AN: Hi everyone. I hope you are all well and your loved ones too. Things are still strange but it's amazing how we can find the reserve to adapt and I hope you are all coping with everything that's ongoing in these times. This story is nearly done, just another chapter to post and then hopefully I have at least one more story in the pipeline, only a short one so far, but it pays to keep busy eh? Thanks all for reading and especially those of you who leave a message - it means a lot, more than you might think, to read your reviews and thoughts, so thank you!

ML x

The next morning dawned clear and bright as the day before, just a little bit cooler. Robbie and Laura rose early and after a relaxed breakfast packed up all their things ready for the journey home. They had both slept well and Robbie was surprised at how good he felt, considering everything, and was confident he could take on most of the driving. Despite drinking most of the champagne from the night before Laura also felt rested.

"Got everything?" Said Robbie as he loaded their bags into the boot of the car

"I think so" replied Laura as she reached up to get her jacket from the hook in the porch. Even though it was a pleasant sunny morning she felt a chill. Autumn obviously came a bit sooner this little bit further north. She put the jacket on and as a matter of habit dug her hands into the pockets, pulling out a handkerchief and an old parking voucher from their clifftop parking spot in Whitby. As she put the hankie back in her pocket and went to throw the ticket into the small bin in the porch, she suddenly stopped dead, plunging her hands into her jacket pockets again.

"Problem?" said Robbie, noticing her face had a slight frown on it.

"Yes" she said and continued to probe the pockets. "I can't believe this." She said

Robbie frowned

"What's up?" he questioned, thinking she had misplaced her keys or similar.

"The jet and amber pieces, Robbie; it would appear I've gone and lost them" And she looked at Robbie again, turning out the pockets of her jacket once more "It must have been when we were sitting by the old boat." She said with an irritated frown. "Oh for heaven's sake! First the ring and now this" she exclaimed with exasperation.

"Never mind" Said Robbie, putting a soothing hand on her shoulders "Obviously the sea wanted more back for not taking me eh?" He said with a smile, trying to say something to make her feel better.

Laura sighed. He was right and it was similar to what she had told him about losing the antique ring: it didn't really matter in the scheme of things. Even so, she had loved finding the rough precious gems on the beach, with Robbie by her side as she did so. The little bits of treasure from the sea had been an odd souvenir to a rather unforgettable few days.

"Come on" Said Robbie, squeezing her shoulder. "Let's get back home"

And with one last look around to check they'd not left anything, Robbie and Laura left the little cottage at Robin Hood's bay and were soon back on the road Oxford bound.

The journey home was trouble free, the day was pleasant and warm and the forecast on the radio as they drove home foretold of similar fine weather for the next few days. Laura looked out onto the late summer wayside grass verges. They were flanked with willowherb and teasel and dried meadowsweet. The heads of cow parsley and other summer flowers were now turning to dried relics of their former selves as the summer came to an end and autumn beckoned with its cooler nights, lingering and coming ever so sooner as each sunset passed.

Laura sighed again as the scenery sped by. Towns and villages and farmland all blurred into a sequence that was mesmerizing. Laura thought about her coming week. She didn't really want to go back to the lab but there was something soothing about the regularity of a working week. She needed some time to process everything and re-calibrate. But first Jack would come to stay and she knew Robbie was excited at the prospect. She was looking forward to it too. The little boy brought an air of excitement to the house, as well as a little bit of chaos but she loved Jack and she loved to see Robbie switch into a different mode when he was with his Grandson.

As they drove home Robbie was also thinking of his Grandson's visit. He loved the lad to bits and every second he spent with him was precious. But he also loved the fact that Laura enjoyed it too. She wasn't a children person, she was the first to admit that, but she seemed to have a knack with kids that appeared to be effortless and she always seemed to enjoy being with them. Early on in their relationship he had noticed that she treated children like adults, at least she didn't patronise them but instead talked to them and seemed to understand them and talk back to them on a level that seemed to bring out the best in them.

Robbie smiled to himself, Jack adored Laura almost to the point of obsession and sometimes he wondered if given the choice the lad would sometimes, in some circumstances, prefer Laura's company to his own, especially if they were in a museum or art gallery. He loved that she brought something new to the family's situation. Lyn had never held back about talking to Jack about Val and as he had grown up the boy had grasped, quite easily, in the innocent way that children often do, the concept that there was someone in the past that he would never know.

Jack arrived the next day and they had just enough time to get washing done and a shop in before he descended, full of boundless energy, into the house. Lyn and her partner were staying at a small country hotel just outside of the city, a treat paid for by Laura and Robbie and plans had been made to meet up for various trips out over the weekend which Robbie was looking forward to. For the time being, however, he was happy enough to just have Jack around in the house. It brought back lots of memories for him, of Val and the kids. Sometimes with those memories came a sadness, not so much for him these days, but for Val, that she could have never known this part of life and also for Jack, that her would never meet his grandmother.

