Author's note: All the usual disclaimers apply. I found this one sitting half written on my PC from months ago so I decided to finish it.


"I don't care. I'll pay."

"And your relationship to Ms Havers?"

Tommy did not want to explain the complexities to the officious woman behind the desk. He was her colleague and her friend but he was also the closest thing she had to family. "I'm her partner, Lord Asherton." Tommy handed her his platinum credit card. "Any costs can be billed directly to me and I must insist that you search harder to find a single ward."

The woman's eyes bulged slightly at his title and her fingers flew furiously over the keyboard. "I can arrange for her to return to a single ward after surgery but not before I'm afraid Lord Asherton."

"Very well, thank you for your help."

Tommy Lynley walked back to the emergency room. He did not use his title often but when it was necessary he was happy to use whatever influence he could. He took a deep breath and entered the room. As he walked past the curtained cubicles the antiseptic smell of the ward barely masked the starkness of life and death. A child was vomiting into a metal bowl while his anxious mother stroked his head. Opposite a stab victim was oozing coppery blood while a doctor tried to stich the wound. An elderly man with no shirt had fallen and broken his hip and was writhing in agony on the narrow gurney in the section next to Barbara. Although she faced surgery Tommy was relieved that Barbara's condition was relatively normal.

"I have fixed everything," he told her as he sat on the narrow metal stool beside her bed. "Private ward and a good surgeon. I wasn't going to let the NHS leave everything to chance."

"Thanks Sir." Barbara smiled weakly and Tommy could see that despite the morphine she was still in pain. For her not to protest about using his money on her was a sign that she was heavily affected by the drug.

It had happened quickly. He and his sergeant had been interviewing an elderly woman suspected of murdering her mentally challenged son. Barbara had been very quiet and when he had looked across she had gone pale and had started to sweat profusely. Tommy had ended the interview quickly and ordered the woman to be returned to her cell. "What's wrong Barbara? You look unwell."

"Nothing Sir," she had replied but when she went to stand she had cried out in pain and grabbed her right side before collapsing. Tommy had been able to stop her hitting her head on the table as she fell. He helped her to the ground and called desperately for an ambulance as he cradled her head in his lap and stroked her forehead.

She had been in and out of consciousness in the ambulance. Tommy had insisted on accompanying her and had held her hand while the paramedic made preliminary assessments. On arrival at the A&E she had been whisked away for tests leaving him to pace the waiting room. He had finally remembered to telephone his constable with an update but he had little information. "They are thinking appendix at this stage Winston. I'll know more soon."

An hour later the doctor emerged. "It's an errant gallbladder. Tests have confirmed a stone is trapped in a bile duct. We'll operate on that and remove the gallbladder at the same time. It's a useful but not strictly necessary organ so Miss Havers will be fine in a few weeks. She can go home tomorrow as long as she has a competent adult with her for the first seventy-two hours." He had handed Tommy a leaflet explaining the operation, the risks and potential side effects as well as dietary instructions and guidance on how to look after the patient. Lynley dutifully read it and decided Barbara would need to stay at his flat for a least four days after she was released. He would mention that to her later; no point in arguing now.

She was conscious and anxious. Tommy want to hold her hand again to reassure her but it did not seem appropriate. Instead he talked to her about their case. She nodded and added a few comments but he could tell it was not a conversation she was enjoying. He glanced at the clock. They would come for her soon. He wanted to say that he had realised how important to him she had become but he feared it might sound to final, as if he thought she might die. Instead he was upbeat. "I'll be waiting outside for you Barbara. I'll see you when you come back to the ward." He tried to smile but he knew he was not masking his worry.

Barbara grabbed his wrist with surprising power. "Thanks Sir. For everything. You know, just in case."

Tommy took her hand and held it in both of his. "It should be me that is thanking you Barbara. I value our friendship more than anything. Now stop being sentimental. Everything will be fine and I'll see you soon." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek then left the cubicle. He could not look back.

Barbara was returned to the ward late and Tommy had worn a visible path across the polished linoleum floor. There had been some complications from the scar tissue where she had been shot so the surgeon had needed to open her up instead of operating laparoscopically. The doctor warned Tommy she would need to stay in hospital an extra day and with someone to look after her for at least a week. Lynley phoned Hillier and told him he was taking two weeks leave. He could have asked but he was not in the mood. He had no intention of leaving Barbara with strangers.

