Lestrade stopped paused reluctantly in Gregson's open office door. "My wife-"
"I know," Gregson interrupted, waving the other Inspector off.
"She said to-"
"I know." Gregson refused to look up from his paperwork, either at the man standing uncomfortably in his doorway, or at Bradstreet who, seated across the desk from him, was regarding both the conversation and his fellow inspectors with amused interest.
Lestrade visibly resisted the urge to sigh. "Meet you there?" Gregson nodded, and the other inspector left without uttering another word.
Only once the sound of his receding footsteps indicated he had returned to his own office did Gregson relax, his shoulders dropping as he let out a sigh of relief.
Bradstreet grinned at him. "Dinner?" he guessed. The other man nodded, a rare expression of honest misery crossing his face. Bradstreet shook his head; he always enjoyed having dinner with the Lestrade family.
He supposed, given the near-constant tension and frequent animosity between the two, however, that Gregson joining the family for dinner was most likely torture for both of them, especially when taking into account that Mrs. Lestrade seemed to know just as much about the other inspectors and their business as her husband did (whether she would ever admit as much or not), and that Jackie Lestrade, their oldest, had a knack for saying exactly what you did not want him to at precisely the worst moment.
He spared a moment to wonder whether the two men even bothered trying to get along during these dinners, or whether they simply sat there in silence until Mrs. Lestrade had pity and let them go. That, of course, made him wonder how Gregson got along with the woman herself. Mrs. Lestrade was a force to be reckoned with, truth be told. Not even her own husband seemed inclined to cross her.
Bradstreet would certainly never consider it, and he was pretty certain no other inspector in their right mind would either, Gregson included.
"Good luck," he offered, when he realized Gregson was waiting for him to say something. "Jackie seems to have taken an interest in hansom cabs; an encouraging question here and there and he'd probably talk about them all evening."
Gregson filed that information away and reconsidered the form in front of him. "So you have been spending more time over there lately." The other inspector sounded satisfied. Bradstreet shrugged.
"Sophie's taken a liking to the girls," he admitted without shame. "It's nice to have Melissa back home, though."