Work Text:
Kate sighed and slowly hunched over, letting her head rest on the steering wheel and wrapping her arms around herself. She needed to get herself together, needed to compose herself before she went inside, desperate to convince the person who knew her better than anyone else that she was fine, that she wasn't in some of the worst pain she'd ever felt in her life. She knew she couldn't stay in the car too long so reluctantly she forced herself to sit up straight, biting back a cry of pain as she stretched out her leg to stand from the car. She needed to shower and take some more painkillers and maybe have a strong drink to help her sleep through to morning, it was almost 10pm and, although she usually didn't like staying at work this late, tonight she was half glad that she wouldn't have to spend quite as long trying to convince her partner that she was okay.
"It's me" she called as she locked the door behind herself.
"Everything okay?" it was the thing Kate loved most about being with someone else in the force, they always understood when things got crazy at work.
"Yeah" Kate lied, steadying herself against the wall as she kicked off her shoes, not bothering to untie her laces, not even sure she'd be able to bend down if she wanted to. "Just gonna jump in the shower then I'll be down" she said as she slowly peeled off her hoodie, every movement agony.
"Okay Love, your dinner's in the oven, I'll warm it up when you come down."
Kate thanked her partner before slowly climbing the stairs, knuckles white as she gripped the bannister, tears forming in her eyes as she forced her body to move more than it wanted to. She knew Hastings would have insisted on her going to the hospital if she'd told him that she'd been hit by a car, so she'd put on a brave face, told him she was fine and focused on getting through what she needed to get through so she could go home. She didn't bother to lock the bathroom door as she began to undress, peeling her shirt from where the blood on her grazed skin had began to dry and she caught sight of the bruises on her side in the full length mirror, but when she tried to take off her jeans, she couldn't hold back a yelp of pain. Not only were her muscles sore from the exertion but her bullet proof vest had taken some of the force of the fall, her lower body hadn't been so lucky, her inner thighs were red from where the seams of her jeans had rubbed at her skin and her right leg, from hip to knee was already beginning to bruise. "Fuck" she whispered to herself as she caught sight of her almost naked body in the mirror, briefly wondering, amongst other things, how she was going to take off her socks.
"Kate, is everything okay? I heard you…"
"Don't come in."
Kate's feeble protest was too late as she saw the doorknob twist a moment too late and she came face to face with the brunette she hadn't seen in over 12 hours, her face falling as she took in Kate's injuries, "Christ Kate, what the fuck happened to you?" Kate mumbled something under her breath and got a raised eyebrow in response, "do you want to say that again Kate? Because I'm sure I didn't just hear you say you got hit by a car."
"No, you heard right" Kate sighed awkwardly as she stood completely topless, wearing nothing but a pair of black cotton pants and her jeans stuck around her knees.
"Kate! Why didn't you call me? Why didn't Hastings call me? At the very least I could have driven you home from the…" Kate dropped her gaze, "please tell me you've seen a doctor?" Kate shook her head, "what the… what was Hastings playing at? You…"
"It's not his fault" Kate protested, "I was on my own, I didn't, he doesn't know, there was…" she sighed again, "it's complicated and I'm really tired" Kate felt tears pricking at her eyes, "I'm sorry."
"Oh don't be sorry Darling, I'd hug you but I don't want to hurt you." Kate said nothing but turned towards her partner and almost threw herself into the waiting arms, not caring about the pain she caused herself as she began to sob. "Okay, okay" Kate felt gentle fingers comb through her hair, "it's okay."
"I'm sorry" Kate whispered, "I'm so sorry Jo."
"You don't need to apologise Darling" Jo kissed her forehead, "I'm just worried about you, and I know you're going to hate me for saying this, but I think we need to find you something you can wear comfortably and then take a trip to A&E."
"Jo…"
"I know" she gently scratched at Kate's scalp, "but that's some nasty road rash on your arm, and I want to make sure those bruises aren't hiding anything more serious." Kate pouted but didn't protest and Jo placed a gentle kiss to her pout, "I know" she said softly, "but the sooner we go, the sooner we'll get back" she said softly, kissing Kate again before bending to help Kate step out of her jeans, "Kate" she whispered when she saw how red and inflamed the skin on her inner thighs was, what…"
Kate sighed again, "I ran a lot" she didn't even want to think how far, "not recommended in skin tight jeans."
"Oh Kate" Jo placed a soft kiss on each of Kate's thighs, avoiding her damaged skin so she didn't cause her any more pain than she was already in, "let's get you something to wear."
