Disclaimer - No copyright infringement intended. The characters belong to the BBC because if they belonged to me, then Rob and Karen would live forever.

A/N: Short, sweet and cheesey but I felt I wanted to throw my hat into the Rob/Karen ring. It's my first attempt at WR fanfic so please be kind. Also, this is how things would be in Em-land!

Enjoy. Em x

Magic Words

"They must pay you some bloody wage to keep you here this late."

Karen looked up from the file on her desk to see Rob standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. He had a grin on his face and the deep creases on Karen's brow disappeared as she found herself smiling back at him.

"You're here too," she noted.

"Ah, but I'm only in it for the glory," he replied, holding up a rubber plunger. "Boy's loo was blocked again."

"Lovely," Karen grimaced.

"What are you up to anyway?" he asked.

Karen sighed and looked back at the sheets on her desk. "Catching up on the paperwork I missed while I was suspended."

"Ah. Well, if it's waited two weeks then it can wait until morning. Come and have a drink with me."

Karen shook her head but Rob continued.

"I'm putting this away," he indicated the plunger, " and then I'm coming back here. You'd better have your coat on, Mrs Fisher, because you've pulled."

As he disappeared into the outer office, Karen couldn't help but stare after him. The two weeks of her suspension had been nervewracking, but Rob had made sure he was always around, whether it was to listen to her worries or just inject a bit of laughter into her life. She couldn't remember ever feeling this way about a man, not even Charlie. It was all happening so quickly and yet, she knew, somehow, that it was right.

She lifted up the papers from her desk and filed them away. Rob was right. They could wait until the morning.

WATERLOO ROAD WATERLOO ROAD WATERLOO ROAD WATERLOO ROAD WATERLOO ROAD

Rob lowered his head and placed a kiss into Karen's hair. She responded by snuggling closer to him, her soft weight comforting against his side. He absently trailed his fingers up and down her left arm and she sighed contentedly. Karen had suggested they skip the pub and head to his place for a drink and Rob was glad now that she had. He felt so happy just simply sitting on the sofa with her, listening to the music that played softly in the background.

"Aiden not in tonight?" Karen asked, breaking the silence between them.

"No, I think he said he was going to see Jess."

"I'm so glad that they're getting on better. It's going to be a tough few months, hell, a tough few years if I remember rightly, so at least they'll have each other. Although, I'm not sure if..."

Rob pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her mid-sentence.

"I don't want to talk about our kids, Karen,"

"No?" she asked, her lips moving against his finger.

"No,"

Karen drew his finger into her mouth and bit down lightly. Rob inhaled softly at her action and withdrew his finger.

"You want to play dirty, huh?" he teased, moving forward slightly as he began to tickle her. Karen's laughter flooded the room as Rob's hands continued to roam her body, finding some areas that were more ticklish that others.

"Stop," she giggled, her eyes twinkling with delight.

"Not until you say the magic words," Rob said as he continued his assault on her. He lowered his lips to her neck and kissed her as his fingers moved over her stomach and hips.

She laughed. "...I...love...you..." Her words came in short bursts between giggles but they stopped Rob in his tracks.

"What?"

"I love you," Karen smiled, realising at the same time as Rob that this was the first time these words had been spoken by either of them. "I love you."

Rob grinned and captured her lips, kissing her hard. After a few moments he pulled back slightly, the pair of them smiling against the other's lips.

"I love you too," he whispered.

End