Two months later, Laura returned home from work in the autumn darkness of early evening. She was in a good mood. The hand-over of the lab was going well and she'd managed to let go of several large parts of her purview to new blood in the department. It had been tough but she knew she'd made good and right decisions in her delegations. Things were coming together, she was due to retire fully in December and although still a little reticent about making such a big life change, she knew she was ready.

It was late October, the air was crisp with cold and the scent of bonfire smoke. As she parked her car outside the house, she saw the curtains drawn against the darkness, with ribbons of warm yellow light either side. She looked up at the rooftop and saw the chimney smoking. She smiled. Robbie had lit the stove and she could be pretty certain that he'd got the casserole she'd made the day before in the oven, as per her instructions, ready for their dinner.

She was right. As she closed the door behind her, shutting out the cold night air, Robbie appeared from the living room, a tea-towel over his shoulder, ready to help take her coat off. She could tell he was about to dish up from the delicious scent of food in the air. If there was one thing Robbie was good at, it was following her instructions for putting the dinner on.

"Hi" She said, treating him to one of her smiles that he knew was reserved for him at the end of a busy day.

"Hello" He smiled back and kissed her before taking her coat and scarf. It was a cold evening and she was glad of the warmth of the fire that was already permeating the house with a faint and sweet scent of woodsmoke.

"Good day?" He asked hanging up her coat

"Yes, very much so" She replied. "I'll tell you all about it over dinner" She said, her eyes going to the small stack of post on the sideboard.

"Anything of note or just bills?" She asked as she shunted her bags to the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah, there is, actually; I'll show you later" he said with a smile and a wink.

"Interesting" She said, her eyes regarding him with curiosity and a smile on her face. "Let me go and get changed and I'll be down in a few ticks" She said.

Robbie nodded and as she disappeared up the stairs he went into the kitchen and finished setting the table before he dished up the dinner.

Later on, with dinner finished, the pair of them relaxed on the sofa in front of the fire. The log in the stove shifted lazily as it burned through itself and a bunch of sparks flitted against the glass of the stove door like a tiny swarm of bees. Laura sighed deeply with contentment. Nights like these had become a precious part of their life together and more and more she knew it was the small moments, often seemingly insignificant that gave her the most pleasure.

Robbie watched the flames in the stove for a while, before his hand went to the side table next to the sofa.

"Here" he said, picking up something that was hidden underneath the day's paper. He handed Laura a folded piece of paper that Laura could see had something tucked inside.

Taking it, she opened it and inside found a photo and realised that the piece of paper was in fact a letter, addressed to Robbie. Laura frowned in curiosity as she looked at the photo. It was of two women, both smiling. As Laura studied the picture, she recognised one of the women in it. It took a little while for her to be sure it was who she thought it was. The woman looked a lot different to when she had last seen her photo.

"It's Rose" She exclaimed to Robbie. Laura looked again at the new photo of Rose and the other woman. Rose looked almost like a different person. She looked clean, healthy and happy.

"Aye, and that's Tommy's sister" She sent a letter to thank us, for putting her in touch with Rose"

Laura read the letter, discovering that, through Robbie's gentle suggestions, that Rose might possibly be related to Tommy's sister and that, through a counsellor first, the two women had undergone tentative meetings and then DNA testing to confirm the fact that they were infact related.

"Rose had moved up to Newcastle, she's on the road to a better life" Robbie said with a smile

"All thanks to you" Laura said, placing her hand on his chest and smiling at him.

"Well, you too, you're the one that saw the resemblance"

"But you're the one who put the wheels in motion, Robbie"

"Well, we'll call it a team effort then eh?"

"I think that's fair" Laura said with a smile, rubbing her hand over Robbie's chest with affection.

Robbie smiled back "Something else arrived in the post today too" He said and from the side of the sofa he retrieved a small padded envelope. He handed it to Laura. She took it from him, looking at the address on the front

"It's got your name on, Robbie"

"It has. But it's actually for you" He said, with a smile. "Go on, have a look inside"

Before following his instruction, Laura looked again at the front of the envelope, she saw it was postmarked North Yorkshire Coast. And had arrived by special delivery. She frowned at Robbie, then smiling, with one eyebrow raised, she dug her hand into the envelope.

Robbie smiled back at her as he watched as she pulled out a small cube shaped box from inside the packet. Laura knew straight away that it was a ring box. She looked tentatively at Robbie, a slight smile on her face.

