Disclaimer: I don't own Lewis or even the title of this piece which comes from the Robert Burns poem " Auld Lang Syne" and the traditional song derived from it.

We'll Take a Cup of Kindness Yet

Robbie

Detective Inspector Robbie Lewis glanced down at the silvery font of the piece of parchment on his desk.

You are cordially invited to the annual Oxfordshire Police New Year's Eve Charity Ball beginning at ten o'clock p.m. on December 31st and concluding at two-thirty a.m. on January 1st. Additional information regarding the location, dress code, and cost of the event is included on the back of this card. To RSVP or if you should have any remaining questions, please contact the event coordinator DCS Jean Innocent at the telephone number provided on the back of this invitation.

Lewis reflected that it was a bit rich of Innocent to mark this ball as an "annual" event, considering this was the first time—to Lewis's knowledge at least –that the Oxfordshire Police had hosted any sort of formal dance. Of course, he couldn't really express this opinion—as the chief superintendent was taking all this extremely seriously, and "event coordinator" though she might have been, Jean Innocent was still his boss first and foremost.

After she'd handed out the invitations, Innocent had indicated her "strong encouragement" (though a better term might have been "veiled order") that everyone at the station attend, and because Lyn and the baby were spending New Year's with Tim's family this year, Lewis had no real convincing excuse for missing this ball.

He'd initially assumed that he and Hathaway would spend majority of the night sitting at a table together—sampling the refreshments and talking about anything and everything. However, James managed to surprise everyone by finding himself a date for the evening—the pretty younger sister of one of his band mates.

What was more, Hathaway was hardly the only one who was coming with an escort. All the other officers that Lewis had talked to had a date lined up for the ball. The famous Mr Innocent was even flying home a day early from his two- week business conference in Tokyo so that he could escort Jean.

Lewis knew that he had to find a date soon—or risk spending the evening totally on his own. The real problem was that he knew exactly who he wanted to go with—had known from almost the minute he learned about the event, in fact—but he didn't want to get his hopes up unnecessarily.

Detective Inspector Robbie Lewis had known Dr Laura Hobson for over ten years, and apart from Hathaway, she was probably his closest companion and his most-trusted confidant. But lately, he had started to notice that his heart beat double-time whenever the pathologist was around, and the realization had gradually struck him that maybe—just maybe—he wanted to be more than friends and that maybe—just maybe—Laura wanted that too.

But still, asking her to a ball of all things? Would she think the idea was silly, juvenile even? Laura had always seemed so sensible and logical. Then again, women could surprise you every so often. Last week, Lewis had watched the chief superintendent—in heels, no less—change her own flat tyre in five minutes flat without a spot of help. If Jean Innocent of all people had a mechanical side, wasn't it possible that Laura Hobson had a romantic side?

Well, there was only one way to find out for sure. It had taken Lewis three days to talk himself into it. And as he stood there outside the station mortuary right now, he was still far more nervous than he could remember being in a very long time.

What if he was too late? What if someone had already asked her? It wouldn't have surprised him; Laura was a remarkable woman: intelligent, funny, kind, and very very attractive. It was highly possible that she—like Hathaway, Innocent, and so many others—already had a date lined up for the evening.

' And if she doesn't, Robbie?' a voice in his head asked. 'You'll never know until you ask.'

He took one final deep breath to calm his nerves before going into see Laura.

The pathologist looked pleased to see him, albeit somewhat confused as to why he was there. "Robbie, if this is about the post-mortem…it's still not done. I thought I told you that I'd call when it's finished."

" It's not about the post-mortem. I just…I wanted to ask…if you'd like to go to the b—er… to go get coffee with me later today." He mentally cursed himself for losing his nerve at the last minute.

He thought he caught a gleam of genuine disappointment in Hobson's eyes as she replied. " I'd love to, Robbie, but I really can't. We're behind schedule here as it is, and you know, work comes first."

Lewis nodded. "I understand."

"I'll bet you do. From what I understand, you've got it even worse. At least the chief superintendent isn't trying to control my social life. James has told me about this party she's making you all attend."

" It's not a party; it's a ball," Lewis responded instinctively, having already been corrected several times on this important distinction by Jean Innocent.

" What's the difference?" the pathologist asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

" Damned if I know," Lewis replied, and Laura laughed. "Nah, it shouldn't be too bad, really. I just…I might feel a little more confident if I had a proper date for this thing."

Hobson gave no clear indication of whether or not she'd picked up the inspector's hint. "I'm surprised; I'd have thought you'd have the ladies queuing up at your door."

"No such luck, I'm afraid. Besides, there's only one woman I'd want to go with, and she's not at all the type to queue up at men's doors."

"Sounds like my kind of girl."

"I should hope so."

" Why is that? Do I know her?"

Lewis grinned. "I'd say you know her very, very well. " He took another deep breath and then finally said what he'd wanted to say for days. " Laura …would you you like to go with me to this year's annual Oxfordshire Police New Year's Eve Ball?"

" That's a bit of a mouthful isn't it?"

He shrugged." Don't blame me; the chief super's the one who named it. So…er…I don't think you ever gave me a clear answer; are you coming or not?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."