'Fa-arsed bitc.'

DCI Gill Murray checked her watch, keeping an eye on her team as she did. DSI Julie Dodson would be arriving soon, they'd been waiting for a chance to have a get together for months already, but with the myriad of cases popping up to be solved they hadn't had much time.

Fortunately they'd both found a time for a chat, with their latest cases being easy to solve. It was the way of being a police officer, you had difficult cases, and you had straightforward ones, and the two women had both had easy cases recently.

Unfortunately...She also had something else to keep an eye on. Emma Bailey, Rachel's four year old daughter with Nicholas Savage, was in the room with her, the little girl was playing with a teaset with her bear. The nursery had shut, Alison was busy with work so then she couldn't look after Emma, and Janet's mother despised Rachel so much it even extended to her little girl. Rachel didn't really have a close network of friends, and she also hated herself for not having a very close relationship with her daughter, or so she believed, but everyone thought she was a brilliant parent, Gill and Janet included.

Gill had been surprised by the metamorphosis in Rachel's persona the day Emma had been born; before she'd been an impulsive risk taker, now she'd watered that down, and had become more responsible. The moment the little girl had been placed in her arms, Rachel had changed and for the better in Gill's opinion. The DCI remembered full well how Sammy's birth had affected her, it had changed her, made her more mature, it made her buckle down. Rachel was the same, only it had made her a more harder person, more eager to get results so then she could spend time with Emma. Motherhood suited the once wayward DC. She wasn't seeing anyone, as far as she was concerned it was just her and Emma.

Gill hadn't been happy, much, when Rachel had knocked on her door the day before and told her about the nurseries closing, and how she needed a babysitter. Usually she would use Alison, and usually her sister was more than happy to look after Emma when Rachel couldn't. It wasn't a habit of Rachel's, usually she would look after Emma when she could, but there were times when she couldn't, but those were rare. Rachel knew she couldn't ask Janet's mum Dorothy, as the older woman would say the DC was irresponsible, but she would have a brainwave. Ask Gill Murray. She knew Janet would be busy to care for her daughter all day, so Gill was the likeliest candidate.

Gill wouldn't admit it though she was absolutely certain the team knew it but she had a soft spot for Emma. It was similar to the way she loved Taisie and Elise, but different. Emma was so...innocent, and she had so much of her mother in her it was scary. Gill sometimes looked after Emma when Janet or Rachel couldn't, and she had to admit she enjoyed it. She always kept the little girl in her office; she remembered one time Mitch almost tripped over her little teaset, and it was lucky Rachel hadn't been there. The big gentle man had apologised to the little girl for tramping on a toy, just.

" Auntie Gill," Emma's little voice brought her out of her thoughts. Gill shook her head and focused on the little girl. Emma's scalp came level just below her knees, though if she'd inherited her mothers height genes she'd probably be taller than Gill was when she hit her teens. Gill shuddered at the thought of Emma being a teenager; kids changed when they hit their teens, she remembered how Sammy had become sullen and sulky. She hoped fervently Emma didn't become a younger version of Rachel. Her mind snapped back when Emma toddled over to her before sitting down at her feet. Gill didn't mind, she loved looking at Emma, sometimes seeing her as a granddaughter. Out of all the traits she'd inherited from her parents, Gill saw a toddler version of Rachel. Emma was practically identical to her mother, but she was a cuter version. There didn't seem to be anything of Nick Savage, thank god. No eye color, no hair, no facial expression...it was all Rachel. The bastard barrister had almost killed Rachel and Emma with a paid assassin. Emma's face was a chubbier version of Rachel's, though Gill guessed the girl's face would become exactly like her mothers. She already had her mothers eyes and the exact same shade of chocolate brown hair.

" Yes, sweetheart?" Gill smiled.

Emma grinned, showing her little teeth. " Why was you lookin' at your watch?"

Rachel's observational skills and curiosity was something else the little girl had in abundance, she just loved asking people questions, sometimes odd questions that made people exasperated in a cute way, and Emma would pout cutely at them. Her face was looking at her, pouting cutely as she waited for the answer. " A friend of mine is coming round to the station," Gill told her.

" Oh," Emma hefted the little teddy bear in her hands. Gill smirked as she remembered how someone, possibly Nick, had arranged to buy the little girl a doll. The tiny little thing was garishly pink not to mention tacky, and Emma had hated it at once. She'd deemed it, " yucky," scrunching her little face up as she did before telling her mother to shove it in the bin, it was one of the most adorable things Gill and Janet had ever seen in their life. Emma was a bear person, and her Aunt Kimberly had given her more bears than most, except perhaps Rachel, and she absolutely hated the color pink. She wrinkled her nose each and every time she saw the color. Emma seemed to like more stronger colors like her mother.

