"You must be shattered," Robbie observed as Laura shrugged off her jacket and she nodded, stifling a yawn. He laid his suit jacket over the bannister and loosened his tie, and Laura leant back against the doorframe wearily. "We don't have to, if you'd rather just go straight to bed?" Robbie offered and Laura considered him. A smile danced at the edge of her lips at his double entendre and he sighed, rolling his eyes at her. Laura chuckled, eyes twinkling in amusement. "Well, Inspector," she murmured and he arched an eyebrow at her. "Bed might be a step too far, so early in the evening, so shall we start with dinner?" Laura replied affectionately and he grinned boyishly at her, relieved that she wasn't teasing him too much over his slip of the tongue. "Tea?" she offered and Robbie nodded. "Aye," he said and they smiled at each other again. As Laura made them both a cup of tea, she smiled to herself. She prodded the tea bag in the cup, squeezing each before adding a splash of milk and then passing him the mug. He smiled at her, their fingers touching as he took the mug from her, before turning and sitting down on Laura's sofa. Laura perched at the opposite end, and they sipped their tea in a companionable silence for several minutes, before, at length, Robbie set his mug down, and reached for Laura's hand again. She interlaced their fingers, squeezing his hand gently and he smiled at her. "You alright?" he asked and Laura nodded. When she set down her mug, she turned to him slightly, and Robbie considered her. Laura toyed with their fingers, deep in thought and Robbie watched her contemplatively. It was funny, he mused, that he had so much he wanted to say to her, and yet, here, it was surprisingly easy to sit here in silence, her fingers entwined with his. It was almost an ache, the strength of feeling he had for this woman in front of him. But that was Laura, the two of them, they just worked. She got him, understood him, brought the best of him out. At length, he tugged at their entwined hands, drawing Laura against him so that he could loop his arm around her shoulder and press a kiss against the side of her head. Laura smiled to herself at the gesture, and he tucked her closer in, savouring her proximity.
"Thank you for today," Laura said earnestly and as Robbie began to protest. Laura slipped her fingers into his again, squeezing them gently. "This," she said, looking up at him "meant a hell of a lot, when all I could think about was whether I was going to die, or end up permanently disabled, and I have no idea what prompted you to stroll into my office when you did, but honestly Robbie, thank goodness you did." Robbie looked down at her, and the emotion wrought across her face made him swallow hard. He squeezed her fingers gently and she brought her other hand up, settling it on his chest as they gazed at each other. Robbie allowed his free hand to settle on her waist and they shared a smile at this new found intimacy. "It scared me half to death," Robbie told her and she grimaced. "No, don't frown. It's not your fault. I just hated seeing you so unlike yourself," he said hastily and she sighed. "Thank you for letting me hold your hand," Robbie said and Laura chuckled. "Thank you for humouring constantly being mistaken for my husband," she retorted and their gaze met. Robbie's expression grew more serious and Laura frowned. Robbie inhaled slowly, and tightened his grip on her waist, wanting to take this opportunity to somehow communicate how he actually felt about her. "Laura, I didn't mind. At all," Robbie said and Laura found herself suddenly breathless. "I'd prefer more favourable circumstances, and I could do without the fear of losing you, but I'd happily be mistaken as yours anytime," he told her and Laura blinked. "I feel like we've danced around this for an age, Laura," Robbie continued "and forgive me if what I'm about to say oversteps the mark, but I'd like to think you and I would be good together. Properly together." He smiled at her and Laura bit her lip nervously, before she gently cupped his jaw and smoothed her thumb over his cheek. They smiled at each other and Laura inhaled softly before she leant in to kiss his cheek and Robbie closed his eyes. He turned his head slightly towards her and smiled as her lips grazed the corner of his mouth. Instinctively he turned to meet her kiss and he murmured in satisfaction as their lips met properly. As their kiss deepened, Laura found herself drawn closer into Robbie's lap, his hand gently cradling the back of her head and the other holding her firmly against him. In turn, she entwined her arms around his neck, drawing him closer as they kissed and as they broke apart for air, they smiled giddily at each other. "I'm inclined to agree, Inspector," Laura murmured and he chuckled before kissing her again and relaxing his grip on her slightly. "Oh Laura, love," he replied softly, and she looked at him, eyes shining. "What?" she said, smiling and he chuckled. "I can't believe I'm here, with you, like this," he replied and Laura's smile broadened, before he cradled her closely and held her in his arms, dropping a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "What a day today has proven to be," Laura murmured and he huffed in amusement.
