I rushed into briefing ten minutes late, the next morning. The girls had taken forever to get ready, not only making themselves late for school, but also making me late for work. After plenty of yelling and frustratedly swearing at the two of them, I'd dropped them off, then rushed to get here and get ready as quick as I could.

I burst through the door, still doing up the top buttons on my shirt, interrupting the Inspector as she spoke. She turned to look at me, a stern look present on her facial features and I fought the urge to shy away as most eyes were now on me.

"You're late PC Rivera."

"I had to take my sisters to school, won't happen again, Ma'am." I told her.

"Excuses, excuses." She mumbled. "Sit down." She ordered, then continued briefing the relief.

I sheepishly slid into a seat next to Millie at the back of the room, as everyone focused on Gold again. Millie turned to look at me and smiled, as did Ben from his seat in front of me.

"I didn't realize you had sisters?" He whispered.

"Four." I whispered back.

"I didn't know that." Millie whispered.

"There's a lot you don't know about me yet, Millie!" I teased, and turned my attention to Inspector Gold.

"D.I Manson has been planning a raid on a crack house on the edge of the parkway for a while now, and he is going to need your full cooperation this afternoon. I expect to see all of you back here at two o'clock, so I can re-assign your duties. Until then, normal routine. Mel and Will, I want you on the Jasmine Allen. Beth and Arun, regular patrol on the parkway. Millie and Kelsey, down at Canley Shopping Center. Nate a-"

I glanced at Millie and she smiled at me again. I'd only been paired with her twice before, but it was always a good laugh, she was a lovely girl, the only other person that appeared to share some enthusiasm with me.

"At least we're not on the custody desk." She said once Inspector Gold had dismissed us.

"It's an optimism overload with you two." Ben muttered from where he was walking alongside us.

"Anyone else would be complaining, all you'll find down there is a few bunking kids, maybe a few buskers and if you're lucky, someone trying -and failing- to nick something." Will joined in.

I shrugged. "Shopping center ain't too bad, at least it's an easy morning... And I can do some window shopping whilst we're there." I joked.

"Exactly my thoughts." Millie said, laughing. "You two always expect the bad in things."

"Yeah and we're usually right." Ben stated before grinning at me and turning to walk down another corridor.

"See ya later grumps!" I called after him and he waved in response. Millie giggled and I turned to look at her. "You can drive."

"Okay!" She smiled.

Twenty minutes later, we were walking through the entrance of Canley Shopping Center. It wasn't as busy as I had expected it to be, although there were still a few people dotted about. As we walked past the cafe, I looked at the small group of women that looked as if they were in their thirties, sat giggling away with coffee's in their hands and their small children on their laps. Coffee morning, probably. My eyes scanned across the room to the couple sat in the corner eating a fry up, maybe he was treating his girlfriend to breakfast.

I turned my head and looked around at each of the shops. "I really love people watching.." I spoke.

"Me too." Millie replied, and without even looking at her I knew she had that huge grin on her face. "I always wonder what they're up to, how they're related..."

I nodded. "Yeah. Almost like a little story in your head."

"Yeah." She laughed, then spoke again a few seconds later. "Although we're not going to have to imagine with this one."

"What do you mean?" I questioned, turning my head to look at her, then following the direction of her eyes. "Oh."

Walking towards us, with a Clinton's Cards carrier bag in his hand, was Sergeant Smith. He was looking in the window of the shop next to him, and didn't appear to have noticed us. When he did eventually look forwards, he smiled slightly.

"Morning Sarge." Millie spoke up, taking a few steps closer to him. I followed closely behind.

"Morning you two." He answered.

"I'm surprised you're not in bed having a lie in." I spoke, knowing that I would have been if I'd had the day off.

"Nah, it's me Mum's birthday next week, so I've come to grab her a present whilst I've actually got the time." He replied.

"Oh, I see."

"What are you planning on buying her?" Millie questioned.

"I actually don't have a clue..."

I laughed. "I could give you a hand if you like?"

"You're supposed to be working."

"I won't tell if you don't." I smirked.

He blinked a few times, then smirked back. "I had a feeling you'd say that."

I grinned at him, shrugged, then turned to Millie. "Will you be okay on your own for a bit? I'll get you a coffee on the way back?"

She sighed. "Oh alright. One sugar, don't forget!"

