Author's note: The characters, as always belong to Elizabeth George and the BBC.

This is the product of another long distance flight. It is the first of two chapters. I have two divergent views as to which way this will go so will decide on my flight back in a few days.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Detective Constable Nkata paced nervously behind the double columns at the entrance to St Paul's Cathedral worried that his idea might not work. He was loitering in the shadows on the river side to get the best view up Ludgate Hill towards Fleet Street. Winston's reward for passing his Sergeants exam had been to be placed in charge of the investigation into a new type of party drug being illegally imported into London from Poland and he had taken this responsibility very seriously diligently trolling through hours of interviews and CCTV footage to identify the smuggling method. Now he was tracking Bogdan Baralowski whom he believed was central in the distribution of the drugs in the nightclubs. Winston spoke quietly into his mouthpiece, "Testing, testing, one, two, three. Can you hear me Sir?"

"Yes Winston," his boss, Detective Inspector Tommy Lynley replied, "but this is an undercover op not a sound check for a disco." Lynley was uncomfortable so adjusted his earpiece and tucked the curly cord behind his ear then shook his dark locks over the top. The evening was cool and he pulled his coat tighter around his torso to help keep out the wind whistling up Peter's Hill from the river. He was sitting on the steps with his Sergeant, Barbara Havers, waiting for their target to pass. The plan was to then to casually follow him to see if he indeed rendezvoused with the boat near Bankside Pier.

Winston heard Havers giggle over her mike. "So I guess you can hear me too?" Winston asked her.

"Loud and clear Winston."

He was glad she had resisted any urge to continue Lynley's analogy. He glanced up and noticed Baralowski emerging from Ave Maria Lane to his right. Winston was relieved. It looked as if he might be indeed on his way to Bankside. "Target has just emerged from the lane," he breathed quietly into his mike.

"Roger that," Lynley replied rolling his eyes at Barbara. He continued in a lower tone, "Do we really need all this gadgetry Havers? I feel like I'm on the set of a Bond film!"

"Shh," she replied equally quietly, "Winston can hear what you say remember. It is his show; let him run it."

Tommy grumbled something inaudible but continued to watch Barbara intently. She was more at ease with herself lately, something that he liked. Tonight though, as she was looking down towards the river the right side of her bottom lip was tucked under her front tooth. It was the look she had when she was deep in thought or uncertain what to do next. It was strange that she should be doing it now. His Sergeant remained an enigma; sometimes feisty, argumentative and stubborn but at other times incredibly perceptive and supportive. She was his partner at work and his friend. He could not imagine life without her yet there was always a strange tension between them that he could never identify or resolve.

Barbara was slightly unnerved, aware Lynley was staring at her. He did that a lot, mostly when he did not think she had noticed but it was becoming more frequent and she was not sure what was behind his thoughts. With each week that passed he seemed to deal better with Helen's death. Losing his wife had been very hard on Lynley who had nearly torn himself apart in an alcoholic rage of guilt and grief but it had been just over a year now and he seemed much more stable. They did not need to talk, their silences were companionable and often said more than words could achieve.

"He's turning onto Cannon Street. I'll follow behind. Let him pass and then follow discretely."

Lynley stifled a laugh. Winston is getting right into the swing of surveillance.

A few minutes later Lynley saw a figure enter the pedestrian street and could not help himself and said, "Target in sight." Barbara looked up at him and smiled. Tommy liked it when she smiled; it always lit up his world momentarily. He grinned back at her and winked.

Baralowski walked past them completely oblivious to their presence as they looked like any other couple sitting talking. Lynley let him get about forty yards in front before standing and extending his hand to Barbara to help her to her feet. She looked at him strangely but accepted his hand. They followed discretely behind as they headed towards the Millennium Bridge. Tommy still had hold of Barbara's hand so that they looked like lovers out for a stroll. He was surprised at how comfortable and natural it felt. He had expected her to try to drop his hand but as he looked at Barbara her face was impassive and gave away no clues to her thoughts.

Barbara liked the softness of his hand in hers. Even though it meant nothing personal and he was only holding it to convince Baralowski they were not trailing him, she could, for those few minutes, pretend that it was real and that Tommy was hers.

Once on the bridge Baralowski glanced at his watch and slowed his pace. He seemed to have a timetable he wanted to keep. Tommy and Barbara tried to emulate tourists, slowing their pace and pausing every few yards to stop and point at features up the river. In the middle of the bridge their target stopped and looked around fixing them firmly in his glaze. Lynley reacted first and pulled Barbara towards him. He placed his hands gently on either side of her face and lent in pretending to kiss her. He felt Barbara go rigid. His lips stopped just short of hers and he whispered, "Sorry it was the only thing I could think to do."

