Author's note: Once again I have allowed the characters from Elizabeth George and especially the BBC to wander free in my head. I don't like the dynamics of the books so all my backstory and characters come from the TV series.

Mullins was an evil man, capable of almost anything. Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley knew that this was their last chance to capture him or he would reach the coast and the boat Barbara had learned was waiting to spirit him across the channel to safety. "Can you see his car Havers?" he asked her.

"No Sir, nothing," replied his Sergeant. It was getting dark now and Lynley was driving his Jensen far too fast for the narrow roads leading from Rye to the coast. He dared not use his lights in case Mullins saw them but was grateful it was almost a full moon. Its diffuse glow gave him just enough light to drive. Barbara was hanging half out of the passenger window trying to see the silhouette of the Range Rover they were following. "I thought we might have back up by now."

"Me too; we have to catch him or that girl is as good as dead. The radios are out of range now so we have to hope they heard our last call." Lynley sounded as worried and helpless as he felt.

"Over there Sir! I saw a light flash. The car has turned left into that paddock."

Tommy swung hard on the wheel and his old car responded, skidding around the corner narrowly missing the overgrown tree that guarded the entrance to the abandoned farm. He floored the accelerator and turned on his lights. There was no point in stealth. Now it was about speed. Mullins saw the car pursuing him and drove through the open door of the old barn. Havers ducked instinctively when she heard the shots fired at them. From the sound Tommy thought it was most likely a handgun rather than a rifle.

"He has a gun Sir," she cried.

"Thank you Havers, I had noticed that."

"Well then I suggest you move faster Sir before he hits us."

Lynley actually laughed, earning him another rebuke from Havers. Even in times of duress they could find something to bicker about. "Unless it's a rifle we are out of range which means he is either not used to guns or he is panicking." Lynley pulled up behind a small copse of scrubby trees. They both dived from the car and took cover behind the largest tree.

"A weapon would be handy right now," Barbara lamented.

Tommy understood her reaction. Ever since she had been shot she had hated guns. "This is not the Wild West Havers. He has a gun but I have you, so I'd say that I have a distinct advantage wouldn't you?"

Barbara rolled her eyes at him. "And your plan to deploy your secret weapon is...?"

Pointing at a small gully Tommy mapped out his strategy. "I don't think he knows there are two of us so if I distract him out here you could circle around behind and come in the back of the barn. Hopefully you can find some way to overpower him."

"How do I do that exactly?"

"Improvise Sergeant. You are never short of ideas. Seriously though, the main thing is to stall until the cavalry arrive."

"Now who is living in the Wild West? Will I expect Rin Tin Tin or The Lone Ranger to ride to the rescue?" She winked at him and he smiled as he gestured her to leave.

"Rin Tin Tin was a dog Havers. I never saw him on a horse," he retorted, "be careful Barbara."

"Sure Sir but it should be me saying that, I know you get carried away when I'm not there to look after you." Before Tommy could answer she had disappeared into the gully and was moving away from him. He missed her already. She was right; he did tend to lose his perspective when she was not there. Lately though it was about everything, not just work. He had already decided that when this case was over he was going to invite her to Howenstowe for a few days. He needed to be with her away from work to confirm his feelings. He knew they would be the same even when he was in his other guise as the 8th Earl of Asherton but maybe away from London it would be easier to tell her he loved her and uncover whether she felt the same way about him.

"Mullins I know you are in there. You are not leaving here so you may as well tell me where the girl is." The reply was a single shot that whistled uncomfortably close through the trees. "Mullins I have sent for back up so any minute now we will have every road blocked and every avenue of escape cut off. It will go much better for you if you surrender now." Two shots rang out this time, both a bit nearer than before. Lynley moved behind a different tree wondering if Barbara had found a way into the barn yet.

A woman screamed a gut-wrenching cry that tore through Tommy. "Barbara!" He was running for the barn door before he realised he had moved. Another whistling bullet made him start to zig zag his run. He stumbled and fell. More gunshots reverberated around him followed by the crunching split of something large crashing into the rotting timbers of the barn wall. A small figure ran from the barn. Barbara! He grabbed her as she passed him and pulled her to the ground. It was not Barbara; it was Karen, the sixteen year old girl Mullins had kidnapped for his pornography ring. She was scared and started to howl like a cornered animal. "It's ok Karen, I'm a policeman. Are you hurt?"

"No."

