Neo occupied himself with making tea and coffee, trying to keep himself busy. From the outside, he would appear calm, but inside he was writhing with questions.

Just what was his daughter doing out drinking? How did she meet Charlie? And how did he now find himself making the private investigator he didn't want there, a tea in his own home?

He turned when he heard Charlie enter the room, swallowing when he saw her standing in just his t-shirt. Her oversized jumpers had hidden her frame well, but his thin t-shirt molded to her shoulders and fell down to her thighs.

'Washer?' Charlie held up her clothes, jogging Neo out of his thoughts.

'Right through there.' He pointed towards the utilities room, turning his back when Charlie left so he wasn't left with the image of her behind clad in his clothes.

He only turned back when she'd sat. Pushing her drink across the island towards her, he sipped at his own coffee, not sure how to start.

'Go on, you must have questions?' Charlie broke the silence first.

Neo watched her over the rim of his coffee, trying to order his thoughts.

'Where'd you find her?'

Charlie shrugged. 'Centre of town, on the grass outside the Sailor's Mate.'

Neo let out a breath. Willow was supposed to be at a friend's house for the night. He couldn't help but wonder how often she lied to him. The thought didn't sit easy with him.

'She was by herself?' He worried at his lip. Marton was a safe place, but that didn't mean that he wanted his teenage daughter out at 3am. Especially not alone. Not after they had an entire family go missing practically on their doorstep.

Charlie blew on her tea. 'No, she was with a group of friends by the seems of it, a mixture of boys and girls if you really want to know.' She watched as Neo's nostrils flared at the word boys and smiled, she'd guessed his reaction would be something like that.

'Did they...was everything okay?' Neo asked reluctantly. He hadn't seen any marks or cuts on his daughter, but they didn't always tell the entire story either.

Charlie paused, not sure how to word what she'd seen. She couldn't be sure what would have happened if she hadn't intervened. The kids were strangers to her, and she'd acted on impulse.

'There was a little touching. Willow took offence and tried to walk away. One boy didn't let her go, and she ended up falling. I intervened before things could get out of hand, though I'm not saying they would have.'

Neo took a moment to control his anger, trying to remind himself that he hadn't been there, and Willow appeared unharmed by whatever had happened.

'Look, there's no need to get your knickers in a twist. I'm sure they have some sort of CCTV over at the Sailor's Mate. Just ask to see it and then you can reassure yourself that nothing happened,' Charlie reassured him.

'I guess you think I'm overreacting?' Neo sighed, sipping at his coffee, surprised when Charlie shook her head.

'You're a parent it's your job to worry. Just don't be too hard on her. Kids have to make mistakes to learn.'

'You sound like you know a thing or two about kids. Do you have any of your own?' he asked, trying to think back to the report Gwilt had prepared on her. Had it said anything about children?

Subconsciously, Charlie's hand touched her abdomen where the scar still marred her skin. She rarely thought about it these days, unless anyone mentioned children.

'I was involved in a farm accident when I was eleven. Let's just say children aren't part of my future.' She smiled a little, though it didn't reach her eyes.

'I'm sorry,' Neo replied, automatically.

'Don't be. When it happened, I never thought about what I was losing, it only became more apparent later on in life. But things are what they are, not like I've ever found anyone to settle down with, anyway.'

Neo just watched her calmly sipping her tea, though he could guess how hard it was for her. His kids were the best thing that had come out of his marriage. Of all the things he would take back if he could, they would never be one of them.

'But you've got a nice setup here, Chief.' Charlie's smile was more genuine this time as she stared around the cosy kitchen.

Textbooks littered the kitchen table, along with the odd sock, a hockey stick was placed against the cupboard and family pictures littered the walls. Willow and a younger boy were in most of them, sometimes together, sometimes individually. There were a few adults scattered through.

With a start she saw the pathologist, Barry, in one of them, along with Neo and an unknown couple. But none of the mother, her investigator's brain, picked out.

Sometimes she wished she could shut her brain up for a few minutes. It enjoyed spotting anomalies in a crowd as she shopped, or noticing details in a friend's home. She could never seem to get out of her investigative mindset. No wonder I can't put up with a man long term, she thought to herself.

The way people so casually lied really did make dating for an investigator impossible. Judging from the lack of feminine touches in Neo's room, he was facing the same struggle she was.

