He walked over to his desk, and opened the lower drawer; under it was a secret draw. He lifted the panel upwards, and inside it was their photo album of their trip to Paris for her Birthday. He lifted it out, and rested it on his wooden oak desk. He walked over to the liquor table and poured himself another glass of Brandy; already the decanter was half empty. He lifted the decanter up along with his glass and placed it beside his red leather chair. He picked up the photo album from the desk and slumped into his red leather chair. Already his eyes were filling up with emotion, as he would see her face. Picking up the Brandy filled Waterford Glass, he sipped at it, as he opened the album. His memories and thoughts of her were circling in his mind, he had the photo album perched on his knee, as he turned the plastic film covered pages, he gazed at their portraits of their happier times. He found one photograph that stuck out in his mind, one he�d taken by the river at Monmartche, the moon shone and its glistening, jewelled ripples of the rivers motions reflected in her auburn hair. He gently caressed the image of her face; her smiling portrait made him react to her and grinned sorrowfully, while tears formed in his eyes. He remembered that moment well, the moment when their lips met each other, and kissed. It was the most romantic time they had together; they could be together without fear of hiding their love from others. He did not care how unprofessional it was to cry, even over a woman. He who�d never shed a tear when he was shot or injured badly, but now he cried, he cried long, deeply and emotionally. He felt as thought he�d lost a part of himself, in a way he had. She�d been all he thought of, had dreamed of and wanted, but now she was gone. Gone but not forgotten, as he knew she would always be in his heart.
Emma�s thoughts

It was a little over one o�clock, when Emma still lay there in her bed, their bed, with Peter. She was not alone anymore, but now she felt more alone than she had ever felt in her life. She seemed to be lost in her own emotions of Steed; she tried not to cry, to make a noise, to wake her sleeping contented husband. But she couldn�t take it any longer; tears formed in her eyes as she carefully slipped out of her bed, and walked over to the window. The moon shone through the white curtains, as she held one open and gazed out into the night. A stray tear rolled down her cheek, as she could feel her heart beat faster, as she looked up at the moon�s crest, and remembered one moment they spent together in Monmartche, by the river. She could still feel him, the scent of him, the touch of him, and his voice. The remark he made to her, as he whispered in her ear:
�tis the moon that shines at night, but tis my heart that lights up every time I�m near you�
She remembered the kiss that followed, their long and romantic kiss that seemed to last a lifetime; how she wished she was still there with him, as she gently whispered his name �Steed�. Her eyes swelled with emotions as she made her way to the bathroom. She closed the door trying not to wake Peter, and sat on the toilet seat and cried, long and deep, tears streamed down her face as her feelings could no longer be controlled. She heard the rustles of bedclothes as her husband woke, she could hear his footsteps coming closer to the bathroom door. As she wiped away her tears, she flushed the toilet, opened the door, and walked past Peter and returned to bed, pulling the covers up and around her as she tried to hide away her reddened, swollen eyes. Peter simply closed the bathroom door behind him. And she tried to sleep.
Steed�s thoughts

It was 8:30am and still he sat there, red eyed and deeply hurt, the photo album still perched on his knee, his memories and thoughts of her were replaying over in his mind. The pieces of the Brandy glass lay were they were thrown last night in sheer emotional frustration. Suddenly the telephone began to whirl, Steed didn�t even flinch, just ignored it until it rang off. His eyes burned, his mouth dry, he still could not get over the fact he would never see her again. He wondered if she was feeling the same sense of loss he was feeling? But he hoped she would be okay, that she would be happy. The phone rang for the second time, this time it rang non-stop, as if the caller new he was in, and wanted him to answer it. Steed made no intention of talking to anyone today; he wasn�t in any fit state to see anyone let alone talk to them as well. It was a little over 8:45am when a knock came at Steed�s door, Steed didn�t even indicate that there was someone waiting to see him, he just sat there, and stared into his empty glass. Suddenly the door flew open, it was Mother, Rhonda was pushing him into the expensive apartment. Mother noticed the broken glass pieces on the floor near to the electric fire.
�Leave us alone. We need to talk.� Mother told the tall, blonde, quiet girl. She nodded slightly to him, and left closing the red door behind her.
Mother wheeled himself over to where Steed was trying to get some recognition from him, he snapped his fingers, while gently, but forcefully calling his name.
�Steed, Steed old boy. Are you ok? It�s Mother� John?� Mother asked him quizzically
Steed looked up, there was pain in his eyes as he said, �Do I look ok!?�
�No, you look�well you look?� Mother hesitantly tried to think of something to reply with.
�What? Ridiculous, stupid, hopeless, pathetic? How do I look Mother?�
�Well you look�upset� Mother, replied, trying to make him feel like he knew what he was going through.
�Upset, Upset!�Upset is NOT the word!! Angry, resentful, surprised�� Mother interrupted him. �Hurt?�
Steed looked up at him, his eyes hiding the tears that tried to escape, and barged his way past Mother, to get to the liquor table.
He noticed there was no Brandy left, and lifted the glass, and banged it back on the silver tray.
�I think you�ve had enough� Mother said, looking at the broken glass pieces that lay scattered on the floor.    He angrily said, �And what would you know about it!?�
�I know how much you cared about her� Mother replied.
�Oh, you do now do you?� Steed still had his voice raised.
�I think you need sometime alone, to let things sink in, take your mind off it, Eh?� Mother said to Steed trying to help.
�And you think that will help do you, just sometime in the sun? And I suppose when you sent, Miss King over, you thought I�d just carry on as if nothing had happened, go back to work and it would all be over! Well you thought wrong Mother!! For once Mother doesn�t always no what�s best!!� Steed managed to furiously shout out at Mother�s judgement of Mrs Peel�s departure.
�I�m sorry Steed�I didn�t think� I thought, well, I�� Mother frustratingly tried to think of something to reply to his outburst, but looked at his hurt eyes, and saw what state he was in over Mrs Peel. In a way he couldn�t find anything to reassure him it would be ok, that it was for the best. But Mother had known of their relationship, knew what they had felt for each other, but he genuinely thought to get Steed back into his job, as quickly as he thought he could, to take his mind from it altogether would help.
Unfortunately during this time he was thinking. Steed was searching hurriedly for something to drink. He found a bottle of Malt Scottish Whisky, and tearing his way at the bottle top, he managed to pour himself a very large double Scotch. He gulped the contents down urgently, allowing the strong alcohol to take effect on his throbbing conscience.
Mother said �It was wrong of me to make judgement of the situation, Steed, I�m sorry�But it was a bit of a surprise!�
�A SURPRISE! TO YOU! What do you think it�s done to me!!� Steed replied in a rather heated tone of voice.
�We had no idea he would be found, let alone alive!!� Mother announced.
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