It was dark when Tommy pulled the car into the carpark beneath the apartment block. He was mildly disappointed as he had booked an apartment on a high floor with sweeping view of Surfers Paradise beach but he was pleased that they had spent extra time at the Big Banana. His passengers had chatted happily for an hour afterwards before they had slowly drifted off to sleep as he drove. He was tired too but strangely content. He had been able to look across at Barbara and imagine this was their family; that they were happily married with two well-adjusted, intelligent and funny children. It was not a scene he had ever imagined craving but he did. He wanted it more than anything but he knew it came with sacrifices. He and Barbara could not continue to risk their lives in the police. They could not go away on cases and leave their children. As he drove he wondered how to discuss it with her. He feared that faced with an ultimatum of career or him she might choose her career.

Barbara had rested her hand on his leg as he drove. When she had fallen sleep it had lolled precariously close to an area he found distracting. Her hand twitched periodically and Tommy groaned softly. It was torture - sweet torture. Tempted as he had been to move it exactly where he wanted it he had instead placed it carefully in her lap. The car was not the place for those types of thoughts. Now though as he guided the car into its spot for the night his thoughts were free to roam. Perhaps the kids would like to see a movie?

The apartment was more impressive than he imagined. Sweeping windows surrounded three sides of the living area giving them a view of the night lights of the famous holiday strip which had the sultry feel of Miami mixed with the buzz of Californian beaches. People thronged everywhere in the streets and the buildings were dressed in gaudy neon lights. The kids squabbled over the bedrooms, both preferring the one that looked across to the rooftop pool of another apartment block. Roo finally acquiesced and allowed Cat to have the room when he found the other had an ensuite. Roo had stayed in the bathroom to watch the street life below. "Are you okay in there?" Tommy called through the door.

"Yeah, you can sit on the loo and watch all the people in the street."

"Charming. Well don't get too comfortable, we need to eat."

Dinner was hurriedly eaten at a tourist restaurant that Roo chose. It theoretically offered authentic Australian cuisine. "There's nothing authentic about it," Cat said as she eyed the menu, "typical American food chains that try to establish a market and give our country a bad reputation for food while it appeals to American and Japanese tourists only interested in maximising the sugar and fat content."

"Uh-huh," Tommy agreed dismissively, "so will you have the Townsville Terror or the Rockhampton Rack?"

Cat sighed, resigned to her fate. "I'll have the ribs."

"Terror for me," Barbara said preparing her palate for a large, juicy steak.

Tommy and Roo fancied the lamb. "Two Jolly Jumbucks, one Rockhamption Rack and one Townsville Terror please," Tommy told the waitress.

"Do you want Tucker Bags with your Jumbucks?"

The kids started laughing at the bewildered look on Tommy's face. He ignored them. "Yes please." He had no idea what he had ordered.

"It's a line from Waltzin' Matilda," Roo explained, "you know 'who's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag? You'll come a waltzin' matilda with me'."

Tommy was confused but decided it was not information he needed to understand. "Right, I see. Very good. Now tomorrow we can drive up the coast or we can stay here and go to one of the theme parks then leave early the next day and drive all the way to Bowen. It's up to you."

The kids universally agreed on a theme park but it took another hour of wrangling to agree on which one. Barbara and Roo had fancied Wet'n'Wild but Tommy was not going to spend the day on waterslides. Cat wanted to go to Seaworld to see the dolphins which Roo proclaimed was lame. Roo suggested Dreamworld but they finally agreed on MovieWorld. "I've always fancied myself as an actor," Tommy boasted.

"Yeah right," Barbara scoffed.

"Off with her head!" Tommy roared and accidentally swept his glass of water off the table.

"Tommy!" his charges admonished in unison before everyone started laughing.

"Right, well if King Henry The Eighth here has settled down perhaps we can go home," Barbara quipped.

Tommy glanced at his watch. It was ten minutes before the movie started. "Do you fancy seeing the new Sherlock movie kids?"

Five minutes later they were all seated in the cinema. Barbara was smirking and trying not to laugh. Tommy leant over. "Sorry, it was not quite what I meant."

"I know and so do they. Roo did ask if we wanted to be alone."

"Well I could hardly say yes could I? Then they'd know that...well you know...what we were doing."

Barbara grinned until her face ached. He was so sweet when he was trying to be be correct and caring. It was an aspect of his character that she had seen in different guises but never as a parent. "You'll make a great dad one day," she said as she kissed him gently.

Tommy was jabbed in the ribs by Roo. "Shoosh! Stop pashin', the movie's about to start."

