Chapter 6

I am going to play with the timeline just a bit. The first part of this chapter will pick up on the same night where we left our couple. Then we will have a wee gap before we resume. Enjoy!

Laura dropped to the ground as tears fell down her face, "I'm in love with someone else."

Franco held his breath. He'd known there was someone else from their first date a week ago. He'd hoped that when she continued to go out with him it might be something that had recently ended. For a brief moment, he'd thought it might be the younger man they had seen at the restaurant on their first date. Laura had been so distracted by seeing him. He hoped it was him and not someone else. Youth he could battle, someone older, more substantial might mean he didn't stand a chance.

Moving slowly he lowered himself to the ground and scooted closer to Laura. "Laura, do you want to talk about it?"

She raised her head to look at him. Tears were streaming down her face, "What's to talk about?" She wiped the tears away shaking her head, "It's not fair to you."

He gently took her hand and pulled her to him. Wrapping his arms around her he could feel her stiffness, "Laura, I'm your friend, you can talk to me about anything."

Shaking her head she slowly relaxed into his warmth. Her arms wrapped around him as she molded her body to his, "It's not fair to you. I care too much about you to drag you in this"

Franco breathed in slowly as he kissed the top of her head, "We've known each other far too long to censor what we say to one another. If I didn't think I could handle it I wouldn't offer." He closed his eyes saying a quick prayer that she would talk to him. He wouldn't know what he was facing until he then and he planned to fight for her.

They sat entwined on the floor for a long time. Franco rubbed soft circles on her back and occasionally kissed her hair tenderly. He was almost certain that she'd fallen asleep when he heard her whisper, "He's someone from work."

His heart seized as he struggled to control his breathing. Laura was entirely too astute to give himself away through physical changes. He forced a laugh, "The young man from the restaurant?"

The laughter that bubbled up from her worried him, "Hathaway?" She looked up at him and smiled before stroking his cheek, "No, Hathaway would never stand a chance against you."

He leaned into her hand as his heart broke, "Tell me."

Nodding, she took a deep breath and told him the entire, long story. By the end he knew he never stood a chance. He stood and offered her his hand, pulling her easily to her feet. He turned and led her gently to the bedroom of his suite. She pulled back on his hand and he smiled at her, "Laura, I am putting you to bed because I don't want you driving or spending the night alone. I will sleep on the sofa in the outer room." She nodded realizing that she didn't want to be alone. Once in the bedroom he opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a t-shirt that he handed to her before nodding to the bathroom, "There's a lovely bath in there if you're interested."

Smiling she took the shirt from him, "I feel guilty taking your bed. There's plenty of room, we could share."

He took a cautious step towards her, cupping her face in his hand before kissing her on the forehead, "Laura, I would love to share a bed with you but if it ever happens again, it won't be to sleep."

Laura looked up at him sharply, a flicker of desire running through her. She spared a brief thought thinking if that had been there half an hour earlier she might not be in this predicament, "I wish I could. You have no idea how much I wish I could throw caution to the wind."

He laughed, "If you could, you wouldn't be the woman I love." Turning her he gave her a gentle push towards the bathroom, "Get some rest Dr. Hobson. We will continue this talk in the morning."

Laura emerged from the bedroom the next morning to the delicious smell of a full breakfast and coffee. Franco looked up as the doors opened. He smiled at her, "Guten Morgen meine schöne Dame. Das Frühstück wird serviert."

Laura laughed as she took a seat across from him, "Danke meine Liebe."

They laughed and set about eating in companionable silence. As they sat back in their chairs, Franco took a sip of his coffee and smiled at Laura, "Are you ready for my take on this?" Laura took a deep breath and nodded, "First I have to ask do you think he loves you?"

Laura thought for a moment before shrugging, "I think he might but he's not ready to acknowledge it."

"Does he know you love him?"

She shook her head, "No, I didn't know myself until last night, until I kissed you." She reach across the table and took his hand, "I'm so sorry."

He squeezed her hand, "No need, all I want is to see you happy. Can I assume you don't want to continue in this purgatory that you exist in now?"

She rolled her eyes, "What do you think?"

He laughed, "I just wanted to make sure that you were certain."

She bit her lower lip as she took a deep breath, "So what do I do?"

"You take control." At her skeptical look he laughed, "Don't give me that look Laura Hobson. I know that you are perfectly capable of taking charge." He leaned toward her and whispered in her ear, "Need I remind you how you charged in here last night."

Laura blushed at the thought, "Your recommendation is that I bang on his door pull him to me and kiss him."

