Disclaimer: I have no rights to these characters but I love them anyway.

It started out as Laura Hobson's idea. She'd joined Robert Lewis and James Hathaway at the pub. They were celebrating closing a case and were a few drinks in. She was merely glad it was Friday and put herself to the task of catching up. When she came back from the bar James asked for her help.

'The inspector here has a problem and it could do with a bit of female input' he said snidely.

Laura raised her eyebrows. 'Happy to help.' She turned to Lewis. 'What's up?'

'I've been wondering what to get Lyn for her birthday. It's coming up soon and I wanted to get her something nice. It's a round number and what with the baby and everything I thought I wanted to spoil her a bit, you know?'

Laura frowned for a moment in concentration. 'How about booking her some spa treatments? You could check with Tim if he can manage alone with the baby for the weekend and she could get some proper pampering.'

Lewis sat back in his chair. 'That's not bad, not bad at all. I might even book it down here in Oxfordshire and treat her to a nice dinner at the same time. I'll give Tim a call now, see what he thinks and when's good.' He stood up and walked away from their table, squinting at his phone as he looked for the name in his contact list.

James watched Laura as her eyes followed his boss. His keen detective eye was pretty certain she was looking at his arse. She had a half smile playing around her mouth until she caught the sergeant watching her. 'What?' she asked, challenging him. 'Nothing' replied James, casually lighting a cigarette. 'Just sitting here, minding my own business. If you want to ogle my boss, that's entirely your prerogative.'

Laura humphed. 'I wasn't ogling, I was admiring, and you're right, it's none of your business.' Lewis returned at that point and patted Laura's shoulder as he sat back down. 'Brilliant idea, thanks love. Tim's thinks it's a great idea and is happy to have some quality father son time. We've picked a weekend so I'll get her a voucher and send that in time for her birthday.' James was still watching them both carefully. Did Laura colour a little at his touch? Was her smile because of the gentle contact or just because her idea had been complemented? Did Lewis' use of the word love signify something intimate or just that he's had a few and was lapsing into broader Geordie as he usually did?

He exhaled, sat back and took out a cigarette. 'Back in a minute' he said and excused himself to go outdoors. It was a bitterly cold night but the courtyard at the Turf was at least sheltered form the wind. He watched Lewis and Hobson chatting inside, oblivious now to his gaze. They looked so comfortable together, why couldn't they just admit their feelings to each other. James was the first to admit that he wasn't exactly an expert on romance but these two were ridiculous. Even the chief super despaired of their inability to get together, and much as James thought it was his business a little bit given the amount of time he spent with Lewis, it certainly wasn't any of hers.

He was about to stub out his cigarette when something caught his eye. It looked for a second as if they'd been holding hands, but Lewis had let go to get out his phone. He leant in to show Hobson something on it, most likely a photo of his grandson given his past form. And what was that? Did Hobson just brush her cheek against his as she leaned in? Was there really something going on?

James thought for a moment. If there was something going on, and they were going to tell him they would have already. Or maybe he was ready too much into some innocent, friendly gestures. He had a moment of inspiration as he remembered a conversation he'd had a while ago. He got out his phone and opened up facebook. He searched through his meagre list of friends until he found the name he was looking for and checked their profile. He fired off a quick message and as he walked back into the pub a plan began to form.

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