Emma sat there thoughtfully, and started giggling, " Is it a boyfriend?"

Gill laughed as well, making some of her officers look over in her direction. " No," she shook her head. " Honestly, you Bailey girls have a one track mind. Its another girl. Her name is Julie, and she's a police officer herself."

" Like mummy and you and Auntie Janet, and Auntie Kimmy?" Kimmy was short for Kimberly.

" Oh yes." Gill smiled as the little girl toddled over to her. Gill instantly bent over to help the child onto her lap. " Is Jules nice?" Emma blinked her eyes innocently at her. Gill had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. Wait until Julie heard this, already Emma had chosen a nickname for her.

" She's like me in some ways, and you think I'm nice, right?"

Emma giggled again. " You're you, Auntie Gill. You're funny when you're angry."

Gill didn't know whether to be flattered or annoyed the adorable little girl thought her wrath was funny rather than scary. Her officers cowered whenever she was pissed off, but Emma seemed to like it. " But you do think I'm nice, right?"

Emma didn't have a chance to answer as Julie came in, dropping her handbag on the edge of the desk. " Hiya Slap," Gill smirked at her. Julie smiled at her, her gaze switching between the tiny child and Gill curiously, trying to place her. She could see the resemblance between the girl and someone she knew, but who was it? Then her eyes widened when she realised who the little girl was, Gill had talked about her a lot the past few years, Emma Bailey. Rachel Bailey's daughter. Gill smiled when she saw the realisation, and she turned to Emma. The little girl was normally anything but shy, but when Julie had come in she'd taken to burying her face in Gill's shoulder and peeking out at Julie.

" Emma," she waited until the child's face was turned to her, " this is Julie. Julie, this is Emma Bailey."

Julie nodded. " Hello Emma," she greeted the child, watching her and Gill.

" Hi," Emma said shyly at her. Julie smiled back at her. It really warmed her heart whenever she saw her usually hard as nails friend with kids. She had seen it when Sammy had been a baby, but she was a little surprised to see a child in a police station, in a police office. Then again it was probably not a surprise, she'd met police officers who'd had no option but to bring their kids in to work with them. It was frowned upon, but allowed, and who in their right mind would take a pop at DCI Gill Murray?

Julie remembered when she'd been SIO on the Bevan case; Rachel had sometimes received texts and she would look anxious before Gill, Janet, and Kimberley spoke quietly together with her, and she'd overheard Janet asking how Emma was more than once and sometimes Gill would as well. There were two pictures of a small child on Rachel's desk. Julie had studied them when the DC hadn't been there. Gill had come over once and told her proudly that Emma was responsible for the little painting in her office. It might not have come from Sammy, but Gill hadn't given a damn. Julie had wanted to see Gill with the girl, but it had been so long since then she'd forgotten some of the beautiful cherubic little face in the pictures. Her little face seemed to brighten up the office, and the DC would look at them, and even if she was exhausted one glance would rejuvenate her.

Emma wriggled out of her auntie Gill's lap, and toddled towards Julie. The DSI sent a puzzled look over the toddlers head at Gill, band Gill shrugged. The child was looking at the taller figure without a trace of fear or apprehension on her face, reminding Julie of another person with those same brown eyes. She pointed her little finger at Julie, and said, " Down, please."

Julie looked over at Gill; her friend was looking between Julie and Emma quizzically, but she nodded at her to do as Emma said, but she did say,

" Pointing is rude, Emma."

The little girl pouted at her. " Sorry, auntie Gill. Please, down," she turned back to Julie.

Julie frowned, and bent down as best she could so she was eyelevel with the little girl. Gill frowned when she saw the faces in the window; someone in the office had seen Emma's first meeting with Julie, and so everyone wanted to take a peek. Gill glowered at them before softening her expression back at Emma and Julie.

Emma was clearly trying to be intimidating; she'd seen her mother do it several times, and it worked for her so why couldn't she do it? Unfortunately, with her teddy bear, and kids clothes, the effect of her being intimidating was ruined. When Rachel wanted to be intimidating, the effect worked because of the age difference. Emma's attempt was adorable.

" You nice?" she asked a befuddled Julie, who blinked at the question. Emma wasn't what she'd expected. " I try to be," she replied honestly.

" My mummy says I shouldn't talk to strangers," Emma carried on, blissfully ignorant of the fact she was in the middle of a police station, one of the safest places a kid could be, and this was her beloved auntie's friend. Gill bit her lip at Emma's words, but she couldn't fault the way Emma had taken her mothers teachings to heart.

" And she is very right," Julie smiled at the child, doing her best not to let any of the memories of child cases where a child let a stranger take them away to do god knows what to them appear on her face. Honestly, some of the evil things she'd seen would frighten anyone, and she didn't want to see this girl hurt.

