Written by: Gemma

Date first published online: 24TH October 2004

Archive: Just ask me

Disclaimer: Jack Morgan, Carole Webb and Geoff Pearce are copyright to London's Burning, all other characters are copyright to the author.

Authors notes: Apologies for not completing a new chapter in ages! I have been stuck on the direction of the story and I've also been busy with uni.

Starring: Main: Jack Morgan, Carole Webb, Geoff 'Poison' Pearce, Leading Fire fighter Darren Downing, Fire fighter Bob McCallum, Fire fighter Andy Bacon, Fire fighter Marc Arun, Fire fighter Bryan Phillips and Fire fighter Gavin Austin. Extras: Fiona,

Summary: Andy completes his last shift and bids a farewell to the Watch, as Carole gets a surprise when she visits Jack... PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

A couple of days passed and Andy completed his last shift. He had applied for his transfer a number of weeks beforehand, but managed to keep it quiet. To be truthful, he didn't really know how to tell the Watch. Andy had been a member of the Watch for three and a half years and plucking up the courage to tell them he was going was nearly as bad as saying good-bye.

"Drinks are on you, aren't they Andy? Seeing as you are leaving us..." Bryan grinned, as the Watch, with the exception of Jack, Geoff and Gavin, heading towards the bar in The Hope.

"Shouldn't it be the other way round?!" Andy laughed, "I'm leaving, so you should all treat me!"

"Whatever the case is going to be, you won't be able to walk by the end of the night!"

As Bryan and Marc stood at the bar with Andy, who ordered the first round; Bob and Downing sat themselves down.

"Do you know if Gav'll make it?" Bob asked, as Downing shrugged.

"He's working tonight, but said he'll pop in some when. But he can't drink can he? So he'll probably make an appearance near closing time." Downing remained silent for a while, before adding, "Have you heard anything from the Sub?"

Bob nodded, "I called him last night. Said he was in A and E for hours! I think he'll be stuck at home for a couple of weeks yet!"

Downing grinned, "He puts his life in danger to save others and gets hurt in the process!"

During the pause between the conversation, Marc, Andy and Bryan appeared with a number of pints of lager and green coloured shots.

"Who are they for then?" Bob asked, glancing in Bryan's direction.

"The tooth fairy!" Bryan replied with sarcasm, "Who do you think they're for?!"

"I thought you told me one of your lads was having a leaving do in the pub?" Fiona asked, as Geoff sat down on the sofa and picked up a newspaper, which was sat on his coffee table.

"I did..."

"So..." Fiona stared at him prompting, which caused Geoff to place the newspaper back down on the table. "... Aren't you joining your Watch then?"

"It's not my scene," Geoff replied, stubbornly, as Fiona sighed.

"Oh come on! A member of your crew is leaving, the least you can do is join the crew, even if it is just for one drink!"

"I'd probably be cramping their style, won't I?" Geoff tried to think up a reasonable excuse, "They don't want their Station Officer there, do they?"

Fiona shrugged, as she turned her attention to their daughter, who was colouring in a picture of a teddy bear with a bright green crayon. "You won't know until you turn up, will you?"

TV always did seem boring when you weren't used to being confined to your house.

Jack hated it.

The previous day he had spent hours in the local Accident and Emergency department to be told time after time that the doctor was on his way... The doctor was on her way... And by the time he was actually seen by a doctor; if his bite was by anything venomous like a snake, he would probably have been poisoned to death!

As the BBC London Evening News title music began to roll, Jack's doorbell rang, causing him to curse out loud. Walking and just generally moving was painful and a trip to the front door would take quite some time.

Jack slowly manoeuvred himself off of the sofa and onto his feet, in the best way possible to try to lessen the pain. The painkillers helped too, but didn't get rid of the pain completely.

The doorbell buzzed throughout the house again, "I'm coming... I'm coming..." Jack murmured quietly to himself, as he reached the hall and slowly made his way down his downstairs hall.

As Jack reached his front door, he slowly opened it, wincing in the process from the pain it caused.

"Hey," Carole offered him a small smile, noticed his stressed expression.

Carole had been attending a conference over the past couple of days at the LFB's main headquarters and was informed of the accident, after returning to Area HQ that evening.

"I just heard," Carole revealed, "Are you ok?"

Jack forced a smile and nodded, "Yeah, I'll live."

"Good," Carole replied quietly and simply, before going silent.

Jack couldn't help but feel the conversation going slightly stale, "Is this a formal visit?" he asked, noticing Carole was dressed in her formal Brigade uniform.