Franco's laughter filled the room, "Well, my love, it would have worked on me last night. However, I think your Inspector might need something more subtle." She raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, "Get him on your territory, tell him what you expect, set your ground rules."

"And if he runs?"

Franco stood and pulled her to him, "Then you know where you stand." She nodded understanding his meaning, "And, Laura, if that happens, I expect a phone call because I will be all too happy to pick up the pieces. Unlike the Inspector, Laura, I know exactly what I want." He lowered his head and kissed her tenderly, as he felt her relax into the kiss he deepened it.

Laura was breathless when Franco finally pulled away, she looked up at him wishing that she could choose him. She stroked her hand over his cheek, "That wasn't fair."

He pressed his forehead to hers, "I offered my help, I never promised to be fair."

Smiling up at him Laura pushed up to kiss his cheek, "And what is it that I am supposed to do until I get him on my territory?"

"Easy, just be you, how could anyone possibly resist Dr. Laura Hobson?"

Laura didn't have long to wait to put Franco's plan in motion. Two days later, she had a call out with Robbie. As she arrived at the home of the deceased she looked around for him. As she put on her scene suit she didn't see him or his car. She took one last look around before heading for the house. She could do this, be herself.

Robbie arrived at the scene and immediately saw Laura's car. He sat in his for a moment trying to collect himself. He hadn't seen her since the night they kissed. She had turned the tables on him with her kiss. Truth was she had turned him on end with that kiss. It was all he had thought of for days. He kept walking the halls hoping to run into her. He wanted to talk about it, hell, he wanted to do it again.

He wasn't sure what to expect when he saw her. His fear was that she would return to her cold, distant treatment. With one last deep breath he got out of his car. He would follow her lead, however she acted toward him he would follow suit.

He entered the home and was immediately greeted by Hathaway. James talked him through the case up to that point bringing him up to date on all that he knew. As they walked down the stairs James gave him a glimmer of hope, "Hobson's still taking a look but I know who killed her." Robbie's heart leapt, perhaps this would be a short case that would limit his time near Laura. He looked at James expectedly, "Albert Einstein."

Robbie resisted the urge to tell James off for his gallows humor. He followed James down the stairs to see the butt of the joke. James continued with his estimation of what happened, "Single blow, to the back of the head with that."

Robbie followed James into the other room, "I presume the bleach is to get rid of the DNA?"

Laura heard Robbie before she saw him, she stayed where he was but looked away to catch her breath. As he entered the room she looked up at him and smiled with a mischievous glint in her eye, "You're learning." She stood as James passed her, "You used to think DNA meant Don't know anything."

Robbie was taken aback for a second, this was his Laura, the Laura before he messed everything up, "Better than thinking that CID stood for coppers in disguise." Laura smiled at him as she laughed at his joke. His heart beat a fraction faster. Could it be they were past it, did their conversation the other night fix things?

James interrupted them, "If I may, there's a dusting of a plinth from up there which would fit Albert."

Laura added, "Yes, it was thrown down on her from behind to keep the splatter off the killer and then he or she cleaned it up."

Robbie looked at her, "Timing?"

"Can't do better than say 4 hours after 9:30 last night."

Robbie walked away draw to a book on a side table, "Right." He lifted the book and read the title, "The Gifted Child."

Laura looked up at him with a teasing smile on her face, "Don't speak about Sergeant Hathaway like that you'll give him a big head."

James looked back and forth at the two. He'd noticed the more teasing nature of their banter and wondered if his interference a few days back might have done some good. Laura stood with her equipment nodded briefly at James then looked back at Robbie and with a flirty smile and a lilt in her voice she told him bye and left.

Laura left the room breathing a sigh of relief. She had seen the slight look of surprise on Robbie's face when she had teased him. She had deliberately flirted and was delighted that he had risen to the occasion. It had felt good to banter with him, albeit briefly. This plan might work.

Robbie halfway listened to James as he continued to hypothesize about the case. He wasn't sure what had happened with Laura but he was happy to have their playful banter back. Truth be told he had missed it, maybe she had found happiness with the man, her date. He shook his head, is that what he wanted. Putting that thought out of his head for the time being he turned back to James and to the case.

The next few days progressed as they normally would in an investigation. He had spoken with Laura both in person and by phone several times. Each time she had been light and airy, teasing him bordering on flirtatious. Each time he was reminded how much he liked it. She made him feel lighter, he found himself looking forward to seeing her, manufacturing reasons to talk to her. It was almost like before Allison.

