Truth or Dare – reviews

Sequel to Office Work. “Truth or Dare?” Yvonne finds out what Andrea was up to, with the DI earlier that day, but gets more than she bargained for. Andrea’s POV.
Complete – Bill – Fiction Rated: PG – English – General/Romance – Chapters: 1 – Words: 3552 – Reviews: 3 – Updated: 24-4-09 – Published: 24-4-09

Well today was another lazy day that I spent watching videos on youtube all day.

Well i’m happy I’ve found lots of old Bill episodes on You tube and have spent all day watching them.  I may actually finish some of my old Andrea/Neil stories one day.

Guide Book for a bus/coach driver and there passengers. How to get along?

A must read for all bus/coach drivers and the people who travel on them.

Just for a laugh, no offence intended, but i’m sure you’ll all agree
most of these are true, how many have happened to you or people you
know. I can relate to pretty much all of them. Do you know who I’m
referring to in the notes (think carefully)? If you think of any more
let me know.

1. Buses must break down or have a flat tire at the most inconvienent
time, like at rush hour when there are lots of passengers waiting to go
home.

2. All drivers MUST slam the brakes on really hard and send all
passengers through the front window. (I’m not naming names, you’ll have
to guess, like you don’t already know. Actually this applys to most
drivers)

3. All drivers MUST try taking short cuts and then realise that the
roads not wide enough or there is a low bridge or something in the way.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/7863338.stm see the picture. What an ass.)

4. All drivers MUST run down bushes or trees that get in the way (Again, no names)

5. All drivers MUST NOT remember the route and ask passengers for directions

6.All drivers MUST ignore people when they want to get off, we’re too
busy listening to the radio (This actually happened on a TWM bus a few
weeks ago, the passenger was not impressed.)

7. All buses MUST run in threes and to our own timetable, that means an
hour between each one. (the TWM 79 on a saturday night, well anytime
actually)

8. No service in bad weather, that includes snow, strong winds or heavy rain. We don’t like the rain

9. Pavements are not just for pedestrians, we can use them too (Never
walk to close to the edge of the pavement if you don’t want squashed
feet)

10. Bumping into other vehicles or stationary objects is fun and must
be done as often as possible. (No comment, how many drivers have
actually done this?)

11. Soaking passengers by going through a puddle really fast is something that MUST be done as often as possible.

12. Doors NEVER cooperate. You tell em to shut, they stay open, You try to open them and they won’t budge.

13. Speed limits don’t apply, it’s fine to go at 50MPH in a 20MPH zone and vise versa.

14. You must pull off before giving your passengers time to sit down,
whether they like it or not. (Again the 79 is prone to do this.)

15. You don’t actually have to stop at a bus stop, even if there are
people standing there, it’s fun to leave them standing in the cold or
make them walk to you a few yards down the street. (A constant
occurance)

16. Timetables DON’T exist. We arrive when we’re ready and leave when we please.

17. Stopping for a chat, cup of coffee, or to pick up some fish and
chips en route is perfectly acceptable and even encouraged, especially
when there are tired, hungry passengers on board who just want to go
home. (Yes this actually happened, again the 79 on a Saturday evening,
the bugger wouldn’t even share his chips)

17. Reading the newspaper at red lights is a good way to catch up on the news, so is sending text messages.

18. Talking to people on your mobile in weird voices in front of passengers is fun, especially when they look at you funny.

19. Swearing at other drivers loudly in multiple languages is activly
encouraged. They’re idiots for pulling out in front of you right?
(Again i’m not saying who. Although it was funny, and educational.)

20. When passengers decide they want to sit in the center of the aisle
or on the steps, it’s perfectly acceptable to send them flying through
the windowscreen. (Oh come on, it had to be on here)

21. When passengers fall asleep at the back of the bus, you must turn
the radio up really loud to wake them up (Ok, I’ll admit it, that one
WAS my idea. Worked well too LOL, wish i’d recorded it.)