By the time they were eventually alone, with two exhausted children tucked safely in their beds, Tommy was tired. Despite that he took little convincing to share a shower with Barbara. It had a private window that looked down the coast. The lights of thousands of apartments were twinkling in the distance and at regular intervals light pooled across the sand of the beach. "I hope no one can see us," Barbara said huskily.

Tommy turned off the light. "Not a chance. I have you all to myself," he said as he kissed her and pushed her under the stream of water and against the cool glass of the window which started to steam up with the heat of their bodies.

Barbara regretted that they had not been adequately prepared but after a soapy prelude they rinsed and raced into the bedroom. The crisp, dry linen was soon soaked with water and sweat as they rolled around vigorously while trying to remain quiet. In the end they had made love very slowly, very gently and with barely a sound.

The next day sped past. Despite his reluctance Tommy had been persuaded to take all the rides and in the end had enjoyed it as much as Barbara and the youngsters. He marvelled at how relaxed he was; a sensation he had not felt for years. He had genuinely enjoyed the shows and the way everyone had laughed at his attempts to imitate Spiderman in front of the bluescreen. When it had been shown back with the background he had felt nauseous at the thought of dangling so far in the air, clearly not connected to the building. "As an actor I think I had better stick to being a copper," he whispered to Barbara who squeezed his hand tightly.

Barbara dreaded when they would return to work. They were both happy and carefree away from murderers and kidnappers. "Maybe just an aristocrat on your estate," she suggested hoping to sow a seed in his mind.

"I'd be too boring for you."

"Never," she said softly and moved closer to kiss him.

"They're at it again," Roo interrupted, "come on we can do that Terminator ride if we hurry."

That night as they lay in bed Tommy sensed Barbara was upset. "What's wrong?," he asked as he pulled her closer, "I didn't hurt you in the shower did I? I know I got a little carried away."

"No, nothing like that. I enjoyed it. I thought you'd've noticed."

Tommy kissed her. "Hmm, I did. So what's wrong?"

Barbara sat up. "I'm going to miss them."

"Me too."

"What if they're not happy?"

"Roo's grandmother will look after him Barbara and I think Cat will ensure she stays in his life. And we can stay in touch. Maybe we can have them all over to Howenstowe to stay sometime."

Barbara lay back in his arms. "That'd be nice. I could come down too. Kids deserve to be happy Tommy."

"They will be," he said with more certainty than he felt, "and yes, you will most certainly be there with me." Tommy did not want to discuss marriage right now. He had another idea in mind but he wanted her to know his intention. "Now go to sleep. We have to be up early."

The next day was a long drive through a variety of landscapes. They sped along the freeway past Brisbane and up into the lush green hinterland through undulating dairy country which gave way to the flatter floodplains that supported large sugar cane crops. Slowly the land became drier and cattle began to dot the paddocks. They stopped for lunch at a small cafe by the river at Rockhampton. The mood in the car had been fine but as they got closer to Bowen the tension had built up. Now Roo was quiet as they ate. He was almost sullen.

"Let's go for a walk before we get back in the car," Lynley suggested.

The foursome began to meander along the path by the river. Tommy signalled to Barbara who guided Cat down to the riverbank to look at the ducks. Tommy put his arm around Roo. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head but as they walked he began to sigh. "What if she doesn't want me either? I know I can be challengin' and she's never met me. What if I don't like her? And what if Pepperhill stops Cat seein' me? She's been my only friend. You don't know what it's like only havin' one person in your life who understands you."

Tommy knelt down and took Roo by the shoulders. "I do actually and I understand how isolating it is when you think you are alone in the world. But you're not Roo; Barbara and I care for you very much. Cat loves you and you were loved by your Mum and even Woods did what he did to keep you safe. Your grandmother loved your Mum and I'm sure she'll love you. You are not odd, you're simply an older head on a nine year old's body but you don't have to be an adult all the time Roo. You can lean on others."

Tommy watched the boy carefully. Roo was trying hard not to cry but when he looked up and saw Tommy smiling at him tears started to roll down his cheeks. Tommy pulled him close and held him tightly as the boy let all of the tension and worry of recent weeks go. He reached around and tightened his hands behind Tommy's neck and laid his head on his shoulder. It pulled painfully on the cuts but Tommy was not going to let him go.

Barbara watched on from a distance. Tommy was going to be a wonderful father one day. "It'll do him good," Cat said, "he's a tough little bugger but he can't be strong forever."

"He's a good kid," Barbara agreed, "I hope he'll be happy."

Tommy waited until Roo had cried himself out then he pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and let him blow his nose. "Better?"

"Yeah," Roo said, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You're going to be fine Roo but you've been through a lot. Give yourself time. Come on, let's go and check that Barbara hasn't terrorised all the ducks."