Tommy could tell she was in shock but it was too dangerous to leave her here. "Listen to me Karen, more police will be here soon. I need you to run to those trees. There's a car there. Get in the back seat and crouch down. Hide till I come a get you. Now run." She nodded and ran to the trees. He watched her go. She was out and safe, relatively. Now he had to help Barbara.

There was another crash, this time accompanied by two pistol shots. At the same time he heard the Jensen's engine fire. The damned girl is taking my car! The car lights briefly lit up the barn. Barbara was fighting with Mullins trying to stop him getting into his vehicle and Mullins was trying to reach his pistol. Tommy saw Barbara go down as Mullins struck her face with the weapon. He did not hesitate and ran into the doorway just as the Range Rover reversed out at high speed. It missed him narrowly but clipped the side of the barn. Tommy rushed to Barbara who lay motionless on the ground near the first horse stall. "Barbara, are you okay?"

She groaned and started to sit up. "Yeah, sorry Sir; I couldn't stop him. Where's Tonto?"

"What?" He feared she was concussed.

"Joke. Is Karen okay? Sorry, I let you down."

"Never. She stole the Jensen! I left the keys in it in case we needed a quick escape. Mullins is probably chasing her now. Damned fool; I told her to hide in it not hijack it!"

"If Mullins wasn't chasing her I'd say it was funny. I hope she will be..." Barbara did not get to complete her sentence. There were car lights outside. Tommy assumed it was their back up until the timbers above them started cracking loudly. He pushed Barbara into the horse stall landing on top of her just as the roof beams gave way. The barn walls collapsed bringing down the roof on top of them. Tommy's lungs filled with dust that smelt of oak and hay. Debris rained down on his back and he brought his arms up to protect Barbara's head. She was coughing so she was still alive and at that moment that was Tommy's only focus, keeping her safe. Diving into the stall had been wise as solid timber beams of the stall walls had held the weight of the roof about four feet above the floor. They were cocooned in the stall, trapped but safe. He rolled off Barbara as she started to wriggle underneath him. "Shh," he warned, "Mullins is still out there."

Tommy listened carefully. He could hear Mullins shouting obscenities at them. Then he heard a series of crunches. "What's he doing?" Barbara whispered. The answer came as the barn began to creak. Timbers strained and snapped under the pressure. Mullins had rammed the barn with his car. Suddenly the side of the stall they were sheltering in gave way. A large roof beam swung down catching Tommy's leg as it fell. He was thrown onto the hard packed dirt floor with such force that the air was unwillingly expelled from his lungs. He struggled to breath, the atmosphere once again filled with dirt and straw. When he tried to sit up he felt the pain. His leg was pinned to the floor by the beam. There were timbers still falling around them but mostly the result of the other end of the barn being pushed over. It was clear Mullins did not know where they were hiding. Tommy took comfort from that, at least he was unlikely to drive his car over them.

Barbara crawled across to him. "Sir, are you hurt?"

"My leg Havers."

In the darkness Barbara put her hand on his back and traced over his thigh down to his ankle. The leg she had was free so she moved her hand over to locate his other leg. It was crushed underneath a large square beam. When she touched it he groaned loudly. She could get her hand under beam on one side and felt his foot but he did not respond when she moved it. "Sir, your leg is caught under a beam. It's badly broken and this is going to hurt but I have to get the weight off it or you'll lose the leg."

"Please, whatever. Thank you Barbara." He was only vaguely conscious. He could feel his mind drifting as he watched her. She worked quickly. The beam was too heavy to lift but was resting at an angle that allowed her to use other timber to wedge in the gap. She kicked the other timber tighter under the beam and it rose a few millimetres. She lay on her back across Tommy's legs to improve her leverage and kicked as hard as she could again and again and again. Slowly the pressure was being released as the beam lifted but she still could not free his leg. Ironically it was Mullins that helped her. He was now ramming the barn from the other side and the roof shifted, lifting the beam momentarily. Barbara grabbed Tommy's trousers and pulled his leg free. Lynley screamed then passed out.

Tommy opened his eyes. His head was cradled in Barbara's lap and she was stroking his hair. He closed his eyes again thinking that if she knew he was awake she might stop. It felt good, very peaceful and comforting. He should be in pain but he could not feel his right leg at all. He could remember her frantic efforts to free him. He knew he should care, he should be worried about how they would survive but at that moment he just wanted to lie there and have Barbara touch him. She kissed him on his forehead and he groaned involuntarily. She moved away from him, gently lowering his head onto some straw. He put up his hand to pull her back but all he could find was space. "Barbara!"