Carole watched Jack's gaze, then looked down at her uniform. "God no. I attended a conference over the weekend and I got back to HQ a couple of hours ago when the Area Commander told me about your accident, so I thought I'd see how you were doing."

Jack smiled and stood aside, letting Carole in. "I thought for a moment that the Commander might've sent you over here on behalf of the Brigade."

Carole walked in, and then closed the door for him, as Jack slowly walked back towards his living room. "I thought you'd know me better than that!" Carole called out, as she kicked off her shoes and followed him through to the living room.

As Carole reached the living room door, she stopped for a moment as Jack lowered himself onto the sofa and she shook her head and mocked a sigh. "What are we going to do with you?" she grinned.

"Order me a coffin now?"

Carole rolled her eyes and laughed, "Such a typical man! Over dramatic!" she stated as she walked over to the sofa and sat down at the other end.

"You try being bitten by a shark!"

"Lets have a look at it then," Carole asked, which caused Jack to raise an eyebrow in slight confusion. "The shark bite..."

Jack gave a look, as if to murmur 'Do I have to?', before he slowly lifted his loose-fitted t-shirt to reveal a huge white dressing, which covered his stitches, but it did not mask the bruising.

"Ouch," Carole commented, as she glanced up and met Jack's eyes. "It always has to happen to you, doesn't it?"

"Story of my life I suppose," he shrugged.

Carole smiled, and then broke the gaze. "Is there uh, anything you need?"

"Hmmm?"

Carole glanced sideways at him, "A paper, lottery ticket, a coffin?"

Jack grinned and shook his head, "I appreciate it, you know?" he spoke up, as Carole's facial expressions mimicked her wonders of what he meant. "You being here, being a friend. I didn't think you'd want to be anywhere near me after the events of Sheryl's do."

Carole lowered her head; she knew exactly what he meant. "It's in the past and I really don't want to dwell on it. It was New Year's Eve and we'd all had a drink and, to be truthful, I wasn't exactly ignoring your advances."

"But you don't drink..." Jack murmured, catching Carole's gaze, as she glanced up. "And if, when you say 'we', you mean me... I hadn't touched a drop."

Silence followed, as Carole's eyes lowered. She felt awkward, worried and to top it all off - she feared being hurt.

Geoff tentatively walked through the doors of The Hope and glanced around. It didn't take him long to spot his Watch, who were now being very loud and boisterous to say the least!

"It's the Guv!" Marc alerted the others, as Geoff smiled meekly.

"Lads..."

"Joining us for a drink or five, Guv?!" Andy asked, grinning.

"I'll stay for one, I promised Fiona that I wouldn't be long," Geoff informed his Watch, as Bryan quickly interrupted.

"Oh come on Guv! We're not working tomorrow and I'm sure Fiona doesn't mind!"

Geoff sighed and rolled his eyes, "Oh, ok then!"

Bob and Downing looked on grinning. Geoff always kept himself a fair gap away from his Watch socially and from this moment on, things might change.

"I shouldn't have said anything," Jack broke the silence, as Carole shook her head.

"No," Carole shook her head again, "Not at all," she felt slightly calmer now, but she still couldn't help but feel slightly edgy. "The issue..." Carole paused, taking a deep breath, "...Us," she paused yet again, before quickly adding, "It's bound to crop up again some when in the future."

"I do care, you know that?" he spoke up, changing the angle of the conversation.

Carole watched him carefully. She was feeling edgy enough as it was, after treading into a conversation area, which was almost forbidden.

"About...?" she prompted slowly, which seemed to cause his response to slow. Being upfront where feelings were concerned had never been his forte.

As Jack's gaze remained in it's same position, Carole grinned, but as a serious expression remained on his face, Carole's grin faltered.

"If anything had happened to you in that fire... I..."

Carole instinctively closed her eyes for a split second, before she moved over and held a finger to his lips in an attempt to stop the sentence.

"Please don't... I- I'm moving on with my life... I've got to... else I'd go mad, that's why I had to move away for a bit, to get my head together. I know I could've died in there or I could have been permanently scared, but I'm not."

She went on to pause momentarily, as she slowly removed the finger from his lip. "You..." Carole paused, biting her lip, "... You saved my life, if it wasn't for you I'd..."

This time round, Jack felt obliged to silence her. He could see her pain, as her mind visualised the past. As the last words threatened to escape her lips, without any thought, Jack moved in and gently kissed her.

As Jack pulled away, Carole stared at him for a split second, before she moved in and reciprocated his kiss. As the kiss deepened, Jack's hands moved up to her face and then down to her waist.

Gone - Chapter 10 - 24TH October 2004 - Gemma Lambourne(c)