Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction, not for profit, story. I don't own these characters, just borrowing them from Lewis.
"Do you fancy a ride some night after work?" Robbie was embarrassed after he realized what he said to Laura that day as they stood on the bridge, and then they laughed about it. He had meant it though, so a few weeks later they decided to go for that bike ride. After work Laura rode her bike down to the bike hire shop to meet Robbie.
It was a lovely evening for a ride. Laura led the way down a path along the river. Where the path widened they rode side by side. On the way back as they were going down a narrow stretch, Laura had to put on her brakes to avoid hitting a child that had run across from a nearby park. She shouted to Robbie to watch out. He intended to brake and started pedaling backwards, momentarily forgetting that the brakes were on the handlebars. Robbie and his bike bashed into Laura, and ran over her left foot. She looked at him and said, "Robbie, you on a bike!" After an ambulance ride (Robbie insisted) to the John Radcliffe, time in the waiting room, X-rays and an examination, Laura's initial diagnosis at the scene was confirmed and she did indeed have a broken bone in her foot. Robbie apologized several times until Laura finally asked him to stop, it was an accident and she was just glad it wasn't worse and the child was unharmed. Robbie called Hathaway to come pick them up. After he got Laura settled on the couch at home, Robbie had James take him to collect his car. He spent the rest of the night asking her what she needed and could he do anything for her, until she took a Valium and went to sleep.
The next morning after Robbie made breakfast, Laura said she had planned to go shopping that day after work, there were some things she needed. Instead she was taking the day off, planning to stay home and keep her foot elevated. Robbie took the day off to look after her and said he would do her shopping if she made him a list.
Laura made a detailed list of the items she needed and handed it to Robbie. He studied it carefully, brought it over to her, pointed at one item, and raised his eyebrows. Laura said surely he knew what that was, having had both a wife and a daughter. He said he did know what that was but had never actually purchased any; neither Val nor Lyn had ever asked him to. He had been in that aisle in the store with Val a few times but avoided looking at any of the packages very closely. Laura grabbed her crutches and said she would go along with him to the store. Robbie said no, the doctor said she had to keep her foot elevated today; he caused this and would take care of her, get what she needed. Laura told him she wrote down exactly what is on the package and if he couldn't find that, anything close would be fine.
Robbie went to the store and picked up all of the familiar items on the list first. He put them in the shopping basket and decided they wouldn't provide enough cover for the last item, embarrassed for anyone to see it, so he added a box of cereal. He took a deep breath and headed for the aisle where no man wants to go. Laura had provided a detailed description starting with the brand name. He found the brand and then scanned the dozen or so products looking for the one that matched the rest of the specifications on his list. He marveled at all of the choices, were they really all that different, and why did some of them have wings? He finally located the one Laura requested and saw that there were only two packages left on the shelf. Should he buy just one package or both, he suddenly realized Laura hadn't said how many, surely one would be enough until she was back on her feet. Besides if he bought two, he'd have to get another box of cereal. Just as he was about to reach for one package, a woman breezed by, grabbed both packages, tossed them into her trolley and went on to the next aisle.
Robbie stood there in a daze trying to figure out what to do next. He checked the shelf again to make sure there wasn't another package shoved in the back. He looked around at some of the other varieties as Laura said anything close to what she wanted was fine. Suddenly his hunter gatherer instinct kicked in and he decided he would get what was on the list, no substitution. He considered bargaining with the woman in the next aisle to see if she would give up one package. As he stood there deciding on his next move, a store employee came over and asked if he could help him. On the one hand he was relieved it was a man, on the other hand he wasn't sure a man would be able to help him. He pointed to the item on his list, explained that someone just took the last two, and asked was it possible they had any more in stock.
Fortunately the employee was able to locate more of that item in the storeroom, brought 12 packages out, handed Robbie two, and put ten on the shelf. Both men secretly pretended that the packages contained something from a hardware store like duct tape or sand paper. Robbie put one package under the cereal box in his basket and started heading to the checkout. He was still holding the second package trying to decide how to hide it in his basket when he turned a corner and ran into Hathaway. "So this is what you are doing on your day off", James said.
The female cashier commented on how nice it was to see a man that would buy this for his lady, her husband most certainly would not. Robbie tried to assume a look that said it was no big deal and felt pleased with himself. As she handed him his bags she said, "I'll bet you even hold her purse for her". Robbie hadn't had occasion to do that yet, surely a medical kit wasn't the same as a purse, but thought about it as he left the store.
Robbie put all of the shopping away except for the hard fought two packages, those he handed to Laura in a bag. Laura said thanks and hoped it wasn't too much trouble. "No trouble at all", Robbie said, "and when we go anywhere while you are on the crutches, I'll be happy to hold your purse".