Another round of little accidents. Thanks to the to the reviewer who put this idea into my head.

Little Hurdles

"Oh, Hugh, it's beautiful."

The Constable watched the face of his fiancée twist into an expression of wonderous delight along with her whispered words. It was beautiful. But so was Dottie, when she was happy or excited or... always really. With a proud smile on his own face he watched on as she took in their surroundings. He only just had discovered this little hidden spot in the Yarra Park himself a few days ago, in hot pursuit of a thief who had had the cheek to steal a ladies handbag right under the policeman's nose. And while he had run after the man who had later given him some bruised ribs and spent a night in the prison cell, leaving it in a state he rather wouldn't tell Dottie about, he had stumbled into this magical little place. And Hugh Collins had instantly known that she would absolutely adore it - even at high speed. Here, the Yarra spilled lazily against a bank of warm sand, framed by the deep hanging branches of willow trees that hid them completely from any unwanted observers. On the other sides the little spot of grass and soft moss was surrounded by a thick wall of trees and bushes, filtering the sunlight into spots of fairy dust littered over the dark green floor. Hugh Collins had spread a big, chequered blanket right beside a picnic basket, that he had to admit Mr. Butler had helped him with. While Miss Fisher had distracted Dot. So really it had been a group effort but nevertheless he was proud of his accomplishment, especially now that Dorothy turned to face him with the kind of smile he hoped he would often see during their long and happy marriage.

"Is there a special occasion for this?" She asked. Constable Collins had to think about this.

"Yes, I mean...no, not really. But yes, kind of." He trailed of and looked at her, searching for words. "I have met you today, exactly one year, five months and three days ago." Hugh finally stated in the kind of voice that made her heart flutter. It didn't make any sense to celebrate this day, she guessed. But then again, that made it all the more special. Still smiling she brushed a kiss to his cheek and sank onto the blanket. It was rather cool in here, a wonderful contrast to the rest of the city that was brooding in the heat of this December afternoon. She looked up at Hugh, who seemed a little lost. It made her wonder if there was any thoughts behind this besides celebrating their one year, five months and three days anniversary. "Hugh?" She asked gently, stretching out her hand to pull him down. He snapped out of his musing.

"Would you like some wine?"

Dorothy Williams had never in her life drunk wine before it was dark outside. Even in her time with Miss Fisher she had stuck to tea in the afternoon. Something just felt wrong about it, probably due to her thoroughly conservative breeding. Then again, Catholics really were rather fond of wine, weren't they?

"I would love some." She heard herself say before she had time to put in a veto. With idle fingers Hugh pulled out two glasses that looked suspiciously like Miss Fisher's and with some effort popped the cork of a bottle of white wine that for certain had it's home in Miss Fisher's pantry. Dot didn't dare asking if the lady detective knew about this little adventure. There seemed to be hardly anything happening that she didn't know about. To her relief Hugh finally sat down after pouring them a glass each and stretched his legs out, just brushing against her's in the slightest of ways. The sensation made her spine tingle. Dottie took a sip and leaned back onto her elbows.

"It really is beautiful here."

They stayed silent for a while, listening to an annoyed bird screaming in a tree and the small waves of the Yarra splashing against the shore.

"It made me think of you, Dottie." Hugh said, in an embarrassed tone but with his eyes big and full of sincerity. "Because you know... it is breathtaking." The last part of the sentence was uttered so quietly that she could hardly make out the words. She decided to blush anyway.

"That, Hugh Collins, is probably the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me."

Now it was his turn to blush and he distracted her quickly by taking her hand and pressing a kiss to it. In that very moment something inside of Dorothy Williams snapped. While the Catholic in her really thought this was a bad idea, being out in a quiet spot alone with a man and a glass of wine, the thoroughly modern woman that had begged to come out ever since she had made the acquaintance of Phryne Fisher, considered this to be actually quite perfect. She looked at Hugh with something in her eyes that let the breath catch in his throat as she reached out a hand, weaving her fingers through his hair. Dorothy Williams had never been this forward before and the look he gave her in return caused her to feel drunk with excitement. That was probably what nudged her over the edge and so she fell down the rabbit hole, bringing her lips to his in an act of courage she had never dared to even consider before. Hugh didn't seem to mind. He hummed contentedly into her throat, as their tongues wrestled in a kiss that wasted no time in going from chaste and friendly to wild and longing. His hand, the one he didn't need to keep himself from keeling over, ran over her back in a way that made her skin tingle underneath the layers of clothes and Dot felt a gentle heat spread through the depth of her stomach that seemed vaguely familiar. It cooled off rapidly however by the sensation of something cold dripping down her leg. She pulled away just as Hugh jumped up, trying in vain to safe the expensive wine from spreading everywhere. Dot was the first to catch the fallen bottle and with a less than sensible giggle she fished for the napkins tucked away in the basket, exactly where she suspected them. With a mumbled apology on his lips and flushed cheeks, Dot wasn't quite sure if from embarrassment or something else altogether, the Constable tried to pat the puddle his accident had left behind. The effort left both of them, the blanket and their clothes soaked and smelling faintly alcoholic.