Emma smiled, and she reached into a pocket and pulled out a lollypop. " What're you doing?" Julie asked curiously. Gill chuckled as Emma started adding Julie to her growing list of conquered police personnel.

" You aren't a stranger, so you get a sweetie, Jules," Emma replied. Julie took the lollypop but she didn't say anything about the distortion of her name.

" Thank you," she replied, and unwrapped the sweet before sticking it into her mouth. " Mmm," she smiled through the ball of sugar at Emma.

Emma laughed as she'd made a new friend, over a simple lollypop.

" How often do you look after her?" Julie asked Gill as soon as she'd gotten her tea, keeping her lollypop in her mouth. She had never been given one by a kid before, it was really nice of Emma.

" Depends on whether or not her usual babysitters are available," Gill said as she mused on the problem. " Rachel's got friends here at work, and her social life isn't full of friendships. She has a sister who has kids herself, but sometimes she's swamped."

Julie frowned. " What about Janet Scott? Doesn't she have kids herself?"

" She does," Gill confirmed, " and she and her two daughters love Emma and Rachel to bits, but the same can't be said for Adrian or Dorothy, Janets ex husband and mother. Dorothy wont have anything to do with Emma, she seems to have transferred her dislike for Rachel onto her." It wasn't fair! Dorothy was such a kind hearted woman, to her and to the girls and Janet. Did she just want to keep her love strictly in the family?

Julie shared her friend's sentiments as she watched as Emma played with her bear at a teaset, unable to comprehend why anyone would instantly take a disliking to Emma. She had to shake her head, loving every minute of seeing the girl play, amazed something so simple could be so heartwarming. She'd never had children, what was the point when her friends and colleagues let her be an aunt that wasn't related? Julie had her own family of course, brother and sisters, and they had kids of their own. Julie loved them, but the kids her friends had it was nice for the parents to see her as an honoury figure in their lives.

" Any idea why she doesn't like Rachel?" Julie asked. She'd heard about Rachel Bailey over the last couple of years before meeting her in person; how sharp she was, how brilliant and insightful...Even the Chief constable had put her up on a commendation, and it was even said his own nephew had seen the DC in action. Julie knew the Chief con's nephew personally, and had been invited to dinner one night to discuss police matters with him. Julie had been shaking like a nervous wreck; it was embarrassing, here she was a DSI, and she was shaking in the presence of her senior officers. Thank christ Rowan Rutterford had seen her fidgeting, and had told her the story. Julie had listened to it half heartedly at first before the name Rachel Bailey was dropped. By the end of it the whole table was listening.

" You should've seen her," the young constable had said, " she just took one look at the watch. The next minute - WHAM! she was arresting him. I just stood there like a lemon. I was still stunned when she snapped the cuffs on him, and she snapped at me to get going reporting it to the station. Afterwards I went to apologise for not doing anything, but she stopped me and said she'd once done the same, but she'd learnt from it, and if she could then I could. She was really nice about it, she told me to learn from it. Rachel's what I think being a cop's all about. She just glanced at the watch, now it looks like the guy she arrested killed two other people."

" I don't know why she doesn't like Rachel, no," Gill's voice cut through Julie's reminiscences, " but its not fair she's taking it out on Emma. I mean, she's so cute and sweet. I feel like a grandmother with her."

Julie smirked. " Better not let Sammy or Orla hear you say that."

The smirk vanished a second later when Gill chuckled. " What makes you think they'd be offended? I once had to take Emma home, and guess what. Orla was cooing over her and all that. Within minutes Emma was in her arms, and Sammy had his arm wrapped around Orla's shoulders. I think she's an inch away from begging Rachel to have babysitting rights," she concluded with a smile. It was amazing how well Rachel and Orla got along, but they did.

" Why did you have to take Emma home with you?" Julie asked.

Gill smiled softly; it had pissed her off at the time, but it was amazing how wonderful holding a big, cheerful baby was. " Rachel was in hospital at the time. Her sister had had an accident, so I had to babysit."

" Couldn't she have asked Janet?"

" She would've done, if Dorothy hadn't been there," Gill cameback. " I didn't mind though. I love her so much."

Julie nodded, and then smirked mischievously, " Do you really have babysitting rights?"

Gill reacted without thinking, " You fat arsed bitch-" then she stopped when she noticed Emma looking at her, blinked innocently, and then turned back to her teaset, back to her own little world.

Julie hissed, " Keep it out, I was only teasing you."

