Author's note: As always the characters belong to Elizabeth George, the BBC and the actors.

"I'm going away for the long weekend Barbara. It's been a long and tiring few weeks." DI Lynley sounded exhausted. He and his partner DS Havers had been working for three weeks to capture a woman who had been kidnapping then murdering young boys. The case had taken its toll on them both and finding the woman's body had hardly compensated. Tommy liked to ensure justice for victims. This time he felt cheated by her suicide.

"Sounds good Sir. Where are you going?"

"A friend has a small cottage in the Cotswolds just outside a village that has a pub and a small store and not much else. I was wondering if you'd like to join me." Tommy had not thought about inviting her until it slipped from his lips. Now that he had asked it seemed weird to think she would not be with him.

"You mean for the weekend?" She asked not believing what she had just heard.

"Yes," he replied bemused, "the break will do you good too."

"Nah, thanks but I had better study for my inspector's exam. You dobbed me in for it after all."

Tommy was not going to let her get away with that excuse. He liked the idea of being with her, away from the stress and strain of work. He realised he needed to be with her. They had been working so closely over the last months that not seeing her everyday had simply not been an option. Now that it was optional Tommy decided he did not want to be apart. It shocked him, but pleasantly. He smiled softly at her. "Then come with me and I'll help you study. You know it backwards already but I'd like to give you confidence."

Barbara was tempted. A break from London would do her good and Tommy was her only real friend. It would be relaxing. He had invited her to his estate in Cornwall before but going somewhere other than Howenstowe seemed different. It was an odd thought but it was more personal. "Are you sure? I mean if you want to forget work having me hanging around won't help."

"I'm inviting you as my friend Barbara not as my colleague. We don't have to be on duty all the time."

"Okay Sir. That'd be nice." Barbara agreed readily but had serious doubts about the wisdom of her decision. The broad smile on Tommy's face warned her not to renege.

"We'll drive up tonight. I'll pick you up about five?"

"Sure. See you then."

Barbara fretted about going up until the moment he rang her bell. She knew she was becoming too reliant on him lately. Gradually over the last few months their relationship had changed. It was subtle at first and she had thought it had been because of work. Now as she sat in her lounge waiting she knew exactly why she agreed to go and it worried her. She did not want him to know she loved him. They were good partners and good friends. It worked and she did not want to endanger it with any foolish notion that it could ever be anything more.

He rang her bell and when she opened the door she had to remind herself of her promise to herself. He had showered and changed into jeans and a casual shirt and already looked refreshed. He smiled at her and a rabble of butterflies took off and flew across her abdomen. Oh my! He is my colleague and my friend. This is just a weekend away to relax because we have been working hard. Calm down woman; you wouldn't be like this if you were on a case!

"Ready?" He smiled again as he spoke. He had suspected she might try to back out at the last minute and he tried hard yo be reassuring. Barbara was always nervous as soon as anything moved from business to personal and going away this weekend was personal.

"As I'll ever be."

"Good, we can practice your exam on the way."

Barbara groaned but found it was a less awkward way to spend the trip. He had helped her enough already to know the questions and she found she knew the answers. As they pulled up at the village to buy supplies she said, "Sir, other than tonight do you mind if we don't run through the exam?"

"Not at all."

"I hope you don't think I came under false pretences."

Tommy looked at her and frowned. "I like your company Barbara and if I can have that without having to ask you about arrest procedures, warrants and statutes then I am all the happier. Now come and give me a hand with the groceries."

Barbara fell instantly in love with the little stone cottage. It had a thick thatched roof that hung low over the entrance and bright blue flower boxes hanging below the two windows. The living area was cosy with one wall dominated by a stone fireplace and the space crowded by a large brown leather couch. There was a small kitchen and a bathroom out the back in a later timber addition to the original cottage. The bedrooms were part of the main house and the one she chose had a view of the steam that ran past the cottage.

"Like it?" Tommy asked.

"It's wonderful Sir! Thank you for persuading me to come."

Tommy laughed. "I didn't realise I had but it's my pleasure. It's nice to have you here. So do you want to walk into the village and grab a bite at the pub?" Barbara nodded enthusiastically.

The pub was small and delightfully quaint. Even Barbara had to duck under the lintels of the old doors. They selected one of the two free tables near the window and Tommy returned from the bar with two pints of ale. "I ordered for you. They only had one choice but it comes with chips."

Barbara smiled. "Thanks Sir."

"Listen about that. People here might think it odd if you keep calling me Sir. I do have a name you know and I think we went past the 'Sir' and 'Havers' stage years ago. Even at work people think you're odd."

"I prefer to think it shows respect."

"We can still respect each other's professional abilities and personal characteristics and call each other by name. I haven't got anyone in my life closer than you Barbara. It would be wonderful to just hear you acknowledge our friendship for once."