"I won't!" I smiled and turned back to Smithy. "Lets go!"

"She's not into any of that sparkly stuff that young girls like.." He spoke as we walked away from Millie.

"Smithy, I wasn't going to suggest buying your Mum something like a sparkly crop top! I know the type of thing a mother would want."

"I should hope so." He smiled. "Actually, I'm glad I bumped into you..."

"Oh?"

We walked into the small M&S store and I explored the room with my eyes before heading up the stairs.

"I was going to get your number from someone.. Not sure who though, it might spark a few rumors, but I wanted to see if you were up for having a drink tomorrow night?"

"Sure.." I answered, smiling.

"Just after what you said yesterday.. I thought it might actually be helpful to discuss what happened."

I nodded. "If you really want to." I paused and pulled my notebook from my pocket. I scribbled down my mobile number and handed it to him. "Here you go. Text me later to arrange where and when."

He took it and folded it up. "I will do." He smiled and tucked it into his pocket. "So, what do you have in mind for me Mum?"

We browsed around a couple of shops, before eventually agreeing on getting her a gift basket of different body lotions and soaps from Lush. He was stunned at the price of it, but also mumbled that his Mum deserved it, earning a smile from me. I guessed that they were close just from the way he spoke about her, but I was going to wait and ask when we went out.

We parted ways at the cafe a few minutes later, when I joined the short queue to buy Millie's coffee.

"I'd better get going." He said.

"Alright." I smiled at him.

"Thanks for your help."

"No problem!"

"I'll text you later on." He informed me.

"Okay."

"See ya." He smiled and walked away.

"Bye." I replied and watched as he walked off. I fought back the urge to squeal excitedly. He asked me to go for drink! Not that it was anything out of the ordinary, but he wanted to go for a drink and talk about something that wasn't exactly easy. I could remember stumbling over my words and crying like a baby whilst telling Kelly and Alyson about the case I'd been on. I mind was so set on being the one to blame for that woman getting stabbed. I still felt guilty, even now. For someone like Smithy that didn't know me that well, it was surprising that he trusted me to talk to me about it... I mean had he even spoken to the Inspector about it? I knew that they were close..

I grabbed Millie's coffee, then headed off to find her. She wasn't far from where we'd left her, and she was watching some kids sat on a bench.

"What's the bet that they're bunking?" She asked as I got closer.

"No bet, there is no doubt about it.. They're definitely bunking." I replied, passing her the coffee cup.

"Thank you." She grinned. "Shall we go and scare 'em a bit?"

"Oh Millie, I didn't realize that you could be so cruel!"

She laughed and sipped some of her coffee, before walking towards the kids. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

The five children looked up at us as we approached. They only appeared to be around twelve/thirteen.. How would they even get off of school grounds? "Narh, we've got a free session."

I looked at each of the children and noticed that one girl at the back looked panicky. "Then why does your friend look so worried?" I questioned.

"She's scared of police ain't she?" The boy that had spoken first replied.

"Right." I spoke, not believing a word that came out of the toe rag's mouth.

"What school do you go to?"

"Canley comp."

"And your names?" I asked.

"You don't need to know that, darling."

I scoffed. As if a child had just called me darling?! "Don't darling me, sunshine. You either give me your names or you'll be escorted back to school in my police car."

The boy smirked.

"L-lily Reid." The girl at the back spoke.

I smiled at her. "Right, thanks Lily. Go on, get yourself back to school sweetheart."

She nodded and turned away from the group.

"Lily, wait!" Another boy spoke up. "Brett Stevens. I'm going to walk with Lily."

"Good chap." Millie smiled and gently patted his shoulder.

"So come on you three, names!" I spoke. No one answered. "I'm sure your head teacher would love to find out that you've been bunking, I'm sure she'd be even more pleased when you three show up in a police car."

The last girl in the group bit her lip, before telling us her name and running off after the other two. The final boys looked at her in disbelief and muttered things under their breath.

"Your friends are quite sensible really, telling us names and going back to school." Millie spoke. "They'll probably get back without any trouble."

"Harry Parker." One of the two spoke up. The other boy punched his arm and glared at him. "Sorry Cameron.."

I smirked. "Cameron... Care to give a last name?"

"No." He glared at us, earning a glare back. Eventually, he caved. "Dickinson."

