Home or Something stronger than tea

Author's notes: The Emerald series continue! Finally!

Summary: The Emerald series - After that gorgeous New Year's Eve party the two detectives return to London and start to manage a shared private life around work. There are colleagues who need not know and one colleague whom they actually owe to tell. Apart from other things a partnership comes along with.

Enjoy it!

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Returning

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After the gorgeous New Year's Party when Barbara finally had told him those three little words he so desperately had wanted to hear from her they had an extremely lazy first day of the year. They had made love for about two voluptuously long hours somewhere around noon after Tommy had brought a breakfast tray into his bedroom and later the family lounged about and dozed in the glass house. Except for Daze who was bustling around the house everybody was too tired to do something serious. In order to be fresh the next day Thomas and Barbara went to bed early but spent another hour or so with talking about their return to London.

They had agreed once more on keeping their relationship a secret for a while to test the grounds, to hopefully have some solved cases to present when they would tell Hillier. Of course they did not want to be separated and solved cases would be good arguments that they still function as a team. It would also be a test for themselves. The two weeks in December after his declaration had been wasted with an extremely difficult case and no real private time and afterwards when Tommy had invited her to Howenstow it was some kind of fairy tale world he had dragged her to. The Cornish Dream would end on the next day and Barbara was anxious about how they would deal with everyday life.

On Friday the 2nd of January Tommy and Barbara finally returned to London. Wordy and with many hugs Daze had said good bye to her son and his love and invited them to come around the next spare time they would be having. A few hours in his car followed, in which they both mostly had been silent but had exchanged many loving and reassuring looks. When the journey had been close to its end and they were almost there they stopped at a food truck and worked out where they would spend the weekend.

It cost Tommy a huge amount of reassuring words, soft pleading looks and soothing touches before he had convinced Barbara to stay with him during those two days.

"She's not present anymore." He finally whispered into her ear when they hugged. Barbara knew what he meant and loved him even more for understanding one of her deepest concerns. "And on my nightstand is a photo of you."

Which it was in fact, like Barbara had learned five minutes after arriving at his house. The picture had been shot by a reporter during the Fenner case in Cornwall when Barbara had had a week of relaxation around there which was clearly visible in it. She did not waste another thought at it though when she fell onto the mattress of his huge soft bed. They filled the first few pages of their new story with love.

When they showed up at New Scotland Yard on the next Monday morning Barbara had not yet dropped by at her own flat. The Earl's butler Denton still had had a few days off so they had spent the weekend alone in his house and most of the time they had stayed in bed or, barely dressed, on his luxury sofa, eating delivered food or plundering his fridge. They had been making love and talking more about their relationship. They even had flicked through some of his photo albums. Sunday evening she finally had packed her stuff and so now her bags were waiting in the boot of his car. Monday evening she finally would return to her own home.

They arrived together at the office but of course nobody questioned that. Winston had not even seen it for he had come to his desk a few moments later. Barbara was just about to whisper a naughty reply to Tommy's frivol suggestion to vanish in his office when the DC greeted them with his usual happy voice.

"Barb! You're back! Finally someone with a brain to help me with the files!" Then he nodded towards his DI. "Sir. Happy New Year, both of you."

"Happy New Year, Winnie!"

"Happy New Year, Constable. I hope you've had a peaceful shift the recent days?"

"Can't complain, Sir." A broad grin appeared on his face. "We've been stuffed with Christmas sweets all day long 'n' were treated with a small party. 'n' nobody tried to disturb all that with deceasin', or at least not in our department. How was't in Cornwall?"

Lynley's eyes briefly flicked across at Barbara before he answered. "Wonderful, thank you. Apart from the usual family obligations I've been driving around a bit. Letting my eyes and mind slow down in my beautiful home country. Checking if all the points of interest are still where they belong." He winked at Nkata.

"Ah, yeah, the famous Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty."

Barbara, who was chuffling through the files that had landed on her desk in her absence, had to chuckle at that. When they had driven from Howenstow to St Ives that had been exactly what Thomas had said all the time.

His Lordship could remember that drive very well too and grinned. "Exactly."

"So you've been to Land's End, I s'pose?"

"Oh, yes, and I've been to Lizard Point too." Lynley said with a broad grin and a suggestively raised eyebrow towards his Sergeant who was hiding behind one of those files she had found on her desk. They were both thinking of the situations when he had discovered her tattoos. "And probably to every other beautiful spot."

That remark finally made Barbara blush to the bone. With the most innocent face he was able to show Tommy asked "See you at lunchtime, Havers?"

"Hm." she nodded feigning distraction by the file she pretended to read.

When the DI was off and out of earshot Winston pushed that file down onto her desk with his index finger and grinned.

"Now for you, little Miss Sunshine..."

"What?!" Barbara chuckled a bit nervous.

"You've spent those days away from London?" he inquired.

"U-hu." She dipped her nose deep into her tea mug to hide a smile.

"With friends 'n' you were ridin'?!"

Barbara remembered a few times with Thomas but she also remembered that day when she was riding on a horseback and Winnie had called her for the second time during those away days. He had suspected that the voice he had heard was that of his boss. Well, he had suspected right but Barbara had not confirmed it then.

"Well, actually I only was led around."

"So you've learned to love the rural life in the end, haven't you?" Winnie laughed but kept a close eye on Barbara. They talked briefly about her away days but she was able to keep it abstract and did not let the whole truth slip her tongue.

"You may keep't to yourself, Barb, but I can see how you're beamin'. You're radiatin' a happiness that I haven't seen in you ever. I know it had somethin' to do with a man!"

There was no need and no possible way to deny that. Barbara leant over her desk into the Constable's direction and grinned smugly. "Oh, yes, of course, Winnie. And he is a dream. A perfectly wonderful dream."

"And you've got this from him, right?" He pointed at the little green gem she wore over a dark polo-neck jumper. Barbara's hand darted at her chest letting her fingers cover the jewellery. Finally her face was crimson. Winston did not need another answer.

"Congratulations, Barb. I wish you all the best." Grinning he raised his tea cup and still tried to tickle it out of her. "To you 'n' your Mr Anonymous."

"Winnie, I won't give you details. Done and dusted!"

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