Here's the next chapter, sorry it's late but a combination of Christmas preparations and a massive cold has had my brain all messed up.
…But…
No one had heard from Robbie all weekend, well, from when he abandoned Stuart and Jackie at a club to go skirt chasing. And Jackie was getting worried. She had never gone more than a day without Robbie calling her up or turning up on her doorstep with a pizza and a bottle of wine.
"Where's Ross?" Burke asked as he came into the office to find only Jackie and Stuart sitting at their desks. "He should be in here already. Jackie?"
"Don't know, boss," Jackie responded. "No word from him since Friday when he left Stuart and me in the club. Usually he calls me on Sunday after he's saw Jamie at Mass, but no word this weekend."
"Well, get over there," Burke ordered. "Find out what he's up to or if he's even alive."
"Right boss," Jackie said as she grabbed her coat and car keys. "I'll call you once I know what is wrong."
The whole car ride over to Robbie's, Jackie had to control her mind to stop it from wandering into the dark. Her mind kept running the worst scenarios such as; Robbie had drunk himself to death, the girl he had met at the club killed him, he was so drunk he fell down the stairs and broke his neck…
"Get a grip, Jackie," Jackie said to herself as she slammed her hands on the steering wheel. "This is Robbie we're talking about. He's probably took home the one girl who would tie him to his bed and leave him like that or he's slept through his alarm again. I knew I should have stopped by and picked him up this morning."
Pulling up in front of Robbie's house, she could see he was at least alive and not tied to his bed. But she could also see he was getting stuck into a bottle of something.
So she got out of her car and walked up to Robbie's front door, not bothering to knock, Jackie opened up the door with the key she had been given for 'emergencies'.
"Robbie Ross, why the hell aren't you at work?" Jackie asked as she stormed into the living room to find Robbie slumped on the sofa. "Burke's been chewing Stuart's and my ear about where you are."
"I'm not going into work," Robbie slurred as he went to lift the bottle to his lips again, but Jackie grabbed it off of him. "I just want to drink, so give me the bottle."
"No, Robbie," Jackie said as she sat down beside him and took his hand in hers. "I want to help you with whatever your problem is, so tell me."
"I'm too bloody old for my old antics," Robbie said as he laid his head on Jackie's shoulder. "I should be settling down, not going out on the pull every night of the bloody week."
"Robbie," Jackie soothed. "You know I'm always here for you. All you had to do was call me and I would have been over here in a heartbeat. You're my best friend, Robs."
"Jacks, you're my best friend, too," Robbie whispered into Jackie's ear and then bit the lobe. "I love you."
TBC
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review. Hope you all have a Happy Christmas and the next chapter will be the last and should be on time. Don't worry though, I'm working on my own Christmas submission.