"Well, Harry Parker and Cameron Dickinson, for being so difficult we're giving you fifteen minutes to get back to school, then we're going to ring your head teacher to see if you've turned up yet." I told them.

"She's lying. She won't call Mrs Davies." Cameron stated.

"Really?" Harry looked at him.

"Yeah, like they'd waste their time on us."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that.." Millie said.

I looked at my watch. "Fourteen minutes now boys..."

Cameron scoffed. "Yeah, yeah."

"PC Brown, could you get the number for Mrs Davies at Canley Comp ready?"

"I can, I'll call through to the station now." Millie pulled her phone out of her pocket and unlocked it.

"Thirteen minutes, I hope you're fast runners..."

The boys exchanged a worried glance and Harry started to back off.

"Come on Cam, lets get back to school!" Harry said, turning to walk away quickly.

"Yeah, right." Cameron grumbled and followed him.

"Twelve minutes!" I called after them, then turned to face Millie.

She locked her phone and pushed it back into her pocket. "Ah, works every time!"

"Lets face it, everyone's a little bit scared of their head teacher."

Millie laughed and I grinned at her.

"I know I was." She laughed again, and the pair of us started walking in the direction that the kids had run. "One more sweep of this place, then back to the station?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

At two-thirty the pair of us found ourselves sat in the carrier with the rest of the relief, as well as a few members of CID. We'd spent the rest of the morning answering calls, before grabbing a quick Refs, and making our way to briefing, where we were all loaded into the vans.

"Fun morning, you lot?" Mickey questioned.

"If you call bunking kids fun..." I spoke, grinning.

"Not as bad as the domestic we had to attend to. All over a bacon sandwich." Mel grumbled.

Arun scoffed. "At least you didn't have to sort out someone that thought it would be funny to streak around the Parkway. It wasn't pleasant at all."

Beth laughed. "For you maybe, I found it thoroughly entertaining."

"That's because you didn't have to chase him, you were in the freaking car!"

We all laughed.

"That's right, girl. Make the men do all the running!" Stevie smirked.

"Oi! You never make me run!" Mickey fought back.

"That's because my Nan could run quicker than you!"

We all laughed again.

"How rude!" Mickey grumbled.

"Alright you lot, we're just pulling in now. You take your orders from Manson and I, you hear?" Inspector Gold spoke up from her seat in the front next to Sergeant Stone, who was driving.

"Yes ma'am." We all answered, looking out of the windows to see where we were.

Once the carrier came to a halt, we all climbed out and stood out of the way, waiting for our orders. D.I Manson got out of his car and walked over to Gold, where they discussed something quietly, before turning to look at the rest of us.

"Two teams, one with Inspector Gold, one with me. We wait until my signal before raiding the building, and I want anyone with drugs on hand arrested.. you got that?! Leave the main suspect to D.C Moss, D.S Webb and I!" Manson called out, all of us listening to him. "Gina, you can chose the teams."

"Alright." Gina nodded and stepped forwards, calling out names and teams.

Eventually, we'd separated and snuck around the building.. Each exit covered. It was silent for a few moments, until Manson's signal was heard over the radios and we all rushed into the building, Tony bashing the back door open for our team.

"Police!" I heard the people in front of me shouting. As I stepped through the door, a bloke bashed into me, trying to run out. I quickly recovered from being knocked backwards slightly, and grabbed the bloke's arm, twisting him around to pin him against the wall.

I heard Will's chuckle behind me and he patted my back as he slid past. "Get him girl!"

Ben also chuckled as he approached. "I'll take him if you want, you carry on."

"Cheers." I smiled at him and waited for his hands to replace mine, before loosening my grip.

"What on earth could you have in your possession for you to be running, eh mate?" I heard Ben mutter as I continued into the house, walking past Sally and Arun that were searching a couple of blokes in the living room. Sergeant Stone rushed past me, trying to grab hold of a bloke that was legging it towards the front door, so I paused for a second, then continued towards the door in front of me. I reached out and twisted the handle, but it wouldn't move. I tried it again, then sighed. It was locked. I looked around to see if anyone was free to open the door for me, but everyone appeared busy so I took it into my own hands... Or foot should I say. I took a step back, made sure that my ASP was firmly in my grasp, then kicked the door as hard as I could. It flew open first try, my heart pounding as the loud crash filled my ears. No one appeared to be in the room at first sight, so I slowly walked in, my ASP still tight in my hand. As I entered the room, a small sound could be heard... I gasped as I realised what it was. A baby's cry was ringing out around the room. I snapped my head around, in search of the child, and a small bundle in the corner caught my eye. I slowly approached it, my heart still pounding and reached out to pull back the dark green sheet in front of me.

