"Tommy?"

A hand squeezed hers. "Barbara! Thank goodness you're awake."

"I... you... you were frozen." She tried to struggle up but her head hurt so she sank back into her pillow.

He laughed softly. "I thawed out. I'm fine."

"Your shoulder."

"They operated a couple of days ago. I'm trussed up like a Christmas Turkey but it will heal."

"A couple of days? But... we were just on the beach... there was a big, handsome Dane..."

"Handsome? They didn't tell me that. You collapsed. You have concussion. Severe concussion. You have been unconscious for four days."

"Four days?" Barbara looked around. She was attached to monitors. The room was unfamiliar, but pleasant. She could see the icebergs and ocean through a large window beyond the foot of her bed. "Where are you?"

Tommy frowned. "Here. I'm right here, Barbara."

"Where are you staying?"

Tommy smiled and pointed. "The next bed. Once I came around, I refused to let you out of my sight. They had to treat me in here."

"In a big warm bath?"

He shook his head. "Nothing so luxurious I'm sorry to say. Just between you and me, the nurse is rather rough with her bed baths. No, they are used to hypothermia here. They wrapped me in space blankets then hooked me up to a dialysis machine for hours with the lines running through a tub of warm water to heat my blood. I'll lose some skin on my fingers and feet, but no lasting damage."

Barbara suddenly lurched forward. "Wyatt. And Madison. Did they capture them?"

"Easy. Lie back. That's it. The Danes sent Wyatt to Copenhagen for interrogation. The CIA wants him, but the Danes have refused. I think MI6 are involved too. Madison was killed on the beach. Kati saw her shadow approaching with a gun drawn, so had no hesitation in shooting her. Kati was airlifted to Berlin for treatment, but the doctors told me they saved her leg."

"I'm glad. Do we know who Wyatt was working for?"

"I doubt we will be on the need-to-know list."

"Why not? We are the ones that nearly died saving the world."

"True, when you put it like that."

She shook his hand rather violently. "Why did you dive off the boat like that?"

"I didn't think I had a choice. If one canister of that stuff could have killed millions, I had to destroy it."

"You scared me half to death."

"I was worried if we released it under the surface, some would escape, and you'd die, or we'd wipe out Ilulissat. I couldn't take that risk."

"You nearly died, Tommy. Our instructions were not to be foolhardy."

Tommy squeezed her hand hard and nodded. He looked serious before a wry smile curled his mouth. "Says the woman who drives damaged zodiacs at top speed through a field of ice and tries to outrun Navy SEALs."

"I didn't know they were SEALs did I? I thought they might have been off that sub. Did they find it?"

"I'm told it suffered a catastrophic failure of the Greenland coast."

"A catastrophic failure?" She frowned. "Missile induced?"

"I would expect so. The Americans were apparently quite upset that the Brits and Danes refused to allow them to blow us out of water. So maybe they were happy to target the sub."

She smiled. "I'm very glad they didn't fire on us."

"So am I. And thank you."

Barbara blushed. "For what?"

"Saving me."

"I had help from a whale. Don't look at me like that. It pushed you to the surface and helped me get you on the rib."

"Right." Tommy patted her hand. "Well, thank you all the same. The doctor said putting me in that suit and keeping me off the deck probably made the difference."

"How's everything... down there?"

Tommy raised his eyebrows. "Er, seems fine. Why? We can't... Not here, and not until you get the all clear. But I appreciate your offer."

Barbara felt her face flush with colour. "It wasn't an offer, but when I took your clothes off your whale... was more of a seal pup. I was... worried it might have... been damaged."

Tommy laughed. "Would you like to inspect him to make sure?"

"Tommy! We're in hospital. They probably have CCTV on us or something."

"In downtown Ilulissat? I doubt it. Well then, you will just have to take my word for it until we are alone."

"When are we going home?"

Tommy chuckled again. "That keen to test him out? You can't fly for at least two weeks."

"Two weeks?"

"The Doctor said at least that if you woke up today."

Barbara's head fell back into her pillow. "I don't want to stay in hospital for two weeks."

"I have taken care of that."

"How?" Tommy kissed her hand. "You'll see."

"Like it?"

"It's wonderful." Barbara looked around the room. Set on the outskirts of town, their private house sat atop a cliff that overlooked the ice. In the quaint style local style, it's cornflower blue exterior had the classic white trim. A little verandah looked over the town.

"Wait until you see the inside." She smiled to see him so excited.

"This is the living room."

The house's facade defied its interior. The walls and ceiling were lined with oiled timber that gave off a soft scent of pine. It seemed to be one open-planned room with a small but functional timber kitchen in one corner adjacent to an intimate dining nook built into the wall. Opposite was a large stone fireplace. In front of the fire was a soft leather couch. Barbara though could not draw her eyes from the window. Really, it was more of a wall of glass than a window. She wandered over to look. To the north, a peninsula of rock covered in scattered yellow and purple wildflowers jutted towards the distant Disco Island. To the south, the colourful town spilled over the rocks like a crazy patchwork quilt. Between them, the bight spread forever; the deep blue broken by blocks of ice that shone like crystals in the sunlight.

