Author's usual notes and disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters nor the original Inspector Lynley Mysteries – they belong to Elizabeth George and the BBC. I have borrowed the characters from the TV-Show and solely own the ideas of my stories and the developments I've let them go through.

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A/N: This is just another idea I needed to get out of my head before Christmas and before I could seriously go on with A Chance Meeting. It's a really short story and I actually could have worked it all out (means fill the string of ideas with more text ;-) have more drama, have more inner torture, have more romance, etc.) but there was no time for it at the moment. So excuse the shortness and the somewhat simple choice of words but I decided on publishing it anyway, so it's just in time for you to make...

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A Wish For Christmas

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Later she only recalled a loud argument with him in his car and then a heavy noise screeching through her brain. What followed was a long time of recovering and some sort of happy ending.

Barbara could not recall anymore what that argument was about. They argued a lot, it was how they solved their crimes. Tommy had been bringing her home in his precious classic car - she had a faint memory that they were shouting at each other about the old dark red tin thing - and they had waited at a red light. Nobody had seen it coming when her boss had driven on after green showed up and the lorry driver had been the last to see anything coming at all with his eyes on his mobile and ignoring his own red light.

Metal had burst, glass had splintered and before her head had bumped into something and all went black she only just had felt a piercing pain in her left side. Barbara did not remember her boss cursing at her to "not the bloody hell" leave him now. She did not remember his trembling fingers wiping the trickling blood from her temple or holding her right hand or how she was cut out of the seat and brought into hospital or that she was guarded by him each and every day of her four days coma after the surgery.

When she had been lying there awake Tommy dropped by one or the other day. He had started to call her his angel because she had taken all the injuries and had left him none. He had been almost completely unharmed.

"How's your car, Sir?" she asked once.

Her boss fetched a number plate from his bag and gave it to her. Once it had been the front one. It was completely crumbled.

"Unfortunately it didn't make it." he answered but before she could pity him for his loss he motioned for her to read the engraving on the backside.

For my guardian angel
I don't care for my "precious car",
I only care for my precious Barbara! T.

Never would he tell her that he had thought about those lines for days. He had wanted them to be close enough to show how much he cared for Barbara but of course not too close to shy her away immediately, although at one point he even had thought about the line 'I love you'. That had been when he realised that he actually did just that.

Tommy never had told her that he had sat at her bed day and night for the entire time of her coma. Barbara only learned of it four weeks later when she finally was at home again and Winnie brought her some groceries and some gossip from the office. The DC was quite astonished that Lynley never had told her but he left it at that and did not mention it anymore. Winnie also told her about the bloody mood their boss was in and that she should recover as soon as possible and come back. She would know how to handle him and her absence probably was the reason for Lynley's grumpy mood. But Winnie had no answer either why the DI so rarely had showed up at her bed or not at all later at her home. How could they have known that he had been afraid of his own feelings? Anyway his Lordship had made sure that Barbara was nursed professionally at home and she was too relieved getting some care and help so she did not object for long. Later the two women even became some sort of friends.

Five more weeks later Barbara showed up in the office with a huge metal leg splint at her left leg. The other injuries only were small bruises now or fresh scars under clothes and even her equally complicated broken left arm only was in a sling then. Since also her right ankle was still put in a cast she could not walk yet but her nurse had brought her there in a wheelchair.

Barbara received a really warm welcome by her colleagues. Unfortunately Tommy was away for their actual case. She suspected he had arranged it on purpose. She could not know that he was missing her so much that it hurts and that he was unable to tell her. Even their text messages or short calls during her absence mostly lacked even of a hint of his feelings.

But she was missing him as much. Internet provided her with tons of cheap romance novels to distract her from the feelings she had discovered. She had cursed all the hours she had alone at home with nothing to do but think - of life itself, how fragile it was and that she really needed some personal loving care. In those hours she cursed the time she had not spent with Tommy. He was the one who should be her personal loving carer. Unfortunately he was not.