"Good thinking Sir but you look like you are faking it. Can you try to look like you are enjoying it more? Baralowski is still staring at you," Winston said from his position at the start of the bridge.

Barbara's tension eased. She had been shocked when he had come so close, especially after her reaction to holding his hand. They often touched in passing and he had given her the odd shoulder hug now and then but having his hands on her face felt very intimate, even if he had only done it to fool Baralowski. The warmth of his palms was comforting and she brought her hands up inside Tommy's coat so her fingers rested lightly on his back. She wanted to hold him and feel him hold her like she had that time in Suffolk but this time not in comfort but in love. This was not love, it was a playact but if they were pretending she could imagine to herself it was anything she wanted to fantasise. Tommy's soft moan at her touch surprised Barbara and unconsciously her fingers started to inscribe small arcs on his back in reply.

He slipped one hand behind her waist and pulled her body closer. His lips grazed Barbara's and he gently started to kiss her, his right hand gliding softly across her face into her hair. This time she did not freeze but she stood motionless unsure what was happening. He is kissing me! Barbara thought she might die on the spot. Tommy had actually responded to her fantasy and kissed her. This time she groaned at his touch.

Tommy suddenly wanted Barbara more than anything in the world. He used his lips to gently tug at her bottom lip and felt her mouth open slightly. He ran his tongue over her lips encouraging them to part. Her lips began to caress Tommy's in reply and his heart began to beat as if he were running in a hundred yard dash. They paused and pulled apart both looking into each other's eyes, their breathing uneven. He wondered where such emotion had come from; it was only a light kiss after all but strangely to him it was so much more.

It might have been an act but looking into his eyes she knew that for just those few moments he had wanted her. Years of friendship and her unrequited love had compressed into that kiss but it had been worth it. She would treasure those moments for ever. She felt happy, unbelievably happy. She smiled at him.

Tommy began to kiss her again. This time their lips found their own rhythm and when Tommy nibbled tenderly on her bottom lip Barbara responded by opening to him. She tasted good to him. Their tongues danced furiously at first but Tommy slowed the pace cherishing the moment. He tried to step back from her when he realised that his arousal was obvious but she held him to her and gently moved up and down against it. The world stood still for him as he realised what that strange tension he felt so often had been – he loved Barbara and she loved him.

Barbara was in heaven. No one had ever kissed her like that before and nothing would ever be as sweet as this moment. She realised that this was no longer an act by either of them; once they had started kissing a range of emotions from the last ten years together had surfaced. His desire for her was undeniable and she relished the thought that he could feel that way about her, even briefly.

"Sir, Sir." Winston was almost shouting into the microphone, "Baralowski is moving down off the bridge." Winston had seen them kiss and was shocked. He could tell it was real but also knew from their reactions it was not something they had done before. Wow! Who would have thought it, the DI and Barbara?

Barbara and Tommy dropped their embrace and both smiled meaningfully at each other briefly before following their target. Winston had almost caught up to them and Tommy started reciting Shakespeare to himself to focus on anything but Barbara and ensure Winston did not notice his reaction to their kiss. Barbara stayed on the bridge to observe and Tommy and Winston discretely followed Baralowski. Winston had another policeman secreted on the pier. A few minutes later a small workboat pulled up to the pier. Baralowski was arrested by Winston as he handed over an envelope and accepted a package from the boat driver. The boat sped off but Winston was unfazed, he had a police boat down the river ready to intercept him.

Back at the station Winston was accepting congratulations from everyone for a successful arrest. Tommy sat in on the interviews with him and when they were finished he looked around for Barbara. "They said she went home Sir," Winston told him, noticing the look of disappointment on Lynley's face. "All that acting Sir must have tired her out." Winston took the chance and winked at him.

Tommy blushed ever so slightly. "Hmm, well we fooled you so we might try our hand at the Christmas pantomime this year."

"Same act Sir?"

This time Lynley did blush and he and Winston exchanged knowing looks. Tommy understood Winston was no fool but he also recognised he would not gossip about Barbara. "Barbara is always up late, why don't you call her Sir and see how she is?"

Tommy tried to ring her but it went straight to her voicemail which was unusual. His elation from discovering feelings that he had been unable to label before faded into uncertainty and doubt. He had assumed that she would have waited for him and that they would have continued where they left off on the bridge. The thought of what would follow had distracted him during the interview almost to the point of madness but suddenly he could not visualise where the revelations on the bridge would lead. They had been through too much together to allow their friendship to be undone by a moment of mutual lust, no matter how much he told himself what he felt was genuine and lasting. He was worried that Barbara was also struggling to know how to feel or what to do and so was ignoring him. He hoped his actions had not damaged their friendship in her eyes. Talking tomorrow would be too late; he needed to sort it out tonight. Lynley drove straight around to her flat and knocked on the door, uncertain of what he was going to say when she answered.