22. All drivers MUST scare there favorite passengers by telling them
they’re not gonna be driving this route anymore, just to see the look
on there face when they realise its not true. (Another obvious one,
again I wish i’d recorded it)

23. All drivers MUST pretend they don’t understand a word there
passengers are saying when they’re talking to them, even when you do.
Blame it on the language barrier. (How many times have I had to repeat
the same thing because the driver is pretenting to be deaf?)

24. Motorways are the new bus/coach parks. You sit and wait and wait
and wait, or if your in a rush, avoid them. (Always happens)

25. You always hit all the red lights when your running late, it’s sods law. (Happens all the time)

26. Traffic jams are for cars, take a short cut, even if it is down a narrow lane or through a field.

27. When a road is closed, ask passengers for directions, or just go
another route, leaving passengers who wanted to get off at that stop
stuck on the bus and looking for another way home. (79 again)

28. Passengers can be violent, let them get off where THEY want if you don’t want to get hit. (Birmingham anyone)

29. Teenagers will throw random objects at moving buses including,
rocks, snowballs and fireworks. Try to avoid being the target. (Yes
someone did throw a firework at the bus I was on the once, pretty scary)

30. Centro staff don’t understand that you have a right to be there
just as much as they do, and find tapping on the window to get you to
move fun, just tell them to F*** Off, they’re used to it. (Again no
comment. We all know who did this.)

31. Ensure you know how to work the heating before picking up
passengers. Cold passengers are grumpy passengers and no one wants to
sit on a freezing cold bus. (Can you guess who did this?)

32. Buses are ALWAYS late. FACT.

33. Confusing passengers by putting up the wrong place your going to,
is fun. (I once ended up in Wolverhampton when trying to head towards
Birmingham. Not fun.)

34. Passengers really enjoy being allowed to travel on a child ticket when they’re an adult.

35. Passengers never have the correct change, most like paying with £10
or £20 notes. Carry a load of spare change and £5 notes, you will need
them. (A very good tip I noticed, pity not everyone takes note of it)

36. Passengers get annoyed when you travel at 20MPH on an empty A-road
and still manage to send them flying through the windowscreen because
you braked too heavily. DON’T DO IT. (Naming no names)

37. When someone says to wait for them, make sure you do so. No one likes to wait around in the cold all day.

38. Bags that look heavy usually are, make sure they are safely stowed before pulling off.

39. Make sure to check all tickets carefully, there is always someone trying to pull a fast one.

40. Passengers don’t always know how long it takes between stops,
especially if they don’t travel the route often. Allow for this when
letting people on and off. There is always someone who realises they
were meant to get off the second you pull back out into the traffic.

41. If all your passengers are laughing hysterically they are either up
to something, having some kind of medical emergency or laughing at
something you’ve done. Make sure you check.

42. If someone asks for the light to be turned out, it usually means
they want to sleep. Switch it off and stop being so suspicious.
(Someone told me that someone snapped at them when asking for the light
to be turned down so they could sleep a few weeks ago.)

43. People often get sick on buses, make sure you carry plenty of sawdust and airfreshener.

44. If a bottle of pop is rolling around the bus it may be filled with
pee. Do not step on it, discard it as soon as possible and NEVER run
over it.

45. If you have a pack of sweets or chewing gum with you, expect to
share them with ALL of your passengers. No where is safe to hide them.
(Some people find this one out the hard way.)

46. You will always get some idiot who wants to play tour guide with
the mike, never show them how to switch the sound on. I’m sure we can
all see that, yes there is an house in the next street. (Again this
really happened)

47. When travelling with teenagers, expect to be dragged into random,
meaningless conversations, when travelling with younger kids there will
always be one asking, “Are we there yet?”. And toddlers talk about the
strangest of things. Someone will always need the loo etc. The message
here is be prepared for anything, and take anything you hear with a
grain of salt, most of its rubbish anyway.

48. If you’re tired, take a nap before making a journey, falling asleep
whilst driving on a motorway, whether or not your pretending too,
really scares your passengers, although it is a good way to get them to
shut up.

49. Taking the p*** out of fellow drivers or other bus companies is
always fun, just make sure they don’t have a go back at you, and record
funny stunts for evidence.