"Open it" He said softly

Laura lifted the hinged lid on the box and looked inside.

She thought she knew what was going to be inside the box, or at least she thought what was inside would be something close to what she thought would be in the box.

She was wrong.

"Oh. Robbie" She said, her mouth falling open in surprise. She looked at Robbie, lost for words. He smiled at her surprise, feeling a rush of tenderness towards her as she looked at him, stunned. Then he chuckled softly. It took a lot to render Laura Hobson speechless and he loved that he had, for once, managed it.

Inside the box was a ring. Laura had expected to find a ring in the box. After seeing the post mark and then retrieving a small box from the envelope Laura had expected something that might replace the ring that was lost to the sea while they had been in Whitby. But inside was something that took her by complete surprise.

"Robbie, are these the. . .they can't be" She started to ask, taking the ring out of the velvet slot inside the little box. She held the ring in her fingers. It was gold, not too large, but big enough to be noticeably understated, exactly how she liked her rings, and mounted onto the band were three asymmetrical settings, each containing something different. One was pure black, the other was a pale honey colour and the third was a clear, bright stone.

"Robbie. Are these . . . on the beach? the amber and jet pieces I found. I don't understand?" Her face at once confused but with a sense of underlying wonder.

"They are" He said, smiling at the fact that she knew straight away what the stones were. "Remember when we sat by the boat?"

Laura did remember, so clearly, the heart to heart they'd had on the beach that day, the emotions she'd felt after they'd talked. She nodded.

"Well, you got up to go down to the sea and I saw where you'd been sitting there was a tissue. I thought it was rubbish so I picked it up, I didn't want to leave litter on the beach. Anyway, when we got back to the cottage, later on, I realised it was the amber and the jet you'd found. You didn't know you'd lost them for a while, and by then I'd already had the idea, so I kept quiet when you realised they were gone. I'm sorry"

Laura laughed, shaking her head at his apology, and it was mixed with a slight sob of emotion, she felt overwhelmed by what he'd done, even from just knowing that he'd found the lost gemstones by the boat, to then him having the idea.

"I got in touch with that little jet workshop in Whitby" Robbie continued "The jeweller there said if I sent the amber and jet on he could see what he could do with them and luckily he was able to use them in the ring."

"Robbie. . ." Laura said, not quiet knowing what to say. She was overtaken by the ring, moreso that Robbie had gone to such lengths to use the little gemstones she'd found on the tideline.

"I thought of getting you another ring, like the one that got lost" Robbie said

Laura cut in quickly, despite her eyes shining with emotion "God, I'm glad you didn't. I've had enough reminders of death for now, at least when it comes to you." And she laughed softly, looking at him for a moment before returning her attention to the ring.

"Robbie. . . it's beautiful" She said, her voice quiet as she continued to gaze at the ring. It was beautiful, the little pieces of gemstones shone out from the gold. The jet was pure black and polished like a mirror and the amber was like a tiny drop of honey, catching and warming the light in a pleasing contrast to the solid blackness of the jet. There was also another stone, set alongside the amber and the jet. Laura studied it. It was a clear stone, a different shape to but the same size as the others, clear and with big facets cut into it. It caught the light in a spectacular, almost dazzling way and seemed to compliment and enhance the jet and the amber.

"What's this other stone, Robbie?" Laura asked, her eyes bright with the question.

Robbie looked at her, a strange bashful but hopeful smile on his face

He took a deep breath.

"It's a diamond. A rough one. I couldn't quite reach to a high end one, but it's got good clarity, apparently" And Robbie looked at the diamond on the golden band. It flashed the light like a star as Laura held it between her fingers and thumb.

"It's, um, well. . . it's a traditional stone for the kind of ring that it is. . ." he continued, tentatively watching her reaction at his words, scratching the back of his head, something Laura knew he did when he was nervous or uncomfortable.

Laura looked at Robbie, and he noted again she was lost for words, her eyes were bright with emotion, her mouth open slightly, at what he'd said, and she wore a look of almost apprehension. She held his gaze and he realised she was waiting for him to speak again.

He took another deep breath before continuing.

"Listen, I know you're not and never have been the marrying type. And I don't mind, really I don't, I respect how you feel about it all. But I want you to know that, well. . .that I love you and I'm here for you, always and until the end. I don't want it any other way, and I just want you to know that, regardless of what we do or don't do. . .infact it doesn't make a difference, well. . .I mean . . . of course it does. . . oh hell. . ."