With Laura cuddled against him, his gaze fell to the clock on her kitchen wall and he frowned. "Without wishing to kill the moment," he murmured "we should order some food." Laura laughed loudly and Robbie looked slightly affronted until she glanced up and kissed him affectionately. "Yes dear," she replied, eyes dancing in amusement. "Sorry," Robbie murmured and she smiled softly. "S'funny, this," he continued and Laura arched an eyebrow expectantly. They smiled at each other, the domesticity of the scene not lost on either of them. "Shall I go and phone our order in?" Robbie suggested and Laura nodded. Robbie rooted in his pocket for his phone, and then glanced at Laura, before getting up and walking out into the hallway to phone their order through. After a couple of minutes, he came back in and sat back down on the sofa, drawing Laura against him again. "So, Dr. Hobson," he mused as Laura relaxed into his embrace, and she looked up at him curiously. "I was wondering if I could take you out for dinner sometime?" Robbie continued and Laura's eyes twinkled. "Are you asking me out?" she wondered aloud and Robbie grinned. "Aye, I am," he retorted and Laura's smile widened. "I feel as though we ought to do things properly," Robbie said and Laura chuckled. "Alright," she replied and Robbie smiled broadly. "You have remembered you're buying me dinner tonight?" Laura enquired jovially and Robbie laughed, drawing her in and kissing the top of her head. "Obviously," he replied and Laura smiled. "I do mean it though Laura. A proper dinner somewhere nice. I want to do things right by you. It's important," Robbie said earnestly and Laura squeezed their entwined fingers. "Sounds lovely," she replied "let's figure out when we could go." And it did sound lovely. The idea that Robbie wanted to wine and dine her brought a smile to her face, and made her stomach flutter a little. "I hope you know how important you are to me, Laura" Robbie's voice broke into her thoughts and she smiled up at him, her eyes shining. "You mean everything to me," Robbie continued, suddenly finding his voice, along with an urge to tell her how strongly he felt about her, how much she meant to him, how important it was that she understood that she mattered tremendously. He tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, caressing her cheekbone with his thumb and they smiled happily at each other.
"I know we've had our ups and our downs," Robbie said and Laura frowned. "Don't fret," he interjected hastily "I just want to tell you… I just need to say something to you. I owe you that much." Laura leant into his touch, his hand still cupping her jaw and looked up at him in a way that made him feel he wanted to keep talking. "Alright," she murmured and they shared another smile. "I haven't always been fair to you, Laura," Robbie said and Laura frowned. "I haven't. We've been somewhere between friends and something more for so long, and god knows, you've been patient with me. More than I could have asked for. More than I deserve, mebbe. An' I have no idea what you see in me." Laura huffed a breath out, a little amused and he smiled broadly, caressing her cheek and she smiled, glancing down. "I'm utterly in love with you, Laura," Robbie said and Laura closed her eyes, emotion rushing through her as she took in his words, his meaning. "I'm not expecting you to say anything," he continued hurriedly "I just wanted to, needed to, tell you." He watched Laura, relieved as she smiled slightly and then met his gaze steadily. "Well, this got intense," she murmured and he chuckled. "We've been friends for such a long time," Laura said and he nodded, suddenly wondering if he'd read it all wrong. "We've been through so much together, and I'd come to the conclusion that we were destined never to be more than friends. And that would have been fine. I'd still have loved you, regardless," Laura owned and Robbie exhaled slowly. "You can't help who you fall in love with, Robbie, and for my part, well, I've only had eyes for you for sometime now," Laura said frankly and they smiled at each other happily. "I love you too, Robbie," she told, meeting his gaze and he kissed her lovingly, drawing her closer. Laura settled her cheek against his collarbone, still tucked within his embrace and she closed her eyes, a subtle hint of his aftershave just detectable. His heart was racing, she realised and she smiled to herself. She stroked her thumb over his back, where her hands had slid as they'd cuddled up together. In turn, he'd wrapped his arms around her, cradling her against him and she revelled in their closeness. She would be quite content, Laura mused, to sit here all evening. In fact, she recalled, this was exactly what she'd wanted as she'd lain in that hospital bed and the thought made her smile. They sat there, holding each other, drawing comfort from their closeness for several minutes before Laura stirred slightly. "It's getting dark," she murmured and Robbie smiled broadly. "Aye, I suppose it is," he replied and they smiled at each other. "I should put the lamp on," Laura said and they smiled at each other again. "I don't want to move," Robbie said and Laura cupped his cheek and kissed him softly. "I'm going nowhere," she told him warmly and he grinned boyishly. Laura stood up, stretching slightly, and he reached for her hand, kissing her knuckles and then relinquishing his grip so that she could turn the lamp on. She drew the curtains, before stepping into her kitchen, and lowering the blinds. Robbie sipped his tea as she pottered around the kitchen, enjoying not only the simple domesticity of being with Laura but the knowledge that their affection for each other was mutual. They loved each other. They LOVED each other. The thrill of knowing that she returned his feelings was almost too much to bear and he grinned to himself. He never wanted to let her go. He wanted to gather her up in his arms and hold her close for as long as she'd let him, take her to bed and show her how much he loved her, wanted her.
Laura set the crockery and cutlery down on the dining table and then turned to consider the man sat on her sofa. She leant back on the dining table and they smiled at each other across the room. "I'm just going to go and change," Laura said and Robbie nodded. "Alright, love," he replied and she stepped past him, squeezing his shoulder as she did so. Laura smiled broadly to herself as she made her way upstairs. As she switched on the light in her bedroom, she considered the room, idly wondering if she would be sleeping alone tonight. Not that she wanted to rush him into anything, but the idea of curling up with him in bed and sleeping in his arms was hugely appealing. She stripped out of her scrubs matter of factly and reached for her favourite pair of jeans and a soft sweatshirt, grown old and comfortable through years of wear. She ran her fingers through her hair and considered her reflection. It seemed strange to dress up for an evening of curry and hopefully, snuggling on the sofa. She smiled to herself as she recalled Robbie's words. I'm utterly in love with you Laura. He loved her. He actually loved her. Laura shook her head in disbelief. She'd barely dared to allow herself to think that he might return her increasing affection. But he did. He loved her. She could laugh at herself, daydreaming over his kisses. But the idea that he loved her made her feel ridiculously happy. Suddenly, at her fingertips was the prospect of something wonderful and Laura barely knew what to think. The ring of her doorbell brought her back to reality, and she heaved a sigh before she headed downstairs to answer it.