" Do you think she'll repeat what I said?" Gill asked fearfully. That was the problem with children, they sucked everything up like a straw, and spewed it all out the next moment in front of their parents. She dreaded Rachel hearing that fun insult she threw at Julie, she remembered how Andy Roper had shouted at Janet when the two had been going out. The sound and level of his voice had roused Emma who'd been asleep in Kimberly's arms, and she'd screamed and cried when Rachel had had one of those days she hadn't been able to find a babysitter. The sound of the baby crying had made Andy lash out before realising what he'd done, but it was too late. He'd been shouting at Janet and she'd been shouting back at him, but the next minute he'd had not one but three women shouting their heads off at him before Gill had dragged him into her office for a tongue lashing he wouldn't forget, leaving Rachel to calm her daughter down with Kimberly and Janet's help.

Rachel was like a mother lioness protecting her cub, and Gill felt the same way.

Julie shrugged. " I don't know," she glanced at the child still in her little world, " I won't say anything if you don't."

Gill laughed nervously. " You don't know Rachel, she'd kill me if Emma says anything." Julie blinked; she'd never seen her best friend scared at the prospect of being shouted at by a DC. Before Julie or Gill could come up with a way to make sure the child didn't repeat the insult, Janet and Rachel strode into the office and hung their coats up. Rachel came over to the door, Gill and Julie's eyes following her as she came to the door. Rachel knocked, and Gill told her to come in.

The moment she saw her mother, Emma shot up and ran straight for Rachel, screaming, " Mummy! Mummy!" before wrapping her little arms around Rachel's neck as soon as the DC had bent down.

Rachel laughed as the force of her daughter slamming into her knocked the air out of her lungs. " Hi, Emmy," she said, pulling back so she could see her daughters face, scanning it. " Did you have a good time with auntie Gill?"

Emma nodded eagerly, " Yep. I gave auntie Jules a lollypop."

Rachel laughed as she looked up at Julie, the latter taking the lollypop out with a wet pop. " Guilty," she smiled sheepishly.

" Its her typical way of making friendships," Rachel said, sending a fond look at her daughter. " Has she been good?" she asked Gill. " She didn't answer your telephone like last time when your back was turned again, right?" she asked Gill anxiously.

Julie watched as Gill's face soured at that with an amused look, but then brightened. Amazing. " No, she didn't. Did you Angel?"

Emma shook her head shyly, remembering the incident in detail. Her mummy had been really angry with her, and whilst Emma was hardly afraid of Gill and Janet, even finding them funny, she was terrified of her mother's unpredictable temper when she was angry, and apologised wholeheartedly to Gill. She was too young to understand how she'd misbehaved, but she was smart enough to know not to do it again. Rachel smiled. " Thanks, sorry for the bother."

Gill fixed Rachel with a glare. " Rachel, I've told you its not a problem. Are you taking her out now?" She felt sad, but knew the little girl couldn't stay inside the station all day. Having Emma around made the day brightened up.

Rachel nodded. " Yeah," she stood up picking Emma up along the way, " Alison rang in the car. She's free at the moment, though I want nothing more than to punch the...idiot for closing the nurseries." Gill and Julie noticed the way she'd paused before saying the word idiot, she truly wanted to say a stronger word but the little girl in her arms stopped her from saying anything rash.

" Anyway, I'd better take her," Rachel carried on, " thanks. Say bye-bye Emma," she said to the girl.

Emma waved at Gill and Julie. " Bye, Auntie Gill, bye-bye Auntie Jules."

" Bye Emma," Gill said, and the little girl came over to hug her and then hugged Julie.

" Make sure your mummy looks after you, or I'll arrest her," Julie joked. The little girl giggled, and said, " Silly Auntie Jules, mummy always looks after me or Auntie Janet would yell at her."

Julie saw Rachel bite her lip at the distortion of her name, but was grateful the DC hadn't called her up on it. She was amazed by how quickly Emma had accepted her. They watched as Rachel and Emma said bye to Janet, Emma hugging the life out of her dear aunt, before leaving.

Julie and Gill looked at each other, and they sighed a sigh of relief -

" BOSS! WHY DID MY DAUGHTER JUST SAY ' FA -ARSED BITC'?!" Rachel's scream made them jump. Some of the men in the office cowered away.

Janet looked at them, pity in her eyes. Julie wasn't sure if she or Gill needed pity, but a priest or an armed police detail, " You're in trouble now. My mother said something horrible about Emma, I had to hold Rachel back from killing her."

Julie and Gill swallowed as Rachel came striding back, her face furious whilst Emma looked at her confused and a bit frightened of her mother's seething temper. This was not going to be nice.

A/N; I know its short, but I wanted the general mood. It's such a shame the baby died in the first season, something tells me Rachel would've been a good mother and a lot of grief she and Janet would've gone through would've been averted if the baby had survived.