50. Mini bus drivers don’t realise that big coaches need more room to
turn than them. They will park over driveways and entrances making it
impossible to pass through without hitting them. Report them as often
as possible. They will eventually get the message. (I’m sure I don’t
need to say anymore.)

51. Cars and lorrys will always park in the stupidest possible places,
there drivers hate to walk even a few feet to the fish shop, so when
turning corners remember to watch out for traffic coming from the other
direction, the road your going into is probably only wide enough for
one vehicle at a time. (A road near us is practically inpassable at
times, all because the lorry drivers won’t walk to get there lunch)

52. Roadworks always seem to be everywhere when you least want them. Be aware of long delays, especially when your in a rush.

53. Always carry a camera, notebook and pen, your bound to witness something noteworthy on your journey.

54. Visit the toilet, before making any journeys, there are never any when you need them most.

55. When the kids come from and go to school, expect them all to try
and cram in the smallest of spaces. The Japanese bullet train is
spacious compared to this. (Always avoid the 8:30am and 3:30pm buses
unless you like feeling like a sardine)

56. Always try to estimate how many passengers you will have, no one
likes sitting on other peoples laps, but a double decker is stupid if
you’ve only got 2 passengers. When unsure, go for something inbetween.
(This really annoys me for some reason.)

Knowing

by

 

Storm

Contact:

Rated: T

Submitted: Not Submitted Yet

Summary: What if Perry and Jimmy know that Clark Kent is
Superman?  Will they tell Lois?  Will they reveal the secret or will
they help Clark?  What if the two of them decide to play matchmaker
between Lois and Clark?  How will Lois react when she finally finds out
the truth?

Archive: Anywhere that wants it, just leave me a note to tell me where first please.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, the show would still be aired on a
regular basis and I would be getting paid for this, but because I’m
not, I think its pretty clear that I’m just borrowing.

Author’s Notes: This is my first venture into the world of Lois
and Clark.  I used to watch the show years ago, but haven’t seen it for
a very long time.  It was only when I saw a few repeats a few months
ago that I came up with this, so I would really appreciate any comments
and suggestions.

All comments, questions and complaints in a review or email please.  Pretty please?

1. Trains always break down in the middle of nowhere.  (Like Dovey Junction.)
   
2. Never catch a train on the August bank holiday, unless you plan on driving it.
3. Some stupid lorry driver will try to fit under a railway bridge that’s too low, look out the window, point and laugh.
4. When travelling by train, expect delays of over an hour, or worse cancellations.
5. when shuffled onto bus replacement services,
   the staff do not know how long it takes to get from Machynlleth to
   Newtown. Work it out 4 yourself.
6. You do not need to change train at Machynlleth unless told so by a member of staff. SIT DOWN
7. Single line tracks mean ONLY 1 train can pass
   at at time. We have not broke down, we’re just waiting for the other
   train to move out of the way.
8. You need to press the open button to open the
   doors, not just stand staring at them like an idiot. We will not stop 4
   u 2 get off.
9. Carrying bags that are bigger than you is never a gud idea. How do u plan on getting them off the train?
10. Trains depart from a different platform every
    10 minutes, be prepared to cross back and forth between platforms, then
    end up on the one u started on.
11. Public transport of all kinds DOES NOT run in bad weather. Leaves on the track is not an excuse.
12. The Aberstywyth train does go to Barmouth etc, except on a sunday, don’t let them fool u.
13. Regular passengers often no more than the staff, consider asking them to help first.
14. When part of the track is closed for engineering works, the normal timetable doesn’t exist, expect to wait for 3 hours in the cold for the bus replacement service and your journey time WILL be extended.
15. Dogs are not allowed on bus replacement services. Always check before travelling.
16. The trolley service often runs out of milk and sugar, if you think you may need it, bring your own
    

Chapter
3: I need to tell you something.

Later
that evening, around 8pm, I hear a knock on the door and get up to
answer it. On opening the door, I am shocked to see who’s standing
on the other side of it.

“John,”
I say shocked, “What are you doing here?”

“I
know we agreed on tomorrow, but I just couldn’t stand the not
knowing any longer,” he explains.

