It was another early start for Lewis and he was driving to the hospital. The traffic was bad, as always, and before long he found himself in a queue. The threads of the case were still refusing to weave together, and the assault on the boy had made things more complicated, not less so. If the lad was up to talking, then maybe some headway could be made, but from the state he had been the previous night, Lewis suspected they would keep him sedated for most of the day. The lights changed and the line moved forward a few metres. Gradually, they sped up, and he concentrated on the traffic ahead. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and smiled to himself. Laura. He didn't even have to guess. Only she would text him at 7.30am.

They'd spoken on the phone late the previous night, and talked about the case. She knew he was getting stressed, and had quickly realised that talking through the various lines of enquiry would help him to relax. She was convinced that the mortuary was at the centre of it, whatever it was, and the more he thought about it, the more he agreed with her. In the end, he hadn't even asked her about Peterson. It just didn't seem relevant any more. She hadn't mentioned the card, and they'd quickly fallen into other topics of conversation. Tonight he was determined to see her, even if it was only for an hour or two. He missed the closeness they had enjoyed, he missed her.

As the traffic slowed to a halt again at the next set of lights, he extracted his phone and read. It was a short message for Laura, but it told him everything he needed to know:

"You forgot number 11. He's not you. Dinner?"

He tapped out a reply quickly and pressed send,

"Yes, pet. I'll call you later. x"

For once, their timetables had aligned, and they had managed to meet just outside the Ashmolean. Walking through the colleges, down to the river, they chatted about the case again. As they reached a fence at the top of a steep section of the bank, Laura hesitated. Clambering over easily, Robbie held out a hand. It was so easy, so natural. Guiding her down the steep slope he beamed at her, laughing as they swung round. She glanced down at their joined hands, still not quite believing how close they had become over the past few days. No, they weren't entirely in step yet, but it didn't seem to matter, they were walking in the same direction.

The cloud of smoke was unmistakable in its significance, and in a single, horrible moment, she knew exactly what he was about to do. She almost cried out for him to stop, but she couldn't, and shouted out a warning instead. In a few short strides he was at the boat, inside the boat. She blinked furiously, her eyes filling with tears, she couldn't see him.

As she fumbled with her phone, trying to speak clearly to the operator, she never took her eyes off the boat. It was all taking too long. She ran towards the smoke, not sure whether she could follow him in, not sure whether she could bear to wait.

Finally, the hatch opened, and he crashed through, carrying the body of a girl, and she breathed again.

The fire crew was on the scene within minutes, an ambulance following swiftly after. As soon as Robbie had hauled the girl away from the burning boat, Laura had switched into professional mode. Airway clear, still breathing, pulse good...smoke inhalation, nothing serious, no head wounds, pupils fine. Kneeling on the towpath, she moved the girl into the recovery position and gently rubbed her back, soothing her. When the ambulance crew took over, she glanced around quickly, taking stock. Robbie was talking on the phone, no doubt rallying the troops. He had his back to her, and was in full flow. More sirens approached, and as the fire crew set about extinguishing the flames several squad cars arrived on the road above. He was still talking. Her hands had started to shake a little, as the adrenaline caught up with events. She was tired from an exhausting week and poor sleep, and was well aware how quickly she might find herself mid panic attack if she didn't relax. It wasn't something which happened to her often, but she knew the triggers all too well. And it didn't exactly help that she had skipped both breakfast and lunch.

Nodding to the ambulance crew, she stepped back, and carefully walked a few yards down the tow path to an empty bench. She couldn't leave, not least because a statement might be needed, but she didn't exactly want to stay. Fight or flight was well and truly upon her, and she just wanted to run. Robbie was still talking on the phone, doing his job. She felt sick and dizzy, and so dipped her head forward, between her knees, concentrating on keeping her breathing controlled.

Jean Innocent was at the scene within ten minutes. She wouldn't normally have bothered, but when Lewis mentioned that he'd been pulling women out of burning boats, she had decided that a calm head might be needed. As she hauled herself over the fence and down the bank, cursing her heels as she did so, she passed Laura Hobson sat on a bench, looking decidedly green.

"OK Laura?"

The doctor looked a little confused, but smiled back quickly,

"Fine, just getting my breath back"

Unconvinced, but prioritising the situation, Innocent nodded and marched up to where Lewis was quizzing the ambulance crew.

"Everything in hand Lewis?"

"Yes ma'am, fire almost out, girl being treated for smoke inhalation, but otherwise should be fine."

"Am I going to have to give you a medal for rescuing damsels in distress?"

He smiled, not missing the heavy dose of sarcasm in her voice.

"All in a day's work, ma'am"

"Well, we'll need witness statements, I want the girl speaking to asap, and you'll need a check-up yourself."

He nodded, directing a couple of sergeants towards the fire crew.

"When did Hobson turn up? Not like her to chase after the living..."

Laura... He glanced quickly over Innocent's shoulder, and seeing her sat on a bench nearby, visibly relaxed,

"She was with me, ma'am...we were taking a walk"

Jean raised an eyebrow, but decided not to say anything.

"Well, she looks bloody awful...maybe you could go and have a word?"

He nodded quickly and ran his hand nervously through his hair,

"I'll head to the hospital now, try to speak with the girl as soon as she's been checked over, then will plough through as many statements as possible, here on the river bank. Andrews and Martin are getting the names of the boat owners and the…"

Jean fixed him with a glare, and decided to sod the consequences for once,

"You do know she's in love with you, don't you?"

He swallowed visibly, not daring to break eye contact, both of them knowing he didn't have to ask about whom she was speaking. He nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Then maybe it's time you just sort all this out..."

He opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off,

"Just get on with it Lewis, I can handle this lot".