you something please? Did you never think about having kids yourself? You would have made such a wonderful mother.'
'Well I guess I never met the right man, until it was too late.' June drew a deep breath before adding, 'However I did have a child when I was about your age. A little boy, Robert. I gave him up for adoption.'
'Really! Do you regret giving him up?'
'Not really. Things were different back then, and there were other factors involved which I don't really want to go into now.'
'Do you think that's what I should do?'
'Only you can answer that one Luce.'
'June, Lucy dinners ready' Jim shouted from the kitchen.
'I hope your hungry Lucy, Jim is one hell of a cook! But don't tell him I said that, his head is big enough already!'
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After dinner, Lucy went straight to bed. She was shattered having slept rough for the last couple of nights. Jim joined June on the sofa, and handed her a hot mug of tea. 'Thanks Jim.'
'Your welcome. How is she, she hardly said two words at dinner?'
'Scared, lonely, shattered. Unfortunately it seems that my brother has been knocking her around. God, I should have been around for her and Mark a lot more than I have.'
'Oh June don't blame your self. You can't watch people twenty four seven.'
'Yes but I could have seen the warning signs.'
'You don't need this right now. I know it's hard, but try not to get too involved.'
'But I'm all she has got right now. I know what she's going through don't forget. She is still a child; she needs a loving, secure environment around her. I know you only worry about me because you care so much, but I'll be fine.'
'Just promise me that if it all becomes too much, then you'll talk to me. Any time.'
'I promise. You know that's why I love you so much; you�re so kind, always thinking of others. Come here.' June moved closer to Jim and kissed him on the lips. He made her feel strong; able to face anything that life may throw at her.
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Part 2 - Two months later
June walked into SCU, where Jim was busy working. 'Jim, I am worried. I tried to ring Lucy, but I can't get hold of her.'
'She has probably just gone for a walk or something.'
'But she was shattered, she specifically told me that she was staying in today, to rest.'
'She might have changed her mind. Don't worry.'
'But I can't help it. Look Jim, you have a break coming up in half an hour don't you? Will you go back to ours to check on her.'
'If it will put your mind at rest, then of course.'
'And you'll call me.'
'Promise.'
'Thanks Jim, I had better leave you to get on with some work.'
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Jim opened his front door, and shouted out Lucy's name, but got no response. He looked for her downstairs, first in the lounge, then the kitchen. Next he climbed the stairs, and searched upstairs, but to no avail. He was just about to return to the station, when he looked outside the window of his bedroom. He spotted Lucy lying on the patio, curled up in a ball. He raced down the stairs and outside to where she lay. 'Lucy, Lucy are you all right?' Lucy stirred, and looked up at Jim. She lay in a pool of blood, which seemed to be coming from the back of her head; she also had a bruise on her face. 'Jim, thank god! Help me!'
'Luce it's all right, your going to be fine. I am just going to call you an ambulance, and get something to stem the blood. I promise I won't be a minute.'
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After phoning for an ambulance, Jim returned to Lucy, and pressed a piece of kitchen towel against her head wound. 'Ow' Lucy cried, as it touched her.
'Sorry, but I need to stop the bleeding. Lucy what happened?'
'Dad, he came for me, said that I had to go back with him. But I refused, so he hit me.' Lucy started to cry. 'He was so angry. I decided to run for it, so I ran out of the back door. He followed me, grabbed me and I fell. Ohh, I feel really dizzy. Will you call Auntie June for me?'
'I have already done so, she is meeting us at the hospital.' Lucy started to close her eyes, and then forced them open again. 'I, I am scared. I feel sleepy, but I am scared that I will not wake up again. Please, I am scared for the baby. If they can't help me, make sure they save the baby.� Lucy sniffed before continuing, �if I am not around for the baby, please make sure that it�s happy, that no one ever hurts it. Please'
'Don't be so silly. You�re going to be fine. In a few months it's Christmas. We are all going to spend it together. You, your baby, June and myself. Like a real family, opening our presents, arguing about which film were going to watch.'
'Please promise me! I need you to promise me this!' Lucy pleaded.
'OK, but your both going to be fine.'
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June spotted Jim sitting in the corridor of St Hughes�s A&E Department, and cried. 'Jim! How is she?'
'I don't know, they wouldn't tell me much as I am not family.'
'How was she when they brought her in?'
'Well she was awake when I found her, but I am afraid she lost consciousness in the ambulance'
'Oh god! It's so unfair, that girl has been through so much already. You said on the phone that she had hit her head, what on earth happened?'
'Your brother turned up, he tried to force her to go with him. She tried to run away from him. There was some kind of altercation and she fell, hitting her head on the patio floor.'
'Oh, this is all my fault! He had called several times since she arrived, demanding that she go back to him. I should have known that he wouldn't give up. He always did get his own way when we were children.'
'Stop blaming yourself, you couldn't have foreseen this.'
Jim gripped firmly hold of June's hand, as he spotted a middle-aged doctor come out of the room where Lucy was being treated. 'How is she?' June asked.
'Are you a member of her family?'
'I'm her aunt. How is she, and the baby?'
'Well I'm afraid that she has suffered a brain haemorrhage. We are going to have to operate, to try to relieve the pressure on her brain. Also the foetal heartbeat is a little slow, so me might have to deliver the baby.'
'But it's too soon, she is only just over seven months gone!'
'Look, babies have survived a lot more premature than this. I know it's easy for me to say, but please try not to worry. We will do the very best we can for them.' The doctor then walked away down the corridor.
'Oh Jim, hold me please. I don't think that I can get through this without you.' Jim held his arms out wide, and engulfed June into the warmth of his body. He couldn't bare this. Yet again he had to watch the women he loved go through hell, and there was nothing he could do but wait and hope.