"I'm so sorry, Dottie."

Upon the sorrow displayed on his face, Dorothy couldn't help but give into the giggle that was still lurking in her throat.

"Don't worry, Hugh. It is a hot day, it will dry in no time. Now, where did we stop?" She asked, tilting her head slightly in a way that she hoped was alluring. It did work for Miss Fisher. Obviously not on Constable Collins though.

"I think we should probably have our picnic. There is a lot of things Mr. Butler said you were sure to love. There is chocolates and cheese... and prawns..." He turned around, holding a splendid specimen of a King Prawn between his fingers. Dot sighed inwardly while she locked her amused gaze on him. She stood up and took both his hands in hers.

"Hugh?"

"Outch." To her surprise he suddenly dropped the prawn to suck on his bleeding finger. Some seconds went by with his face twisting in restrained annoyance and hers in entertainment. Then he dropped his arms by his side, a look of disappointment to himself that touched her heart.

"I'm sorry Dottie, I planned all of this to be perfect and it's a complete disaster and I wanted this to be wonderful and..."

"Hugh, stop. Please stop. It is wonderful and I love it."

He shut up, looking at her in wonder. Dorothy found herself stretch up to kiss him again. And this time it was amazing. His arms wrapped around her, their lips melted together. He tasted sweet and Dot found her head was swimming. Damn her priest, she was sure that god knew exactly that Hugh and her belonged together, marriage vows spoken or not; and here, today, on their anniversary, it was the time. She pulled only back slightly to look at him. His cheek had a pink tinge to them that she was sure had nothing to do with embarrassment this time around and he had lost his breath. She found more delight in that little fact than she would have cared to admit. Gently she pulled him down on the blanket that still smelled of spilled wine. It didn't matter. Dot curled a hand around his head and brought her mouth to his eyebrows, brushing a lingering kiss on them, then his lids. Hugh bit his lip in indulgence, tightening the grip around her hip. He felt himself respond to the smell of her hair, the touch of her gentle fingertips and really he wished only he could stay here with her forever. He had to suppress a disappointed groan in his throat when she pulled back and only reluctantly opened his eyes. The look of shock on Dots flushed face tore him from the sphere of wonder he had been floating in.

"Dottie? Are you alright?"

He gripped her hand and realised that he was feeling rather hot. Probably her doing, he mused as she was still staring at him with her mouth agape.

"Hugh, I think we should go." She finally pressed out.

"But..." He didn't get any further. Of course, he had gone too far. She would have to be angry with him, he had almost lost it.

"Now, Hugh!"

She sounded muffled. Strangely his ears seemed to be blocking up. Constable Collins tried to get a grip on himself. As much as he felt the disappointment currently haunting his stomach, something else was odd. He shook his head, trying to clear it and realised that she was still looking rather worried.
"Dottie, we don't have to..."

He didn't get any further as she interrupted him rather rudely.

"Hugh Collins, will you please get up, we need to get you to a hospital and now. I'm quite sure that this colour of skin is not natural. Neither is the fact that your face seems to have doubled in size within the last five minutes."

His fiancèe had gotten to her feet and extended her hand before her words had even sunk in. Dutifully he took it and let himself be pulled upright. With complete disregard to any of the nice food that was left behind, Dorothy ushered him out of their hiding place and the park and into a cab that was luckily just coming along. Only 15 minutes later Hugh found himself under the watchful eye of Doctor MacMillan who diagnosed an anaphylactic reaction to an innocent looking piece of seafood, that he would luckily survive.

"I would recommend staying away from prawns, oysters and somesuch in future spells of romance." He heard the redhead say, feeling himself blushing furiously. "They are rather overrated as a form of aphrodisiac if I may say so, Constable."

Hugh could do nothing but wholeheartedly agree. The King Prawn had definitely spoiled his romance with Dottie this afternoon. His fiancèe was still sitting by his bedside, grasping onto his hand as if she was scared she could lose him if she would let go for a moment.

„Other than that you should be fine. Just stay here for a while till the swelling has subsided. You wouldn't want to scare the kids." Mac continued before leaving the room with a suggestive wink. When the door hat shut behind her Hugh looked at his Dottie and opened his mouth, just to be cut off before he could even utter a word.

"Don't you dare apologise, Hugh Collins." She snapped. He closed his lips, staying silent. To his utter surprise she slipped onto the edge of the mattress without releasing his fingers and peppered his swollen face with little kisses. He closed his eyes, trying to not think of all the things he really had wanted to do today. Hugh could still feel her cooling breath on his face when she pulled back.

He opened his eyes in question and found her smiling.

"What is it?" He enquired.

"Nothing, Hugh. I'm just waiting for the bed to break down or an earthquake to shake the city or maybe the sky to fall down." She mused with a quiet little grin.

The Constable shared her smile and leaned in for another kiss. He could wait - or so he guessed.