Seeing the festive season coming closer she also cursed the fact that she probably would not be able to show up at the annual Christmas ball of their department. Not that she was eager to go on a ball, and she usually avoided it, but this springtime at an Oxfam shop she had found a wonderful dress she had wanted to wear this time. With her leg still in that metal splint she would not be able to wear it, probably not even able to walk at that time, and definitely not in those nice matching heels.

But Clara, the nurse, had made sure her patient was doing her workouts regularly so one day early in November Barbara was able to get up from her chair and get herself a beer from the fridge. Of course Clara scolded her for doing it when she was away at the grocery shop but Barbara just laughed, got up again and fetched them two more beers to celebrate it.

Clara was not only a wonderful nurse but as chance would have it she was a good tailor too, so despite Barbara's objections she cut the cheeky but decently long dress and sewed in a very indecent sexy vent.

"You are going to that ball and - oh shut up! Yes, you do. In exactly this dress. You'll blast him off! And that's that!"

She also had spotted red matching running shoes in her collection so Barbara had no more excuses not to go.

On the said evening Clara brought her to the ball. "And he'll bring you home, I bet! Or take." She chuckled. Meanwhile the nurse had learned that sometimes Barbara just needed a little push in the right direction. She waited until Barbara had made her slow way up the ramp at the entrance and waved good bye at the stubborn police woman who had refused to take her crutches to the ball.

She was a bit late so Lafferty already stood in some corner of the entrance hall flirting with a young WPC. He whistled at Barbara although he just saw her in the long dark green coat Clara had unearthed in a second hand shop.

"Don't feel disturbed, Stu." Barbara laughed at him and continued her limping way down the corridor where she put away the coat.

The double doors to the ballroom, aka Metropolitan Police Sports Hall, were wide open so she simply entered. Coming at that time of the evening when the event was in full swing and coming in alone in her striking dress she somehow felt displayed but fortunately only her closest colleagues came up to her cheering that she had made it here.

"And wow, Barb, you look delicious!" Winston praised her with an insolent stare up and down her body.

And there he was. Standing at the bar with another DI Tommy spotted the new guest and in the safety of the distance shamelessly seized her up. The dress Barbara wore was a really wonderful (and wonderfully sexy) bright red dress with a white furry neckline, decently long and not showing too much skin with its long sleeves. Due to the leg splint the dress stretched a bit at her hip but in his opinion that was a very nice touch to it. Barbara gave him a warm smile when he had spotted the sneakers and gave a laugh so loud that she even could hear it there near the entrance. Winston guided her to a seat and in that moment Tommy almost spat his drink. Barbara had to turn and so the vent was revealed to Tommy's eyes. The vent not only showed the metal splint but a huge portion of her thigh above the knee too. He had to swallow down a lump in his throat and compose himself. Never would he have thought that Barbara would wear such an indecently decent evening gown and she absolutely had the figure to do so. Maybe not the opportunities but that was a fact he was going to change.

"He is very pleased with that sexy dress, Barb!" Winston muttered low.

"What? Who?" She played the clueless.

"You know who." The DC rolled his eyes. "At the bar. No - now approaching. I'll leave you to the happy Inspector. Have your fun, Barbie!"

"Ah, stop talking, Winnie!"

From their greeting on all throughout the evening Tommy had made clear that he was absolutely pleased to see her there. In fact he had not expected her but that was all the more wonderful. He never left her side and was making a little fuss. He brought her champagne and he brought her snacks and at one point he guided her to the bar because he had been able to convince her that the beautiful dress was too good to be hidden behind a table. This way he also was able to touch her inconspicuously. His hand lay in the small of her back and Barbara was not at all unpleased with it. Standing at the bar they talked about cases and gossip and from time to time Tommy took her hand and squeezed it just because he was so happy she was there. Some other time he just stroked Barbara's hand by chance when it was lying next to his on the bar top. She liked it.

