"Shall we go down this morning and fit our costumes?" Tommy asked as the team all finished their late breakfast.

"Good idea. I can't wait to see mine," Stuart quipped, "I've always wanted to be a tree!"

Barbara laughed at the way he rolled his eyes and stuck his arms and fingers rigidly in the air. Tommy looked over his coffee. "I see you're a method actor Stuart."

"He's very wooden I believe," Barbara added.

"But everyone likes the timbre of his voice."

"He could branch out into voice over work."

"He'd fell them I think," Tommy joked. She and Tommy laughed harder and looked at each other conspiratorially.

Winston cocked his head and looked at them. Their banter seemed different somehow. "Are you two going to try to become a comedy duo?"

"No Winston, because they're not funny," Stuart said, "I run rings around them."

Everyone started laughing again. Tommy was still watching his partner. Barbara was beautiful when she smiled. He stopped laughing. He suddenly had an unreasonable urge to make love to her. He wanted to see her emerald eyes light up just for him; because of him. She frowned and went silent. They stared at each other. Her eyes berated him. You had a chance last night, if that's what you want.

Tommy tore his eyes away. "I'll see you outside in ten minutes. We'll take the Landrover. Mother will bring her car." Without daring to look at her he fled the room.

"Wait Sir." Barbara followed him from the room.

"What was that about?" Winston asked.

Stuart frowned at him and tutted. "Those that fear they hope and know they fear."

Winston groaned. "Does anyone in this house speak plainly? I'm going to clean my teeth."

Outside Barbra found Tommy standing by the house looking up at the hills. "Sir?"

"Oh, Barbara. Ready to go?" Tommy tried hard to act naturally and smile broadly.

"We're okay aren't we? You just seem...a little awkward."

"No, we're fine," he said lightly, trying to sound reassuring.

"If it's about last night..."

"What about last night? What were you two up to in the 'family' quarters?"

Tommy wanted to hit Stuart. Barbara flushed all colours and he could feel his own face reddening. "Nothing, you evil minded little twat! You should stick to tormenting your cadavers instead of innocent people." He stormed off towards the Landrover.

"Barbara, I'm sorry," Stuart said gently.

"It's okay Stuart," she said, "Nothing happened. Nothing ever happens. Sometimes I think...never mind. Just leave him alone. You know what he's like."

"I should apologise to him."

"Good luck."

Stuart took a deep breath and wandered over to Lynley. "Tommy."

"Not now Lafferty, I'm not in the mood."

"I'm sorry. After all these years I didn't know you'd finally realised you're in love with her."

"Says who?" Tommy looked aghast. He did not want to discuss his feelings for Barbara with Stuart.

Lafferty refused to be deterred. "Says every look you give her. Why don't you just tell her? I think you'll find it's more than mutual."

Tommy looked up. "Really? I don't want to endanger our friendship with some misplaced or unwanted attention. You can't go back from there."

"Then go forward."

The show was to be staged in the Nanrunnel Community Hall. It was large enough to hold the majority of the village but intimate by city standards. The stage was barely twenty feet wide and only about fifteen deep. Huge dusty maroon curtains in a heavy velvet no one made these day was strung on heavy poles across the stage. The village school had painted a backdrop that looked vaguely like a forest in that it had vertical streaks of brown covered in green swirls. The flora increased in sophistication from left, where the most junior students had painted, to right where the seniors had completed the scene.

"Cheerful," Stuart said as he inspected the theatre. As narrator he would be standing at the edge of the stage able to watch the performance and ad lib any errors. He also had to wind open the massive curtains.

"Right, let's get dressed," Tommy ordered. He was trying hard to act normally but he still rueing not taking his chance last night. He vowed he would not let the situation slip into another year without saying something to her. He glanced at his watch. He had less than twelve hours.

Twenty minutes later Winston was on stage feeling foolish. His witch's hat was too big and his dress was too small. "Why do I have to be the witch?" he asked petulantly as he adjusted his hat with his broom.

"Every panto has at least one cross-dressing character," Tommy replied. He had returned to the stage wearing only the bottom half of his costume and his face make-up.

