"So, he is going to accept it then, the retirement offer you've given him?" Robbie picked up a last chip off his plate and ate it, following it with a drink of wine. Laura had told him about her meeting with Rawbone, that the old pathologist had made things difficult for himself, embarrassingly so.

"Yes" said Laura. With the fish and chips demolished, for the most part by Robbie, Laura ate the last piece of her fish. She never ate too many chips and she had plenty left on her plate. She picked a final one up that looked too good to leave and ate it before she continued.

"Oh Robbie" She sighed "It was quite grim. At first he refused pointblank but I kept bringing up the ruined data. Eventually I managed to break his resolve and he recovered his integrity. I had to be rather tough, I laid things out on the table, along with all the uncomfortable truths. I felt quite awful having to do that, what with everthing he's going through with his wife and son."

"You shouldn't feel bad, you've given him a lifeline, he should be bloody pleased. He knows you could have ruined his whole career and reputation and you would have had every right to do so"

"Have I done the right thing?"

"Yes, you have. You've gone above and beyond. I hope he appreciates it" Robbie said. He felt quite angry that Rawbone had got away with such unprofessional behaviour and left Laura in the lurch. But Robbie could see that his opinion wouldn't help so he just gave her a reassuring smile as she finished the last of her wine.

"Anyway" She said, draining her glass before standing up from the table to clear away the plates "Enough of Rawbone, more importantly, how was Samson?" She continued with a cheeky grin.

"Fine and dandy" Robbie replied

"Like his fur" Laura said as she carefully removed a cat hair, that, despite changing into different clothes after feeding Samson, had somehow made its way onto his shirt.

"He ate his dinner, anyway" Robbie said, chuckling at Laura's frown as she deposited the hair into the bin.

"Oh? Is he a fussy cat then?"

"No, not normally. Just that when Mr Potter is away, he'll only eat food left out for him by either me or Mr Potter's cleaner"

"Oh" Said Laura with a smirk. She wondered if this was true or not. She suspected that it was a clever rouse by Mr Potter to stay in Robbie's good books. Maybe, Laura wondered, Mr Potter might take advantage of the fact that Robbie was a decent fellow.

"How was the call out?" Robbie said as Laura washed the plates and put them to drain next to the sink.

"Oh, just a suicide. Straight forward" She replied

Robbie looked at Laura. A soft, almost sad smile on his face as he shook his head slightly at her reply. He marvelled at her patience and ultimate compassion for Rawbone and her steel at then attending a suicide victim whom he knew she would have treated with the upmost of care. She may have a bottomless well brimming with gallows humour but she had equal depths of love and care for everyone who deserved it or, in the case of Rawbone, didn't deserve it.

"What?" said Laura

"Nothing. Just. . ." Robbie looked at her, searching her eyes "You're just, well, something else as they say" and he gazed down at her before his arms went round her back. She could see in his eyes how he felt and she suddenly felt humbled by how he saw her, that he knew her outwardly caustic attitude was often a front. She knew he had always known and she suddenly felt overwhelmed. Robbie saw the emotion in her eyes and couldn't help but pull her to him and kiss her, softly, before pulling away to smile at her. She returned the smile, her eyes shining up at him.

"Robbie" She said, her hands around his back, transferring her emotion into her touch as she spoke. Her eyes were bright, with something that Robbie couldn't quite read

"Move in?" She said, her voice was soft and quiet

Robbie looked down at her for a second, taking in what she had proposed. For an instant, he was stunned. It showed in his face. For that second Laura panicked. She had said this too soon, she should have tested the waters first before embarking on such an idea. It was too soon for Robbie to take such a big step. She started to pull away, not even aware she was beating a retreat. Robbie realised in a flash what she was thinking and he pulled her back, his hands gently gripping her forearms to stop her pulling away further.

"Ok" He said, simply, and with a smile that reassured Laura, along with the gentle but firm encouraging hold of his hands on her arms, that she hadn't jumped the gun with her suggestion.

Laura, relieved, grinned back at him, blushing slightly. She couldn't find words and her reaction was a small soft laugh, one that Robbie had come to know well since they had become intimate. Robbie couldn't help but chuckle back at her, almost with a relief at the whole outcome.

