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Through the Eyes of Barbara - Case Solved

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It really was a nice party. There were several friends of Andrew, he was wearing a paper crown all day long, Nolan played the clown, a lot of presents piled up in the living room and they had cake, cocoa and lemonade, later bangers and chips. The boys and girls ran around, were entertained by Nolan the clown, and played in the garden - mostly they played football with the brand new ball Barbara had given Andrew - while some of their parents and the friends and Andrew's godparents Barbara, Nolan and Juma sat on the veranda and chatted.

Ten o'clock just was announced by a church bell somewhere near. It was already dark and Andrew's friends had gone home quite a while ago. He still was not tired and since it was his birthday he was allowed to stay up longer than usual. The remaining adults sat at the table and had one or the other glass of wine, except for Juma who was the designated driver. Mary offered a cheese plate and Nolan could not keep his fingers from another piece of cake. There were candles all over the table and torches around the grass, bathing everything in a nicely dim orange light. Apart from their conversation it was quiet. Only their laughter was a bit louder.

Five minutes ago Andrew had enticed Barbara onto the green again to kick the ball with him. A cut off tree stump and wheel barrow served as the goal and alternating they shot penalties. Andrew was already in the lead with 5 to 1 but it probably would be Andrew's last game for today. He should go to bed soon and the neighbours probably would be happy if the party would finally come to an end. Maybe the adults would have another quiet glass of wine on the veranda though.

Barbara was just closing Andrew's shoe laces when some people arrived via the small path around the house.

Fine, she thought and inwardly groaned. The neighbours finally have enough of it. At first Barbara did not look up but when someone said "The clown and the fake Jamaican." with a firm but quiet voice, she curiously turned her head and witnessed how two uniformed colleagues went onto the veranda to Nolan and Juma and placed their hands onto their shoulders.

She knew it meant that her friends had to stay in their seats. It looked as if they were going to be arrested. Juma groaned and Nolan looked up in confusion, swallowing down half of the curse he was voicing.

Mary was not happy either. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "What's this about?" Her husband placed a silencing hand onto her arm.

Much to Barbara's surprise Tommy suddenly appeared in the dim lights. He looked rather angry and it was obvious that DC Morton stepped in his way to prevent him from doing something stupid. Barbara knew this motion from herself. It had prevented Tommy from one or the other idiotic action and usually eased his temper at least a bit.

Cass introduced herself and gave a quick explanation for their appearance but Barbara almost did not hear it. Her eyes were focussed on Tommy and her mind raced around what sort of crime Juma and Nolan could have committed to make him so furious. By Cass' mentioning of a party Tommy grunted with displeasure. This was strange. Barbara had to intervene.

"Sir?" Barbara hated that she sounded so agitated. But these were her friends and this was a birthday party and it could have been a wonderful evening without that interruption.

Tommy turned his head and with a lot of concern in his voice he called her name. "Barbara!"


"Sir!" was all Barbara could say. She got up from her knees and almost stumbled over the football when Lynley was by her side in an instant. He grabbed her elbow as if he wanted to drag her away from here as soon as possible.

"Are you okay?" He sounded desperate. Something serious must have happened while she was away.

"Of course I am." Barbara had not wanted to sound so indignant but parts of her were annoyed that he had busted this evening. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Andrew looked to Tommy and then to Barbara. "Who's that?" the boy asked. Barbara ruffled through his hair with a light smile.

"That's my boss." she replied before she looked at Tommy again. "Boss, that's Andrew. He's turned eight today. Why did you bring armed back-up?"

"Andrew?" Tommy was baffled. Barbara inwardly cursed. This should have been different. She had had plans with the revelation of the truth and it all seemed to be busted now.

The boy seemed unfazed by what was happening in the adults' world. "Yes." he explained. "Like my dad's second name."

His good manners let Tommy congratulate the boy even though he still did not seem to understand what exactly was going on here. Almost ignoring the appreciation of the proud eight-year-old Tommy fixed his gaze on Barbara. "I saw that clown abduct you." he sputtered with ongoing confused desperation.

