ABSOLUTION

Author:      Eggbert
E-mail:      mbejane2000@yahoo.com
Fandom:      The Bill
Pairing:     Des Taviner/Reg Hollis. No, don't laugh. Or worse, throw up....
Rating:      PG-13
Summary:     There's more to Reg than meets the eye. Des
             knows this but will it be enough?

Spoilers:    For the episode dated 30/10/02.

Disclaimer:  All characters are the property of Thames
             Television. No profit is being made and no infringement
             of copyright is intended.

A/N:         The plot bunnies made me do it. And that, your
             honour, is the case for the defence.



//click//

" Hi Des. Reg here. Just ringing to see if you're okay.
When are you coming back to work? We miss you. Ring me
when you get the chance. Bye. "

//click//

Des Taviner pressed the //erase// button on his
answering machine.

" Sorry, Reggie baby. I won't be ringing you anytime
soon. " muttered Des. Pulling his dressing gown tighter
around his body he made his way back to bed where he
lay, hot-eyed and restless.

The truth was he couldn't face Reg, not with the
enormity of what he had done weighing so heavily on his
conscience. Reg was a decent bloke. Des knew how he
would react if he ever found out Des was the real cause
of six of their friends dying. He had tried to
rationalise it. Everyone took the piss out of Reg but
Des was genuinely fond of him and didn't want to lose
his friendship or his respect.

Then there had been that fateful night where their
friendship had taken a very different turn. One pint of
lager too many and they had ended up in bed together. It
had been very sweet and very loving and Des had enjoyed
his only night of peaceful dreamless sleep since the
fire, wrapped up in Reg's arms.

He had hated himself the next morning for using Reg for
comfort but Reg had been as practical as ever.

" I don't think we're gay, Des. " he had said. " I just
think it was something we both needed. "

Des had concurred, he didn't want to think of himself
becoming like that fat poof Gilmore, not when there was
a world full of women out there who hadn't been dazzled
by his good looks and charm. And Reg didn't count, he
was such an old woman anyway it hardly mattered that he
was a man.

When Reg had been kidnapped it had nearly finished Des
off. When he stood up in court to give evidence against
Simpson the image of Reg being held somewhere, possibly
being hurt or tortured, made him break out in a cold
sweat, vowing vengeance on the smirking bastard across
the courtroom. If Simpson's goons had harmed one hair of
Reg's heavily gelled head; they would have to face the
wrath of Des Taviner. When he heard Reg was safe in
hospital he had excused himself, locked himself in the
men's room and cried like a baby before going to the
hospital where he spent the night at Reg's bedside,
holding his hand, willing him to recover.

Simpson went down for the fire but Des was starting to
unravel fast. He asked for, and was granted,
compassionate leave. He holed up in his flat and
switched the answering machine on; making sure there was
a plentiful supply of whisky in the cupboard. That just
left him and his conscience.

 *~*~*~*~*~*~

 When he returned to Sun Hill he was absolutely vile to
everyone, but especially Reg. He couldn't bear to see
the look of hurt incomprehension on Reg's face but it
was better this way. Better Reg hated him so when he,
Des, was sent to prison for what he had done, Reg
wouldn't feel any hurt. He even went as far as asking
Gemma Osborne, the new area car driver for a date and
made sure Reg knew he had done it. The fact that she
turned him down flat he managed to keep to himself.

But Reg had been with him when he saved the kids from
the burning car. At St. Hugh's, in agony from his burns
and deranged on whatever they had given him for the
pain, Des confessed.

" I did it! " he spat. " I killed them all! "

Reg turned and walked away without another word and Des
lay back, waiting for Internal Investigations to show
up.

Next morning, against the doctor's advice, he discharged
himself and went to find Reg. Still in his civvies they
went looking for the attacker of a thirteen-year-old boy
and found him, completely insane and ready to jump off
the roof.

As Des and Reg tried to talk him down, Des wondered if
it would be such a bad idea. It might hurt when you
landed, but then there would be no more pain, no more
guilt, just peace.

He grasped the nutter's hand.

" Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. Eh? "

" Thelma and Louise. " squeaked the nutter.

" All right! " bellowed Des. " Which one do you want to
be? "

When Reg had the nutter handcuffed Des told him to take
him down and secure him. He stuffed some hand-written
pages into the pocket of Reg's stab vest. He, Des,
wanted to get his head together and Reg could read his
confession later.

The edge of the building was way too tempting.

Reg Hollis looked up and whimpered under his breath. Des
was on the edge of the abyss.

Reg wasn't going to let him do it. Des was the only
friend he had ever had, even if he had been treating Reg
like something less than shit since his return from
leave. Now Reg understood why but he wasn't going to let
his only lover destroy himself. He entered the building
at a run.

Later, after having punched the living crap out of each
other and nearly losing Des over the edge in spite of
everything, Reg tore up the confession.

" I won't tell anyone. " he said gently. " You've
suffered enough. Six months without proper sleep and all
that guilt. No, Des. I couldn't do it. "

" I slept well enough with you. " said Des.

" But you won't need me any more, " said Reg simply. "
Not like that, anyway. "

" Who says? " asked Des gruffly. In truth, now that Reg
had forgiven him he let a wave of tenderness and
affection flow through him. He had enjoyed making love
to his Reg. Maybe Gilmore had a point.

Reg blushed, a phenomenon so rare as to be
unprecedented.

" You should get back to the hospital, " said Reg to
cover his confusion, and delight in the fact that his
friend still wanted him. " Get those dressings changed
and something for the pain. "

" Will you come with me? " pleaded Des. He hated
hospitals.

" Of course, " smiled Reg.

The staff on the burns unit at St Hugh's welcomed Des
back like the prodigal son. Reg was banished as they did
strange things to Des behind the screens and he waited
fretfully in the corridor.

" PC Hollis? "

He turned to see one of the nurses smiling at him.

" You can go back in now. "

Des looked diminished somehow in the hospital bed. A
large bag of clear fluid dripped steadily into the tube
that ran into the back of his hand. His bandages had
been replaced and his face was drawn in pain.

" They've just given me a big whack of some painkiller.
" said Des to Reg's unspoken question.

" You're in the best place. " said Reg. " You need to
rest and get better. I'll pop in again tonight after my
shift. "

" Thanks, Reggie baby, " said Des.

" Take care, " breathed Reg as he leant over and kissed
Des tenderly on the mouth.

" I'm too sore to hold you. " said Des regretfully as
Reg broke away from him. Reg smiled.

" But I'll get better. " Des concluded.

Reg's smile, as he turned to walk away, could have lit
up the whole of Canley.

The End.

 =====

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