Line of duty oneshots

A close call

Kate sat at her desk in the office of AC-12. She was eyes up at her computer screen, staring anxiously at the set of three white dots jumping up and down one by one. She had managed to gain access to an OCG Chatroom through one of her coworkers in an undercover mission, and despite promising him she wouldn't interfere or log on without supervision, she couldn't let such a valuable lead go cold given too much time. But saying that, she knew straight away it was a bad idea.

From the minute she'd entered the Chatroom it was full of incriminating evidence for one of the biggest murders AC-12 had ever been allowed to assist, so much so that it almost seemed too good to be true. Were criminals really this stupid? Dumb question, she knew they weren't. Kate bit at her nails nervously, tapping her leg against the floor and hovering her finger over the keyboard in anticipation. She knew she must've looked suspicious as hell to everyone else working around her, but she couldn't hide her nerves without exploding.

She felt like she'd been set up, but at the same time was convinced that was impossible. How would she be set up? No one knew she was undercover, her cover was sound as ever, she had the whole unit wrapped around her finger- but it only took one wise word for someone to figure it out. And what if they had? Her whole body shivered at the thought of a bent copper discovering her actual identity, her actual police unit, her family, her son. Getting a call from a paramedic after they'd been rushed to her address and found her ex husband and son shot in the head with no evidence left behind.

She was nearly sick at the thought, resting her head between her hands as the reality of her situation wrapped around her neck and began to tighten quicker and quicker and quicker as every second went by, until her throat felt physically crushed. She took a sharp breath as she looked back up at the screen, almost choking at the sight of three more messages having appeared since she last looked. Her blood ran cold.

"What about the undercover cop?"
"What one?"
"You know. Take care of it."

Kate could barely breathe. Her mouth felt dry, her cheeks felt hot, her hands were shaking uncontrollably and her lungs were burning. The visions of her friends and family suddenly being thrown in the midst of a huge gang of organised crime, their lives put in harms way and extreme danger because she couldn't keep her cool long enough, started to feel more and more real by the moment. She felt sick, really really sick. She glanced around the room at all the other AC-12 officers, her eyes feeling blurry and fogged.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, everyone walking past and smiling at each other, taking sips of their steamy coffees and leaning back in their chairs. All while she watched a group of thugs talk about her assassination. Her heartbeat sounded loud in her ears, like a siren blurring underwater that she had no way of blocking out. It hurt.

Steve entered the office through the swinging shutters, scanning his lanyard in. He looked around the room, giving a smile at Chloe as she rushed passed with a stack of files in her arms. He nodded at Hastings through the glass window into his office, getting a small wave back before the gaffer returned to whatever paperwork he was reading.

Steve took a swig of his tea before his eyes landed on Kate sat at her desk, flashing a smile at her before realising her mind was clearly somewhere else. She looked shocked and pale, having lent back in her chair away from her computer with wide eyes and an open mouth. It truly was a sight to see, Kate never lost her cool, yet here she was looking like the ghosts of Christ had appeared before her. He almost felt going over would be a bad move, what if she wanted to be alone or keep to herself? He never wanted to break any boundaries with her, or god forbid- piss her off.

But he couldn't ignore his friend if she needed him, and right now it looked like she did. He strolled over casually, raising a brow as he got right in front of her but recovered no reaction. "Alright mate?" He asked, Kate's eyes darting up to him in surprise. Only upon getting closer to her did Steve sense there was something seriously wrong; her face was white as a sheet and covered with an expression of horror and dread, her pupils were practically shivering as they struggled to maintain eye contact, her whole body looked still and paralysed and she was admitting pure fear.

She looked terrified, in a way The DC had never seen in her before. "Kate?" He said quietly, her closing her mouth and looking back at the computer screen anxiously. "What is it?" He asked again, propping his cup of tea on the desk and moving to stand next to her in attempt to offer some comfort. Kate shook her head slowly then violently, letting out a small mumble and holding her head in her hands. "They've clocked me Steve, they know- I'm so fu-" she cut herself off and opened the Chatroom back up so Steve could see it.

Steve skimmed the messages quickly, feeling his heart drop at the last few that had clearly triggered Kate. Rightfully so. He put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed reassuringly, but bit his lip in worry at the seriousness of the situation. If Kate's cover really had been blown, she was in serious danger. He could feel her quivering under his hands and wanted nothing more than to hold her and tell her everything would be alright, but all he could do was rub her shoulders and think of what to do now.

"My family Steve, they're in danger- they're in so much danger we have to do something." She was on the edge of a meltdown, but Steve nelt down to her level and looked her in the eyes. "Kate listen to me, we'll talk to the gaffer, we'll get you and your family protected. I swear I would never let anything happen to you, understand me?" It broke his heart to see her so worried, it was a sight he almost forgot could exist. Kate was such a strong person, but even she couldn't compose herself in such a situation.

She cracked a small smile at Steve, melting into his arms and breathing in his sent. It was a smell completely unique to him, one of strong coffee and mint and aftershave. He smelt of comfort and warmth, everything Kate needed right now. Steve wrapped his arms around her delicately, closing his eyes and absorbing the moment like it'd be his last. He never wanted to see Kate so upset, but he feared there was nothing he could do to ease the pain. Nothing except embrace her and remind her that he would do everything in his power to keep her safe, even just in this moment.

They both jumped at the sound of another message on the Chatroom, instantly rushing to look for themselves. On instants it felt like a heavy weight was lifted for their shoulders, a breath of fresh air.

"Taken care of, East mits Melder."

Kate could've cried. That wasn't her department, that was one up in Glasgow. They couldn't have been talking about her. Steve felt his friend relax against him, and he himself let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding in. The idea of Kate being exposed to such dangerous people or put in harms way made his stomach churn, but she was a police officer. One of the best at that. He put his arm around her and squeezed, resting his head next to hers.

"Don't ever scare me like that again."
"I'll try, just for you mate."

He gave her one final squeeze before getting up and retrieving his cup, the tea of which had gone stone cold and murky as the milk began to rise to the surface. He wasn't in the mood for any form of caffeine now, but he knew Kate needed some. "I'll just talk to the gaffer and see if he thinks is okay for you to continue undercover or best to pull out, just in case. Then I'll grab you a cuppa and a biscuit, you look like you need some sugar." He grinned again her, relieved to see her smile back.

As he walked away, Kate let her head fall into her hand and sighed. "God, what a night..."