Author's note: I don't own any of the characters nor the original Inspector Lynley Mysteries – they belong to Elizabeth George and the BBC.
Review and comment, but please keep in mind that I'm no native speaker. If I did something terribly wrong (rating, grammar, spelling...), please let me know. Thanks!
This is how badly a New Year's Eve party could be and that not every dream comes true. Well, that is to say sometimes yes, but not exactly the way you've dreamt of it.
And please remember to drink responsibly. Cheers!
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Barbara didn't know what to wear for that bloody New Year's Eve Party the Met was giving this year for some beneficial tralala she already forgot. "Casual evening dress" is what they wrote on the invitation. Gods, they're so funny. Barbara thought with eyes rolling. So she decided to wear that dark suit she usually put on for court and pimped it up with her red satin blouse and the new red pumps she brought with Winston after a really funny afternoon with too much wine.
That will do. she thought in front of her mirror. She wouldn't have accepted the invitation if it wasn't for Winston who is still grieving with the fact that his girlfriend had dumped him. He needed some distraction.
Winston came round to pick her up at about half past 7 pm.
"Hello, baby!" he whistled appreciatively and took a step backwards to eye her up. Broadly grinning he then gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Everybody will be jelly!"
"Oh, shut up, Winnie!" Barbara gave him a slap on the shoulder and went to the cab.
The party really was some kind of disaster in Barbara's opinion. It started with a speech by the Commissioner, followed by some – too much, like Barbara stated to Winston – words by some officials. Then most guests were clutching their drinks for half a complimentary hour before rushing to the buffet. The music was awful. Barbara and Winston made it funny for themselves by bitching about all and everyone in sight and keeping a polite smile on their faces. From time to time they had to stop that when one of their colleagues came by for a little chat. Around nine o'clock the music changed to something more danceable. Winston went nervous and started to look around the place and the drink in his hand. Finally he took a deep breath.
"May I have the pleasure of this dance?" Barbara turned around startled.
"Sir?! I expected you to be in Cornwall..."
Lynley grinned wryly. "I was fed up with all the party there. But this..." he made a gesture pointing to the hall. "...is nothing different. Except you…" he looked her up and down and stopped talking for two or three breaths. "…you look gorgeous."
Barbara could tell by his breath that he wasn't distracted by some fellow sufferer like she was by Winston so obviously Lynley had some glasses too much of whatever that colourful drink was he held in his hands.
"So?" Lynley gave Barbara an inviting glance.
"So? So what?"
"May I have the pleasure of this dance?" Lynley asked again.
"Oh, no, I don't dance."
"I don't care, I'll lead anyway." Lynley grinned, took her hand and pulled her to the dancefloor.
"Oh, you bloody..." Barbara cursed. "Excuse me for a while, Winnie." she said over her shoulder.
They danced quite good together. Even if he was a little bit tipsy and she had the last dance about twenty years ago. For Barbara's liking he held her a little too close. It wasn't that she didn't enjoyed it but it made her so 'goosepimply' to feel his body close to her. She couldn't bear it very long and only danced twice with Lynley. Then she looked out for Winnie and fled.
"Did you enjoy it?" he asked her suggestively and grinned his fruitiest grin ever.
"You shut up, Winnie. Give me your drink, I need it." Barbara's ears reddened which made Winston laugh out loud.
"You could have warned me of his presence."
"Oh, that would have taken the fun out of it."
Barbara's anger was soon forgotten and they went on bantering lightheartedly.
At half past ten Winnie excused himself into the arms of DC Ginny Donaldson and Barbara started to hop from colleague to colleague, exchanging some polite smalltalk with each, but most of all preventing herself to come too close to Lynley again. But that didn't work for the whole evening. At about twenty minutes to midnight he stood behind her again.
Oh bloody hell! Barbara thought. He definitely had too much drinks now. It wasn't that she was totally sober but Lynley was really drunk. Despite that he kept his good manners and didn't shout or was rude. He even didn't weaved too much. It was just a bit slurring and his breathing if you came too close. And he was searching her closeness.
She could avert the disaster of dancing with him again. At one minute before the New Year he put a glass of champagne in her hand and grinned.
"So I finally have the pleasure to start this new year with you, Barbara."
"You're drunk, Sir. I thought you were over with that." she really hadn't seen him drinking that much after he ended his dark time after Helen's death.
"Aaaah, who cares?"
The music stopped, the speakers crackled.
"Ladies and gentlemen, be prepared, raise your glasses, and don't be scared when the lights go out! The Countdown starts... now!"
"...ten ...nine"
Winston raised his glass across the dancefloor and pulled DC Donaldson to his side.
" ...six ...five"
Lynley came close to her side and leant his shoulder against hers.
" ...three ...two"
Barbara's heart skipped a beat.
"...one! Happy New Year everybody!"
The lights went out and Barbara felt some strong arms around her waist and some very spirited lips on her mouth. She nearly dropped her glass in shock.
The kiss lasted a short while. After that second of shock she responded and opened her mouth. For the flash of a moment the tips of their tongues touched. Then he broke contact and laughed triumphantly. "Ha!" Then the lights went on again and the band was playing Auld Land Syne.
Totally fuzzy Barbara sang like everybody did. Thomas had one arm around her shoulder and was rather bawling than singing it. Nobody really cared but they must have been looking like some boozers on the street.
"I'm getting us some new drinks." Thomas said after the song and left.
Barbara felt great relief when Winston showed up at her side.
"Happy New Year, Barb!" they embraced. "Our dear Inspector is kind of boozy, huh?!" he grinned. "Shall I call you a cab? I can handle him for you."
Barbara left the party at about half past midday. She was so fed up with Lynley that she shed some tears at home. To kiss Lynley or even more really was something she had been dreaming of for a long time now but that amount of alcohol wasn't involved then. Barbara sighed, made herself a last cup of tea and went to bed. This evening was a total disaster.
The door bell rang furiously and finally made Barbara wake up. It was two o'clock something – right in the middle of the night.
"Who the fuck is out there?" she barked through the closed door.
"It's me. Let me in, I'm freezing."
Oh bloody hell! Barbara cursed again. She opened the door.
Lynley stood there without his coat, just in his dinner jacket and with the bow tie loosened around his neck in the halfopened shirt. And he had a glass of champagne in his hand which he now raised.
"Happy New Year, Barb. I've got us a drink." he drowned that drink alone and went past her.
She could see from his heavy wobbling and his slurring that now he was really pissed. Swaying heavily Lynley put the glass on her coffee table with a loud clink. He also threw his bow tie there.
"What do you want at that time, Lynley? And give me one good reason for not throwing you out of my flat." Barbara bursted with anger.
"I'm not… I came here…" he plunked himself into her sofa. "…to say I'm not sorry for that."
Then with a sigh and grinning he let his head fall on the backrest.
"You what?!" Barbara couldn't believe it. "Get yourself out of here, Lynley, before I'm going to explode."
The answer was a silent snoring.
Barbara cursed once more for still being so patient but she threw a blanket over her sleeping DI and placed a bucket and a bottle of water next to him before she herself went to bed again. He'd get to pay for that tomorrow.
.
Sorry, but I thought I had to make the Knight being human. With some uncertainty and the will to drown it in alcohol. Well, Barbara wasn't really pleased with that but it kind of worked for Lynley. But let's look forward to his oh bloody hell bad, bad hangover tomorrow. I expect him to wake up something around half past one.
