Title: Life's Little Surprises
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the plotlines of "Lewis". I'm not making any money with this story.
Summary: Even somebody as used to unusal occurences as Jean Innocent can be surprised at times.
Spoiler: Massively for S7E2b "The Ramblin' Boy", references to S5E3 "The Mind Has Mountains"
A/N: This story comes from the the already famous scene at the end of "The Ramblin' Boy" which can be summed up entirely by a screenshot of Jean Innocent's expression. It inspired me to this story. Many thanks go out to my dear beta CatS81 for looking this over.
Enjoy.
Life's Little Surprises
Jean Innocent prides herself in her unflappability. In her eyes, it is part and parcel for a woman having risen to the ranks of Chief Superintendent. In addition to Mr. Innocent's sometimes outlandish and spontaneous ideas, her detectives never cease to deliver unexpected developments. She needs to be prepared and usually she is.
Of course, when dealing with the notorious DI Lewis and his equally exasperating Sergeant Hathaway, her calm has been ruffled in the past. Frequently. Sometimes she has even wondered whether they aren't plotting regularly over a pint or two how they could drive her blood pressure up even further. She wouldn't put it past them.
In the sum total of all her experiences though, Jean Innocent likes to claim that the feeling she has at this very moment is wholly impossible.
She is, in a word, flabbergasted.
Not quite speechless, but close.
Looking for help, she can see that it won't come from Hathaway, across the table, looking equally as gobsmacked.
She can't help but turn again and stare again at the display before her eyes, can't believe it's altogether real.
The rumour, of course, has been going around forever, just like the only half-hidden looks of sympathy going the doctor's way. And though Jean has quietly, and out of pure frustration at times, been cheering these events on, she finds it unbelievable that reticent, reserved Robert Lewis would allow Laura Hobson to kiss him in the public room of a pub. And kiss her right back too. Not the kind of friendly peck you'd give a good friend, but the full-blown version with tongue and heavy breathing involved.
They come up for air, and since Lewis seems to remember they are not exactly alone, they all come face to face. All of them are embarrassed, except Lewis himself, which is saying a whole lot.
She manages to choke out an "Evening?" Half question, half squeak of incredulity.
There's no reply as an awkward silence settles for a few moments. Hobson breaks it by making an inane comment about Hathaway's sunburn, which doesn't exactly break the ice.
Everybody knows how close Robbie and his sergeant are, such momentous developments within a few days of Hathaway being a away on holiday must come as a shock to the young man. Jean herself knows that she is shocked.
The new couple looks equally as self-conscious, caught as they are. If they have had any intentions of keeping this a secret, that bird has already flown right out of the window. It won't take long before the entire Force will be talking. And talk they will. For a long time. Quite gleefully too.
Robbie offers to get the drinks, quickly outdone by Hobson, then calmly resolves the growing embarrassment by leading the good doctor away to the bar.
Maybe it's that which stuns Jean so much - the absolute calm and ease with which the Inspector handles the situation. As if, once he's come to the decision there is no turning back and no dallying around.
They disappear and with that Jean's incredulity breaks out. Her face must be a picture, but for God's sake, "How long...?" she asks.
Hathaway just shakes his head, picks up his pint and mumbles something along the lines of turning his back for five minutes, which is hilarious and surprising at the same time. It also answers the question of how long, because fantastic detective Robbie Lewis may be, but he is a crappy liar.
"And now?"
Hathaway shrugs, sips his beer and stares at her. Then he grins and gestures minutely with his head. Normally, she'd call him on his cheek, but this isn't normal, is it? Following his indication Jean gets a good view of the bar, the handholding, the quiet laughter, the bodies standing close together.
"Didn't you tell me once, ma'am...?"
It is her turn to give him a questioning look.
"They've banged their heads together and started acting like grown up people who like each other."
There's a vague memory, months, possibly years old, and suddenly Jean feels herself flush in renewed embarrassment. "Don't try to be funny, Sergeant," she hisses quietly, though all the good it does is to make Hathaway smirk.
"They just followed your..."
He doesn't finish his sentence seeing the couple in question returning to the table, drink in hand. A lot more circumspect now, they won't be doing any further kissing in the pub, but their body language is still territorial, proprietary.
Hathaway sees it with a shake of his head, drinks his pint, and smiles.
And Jean Innocent, Chief Superintendent at the Oxfordshire Police Force, used to many surprises from her husband and the many detectives supposedly following her command, decides that this evening is just another of life's little surprises.
And by far and large...not the worst.
Thank you for reading. Comments would be greatly appreciated.