>From: "Vanessa Beanland" Since Suzie and I have been dubbed the funky twins, we decided to write twin fics. This is a companion piece to her story 'The Beginning' and is set during the final few moments of the episode 'New Kid On The Block' (aka the '99 finale.) Obviously, I don't own much here... Dedicated to Suz, 'cause she's so bite-worthy. The End Vanessa Beanland 13 October 1999 Chief Inspector Jeff Hawker stood on the stairs at the Water Police Headquarters surrounded by most of his officers. He cleared his throat a few times, hoping that his prepared speech would come out as planned. "It's always sad when we lose an officer, but this is one of the more pleasant circumstances we've seen it happen under recently. I can genuinely say that having Constable Johnson working with us has been a pleasure and an honour, and I know we're all very sorry to see you leave. Now, I don't want to give a long speech--" Jeff was cut off by a barrage of rude comments from his audience, most notably the boat crews. "But Tayler, we'll miss you. Good luck with your new position." Jeff seemed to be winding his speech up, so Gavin motioned at him urgently. "Did you have something to say, Sykes?" "Yeah, just quickly," Gavin said, striding up on to the steps by Jeff. Tayler shot him a look, a little worried about what he might say. He smiled back at her briefly before beginning his speech. "I just wanted to put in my two cents' worth about Tayler," he began, ignoring the huge grin on Emma Woods' face. Surely she didn't know anything... he hoped. "I've had the privilege of working with her quite often over the past few years and I believe she's the sweetest colleague I've ever had. She was the one who always had a kind word for the person who needed it most; she rarely lost her temper and she was forever thinking of others. It's something I admire about her and something I think I'll miss now that she won't be with us." Tayler bit her lip and flashed Gavin a smile. A couple of the others murmured "awww" teasingly. In an effort to lighten the situation, Gavin added, "No offence though, Tommy." That received a few grins, so he judged it was safe to continue. "In all serious, Tayler was a wonderful officer to work with. But... well, I think I speak for all of us when I say we're not only losing a great copper but a great friend, in more ways than one." The others nodded in agreement. Satisfied, Gavin went back down the steps to where the crowd was gathered to resume his place standing beside Tommy. Before he could, however, Tayler tapped him on the shoulder. He could see tears glistening in his eyes and she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. A few of the dive crew wolf-whistled as Gavin hugged her in return. After a couple of seconds Tayler released him and coughed subtlety. She looked at Jeff expectantly. "Huh? Oh, right..." Hawker said. "Where was I?" ~~~ Fin ~~~ Feedback is funky, and you will be too if you send me some: nemesis@graffiti.net