I
open the door wider to let him in. Maybe it is time to have this
chat.

He
follows me inside where I show him to the sofa, before I head into
the kitchen to make us both a cup of tea, something we’re
definitely gonna need. I return to the living room, with two cups of
tea in my hands, but stop in the doorway at the sight in front of me.
John is sitting on the sofa, Ella sitting next to him, and he’s
reading her favorite storybook to her.

I
cough lightly to announce my presence before stepping quietly into
the room and placing the cups onto the coffee table. “Ok, Madam,
it’s about time you were getting to bed,” I say to Ella. She
doesn’t need to be involved in this conversation.

She
looks at me sadly, about to protest, but a firm look, her way, sends
her scurrying up the stairs. “Goodnight Mr.,” she says to John
before disappearing upstairs to her bedroom.

I
follow her up to tuck her in and make sure she’s settled before
returning to John, “Sorry about that,” I explain, “I wasn’t
expecting you to just drop round like this.”

“No,
I’m sorry,” he replies, “I should have called or something
instead of just turning up on your door and expecting to be loosed
in.”

“How
did you know where I lived anyway?”

“Your
old neighbor has a big mouth,” he explains simply.

I
let out a small laugh at that, “I should’ve guessed you’d do
something like that.”

With
that our conversation takes on a more serious tone.

“I
assume you’re here looking for answers?” I ask, starting off the
conversation we should have had years ago.

“I
would like to know a few things yes.”

“I
don’t know where to start,” I reply after a few minutes of
thought, “How about you ask a question and I’ll try to answer
it?” I suggest.

“Alright
then, who was that you were with when you came to Sun Hill earlier?”

“His
name is Chris Turner, he works as a DS at Canley CIB, but I think you
already figured that out.”

“Yeah,
sort of, what I really want to know is how come you’re working with
CIB and what’s it all got to do with me?”

“I’m
not working with CIB John, I am CIB, I’ve been a CIB officer for
nearly eight years now. I’m sorry you keep getting dragged into
things, I’ve tried to keep you out of it but some things are out of
my control.”

“You’re
confusing me a bit here. If you’ve been working for CIB for eight
years that means you must have been working with them before you came
to Sun Hill…”

“I
was John, that’s why I had to be careful about what I said to you
and everybody else at Sun Hill. I was sent in as a mole.”

“Who?
Who was you investigating and how come nobody knows anything about
it?”

“Don
Beech; I don’t know if your aware of this but when you were in
hospital Beech was arrested and locked up, and the rest of Sun Hill
we’re questioned.”

“Somebody
said something about CIB causing trouble or something, but nobody
knows why or who they were investigating. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I
wanted to John, really I did, but I couldn’t take the chance of
anyone else finding out, it could have put your life at risk,
especially after Beech found out about us. Who knows what he would
have done if he knew he was being investigated.”

“Maybe,
but couldn’t you have said something afterwards, before you left?
How is your mom by the way?”

I
let out a pained sigh, realizing how many lies I told him to cover my
own back, “I never left John, well not really, and my mother’s
dead. She died before I even started at Sun Hill; it was just a
metaphor, a code to avoid any awkward questions. I never meant for
things to go this far.”

“What
do you mean Claire, you said …?”

“Yeah,
I know what I said and I’m sorry for lying to you like that,
believe me I didn’t want to, I just didn’t know what else to say.
I was too scared to tell you the truth after everything had
happened; I didn’t want you to hate me. It was the only thing I
could think of to say at the time, and I’ve regretted it ever
since,” I explain wiping a tear away from my eyes.

John
wraps an arm across my shoulder, pulling me into an awkward hug. “I
could never hate you Claire, I may have been mad for a while, but I
can never hate you,” he reassures me.

I
lean into his embrace letting the emotions flow over me and taking
the time to think through the things that I’ve pushed to the back
of my mind for all these years. John wraps his other arm around me
pulling me closer up against his chest, and lightly resting his chin
on top of my head.

“Who’s
the girl?” he mumbles after a few minutes of silence.

“What
do you mean?” I ask sitting up straight, not realizing who he’s
referring to.

