2004-2006 and beyond...
Laura Hobson wasn't one for moping. She woke up the next morning, threw open the curtains and let the sun stream in her room. Time to move on, ready or not. To hell with all of them- Franco Wagenbauer, Robbie Lewis- she didn't need a man. She had wonderful friends, a fulfilling job, and plenty of social activities…
Laura didn't realize it at the time, but this was the first instance of a pattern that would repeat itself over the years. For Robbie Lewis would return to Oxford one day, wandering back into her life wearing a garish floral shirt. She would brush past him pretending that she hadn't thought of him as often as she had. In truth, Laura would fall for him again and again, each time coming to the realization that he would never be over Val.
Laura and Robbie would kindle a solid friendship though; she would counsel him and protect him whenever she could. She would even try to shield him from seeing McLennan's murdered corpse when his former sergeant's devious ways led to her undoing.
But their relationship would remain platonic; Laura would lose faith and date other men. She would even go back to Franco once- and be caught by Lewis' future sergeant! No suitor could measure up to Robbie Lewis in her eyes, though. Thus what was meant to be an ardent passion would remain a smoldering frustration for far too long.
After her experience with Franco, Laura thought that marriage and family were forever beyond her grasp. She never thought she'd see the day when she'd be willing to leave Oxford for a man. Yet that is exactly what happened. One day many years in the future, when Laura would at last retire from her job, she would sell the house in Oxford to be closer to her husband's grandkids in Manchester.
Robbie Lewis had long since retired himself, letting go of his first wife's ghost along with the job. He wrote a new chapter in his life about being a granddad to a brood of bairns and a devoted boyfriend to Laura who continued to work. And despite burning her supper and snoring too loudly, he somehow convinced her to marry him. 'Somehow?' After so many years and all they'd been through, Laura didn't actually need that much convincing. Those who have loved and lost are bound to love again.