.

.

When his significant hooting was heard Barbara had been ready for ten minutes. Her bag stood waiting at the door already and she was sipping on a coffee from a thermos mug, watching kids in their uniforms going by at her window on the backside of the house.

Now she grabbed her keys, her bag and her Wellies and hurried outside. Lynley had parked backwards in the driveway and already waited for her at the open car boot.

"Good morning, Barbara."

"Morning, Sir. Where are we going?"

"Kent. And I don't think you'll need your Wellies there."

"I'm not going inside again, Sir." She tossed the gumboots next to two expensive looking bags. Barbara raised an eyebrow. "What have you planned? Are we going to stay four weeks?"

"No, not really. Why?" Tommy laughed. Then his eyes followed her frown. "Oh, you mean that! That's Simon's bag."

"Huh? Simon? St James?" Barbara gave him a quizzical expression.

"Yes. He'll come with us. And Deb's already there."

Her eyes narrowed. "What is this, Sir? And where is 'there'? I thought we're going to investigate something somewhere out of London?!"

"I never said that." Lynley closed the boot and gestured her towards the front of the car. "And this is an abduction."

"That's highly illegal." she snorted.

"Maybe I'm a bad boy?" He broadly grinned at her and a shower of goosepimples ran down Barbara's spine. Usually she hated surprises but this one and the way he was looking when he presented it to her was rather exciting.

"Hello Simon." she said with a cheery voice when she sat down in the front passenger seat. Behind her the door was closed by her boss and he went around the front in huge strides followed by her eyes. There was a certain inexplicable spring in his walk. Barbara snickered.

"Barbara! Nice to see you! Good morning." As a greeting Lynley's best friend patted her shoulder from behind.

"Why are you sitting in the back, Simon? I don't have to-"

"No, no, no! Stay! The passenger seat belongs to you, Barbara." Simon laughed droning. "I'd never dare take it from you."

A rosy blush krept across Barbara's face. Lynley gave her a slightly excited smile while he fastened his seatbelt. "Seatbelt, Havers."

She only groaned and rolled her eyes. Simon chuckled. These two in the front seats were well known for their constant bickering. He did not think they would ever stop that.

For half an hour they drove through London's rush-hour traffic and the conversation was almost only between Barbara and Simon. They exchanged the usual pleasantries and updated each other because they had not met for quite some time. There was a busy time lying behind both, with a tricky case and loads of work for everyone.

Eventually they reached the motorway heading east.

"Okay, Sir, why don't you finally enlighten me?" Barbara addressed her boss.

Simon in the back had to chuckle again. "Yes, Sir, it's about time."

"Don't mock me, Simon!" she pouted.

"Then stop calling him Sir, Havers! We're all friends." Although she felt her face blushing she cautiously joined in to his laughter.

"He's right..." Lynley quietly said and gave her a warm smile.

Barbara shook her head and answered with just an inarticulate grunt.

"Oh, I thought I'm your friend..." he said with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"You are!" she firmly said and added almost regretting "And you're my boss."

"Not after work."

"Mh."

For a while Simon watched the persons in front of him intently staring out of the front window. He waited for Barbara to finally say his friend's given name. Instead she only asked again where they were headed for. Simon chuckled and looked out of his window where the landscape was flying by.

"We're driving to Kent." Tommy explained.

"I already know that." Barbara pointed at one of the blue signs announcing the distance to a well known Kentish town. "Give me details."

"It's a small village at the Thames Estuary. Or is it the North Sea already? Ah, I don't know. Anyway, Deb and Simon have a cottage there. The weather is fine and we all could do with a few days away from the city's cesspool, couldn't we?"

Barbara just raised an eyebrow again. Then Simon chimed in.

"Deb's already there. She had suggested we'd spend a few nice days together. Without the kids, without work, without any case-"

"I have loads of paperwork to do." Barbara sighed.

"No, you haven't." Lynley told her.

"Aha?"

"It's my surprise for you: a few days off for a long weekend." His smile was almost triumphant.

"Aha?"

"Winston owed me a favour. He's responsible for the files."

"And what if I had other plans, Sir?"

"Oh, you haven't." There was an amused smile on his face and still a bit of triumph that annoyed Barbara. It even made her angry and Tommy caught the expression on her face. He turned anxious. "Oh, but you haven't, have you? You've constantly told me you'd planned to stay at home this weekend, wanting to be a lazy frog. Please don't say that you've changed your-"

"I haven't." She really had no other plans for this weekend but catching up with paperwork at the office, tidying up her flat and then relaxing for two days. Nonetheless Barbara shot Tommy a deathly glare. Who was he to have her time off at his disposal. "Eyes on the road, Sir." she quietly reminded him that he was driving when he kept staring at his passenger for too long.

Ruefully he diverted his eyes away from her face.

Deep inside he knew they would have a conversation later when they would be alone although it was not exactly what he had planned.

.

...

A/N: I'm not going to post the next chapters regularly!