“The
little girl who was sitting on your sofa when I came in, who is she?”

“That’s
Ella John,” I say then pause before revealing anymore information
about her, “She’s my daughter,” I explain.

“Your
daughter!” John says shocked, “How old is she?”

“Yeah,
she’s nearly four now,” I state wondering if he’ll figure out
for himself what I’ve yet to tell him.

“Four,
but that means …,” he says trailing off.

“I
found out I was pregnant 3 weeks after I left Sun Hill,” I explain
slowly, “I was gonna tell you but I didn’t know what to say.
She’s your daughter John.”

John
stares at me open mouthed in shock; clearly he hadn’t figured it
out at all. Now he’s looking at me with an unreadable expression
on his face. I feel like I should say something more but I can’t
find the words I’m looking for. We sit in silence for over fifteen
minutes waiting for the information to sink in. Eventually I break
the silence by letting out a huge yawn which I try to hide behind my
hand.

“You’re
tired,” John points out, “I should go and let you get some
sleep.”

“You
don’t have to,” I say not wanting him to go just yet. We’ve
only just started to open up to each other again and I am reluctant
to let him leave with so many things unsaid.

“It’s
really late Claire and you’re exhausted, you need to get some
sleep, we can catch up another day,” he says starting to stand up.

“Stay,”
I say out of the blue as he approaches the door to leave, “just for
tonight, I …”

“Claire,”
John says in protest then gives in and says, “alright, if it will
make you feel better, but you really need to sleep.”

“I
know,” I nod in understanding before silently indicating for him to
follow me as I lock up and lead the way upstairs to the bedrooms.

After
a bit of protesting over who should sleep where, we both settle down
into my bed and fall asleep, unconsciously moving to lie in each
others arms as we sleep.

Chapter
2: Old Faces.

I
walk out of my office and into the main CIB office area, where I spot
Chris, donning his jacket ready to visit Sun Hill with me. We drive
to Sun Hill Station in silence, both thinking about what we need to
say when we arrive.

“So
how’s it feel being back here then Serge?” Chris asks me just
before we pull up round the corner from the main entrance.

“Strange,”
I say with a slight nod of my head, “I’ve been thinking about
this, you say it’s Boulton who’s running this case yes?”

“Yes
serge,” he answers watching my rapidly changing expression.

“What’s
say we speak to him in a more neutral setting? If I remember right,
he doesn’t react well being put in pressured situations, and we may
get more out of him, if he’s not too busy watching everything he’s
saying.”

“Serge?”

“Just
leave it with me,” I answer his unasked question, instantly knowing
what he’s thinking.

We
both get out of the car and head to the front entrance, where we
approach the front desk. “Can we speak to DS Boulton?” I ask the
woman on the desk.

“Hey
Serge, where have you been all these years?” asks Kerry coming
through the main CID doors.

I
turn my attention away from the woman at the desk to speak to Kerry
instead, “Long story,” I explain, “You don’t know if John
Boulton’s about do you?” I ask, knowing I’ll get more
information out of her, than whoever they’ve got posted behind the
desk.

“He
should be upstairs, I was just about to talk to him myself as it
happens,” she says, inviting me to follow her up to CID.

I
nod to Chris, indicating for him to follow us.

“What
are you doing back then?” asks Kerry, prying for more information,
“and who’s that with you?”

“DS
Chris Turner,” Chris introduces himself.

I
cut him off before he can reveal we’re CIB, “He’s working with
me on an enquiry, and we think one of our suspects is involved in a
case that John Boulton’s working on.”

“Oh
right,” says Kerry, just as we reach the top of the stairs, “We’ll
have to catch up sometime,” she adds after a few minutes.

“Yeah,”
I reply, not knowing how else to respond.

Leaving
Kerry’s side, I notice John Boulton making a cup of tea with his
back to us. I creep up silently behind him, glad that there are only
a few people in the office, and gently place my hand on his shoulder.
“John, can I have a word?” I ask, in a voice as calm as I can
muster.

He
spins round so fast, he almost topples over. “What in the hell…”
he yells, obviously shocked to see me.

