AUTHORS NOTE: So I'm back from Scotland and I'm hoping to get everything updated today seeing as I can't nap due to my tool of a brother going out without his house keys, such a boob, but oh well I can use the time productively!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters

[Talking it Out]

"I'll be fine," she laughed into her mobile as she threw some colourful Scottish notes into the front of the taxi, mouthing a thank you to the driver and then climbing out as she continued her conversation, "You have an awesome time with John or Jake or maybe even Mark," she said quoting her assistant when she'd rushed over and said that she'd managed to pull an amazingly hot guy with the piercings in all the right places as well as tattoos. Jackie had just been glad that at least one of them was enjoying their time in the big city. "Do you want me to..." She stopped talking when she saw Robbie sat on her front porch, his hands clasped against his knee as he stared at her. "Dannii, I have to go. I'll phone you later." She said ringing off and standing at the end of the path.

Slowly, Robbie stood up from his crouched position and ran his hands down the lengths of his thigh as he stared at her. She knew this was a trait he did when he was nervous, it provided him with a few minutes to breathe and decide what he was going to say to her. "What are you doing here?" Jackie asked still not taking a step forward, her hand tightly gripping against her Blackberry as if thinking it could save her from this altercation.

"I watched your interview," he said taking a step towards her. "Ashley recorded it for me knowing that I would be at work this morning..." He started as an explanation causing her just to nod her head as she waited for him to continue. "Could we take this inside?" He asked gesturing towards the block of apartments and she just sighed.

"Robbie, what's the point?"

"Don't you think it's time we fixed everything?" He demanded to know and she couldn't help but hear the anger that laced his sentence. "I want to discuss this, us, the situation."

"Why Robbie? It's ten years too late."

"No. It's never too late," He said making those last final steps so that they were now standing toe-to-toe. "Time changes things, Jackie. We've both changed and I think we could be..."

"What?" She snapped. "Friends? We could just forget everything that happened? Be serious, Robbie!" She ran her hands through her hair, the gesture aggressive thanks to her frustrations and she couldn't help but notice his gaze move to the large diamond ring that adorned her wedding finger but he didn't comment on it.

"Now wait a minute," he demanded angrily, "you were the one that left me, remember? I poured my heart out to you and then you fled to London where you then, and I quote, met the love of your life. You didn't care about the destruction you'd left behind up here. You had moved on. Who was I compared to the new shiny love of your life, right?"

"I've never once..." She stopped short knowing that was actually the phrased used by most interviewers and even her publicist whenever her deceased partner was mentioned in conversation and she couldn't help but feel guilty that he'd heard all this through interviews. "Fine. That is how I felt about him," as cold as that sounded, Jackie still couldn't bring herself to say his name without the fear of choking up so she preferred just not talking about him or dehumanising him, the same approach she had whenever asked her about the person that inspired the D.I in her novels and yet here she was facing him, "but are you not telling me that Ashley is the love of your life?"

"No. I'm not saying that. Ashley is the love of my life and everything someone in our profession could dream of. She understands. However, she also understands that she's always going to be fighting with the ghost of..." he stopped talking as if aware that continuing would provide her with more information than what was necessary and just looked at her. "You know what, iot was stupid of me to come here." He said taking a step back, his arms wrapping around his chest as if to make him no longer apart of this situation, shielding himself from her. "I did it because Ashley asked me to but now I see that Ashley was wrong. We can't fix this."

Jackie just stared at him, her jaw slack as she took in what he'd just said. He was doing this for his wife. Robbie Ross, the playboy of Glasgow, was on her door steop to make his wife happy and not even caring about his own feelings. This was a side of the man that she'd never expected to see and despite everything, she enjoyed seeing it and envied his beautiful wife a little bit more. Sighing, she walked past him and moved towards the door.

"Well we might as well fix this," she said turning back to look at him, "for Ashley's sake." Then she turned back to the door and concentrated on unlocking the door so that they could continue the chat inside.

"For Ashley's sake," he quietly repeated before following her inside the front door, two steps behind her.

.o.O.o.O.o

Sitting down on the couch, Robbie accepted the cup of coffee that she handed him before she sat down across from him on the only arm chair with her own cup. The silence was awkward but it didn't seem to bother either of them as they just continued to stare into space, conversation openers running through both of their minds. "How is everyone?" She eventually spoke causing him to look up from his mug.

"Do you not talking to anyone, any more?" He asked her and she felt guilty as she shook her head. He just grinned softly. If there was anything he enjoyed talking about it was their family, both the biological one and the one at the station. "Well Burke is the same as normal just older and a lot more grouchier. However, he and the Super have finally decided to stop butting heads and finally embraced the fact that they're madly in love with each other. They never admit it but it's the best thing to ever happen to the pair of them and it's beautiful to see."