Nothing in Kate's wardrobe seemed remotely comfortable, so Jo moved onto her own wardrobe, picking out a strapless maxi dress, the elasticated top meaning that Kate could step into it and it would just about stretch over her hips so she didn't have to try and move her sore arms. "I look a twat" Kate rolled her eyes when she caught sight of herself in a floral summer dress and bright blue socks covered in cartoon frogs.
"I don't know what you mean" Jo smirked as she took a wide cotton scarf from her wardrobe, "the socks are perfect. You could wrap this around your shoulders if you want? Or we can try and get you into a jacket?"
"My hoodie's downstairs."
"Okay" Jo nodded, quickly changing from the pyjamas she'd put on after her own shower earlier that evening, pulling on a pair of Kate's sweatpants and a tshirt. "Do you think you'll be more comfortable in my car or yours?" she asked, letting Kate lean on her as they slowly walked back downstairs.
"Mine" Kate said softly as she tried not to cry from the pain, almost every inch of her body hurt and she just wanted to lay in her bed and never move again. "I think I'd struggle to get into yours."
"Okay" Jo opened the passenger side door of Kate's car once she'd helped Kate into her trainers and hoodie, moving the seat back to give Kate space to stretch out her leg. "Do you want a cushion or anything?"
Kate shook her head and reclined the seat slightly, trying to make herself as comfortable as she could, "just go slow over the speedbumps."
"I'll go as carefully as I can" Jo kissed Kate's forehead, reaching around her to fasten her seat belt for her.
Jo wanted to cry herself as she heard Kate sniffling in the passenger seat beside her, every hiss or yelp of pain was like a dagger straight into Jo's heart, it killed her to know the woman she loved was in so much pain. She was almost desperate to ask what had happened, how Kate had been hit by a car yet managed to hide it from all her colleagues, how no one had noticed how much pain she was in. Luckily Jo's mention that Kate was a police officer and that she'd been hit by a car meant that they didn't have to wait for too long to be seen and the nurse's eyes widened when Kate told her she'd been hit by a land rover and then forced herself to get up and keep running.
It was almost three am when Kate and Jo left the hospital, Kate's arm had been cleaned and dressed, the pristine white bandage running from shoulder to wrist meaning the shower Kate was so desperate for was out of the question, she'd had a chest xray and her entire leg had been x rayed too, luckily revealing just one cracked rib, she'd been given crutches to help her until her leg wasn't quite so sore and a prescription for enough codeine to see her through the next couple of days until the pain started to subside.
"Let's get you home" Jo said softly once they were back in the car, yawning loudly before telling Kate, "I think we both need to take a sick day tomo...today."
Kate nodded, "I think once I get into bed I'm going to struggle to get out again."
"That's okay" Jo smiled tiredly, "you don't have to go anywhere."
"I love you."
Jo smiled and squeezed Kate's hand before backing off the drive, "I love you too Darling."
It took a while for Kate to make her way upstairs once they were home, Jo had briefly wondered about suggesting they slept on the sofa but she wanted Kate to be as comfortable as possible. She helped Kate use the bathroom before moving her through to the bedroom, Kate not wanting to bother with the effort of pyjamas, letting Jo help her from the dress before shuffling under the duvet in just her pants and frog socks. There was a lot of shuffling and fidgeting and even some tired tears as Kate tried to make herself comfortable, "I'm sorry" Kate whispered into the darkness, "I can sleep on the sofa?"
"Don't be silly Darling" Jo reached out to take Kate's hand, "what if we swapped sides?"
"What?"
"If I was on your side of the bed you could lay on your good side and then you can lay on me like one of those big full body pillows, and if it helps, I'll order you one of those pillows tomorrow." Kate was silent, not sure what to say, she was tired, she was uncomfortable and her head was still buzzing from everything that had happened in the past 12 hours, "come on" Jo's voice broke her from her thoughts, "let's give it a go." They'd already moved into the middle of the bed, so there was room for Jo to slip in on Kate's other side, making herself comfortable before helping Kate roll over, Kate letting out an exhausted sob as her bare skin met Jo's, "shh" Jo combed her fingers through Kate's hair, "it's okay, just try and relax."
"Is this okay" Kate asked as she moved her leg slightly, letting her injured leg rest over Jo's, her bandaged arm draping over her waist.
"I'm comfortable, so if you're comfortable then it's okay" she kissed Kate's hair, "close your eyes Darling, take some deep breaths, let your body relax, you've had a tough day I know but it's over now, you're at home and you're safe." Kate took a shaky breath, trying to do what Jo asked, trying to focus on nothing but Jo's soft voice as she continued to talk to her, continued to reassure her and remind her that she was safe, her body eventually giving in to exhaustion and slumping against Jo's as she finally relaxed and fell asleep.