When she grew a bit exhausted standing at the bar she also dared to lean into his side. DC Blackmore recognised it very well and was hardly able to hide his grin. Everybody in their team had placed a bet on them anyway; the only question was when they both would realise that they were made for each other.

Since she should sit down a while Tommy managed to lift her on a bar stool and put her damaged leg on another so it was quite comfortable for Barbara. Another fact the two were very comfortable with was that she had to keep leaning onto his shoulder this way. His arm eventually sneaked around her waist but grabbed the rim of the bar and not her side. Now she had a backrest too.

For an hour or so they talked with everybody who showed up but his longing eyes more and more laid on the dancing couples. At that time of the evening they still played classical dance music and Barbara knew that he would have loved to dance before the music would change.

"Go and enjoy some dancing, Sir." she offered him. "DC Warton is waiting just for you."

"I'd like to dance with you, Barbara." The expressions on her face went from delighted over frightened and to disappointed that she would not be able to dance tonight. She looked away to hide it. In that moment Tommy decided to put his fears aside and pour out his heart to Barbara tonight - or never.

"Yah, of course." She rolled her eyes. "Just find me a single roller-skate for my left leg and off we go."

"No, really. I could carry you across the dancefloor." His eyes blessed her with a deeply loving look. Barbara swallowed.

"Don't be silly, Sir. Just go and ask Warton." He should stop it now. He should know that she would have loved to dance with him but there was an obvious thing that was keeping her from it.

Tommy almost pouted. "If I can't dance with you I won't dance at all." he gave her a kiss on the hand.

"Hey, Barb, fancy a dance with me?" Winston whirled by filling up his glass.

"Oh, shut up, you fool!" Barbara laughed and threw some peanuts at the DC who then tried to wave his little wig of mistletoe above their heads but Barbara only grumbled he should bugger off.

"And by the way, Nkata, she's dancing with me." With that Tommy held her in dancing position and pulled her a bit closer. It looked hilariously ridiculous with him standing in front of her stool but they actually swayed in waltz time. Tommy told her that he was going to do this more often. "Without that leg stretcher of course. Sometime soon."

After their private dance Barbara made a show of fanning herself. "Oh wow, this was hot! Thank you for the dance, Sir."

Any second longer and she never would have let him go off her arms.

"Anytime, Barbara." The smitten look he gave her would have made her sit down if she was not anyway. "Care to go and get some fresh air?"

"Oh yeah," she played along. "Let's go on the balcony and enjoy the view of the gardens." Both shared a grin. "Seriously, Sir, I really would care to walk a bit. Could you help me down here please?"

If it had been a bit awkward when he had lifted her up the stool, this time his touches while helping her down caused goose pimples all over her body and made her blush.

At his arm she walked around the ball room, stopping here for a chat or waiting there for a new drink, all the time feeling displayed, happy, uncomfortable and wonderful at the same time. And Tommy constantly tried to push away the thought that she would give a brilliant countess. It was not yet time for such things yet. She did not even know he loved her. She would never know if he would not tell her. He needed to talk to her alone and finally had a brilliant idea.

"Barbara, I have a brilliant idea. Trust me?"

With my entire being! she thought but simply nodded.

Unobtrusively he guided her out of the hall and to the elevators.

The recently modernised high speed thing brought them up to the top floor in no time where Tommy led the way to a grey fire exit door with a big handle.

"You know it sends an alarm to the firedep-" Before Barbara could finish her sentence Tommy had opened the door with a small key.

"This wonderful little thing opens almost each and every door in this building." he murmured with winking eyes. "Don't ever tell anybody that I have one."

They chuckled while Tommy helped her down two steps and then they came to another unlocked door and finally stood on the roof. The night was star-bright and icy cold but just there under the dim green door light was a ventilation outlet that gave away some hot air.