Robbie began to flounder. He looked at Laura, she still looked shocked. He suddenly worried he'd made a grave mistake. He wondered if he should have just given her the ring as a gift, a memory of the day on the beach. Damn he thought I can't even find the words to ask her properly, even after going to all this effort why is this so bloody hard?

"The answer is yes, Robbie" Laura said, quietly but clearly

He looked at her, his mouth dropped open, and it was his turn to be rendered speechless, and for a second he wasn't sure if he had heard her properly.

"I'll marry you" She said, realising he needed the clarification of an answer to a question he'd asked, in not so many words. She beamed a huge smile at him, laughing softly at his surprise and at her own surprise at the events.

Robbie found himself laughing back, it was a laugh of relief mixed with happiness and love.

"You will? You mean that?"

"Yes you fool, I mean it" she said, chuckling and her eyes filling with tears of emotion. Robbie chuckled again, feeling the relief and elation flood through him.

"Here. . ." Robbie said and taking the ring from Laura's grasp he took her left hand and put the ring on her ring finger. With his hand in hers, they both looked down at the ring, the diamond flashing between the warmth of the amber and the pure black jet.

"Robbie. . . it fits perfectly" Laura exclaimed, and with her knuckle, dabbed at her eyes which had filled a little more with moisture at the proceedings. She laughed softly again, aware that she was brimming with emotion. Robbie laughed back too, pulling her close. He felt as she did; giddy and excited with what they were doing. He looked down again at the ring on her finger, the amber, jet and diamond clustered together on the band of gold suddenly looked more magnificent than he could have ever imagined when he'd had the idea for the ring. He suspected it was more to do with Laura's response to his clumsy proposal. His thumb tenderly stoked Laura's fingers and he marvelled that the ring was indeed a good fit.

"Yeah, I had to be a bit of a sneak about that" He said "the jeweller sent me a little ring sizer thing, I had to do it when you were asleep. Bloody hell, I don't know how I would have explained that if you'd woken up" and they both laughed again, their heads close, kissing each other, several times, between smiles and more laughter.

"I think this calls for a glass of bubbly, don't you?" Robbie said with a wink

"What?"

"There's a bottle in the freezer, it's been in there about 40 minutes, should be just right by now"

Laura frowned at Robbie, it was one of her looks she often gave him, a frown mixed with incredulity along with a generous amount of affection.

"Oh, I see" She said "That's a bit presumptuous is it not? How did you know I was going to say yes?" She was now giving him a full-on Hobson smirk.

Robbie smiled. "I didn't" and he gazed at her with a bashful look "I hoped you would say yes, but if you'd said no, then I'd prepared myself for that too. Either way, you make me the happiest man on earth"

"Robbie. . ." Laura was on the verge of emotion again. She nodded slightly, smiling, her eyes twinkling. "You must have known I'd say yes. I gave you enough hints" she added

"Yeah, well, a lass is entitled to change her mind, especially such a canny one like you" and giving her another kiss Robbie got up from the sofa and went into the kitchen, leaving Laura with a smile on her face that was still there when he returned a few minutes later with the champagne.

"Oh, there's something else" He said, handing her a flute of ice-cold champagne. "I've booked us a week at the cottage, in the new year, for when you've retired" Robbie said, smiling. "I thought we could go and see the puffins" he continued, with a sweet look on his face. Laura looked touched at his proposal but then he saw a frown flit across her face.

"Won't you be at work though, Robbie?" She said.

"No. I won't. I've been thinking, long and hard. When you finish, I finish. Enough is enough. I'm done with working, especially if you're not going to be there"

"That makes me very happy, Robbie" Laura said

Robbie simply nodded, smiling at her as she tilted her head up to his and they kissed. When they pulled away, she put her hand on his chest. "I know we don't have a hot tub for afterwards, but let's take this champagne upstairs" and, taking his hand, and kissing it she led them both upstairs. . .

~THE END~

AN: Phew. Well, that's it for this story, folks. I hope you enjoyed it. I have to admit it wasn't the exact ending I thought I would write – I never really factored in a proposal, but it did just sort of evolve, and I hope I did it in a typically "Robson" way. I was going to just have the amber and jet ring as a gift from Robbie but then I thought a rough diamond would be a nice addition - and then all of a sudden it became an engagement ring - I must be getting soft in my middle age. . .

I will really miss writing this story but hopefully I'll be writing more new stories if I can. Until then, good wishes, good health and love to you all and THANK YOU for your input, it is, as always, much appreciated.

ML x