Author's Note: A little fluffy piece about Ken and Laura's first introduction. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Lewis or any of its characters
Laura and Robbie were sat in her living room when the door bell went. They both knew who was on the other side, and were both nervous beyond belief, about Ken's visit. Robbie hadn't seen his son in person since he went to live in Australia, and Laura had only met him the once. At his mother's funeral. They were fully aware of each other's reservations about this visit. Robbie stood and held his hands out towards Laura. Once she had placed her hands in his, she stood up, he kissed her, and they walked towards the door.
••••••••
On the other side of the door, Tim, and Lyn, with their son resting on her hip, stood with Ken, who they had picked up from the airport on their way down from Manchester. Ken was biting very nervously on his thumb. He hadn't seen his father in person since moving to Australia, and he'd only met his new partner once. At their mother's funeral. He was over the moon for his dad. He was finally happy again; something that had become evident in their phone calls over the last few months, and he was both excited and terrified about meeting the woman he had to thank for that.
••••••••
As soon as Robbie opened the door, the little boy stretched his arms out to Laura. "G'ama!". The first time he and Laura met, he had called her 'G'ama' and, seeing as neither Lyn or Robbie (or Laura herself) objected, the name stuck. Lyn passed him over to Laura, who squeezed him tight, and kissed him hard on the cheek. "Hello little man!" He wrapped his little arms around her neck as she rest him on her hip, barely looking up as his granddad ruffled his hair and greeted him. Robbie and Laura stepped aside to let the three other adults into the house.
"I wouldn't worry about it Robbie. He's been the same with me recently. Turning into a proper little lady's man." Tim grinned at his father-in-law and shook his hand, after putting down the bags he had been carrying. "Aaah, you went through the same phase when you were a bairn Ken." He greeted his son with a big bear hug, and then did the same to his daughter. "It's great to see you both together!" "It's great to see you too dad." Lyn smiled. Noting that these were the first proper words her brother had spoken since they'd picked him up 2 hours ago.
Laura eventually managed to pass their grandson over to Robbie, and lead Ken up to one of the spare rooms. "This is yours. Make yourself at home." She smiled nervously up at the man that looked like a slightly younger version of the Robbie Lewis she met 18 years ago. He returned her smile and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks Laura." He stepped into the spare bedroom, and Laura returned downstairs. She slipped into the kitchen and put the kettle on. A few minutes later, Laura and Robbie brought out a pot of tea, five mugs, a cup of milk and some chocolate chip cookies.
Once the adults were all seated around the table, the littl'un clambered up from the floor, where he'd been playing, onto Laura's lap, and began to dunk biscuits in his cup of milk. They chatted about Ken's flight from Australia, and the journey from Manchester. Once they'd finished, Laura and Tim took the lad to the swings down the road, allowing the Lewises to catch up properly.
••••••••
"She really is lovely, dad." Ken smiled at his father. "Aye. That she is." Robbie grinned proudly. "The boy adores her as well." Lyn added, as she collected the mugs from the table. "He's not the only one." Robbie ducked his head shyly and went to the kitchen, before piping up again. "And you can add Monty to that list." His children smiled fondly at their father, and Lyn spoke. "Where is Monty anyway?" He shrugged, and smiled at his daughter. "Dunno. Probably sulking somewhere, because mummy's attention has been diverted away from him. He'll come out of hiding eventually."
The three of them caught up about what had been going on in each other's lives, whilst they began to prepare dinner. An hour or so later, the others returned and they all sat down to eat. After dinner, Lyn's son wanted to go and play in the living room. She lifted him up onto her lap and made a suggestion. "I've got a better idea sweetheart. Granddad, is it alright if we go on a Monty hunt?" "Of course it is pet." At this point, the little boy was wriggling and squealing with excitement, at the prospect of finding the cat. He climbed off of his mum's lap, and tugged at her arm impatiently.
