I have always loved the scene in Expiation where Laura pulls out the unlit cigarette. That was a woman who needed to relieve some stress and I don't think that cigarette was going to do the job…at least not fully (It's at the 36 minute mark on Amazon Prime for those who want to check it out). Then at the end Robbie is dressed down by Jean, pretty sure his stress levels needed some relieving too. What would have happened if they had bumped into one another? Here's how I think that might have happened.

Chapter 1

"I'm going to have to get this eye seen to." Robbie says as he rubs at the tape covering the gash near his eyebrow. "You know anyone"

James snickers as he looks up from the speech he is writing for Robbie. He sees Dr. Hobson inside the pub. He points her direction. "I bet she could."

Robbie looked where James was pointing and smiled. He waved her over. She returned the wave and walked over. She nodded her head in Robbie's direction, "What happened to you?"

His hand went to his forehead. "Murder suspect."

She moved a bit closer to him. "Do you mind if I take a look?" He shook his head and she touched his forehead. "Is that scotch tape?" He nodded. She took a step back. "You need a couple of stitches."

James finished off his pint and stood. "Funny you should say that Doctor. He was just saying he needed someone to look at it. Sir, if you don't mind, I think I am going to go home and get drunk. I'll have your speech in the morning. Good evening Doctor." James left the two of them at the table.

Laura looked back at Robbie, she pointed at his head. "Have that looked at. I'll see you later."

She turned to walk away. "I don't suppose you could do the stitches?"

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Nurses don't do stitches."

He laughed. "No, but insulted doctors can."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, you can follow me home. I'll stitch you up."

Robbie followed her to her house. Once inside, she sat him on a chair in her kitchen while she washed her hands. She turned back to him and rather carelessly pulled the scotch tape off his brow.

"Ow, was that necessary?"

She examined the wound. "This is going to need more than a couple of stitches. And I don't have anything to numb this so you are just going to have to handle it. Unless you would prefer to go to A&E?"

He shook his head. "No, I can handle it." She smiled as she started to clean the wound. "So, did you ever light that cigarette?"=

She looked at him curiously. Then she laughed as she remembered what he was talking about. "No, I took care of my stress in another way. One that won't kill me slowly."

She began to stitch up the gash in his brow. He cringed just a bit. "So, exactly how did you take care of it?" She tugged on the stitch a bit harder than necessary. "Ouch, clearly you still have a little stress. You might need to find a new solution."

She finished stitching him up and put a bandage on. "You're all done." She started cleaning up and stopped for a moment looking at him. "Are you volunteering for the position?"

He reached up and touched the bandage. "That wasn't too bad, for a nurse."

She rolled her eyes at him as she cleaned up the bandages. "On second thought, I'll just light a cigarette."

"What's that mean?"

She stood at the sink washing her hands. She felt herself winding up almost as much as she was earlier in the week. She turned off the water and turned to him. "You told me that I needed to find another solution to relieve my stress. I asked you if you would like to volunteer for the position. And then you insulted me, again. So, all in, I think I'll just light the cigarette."

He looked at her confused. He stood as the light finally went on. "Oh, you meant…"

She leaned into him here eyes blazing. "I meant what Lewis?"

He took a step back. "Are you suggesting that we…" She fought the smile that was threatening. She forced herself to still look mad. He looked at the fire in her eyes suddenly certain that she was suggesting just that. He blushed. "Dr. Hobson, you can't be serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be, Lewis? You're single; I'm single. It's not like I'm suggesting we get married." She shrugged. "Just some good old-fashioned stress relief between consenting adults."

"We can't do that."

She raised her eyebrow and reached out to him. "Oh, is there some physical reason that you can't do it?"

He practically exploded as he walked into her living room. "No, there's no physical reason. It's just that well, we aren't dating."

She scoffed as she leaned against the door. "Of course, we aren't. Why would I want to date you or you me for that matter? However, I assume you have needs and I know that I have needs and it's not always as satisfying to handle those needs alone."

Robbie blushed at the thought of Laura handling her needs. "You're taking the piss out of me aren't you?"

She pushed off the wall and walked towards him. "I am not taking the piss out of you. I am offering you a no strings attached opportunity." She stopped right in front of him. "So, are you in?"

"So, we just go upstairs and have it off?"

She smiled at him and motioned towards the sofa "Or there or up against the nearest wall, I'm not really picky."

He shook his head and sat on the sofa then thought better of it and stood again. "I don't think I am cut out for this."

Laura took a deep breath and shrugged. "Very well then, I guess I should have asked Hathaway." She headed back to the kitchen. "You'll need to change that bandage twice a day. I'll get you some bandages to take with you."

He looked at her as she walked away. Surely she wasn't serious about Hathaway. "So, you're saying that you do this regularly?"

She handed him the bandages. "Not regularly, no. Usually I am dating someone. However, from time to time, between relationships I have arrangements with a good friend."

He sat the bandages on her counter. "And these arrangements, you were involved with these people."

She rolled her eyes. "No, Lewis there was no involvement. We would text each other or call each other arrange a time and place do what needed to be done and then go our merry way until the next time."

He stared at her. "And, you just did that and then walked away. You didn't go to dinner or spend the night or…"

"Or what Lewis? We weren't dating. Some of them were good friends so there were meals and the occasional drink but we had rules."

He picked up the bandages and started walking to the door. "I think that's all a bit too modern for me."

She followed him to the door smiling. "Good to know. I hope I haven't offended you."

