Just a little snippet whilst I decide where to take this...

"So, she was pregnant?"

"Apparently so."

"How far along?"

"Ten to twelve weeks, give or take."

"And the father? Do we know whose child it was?"

"Not yet. We're running some tests to confirm. Is there any reason to suggest it was not her husband, Mr Blakely?"

"Perhaps."

Lewis was less keen on post mortems when Laura was not involved. Rawbone irritated him profusely.

"We'll be taking another statement from Mr Blakely now that his wife's body has been identified. We could ask him for a DNA sample then, Sir." Hathaway piped up.

"I'm sure he'll be delighted to oblige." Rawbone scoffed, heartily.

"Mmm." Hathaway flashed Rawbone one of his most supercilious smiles. "I'll get on to that now then, Sir." He turned back to Lewis.

"Thanks, James." Lewis was deep in thought. There had to be a connection between the two murders. To suggest a relationship had been ongoing between the two victims would involve casting some serious aspersions against a man of the cloth and, admittedly, none of the circumstantial evidence gathered so far appeared to support this theory. Yet, it was part and parcel of Lewis' job to expect the unexpected; to test the improbable. Perhaps his delicate questions for the bishop had not been so far from the mark and Nora Blakely had been more to Father O'Reilly than a parishioner. But somehow that seemed too neat a solution. He needed to clear his head.

Lewis thanked Rawbone and left the lab in search of his sounding board, given that Hathaway was otherwise engaged. After a brief enquiry, he found her stooped over a computer in one of the offices.

"Got time for a coffee?" He smiled as he leant around the doorframe.

She turned to him abruptly, looking startled.

"Oh… hello. Sorry, I was miles away."

"Engrossed in another grizzly conundrum?"

"Something like that." Laura's smile was slightly strained. Her face looked a little gaunt in the harsh artificial light of the office.

"Could I tear you away for 10 minutes?"

She hesitated.

"It's no bother if you're too busy – don't worry."

"No, it's not that…" She pressed her fingertips into the bridge of her nose, frowning a little.

There was a slight pause.

"Are you ok?" Robbie ventured. "Still feeling under the weather?"

Laura let out a barely perceptible sigh. "I'm fine, Robbie." He noticed she didn't look at him when she said this. "Just a bit tired, that's all."

"Listen, I may not be a doctor, but food poisoning can really take it out of you. Are you sure you should be back in work?"

Laura didn't answer, fixing him instead with her customary Do you really think that's a sensible question? glare.

"OK, OK!" Robbie chuckled, "you're the boss. Just… um… looking out for you…" His voice trailed off as he searched in vain for a platonic alternative for what he really wanted to say.

"Yes, well, I can look out for myself, thank you very much."

"Oh, I don't doubt that Laura." He muttered, somewhat wistfully.

She threw him another glare. He looked at his shoes, resembling a self-conscious schoolboy.

"Sorry, Robbie." She relented. "I'm being a grump. Yes, I can spare ten minutes for coffee."

She slid from her chair and grabbed a cardigan that was hanging on the back of the door. The sleeve was inside out and, as she grappled with the fabric, he unconsciously helped her pull it on. His hand loitered for a moment between her shoulder and her neck and she looked up at him, wide-eyed.

"You sure you're OK?" He frowned a little.

For a split second, she allowed herself to enjoy the comforting warmth of his hand on her shoulder combined with the simple fact of his proximity. How nice it would be just to flop into his arms. But no, something was nagging at her subconscious, making her on edge. She shrugged it, and Robbie's hand, away, trying to ignore the deepening of his frown as she did so. All of a sudden the room felt claustrophobic. She had to get out.

A/N: In my mind this story can go one of two ways. There's a more believable but pretty sad option, or a more improbable but hopefully brighter version (depending on how the latter pans out). The wider world is a bit gloomy at the moment, so I'm probably leaning towards something lighter... but I don't like to think that you'll be reading it thinking 'nah, that wouldn't happen'. This said, I think the whole premise (Chapter 1) of this story is UTTERLY unbelievable. The 'real' Robbie and Laura would never have done that. Not in a million years. Therefore, I kinda think that I strayed totally into AU, where anything can happen, from the outset and you kept on reading... so I should perhaps just carry on my merry way?