Chapter Two

Thanks for all of the fun reviews. I can honestly say that most things in life can be made better by chocolate, cheese or bacon or some combination thereof. I don't imagine the lovely Dr. Hobson was a regular eater of bacon but something tells me Robbie could bring her around.

They spent the morning running the errands Laura had mapped out. As much as he might grumble about the errands, he loved spending time with her. True to his promise, he didn't complain. Several times he opted to stay in the car listening to Radio 4 but whenever she came out of a store he was at her side taking her packages and walking them back to the car.

Laura smiled each time he appeared and rewarded him with a kiss. A year ago he might have been embarrassed at the intimate contact in such a public place. Now he embraced it and her. A few times he even pulled her closer, extending the contact.

Now they were back in the car. Laura was already fastened into her seat scrolling through a list on her phone. Robbie started the car and looked over to her, "What's left?"

"Waitrose. Although…" She leaned toward him, whispering in his ear, "Since you've been such a good boy, I thought I might treat you to lunch before we do the grocery shopping."

Her hot breath against his ear sent a thrill of excitement through him. His hand traced up her side stopping just under her breast. He slowly glided his thumb across her nipple feeling her respond through the thin fabric. Her intake of breath made him smile, "I say we finish the shopping and go home for lunch."

She nipped his ear before sitting back in her seat, "Oh will you be cooking lunch too?"

He laughed as he ran his hand down her leg, "I have an entirely different menu planned for lunch."

A rush of heat ran through Laura. She smiled at the thought, "Then we'd better hurry, I am very hungry."

Laughing Robbie put the car in to gear and moved into traffic. A quick drive had them at their destination. They made short work of their list and were soon headed back to the car. Laura did have to roll her eyes at the amount of bags in their cart. Taking Robbie to the grocery had its downside, she always ended up with much more than she intended. Oh well, seeing the joy on his face made up for the few extra bags.

As they were leaving the store they bumped into one of the DSs Robbie had helped train on his recent return to the police force. Laura didn't know him particularly well and decided to run one more, quick errand while Robbie was distracted. She briefly got his attention and motioned that she was walking across the street. He nodded and waved as she walked away.

At the corner she looked both ways then jogged across the street. She entered the store and browsed, not immediately finding what she was looking for. An over-eager sales clerk helped her and she left the store happy to be away from her.

Walking back to the corner she looked across the street to see Robbie still engaged in a conversation with the DS. As she looked across the street one more time Robbie saw her. She waved quickly and smiled.

Robbie was chatting with the younger man, happy to hear that things were going well. He was one of the DSs Robbie thought had the most potential. It was good to see the fruits of his labor. He looked up and saw Laura standing across the road. She smiled and waved at him and suddenly the last place he wanted to be was stood talking with this DS in the Waitrose carpark. He waved back at her then turned his attention to extricating himself from the conversation.

He jogged to the car wanting to have as many of the bags in the car before she joined him. The screeching tires and honking horn immediately drew his attention. He looked in the direction of the noise just in time to hear the crash. His eyes searched frantically for Laura, where was she? She'd just been at the same corner where a car was crashed into the pole where she'd been standing.

The cart slipped from his hands continuing to move forward with no one steering it. It crashed into a nearby car. Robbie was stopped in the middle of the carpark when he heard someone scream, "Call an ambulance, she's unconscious."