A oneshot set after Best and Brightest that kind of ran away with itself and turned into something completely different.

Vague references to Hellfire and In Camera

"You might want to slow down," Robbie suggested, watching as Jackie finished off the gin and tonic he'd placed in front of her only five minutes ago.

She shook her head. "I'm fine. In fact I think it's time to move onto something else."

"Such as?"

"Whisky. Maybe doubles."

"Uh…"

"I'll get them," she told him, ignoring his doubtful look.

He watched her walk - more than a little unsteadily - towards the bar. Maybe suggesting the pub hadn't been his wisest idea after all, but then he hadn't realised just how hard this latest disaster in love had hit her. A confused frown flittered across his features as she reappeared almost instantly holding a tray of six glasses. "Two things; one, how did you get serve so quickly? And two, Why did you get six? he asked. Last time he'd went up he'd stood there for a good five minutes before anyone had so much as glanced in his direction, never mind served him; while the sight of the six glasses just worried him.

Jackie tapped the side of her nose. "That's for me to know and you to wonder. As for why I got six, that's just common sense, means we don't need to get back up and queue again." She passed him a glass. "Now drink up."

He drained his glass as asked and watched as she did the same, slamming the empty glass down onto the table with relish and reaching for the next one. At this his fingers enclosed around her wrist. "Ok, you really do need to at least leave a gap between drinks."

"I don't," she insisted. "If anything you need to drink more, you're falling behind."

"Maybe I just have a higher tolerance."

"You have had more practice with this," she mused thoughtfully. After a moment's silence she slumped in her seat and ran her finger along the rim of her glass.

Robbie shuffled closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "What is it?"

She didn't look up from the table as she replied, "I have unbelievably crap taste in men."

"Sean was a one off-"

"No he wasn't!" she blurted out. "He's just the latest in a long line of bastards, in fact he's not even the worst. Although in all fairness he'd have to something pretty psychotic to top the serial killer."

He looked at her worriedly. "Serial killer?" he echoed.

She looked up at him frowning. "Yeah…wait that was before we met, forget it."

"Not sure I can," he muttered, downing one of his drinks in a single gulp. "Although." He tightened his grip around her and waved one of the fingers of his other hand in front of her. "You're not the only one to make that error of judgement, and at least yours didn't seek you out."

"No I only went undercover knowing what he'd done and then convinced myself he couldn't possibly have been capable of a satanic murder," she replied, her tone dry.

He downed another glass, beginning to finally feel its effects. "Fine, you win. Happy?"

"Oh ecstatic." She leaned her forehead against his shoulder. "I thought Sean was different, thought we might have had something. But no he was a liar with a penchant for screwing his students." She let out a moan of despair, banging her forehead once against his shoulder. "Oh God!" she wailed. "She was about twenty years younger than me."

"Yeah but he slept with her first and he did chose you," Robbie pointed out.

"I think the fact that she's dead might have swung the vote in my favour."

"He slept with you before she died."

Lifting her head, she glared at him. "You're being overly picky about the details, stop it."

"Sorry. Can I have one of yours?" He nodded his head towards the remaining two glasses.

"Go ahead." She gave a humourless smile as she watched him drink. "How exactly did we get so sad?"

"Hey!" He affected a look of mock hurt and outrage. "I put a lot of effort into getting to this stage."

She shook her head. "Never mind, I don't really expect you to understand."

"Why not?"

"Because you constantly pull young, pretty girls, who you take home, have sex with and never have to call again. You're living most men's dream."

"It's over-rated," he admitted quietly.

She tilted her head so she could meet his - for once - solemn brown eyes. "You don't mean that."

"Yeah, I do. Come on, Jacks, most people want a relationship with someone who they love and who loves them back."

"I'd watch it, you almost sounded like an old romantic there." She leaned her head back into his shoulder again. "So why the lifestyle?"

"Passes the time and it seemed like a better idea than celibacy."

Snorting, Jackie replied, "I still think I'll be avoiding trawling the bars and clubs. Mutton and lamb springs to mind."

"You don't give yourself enough credit," he told her. "The good professor seemed desperate for another shot with you, should tell you something."

"I'm easy."

Robbie pulled a face. "I wouldn't say that, you've never slept with me and you've never shown any intention of doing so."

Jackie's face flamed red at that statement and she hurriedly gulped down the last drink. "Your round," she told him quickly.

"No, what was that?"

"What?"

"That face, when I said that you made a face and went bright red. What was that?"

She shook her head. "Nothing." She cringed, her emotions always played across her face when she was drunk and she always let everything just come spilling out. "Actually I'll get them and you can just pay me back."

He pulled her back down the moment she tried to get to her feet. "I want to know," he laughed easily.

"No, my day's been crap enough as it is, and I'm not adding a horrendously awkward conversation with you to the list of reasons why."

Robbie stared at her incredulously. "You're saying you thought about it?"

"Drop it," she warned him.

He knew he should take heed of her warning but he just couldn't, he wanted to know. "When?"

"Robbie!"

"I'm going to keep pestering you."

"Fine! The night you asked me round for dinner, the night I found that woman in your flat." She glared at him, her eyes flashing in a mixture of anger and hurt. "Which actually just proves my point, I go for men who don't really want me." She laughed almost bitterly. "I've been passed over for almost every excuse under the sun, another woman, a career. I'm so tired of it!" She shook her head. "Should have just went home."