He turned back to her she really was quite pretty when she smiled. "No, I'm not offended. I'm just not sure that's something I can do."

She nodded. "Fair enough, it was worth a shot. I figured you weren't interested in a relationship and this might fill a gap for both of us."

He paused at the door for a moment. "So, what happened to your last…arrangement?"

She laughed. "He was transferred to Germany. Not very convenient for spur of the moment needs." She reached around him and opened the door. "I'll see you around."

He walked through the door and she closed and locked it behind him. She went to the kitchen to pour a glass of wine. She downed the first glass and poured another. She drew a deep breath thinking she was going to need that cigarette.

She went to the drawer where she kept them took one cigarette and headed for her garden with the glass of wine. She stepped onto the patio and was just about to light it when she heard a knock at the door.

She walked through the garden towards the door. Standing at her door looking decidedly nervous was Robbie Lewis. "Detective, is there something wrong with your stitches?"

She startled him. He turned to look at her and noted the unlit cigarette in her hand. He looked down at his shoes. "Am I too late to take advantage of that opportunity?"

She smiled and almost laughed. "No." She held up the cigarette. "Still unlit."

Still looking down, he took a step toward her. "So, how do we do this?"

She took a step toward him. "Lewis, you have two children, surely you know how this works."

Finally he looked at her. "I don't mean that. I mean how do we keep it no strings?"

She smiled. "Oh, that's easy. We have rules that we follow."

"What kind of rules?"

"Pretty simple really, no spending the night, no leaving anything at one another's place, no dropping by unannounced, things like that."

He rubbed his eye. "So, basically we have it off and the whoever doesn't live there just leaves?"

She nodded. "Basically, oh there is one more and it's a big one. We never tell anyone. If anyone ever figures it out or thinks they have figured it out. It's over."

"And how do we decide when?"

She laughed. "Well, I would think that one would be pretty basic." She saw the confused look on his face. She rolled her eyes. "When the need arises obviously. So, the other day in the mortuary, I would have sent you a text saying my place half eight. If that worked for you, you would have replied yes or no if it didn't."

"And, if one of us is seeing someone?"

"Then you say no." She watched him think and decided he needed a push. She walked closer to him while he was distracted. She grabbed both of his lapels and pulled him into a kiss. Just as he started to respond, she broke the kiss and walked toward the garden doors. She looked over her shoulder at him. "So, are you in or out?" Then she walked inside her house.

Robbie stood in her garden trying to figure out what just happened. It wasn't the first time he had been kissed since Val was killed but it was the first time his body had responded. She was right, he didn't want a relationship but he definitely had needs. And right now he had a very pressing need.

Suddenly, his feet were walking, not away from her but towards her. As he entered the door, he saw a path of clothes leading to the stairs. He closed the doors and followed the clothes.

As he reached the last piece of clothing, he stopped and took a deep breath. "In or out Lewis?" He entered her bedroom. She was lying naked on the bed. She looked up at him. "I was about to start without you."

He took off his jacket and dropped it on the floor. His eyes never left her body as she stretched her arms over her head watching him. He quickly discarded the remainder of his clothes and gently climbed onto the bed.

He ran his hand up the length of her body as he positioned himself beside her. She practically purred as his hand caressed her. He stopped at her breasts and cupped one while leaning over and taking the taut peak into his mouth. She arched into him.

He licked and sucked at her listening to all of the delicious sounds she made. While his mouth was busy, his hand teased her other breast. She took his hand and moved it down her body.

It came to rest between her legs and she moved his fingers to show him what she liked. Once she was satisfied with his touch, she reached over and took his length into her hand.

He breathed in deeply as she stroked his length. "Oh God, I'm not going to last long if you do that."

She smiled at him her eyes hooded with desire. "Then I will just have to do something else." She rolled him onto his back and straddled him. She leaned forward and kissed him while she grabbed something from her nightstand. She sat up and tore open the package. Once again, she stroked his length as she slipped the condom on him.

She leaned forward again and kissed him. She positioned herself over him and he took her by surprise by thrusting into her. He grabbed her hips and helped her set their pace.

He watched the surprise on her face change to pleasure. She bit down on her lower lip. She sat up and moved over him. His hands cupped her breasts he rolled her nipples through his fingers and watched her squirm more.

As her pace faltered, he knew he wasn't going to last much longer. He lowered one hand and began to stroke her. Her head fell back as she screamed out. His thumb slid across her faster and harder as he thrust into her.

He felt her tighten around him. He pulled her to him and rolled them. He sat up and grabbed her hips pulling her to him. Her legs wrapped around him as he squeezed her hips pushing in and out of her.

She cried out and arched up to him. He stroked in and out of her twice more and then screamed out with his own release. He fell onto her and nuzzled her neck. They lay there for a few moments catching their breath.

He pushed up and excused himself to the bathroom. When he returned she was sprawled across the bed almost asleep. He lifted the covers and placed a knee on the bed. "Any room for me in there?

She opened an eye and looked at him. "Unless you're ready for another go. It's time for you to leave."

He looked confused for a moment. Then nodded, "Oh, the rules. You were serious about that."

She waved at him before rolling over. She was asleep before he was dressed. He crept downstairs and let himself out.

The next day when Robbie made it to his desk, he found a plain envelope. He opened it and found a single piece of paper. Written on it was a phone number and "For the next time the need arises."

He grabbed his phone and checked the number he had for Laura. This was a different number. He entered it into his phone and hit save. Then he sent a text "I look forward to it."

TBC