"So, come on, tell me. How did Innocent con you and James into coming? Let me guess, holiday dates of your choice?" Laura said, tilting her head and smirking, with eyebrows raised at Robbie from her seat opposite him in front of the fire.

"How did you know that?" Robbie said, his voice lifting a little in surprise and mock annoyance at her accuracy. The pair of them were now on another drink although Laura had switched to sparkling water as she had to drive back to Ash Rake later in the evening.

"You and Hathaway are too predictable" Laura said with another smirk and frown as she shook her head.

"I expect a week in Manchester will be on the cards soon though, won't it? When is Lyn due?"

"Yeah, only 3 weeks to go now. Innocent said work allowing I'll be able to go up there, y'know at short notice if need be"

"I should think so. How is Lyn?"

"She's doing really well, very excited, the whole family is to be honest" Robbie couldn't contain his smile and Laura saw a happiness that for once seemed to overshine the grief she often saw taint even the more positive elements of his family life. She smiled back and listened as Robbie filled her in with the latest news from Manchester; it was something she knew he loved to do and she always listened; sometimes offering advice if there were family politics involved. Mostly though, she liked to see him talk about something other than work and to see him happy as he talked. He knew she genuinely cared and that always made him grateful; that he had someone to talk to about the things that mattered to him outside of work.

"What about you then?" Robbie said after a while before taking a long draft of his pint "How did you get roped in?"

"Innocent bribed me with some discretionary funding for a research project" Laura said, her eyes bright and with a pleased look on her face. "It's only a small amount but it's going to mean a lot to my students, well, to me also. I couldn't refuse, as well as already being in the area"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about your aunt, how's all the probate stuff going?" Robbie said gently, putting his pint down. Innocent had told him about Laura's reason for being in the area and in the past Robbie recalled Laura mentioning a few times in passing about childhood summer holidays with her great aunt in the Peak District.

"Thank you" Laura replied. As always Robbie's genuine caring concern made her acutely aware of his inherent kindness that often caught her unawares and always made her stomach flip a little.

"It's all nearly done for now, I just have to hand the keys over to the estate agent and then, well, gather up all my memories of the place before I leave" She said, a little sadly. Robbie nodded back in with an understanding at the situation.

"At least you've got to see the place one last time I suppose?" He offered, knowing full well how a house could hold many memories and feelings of the past.

"Yes. It's rather odd to know the house will eventually go to new owners, it's been in the family for generations. Hobson family legend has that it was won in a bet not long after it was built. We were never really sure if that was the truth or not, but it used to make for fun story telling for all the family at dinner parties"

Robbie chuckled. "Remind me not to ever play cards with you" he said.

Laura laughed back at him, her eyes catching the firelight as they both laughed together, their gazes lingering on each other both enjoying the simple act of talking about things other than the usual work topics. Laura always enjoyed Robbie's company off duty as well as at work. He was one of the nicest, most decent and kindest people she knew. She was also deeply attracted to him. When she'd taken the plunge to invite him for dinner she had attempted, in the most gentle way she could, to try and convey to him that she was open to forging something between the two of them that went beyond friendship.

Laura knew she felt more than just an attraction to Robbie but she didn't let herself pursue these thoughts often. She knew she had to tread carefully. She was also quite prepared to get hurt in the process. If they ever did go down such a route, Laura had readied herself for Robbie to pull the emergency cord at any point and run away from his feelings which she knew came down to his lingering grief. If taking this risk meant she would get hurt in the process, she had decided it was a gamble worth taking. If he wasn't ready then she would let him go even if it meant a broken heart on her part. As things had turned out, work had put a stop to her plans and their possible outcomes and when Robbie never asked her again about their planned meal, she had taken his silence as a signal that he just wasn't ready for anything romantic. Laura hadn't abandoned the idea but work again had got in the way and she had resigned herself to accepting that "something more" with Robbie just wasn't on the cards. She wasn't going to sacrifice their friendship, she knew that, but it was hard to accept, especially when they shared moments like these and she would have to ask herself if there was more in Robbie's gaze than just friendliness.

For a while they chatted about her Aunt and then a few work-related things. Laura loved how they could talk shop and then suddenly switch to a different unrelated subject. It was all so easy. Robbie felt the same and sharing moments like these put him at ease, made him think to the future almost; a future with Laura more prominent in his life, if that's what she wanted. He felt a telltale stirring in his stomach, an excitement that only came from sharing a look and a gaze with someone where the feeling was clearly reciprocated.

"What about all the other participants" Laura said after a while. "I should go and introduce myself perhaps, I haven't even spoken to our leader yet"

Robbie glanced over to the other end of the lounge where Laura was looking. Innocent was chatting with a broad smile to the Chief Super from Manchester.

"Jean's suffering from a bad case of rictus sardonicus I see" Laura said with a half-suppressed laugh.

"Eh?" Said Robbie and was just about to ask what rictus sardonicus exactly was when he saw that Laura's attention had switched elsewhere.

He watched as Laura squinted her eyes a little and he saw a cautious almost doubting smile form on her face. He looked up and followed her gaze. She was looking towards the entrance that led from the bar to the reception. A soft surprised laugh escaped her lips and Robbie then saw who had taken her attention.

It was the man from earlier, Doctor McLeod.

Robbie saw the look on Laura's face; her eyes shone with what he could see was a cautious excitement.

"It can't be" She said quietly and more to herself than to Robbie. The doubting smile had evolved into a broad grin.

Dr Iain Mcleod hadn't seen Laura straight away. He paused as he entered the lounge, as if to see who was there. Robbie frowned. He watched as he slowly stepped forwards, towards the bar area, still scanning the room. It was then Robbie saw Mcleod's eyes find Laura's.

Robbie kept watching the tall handsome Scotsman as he stopped in his tracks staring directly at Laura. Now a smile started on his face, almost mirroring Laura's earlier reaction, he shook his head slightly, his face now also breaking through into a grin, a half laugh. He had been heading to the bar but now his trajectory changed and, still shaking his head and with a face full of surprised excitement, he made his way towards Laura and Robbie, his pace picking up as he did so.

Meanwhile, Laura had risen from the leather seat by the fire. She turned to Robbie

"I know him" She said with surprise and to his chagrin, Robbie saw the look on her face. It was the same expression of joy that he had seen earlier on her arrival when she had greeted him at the bar.

Barely taking time to register his feelings at the situation, Robbie returned Laura's excitement with a grin which slipped into a barely concealed grimace which Laura didn't see as she almost hurriedly made her way over to Mcleod.

"Iain!" she cried excitedly.

"Oh my goodness. Doc!" exclaimed Mcleod.

And Robbie watched on as the two of them, laughing and smiling, embraced.