Oxford on a Saturday was busy but Robbie, Laura and Jack went into town and spent some time in the museums and had lunch out. Later on, as a special treat Laura took Jack into the forensic lab so he could have a look around. He had recently shown an interest in Laura's job so she was keen to show him what went on, within reason. She showed him where all the forensic testing took place but stopped short of showing him a dead body, despite his enthusiasm to see everything. Back home he'd continued to quiz her, asking all manner of questions which delighted Robbie and he chuckled to himself as Laura answered them all in a way that Jack could understand, and Robbie in turn discovered a few things about her job that he'd previously not known. After a supper of pizza, Robbie put Jack to bed with promises of more adventures the next day and not long after Robbie and Laura went to bed themselves, both exhausted.

The next morning Robbie awoke early to find Laura's side of the bed empty. He yawned and wondered where she was and then realised that as an inherently early riser it was likely that she had gone downstairs with Jack for an early breakfast. He dozed for a while and then got up himself and had a quick wash and shave before getting dressed.

As he went down the stairs he could hear his grandson talking and laughing and as he entered into the living room he paused as he saw him and Laura on the sofa together, both still in their pyjamas and dressing gowns. Laura was talking clearly and softly to Jack and Robbie couldn't quite hear but he could see they had a book and were looking at it together. Laura had her arm round Jack and he was nestled up to her while they both leafed through the book together. Laura pointed at something in the book and said something to Jack and they both laughed. Through his laughter Jack carried on with his chatter while Laura nodded at what he was saying and smiling chatted back to him in encouraging tones.

Robbie watched them both from the doorway, his heart felt full of emotion and suddenly he was acutely aware of a tightness in his throat and a threat even of a tightness behind his eyes that precluded tears.

Sometimes it felt to Robbie that the past and the future and the present seemed to merge in one slipstream. He had often thought of this sort of moment, as the kids had grown and he and Val had invited the thought of grandkids into their future. As he stood there, he wondered how life could seem so randomly controlled, that he felt the same amount of love seeing his grandson with Laura as if he had seen him with Val. It was a bittersweet feeling. He had loved and lost Val. But now he loved Laura. What had been a long night of dark misery had passed into a new day, just as fresh and as exciting as the one that had precluded the nightmare of grief.

He swallowed down a tide of emotion that if not checked may have risen unbidden. And, as he stood there, watching his grandson and Laura, the gypsy's prophecy came back to him, like it often did at times where he was acutely aware of how events had turned out for his family. This time, he didn't just think of what the gypsy had said, he saw her, in full detail in his mind. He could see his younger self, standing on the beach at Scarborough, all those years ago. He was almost transported back to the moment.

It was a blisteringly hot day, his toes were hot just from the heat in the sand. He was with Tommy when the old gypsy woman had approached them, asking if they had any money in exchange for some lucky white heather and their fortune. The old woman was dressed in black and had a crocheted shawl and numerous bags on her person, she seemed weighted down. Robbie worried she must be hot in the heat of the day, although she didn't look hot or uncomfortable.

She asked Tommy first, if he had any money. He laughed and told her yes but she wasn't getting any. Robbie thought this a bit harsh, and he looked at the woman who seemed unfazed by Tommy's response. She asked him again, telling him her heather would bring him good luck. I make my own luck he had said to her. She asked again, a third and final time and now Tommy became annoyed, telling her to stop bothering him.

At this point Robbie felt a chill, even on the hottest day of the year, with the sun blazing down, he saw the gypsy woman's face as she told Tommy to stay away from the water. And when he had told her to get lost, she had repeated her words and then told him he would always stay in Scarborough. And Robbie had felt a sickening twist of unease deep inside, chilling him to the bone. Tommy had laughed at the old woman and, swearing at her again had walked off leaving her with Robbie. She looked at him, her eyes bright like stars and almost timeless in her wrinkled old face. Robbie had still felt a deep sense of unease but he felt bad for the old woman, she was only trying to get a bit of money after all. She asked him for some money, like she had Tommy, but unlike Tommy, Robbie didn't tell her to get lost.

Robbie frowned at the vividness of the memory, almost a vision, crystal clear in its clarity. He remembered clearly what had happened next, as if it had been the day before.

He'd not had much money but he'd given her a couple of coins. She had tried to push a sprig of white heather into his hand. He had refused and told her to keep the little bunch of heather for someone else but to keep the money. For a few moments she had regarded him with her clear almost unnerving gaze and she had searched his face, as if witnessing something that only she could see.

