Help Me

Will wonders never cease - I found a little bit of a plot.

It had been weeks since he'd done more than see her in passing. They'd had two cases together in that time. With each of them, she'd changed the PM time at the last minute meaning he couldn't attend. Her case notes had been delivered by one of her attendants.

He'd called her a few times, asking her to dinner or for drinks. Each of those had gone unanswered, straight to voice mail. He'd ignored James' smirk when he said it went straight to voicemail. No doubt, there was some reason for that. It hadn't been worth the teasing to ask the reason.

The call from Lyn had him rethinking a lot of things in his life. Chief among them was Laura. When Lyn had suggested he retire, move up north, his first thought hadn't been of his daughter or even his future grandchild, it had been of Laura. The idea of most likely never seeing her again.

So here he was, stood outside the morgue, waiting for her. A few people came out and he grabbed a flyer to make it look like he wasn't just loitering there. Then he saw her.

For a flash there was a look of something he couldn't place in her expression. She paused for a beat, looking at him, "I won't have the toxicology results yet."

He was confused, wondered why she thought he would be here at this time of day, waiting, about work. "No, I was just wondering if you fancied a bite to eat, on the off chance."

Again, the mystery expression crossed her face. She shook her head, seeming somehow sad, "Oh, sorry, I'm booked."

He realized he was genuinely sad. He missed her, spending time with her, talking with her, knowing she was there. Not wanting her to see his sudden sadness, he shrugged, "Ah, never mind." He looked down at the flyer in his hand.

"Did you want to talk?"

He nodded, "It'll keep."

She took the flyer from him, reading it with a smirk, "How to donate a body for medical research."

He rolled his eyes, "I just picked it up in reception. Our Lyn is on me to sort out my will. Her partner being a financial advisor."

They walked towards the door, "Some cultures believe you can't enter heaven without all your bits intact."

He opened the door and let her go through, "Some of us don't believe in heaven."

Laura stopped outside the door, "You know who asked me about donating their body? Morse. I told him he should help the living and consider donating his organs instead. He said he wouldn't inflict his organs on anyone." They shared a laugh.

Robbie looked away and sighed. "All those years, still things change, don't they? Walk you to your car at least." He held out his arm and his heart beat just a bit faster when she took it.

He dropped her at her car. As she drove away, he smiled to himself. Did she have any idea how much he admired her? How much he cared for her? No matter what he did or said to her, she was always there for him. Her patience seemed to have no bounds, at least where he was concerned. No matter what he was going through, she always helped him. And she never expected anything in return.

He didn't just want to tell her about the baby. He needed to tell her everything he should have told her at dinner that night. Closing his eyes, he shook his head as memories of that night flickered through his mind. He'd treated her so badly. Practically grunting at her after he'd been the one to invite her.

She'd tried so hard to distract him. The harder she'd tried the more he'd spiraled away from her. His invite had been to tell her he was sorry. Sorry for having been so gruff during the case, sorry for having kissed Alison, sorry for implying there might have been something between him and Alison. The only person he ever wanted to have anything with was Laura.

It was time he let her know. Time he told her how much she meant to him, how much she helped him. Pulling his mobile from his pocket, he texted her. "Meet me tomorrow. I want to share something with you." He paused for a moment then typed more, "I miss you. I miss everything about you. Please."

You're always so patient, you're always so kind
And I've got this fiery temper always falling out on love
Lord, I say just what I think and you wanna think things out
Baby, you stand on your own, while I run with the crowd

What's it like to be so strong? Help me
I'm just barely hanging on, help me
Lord, I wanna do this right, help me

I'm getting tired of being the way I've always been
But baby, the way you love me makes me wanna try again
You see all the good in me and honey, I see all the bad
You keep talking about the future like you've never seen my past

Trisha Yearwood - Help Me