"Well that's great," she said with a smile remembering how many times they'd cracked jokes behind the pairs back that the only reason they argued with each other was because they were madly in love with the other and it was just playground teasing. "It's good to know the old man is finally happy, again." She said as she remembered Arlene and the sadness that had overcome Burke after her death.

"Of course it is!" He said with a warm smile. "Stuart and Ewan now have an army of children. Six in total, not including Ronan as she's now moved out and is living at University. She's doing criminal psychology, much to Stuart's disappointment. He was hoping she'd pick another career like teaching or doctorate but she wants to follow in her father's footsteps."

"Six children?" She gasped shaking her head. "How do they manage?"

"Stuart left the force to be a stay at home dad and Ewan only goes to work for several hours a day. It's refreshing to see a detective make it in a long lasting relationship in this day and age," the couple would have been together nearly twenty years this year and it was a shock especially with Ewan's background and the demons Stuart had faced because of his career and sexuality. "And due to the children being adopted, there's such a range of characters and it's beautiful. The youngest, Jacqueline," Jackie had a moment there to embrace that one of them was named after her even if the name was one she hated, "is three years old this month. It feels like only yesterday they brought the little bundle of pink home with them."

"I'm sure you felt the same when you brought your children home too," she said shyly looking down at her mug and Robbie looked up at her, his own smile warm.

"I was over the moon when Ashley first told me she was pregnant. It was completely different to what I'd felt when Gaby told me about Jamie, it was as if I knew this time that I would make the best father in the world," he looked down at his mug. "Jamie's made the biggest change out of all of us."

"How do you mean?"

"He was once so afraid to tell me anything," he said in a soft tone as if remembering, "but one day he arrived at my doorstep, his bags at his feet as he told me that he'd ran away from his mother because she'd reacted negatively to some news that he'd given her and I was shocked. What kind of news could you give your mother that you felt as if you had to run away? Then it clicked, you know. I don't even know what it was but it just clicked."

"Jamie's gay?" She voiced out loud and Robbie grinned as he nodded his head.

"I just couldn't believe that he felt he could trust me enough to tell me, you know. He had mentioned that if I didn't understand than he'd ring his Uncle Stuart and Uncle Ewan to see if he could crash with them for a while but you know something, I'd never felt so proud of him in my whole life. He now lives with his boyfriend of three years in a small apartment close to Stuart's house," Jackie could hear the pride in Robbie's voice and she couldn't help but feel the tears stinging her eyes at everything she'd missed. She could have known about all of this if she had stayed in touch. Hell, it would have been her that Robbie would have wanted to speak to after having such a bomb being dropped on him. "Any big changes in your life?"

The question she hated. Compared to the others, the last ten years of her life had been mundane apart from the drastic change in both bank balance and wardrobe. The only really big change she was proud of was meeting Dannii and both her relationships. Despite their differences, both men had treated her like royalty and she'd enjoyed having attention. It was nice to know that she could be treated like that. Shrugging her shoulders, she looked over at him. "Nothing as amazing as you guys."

"Why didn't you have children?"

"It just..." She stopped talking as she thought of the miscarriage she'd had with her first husband, Sean, and shrugged her shoulders. "It was never the right time and then I just got older," she lied with a smile before looking down at her mug. "Do you know how much I miss this place?" She admitted looking around her small apartment. "Sure, I've made friends down in London but they'll never be as amazing as you bunch discrediting Dannii because she's like all of you bundled into one." She laughed looking over at him. "Would you change it all?"

"Yes," he whispered without even hesitating. "I'd fight for you harder next time. In our second life, Jacks, you'll be mine." He promised before standing up and looking down at her. "I suppose I'd best go home and let Ashley know that we discussed everything and that we're friends," he said holding out his hand waiting for her to shake it so that she could affirm their new found friendship, which she did, "so don't be surprised if she starts phoning you and inviting you to big things because she's a big one for parties."

"I'd like that," she admitted and realised that it was the truth. Despite their feelings, the two of them were now old enough to realise what they had was spectacular and maybe them not getting together had been the best thing to happen all round. Standing up too, she smiled at him despite the stinging feeling in her eyes that indicated she was going to cry. "Dannii and I leave in a week so maybe we could all get together just for old times sakes."

"I'd like that," he said repeating her sentence causing her to smile. "Thank you for this, Jackie." He said squeezing her shoulder, his lips pressing a small kiss to her temple before he showed himself out.

Jackie stood in the centre of her living room, her arms crossed over her chest as she focused on the wall. It wasn't long before the tears fell hot and heavy against her cheeks, the bitter taste of salt in her mouth as she grieved for something she never had and would never have.

TO BE CONTINUED...