"Tha'rt got a kind face and a good soul, lad" The old woman had finally said, her voice heavy with an accent and dialect of the old northern hills she inhabited "and if bad things happen, as they will, I can sithee living a long life, and a long long time from now I see a grandchild around you, and thart wi' the woman you love".

Even at the time Robbie had wondered if the old woman was really seeing his future. He had always remembered this exchange and when he had met and married Val it came back to him, and again when his children were born. He thought of it occasionally as family life progressed through the years, thinking that the old woman had indeed seen his future, he felt it would become true, and when Tommy had died by drowning he thought it even moreso.

But then Val had died. After his loss he often thought of the gypsy's prophecy, with a sour bitterness at her words. Superstitious nonsense, damaging and deceitful. She had preyed on him, taking advantage of him and feeding him a lie for just a few pence. And he had hated each recollection of her words and it seemed to ring in his head often and after Val's death he felt stupid. How arrogant to think that his life would unfold perfectly. Be careful of what you wish for Morse had once said to him There's always a price to pay.

But now, looking at the scene in front of him, he realised the old woman's prophecy was true.

Here, right in front of his eyes he was looking at the old woman's vision. He had always thought the vision was of him and Val. But now he knew the truth.

It wasn't Val in the gypsy's vision, it was Laura.

"Grandad! We had a French breakfast with hot chocolate!" His Grandson's excited voice permeated Robbie's vision of the encounter on the beach.

"We left some in the pan for you, shall I get it for you?!" Jack continued with excitement at the prospect.

Robbie was was suddenly and acutely aware of the scene in front of him. He smiled at his grandson.

"Aye, go on then, you go and get a mug from the cupboard and I'll be there in a sec and we'll get it together, eh?"

Jack sprang from the sofa and raced into the kitchen leaving Laura with the book they had been looking at. Robbie went over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder bent down to kiss her.

She didn't notice a rim of silver moisture in his eyes but instead she saw his smile and she knew he was happy to see her spending time with Jack. She smiled back at him.

"There's a cross-ant too Granddad!" His grandson shouted excitedly from the kitchen.

"Oh, tray bee-en!" Robbie shouted and Laura laughed at Robbie's usual non effort at foreign pronunciation. He laughed back, loving her amusement at his expense.

"I'll make some coffee shall I?" He said

"Yes please" Laura replied, getting up from the sofa "I'll be back in a minute" and she kissed him again before going upstairs.

In the Kitchen Robbie filled his and his Grandson's mug with the remainder of the cocoa that was left in the pan then he made a pot of coffee.

He sat down at the table while Jack jabbered on excitedly about the book he'd been reading with Laura.

"You cheeky Lad" he said to his Grandson as Robbie discovered that the book was about fossils and dinosaurs and that Robbie had been the butt of a joke regarding the age of such things. "Where do you get that sass from eh?" Robbie continued, laughing as his grandson giggled uncontrollably at the joke.

Upstairs Laura pulled a brush through her hair and quickly got dressed. It was a different routine having a small boy in the house and she found herself accommodating his care without even thinking. She smiled to herself, she enjoyed spending time with Jack but was also unashamedly glad that she could hand him back to his parents after a few hours. It was exhausting and rewarding playing the role she'd slipped into with Jack but after a weekend with him she was openly glad to go back to work for a rest. She smiled to herself, she could hear Robbie and Jack even from this part of the house as they chatted in the kitchen.

Earlier that morning she'd awoken before the alarm. She'd lain for a while listening to the morning's sounds of cars in the street and the odd bit of bird chatter. As she awoke fully she heard soft footsteps down the hall. Jack had awoken early too and after a few seconds she saw a small hand and then a face appear around the bedroom door that had been left ajar. Sitting up, she told him to come in quietly, he did so, and they whispered about breakfast and then listened to Robbie snoring which had amused them both.

Laura had then taken the boy downstairs and they'd made breakfast together, with Laura showing him how to make real hot chocolate from cocoa powder while she told him about the different breakfasts you could have around the world which'd had Jack entranced. After that they'd sat on the sofa reading a book until Robbie had appeared.

As she headed back down the stairs into the living room she could hear talking. She paused before heading into the kitchen and dining space. She was out of sight and smiled as she overheard the conversation between Robbie and his grandson.

"Laura's a Doctor, isn't she Granddad?"

"Yes she is"

"She's very clever"

"That she is"

"I love Laura"

"ah, that's a nice thing to say Jack" said Robbie

"Do you love Laura?"

"I do, very much so, and I love you too, and your Mam and Dad and Uncle Pat"

"Mum said you were sad for a long time but now you're happy"

"Y'mam's right"

"Mum's mum died, didn't she?" Jack looked up at Robbie with bright eyes, watchful of Robbie's face, not quite understanding what the situation fully meant but understanding enough to know it was something important. Robbie frowned to himself briefly before looking down at his grandson with a sad smile

"Yes, she did"

"Did that make you sad?"