Two small eyes under a mop of light brown hair stared up at me fearfully, the crying sound instantly stopping. I pulled back the sheet even further to see the shaking infant, dressed in dark jeans and a blue t-shirt curled up against the wall. The poor thing couldn't be more than two years old.

"Hello sweetie.." I spoke softly, smiling slightly. "I'm a police lady.. I won't hurt you."

The little boy's bottom lip trembled as I knelt down in front of him.

"I'm here to help you.. Come here.." I spoke, holding my hand out to him.

He curled further into the wall, a tear rolling down his cheek.

I hesitated before softly placing a hand on his arm, gently stroking it. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you.."

He untensed a little and mumbled something I couldn't hear.

"What was that honey?" I asked.

"Mama.." He mumbled.

"Come to me and I'll help you find Mama, yeah?"

He stared at me for a second before holding his arms out to me. I smiled and scooped him up, resting him on my hip.

"Come on then sweetheart." I stood up and walked towards the door, poking my head around it, looking for someone to tell. Most of the living room had been cleared by now, and luckily enough Callum was just about to leave the room when I spotted him. "Sarge!"

He twisted to look at me. "You okay?"

I nodded, then looked down at the infant and smiled at him. "We've got a little unexpected guest." I stepped to the right slightly so that the boy came into Callum's sight.

He sighed and looked at the infant. "Right. Stay in here until the house is cleared and everyone's in the vans. I don't want him to see the commotion, it'll scare him."

"He's scared senseless already." I replied.

"Mama.." The boy mumbled again.

I looked down at him. "We'll find her soon, sweetie."

Callum opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when loud footsteps were heard thumping down the stairs.

"Oliver!" A frantic woman's voice screeched. "Oliver!"

"Stop!" D.I. Manson's voice was also heard.

"Get your hands off of me! I need to find my son!" The woman yelled, then the footsteps continued. Callum walked out into the hallway to see what was going on.

It was a few seconds before I heard him speak. "Hang on, you're being told to stop."

"Look, I don't have drugs on me.. I never have and never will! You can search me just as soon as I find my son!" The woman cried, then just moments later she burst into the room. "Oh god, Oliver!" She cried, the relief evident in her voice. She rushed over to me and took the infant from my arms.

"I, er.." I mumbled, unsure of what to say.

As the woman fussed over her son, D.I Manson and Sergeant Stone stepped into the room, followed closely by D.S Webb. They all watched for a second, before the woman looked up and spoke.

"Wanna search me now? I'm clean, have been since I found out I was pregnant with Oliver almost three years ago!"

"Right, well, we believe you for now..." D.I. Manson spoke. "But we'll need you to come to the station."

"Why? I want to take my little boy home!"

"Because you've just been found in a crack den, and your son on his own surrounded by druggies."

She sighed. "You're not going to contact the social are you?! I haven't done anything wrong! I was trying to stop my boyfriend from getting more drugs! Please!" She cried.

"Look, we just want a simple explanation as to why you were here, then if it's all justified you'll be able to go." I spoke up, standing beside the woman.

She hesitated for a second before nodding.

"I'll show you to the car..." Mickey spoke, gesturing for her to follow him.

I watched as the three of them walked away.

"Where did you find the boy?" Manson questioned.

"In that room." I pointed to the busted door behind me. "He was locked in, curled up under a sheet in the corner."

"Where did you find her, guv'?" Callum asked.

"She was having an argument in one of the bedrooms with a man. Stevie and Will detained him, and I tried to stop her."

I slowly nodded. "Looks like she was telling the truth then."

"I hope so." Manson stated, before turning and leaving the room.

Callum looked at me and sighed. "Come on, lets get out there."

"Yes, Sarge." I spoke, heading towards the hallway.

"Oh, and I don't want anyone else dealing with the child. He's your responsibility whilst we're dealing with the mother." He told me. "Oh and great job with him, Kelsey."

"Thanks Sarge." I smiled.