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A Nice Day

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Barbara was oblivious to the glares between Tommy and his family. She was too preoccupied with hiding her sniffles and coughs and blowing her nose unnoticed.

After lunch Tommy was able to stop Trevor from giving them company. Barbara and the boy secretly had patted and conspiratorially grinning fed the dog under the table so he had found a nice excuse to go on a walk with her and Pitty. Not that he really thought he would need one, but still he in fact did think he would need one. As if to cover up the situation of being alone with her. To his great delight Barbara agreed.

Wrapped in warm clothings they went past the stables and across the muddy meadow. The air was fresh but there was no real wind anymore that could blow through the cloth of her coat so it did not do further harm to her health. The temperature also was higher than it was yesterday and all the snow was slowly turning into slush and water. Although she first had feared they would not know about what to talk they did so continuously - about yesterday's weather, about the clouds, the warmth, the puddles, the dirty dog and the useful and cosy but ridiculous felt slippers. He asked her two times to call him by his name and loudly sighed when Barbara called him 'Sir' again after only once saying 'Tommy'. Tommy helped her across the two fences they had to climb. Unfortunately he had let go of her hand immediately after her feet touched the ground but he had put his arm around her shoulder and kept it there when they walked on until they came to a narrow gap in a hedge. She was disappointed when he did not return his arm there but put the dog on the leash and led the rest of the way two steps ahead of her.

They were out there for about an hour, all three got quite wet and their boots muddy and so Tommy had to wash poor Pitty afterwards.

While he was downstairs in the former servant's bathroom being busy with the dog Barbara had time to have a hot shower, change and fetch from her room what she had bought him as a Christmas gift. Usually she did not but this time she already had thought about it in spring when she saw that he might have a use for it and was reassured when she saw him at her mother's funeral. At the end of November she finally went to the shop.

She found Tommy in the lounge room. He was about to leave when Barbara came in. Peter and Natasha only briefly looked up from the TV screen and nodded.


"Merry Christmas." Barbara coyly smiled when she gave him the small present in red and brown striped paper. Suddenly she was not so sure anymore if this was right, if this present was the right thing and if giving him a present in general was the right thing to do but Tommy looked completely happy.

"Oh, something for me? Thank you." he said and immediately started to open the blue ribbon. It landed on the small table, quickly followed by the paper. "Well, thank you, Barbara, it's wonderful!"

Tommy had unwrapped a brown leather wallet. His thumb caressed the debossed T on its front and he took a couple of breathes silently looking at it and thinking about Barbara refusing to constantly call him Tommy before he examined the wallet further.

"Well, Sir, your old one is rather... well, old. I've seen that it's almost disintegrated." For lack of a proper use Barbara shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. She shrugged and sniffled.

"You're so right, Barbara. Oh, a fiver?"

"Of course, Sir."

Tommy looked up with a pleading look but before he was about to say something Barbara murmured a quiet "Tommy." while she diverted her eyes to the banknote that was in the wallet and showed a small smile. "It would be bad luck to give an empty wallet. I've also put a bent coin in it. It's from your birth year. So that's sort of triple luck for you."

Her crooked smile turned into surprised shock when her boss suddenly pulled her into a bear hug. "Thank you, Barbara." he whispered into her ear which sent goosepimples across her neck, and gave her a smacker on her cheek. Barbara felt as if the room suddenly was overheated but she could not see that Tommy's face was flushing like hers because she shot a quick glance at his younger brother to make sure they still were engrossed in what they saw on TV and did not take notice of what was happening behind them.

"I'll- oh, bloody..." Tommy's mobile rang. "Excuse me, I have to... Lynley!"

With his arm loosely around her shoulder Tommy still kept her a bit close to him while he talked into the phone. Being tired and with the urgent need to get out of this awkwardly pleasant situation Barbara took a step backwards. He still held her elbow in a soft grip and gave her a quizzical look, indicating she should not leave, but she made a sleeping gesture with her hands and head and smiled so he let her go.


Her afternoon nap was refreshing. After the walk, which, despite the better weather, still had been exhausting due to her cold, Barbara had slept for more than an hour and snuggled into the warm duvet for another bit after she woke. Then she grabbed her book and started a search for a nice place other than her bed. She was wearing comfortable warm clothes and even could have sit in the conservatory with all windows open without freezing. Although the conservatory was no real option at the moment because she would not want to disturb Peter and Natasha giggling and cuddling and obviously having some very sweet private time there right now. Nothing too indecent but with a sudden inexplicable flash of jealousy Barbara saw a dark haired head nuzzling into the crook of Natasha's neck so she quickly turned away her blushing face. She wandered on through the big house and realised she would not want to sit anywhere than close to her boss.

All the huge rooms and long corridors and different staircases could become a bit frightening if you were not really used to it. Not to mention the noble family around, the living and the dead on the old portraits in the halls. Barbara already had wandered past the grand hall with the unlit fire twice and knew she looked at George the second Earl of Asherton for the third time today when she met Daze.

"Hi Barbara, did you have a nice rest?" the elder lady asked and offered a biscuit from a plate on a tray with a glass of milk she obviously was bringing Trevor, wherever the boy had hidden now. "You want a cookie? I haven't found Trevor yet so he has to accept that he has to share them." Daze winked.

"It was fine, thank you." Barbara replied and took one. Then she made a pause. Daze looked at her as if she was asking herself where the guest was heading to. Suddenly Barbara felt she looked stupid and Daze sure already had seen her walking around with no clue. "I'm looking for T-" she started an explanation but had shocked herself with almost saying his name in front of his mother. She surely would not approve of it and it was still strange anyway. Barbara diverted her eyes to the ground and blushed.

Daze decided to ignore it. She knew for sure there was something going on between her son and his Sergeant but it was not yet open, it was not yet confirmed, and she truly believed they both had not yet commited it to each other although it only was a question of time and the right subtle pushes in that certain direction. Daze would try to give a few pushes. "Tommy? He's in the study."

She earned a confused look. Where the hell was the study? Barbara was glad that she at least knew of the library and the music room. Her irritation must have been obvious because Daze winked and explained where it was. "Down there, third door on the left. Enjoy it."


She softly knocked and Tommy instantly knew it was his Sergeant. "Come!"

"Hiya." Barbara smiled. Her detective eyes spotted the small comfortable sofa in one corner of the room and knew that was the place where she wanted to read her book. "Am I intruding?"

"Never!" His face was nothing but a bright smile.

"I thought I could sit here and not in bed and read a bit." Barbara explained and sat down on that sofa following Tommy's invitating gesture. "I can't lie down the whole day, can I? The fire in the grand hall isn't lit and I didn't want to sit with Judith in the kitchen or in the conservatory with Peter and Natasha. But you don't have to-"

"Just relax, Barbara, if you don't mind that I'm... well, since you want to read I can go on with those papers. It won't be long, I hope, and then we could-"

"No, no." Barbara interrupted him and pulled her feet under her legs. She blew her nose, then coughed. "It's okay. Go on with your work. I just want to sit and read my book. It's quite nice."

They shared a warm and understanding smile before Tommy forced his eyes back down to his desk again and Barbara continued to read where she had put the small piece of paper from her Christmas cracker she was using as a bookmark.


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