"I never thought of it that way. I do think of you as Tommy but it seems odd to say it," she confessed.

"Well practice this weekend and you'll get used to it."

"Now that sounded like an order that should have a 'yes Sir' in reply...Tommy."

His smile lit up the room. He had a special grin that he kept especially for Barbara. It always made her feel special, but this was a broader, cheekier version that she had not seen before. She suddenly felt flushed but oddly happy.

After dinner and another ale they strolled back to the cottage following the stream. It was still light enough to see but dusk was beginning to settle. "Let's sit on the hill and watch the stars," Tommy suggested.

"Right," she said skeptically, "isn't that a bit odd?"

"Didn't you ever lie down as a kid and look up at the stars Barbara?"

"No. Not too many stars were visible in Acton."

"You don't know what you've missed. Trust me."

They sat on the hill and waited for dark to fall as Tommy recounted his memories of stargazing on the cliff tops near Howenstowe. He lay on the grass facing the cloudless sky while a still unconvinced Barbara remained sitting. He started to point out the constellations and talk about how they were discovered and named. Barbara lay beside him so she could better see where he was pointing. She had to get close to follow his finger and an hour later she realised that she had her head on his shoulder and his arm was supporting her neck. She jumped up.

"What's wrong Barbara?" Tommy was alarmed.

"Sorry I didn't mean to...well you know." She was horrified that it had felt so natural that she had not even noticed.

"Frankly no. What are you talking about?"

She knew she was overreacting but if that could happen so easily he might notice how she felt about him. She should have kept her guard up as usual and refused to call him Tommy. "Well I had my head on you."

"Because I put my arm around you. I'm sorry. I didn't think it would upset you, especially as we have been lying here like this for almost an hour." Tommy had not thought anything of it but it was clear she had not noticed she was that close to him.

"I didn't notice. I was watching the stars."

Tommy started to laugh and Barbara joined in. "I told you it was fun. You forget all about the world and it's constrictions."

They meandered back to the cottage. It was almost eleven but Tommy did not want the evening to end. He poured them a nightcap and they sat on the lounge and chatted for an hour. Tommy found himself wishing Barbara would move closer and snuggle into him. Having her lie beside him had been nice. He could not think of a better word. It had given him a strange sense of serenity. He had slept with a few other women since Helen had died but that had been empty beyond the pleasure of the moment. Holding Barbara had been different. It had not even been vaguely sexual and yet he felt fulfilled and contented. He desperately wanted to feel that again.

Eventually they reluctantly made their way towards their rooms. Neither seemed in a hurry to leave the other but after a few minutes Barbara said good night and went into her room. She needed to break the tension or she would say something inappropriate. It would be very strange to ask him, even if they were really friends as he said, to just let her lie next to him as they had in the field and to feel the warmth of his body and the protective strength of his arms. You cannot ask a friend to let you pretend he loves you.

Tommy found it hard to sleep so tried to read his book. The light was dim and it strained his eyes but he was not really concentrating, he was thinking about what had happened. He had enjoyed the evening but was concerned at Barbara's reaction. It had been perfectly harmless and she had overreacted and created a tension between them and yet neither of them had wanted the evening to end. He thought she liked him, at least enough to trust he would never do anything to hurt her, but it would be unfair to ask her to just let him hold onto her all night. The more he tried to shake the image from his head the more he wanted it.

He was mulling it all over when he heard a noise from her room. He snuck out into the hallway and saw a light under her door. Clearly Barbara could not sleep either. He was about to knock when her light went out. He half turned to go back to his room when her door opened. They both jumped when they sensed each other. The hall was tight and dark and they were only inches apart.

Barbara put out her hand to steady herself, straight onto his naked chest. She blushed and quickly withdrew her hand hoping he had not noticed. "About earlier," she started, "I wanted to apologise."

"There's no need," he said, unsure what to say yet knowing that asking her to put her band back would sound wrong.

"I'm not used to that sort of thing and I hadn't noticed and then I got scared that you would think I was being forward and I..."

"Barbara stop! It's okay. It was fun watching the stars together. I get incredibly lonely at times so tonight it was nice to have my closest friend to share it with me. I felt, I don't know how to put it in a way that makes sense; I felt peaceful for the first time in a long while. Thank you." Tommy chanced it and put his arm around her shoulder and hugged her to him. It was a friendly gesture that he had done many times and yet this time it held much more meaning for him and he did not let her go.

"Me too. I think that's what scared me. And I couldn't sleep because all I could think about was how safe and secure it made me feel. For a moment I didn't have to be self-contained, independent Havers who never needs anyone, I just surrendered and watched the stars and it shocked me how that made me feel."

Tommy put his other arm around her and held her. She buried her face into his chest and her breath tickled in a way that enlivened his senses. He laid his face on her head when her arms came around him he said "stay with me Barbara. I don't think either of us wants to be alone tonight, do we?"