She drifted in and out of sleep but at least she had known he was there, waiting, when she returned. The staff ushered him out at midnight with a promise to return at nine o'clock when visiting commenced. At home Tommy could not sleep even though he was confident Barbara would be fine. He was restless because he could not understand why he had been so distressed. Was it because it brought back memories of when she was shot or when Helen had died? Was it loss he feared? If anything happened to Barbara it would destroy him. She was his last toehold on the world.

The next morning she was weak but back to her usual self in spirit. Their argument had been predictable. Barbara thought she could manage at home by herself while Tommy had insisted she stay with him. "Barbara, you can come home with me or I can pay for you to go to a convalescent home. Either way you are not staying by yourself."

"Fine. Where's the home? I am not staying with you and you are not paying." Barbara was embarrassed that he wanted to look after her. It did not seem normal to have your boss nurse you and she did not want to be seen at her worst by him. She remembered his concern last night and the way he had comforted her. He had held her hand in the ambulance. It was a memory she would cherish. As he sat with her after the operation she had allowed herself to pretend, in her anaesthetic fog, that he was her partner in ever sense. It helped then but was painfully embarrassing now. She hoped she had not said anything awkward or that if she had he had blamed the drugs.

"Suit yourself."

Tommy had turned to leave. He was almost out the door when she spoke. "Sir, wait. I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound ungrateful."

He returned and sat on the chair by her bed. The cheap, grey vinyl seat sighed as he sat. He was simply another weight in a long line of family that the chair had supported. "You don't. Your stubbornness shows an independence of thought that is admirable, except when you need to rely on others. It's okay to need people Barbara, especially me."

She smiled at him but looked almost sad as if she wanted to say something more. Tommy wanted to hold her hand again but did not dare. Instead he talked about work and they settled into their familiar routine. He stayed until four when day time visiting finished and was back promptly at seven for the evening visiting. "I didn't expect you back Sir," she said as he walked in. She was secretly delighted to see him. The hospital bored her and she needed the distraction.

"I thought you might like to know I have arranged everything for tomorrow. I can collect you at ten. I have bought plenty of chicken and fish and have a selection of magazines and books for you to read." Tommy wanted Barbara's recovery to be as easy as possible and if she got bored she would be impossible to manage.

"I feel embarrassed that you are going to this effort Sir," she said shyly, "but I appreciate it."

"It's what friends do."

The next morning Barbara was eager to leave with him. She had struggled to sleep with the noise and routine of the hospital. Last night after Tommy had left she had tried to watch TV. Thursday was here favourite viewing night but her channel was barely visible with wavy interference lines and crackly audio coming through the earpiece of the controller that was not long enough to reach her preferred ear.

"Please tell me we can leave," she pleaded as he arrived.

"Yes, I just have to sign for you and we can go."

"Makes me feel like a dog being collected from the vet!"

"I'll give you a bone when we get home." Tommy had meant it as a joke and in the literal sense but as soon as he said it he realised the double meaning. Barbara had blushed and he knew she had not missed the inference. Flustered he tried to explain. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that like that. I was taking the dog analogy and extending it. See if you were my dog I would take you home and tuck on your bed and reward you with a bone."

Barbara started to laugh then cried out in pain. "Don't make me laugh Sir, it hurts!"

Tommy was looking around the room above her head frightened to make eye contact. "Sorry," he said before he also started to laugh. "I'll just shut up now shall I?"

"I think that might be best."

He looked at her now and found himself staring directly into her eyes. They were burning fiercely and the green shimmered as she laughed. Fleetingly he thought he would not mind the other meaning either. Tommy was ashamed of himself. Barbara was his colleague and his friend. She was recovering from surgery. His thoughts were entirely inappropriate. "I'll be back."

He left the room and pressed his back against the wall and closed his eyes. Perhaps he was just over-tired and a bit emotional from the shock of yesterday. He had no idea where those thoughts had come from and he tried, somewhat unconvincingly, to tell himself he did not harbour those desires for Barbara. He had never thought about her physically before now and he should never think it again. She was his best friend; nothing more and certainly not that. Their relationship was more spiritual. He composed himself and went to the nurse's station to complete the discharge procedure.