Author's note: all usual disclaimers apply. This story is for Tess 4 5.

I have taken liberties with the political situation. There are no plans, as yet, for a certain Commonwealth country to become a republic.

"Havers!" she snapped into her phone.

"You sound angry Sergeant."

"Sir, is this important? I'm a little...pre-occupied just at the minute."

Tommy Lynley smiled wryly. "Doing what?"

Barbara felt her blood boil. If he insisted she would tell him. "I'm taking a shower!"

"Err...oh! Yes, well that is important."

She had caught him off-guard and smirked as she imagined his face. "So?"

"I'm sorry Barbara," he said sincerely, "but there's been a napping."

"Napping? As in someone has been asleep? Like I still want to be. Or someone folded your serviettes the wrong way?"

She heard her boss laugh and smiled. She liked it when he laughed; he had not done enough of that lately. "Very droll Barbara. This has nothing to do with sleeping or my napery."

"So a kidnapping?"

"Not exactly...I'll explain when I pick you up."

"How long?"

"Well, that's the thing really. I'm standing outside your door."

Now it was Tommy's turn to smile. Barbara had hung up on him but not before she had growled into his ear. She had actually growled! He was still smiling when her door flew open. "Five minutes!" she roared at him.

He followed meekly behind the huge over-sized tee-shirt that covered the hissing, spitting, bundle of red-hair as it stormed back into the house. She went back into her bathroom and slammed the door leaving her bewildered boss standing in the lounge. He picked up some stray items of clothes from the chair and looked around. No other pile looked any better than its many mates so he placed them on one and sat down. He wondered if perhaps he should have hidden something in the cutlery drawer as a joke. No, Barbara was not in the mood!

He could hear the water running. He fiddled with his jacket, then placed his hands purposefully on his knees as he thought about Barbara being naked under the stream of warm water only fifteen feet from him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. They had work to do and this was most definitely not the time to be thinking about joining her in the shower. He coughed and loosened his collar.

Five minutes later Barbara emerged dressed and ready. Her wet hair hung limply in thick strands reaching almost to her shoulders. He could imagine her using a wide-toothed comb like they gave away at five pound haircutting stands. It was a pity she did not look after herself more. He had tried to convince her a few times that she was attractive but she would have none of it. He knew she took pride in her reputation for being sexless and ugly. She was far from that. Her eyes sparkled like emeralds when she smiled and her face beneath her cheap haircut was beautiful. He wondered momentarily what it would be like to kiss her.

"What's so damned urgent?" she demanded, shaking him from his reverie.

"There's been a marsupial kidnapped from the zoo."

She picked up her bag and hunted him towards the door. "Stolen. I don't think you can say kidnapped. What sort of marsupial?"

"A koala," he replied as he unlocked his car.

"Someone stole a koala bear?"

"They're not bears, Barbara," he admonished like her sixth class teacher.

"Yeah, yeah, I know but they look like little bears. Why are we looking into a stolen koala?"

"He was a gift from the Australian Government and there has been a rather bizarre ransom demand involving cutting off the poor little thing's ears. The Prime Minister wants to avert an international incident in the lead up to the Australia becoming a republic. Having one of their national symbols tortured on TV would not go down well - here or there. Looks like sour grapes by some group about them deciding to leave the fold. Apparently The Palace are not happy either. Not only is the Queen fond of koalas but she wants Australia to play an important role in keeping the Commonwealth together. So the Met, MI5 and MI6 are all working together on this one."

Barbara rolled her eyes and groaned. "We have spooks? Marvelous!" She had slept badly and had hoped for a quiet day. "What do the koala-nappers want?"

"To stop Australia becoming a republic."

"Why would anyone here care?"

"I think some still hold the ideals of the Commonwealth and maybe even the Empire very dear."

"You disapprove, don't you?"

"Of course. We can't have animals used to ransom our political system. And Australia should be able to make its own decisions. They haven't said they want to leave the Commonwealth. We should be more worried about the EU."

Barbara grunted. She suspected she and Lynley held disparate views on that debate. "How credible is the threat?"

"Very. They've already interrupted the BBC early news with footage of them with Kevin and a knife. They made their demand public."

"Who's Kevin?"

"The koala."

"Kevin? That's the best we could do?"

"The name was chosen by schoolchildren I believe. I think they like alliterative names; Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, and Kevin the Koala."

Barbara raised her eyebrows then lowered them into a thoughtful frown. "So they are tech-savvy and capable."

"So it seems."

"Any clues on the tape? Background location, noises?"

"No, seems they shot it while still inside the zoo."

"I suppose someone searched the zoo thoroughly?"

"Very. They had about fifty officers sweep it from end to end. One was bitten by a snake I believe."

"An Australian snake?"

"I don't know. Possibly, they have a lot of them and they're angry little devils."