They both felt like their alarm went off just seconds after they'd closed their eyes, "Jo" Kate whimpered, her body aching far more than it had the night before.
"It's okay" Jo tried to reassure her, "you just need to ring Hastings and tell him you won't be in, then I'll get you some more painkillers and you can try and go back to sleep for a little longer." Kate nodded and Jo reached for Kate's phone, "oh Darling" she whispered when Kate cried out in pain as she tried to take her phone from Jo, she didn't even want to think about how much worse Kate's bruising would be this morning, so she found the number in Kate's phone book and held it to her ear.
"I'm not going to be able to come in today Sir" Kate told him after the usual pleasantries, "okay, yeah, yeah, no, no, I understand." Jo could only hear Kate's side of the conversation despite the fact Kate was still laying again her chest, but she didn't like what she was hearing, something Kate confirmed when she told Jo, "he needs me to go in" once she ended the call.
"Kate.. "
She shook her head, "he's right, I was the only witness to… I, I might need some help getting ready."
"You can't go to work Kate, you've not even had three hours sleep Darling and I can only imagine how much pain you're in."
"I'll take the painkillers and get a taxi" Kate took a deep breath, trying to find the energy to get herself out of bed, "I'm sure I'll be fine once I get going."
Jo wasn't convinced but she didn't want to argue with Kate, instead she decided just to play along, Kate had let slip the night before that Steve had been released, that she'd driven him home after leaving work so Jo planned on calling him later to see if he could talk Kate into heading home, or at least talk some sense into Ted bloody Hastings.
Kate wasn't wrong, she definitely needed Jo's help getting ready, the whole length of her right leg was swollen and bruised so Jo picked out a pair of Kate's seamless running shorts for her to wear under her trousers to try and stop them rubbing in the same place her jeans had rubbed the day before. The bandage on her arm meant that none of Kate's shirts fitted comfortably so Jo took a sleeveless top from her own wardrobe, carefully helping Kate into it, "okay?" she asked after pulling socks onto Kate's feet.
"I'll live" Kate whispered before they moved through to the bathroom. She managed to use the toilet and clean her teeth on her own, but Jo washed her face and brushed her hair for her as she sat on the closed toilet lid. "I, I think you'll have to help me" she said quietly when Jo asked if she was going to be able to make it downstairs.
It took longer than they thought, Kate's muscles were stiff and sore, every movement agony, she wanted to be sick every time she tried to put weight on her right leg, she only hoped that once she was at work, she'd be able to stay at her desk all day. "I can call Hastings" Jo said softly as she sat at the kitchen table, Kate clutching a strong coffee, she'd already taken the codeine the hospital had given her and Jo had put the box in her bag for her to take later, planning to text her to make sure she took them, "I can tell him you're not fit to go in and…?"
Kate shook her head, "I'll go in, see if I can wrap things up today and then maybe take the rest of the week off."
"If you're sure" Jo knew not to push it. "But I'm going to take the day off, promise me you'll call me if it gets too much."
"Okay" Kate forced herself to her feet as the taxi she'd ordered beeped from outside and she reluctantly took the crutches Jo offered to her, "I love you" she kissed her softly, "I'll see you later."
Kate tried to use the drive to work to get herself together, she couldn't spend the day on the verge of tears, she knew adrenaline had helped her ignore her injuries the day before but she didn't have that today, all she had was the codeine that had barely taken the edge off her discomfort. She signed herself in at the reception area, knowing everyone's eyes were on her as she slowly made her way over to the lift, some days she took the stairs two at a time but today she couldn't even imagine making it up the first step. Again everyone's eyes were on her as she let herself through the security barrier and slowly made her way over to her desk, not even bothering to take off her jacket, knowing it would only cause her more pain.
"Want a brew ma…" Steve trailed off when he saw the crutches propped against Kate's desk, saw the bags under her eyes and her almost grey skin, "Kate… what happened?"
She shook her head, trying to take some deep breaths despite the pain in her side, "I'd love a brew mate if you're making one, make it a strong one yeah?"
"Kate" Steve had just left her desk when Hastings called her name from the doorway of his office, making eye contact before stepping back into the room, signaling that he wanted her to join him. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she pushed herself to her feet, picking up her crutches and slowly crossing the department to his office, "close the door" he didn't look up until he heard the click that signaled her doing as he'd asked, "we've had the… Jesus, Mary and Joseph, what happened?"