"It's okay Sir. I'm here." Her voice was close but he still could not see her or reach her. "You should be fine. Your leg has been badly crushed but it was only a few minutes before I freed it so you shouldn't have crush syndrome. Mullins is still outside so I think Karen got away. Help should be here any minute."

"Barbara, thank you." There was so much more he wanted to say but he knew that thank you was enough. "Come closer please, hold my hand." He could feel her hesitancy but she obeyed and rested her hand on his palm. He folded his fingers over the back of her hand and squeezed gently. Slowly she curled her fingers over and relaxed in his grip.

"It's okay Sir. I'm here. I won't leave you." Despite their predicament Tommy felt surprisingly happy.

The unmistakable sound of a shotgun being fired filled the air. Barbara let go of Tommy's hand and fell forward onto him. The dust particles appeared to dance in the hundreds of tentacles of moonlight that filtered through the timbers above Tommy. He wrapped his arms around Barbara and felt the warmth of her blood seep onto his fingers. He was frightened. His hands froze. He was unable to think. No, no not Barbara! She groaned and sat up. "Barbara you've been shot."

"Thank you Sir, I had noticed that."

Even now she was mimicking his statement earlier. "It seems you will live if you can still crack jokes Havers." The relief was obvious in his voice.

"Yeah, I think my jacket and the timbers absorbed most of the impact. It bleeding well hurts though; pardon the pun."

Tommy could still hear Mullins firing the shotgun further down the barn. They waited to see what would happen next. Mullins swore colourfully then shouted, "I'll come back Lynley and burn it to the ground with you and your red-haired whore dwarf inside." The voice receded into the distance, still swearing insults as Tommy heard the Range Rover drive away.

Barbara started to laugh. "What exactly is funny about this Sergeant?" Tommy demanded only half serious. He was reclining, propped on his elbow.

"I have never been called a 'red-haired whore dwarf' before. It was well...creative."

"Right now we need to be creative about how we get out of here before he returns. Neither of us is in good nick and I am not counting on anyone riding to our rescue. They would be here by now."

Barbara used a small piece of timber to knock on the stall walls and the fallen roof to find any weak points. Tommy could see her wincing but she was not letting on that she was in pain. "Nothing obvious Sir, although we might be able to squeeze through if I can make this hole bigger," she told him pointing to a spot where most of the shotgun blast was concentrated.

Tommy started to feel weaker. "Barbara, I am not feeling so well," he said slightly falteringly. He could see the alarm on her face. "Listen carefully. I am not going to get out without help and if Mullins comes back soon he will burn the barn. You have to find a way out and get away. Damn that girl for taking my car but promise me Barbara, you will make a run for it."

"I'm not leaving you here Sir."

"Yes you will Havers. I order you to get out."

"Since when did I start obeying orders?"

"Listen Barbara, you are my only hope and if I'm going to die then I don't want your death on my conscience."

"If you are going to die then I have nothing to live for, I'd rather die with you than live without you."

They stared at each other in the dim light. Tommy was aware of the implications of what Barbara had just said. "Don't be ridiculous Havers," Tommy shouted in exasperation but dizziness got the better of him and he sagged back on the floor. He struggled to not pass out.

"Sir!" Barbara rushed to his side her face ashen and her voice choked with fear, "Don't die on me Tommy."

She called me Tommy. The sound was magical and he brought up his arm came and pulled her close to him. "Barbara, I should have told you before but you mean more to me than anything. I love you Barbara. Promise me you will keep that alive by living and remembering me." Through his own bleary eyes he could see the tears running down her face carving fresh tracks in the dust and blood.

"I am NOT going to let you die. Mullins is not going to win."

"Kiss me." His voice was feint.

"What?"

"Kiss me Barbara. I don't want to die never having kissed you." He pulled her down to him, knowing he was hurting her back but not caring.

"You are not..." Her words were smothered by his lips. It was everything at once, gentle yet urgent, loving yet lustful, the memories of the past and the promise of the future, happy yet sad. He knew from that one kiss that Barbara was his destiny, however long or short that may be. He was still kissing her as he felt himself getting lighter and the world started to swim. She shook him and said something but he was unable to hear her. I love you Barbara.