"Stop trying to make them sound cute. They're snakes."

"People aren't scared of snakes Barbara, they're scared of being poisoned."

"So?"

"Well you know what I'm getting at. It's like love."

"No wonder your love life's a mess if you think women are snakes."

"It's not a mess. I don't have a love life. You know that. I...why are we discussing my love life now?"

Barbara gave him a huge grin. "You're trying to explain how love is a snake. Presumably, one that rears up and bites you just when you think it's curled in its basket."

"People aren't scared of love, they're scared no one will love them back."

"They shouldn't be."

She had said it in such a way that Tommy was unsure if she had addressed that comment directly at him. Had she just told him she loved him? Had he just asked? "No, they shouldn't. You can't help who you love."

"So what's our role?"

"To love with all our hearts and not miss opportunities."

Barbara stared at him. "O-kay," she said slowly, "I meant with the case."

"Oh, yes. Of course. Hillier hopes we can find and rescue Kevin before the spooks. He thinks it will be a confidence booster for the public. He has a lot of teams on it."

"Any ideas?" she asked her boss.

"No, frankly they could be anywhere."

"Not really. Think about. Koalas only eat certain trees right? Australian trees. And from what I've seen on David Attenborough, they eat almost constantly when they're not asleep. So they have to be somewhere they can access gum trees."

"They might have sourced leaves already. Have them in storage."

"Yeah, maybe but I think the leaves have to be fresh."

"Maybe they don't intend to feed him while they have him," he reasoned.

"They must know Australia won't change its mind in a few hours. They'd've planned for that. Nah, I reckon they have access to trees."

"It's worth looking into. We can check for any arboretums that specialise in eucalypts."

"Arbore whats? Yeah well while you're at it look for places that grow trees."

Tommy returned her cheeky grin. "Feeling less grumpy now?"

"No. It was very...disconcerting, having you turn up at my door while I was showering."

"I've been with you when you've showered before." He saw the horrified look on her face. "In the caravan," he added hastily. Then he remembered and smiled. "Besides, you stood watching me shower once Miss Kettle!"

He watched Barbara's face flush crimson. "That was different," she muttered.

Tommy thought about pulling over and kissing her right here in the middle of the city. He had the same thought twenty or thirty times every day now. For months, he had promised himself that at the end of the day he would act, but he never had.

"Kew! Has anyone checked Kew Gardens?" Clearly Barbara's mind was only on work.

"I don't know. Why don't you phone Winston and check," he said grumpily, earning a frown from his sergeant.

Barbara made her call. Tommy tried to follow it from one side but it was more of an excuse to look at her. She was everything but what he thought he liked in a woman yet he was drawn to her more every day. Friendship had grown into a spiritual pairing and over the last few months, his thoughts had become decidedly carnal as well. He was smitten, totally and utterly in love with her. This time, after this case, he promised himself he would act.

"Yes, they did a sweep of Kew, no koala. Why are you smiling? The poor little creature is probably scared out of its wits."

"Sorry, I was distracted. That would probably have been too easy. The koala will be fine, we'll find it. At least they didn't take a wombat."

"And how does that help us?"

"Well the wombat hides itself. With a koala, we have something above ground to search for."

"Who grows eucalypts?"

He shrugged. "An Oxford education has its limits Barbara."

She grinned at him. "Oh, an admission of fallibility. I like it."

"You know only too well my many failings."

"You've never failed me." The smile she gave him made his heart jump.

Tommy pulled into the carpark which was brimming with strange cars. "Barbara, there's something I've...who sells eucalypts? There must be a nursery here somewhere. See what you can find while I try and park."

Fifteen minutes later Barbara was in his office when he walked thought the door. "There's only one place Sir, in Wales. I just rang and the woman was quite distressed to think a koala was in danger. Apparently they only eat certain species of eucalypts."

"You look smug Sergeant."

"I have an address in Cobham where thirty trees koalas like were sent two weeks ago," she said triumphantly as she held up a piece of paper.

Tommy ran his hand through his hair. "I'm not sure turning up with sirens blazing is the right approach. Let me talk to Hillier. Good work Barbara."

He returned ten minutes later. "Hillier agrees. We'll take Winston and two officers as well as one of the zoo's handlers. Cobham is only forty minutes away. We can get back up if we need it."

Winston burst into the room. "You have to see this," he almost yelled.

They followed him back to the squad room. On the TV, a man wearing a cut-out mask of Prince William was holding Kevin. The koala cuddled sleepily into his side unaware that the man was talking about how he was going to mutilate him. When the man produced a large knife Kevin watched warily then looked scared as the man shaved away the hair from one ear. Suddenly he started thrashing and making a pitiful sound like a petrol chainsaw having trouble starting.

"No!" Barbara shouted at the screen. "Sir, you have to save Kevin. Now!"