Rekindles Of Hope Within The Darkest Of Places:

Chapter 2

Authors note:

This has taken way too long and the only reason I can give is that I had to change my initial plan.  Sorry about that. Anyway, the ending was the first scene that prompted this fic requested by my sister. I will try and keep it PG-13. No promises though.

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18:20- Cardiff Central police station:

Gwen Cooper panted, rushing into the building and pulling on her uniform jacket. She had been too engrossed in a make-out session with Reece that she almost forgot her shift started at five.

Normally, she would only take the later shifts during the winter months due to the awful weather and uneasiness that came with working in the dark and having to police drunk people stumbling from nightclubs, but this time the new rota demanded it.

Within her mind, she ran through the countless excuses that her brain could come up with, then sighed, resigned to her fate. Lying to the boss was not only counter-productive but also left a guilty conscious that he could normally sniff out a mile away. She just hoped he was in a good mood and choose not to spontaneously fire her for tardiness.

All thoughts of dismissal however melt away by the scene as she opened the main room where she worked. Serial officers were scrambling around in a frenzy, looking for lost items, collecting coats, and gathering papers.

She paused in the doorway, watching them for a moment before her boss came rushing out of his office, and was relieved when he spotted her.

"Sir, I'm so sorry that I am late. I have..." She started as he stalked over, but the expression he was giving her made her pause. He waved a hand, effectively silencing her before she sprouted some half-baked apology.

"No time. I need you and Davidson to investigate the museum along with Sargent James and Thompson from forensics. The burglar alarm went off three about five minutes ago and I need you four to find the intruder and help the owners see if anything was taken." He told her, pushing a piece of paper into her hands. "Thompson and James are waiting downstairs. They will brief you." He turned to look at the room at larger. "Davidson, front right, and center. Come on, you've gotta go!"

Suddenly a door to the cloakroom was thrown open as a figure flew out, coat dancing from his hand and a piece of toast in his mouth. The man, Gwen's partner, was shuffling into his work boots, his hat askew in his rush.

"I was on my break!" He called, hurrying over and flashing Gwen a smile and a wave. "Hi."

"Hi," Gwen answered politely before turning and stalking down the steps, letting the man follow her at his own pace.

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18:30- National History Museum, Cardiff:

Traffic was a nightmare, causing their arrival time to double. Gwen sighed in relief, getting out of the car and performing a little crowd control. It took longer than it should, the curious onlookers intrigued by the sound of the skylight breaking from within and now with the police now on the scene. Luckily, the museum had closed an hour ago so it didn't slow them down and civilian casualties were mercifully spared.

By the time they had stumbled on the scene, the place was easily quiet despite the noise coming from outside and it put Gwen's nerves on edge. She sent a look to her partner, who was faring no better. Despite this, they soldiered on, glancing around, hands twitching towards their tasers.