When Laura next woke, the room was lit by the small lamp on her bedside table and Robbie was lying next to her, propped up on his elbow, his fingers gently stroking her hair,

"Morning beautiful, sleep well?"

She looked extremely contented, her eyes still sleepy, squinting a little at the light,

"Mmm…like a baby"

"Good…I'm gonna have to go soon"

She smiled, her eyes drifting shut again, rolling her face into the soft pillow,

"I know, it's ok..what time is it?

"Nearly seven…"

She groaned, yawned loudly and rubbed her eyes,

"Sorry, I'm not normally like this in the morning…"

He grinned and kissed her on the forehead, brushing her fringe back,

"It's ok…I'm sorry I have to go"

She stretched out an arm and wrapped it tightly around his waist, her face snuggling into his shoulder. Already she couldn't imagine waking up without him, and that thought was both thrilling and terrifying in equal measure. His heavy arm wrapped around her back and she pressed a sleepy kiss to his neck,

"Are you sure you need to do these interviews?"

Her voice was almost child-like and smiling to himself, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head,

"Sorry pet, the baddies won't catch themselves"

She smiled and kissing him again, ran her hand down his chest, slipping under the duvet,

"That's a shame…"

Quickly, his hand covered hers and brought it back to his lips,

"Yes it is"

She smirked and admitting defeat hoisted herself up to lean on her elbow, looking up at him mischievously. The way he looked at her was different this morning, the faint wariness that had always been there was gone. She'd never been able to put her finger on it before, not exactly. But this morning there was a calmness, an openness that she'd not seen before. He was smiling at her now, pressing kisses to the back of her hand,

"There is time for this though…"

He rolled her back carefully and gently kissed her lips, teasing and playful at first, then more purposeful. She smiled against his lips and ran her hand through his hair, kissing him back. His hand slid down her side, settling at the the curve of her waist, his thumb lightly caressing her warm skin,

"And this…"

He kissed her cheek, his lips brushing a trail of kisses to her ear,

"And this…"

He kissed her lips again, and her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him down towards her. Finally, he pressed a light kiss to her forehead and attempted to retreat,

"But I do need to make a move"

"Are you really going to leave me like this?"

She wasn't cross, not really, but he couldn't help but be amused by the obvious frustration in her eyes,

"I did warn you…"

He gave her a chaste peck on the lips and extracted himself from her loosening grip,

"I have to go to work Laura…"

She pouted…dear God she actually pouted…and he tried not to laugh. Gingerly, he padded towards the bathroom to have a quick shower and retrieve his clothes.

When he reemerged he wasn't surprised to see that she was still lying in bed, her shirt now carefully buttoned, a large mug in her hand, glasses resting on the end of her nose, her laptop precariously balanced on her knee. He fished in his trouser pocket for his tie and stood in front of the mirror to put it on,

"Am I still invited for dinner?"

He could see her reaction in the mirror, and unaware of his gaze she smiled to herself and bit her lip, obviously contemplating a sufficiently teasing reply,

"Maybe"

She didn't even look up, but continued to tap away. He watched her surreptitiously, still not quite believing how far they had come in the past week…that finally everything had fallen into place and that by some ridiculous turn of fate this beautiful woman actually loved him back. He was lost in his daydream, his fingers mechanically working the silk into a knot, when she looked up and caught him staring. She smiled, raising an eyebrow questioningly, before replying somewhat grudgingly,

"OK, yes… Obviously"

He grinned and tucked his shirt into his trousers,

"And may I stay over again please?"

As he looked back in the mirror, she was still looking at him, a flicker of amusement now clearly visible,

"I was rather hoping that was a given"

She followed him as he walked down the stairs, and she went into the kitchen to make another cup of coffee, smirking slightly to herself as he visibly winced when picking up his holdall. She really couldn't resist, and asked innocently,

"Bad back, darling?"

He sighed loudly, immediately picking up the slightly teasing tone in her voice, and followed her into the kitchen. His arm wrapped around her from behind as she spooned coffee into the cafetiere,

"In my defence, your honour, it's not my fault. I was taken advantage of by a much younger woman"

She reached for another mug and a teabag, and ignoring the warm lips nuzzling her neck asked in her most disinterested voice,

"Really dear...and how did that work out for you?"

His arm was tight around her now, his other hand brushed her hair behind her ear as he kissed her cheek,

"It was bloody fantastic, since you're asking"

She twisted slightly to kiss him back,and before she could really protest, she'd been turned round completely and was being very soundly kissed indeed. The kettle pinged off, and she placed a hand on his chest, trying to catch her breath,

"So would you like a cup of tea before you go, or do you need to run?"

He smiled and shook his head,

"I really need to run…"

"OK, so I'll see you this evening?"

He kissed her forehead lightly,

"Mmmmm"

"Good"

"OK…I really should go"

"I know…"

He kissed her once more on the forehead and went to retrieve his suit jacket from the stairs. Looking in his pocket for his car keys, he suddenly remembered something,

"Can I ask you a favour, pet?"

She was pouring her coffee, but she turned and smiled, the softness of his endearment somehow meaning more now, raising an eyebrow.

"Could you feed Monty?

After he'd gone, she sat at the kitchen table for a long time, just staring into the garden. Everything had shifted slightly on its axis and the familiar view helped to ground her a little. She wrapped the thin dressing gown around her and sipped her coffee. The whole day stretched out in front of her, and Laura was feeling unusually inclined just to relax. Normally she would have been out for a run by now, or maybe out for a ride at the local stables. She wasn't one to sit around, especially on a day off, but today a moment's peace seemed important. He had surprised her last night, in many ways. She smiled to herself, remembering how he'd told her he loved her and the look of childish surprise in his eyes when she'd admitted the same. How could he even have doubted her? She felt tears prick slightly at her eyes, and she thought again about his confession, how he'd held her at arm's length for so long. How could she not have seen what was going on? If she'd only realised, maybe she could have talked to him after Ali's death. If she was honest, she'd known back then that there was something between them. Something important. The way he had looked at her just after he'd seen the body, an intensity she'd never seen before. It had only been a few months after her attack, though, and she had been wary, she'd held back. They'd had that awkward dinner, sat at this table and they'd just ignored the obvious tension between them. She'd drunk too much, in a vague attempt to liven things up, but they'd ended up watching a Bond film, neither particularly enjoying it, and then she'd packed him off home. She put her head in her hands and groaned softly, God, how did we get it so wrong?

The church clock rang out nine and she drained the last of her coffee, chiding herself for being so bloody maudlin. There was no point in regretting things now. All in all, last night had been perfect, and absolutely worth waiting for. And this evening, well, this evening would be even better…