Barbara grinned at Tommy. "It's perfect. I'm glad we have to stay now."

"Wait until you see the bedroom. Come on."

Tommy opened the door into another world. The entire roof, coming halfway down the walls, was a dome of thick glass broken into large triangular panels that framed different views. "It's very private," Tommy said as if trying to reassure her. "No one can see in, it's one-way glass."

"So..."

He grinned at her. "So we can walk around naked the entire time if we want to."

"Handy to know. Is the lounge room glass the same?"

Tommy frowned. "I forgot to ask. I can ring the manager if you like."

She shook her head. "No, we can try it tonight."

Tommy came up behind her and put his good arm over her shoulder before giving her neck as gentle kiss. "You fancy wandering around naked do you?"

His voice was velvety and seductive. Barbara shivered. "I meant you can go out there and check. I wasn't planning to take my clothes off before then."

"Really? That's a pity." His breath tickled her neck.

Barbara looked around the room. The sun shone directly onto a large bed covered in thick furs. Barbara laughed then lifted them up.

"Hmm, you are keen."

"No... but I remember what you said. I am just checking it's a real bed and not an iceberg."

He laughed. "It's real. My iceberg fantasies have gone now. After the other day, I am happy to admire them from afar."

Barbara turned and threaded her hands around his waist. "And what about me?"

Tommy stepped closer. "You? I will admire you from very close range."

"Good."

They had exchanged a few brief kisses in the hospital, but knowing it could go no further; they had been restrained. With no restrictions, their kiss was fiery. Tommy's good arm held her close. She began to tug at his shirt, pulling it free of his jeans.

He broke the kiss. "Barbara, we need to get married right away."

"Now?"

"Not immediately. But today, tomorrow. I need you to be my wife."

Barbara leant back and frowned at his sudden change of mood. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just... when I died my only regret was that we weren't married and that our two children never lived."

"Died? Two children? Tommy, I'm the one with the concussion. You're making no sense."

"The doctors said I had died. They could tell from my ECG. You brought me back, Barbara. It has to be for a reason, and... I had a vision of us with two little boys. I want to marry you, resign from the Met and be happy." Tommy buried his face in her shoulder. His arm caressed her back.

With her hands on either side of his face, she pulled his head up so she could look at him. "Oh, Tommy. I'm so sorry. That must have been scary to learn. I didn't ever think you were dead. You just needed help to breathe. I love you. More than anything. Of course, I will marry you, but I had already told you that."

Tommy's eyes were brimming with tears and happiness. "I know, but that was abstract. I want to make it a reality, and... I have a confession."

Barbara froze. His voice had an ominous edge, and he looked concerned. "Tommy?"

"When they were trying to work out what drugs to give you, the doctor asked if you might be pregnant. I said it was possible, so the doctor did a blood test. I was going to let you discover it yourself, but I can't keep it in. We are going to have a little Lynley."

Barbara sat on the edge of the bed. "Oh."

"You're disappointed."

She looked up and smiled and took his hand. "No. No, I'm not. I'm... delighted, but after what happened, it's so early. What if... something happens?"

"It won't." He sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. "Don't ask me how I know, but I do. When Helen was pregnant, it never seemed real. I never believed I was going to be a father. This time it's different. And, if I'm wrong, then it will happen in the future. I don't want you worrying about it."

"What are we going to tell Hillier and Winston?"

"The truth. We saved the world, found each other and are going to disappear into the distance and live happily ever after. After we go via Denmark for our award dinner."

"Denmark? Awards?"

"The Danes are honouring us. I haven't shown you the news yet, but we have been on the front page for a few days." Tommy pulled out his iPad. "They unloaded our luggage from the ship. Here, look."

"Oh, great." She read the article. "Long-term partners Superintendent Thomas Lynley and Detective Inspector Barbara Havers... who according to Assistant Commissioner Hillier are engaged to be married... How did he know?"

Tommy winced. "I told him when he rang. I also told him we intended to resign." He screwed up his face in a mea culpa pose. "With immediate effect."

"Tommy!"

"I thought we were. I was still cold and worried about you. I wanted to get rid of him and his supercilious praise."

"I'm unconscious for four days and look what happens. I wake up to find I have no job, the Danes are going to hold some slap-up dinner for us, and I'm pregnant. Do you have any more 'surprises' for me?"

"No, that's it. Except that they are probably going to award us with something at home too, but I don't have any details. Are you angry?

She sighed. "No. No, I'm not angry. I guess it is better to be in the open. It's just a lot to take in. My head is aching again."

"Here, lie down. Can I get you water or something?"

Barbara reached up and stroked his face. His face shone with open adoration. She had seen those eyes before too, on many occasions. Now his face matched them. She smiled at him. "No, just you. I only need you."

Tommy joined her on the bed and snuggled her against him. "That's good, Havers because I am nothing without you."

She slid her hand under his shirt. "Then Sir, you had better prove it."

"With pleasure." Tommy grinned then kissed her.