Now it dawned on her. Nolan's stupid behaviour near the Met building had not stayed unrecognised. Of course it had not. Tommy had been standing at his office window when she was taken into the van. Barbara had to laugh out loud. "What? No! He's just made a bad joke at my expense, Sir. He hasn't abducted me."

It was hilarious. And sweet. It turned even more hilarious when she saw how the uniformed officers next to Nolan and Juma exchanged an irritated look and hesitantly withdrew their hands from her friends' shoulders because even DI Morton was looking towards Tommy and Barbara.


She saw how Tommy raked a hand through his hair and heard him exhaling with exhaustion. She remembered his calls she had missed or even cut off. He must have come to only one conclusion. She probably would have concluded the same. Barbara almost laughed again, but then Tommy suddenly closed the distance, grabbed her other arm and bent down to her. She stopped breathing in the moment she felt his lips crushing down on hers. It felt full of fear. It felt full of adrenalin. It felt full of relief. It was a hard kiss but still it felt gorgeous and affectionate.

Her eyes closed automatically although this kiss was not how she had imagined a first kiss from Tommy. She never had expected such an outbreak. In fact in this situation she had not expected a kiss at all. Only when she realised what he was doing, their lips lost contact again.

Much to her regret his kiss only had lasted for a brief heavy moment. It had been too fast to react. Barbara was in shock. Then in turmoil. About the kiss he just had given her and about the realisation how she actually had craved for a moment like this. It had touched something deep inside and even though it was not the softest of kisses, it woke a desire for more. With wide eyes she looked up to him. The flickering torches' light was reflected in his face but she could not decipher what else there was. It was too much - shock, pain, fear, relief, tenderness, surprise and maybe a hint of love.

Barbara kept looking at Tommy with wide open eyes. There was a storm of mixed emotions in her belly. Her heart raced, her forehead furrowed, her lips spread into a disbelieving smile and she knew she could not hide the contentment in her eyes. Apart from the turmoil there was a soothing calmness wrapping everything. And the turmoil was mirrored in the dark eyes that were boring into her very soul right now. These brown eyes always had been her fate.

All this happened in one or two seconds. Barbara held his worried gaze and eventually her smile grew wider. Maybe she would not have to wait for Sunday lunch to get cured.


"Tommy..." she said quietly and with a gentle smile. She understood the deeper meaning behind the strange appearance of officers. Tommy had set the police machinery in motion only to find and rescue her, no matter that it had not been necessary, but how could he have known. "I'm okay. Nobody's abducted me. We're just here for Andrew's birthday. And Nolan didn't really abduct me, he only had picked me up in his specific manner. Everything's okay."

While she barely recognised that she had said his given name, Tommy looked distracted from then on.

"I... umm..." he began with an insecure undertone. Then he cursed not very like a Lord should "Oh, to hell with it."

Tommy simply bent down again and gave her another kiss. She did not back away although she was surprised. If anything, she immediately leaned against him and melted into the touch of his lips. It was tender and full of love and extraordinarily enjoyable. Barbara snaked her arms around his waist and even pulled him slightly closer.

This second kiss lasted decidedly longer than their first one.

When Tommy eventually moved his face away he looked into her eyes with the softest of looks that made her want to elope with him in an instant. "I think we have to talk." he whispered.

"Can we... umm..." There was all but a conversation on Barbara's mind but she pondered if she was too brazen if she should say it aloud. Her gaze darted from his eyes to his lips and back to the dark affection of his stare. His eyes let her make the decision. She melted into his arms a bit more and gently pressed her hands into his back. And boldly she asked "Can we stall this?"


When he kissed her again, something fell into the place where it belonged. Everything would be good from now on. And everything else was shut out of their minds for a while. They exchanged a long and gentle kiss that made them forget the rest of the world.

They did not recognise that Andrew had been staying with them and only hopped away now. They did not see the grins and smug smiles from the others on the veranda. They even did not hear Nolan calling over to them cheekily.

"Oh, get a room, you two!"


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