Free The Runaway Schoolgirl by Davina Williams

Gemma.
    Completely blown away, I made up a little speech on the spot, thanking them for everything they had done. I said that words couldn’t actually express how grateful we all were for how much support and care we had all received from them. I added that I hoped we hadn’t been too demanding and joked that the only thing I had ever asked of an officer was a cigarette! One of the officers stepped forward and said, ‘If it’s a fag that you want, then that’s what you shall have!’ They were all so lovely to me and it was so nice to be able to smile and joke around with them. It was such a contrast to the nightmare that I’d been through over the previous seven days.
    A group of about five of us went outside for a cigarette together. ‘It’s so fantastic to have her back,’ one of the police officers told me. ‘Tonight will be the first time in a long while that I have been able to tuck my children up in bed.’ It really hit me very deeply to see how many other people had been affected by what had happened.
    Next, I met up with Jim, the family liaison officer who had helped us over the weekend when Gemma first went missing. It was lovely to see him at the other side of the investigation; it felt like the whole episode had gone full circle. Jim introduced me to Sarah, the family social worker, and they explained to me what was going to happen next.
    There had been some stories in the media saying that Gemma would be taken into care when she returned to England. The reports had really upset me because they seemed to me to be suggesting that I must have been a terrible mother for letting this kind of thing happen to my daughter in the first place.
    Jim reassured me that this wasn’t the case at all. Gemma was being kept in protective custody while she was in France to keep her safe while she was there, but she would come straight home to the family as soon as she returned to England. There was no question that the social services were going to take her away from us.
    Sarah told us that the Children’s Services department had arranged a safe house in the country for us so that we could all lie low for a few days. It would give us time to regroup and would keep the press at bay.
    We also discussed what Gemma’s state of mind was likely to be after the experience. In order to work out how I was going to handle the situation, Sarah asked me a series of questions and evaluated my responses. She needed to be sure that Gemma wouldn’t come home to a barrage of interrogations and demands that she just forget about Forrest and move on with her life. I also needed to be prepared in case Gemma said she was in love and wanted to be with him. It was going to be a challenging time for everyone concerned.
    I wanted the whole episode to be over, but I had to be realistic about the situation. My first priority was Gemma. I had a hundred unanswered questions, but I knew that she had to tell me on her own terms. She was fifteen, still a child – still my little girl – and had been through so much. She needed time to process everything that had happened.
    Unbeknown to me, Max was giving a press conferencewith Jason Tingley at Sussex Police HQ while I was meeting the team in Eastbourne. I only found out about this after the event, but I was glad to be able to go home and breathe.
    It was lovely to have a house full of happiness again. Maddie and Lee were there, and we were all enjoying being together as a happy family. There were loads of messages on Facebook from well-wishers and the phone kept bleeping with texts from friends.
    Jason Tingley phoned on his way home from the press conference to tell me how happy he was for us. I could hear the elation in his voice. He too has children and I knew he had been deeply touched by the incredible outcome.
    Once Paul and I had got Alfie and Lilly tucked up in bed, we sat down together with his parents, who had come up to stay for the