Kate sighed quietly, "thank you" she sat carefully when he gestured to the chair, "Dot and I had a stand off yesterday, under the flyover, the OCG weren't there like he was expecting them to be, we were in the road and when his car turned up, I guess I was in the way."
"Mother of God Kate! You were hit by a car? Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you radio in? There were ambulance crews at the scene, you should have let them check you over Kate!"
"I didn't realise how bad it was until the adrenaline wore off" she said honestly, "I went to A&E last night."
He raised an eyebrow, "and?"
"A lot of bruising, my arm's a bit of a mess and a cracked rib, it'd probably have been worse if I hadn't picked up a vest on my way out."
"Go home Kate, God, if I'd have known when you called this morning that you'd been hit by a car I'd never have asked you to come in, go home and get some rest. You…" he knew what time Kate had left the night before, knew she was planning on getting Steve on her way home, "how much sleep have you had?"
"An hour or two, I don't know, I got a taxi in this morning, I…" she trailed off, not sure what she wanted to say
"Well that's one thing, I'll get a squad car to take you home."
"With all due respect sir, I'm here now, I think I'd rather just get on with things, and maybe I could take tomorrow off?"
Hastings nodded, "of course, now, if you're sure about staying, I've got Dot's phone records, we want to try and find out who else he was in contact with..."
By lunch time Kate was definitely flagging, she hadn't told Steve what had happened, knew he'd only worry about her, but he was worried about her anyway and he decided to leave the office and make his way down to the lobby, give himself a little privacy so he could call Jo and tell him her worries. He was surprised however to see Jo stood at the reception desk when he stepped from the lift, "Jo" he frowned, "what are you doing here?"
"I came to see you actually, well, I came to see Kate but I didn't want her having to come down here to sign me in."
"I was just coming down to call you" he gestured to the phone in his hand, "she hasn't told me what happened to her but she shouldn't be here" he said before signing Jo in as a visitor and letting her follow him back up to the office, Jo spotting Kate almost instantly, her head in her hands as she sat at her desk. "Give me five minutes to talk to Hastings then I'll come down with you, help her out to the car."
"I erm, I got a taxi here" Jo told him, "neither of us got much sleep last night and the last thing we need is me falling asleep at the wheel, I'll call us another one and…"
"Go help Kate get ready to go" Steve interrupted her, "I'll let Hastings know I'm taking Kate home, no arguments."
"Thank you" Jo made her way over to Kate, her partner jumping slightly when she felt a hand between her shoulder blades, "let's get your things together and get you home Kate."
Kate didn't lift her head, she was sure she was dreaming, she had to be, she'd fallen asleep at her desk and now she was dreaming. "Jo?" she whispered quietly.
"Yeah, I've got your bag, is there anything else you need?"
"Jo?" Kate slowly lifted her head from her hands, "are you really here?"
"Yeah" Jo smiled softly, she knew Kate preferred to keep her private life private so she didn't want to be too affectionate and embarrass her in front of her colleagues, "Steve's going to take us home."
"Ready to go mate?" he asked as he came over almost right on cue.
"Yeah, I just…" she forced herself to sit up a little straighter so she could log out of her computer, casting a quick glance over her desk to make sure she hadn't left anything behind as Jo and Steve helped her to her feet, Jo making sure she was on Kate's injured side.
Kate curled into Jo on the back seat of Steve's service vehicle on the short drive back to their home, allowing herself to briefly doze off, knowing she was safe with Steve and Jo. Steve helped Kate from the car once she was home and Jo was grateful that he offered to help her into the house, the man almost carrying Kate's weary body up the stairs and into her bedroom. Steve said nothing, biting his tongue when he saw the bandages on Kate's arm after Jo helped her out of her jacket, he wanted to ask her what had happened but he knew this wasn't the time or the place, so he reached out to place his hand on Kate's uninjured arm, "let me know if you need anything yeah?" He looked to Jo, "either of you."
Jo nodded, "thanks Steve" she said as Kate quietly echoed her partner.
"No worries" he shook his head when Jo went to follow him out of the room, "don't worry about it, I'll see myself out" he told her, "Kate needs you."
Jo could see that Kate was on the verge of tears when she turned back to her, she could see the tears glistening in her eyes as she desperately tried to hold herself together from where Steve had helped her into bed. She heard the front door close and then a thud a few seconds later as Steve pushed the keys through the letterbox after locking them in, "he's gone" she said softly, "it's just me and you here now, you don't have to be strong any more Kate, it's just me and you."