With that she got to her feet and stormed out of the pub, unsure whether she was relieved or upset that Robbie didn't even attempt to stop her. She groaned in annoyance as she stepped outside and realised that there were no taxis to be seen. Muttering under her breath, she wrapped her arms around herself and started to walk, the west end wasn't really that far away.

"Jackie!"

She heard Robbie call out her name, but she didn't stop, if anything she walked slightly faster. His hand enclosed around her arm as he grabbed hold of her, whirling her round. "That night, I wanted you," he admitted.

Wrenching her arm free, she replied coldly, "Just stop it, Robbie."

"No," he shook his head. "I wanted you then, I wanted to stop you when you married Brian, I wanted to be the one who comforted you when Mike died, and I wanted to be the one you flirted with today. I screwed up and I've spent the last seven years regretting it. I didn't choose her over you, it was a stupid mistake!" He yelled at her.

"A mistake! Robbie you've encouraged me every step of the way. You were the one who told me to give Brian another chance and you were the one who goaded me into letting my guard down with Sean! So you're not allowed to stand there and pretend that you care," she snapped back at him, her eyes stinging as she fought to stay composed.

"I did that because I wanted you to be happy," he told her quietly. "I never thought you'd actually marry Brian but I couldn't stop it, I wanted to but I couldn't find the words. As for today, I was winding you up, never thought you'd actually sleep with him, Jacks."

"What are you saying?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

He stepped forward. "I'm saying that for me it's always been you. You're the one I always go to-"

"I'm your shoulder to lean on, that's it," she protested.

"No." He cupped her cheek with one hand, the other resting on her hip. "It's not as simple as that." He let out a shaky breath. "Whatever you want to call this, it sure as hell isn't simple." leaning forward he kissed her lightly, his lips exerting just the smallest amount of pressure on hers.

She leaned into him, her mouth opening under his, fingers threading into his hair as the kiss turned greedy and they couldn't get enough of each other. Her stomach seemed to flip flop as he nipped carefully at her lower lip.

They finally pulled back ever so slightly, fighting for breath and to regain some control over their senses. He leaned his forehead against hers. "Taxi?" he suggested.

She nodded. "Yours is closer," she replied, her darkened eyes meeting his.

Robbie pulled away from her momentarily as he flagged a taxi down and ushered her into the back seat, barking his address out to the driver before turning his full attention on her again, pulling her into his arms. He kissed along her jaw and down her neck before moving back up to her lips again. His thumb traced circles on her waist even through her top.

They stumbled gracelessly out of the taxi, somehow managing to make it up to Robbie's flat in one piece. The door had barely even shut before they started to shed their clothing. He had her stripped to her just underwear before they'd even got to the bedroom, his hand running over the pale curves he'd imagined so many times in the past. "I don't know why you hide your figure," he muttered as he kissed the hollow of her throat, pushing her up against the wall.

Her head fell back. "Because," she laughed. "It would be inappropriate to come into work with nothing on."

Her fingers laced through his hair as he lowered his mouth to kiss along the swell of her breasts, his hands deftly undoing the clasp and drawing the scrap of material off her. She moaned quietly as he drew her into his mouth, her hand slipping down to rub against him through his boxers.

His hips flexed and bucked, his actions faltering ever so slightly. She took advantage of the moment and backed him towards the bed. He pulled her down with him, and she moved over him as he sat up, her knees either side of his hips, her lips on his as she ground against him.

He curled his fingers into the side of her underwear and tugged; hard. She didn't even make a sound of protest as they ripped away. Her head fell back and she took in a gasping gulp of air as two fingers slipped into her, unerringly finding the spot that made her stomach swoop and her hips move into him.

She dug her fingers into his shoulders as she urged him on with small whimpers and moans, his thumb rubbed at her and she pressed her cheek against his shoulder as she fell apart, her muscles pulling at him greedily as they spasmed.

As she came down from her high, she was only just aware of his free hand stroking the skin of her back softly as he pulled his fingers away. Seeing the familiar small piece of square packaging he'd reached for in his hand, she took it from him, her breath still falling in pants.

His boxers hit the floor soundlessly, and pushing him so that he was lying flat on the bed she rolled the condom almost lazily over his length, smiling when he twitched and pulsed in her grasp.

Her hands pressed against his chest as she raised herself up and then sank slowly down onto him, their groans mingling. As she clenched and unclenched her muscles around him on every down stroke he knew this was going to be over quicker than he'd first intended.

He pushed himself into sitting position, one hand securing itself on her hip as the other trailed up over the curve of her waist until they it was tangled in her hair. He moved with her, his thrusts becoming deeper and more urgent as she picked up pace. He could tell from the sounds she was making and the flush that was spreading across her sweat soaked skin that she was close, and he could feel the familiar pressure build low in his stomach. She gasped his name and it inched him closer, but he wanted more from her. "Look at me, Jackie," he demanded lowly.

Her eyes fluttered open, impossibly dark they met his and they both shattered, her with a scream as she thrashed against him; and him with a sharp groan, his fingers tightening into the skin of her hips hard enough to mark.

Eventually they fell to the side, he slipped out of her but lifted her thigh slightly so that they were still entwined together as their fingers danced together.

Finally, Robbie lifted her hand to his and kissed the inside of her wrist. "I meant what I said," he told her.

"I know," she replied quietly, before drawing his lips back to hers once more.