Conversations with other women
Disclaimer:- Don't own them just borrowing!
Episode:- Vaguely based on and round the time of Fearful Symmetry 06/03
Pairing:- James/Jean, bits of Robbie/Laura and Jean/Laura friendship
Rating:- M
Achieve:- . /group/lewisffarchive/
Summary:- A late night, too much wine and some serious girl talk leads to admissions and interventions that could change everything.
Author's Note:- This started out going to be purely a Jean/Laura friendship fic with discussion around both Jean/James and Laura/Robbie but it's sort of taken a more shippy turn in later chapters. Enjoy and reviews would be lovely!
"Dr Hobson is everything ok? I thought Lewis spoke to you already he briefed me about the…"
"I thought we'd all decided after so long it was ok to call each other by our Christian names Detective Chief Superintendent Innocent." Laura interupted shaking her head as Jean laughed quietly.
"Sorry Laura it's this office it does something to me it turns me from a normal friendly person to an over officious robot! What's wrong you look worried? Please tell me my boys haven't done anything stupid or I may involuntarily slip into official titles again." Jean smiled setting the black ebony fountain pen she sometimes wondered why she still used on the desk and saying a silent prayer that it really wasn't something serious. She hated having to be the person who called them out on every minor rule bending or slip from protocol and she didn't feel like doing it again right now.
"No it's nothing to do with work, well it is but not really….. Jesus Jean will you come out from behind that desk now I know why Robbie and James are so terrified of coming in here at times." Laura sighed laughing as Jean rolled her eyes, got up from behind her desk and stood in the middle of the room making the exaggerated point that she was well away from any furniture in the room. "Do you have time for a drink? Maybe this will be easier to talk about away from work since it's really not work related."
"Yeah of course I do but just so you know you are really worrying me now. Give me 10 minutes to finish up and I'll meet you in the usual place across the road ok?" Jean replied watching as her friend walked away. She knew that there was an almost but not quite relationship between Robbie and Laura the times when everyone has assumed that it had passed her by were long gone and given Laura's insistence that her problem wasn't work related she had to assume it was behind the uncharacteristic nervousness she'd seen. That was easy to work out but what she couldn't see just yet was what exactly had happened and that was worrying her as she signed off the case file in front of her and switched off the desk lamp before heading out of the office.
"I got you a drink." Laura smiled as Jean entered the small pub they all frequented. She'd spent the time while waiting debating the wisdom of what she was about to do. While they had all become close over the years Jean was still Robbie's boss and she was about to discuss something that could be construed as related to their current case.
"Thanks now are you going to tell me what this is all about? What's Robbie done?" Jean replied laughing as Laura choked on the sip of wine she'd just taken. "Well since you've assured me it isn't work related I'm assuming something has happened with your personal relationship."
"I need someone to tell me I'm being over sensitive and irrational and since you're the most level headed person I know and you know him pretty well too you were the first person I thought of. You know the photographer, the one with the…..well interesting photos?"
"Marion Hammond? Yes what about her?" Jean asked her eyes narrowing a little as Laura stared into her glass or a moment before taking a deep breath and continuing.
"Look I'm not normally an irrational woman, I know that Robbie might never be over Val enough to move on with someone else but I've always thought that if he did get there then we'd maybe have a chance but…"
"Laura are you trying to tell me you think Robbie's been involved with Marion Hammond? He knows better than to have a relationship with a suspect and even if he didn't he cares about you he's had plenty of opportunities over the years to have relationships but it's always you he comes back to. You're being irrational and oversensitive." Jean smiled throwing the other woman's words back at her as requested. If the truth be told she didn't think she'd have been as patient as Laura had over the years. Much as she cared about Robbie Lewis she also knew he could be impossibly introverted and like so many men too closed off about his feelings. "Do you want me to talk to him about it? I could ask James if you want there's no guarantee he'd tell me anything either but he might if I asked."
"Oh I think he'd tell you anything you wanted if you asked him." Laura replied smiling smugly at the puzzled look her comment was greeted with. Over the years she'd watched James Hathaway throw longing looks and wistful glances at his boss and she'd always assumed Jean was aware of it but chose to ignore it. Now though she wasn't so sure. "Come on Jean don't tell me you don't know James is crazy about you."
"Rubbish! Forget irrational and oversensitive you insane!" Jean laughed not quite believing what she was hearing. She wasn't going to admit that there had been times over the years she'd have happily have succumbed to any advances James Hathaway chose to make and she was sure Laura had taken leave of her senses to think that he could ever be interested in her.
"Oh my god you really haven't noticed have you?" Laura said quietly shaking her head in disbelief. "How can you not see the way he looks at you? The puppy dog eyes, the longing stares, the way he watches your every move when you're in the room. Are you seriously telling me you've never noticed?"
Watching as she knew Jean was running over the previous eight years in fast forward trying to identify the things she'd been told Laura smiled. It was no secret the illusive "Mr Innocent" was no longer in the picture but the reasons for his departure were a topic of speculation and she personally believed another woman had been involved. Now she could see that Jean really couldn't see how James could be attracted to her and she wondered exactly how whatever had happened had affected her friend's opinion of herself.
"No I've never noticed. I'm sorry Laura but I think you're imagining things and aren't we supposed to be talking about you and Robbie?" Jean finally replied trying to keep the defensiveness out of her voice. Things hasn't been easy in the previous few months and years and the last thing she needed was to start believing there could ever be anything between her and James. She needed to get the conversation back to Laura and Robbie before she admitted something she'd regret.
"I'm not imagining things and yes we are but we'll get back to you later. For now I'm going to get more drinks." Laura sighed getting up and heading toward the bar before Jean had a chance to object. Asking the bar tender for a bottle of house red she glanced back at Jean. She had a feeling it was going to turn into an interesting evening and if they could manage to sort out both their love lives by the end of it then maybe it would have been an evening well spent. "Actually can I get the wine to go?" She asked when the bartender returned before turning back to Jean. "Why don't we take this back to my place? We're only ten minutes away and this place is starting to get busy once it does you can't hear yourself think let alone have a conversation."
"Ok I'll see you there." Jean replied grabbing her handbag and coat from the back of the chair and following Laura to the door. "I'll stop for takeaway on the way over what do you want Chinese? Indian? Thai?"
"Anything at all I'll warm some plates and see you there."
Watching as Laura walked away Jean smiled, she never seemed to be able to find time these days to spend just meeting up with her female friends and now the unexpected turn the evening was taking made her realise how much she missed it. Reaching for her phone she scrolled through to the number for her favourite Thai take-away placing an order for collection before driving away from the station in a much better mood than she had been when Laura arrived in her office an hour before.