"Isn't it marvellous?" Tommy sighed and put an arm around Barbara's shoulders. Unconsciously she snuggled into his side. He provided comfortable warmth and some sort of undefined shelter. They were alone up there. It was quiet. The usual sounds of sirens, traffic and musical output only were faintly heard here on top of the building. Together they watched the stars. For a London night it was unusually dark so the city lights only coloured a part of the horizon in its usual deep dark orange but most of the firmament was a black canvas with small white and blinking dots.

Eventually Tommy pointed into the sky.

"See that bright star over there?" Barbara nodded. This moment was so unbelievably wonderful she almost could not speak at all. Tommy went on with a low voice. "It's called Aldebaran. And the constellation just a bit to the left and a bit lower, there, with the three stars in a row, you got them? There are two more widely apart above them and two below. That's the Orion."

Barbara almost chuckled but froze when his lips mumbled onto her temple. "Not the star ship, you joker."

His lips' touch was short before kissing her there so Barbara's voice pitched a bit when she answered she was not thinking of that at all.

"You were. I've heard your thoughts." Then he pointed even more left and lower. "And that's Sirius."

"Serious?"

"Mhm." Tommy never had been more serious in his life before when he pointed at some more stars somewhere on the right side of the sky. "And this, I suppose, is the star you came from, my angel."

"Oh, shut up, will you?!" Like always Barbara tried to overplay her nervousness about situations like this with some grumbling. "By the way no one can live on a star."

"Angels can." She had no answer to that. Her stomach twisted pleasantly and she expected everything and nothing but Tommy somehow had no clue how to go on from that point. He could not simply kiss her, could he? So they just kept on looking up into the romantically lit night sky.

"And this is a falling star. Make a wish." Tommy squeezed her shoulders.

She made a wish. She knew what she should wish for and every time she saw a falling star Barbara wished the same.

"And?"

"Oh, you're supposed to keep it a secret, Sir, or it never will come true." Shyly she smiled up to him.

"Call me Tommy." he rasped looking down to her. Now. Now he would kiss her.

He saw how she trembled and instinctively knew it was not from the cold. He also saw that she was starting to say something but then there was a change in her expression. It turned from a sweet shy smile into a wide eyed look, somehow terrified that he actually would kiss her now, but her eyes nervously glanced upwards above his head. Tommy followed her eyes.

Above their heads was a huge bunch of mistletoe probably hung up there by a cheeky colleague - he suspected Stuart - reminding them of the traditions. He shrugged his shoulders and turning them both towards each other he took her hand that was not snaked around his waist.

"It's my fate." Tommy whispered before he slowly bent down to her and gave her a brief testing kiss. She had not backed away. In fact she had met him with a hesitant soft response.

"That was..." Searching for words and an answer in her eyes which shone like the stars above them Tommy could not say more.

"...long wished-for." Barbara breathed and closed her eyes expecting this would never stop until she would wake up. Their lips met again. This time it was a real kiss that went deeper, mentally and physically. They pressed into each other and pulled themselves closer with this second contact. Barbara poured all the love she had piled up over the years into this kiss and felt Tommy's love washing over her in return.

This was definitely no dream and they only stopped when the need for air forced them. Slightly out of breath they let their foreheads bump.

Barbara only breathed an overwhelmed "Whoa!" so Tommy was the first to speak.

"I love you." he whispered. "To the stars."

"And back." she answered and this time she was the one who closed the distance between their lips. When their tender encounter turned into something definitely more salacious their hearts were racing and their entire bodies were drawn into the other in a close embrace full of desire. They really should continue this somewhere else. Panting warm onto her earlobe and sending excited shivers down her back Tommy's lips whispered into her ear.

"I'll carry you home, my angel."

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A/N: Dear readers, I'd like to thank you for your ongoing support and all your reviews, most useful critics and each and every inspiration in 2015.

I wish you all a merry Christmas (or whatever you are celebrating (or not)) and a happy New Year.

Tess