I
step back to give him some room to calm down, before talking to him
again. “There’s a few things we need to discuss,” I say trying
to phrase things differently in the hope that it’ll evoke a better
response.

He
finally comes back to his senses and acknowledges my statement.
“What’s going on Claire?” he asks, noticing Chris hovering in
the background, “why didn’t you tell me your back?” he asks
much quieter.

“Not
here,” I say, indicating for him to follow me out of the building.

He
reluctantly follows my lead, wary of Chris who is now trailing behind
us.

The
minute we reach the yard, I order Chris to bring the car round, to
give me a bit of time to talk to John alone. As soon as he’s
disappeared, John turns to me and asks, “What’s going on Claire,
who’s that?”

“It’s
a long story, but that’s DS Chris Turner,” I say pointing in
Chris’ direction, “I know your confused right now, and I think
there’s a lot of things we need to discuss, but right now, this is
a work related matter, and I need you to help me out with this.
Chris, or anyone else for that matter, doesn’t know anything about
our history, and I plan on keeping it that way.”

Chris
return’s with the car in that moment and so John just nods in
understanding. We all get into the car, and Chris drives us to a
nearby café.

Ten
minutes later we are all sat at a table, sipping from cups of coffee.
“So what’s all this about?” John asks, “I’m assuming it’s
not a social call.”

“You
could say that,” I reply, “it’s about a case your working on,
Brian Ward,” I state the suspect’s name, trying to push the right
buttons to get information.

“What
about him?” John asks me. It seems he’s learned something from
my interrogation skills.

“Put
simply, his name popped up in a case we’re investigating and we
need to know more about him.”

“Ok,”
John replies, “I would like to know what case, or a least something
about it, before I say too much, but it’s possible he’s dealing
drugs to teenagers.”

“Alright,”
I say, knowing now’s the time to tell him about CIB, “I’ve got
one more question before I tell you anymore though, who’s working
on the case with you?”

“Kerry,
Duncan and a DS who joined after you left known as Richard Winters.”

“Shit!”
exclaims Chris.

“Why?
What’s going on?” John asks again.

“CIB,”
I say simply, hoping that he’ll fit the pieces together.

“What
about them?”

“Winters
is being investigated by CIB,” I explain.

“What’s
that got to do with this?” John asks, before gasping as he figures
out what’s going on.

“You?
How? Wh…?” John stutters, struggling to comprehend what he’s
been told.

“We’re
CIB,” I explain gesturing to Chris and I, “We’ve been
investigating Winters for a few months now.”

“But
…,” stutters John, “Is that why you left Sun Hill so suddenly?”
he asks me.

“Partially,”
I answer him, careful of what I’m saying, “there were a lot of
things that happened in such a short amount of time, I had no choice,
I did want to tell you,” I add.

Chris
breaks us both out of our reveries by saying, “I thought we were
here to find out information on Ward?”

I
almost want to strangle him for that, there’s so much we need to
sort out, but he’s right. This is meant to be about work, not a
social get together. “Look,” I say to John, “I know you’ve
got a lot of questions, but now’s really not the time, if you still
want to discuss it, maybe we can meet up after work or something.”

We
make arrangements, and then continue to discuss Ward and Winters, and
the other details of the case. An hour later, we return to our
offices, with the details we’ve gathered, to plan the next stages
of the case.

My intention when I got up today was to write up all my old stories so i’m not surrounded by scraps of paper. 

The result:

• I completed lots of quizzes on facebook
• Wished my friend Happy Birthday
• Read several fanfictions
• Added links to my already published stories on here
• Made a random bus/coach driver list
• Made a list of random train things
• Had an argument about forign swear words
• Played a game of 20 questions (Only got to about 10 though)
• Corrupted someone else into the world of fan fiction
• and wrote a grand total of 1 word.

Sucessful yes?  I think not.  Maybe i’ll do better tomorrow.

Well today was another boring day, I somehow got roped into putting the washing away and with how much there was it was an all day job.  So now i’m bored, fed up and did I mention bored.  Lets hope tomorrow is a bit better.