'They've settled well.' Neo paused, feeling the need to share more after Charlie's admission. 'It was hard when we moved from London at first. Big change. New house. New job. I always wondered whether I made the right choice.' His mind wandered back to his daughter asleep upstairs. Could this act of rebellion stem from his decision to move them from London?

'Don't beat yourself up. Kids need to test the boundaries every now and then.' Charlie scoffed, nonchalantly.

But Neo's mind wasn't put to rest. Instead he started to feel guilty.

'You asked once why I ended up out in the sticks, well it seemed the best idea after my divorce. My ex-wife was a barrister, and she fell in love with a client whilst we were still married. After the divorce, she wanted nothing to do with me or the kids. I didn't want them to have to be reminded of her, so we moved.'

Charlie briefly leaned over and patted his hand before withdrawing. Neo was stunned to realise that he missed her comfort as soon as it was gone. It made him feel off balance.

There had been little time for relationships whilst he'd been raising his kids, and he'd never wanted another woman other than his wife. So why was his body reacting like this now and to Charlotte Hoggins of all people?

'You did what you thought was right. That's all parents can do for their kids. That's all any of us can do. We just have to make the right decision for ourselves at the time,' Charlie urged.

'Doesn't always feel like I'm succeeding,' Neo admitted.

Nights like this one were when his doubts flooded in. He thought he was doing a good job, though he often wondered if he was depriving his kids of things, especially contact with adults other than him.

Though Neo's parents loved their grandkids, they could only visit sporadically. And Samira's parents hadn't seen them since the divorce. His sister was the most likely to visit with her own family during the summer months.

Charlie shuffled on her chair and drained the last of her tea. 'When I finished college, I didn't know what I was doing with my life, so my parents told me to go out and get some life experience. My parents are hippies, so at the time I thought this was just some more of their daft advice.' She rolled her eyes and Neo chuckled. His own parents were always very proper, so it was hard to imagine Charlie's childhood. Though it explained her free spirit.

'Anyway, I worked at this real dive of a pub in London. The type that attracts regulars. So this chap in his mid-fifties starts coming in and we start talking. I help him with his crosswords or various things, nonsense stuff and then he offers me a job at MI6.'

Neo's eyes widened, and she laughed.

'I think I looked exactly like that. Apparently, they'd been watching me progress in my computer course at college. The puzzles that he needed help with were actually tests they gave all their potential candidates. And that's how I became a cyber analyst with British Intelligence.'

'But you left?' 

Charlie got a faraway look in her eye. 'After a while, you realise that sometimes you're saving the necks of people who don't deserve it simply because they're important, and that I could find my own way to help people.'

'That's very noble of you,' Neo teased, making her chuckle.

'Says the officer.' She gibbed back.

A beeping sounded from the utilities room and Neo left to investigate. He pulled the slightly damp clothes from the combination washer dryer, pleased to see them clean.

'Seems to have done the trick.' He passed her the clothes, their fingers brushing against each other, making his breathing hitch.

Charlie's eyes flashed to his, heat flooding her cheeks under his gaze.

'I better get dressed and head home.' Charlie dashed up the stairs before she could do something she'd regret.

Neo watched her go with relief but also disappointment. The relief he could understand, getting involved with Charlie was impossible. She was younger, more free, not to mention she was working the same case as him. But the disappointment was harder to understand. He'd never been so confused about what he wanted.

He rearranged his features as Charlie came back, now fully dressed.

'Thank you, for what you did for my daughter, if there's anything I can do for you?' Neo offered, walking with Charlie to his front door.

She turned as she stepped outside, a cheeky smile on her face. 'I'll think it over, Chief.'

She got into her car before Neo could think of a reply and sped off.

Despite being covered in vomit, it hadn't been one of Charlie's worst nights. In fact, she'd found it nice to see the usually tight buttoned Chief letting his hair down. She only hoped his easygoingness would continue.

She drove past the Sailor's Mate, seeing a shadow pass by the window. It startled her for a second, but when she checked her mirrors, it had disappeared.

Shaking herself, she let it go. No doubt it was just the publican Rob moving around. Considering he lived above the pub with his wife, this seemed plausible enough.

Pulling into her driveway, her mind was too preoccupied with the lovely Chief to linger on disappearing shadows. Charlie entered her house with a yawn but her eyes held pure happiness.

Her job and her lifestyle made connecting with people hard. At least with most people.

As she readied herself for bed, she wondered why Neo Denzel seemed to be the exception.