Ben had watched her grieve for Emma. He'd watched as she held her breath while Stone tried to revive her, heard her beg him to keep trying while her nimble hands stroked the dust away from Emma's face. He'd watched as she deflated when Stone couldn't do anymore, their efforts wasted as she slipped away. He'd watched as she threw herself into her work, taking on extra patrols and doing extra shifts, usually night shifts. She'd never been great at keeping up with paperwork, yet he watched as she handed in every report finished and on time, the result of hours spent at the station after her shift was finished. He'd watched as the bags underneath her eyes grew due to less and less sleep. He'd watched her smile falsely at them all; the smile never reaching her eyes.

She still looked the same to anyone who didn't know her well enough. Her long blonde hair tied up in the usual ponytail, her uniform still crisply ironed as it always had been. She still walked through the station doors earlier than everyone else with her favourite coffee clutched tightly in her small hands. Nothing different, except the smile that never reached her eyes.

He could still remember the nights they'd spent down at their local pub with the rest of the SunHill police force, after a hard shift or a particularly good result. She used to laugh along with the rest of them as Nate told them the story of his latest girlfriend and then they'd laugh even more at the glare that he received from Mel, the glare he was oblivious to. They'd watch as Emma antagonised Sergeant Stone and as Smithy flirted with little Stevie Moss.

She'd argue playfully with him about being walked home because he didn't want her walking alone. If he hadn't been drinking too much he'd give her a lift instead. And she'd always fight back. But now, it was like the fight had gone out of her yet she tried to cover it up with fake smiles and piles of work. It was almost as if she lived at the station, rivalling the amount of time DI Manson spent there.

Ben had just come out of the Male locker room when he spotted Mel leaving the station, her flat shoes moving soundlessly through the corridors. Jogging up to walk beside her he tried to make his voice sound casual.

"You haven't seen Sally have you Mel?"

His attempt at being casual had obviously failed as the young PC grinned up at him, her obvious curiosity in the question emitting from her in waves.

"Nah, she left early. Something bout not feelin well"

They had just left the station and as he turned to walk towards his car he felt Mel slip a small silver key into his hand.

"You might need this. She really wasn't looking great when she left."

She was still grinning at him cheekily as he stared at her in surprise, yet he didn't bother to ask how she had known he would drive straight to Sally's flat after leaving here or why she had a key to Sally's flat in the first place. He raced towards his car, anxious to get to Sally when he remembered Mel.

"See you in the morning…and thanks!" he shouted as an after thought to the small woman who was still grinning at him from outside the station doors as she waited for Nate and Leon to come out. They were undoubtedly off for a well deserved drink.

Ten minutes later he found himself standing on the dark street outside the building she lived in. He'd been here before after walking her home but he'd never actually been inside. And although the situation was completely innocent he felt slightly nervous at entering. He was still stood outside shivering in just a short sleeved shirt when middle aged woman left the building.

"I wouldn't go in there unless necessary. There's some kind of argument going on in apartment 3 and there's a hell of a lot of screaming going on in there." She continued to walk past him as she pulled her long dark hair up into a neat and tidy bun.

Flat 3

That was Sally's flat.

His mind went in to overload as he raced through the door and took the stairs two at a time until he reached the floor her apartment was on. Taking the silver key out of the back pocket of his jeans, he realised that either the woman had been lying or something bad had happened because the shouting and screaming she recalled hearing had stopped now, the corridor was completely silent. Using the key he unlocked the wooden door that stood between him and her apartment. Shock registered on his face as he stared at the mess inside.

The picture frames that he assumed had once hung on the creamy walls were now scattered around the wooden floor, shards of glass glittering in the light, the pictures inside the frames had been ripped up and now lay around the base of the upturned sofa. The bookcase on the far end of the room had been pushed over, the books coming dangerously close to the fireplace not that it mattered much when half of the pages had drifted into the adjoining kitchen where he could see what could only be smashed plates and cups with silver cutlery strewn around the floor. The wooden shelves were splintered beyond repair. And CD's had been flung across the room, their cases smashed by what could have only been Sally's feet as she walked across the room.

And in sitting with her back against the wall, her blond hair dishevelled and tears marks staining her pale cheeks, staring blankly at the opposite wall was Sally.

"Sal?"

His attempt at a soft approach obviously hadn't worked as her blue eyes snapped up to stare at him in fright. She'd been too focused on the destruction around her to hear him opening the door.

"Ben"

Her voice cracked as she spoke and the tears threatened to spill over the brim of her eyes. She managed to keep her tears in check though as she went back to staring at the wall, which was even worse than the screaming and crying she had obviously done beforehand.

He took one step inside the apartment and noticed the blood that stained the floorboards. Panic flooded through him as he realised just how much blood was on the floor. His voice laced with worry he spoke softly, more to himself than her but he had no doubt that she's heard anyway.

"What've you done Sal?"