three weeks.
Janet is just trying to walk down the corridor when suddenly a hand reaches out and drags her backwards into the bathroom. She’s pretty sure her life flashed before her eyes until she turned around and it was Rachel bloody Bailey.
“Jesus Christ, Rach! I thought you were trying to kill me.” Janet says, smoothing down her clothes and hair, calming herself down.
“Sorry, but I needed to talk to you.” Rachel touches Janet’s arm gently.
“Good morning, Janet. Would you like to come into the bathroom and have a chat?” The blonde says, wide eyed and a bit pissed-off.
“Gill.” The younger woman begins. “She-“
“She’s not reported you has she?”
“What?” Rachel screws her face up. “No!”
“She said… Wait for me.” Rachel says it like she’s revealing the twist at the end of a film, arms outstretched.
“Sorry. She said-“ Janet’s face is an absolute picture.
“Wait for me.” The brunette says slowly, punctuating every word with a full stop.
“Wow.” Janet says, propping herself up on the sinks next to the brunette.
“Yeah, alright. I’m not that bad, Janet.” Rachel rolls her eyes jokingly.
“No.” Janet says and then says “No.” Firmly. “Sorry, it’s just a bit-“ She does something flail-y with her hands.
“Confusing? Mental?” Rachel doesn’t think there’s a word in the english language to justify it.
“Not mental. Confusing, yes. Not mental.”
Rachel scoffs and Janet scoffs right back at her. “You really don’t see it, do you?”
“What?” She says, eyebrow raised.
“Jesus Christ. You’ve got all these men, and now women chasing after you all the time, begging you to stick around, asking you to wait for them ‘cause they can’t bear to be without you, you think it’s for nothing? Aside from the fact that I personally think you’re a knobhead, you do look like you were dropped down by an angel. And you’d do anything for someone you loved. You’re funny, you’re intelligent-“
“You’re not gonna try and snog me now are ya?” Rachel interrupts with a smirk, nudging Janet’s shoulder with hers, mostly to get her to stop going on about it.
“This is good, Rach.”
“It’s gonna drive me mad. She’s gonna drive me mad.” Rachel whines, throwing her head back.
-
Back in the station, the team are all back at their desks working on a case that had them all dragged away from another day trying not to actually melt, and back to work.
Rachel’s eyes are flickering from Janet, to her computer, and occasionally (every two seconds) to Gill’s office, who’s blinds were down in attempt to keep the sunlight out. Before she knows it she’s ignoring Janet’s shaking head and is knocking on the boss’ door.
“Hello-o-o.” Rachel whispers in a sing-song voice, which she immediately hates herself for and drops the act, stepping in normally and closing the door behind her.
Gill has to pretend it doesn’t make her heart swell, but she’s certain Rachel must be able to see that trace of a smile on her lips - or she would’ve immediately about turned back to her desk.
“Hello-o-o.” Gill says in a mocking tone, not looking up from her computer.
“Shut up.” Rachel says, and that gets Gill’s eyes on her.
“Oi. I’m still your boss.”
“Yeah, and don’t I know it?” Rachel says, slowly approaching the older woman’s desk. “Three weeks, four days and about…She’s right by Gill’s ear now, she reaches a hand out and wraps her fingers around Gill’s wrist, lifting it to check the time on her watch. “… Six hours?”
The shiver that goes through Gill’s entire body at the physical contact with the other woman makes her want to say about a million things other than what she’s about to.
“We can’t.” Gill whispers to Rachel, who’s nose is nudging her ear.
And then Rachel whines like a teenager, stropping off to the chair across from Gill’s desk.
“Can’t we just sneak about, keep it a secret, come on, it’ll be exciting.” She says and Gill’s head snaps from her screen to Rachel, eyes peering at her over her glasses.
“You wanna keep a secret in a room full of detectives?”
Rachel rolls her eyes “I’ve got loads of secrets.”
“Oh, yeah? Like what?”
“Liiiike, the boss fancies the pants off me and is spending her final three weeks in the job thinking about how she’s gonna spend her retirement sh-“
“Thanks, Rachel. That’ll be all.”
“Have you…” Gill says, taking off her glasses as Rachel is about to open the door. “Told Janet?”
“No.”
“Yes, you have.”
“Yeah. I have.”
“No further, then.”
“Never.”
Gill gives Rachel a smile and a wink on her way out the door, ‘cause if she knows anything about Rachel Bailey, it’s that she’ll have herself convinced she hates her by the end of the hour. And she knows Janet wouldn’t say anything anyway.
-
As the work day, or more accurately, the work night, is coming to an end, the team are doing their usual routine of pretending they don’t want to go to the pub when Rachel asks, even though they all end up there without much of a fight.”
“I should get an early night.” Says Pete.
“I’ve gotta get back to the kids.” Janet shrugs.
“Right, kids. Pub. I’m buying!” Gill flounces out of her office, jacket flowing behind her.
Rachel gestures to the room as if to ask if they’re about to turn down a free drink and suddenly the whole team is headed down The Welcome.
“Oops, sorry.” Gill says as she sweeps past Rachel, gripping her hips to move her aside.
This is going to be the longest night of Rachel Bailey’s life.