Over their lunch, Robbie and Laura discussed the events again. Robbie sensed that Laura was still a little in shock at having witnessed his rescue. He felt fine, he was used to situations that put him at risk, but he felt for Laura and he could see it had shaken her up, not to mention having to drag up the past and talk about it all again. He was glad to see she had eaten well, however, that was always a good sign she was ok.

"That was a good soup, Love, thanks, I feel even better now I've eaten" Robbie said to Laura, as she got up from the table.

"Good. You certainly look a lot better. How about we go for a walk later, on the beach?" she said collecting up the soup bowls and taking them to the sink before coming back to clear the rest of the table.

"Oh – you read my mind, just what we need I think" said Robbie

"Absolutely. It's a beautiful day, we should make the most of it before we go back home. This time next week I'll be. . ." Laura's words were cut short by the buzz and chirp of her phone.

"Oh, it's Lyn again" She said

"Ah – great – pass it here, will you love?"

Laura handed the phone to Robbie with a puzzled look on her face.

"Hi Pet, any luck?" Robbie said into the phone

Laura was even more intrigued, she listened with interest to Robbie as she cleared the table of the final remnants of their lunch

"That's great – well done. Modern technology eh? And she says it's ok. . . Great. . . Oh. . .maybe nothing yet. . .I'll tell you all about it at the weekend eh? Ok love, see you then. . . yep, will do. . . Bye"

Robbie took the phone from his ear and tapped at the red hang up icon with his index finger before handing the phone back to Laura.

"That was our Lyn, doing me a favour" He said, his eyebrows raised and a smile on his face. "She's got hold of Tommy's sister for me. She's got her details and she's told her I want to get in touch in the next couple of days"

"Oh" said Laura, her eyes widening in surprise. "Well that's going to be a careful and odd conversation I suppose?"

"Aye, it won't be easy, telling someone they might or might not have a niece they never knew about who was abandoned at birth"

"I'll say" said Laura

"I need to do it though. I dunno; I can't let all this pass. Like when you saw Chrissy and you had to do something. I feel I should do it, for lots of reasons." He looked at Laura, suddenly worried it was a bad idea.

She smiled at him and went up behind him where he still sat on the kitchen chair and, putting her arms around him, kissed his cheek

"It's a monumental thing to have to tell someone; but I can't think of anyone else kinder or more thoughtful to do such a thing, Robbie." And she kissed him again.

Reassured, Robbie nodded with a smile. She was right, it would be a difficult conversation, but as he'd said, one he knew he had to take a risk with.

"How about we have a cup of tea and then go for that walk on the beach?"

"Sounds just the ticket"

"Good. I'll make the tea and wash up the dishes, you go and sit outside for a bit"

"Bloody hell, you doing the washing up without requesting my presence, I am honoured" He teased.

"Yes, well, don't get used to it, as soon as we're back home it's business as usual" Laura chuckled back and, with a final kiss to his cheek she went to put the kettle on.

Robbie stepped out into the garden. It was a glorious day and suddenly he felt glad to be alive. A seagull soared across the blue sky above him and the sun felt warm on his face. He sighed, lamenting again over how different their holiday had turned out to how it should have done. He sat down on the bench and carefully stretched his legs out. He was still a little sore but the painkiller he'd taken earlier seemed to be taking the edge off the aches in his ribs and back. The sun beamed down onto his face and he tentatively touched the bruising near his eye. Even that didn't feel as bad as it had done. Sparrows whirred up and down the little garden path and Robbie watched them as they bathed in the dust. From inside the cottage he could hear Laura clearing up the lunch things and a calm feeling of contentment seemed to settle over him. Despite what had transpired, things were good. Things were good because he had Laura. He smiled to himself at this thought and sighed again, this time it was a long and contented one.

Inside the cottage Laura put the lunch things away and tidied up the counter. They were due to leave the next day and she, like Robbie, bemoaned the fact that their holiday had been not exactly as they had planned. She was wondering if they could perhaps talk to the owner and book it again for later in the year, maybe for a festive getaway perhaps, when she heard her phone buzzing and chiming once again. She went over to the kitchen table where Robbie had left it earlier. She could see the number on the display and it wasn't one she recognised. With a slight frown she picked up the call.

"Hello?" She said, and waited for the caller to answer

"Oh Hello" She said after the caller spoke, a smile started to spread across her face and she looked towards the garden where Robbie was sitting outside.

"How are you?" She asked the caller and she stepped into the garden and over to where Robbie was sitting on the bench

"Yes he's fine, don't worry, he's here, you can ask him yourself. . . You're welcome." Laura handed the phone to Robbie "It's Pat" She said in a whisper, her eyes smiling at him as she handed the mobile over. Laura watched for a moment as she saw Robbie's surprise and then delight as he put the phone to his ear.

"Hello son" Robbie said into the phone, a smile breaking across his face "how are you? . . Well I suppose so. . .aye, I'm fine, thanks. . . I know. I scared myself. . . Well, don't you worry about your old dad eh? . . . Yeah, me too" he took Laura's hand "I'm glad she's here to look after me too" Laura squeezed Robbie's hand as he continued to talk to his son.

"Listen, we were only talking then other day, it's high time we came out to see you sometime. . ."

Laura smiled as Robbie chatted to Pat. Lyn had obviously been in touch with her brother and maybe it had been the opportunity for Pat to find some levelled ground to repair his relationship with his father.

From Robbie's side of the conversation things sounded like they were already patched up. Maybe something good had come of the near-death experience Robbie had been through. Laura shuddered suddenly as she recalled in her head the instance when Robbie had been pulled under the waves, and then the agonizing wait for him to be rescued and then the waiting again to know if he was alive and if so in what state. She pushed the thought form her head and concentrated on the feel of Robbie's hand in hers. It helped, and she squeezed it again before letting it go, smiling at him as he carried on talking to Pat, and went back into the kitchen to make some tea.

Not long later, after a cup of tea and with the call to his son finished, Robbie and Laura took a walk down to the beach.