"Nicholas?" Danny called, rooting through the chaotic pile of boxes at the top of the bedroom closet, "Have you seen the XBox?"

"Didn't you lend it to Doris last week?" Nicholas strolled into the bedroom, cup of tea in hand. The cup shook and nearly toppled when he caught sight of what Danny was doing.

"Did I?" Danny continued his search, oblivious to the frantic tea steadying occurring behind him. Box after box flew over his shoulder, uniting afterward to form a rickety, makeshift pyramid. "Doesn't sound like me."

"Pretty sure you did." In his haste to cross the room, Nicholas ended up skidding across the hardwood and crashing into the side of the closet. " 'You can't be a proper copper without having played Grand Theft Auto 3, Doris,' " he recovered, a near perfect mimic of his partner.

Danny paused in his ransacking, a broken tennis racket in his hand. "Now that does sound like me."

"See?" Nicholas laughed nervously, positioning himself between Danny and the closet. "That's one case closed. Don't even have to file any paperwork. So, you up for a pizza? I'm up for a pizza."

"Cor, yeah! I've a hankering for a mushroom and onion. And green pepper. Well, with pepperoni. Can't forget sausage. Better get the everything, just to be on the safe side."

"Whatever you want," Nicholas promised quickly, "You sit down, relax, I'll pick these up, and then we'll -"

"Don't be silly!" Danny laughed, hitting him lightly on the shoulder, "I messed 'em up, I'll pick 'em up, that's how it..."

Danny's eyes lit upon a small, rectangular one near the top of the pile. "Hang on, what's this, then?"

"Nothing!" Nicholas snatched it from the top of the pile and concealed it behind his back. "Now, garlic bread or chicken wings with the pizza? Oh, who am I talking to - both, of course!"

"Oi!" Danny reached one hand after the other behind Nicholas' back as his partner dodged left, then right, then back again at lightning speed. "You can't get off that easily. As your partner, I demand to know what's in that box."

Nicholas regarded him carefully for a moment, then sighed in capitulation. "Oh, all right. I was saving it for your birthday on Friday, but I supposed now is as good a time as any."

Half in the closet, and half out, surrounded by beat-up boxes of shoes and old t-shirts, Nicholas Angel got down on one knee and opened the box.

Danny gasped and stepped back a pace, hands plastered to the sides of his face. "That's not...I mean, it can't be!"

Nicholas nodded gravely. "Oh, I can assure you it is. The real deal." He lifted it in Danny's direction. "Will you, Danny Butterman...take this ring to Mordor?"

The grin on Danny's face could have lit up the whole flat. "Have you gone mental? Course I will!" He snatched the box from Nicholas' grasp and ran his fingers over it, muttering, "The precious...my precious..."

"Authentic reproduction of the one they used in the films," Nicholas explained, a proud smile creeping onto his face. "Limited edition, only three hundred made. I got a cousin down in New Zealand who knows a guy, who knows a guy..."

Danny threw his arms around Nicholas' neck and dropped enthusiastic kisses across his face. "Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it!. Best bloody birthday present I've ever gotten."

Nicholas laughed and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Well, no one deserves it more. Now...how about that pizza?"