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One hour later...........
'Ms Ackland?' a young nurse in a blue gown enquired.
'Yes, have you any news?'
'Well the operation is going well, although of course it is early days. We had to deliver the baby, a little girl. She's having a few problems breathing at the moment, so we have popped her onto a ventilator. You can go and see her if you want, she's in the special care baby unit, just down the corridor.'
'Yes please' June replied.
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'Oh Jim, she's so tiny. The poor thing, she doesn't deserve this. Neither of them do, life can be so unfair at times!' June grabbed hold of Jim's hand, squeezing it tightly.
'I know love, but I happen to know that they make you Ackland women tough!' Jim laughed; June forced a weak smile in response. 'Come on sweetheart, you have to stay strong for your mummy. She will be so pleased to meet you when she wakes up.'
'Look at her round face June and her scrunched up little nose. She looks like Lucy, doesn't she?'
'How can you tell? Oh Jim, they have to pull through!' June pulled her hand away from Jim's, and walked away from the window where they had been looking at the baby. Jim followed her, and concerned asked 'are you all right?'
'Am I all right? What a stupid question! Oh I am sorry Jim, I guess I'm scared, and cross with myself for being complacent. I just thought that perhaps it was my turn for a little bit of happiness. The last couple of months have been great. You and me have never been better, and with Lucy around, it felt like a real family.'
'What ever happens June, please remember that I will always be there for you. Come here.' Jim took June into his arms; desperate to be whatever comfort he could be to her.
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Four hours later...........
'Well that's good news about the baby isn't it?' Jim enthused.
'Yeah, it looks like she will be all right. I just wish that they would tell us more about Lucy. Surely they should have finished the operation by now?' Just then the doctor that June recognised from earlier, came up the corridor, and approached her. 'How is she?' June spotted the dower look on his face, and instinctively reached for Jim's hand. 'I am afraid that we were unable to relieve the pressure on her brain. We did all we could, but I am afraid that she died 5 minutes ago.'
'No!!!!' June cried out.
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Part 3 - Six weeks later
'Has she finally dropped off?' Jim asked.
'Yeah. Oh god, I'm shattered. I cannot believe that we agreed to take on Emma, I am too old for all this.'
'What, you would rather that she was in care, or being looked after by her Granny?'
'Jane couldn't look after a dog, never mind a child. God knows what would happen to Emma, while she went out looking for her next fix. But Jim I am 48; I'll be a pensioner before she even hits her teens. I can't do this on my own.'
'You don't have to! I will be there for the both of you, I promise!'
'But Jim you cannot guarantee that we will be together forever, life just isn't as straightforward as that.'
'Well I will do everything in my power to make sure that we are, and even if we aren't, I swear to you that I will always be there for Emma, like I am for Ben now. It has always been a dream of mine to be a father.'
'Yes, but you still have a chance to have your own child, your own flesh and blood. Emma could never compete with that.' June looked away, scared of his reaction, longing for his reassurance.
'But June when I first held her in my arms, it felt so right. It's kind of hard to explain, but I know that I couldn't love her any more if she was my own. Look, I know that you are going to be a great mother, you�re so kind and caring.'
'But I am hardly the maternal type, am I?'
'But you love her right? I know you do, your just scared June. I have known you for years now, I know that deep down you have always wanted kids, the right opportunity just never arose.'
'Yeah your right I have. It's hard to explain really. When I had Robert, although the circumstances were so wrong, a part of me still wanted to keep him. I guess you could call it maternal instinct. But I knew that I couldn't offer him anything. After that though, I couldn't really trust a man enough to get that far. In fact your the first man that I can really say that about, it's just a shame that it took us so long to get together.'
'Yeah, but I promise you here and now that I am in this for the long hall. From the dirty nappies, to keeping an eye on her first boyfriend.'
'Oh god help him!' June laughed, then her smile dropped as she remembered Lucy. 'Thanks Jim, we owe it to Lucy to be the best parents that Emma could possibly have.'
'I know. Look, the other day you mentioned that you would like to get her Christened. I am not really into all that God stuff, but I know that it means a lot to you.'
'Yes it does.'
'I take it that we are agreed over godparents?'
'Yep Tony and Polly for sure, I know it would mean a lot to them. We also really need a third, what about Gina?'
'Gina!' Jim laughed. 'But I thought you hated her?'
'I don't hate her; in fact she is really quite nice once you get to know her. She has been wonderful after all that business with Gabriel. She's a softy really, she just has a harsh style of management!'
'Your telling me! Ok, that's fine. Oh, with all these coppers around, I don't think she'll dare step out of line.'
They both laughed. 'I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you. But promise me that if she ever takes about wanting to be a copper, then we will do our best to persuade her otherwise?'
'Definitely, I have seen far too much evil to want a daughter of mine to witness all that. I wouldn't like a wife of mine to be in the force either.'
'You what! Do you have a secret wife hiding somewhere?' June laughed.
'Oh well that was not quite how I meant it to come out, but as it has.......... June Ackland, will you do me the greatest honour of agreeing to be my wife?' June gasped, but she knew her answer instantly.
'Well as long as you don't mind your wife being your bossy old sergeant, then of course I will!'
'Oh June! You have made me the happiest man alive, the three of us can then be a real family.' Jim leant over and kissed her passionately. He was just about to pull her top off, when Emma started to cry. Jim laughed, 'We're going to have to get used to this! I'll go, you save up your strength for later on!'
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Epilogue
Three months later the coppers of Sun Hill gathered at St Luke's Church for a double celebration. The marriage of Jim Carver and June Ackland, and the Christening of Emma Jane.
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