"All finished?"

Jill jumped as her husband sidled up beside her, wrapping a firm around her waist and pulling her to him. She stepped away from him, shooting him a look which told him he should know better. He merely grinned in response as he watched her straighten her blouse and glance around reception, making sure no one had seen. "Yes, I am." She finally replied, with deliberate professionalism, both as a way to chide him for his show of affection, and for Lizzie's benefit who had witnessed the exchange.

"Good." He held out his hand to her, which she took, leading her out of reception, wishing Lizzie goodnight on the way. It was funny, holding hands was something she didn't mind, neither was a kiss to the cheek, everything else was too much for the prying eyes of the hospital. Gordon knew all this of course, but just occasionally, he liked to overstep the mark, just to see how she'd react.

She took a step towards the car park, but he tugged her in the opposite direction. "It's a nice evening, let's walk."

She nodded, tightening her hold on his hand, and moving closer to him, curling the fingers of her free hand round his wrist.

He was right, it was a lovely night; the sky was clear, the area still bathed in sunlight, but not so intense to be uncomfortable. The wind was gentle, refreshing. She broke her contact from Gordon briefly to free her hair from its ponytail, allowing the breeze to lift a few strands. Gordon paused, placing a kiss to the top of her head, before sliding an arm around her waist. This time she didn't pull away.

She was glad he'd suggested a walk. The weather made it pleasurable, but most of all they were allowed peaceful time together. The previous weeks had been busy; late nights, early mornings. And then of course there had been the fake policeman and his lies, and her subsequent reaction. Now, they could stroll leisurely, chatting or in comfortable silence. They stopped at a fish and chip shop, then made their way down to the beach, sitting on the sand in front of the sea wall, eating from their newspaper packages.

"I'm not sure how good this is for our health." Jill mused, holding up her empty newspaper. "I hate to think of the chemicals they use in the ink. And then all that grease and salt..."

"Lovely Jill." He said sarcastically, plucking the paper from her fingers, standing up and making the short journey to the bin before returning. He settled once more beside her, encasing her in his arms, in a much needed hug. For all the peacefulness, she was still nervous, always on guard, her eyes darting around, looking for anything unusual or suspicious.

They proceeded into a soft conversation, swapping stories of their day; Gordon for once having more hypochondriacs than her, followed by his only house call of this day. Jill told him of the appendectomy she'd performed, and related a conversation she'd had with Jeff about one of the new nurses, both coming to the conclusion he was definitely smitten.

They then lapsed into silence, both content to watch the sea gradually change from a blue hue to glow with the orange of the setting sun. But Jill was still warily glancing around, taking in every figure her gaze fell upon, just in case.