"Stuart would have been a better witch!" Winston grumbled but as he watched Stuart waddling across the stage crammed into a brown cylinder with only his arms free and a huge green afro wig on his head, he silently thanked his boss.

"I look like a cross between Pollyanna and Dorothy," Barbara complained as she stepped on stage dressed in a frilly, swirling, yellow dress. She took one look at Tommy's bare chest and gasped. It was not the chest of fireman calendars; far from it. It was white and slightly pudgy with a downy covering of soft hairs but she wanted to run her hands over it, kiss it. She turned away to compose herself. She needed to say something very soon or she would go mad. She tried to pull her attention back to his words.

"You look nothing like my mother."

Barbara turned and started to laugh hysterically. Tommy had pulled his top half on. His purple bodysuit with the tail of a lion was rather endearing. She wanted to pat him or tickle him behind his long, floppy ears. Huge black whiskers were stuck on his face and wiggled when he spoke and that errant lock of hair was tumbling over his forehead. "What are you? A purple lion-rabbit?"

Tommy noted the tender look she gave him and the way her eyes lit up. He grinned at her. "It seems the local seamstress doesn't know rabbits have fluffy tails." He gathered up his tail and swished it about like a sword. "And I did say any colour but white."

They stood looking at each other and trying not to smirk. "Guaranteed laughs. That's what we wanted," he said.

"We'll get that alright! My tree is too tight."

They all turned to Stuart and burst into fits of belly-aching hysterics. "Is that a branch or are you just happy to see us?" Barbara teased.

Everyone except Stuart chuckled again at the unfortunately placed branch. Tommy was secretly pleased at Stuart's wardrobe malfunction. "Your trunk is on backwards. The branch is supposed to look like a tail not a...I can't even say it."

"Could I have a hand then?"

"No, I think perhaps it should stay there."

"Lynley, it's...painful. Barbara talk some sense into him!"

"We need a narrator Sir, I think we should help." She looked serious but Tommy could see the smile in her eyes.

Stuart stood still with his arms high in the air as the others twisted and pulled and unsuccessfully stifled giggles until the branch was near his rear. "Better?" Tommy asked.

"Much, thank you," Lafferty replied with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Just don't sit down," Winston said, "or you'll do yourself an injury."

Dorothy came wandering onto the stage. "Right," she said clapping her hands, "dress rehearsal."

As director she made them work hard, moving them to good positions on the stage, telling them when to ham it up and when to be serious. "We need more slapstick," she declared, "some fart jokes perhaps."

"Mother!" Lynley was embarrassed by his mother's turn of phrase.

"Oh loosen up Tommy, you take yourself far to seriously at times."

The others all looked at the ground trying hard to smother their amusement. Stuart coughed and Winston started to hum. Barbara felt for Tommy. He could be annoying at times but he did not deserve to be humiliated. She looked over at him and nodded. "Everybody farts, even the Queen as my Mum used to say. Good idea, I'm sure Stuart can work it in somewhere."

After another two hours Dorothy declared "I think you're ready. Have a break, the show starts in an hour."

Winston, Tommy and Barbara started to move off stage. "Oi! What about me?" Stuart called out.

"Should we?" Tommy asked Barbara.

She glanced over at Stuart who looked at her with pleading eyes. "Nah, he wouldn't do it for you." She winked at Tommy and they moved offstage.

"Lynley! Come back here."

With wide grins they snuck around behind Stuart. Tommy released a catch at the back and the tree opened. "What the?" Stuart said, "oh that's better. How did you? You mean all that twisting and pulling before and there was a latch?"

"Sorry Stuart, I couldn't resist."

"Hell is empty and all the devils are here!"

"Ah, Ariel then. Are you not my spirit servant?"

"Oh shut up lion-rabbit. I'm not in the mood." Even as he said it Stuart was laughing. "Haven't you got a meat carrot to eat or something?"

"Stuart!" Barbara and Tommy replied in unison. Lafferty shrugged and smirked at them. He wondered if they realised they were holding hands.