Ten minutes later they came downstairs, the younger of the two looking extremely disappointed. He climbed up on the sofa to join the others and settled on Laura's lap. "I take it you didn't find him?" She directed her question at Lyn, who was just sitting down next to Tim. "We did, but he was curled up asleep on your pillow. He looked far too adorable to wake up." Laura laughed. "Bless him. Looks like this one's heading the same way." Her grandson had curled up on her lap, put his thumb in his mouth and begun to drift off to sleep. "Yeah, we should probably get him to bed. He's been bouncing off the walls with excitement all day." The little family said their good nights to Ken and Laura, and Robbie went to get them settled at his flat. It was agreed that, seeing as he has two bedrooms, they could have the place to themselves, and he and Ken would stay at Laura's. (He was practically living at hers anyway)
Laura turned to Ken who was almost asleep on the sofa. "You look like you could use an early night yourself." He laughed. "I think you might be right. Jet lag's hell. I'll go up and get ready, but I'll wait for dad before I turn in." "Okey doke. Can I get you anything?" "Naah, I'm alright for the minute thanks." They smiled at each other, and he headed upstairs to get ready for bed. Their introduction had gone ahead with far less awkwardness than they both anticipated. In fact, they were getting on like a house on fire, and both felt a bit stupid for worrying so much.
Robbie came back thirty minutes later, and found Laura doing the washing up. He walked up behind her, placed his hands on her hips and kissed her cheek. "Alright love? Where's Ken?" She turned, took his face in her hands and kissed him. When she pulled away, she couldn't help but laugh at his beard of bubbles. "He's upstairs, getting ready for bed. He's been waiting for you before he goes to sleep. So you might want to go and say goodnight. The poor thing's dead on his feet." "Laura Hobson, have you gone soft?" He joked as he kissed her. "Oh, just shut up and go." She shoved him lightly, but her grin gave away her fake anger. Robbie turned around, to find his son standing in the doorway to the kitchen, smiling fondly at the scene he'd just witnessed. "Dad you look ridiculous." He looked in the oven door and laughed. He grabbed the tea towel that Laura was drying her hands with, and wiped his face. "Thanks pet." He said with a chuckle. Laura leant up and wiped the last spot of bubbles from his nose with her thumb, before kissing it softly. "Anyway, I need to get to bed before I fall asleep on your kitchen floor." Ken kissed Laura on the cheek. "Thank you for the warm welcome." "No problem at all. You're always welcome." He walked over and hugged Robbie. "Night dad." "Night Ken." "See you both in the morning."
••••••••
A few hours later, Robbie and Laura decided to go to bed themselves. She lay with her head on his chest, while he gently stroked her hair. "They think you're great, by the way." She tilted her head up to look at him. "Sorry, what was that? I was miles away." He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "The kids, and the bairn. They love you." She grinned. "Well you obviously raised the to make fantastic judgements." He chuckled. "But they really are a credit to you and Val, Robbie. They're wonderful." Robbie pulled her closer to him, and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "She'd have been so proud of them... I love you." "I love you too." What could have been a very sweet moment between the couple, was interrupted by their cat, Monty, jumping onto the bed and lying down where Laura's head had been resting before she'd lifted it to kiss Robbie. They both laughed, and Laura tickled him under the chin. "Yes, we love you too Monty. And we promise to pay more attention to you tomorrow." This seemed to please the cat, who nuzzled into Robbie's chest as he drifted off to sleep. "Cheeky sod. Goodnight love." She reached her arm around his stomach, and rested her head on his shoulder. "Goodnight Robbie."
Ken, who had gotten up to use the loo just as Laura had mentioned his mum, had stopped outside their bedroom door. He laughed quietly at the exchange between his dad, Laura and Monty, and continued to the bathroom. He was over the moon for his dad. He couldn't have wished for a better woman for Robbie to spend the rest of his life with, and he trusted her completely to take care of him, and give him all of the love that he deserves.