"It's good to be home" He said softly, gazing down at her, she laughed again softly at his words and pulled him close and kissed him.

Later on, with their supper plates washed, dried and put away, and, with the last of the wine drunk outside in the dark night freshness of the garden, Robbie and Laura headed upstairs. They already had a loose bedtime routine and it wasn't long until they were both in bed, with the light off and with Robbie spooning Laura, his face close to hers in the darkness. They chatted quietly as they both wound down from the day.

Laura talked more about her meeting with Rawbone. The errors in the test results could be rectified and Laura was confident that she could secure the funding for her research. It wasn't a perfect outcome, least of all for her but Robbie could tell she had drawn a line under it all. He knew he hadn't had a hand in helping her work out what to do, but somehow, he felt that maybe just being there had helped. In the darkness, Robbie smiled. The thought of living with Laura, like this, even solving difficult work problems agreed with him and made his stomach fill with butterflies at the thought of their coming life together. It was a natural progression for them both.

"I'll pay half, of everything, of course, y'know? When I move in" He said, wondering if it had been something she'd thought about

"Well the house is paid for"

"You're kidding?"

"Head Pathologist's salary for a single girl, Robbie, it's got to go somewhere"

"Bloody Hell" Robbie said

"You can, of course, go halves on everything else"

"Of course" said Robbie.

Laura smiled to herself. Yet again Robbie had taken things in his stride. Some men she had been with had felt intimidated by her robust financial situation. She wasn't surprised, Robbie wasn't one to judge or resent or feel threatened by Laura's status or financial independence. The respect had been there from him from the start. It was another thing she loved about him. As for living together, she had wanted him to move in not long after the start of their relationship. She had held back in asking him. She didn't want to push him, despite his clear and keen enthusiasm for their newfound romance. But now, it seemed the right thing to do.

"There's only one thing, though, Robbie about you moving in"

"What?"

"Mr. Potter's cat"

"Samson? What about him?"

"He'll starve if Mr. Potter goes away again and you're not there"

Robbie smiled again, in the darkness, Laura felt it against her cheek as he did so. He knew she was letting him know that moving in with her didn't have to result in a seismic shift to his life - that he perhaps needed to adjust to slowly. Robbie felt slightly differently. He was more than ready to move on, to move in with her, but all the same, he adored her thoughtfulness for him.

"Yeah, well, maybe I can pop over and feed Samson if need be"

"I think that would be nice, I'm sure Samson would appreciate it"

"I suppose so. Actually, I think Mr. Potter is off to Spain over Christmas, some religious walk – Santiago or something"

"Camino de Santiago"

"Yeah, that's the one. He did ask, earlier in the year, if I could feed Samson over Christmas"

"What did you tell him?"

"Well, I said I would if I could, depending on visiting Lyn. He said his cleaner could pop in if need be. Samson does make a fuss when I get there, y'know, when he's been on his own for a while"

"I know the feeling" Laura said and she felt Robbie laugh at her words

"He likes a bit of company, I suppose. If I'm there I stay for a while I usually give Lyn a call, y'know, catch up on other calls, Samson seems to like to hear chatter, makes him purr"

Laura chuckled at Robbie's words and, turning in his arms pulled him close for a kiss. She was reminded how much she adored him and his kindness, even to an elderly old don and his cat and even when he was ever so slightly put upon. She guessed correctly that Mr. Potter perhaps took advantage of Robbie's good nature, not to mention the fact that if you were to give anyone the keys to your house, a detective inspector was top of the list for security reasons alone.

"When you move in, I think it's only right that you go and see Samson as required, Robbie"

"Well, if you think so"

"I think so. don't you?"

"Whatever you say, Love" and Robbie kissed her and in the darkness, Laura smiled. Robbie was right. It was good to be home.

AN: Hi folks, I hope you are all ok. This is the end to this story and hopefully, time allowing, I will continue with my Christmas story - but if I run out of time I might not post after Christmas has passed as it feels a bit too "after the party" from the 26th Dec. onwards, so fingers crossed I get time. Thanks all for your continued readership and for taking the time to let me know you are enjoying the stories. All the best for now!

ML