"Yes, it did"

"but you're not sad anymore? "

"No; I'm not sad anymore"

"Did you go to school with Laura?"

Robbie laughed softly at his grandson's question. "No" He said "But we work together, which is a bit like grown up school I suppose"

"Is Laura your wife?"

"No, she's not my wife"

"Why?"

Just then Laura came into the room

"Oh" Said Robbie Saved by the bell He thought to himself. "Just in time for coffee" He said.

Laura looked at Robbie with a smile but also a strange expression on her face as she poured herself some coffee. Robbie wasn't sure if she'd overheard his conversation with Jack, but one thing was for certain, trying to explain to a young boy the complexities of a modern relationship was sometimes just past his mark.

Later on, they went into Oxford and met with Lyn and Jack's Dad and spent the rest of the day in the city. As usual for Robbie the time seemed to fly by and before he knew it his family were headed back to Manchester, albeit with plans already lined up for Jack's next trip to Oxford.

Back at home in the evening, Robbie tidied up while Laura prepared her bag for the working week. It was a bank holiday Monday but she had to go into work. Robbie didn't envy her. He was secretly pleased he would have a bit more of a quiet day ahead of him. I really am getting old he lamented to himself when he realised what he was thinking. Maybe it was time to seriously think about his work. So many times he'd said he would call it a day, only to feel the pull of the thrill of an investigation. That and being able to work alongside Laura.

Despite looking forward to a quiet day however, Robbie had a couple of things he did need to do, and one of them was to call Tommy's sister. Like Laura had said, it wasn't going to be an easy thing to do. But he thought of what she'd also said about him being the right person to do it. As he watched Laura collect her things for work he thought again about the gypsy's prophecy. Thou art wi' the woman you love and never had Robbie realised how much Laura meant to him, or how much she believed in and loved him. Again, her words from their walk on the beach echoed in his head Maybe you should try it sometime And Robbie frowned as he thought about what she'd said. Did she mean it? What if he'd got the wrong message or she'd been joking. Was it worth the risk?

"Right, that's me ready. I'm going to go for a bath then head to bed" Laura announced with a smile to Robbie, neatly stacking her bags by the door to the hallway.

"Alright, Love, see you up there in a bit. I'll turn off down here" Robbie said as she disappeared up the stairs.

He sat for a while longer, deep in thought. Then he got his phone out of his pocket and went to the web browser. He wasn't very good with the internet on his mobile, he preferred to use Laura's ipad, but he couldn't risk her seeing the search he was performing and he didn't know how to delete it from the history, so, with a frown and some swearing he tapped out his search on his phone and after 10 minutes he had found what he was looking for. He was still perturbed, despite finding what he needed. He put the phone down and sat a while longer, just thinking with a slight frown on his face. Then as the darkness outside thickened into late evening he got up, turned the lights out and followed Laura up to bed.

Not long later, in bed, Robbie and Laura lay in the darkness for a while, Robbie spooning Laura in their usual bedtime routine. They chatted quietly about Jack's visit and discussed his interest in the lab and Laura's work.

"Y'know" said Robbie after a while "Jack is very much like Val, well; that is, he's a lot like Lyn and she's a lot like Val in many ways; but Jack's also a lot like you." He squeezed her gently, hugging her closer.

Laura smiled, she was touched by Robbie's words "Are you going to give me a lecture about nature and nurture" She said, trying to staunch a rising emotion with a playful retort.

Robbie laughed softly "No" He said quietly into her ear "But I can give you one about love"

Laura turned in Robbie's arms to face him. "Robbie. . ." she said, and he could hear the emotion in her voice at what he had just said and in the darkness of the room she kissed him.

"I know being with me has thrown you into a bit of a readymade family, one you probably didn't really aspire to and I know it can be difficult sometimes, y'know, fitting in. . ." Robbie continued, pulling her closer. Laura knew Robbie was, whether he knew it or not, referring to how he felt about family dynamics, especially her family. Her brothers and extended family were larger than life and sometimes she worried it was all a bit too much for Robbie, that he felt he didn't really fit in, despite her best efforts.

"I think what I'm trying to say, is that I'm glad you're in Jack's life, and mine, for that matter" Robbie continued

"I'm glad I'm here too" She said and despite the darkness Robbie saw in her eyes a silver lacing of tears as she smiled at him in the dim light of the room. She was moved by what Robbie had said; she'd been placed into Robbie's and his family's life by chance events, by cruel twists of fate and it filled her with gratitude when he exposed his heart to her like this. Robbie kissed her back and in each other's arms, they both drifted off to sleep.