Heading waaay back in time now to Series 1. And reigning the tone in a bit ;)

'You owe me.'

'What? I owe you?'

'Yeah.'

'How d'you work that one out then Sherlock?'

Janet's and Rachel's voices carried over the top of the stalls in the station toilets, echoing slightly off the tiled walls as they called back and forth. Janet flushed the toilet as she fired her question so Rachel waited till she had caught up with her at the sinks a few moments later, before answering.

'For this drink. Meeting this Geoff Hastings.' Rachel nodded to give emphasis to her point. Janet gave her the unimpressed face.

'And what about earlier? Me bearding the lion in her den - office. Putting my neck on the line for your crackpot theory. Hey?

'Maybe not so crackpot. Boss is buying it.' Rachel smirked. 'And you're the golden girl for bringing it to her attention.' Rachel's eyes opened wide in mock "realisation moment". 'So that's another one you owe me for!'

'Piss off' Janet grinned at her friend. 'You're soft in the head, you know that?'

'Yeah, well, you still love me, so I must be all right.' Rachel shot Janet a sly look in the mirror as she dried her hands. There had been more of those looks lately, Janet had noticed. She had noticed too, the way their conversations would take a flirtatious turn, every now and then. Just a little at a time, the banter taking on an edge or a warmth. She had started to look forward to it, although she would barely admit that, even to herself.

'Ooh and modest too' mocked Janet. They caught each others' eyes then and shared a chuckle. It was good to let off steam.

'Seriously though,' Rachel leaned back against the sink. She looked across at the row of toilet doors, avoiding Janet's gaze while she collected herself. She had been looking for an opening to say this for a while but kept chickening out. Rachel was used to opening her mouth, not her heart. But Janet deserved more.

'Seriously,' she took a deep breath, 'I owe you so much.' There, got it out.

The worst bit over, she found she wanted to say more, and Janet seemed to be gobsmacked into silence by this sudden change of tone. So she continued, in a rush, before she bottled it.

'These last few months. I've learnt a lot. And, I couldn't have done it without you. I couldn't have coped.' She looked round then, met Janet's eyes again. All of her uncertainty and pain and loneliness and damage and vulnerability and neediness and fear exposed.

'You are THE best mate.' She tried to weigh everything she meant, everything she felt, all those things she couldn't even begin to say out loud, into those few words.

'Rach,' Janet's face was very soft. She cast about for words to reply, but only managed, 'I don't know what to say.' Honest as always.

'I know I can be a bit of a twat sometimes,' Rachel couldn't help but let her eyes flicker to Janet's lips, 'but I am trying.' She shrugged, offering herself. 'You keep me in line. I mean, it's a good thing.'

Janet caught the flicker and felt her pulse skip. I might not be the best person to keep you in line right now. The thought flashed across her mind before she could control it. She had tried not to think about their kiss, that night on her sofa. Tried so hard in fact that thoughts of it had started randomly cropping up at unguarded moments, ambushing her. It was always so inappropriate. She didn't need to get hot blushes in the middle of a team briefing, or to be distracted when driving through Manchester city centre at rush hour, or to find memories of Rachel's lips interrupting a row with Ade. It was all too disconcerting. So Janet had made a pact with her subconscious. She would let herself think about the kiss, certain times only, and it would not interfere with the rest of her life. She wasn't going to have it ruining what was probably now the best friendship she had either.

It's all about control, she told herself.

'I'm sorry.' Rachel was obviously going all out. But that was her, all or nothing and no stopping her once she got started. Janet noticed Rachel's focus drift around her face and come to rest on her lips again. She felt a warmth, one that was growing familiar, spread through her. Rachel opened her mouth again, groped for the words.

'Don't.' It came out hard. Janet could have bit her tongue. She did bite her mouth shut sharply. She didn't dare hear what Rachel was going to say next. Rachel's face froze. Everything about her froze. Janet knew she had to do something fast, before her friend shut down completely and just walked out.

'Rachel,' she made her voice oh so soft, coaxing the deep dark eyes back to her own, drawing her body round to face her.

Janet touched her hand to Rachel's cheek. She knew what she wanted at that exact moment in time. She knew she didn't want to hurt her friend. She knew she did not want to lose her. She knew she cared for this woman more than almost anyone other than her kids. She knew what she wanted to do, right then. She knew that afterwards was something that she could take care of. It was all about control.

