Act II- I could murder a curry (and other things Robbie Lewis could do)
Later that year, in the mortuary, the fledgling couple was trying- and failing- to perform a post-mortem on Richard Seager. But the Inspector was far too distracted planning his future as the Doctor's companion to concentrate on the corpse. He sounded her out about his retirement. "It's about bloody time!" she exclaimed. (It was about bloody time that Laura Hobson told Robbie Lewis it was about bloody time!)
"You mean you wouldn't mind being with a pensioner?" Robbie asked. Laura said something about wanting a house-husband. But her selfish words were a front for her own vulnerability- and his. Yes, she wanted Robbie to rub her back and fix her supper, but more importantly she wanted HIM- safe and sound- retired and out of harm's way.
She shivered as she remembered the first time Robbie held her hand. Laura was twice shaken by the gesture: first in surprise that he finally had the courage to take her hand, second that the whimsy of it was gone in an instant, gone up in thick black smoke. For as soon as he'd reassured her about their being out of step, he'd run into a burning houseboat to save a person of interest to their case. She could barely remember calling 999 or Robbie rescuing the girl from the burning boat or anything else other than the beating of her heart.
"Robbie…" she whispered tearfully as she tried to eke out a moment with him amidst the assembled emergency teams. He knew that look all too well.
"Hush, love. Sorry about our curry. I promise I'll make it up to you; I'll take you out for a nice dinner just the two of us." The words were so natural that he'd almost added that they'd get a babysitter for the kids; it wasn't lost on either of them that that was what he would say to his wife in such a circumstance. The words may have come out like clockwork, but that didn't make them any less sincere. He was thinking about the woman he loved. Then he was gone with the flurry of sirens and lights. Laura's reaction was exactly what Val's would have been: He thinks I'm upset about the curry?!
True to his word, Robbie rescheduled dinner, and not just a curry. He insisted on the Randolph. My God, he is serious this time. But then again, that's what she'd thought about the Faerie Queene. Cautiously optimistic, she chose a charcoal colored suit with a red print in the matching skirt- it was a striking combination, though the charcoal was a softer choice than black. She arrived early and had a seat at the bar. The bartender nodded to her when Robbie arrived, "your date's here, miss." How did he know who her date was? Laura turned around on her stool, took one look at Robbie in a charcoal suit with red tie and knew that they were a matched pair. She basked in satisfaction at the sight.
Laura brought up the change in him the only way she knew how: "are you OK?" And he assured her he was, so she needed to dig deeper. "Is all this funeral stuff getting to you? Reminding you of Val?" There was no particular reason that this case would remind him of Val more than any other. The truth is that it was Laura herself who'd been thinking about Val since the boat incident, thinking about how Val must have felt over a lifetime of Robbie putting himself in harm's way. The last thing that Laura had expected him to say was that Val was slipping away… and he was turning the page on a new chapter.
It wasn't like Robbie to speak in metaphors, so she knew that he had carefully chosen his words. "Right." She said, smiling slightly, but somewhat noncommittally, as she was still not sure what to make of it. She'd wanted to hear this for so long that she couldn't believe it was actually happening. When they finally got a table, her head was swimming so much so that she had a hard time reading the menu. Robbie held her hand again as they waited for their meals, seeing each other with new eyes. She couldn't even remember what she'd ordered! They chatted amiably, though not about their rapidly mutating relationship. Finally he asked her to satisfy his curiosity.
"What do you think, Laura? Am I too old to start over again? You said me havin' fun was in the distant past and all…"
She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "You seem pretty spry to me, hopping over that fence and heroically saving the damsel in distress…" suddenly she winced and closed her eyes, remembering the boat explosion.
"What is it, Laura?"
"Promise me you'll never do that again!"
"Hop over a fence?"
"No, run into an exploding boat! Or building, or car, or anything else on fire!"
He laughed. "I promise, love."
When he walked her to her car after dinner, he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek as he had on many occasions, though he dared to linger, slightly nuzzling his nose to her cheek and taking in the scent of her perfume.
"Robbie… it's a new chapter, right?" She took the lapels of his suit in her hands and centered him against her. He leaned in again, and this time kissed her properly on the lips. He stepped back and smiled. She'd never seen him smile so brightly, not even in the days of Morse.
"Think about it, Laura. Us, together?"
"I've been thinking about it for years, Robbie."
"Good. I'd hate to think we were rushing things." He gave her one more gentle kiss and asked, "can I see you tomorrow?" She nodded, unable to speak. He left her breathless, unable to think about anything else.
At two in the morning she was still tossing and turning, thinking about him. Finally, she gave in to her insatiable thoughts and reached for her mobile. "Lewis" he answered still half-asleep, as she knew he would.
"I can't sleep, Robbie."
"What's wrong, pet?" His voice was full of concern. "I hope I didn't upset you tonight."
"No, no, no… tonight was so wonderful that I'm afraid to go to sleep. Tomorrow I might wake up to find you've changed your mind."
"No, Laura," he mumbled into the phone at the same time as she continued to ramble.
"Remember when we were going to see the Faerie Queene? And then it didn't happen. We said we would reschedule, and we never did… I didn't press you because I knew how nervous the whole thing was making you. But it's always been one step forward and two steps back. This time, though, when I see you at work I won't be able to pretend that you didn't hold my hand and kiss me."
"You've got to, Laura. At work we are going to pretend that nothing's changed. But that's all it'll be- pretending for the sake of being professional. Ach, love, I'm sorry we've had so many false starts. But I'm finally ready to see where this goes. I mean that."
"Really?"
"Yes. And as much as I want to drive over there and prove that to you, we've got a case on. I promise I'll come see you in the lab the first chance I get tomorrow, and I'll bring you a big coffee to help you get through the day. Try not to lose any more sleep over it."
With his simple reassurance, her tone changed from anxious to eager. "In that case, tomorrow can't come soon enough. But I have to warn you, I'm terrible at pretending."
"You can do it, Laura. Close your eyes, now. No more looking back. Dream about the future."
Her heart fluttered when she heard him rap his knuckles on the glass. Though she avoided his gaze as he handed her a coffee, she was comforted and relieved by his presence- a promise fulfilled. He's really here. Not for lab results or a PM- for no other reason than to be with me. She made small talk about the case, trying her best to pretend that she didn't want to be lost in his embrace. Just in time, James Hathaway rang from Croatia. Robbie put him on speakerphone. Ever the provocateur, Laura put on her best mock-maternal voice to ask James if he was having a good time- knowing full well that he wanted to tell Robbie to get stuffed for ruining his holiday. Teasing James was only one of Robbie and Laura's shared interests…
Robbie and Laura did a good job acting professional that day, but as their romance blossomed, post-mortems became trickier… like the day they'd autopsied one Richard Seager. "It's all a bit odd now, you, and me, and…" He indicated the corpse. It was Laura who had to remind Robbie that they had to work together when he was so in love with her that he was unable to hear her post-mortem report. He reckoned it might be best to retire. Robbie didn't mind her suggestion that he have her supper on the table when she came home from work. He was craving stability and a sense of normalcy with her, even if it meant that he was to step into the support role. Robbie really hoped that Laura likes egg and chips.
