Hi all – here is my first AU Stendan story. I had this idea a few days ago and just wanted to get this out as a prologue to see what you all think. Thank you to everyone who has been reading and supporting Domesticity. I will of course be finishing that before I pursue this story; but I'm not going to have access to the internet for the next day or so, and I wanted to post this first. Please let me know what you think of this first chapter. Thank you x

Exposure

The young man took a deep breath and braced himself. He was about to enter into the unknown, and that wasn't a feeling that ever sat well with him.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for DCI Osborne?" Ste Hay asked timidly as he walked into Chester's MIT Department where he was about to start his first day at work.

"Who's asking?" a gruff male voice responded almost instantly. Ste turned around to find he'd caught the attention of a tall, well-built man with dark hair and a moustache.

He tried to speak but the words got stuck in his throat - something that hadn't happened to him in years. The man who'd just spoken to him was leaning against the filing cabinet, arms folded as he waited for an answer.

"Er...I'm the new Constable," he mumbled. Then he reminded himself of what that meant and spoke up. "Steven Hay."

"Well then, I guess ye better come this way," the man told him, and now Ste could detect a strong Irish accent. He followed him into an office right at the back of the room, where the door was shut swiftly behind them.

The moustachioed Irishman then placed himself in the chair behind the desk and leaned forward. The sign in front of him said DCI JACK OSBORNE.

So this was his boss?

"Tell me then, Steven, what makes ye right for the job?"

Ste almost squeaked out loud, he was that stunned at the question. He already had the job, didn't he?

"I don't understand," he replied blankly.

The man rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, then put his feet up on the desk. "Hmm. If ye can't understand a question as simple as that, then I think we have a problem."

Just as Ste was about to protest his complete and utter confusion (not to mention his qualifications) the door burst open and an older, greying man walked in.

"DS Brady, is there any particular reason why you're lording it up in my office?"

The Irishman looked up and smiled, seemingly unaffected. "You know me, Jack. Just welcoming the new lad to the team."

At this brief exchange, Ste's mouth dropped open. The lying bastard!

The real DCI, who himself had a Scottish accent, merely shook his head. Clearly he knew this man better, but was choosing not to bother reprimanding him further.

He wondered if the situation he'd just been put in was a regular thing.

"Go and find DC Hayton, I want you both to go and bring in a suspect. We've got a new lead. DI Walker will fill you in."

Brady nodded and left the room, and the DCI went to sit down, gesturing for Ste to take a seat.

"Sorry about our Sergeant, DC Hay. He's not everyone's cup of tea, I'm afraid. You'll get used to him. I'm Jack, your DCI. Now, are you happy to just jump straight in? We've got a big case on the go at the moment; sixty year-old man, mugged and left for dead on the side of the road two days ago. Had his head caved in; he didn't stand a chance."

Ste nodded, trying to take everything in. He filed the comments about this DS Brady to the back of his mind for later, and forced himself to focus on the matter at hand.

"Right, what can I do to help, Sir?"

The older man smiled. "That's what I like to hear – great attitude and straight to the point!" he laughed kindly.

Ste grinned back. He knew already that he was going to like working for this man.

"And none of this 'Sir' please," he added. "That's what I have to call the super. Most folk round here just call me Jack. Or 'Boss' if you'd rather!"

With another smile and a nod of understanding, Ste stood up. "Okay, Boss," he replied. The DCI told him where he could start, and he left the room ready for a day of hard graft.

~ EXPOSURE ~

It was almost evening when he had his next encounter with the Sergeant who had left him speechless that morning. The man strolled into the room with an air of confidence that Ste couldn't help but admire.

Then he cursed himself inwardly for even noticing this when he was actually supposed to be making enquiries.

"Name's Brendan Brady, I don't believe we've met properly," the Irishman announced as he came to a stop in front of the desk.

Ste looked up and decided to keep things formal. If he wanted to pretend that the episode in the office hadn't happened, that was what he'd get. "You're DS Brady, right?" he checked without waiting for an answer, then offered out his hand to shake. "I'm DC Hay."

Brady looked bemused, but shook the younger man's hand anyway. "Most of us tend to go by a first name basis around here, Steven. Ye can just call me Brendan."

Ste was surprised yet irritated at the same time. This man was hard to work out. Posing as a self-important head of the department one minute; and the next it was 'I'm not bothered about rank, call me by my first name'.

"Right then, you can call me Ste," he replied, boldly correcting that niggle of annoyance the man's last statement had caused him.

There were a couple of beats of silence, in which he wondered whether he'd gone too far. Whatever the man's issues were, he was still his superior officer.

But then the Sergeant barked out a laugh. The intensity of it almost made Ste jump.

"Mouthy little sod, aren't ye? I like that. I'm still gonna call ye Steven, though."

He wanted to protest, but found that he was starting to like hearing the sound of his full name when this man said it.

There had to be something very wrong with that.

"Are you going to stand there making small talk with poor Ste all day, or are you planning on actually doing some work before this day is out?" DC Hayton, or Nancy as she had introduced herself, called out abruptly.

There was a glint in Brendan's eye, and Ste wondered what his next move would be. Nancy, for her part, hadn't even looked up from her own desk. She didn't seem to care in the least that she had just cheeked someone she was supposed to be working under.

"Very funny, shorty. Know ye place."

Nancy merely smirked and shook her head. Ste was relieved when the Irishman walked away without another word, and he could carry on with the task at hand.

About half an hour later he could see that everyone was winding down for the night, and was beginning to look forward to heading home to relax. Not that this first day hadn't been...interesting to say the least. But he was already exhausted and he hadn't even stepped outside MIT yet.

Unfortunately the early reprieve wasn't to be.

The door burst open and in walked the DCI with DI Walker. Apparently they were all needed at the scene of a second mugging. They had another murder investigation on their hands.

Brendan stood from his seat on the other side of the room, picked up his car keys and threw a quick glance Ste's way.

"Steven, ye are with me," he announced casually before waltzing out after his own superior officers.

Blinking in shock, the young Constable got up to follow him, asking himself whether he'd drawn the short straw here without even having a choice.