Janet cupped her hand around Rachel's jawline and half drew her, half leaned in, to touch her lips to Rachel's.

Rachel felt her senses heighten. She could feel every minute fissure in Janet's lips, was aware of the loud rustling of their clothing as they moved together, she could almost separate out all the different smells that made up Janet-scent, could almost feel her fingerprints pressing into her skin.

This was not how this scene had gone, in Rachel's planning. In her imagination, she had said her piece, apologised, made her excuses, and Janet had given her a pat on the head and a kick up the arse and everything had carried on as normal. Rachel's head version had been reassuringly mundane. Of course, there was her imaginative version of the other part of this scene, the part they were engaged in at the moment. The part she wasn't supposed to think about... but... well... no one could know, it was just a little harmless fantasy. But she had never worked out in her head how they got to the kissing. Her brain always leapt straight into the middle of it. It just seemed so impossible, to connect it to real life. It still seemed impossible, actually, even as it was happening.

They took it slow this time. Exploring. Neither one wanting to take the lead. Savouring.

They didn't so much break apart as mutually slow to a standstill, still leaning into each other. Breathing each other's breath. Janet felt, rather than saw that Rachel was about to speak and beat her to it.

'Don't,' very soft this time. Very close. Janet's eyes only just far enough away that Rachel could focus on them. She got it now. She could hear the whisper of words behind those eyes, words that Janet clearly didn't want to say out loud.

Don't

Don't say it

I don't want to talk about it

But it's ok

Rachel nodded. Closed her eyes. Found Janet kissing her again.

She could live with that.

'We... umm... we had better get going,' Rachel murmured, breaking the kiss after a few more seconds. Or so - she hadn't been counting. But she was eager to demonstrate that she got the point Janet was making, that she agreed to what Janet was asking of her.

Janet noticed and appreciated the effort. She smiled at Rachel, still holding her close.

'Yeah,' she breathed, 'in a minute.'

And she waited, blinking, leaving the invitation open.

Rachel took a moment to work it out, then her face split into a slow grin. Every good girl deserves... She touched a hand to Janet's cheek, echoing her friend's earlier gesture, traced a fingertip around Janet's lips. Rachel didn't know if this was ever going to happen again. It was a little scary, actually, to find herself in such an impossible situation. All boundaries shaken, all rules thrown out the window. One arm was around Janet's waist, holding her loosely, comfortably. The smaller woman's head was tilted slightly back to look up at her. Open. Just a little expectant. Really, what with one thing and another, today was turning out to be amazing.

As Rachel lowered her head, Janet let her eyes close. Their lips brushed together gently, then deeper. There was something strangely familiar in this, Janet thought. She wrapped her arms around Rachel's back. It wasn't awkward, or weird or clumsy. She opened her mouth a little more. It was like continuing their conversation. Even the taste of Rachel seemed familiar.

Rachel had forgotten how Janet tasted. Truth be told, that first kiss she hadn't noticed, hadn't had time and was so busy panicking that she hadn't remembered to notice things. She was now though. All her senses working overtime – sight, sound, smell, touch. Taste. It was a heady sensation.

That was the moment she knew she had to stop. Just a snog between friends. That was the new boundary. The unspoken agreement.

Janet felt it too. Control. All about control, she reminded herself. They broke away from each other, quickly this time, putting space between their bodies. Like ripping off a plaster. Rachel tweaked at her hair and Janet examined her appearance in the mirror minutely.

'You're right mate,' Janet spoke first. 'We had better get a move on. Andy'll be thinking we got kidnapped or something.'

Rachel's gaze slid across the mirror to meet her eyes. Time to move on. She snapped back into work mode, jumping on the other thing that had made her day.

'So tell me what her Majesty said. What's next?'

Janet grinned. There was something delicious about that question. She finally had a sense that things were moving, gaining momentum. She didn't have all the answers yet, with the case or with her private life, but she had a gut feeling that things were on their way to being resolved. A felt a confidence deep inside herself that when a question arose, or a decision had to made, or something had to be spotted, she would know the right thing to do. It wasn't that she thought she was psychic or something, she knew it was about experience - knowing her job, knowing people. She could recognise patterns without even trying, without having to break it down into logical steps. So that it looked, and sometimes even felt, like a great leap. But there was a deep understanding there, backing it up. What's next? Rachel was still eyeing her – buzzing.

Janet slipped her arm through Rach's and began...