As the late afternoon sun streamed into the car Tommy noticed that the kids had fallen asleep. They had just passed Mackay in the shadows of high green hills that seemed in stark contrast to the drier brown paddocks to the south.

"Are you getting tired?" Barbara asked.

"Yes but I knew it would be a long day. I wanted them to enjoy yesterday. I think I made the right choice."

"You did. You're a good man Lord Asherton."

Tommy grinned at her. He was tempted to tell her that she would be a perfect countess but he knew it was not the place. "Thank you Barbara."

Tommy turned on his lights early. He was aware that dusk was the most dangerous time. They had seen a few dead animals on the side of the road. The last thing he wanted was to hit something, especially a kangaroo. He stopped for petrol at Proserpine and checked the distance to Bowen. "About an hour," he told Barbara as he climbed back into the vehicle. He saw her worried look. They were both nervous about what might happen.

It was nearly seven when Tommy turned off the highway and began to search for the address written on the piece of paper Barbara held. Bowen was a dry, dusty town with wide streets laid out in a large grid. Highset timber houses lined the streets and Tommy was sure they had driven past one at least twice. The kids were awake but silent. "There," Barbara said, "Hay Street."

Tommy drove slowly. There was a light outside a house a block further on. He instinctively knew that was the house. He pulled up out the front and saw the big screen door swing open. A tall, rotund lady raced out and waited anxiously at the gate. Roo and Cat climbed cautiously from the car.

"Rufus! Catriona! Oh how wonderful," the woman cried as she rushed over and enfolded them in her arms.

Tears streamed down her face and Tommy noticed Barbara knuckling away tears of her own. He handed her his second handkerchief and put his arm around her shoulder. He glanced at the door and smiled. "Look Barbara."

Barbara followed his gaze. "Well I'll be!"

The woman introduced herself in between wracking sobs and generous hugs, "Christine Murphy."

"Tommy Lynley and my partner Barbara Havers."

"Thank you. Thank you so much. This is wonderful."

"Our pleasure," Tommy assured her.

"Dad!" Cat cried as she looked over and saw her father.

"Hi love. Nice trip?"

Roo looked over and frowned then turned and looked at Tommy who shrugged. Pepperhill came over towards Roo and knelt down in front of him. "Rufus, I wanted to talk to you. I loved you mother very much and it broke my heart when she left me. I blamed you but it wasn't your fault. It would have happened anyway. We were good together but we tore each other apart. I can't explain but one day you might understand."

Tommy could tell Roo had no real concept of what his father was saying. The boy grunted non-commitally.

"I know you were being sarcastic but when you called me Dad I couldn't get it out of my head. I realised that I am your father and that I want to get to know you. Catriona says you are smart and funny but that you have grown up so fast you have missed being a kid. A lot of that's my fault but

I want to try and make it up to you. Christine has agreed to move back to Sydney so we can spend time together. I know you won't understand but a parent has no choice, they love their kids. I know I have to work to earn your respect son but I want to try. I want us to be a family, as much as we can and maybe one day you'll start to like me enough..."

Roo was more forgiving than Tommy was capable of being. The boy hugged his father as he had Tommy and Pepperhill wrapped his arms around him and wept on the boy's shoulder. Cat hugged them both and Christine hovered over all of them.

"That kid puts me to shame," Tommy whispered to Barbara.

"He puts us all to shame."

Christine ushered everyone inside and after a cup of tea and some chocolate cake Tommy thanked her and bade farewell. Originally he had intended to come back in the morning and check on the kids but with Pepperhill there he decided a clean break would be better. It was another half hour before everybody had said goodbye and hugged each other senseless. Tommy had warned Pepperhill that he would regret it if he ever hurt Roo but he sensed the man was genuine.

He gave Roo a hearty handshake and passed him a business card with his contact details. The boy was clearly proud that Tommy was treating him with respect as a man and not fussing like Barbara. "I expect you to write," he told him, "and if you still want to go to Oxford I will stand as referee for Exeter."

"Thank you Tommy," the boy said seriously, "you were a very worthy adversary for a while. I will miss our games."

"I won't because I know you're safe. Take care Roo."

As they pulled away Barbara waved until they were out of sight. "I miss them already. Where are we staying by the way?"

"Here tonight then we'll head down the coast tomorrow."

"Can we take a few days this time? I need a break and it's like driving from London to Moscow."

"I've arranged for us to have some time off," he replied nonchalantly, "everything is in hand."

"Meaning?"

"We are finally going to be alone, no case, no kids, no Hillier. Just you and me for a week."

"Where?"

"That, my love, is a surprise for tomorrow."