Robbie was in his office talking to his daughter when he heard the knock on the door. He looked up and smiled when he saw it was Laura. Her smile took his breath away. His first thought was that he wanted to be alone with her, and not in a police station.

"Hang on a minute love." He put his hand over the phone.

She smiled at him as she leaned against the door. "Just thought I'd let you know about the results on Elmo and the toxicology report.

He nodded. "Oh right, is it very complicated?"

She smiled brighter. "I can make it not so." She walked into his office and unknotted her purple scarf. "Ah the lab detected LSD because it was a brain burner of a dosage, absolutely massive. If hadn't jumped he'd of been psychotic for the rest of his life."

"Could he have taken that amount by accident?"

She shook her head. "Well it's possible but if anyone had a motive to destroy his mind I'd assume the worst."

Robbie heard his daughter's voice on the phone. "Yeah, I'm still here love." He looked at Laura "It's our Lyn."

She smiled at him. "Ah, give her my love."

"Yeah, I will. Yeah, sorry love." He looked at Laura apologetically.

She smiled shyly at him as she backed out of the room. "I'll go."

He motioned for her to stay but she turned and walked away. He followed to the door and watched her walk away. "No, Laura. No, no, just work." He listened to his daughter and walked back into his office. "How's the morning sickness?"

As his daughter told him how she was doing his thoughts wandered to Laura. He suddenly wished he had stopped her, physically if necessary. He really wanted her here, actually he wanted her anywhere as long as it was with him.

Laura had heard through the station grapevine that Robbie and James had solved the case in grand style. She thought this might the perfect time to put part two of her plan into play. She gathered her things and wandered toward his office. Bumping into him might be the perfect opportunity. She didn't have to wait for long, just as she entered his section of the building, Robbie came around the corner. He smiled clearly glad to see her. She turned and walked toward him.

"Look sorry about last night but if you're free now I'm sure James and me will be doing something."

She looked away nervously. "I've got a better idea. Come over next Friday."

"To your place?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, I was thinking more of the mortuary." He laughed at her. She bit on her bottom lip. "I'll cook."

He smiled at her. "I'll bring a bottle."

She smiled shyly as she watched him walk away.

Laura put the finishing touches on the meal and waited. She had timed her cooking so that they would have about ten minutes before everything was ready. She figure that time could be spent pouring wine and catching up on each other's day. She looked at the clock on the way and wondered if he would be on time.

Robbie sat in his car outside her home. Her invitation had surprised him. He hoped this meant they could go back to their easy relationship, before Allison, before he panicked. He would like to start their dinners again. He missed having time with just her on a weekly basis. If that's what this was and he fervently hoped it was he might suggest that they bump up to twice a week. He smiled at the thought as he looked at the clock on his dash. Hurriedly, he got out of the car, he didn't want to be late.

Laura smiled as she heard the doorbell. He was right on time. She took one last quick look in the mirror and walked slowly to the door. A smile broke out across her face as she saw him standing there with not only a bottle of wine but a huge bouquet of flowers, "Hi."

Robbie gulped as he saw her, she looked even more gorgeous than she normally did, "Hi yourself. You look amazing Laura."

Laura felt herself blush. Robbie didn't often pay her compliments, "Thanks." She motioned with her head, "You want to come inside."

He stepped over the threshold and found himself suddenly very close to her. As he looked down at her she bit her lower lip. If she only knew how much that distracted him, how he dreamed about that at night. He drew a deep breath and smiled down at her, "I thought you'd never ask." The blush that ran up her cheeks made his blood run hot. He gently pushed the flowers toward her, "These are for you."

She took them from him as she pushed the door closed, "Thanks Robbie, you didn't have to do that."

"I know, I wanted to." The looked at one another each suddenly aware of how close the other was, "What say I open this bottle of wine?"

Laura nodded, "I'll put these in some water."

They busied themselves with their individual tasks each sneaking furtive glances at the other. Laura took the flowers to the table and Robbie followed her with a glass. He handed her the glass, "What would you like to toast Laura?"

She touched her glass lightly to his as she looked up at him, "To friendship, what else?"

Robbie nodded at her trying to hide his disappointment, "Friendship."

Laura hid her smile as she heard the timer going off in the kitchen, "I'll be back make yourself comfortable."

Robbie watched her walk away, "Are you sure I can't help?"

With her back to him, she smiled to herself, "You could bring the bread to the table while I fix plates."

He followed behind her, "What kind of bread?"

She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled knowingly, "Garlic bread."

The meal passed pleasantly, two old friends enjoying a quiet evening together. Laura had deliberately steered the conversation to light-hearted topics. Any attempt that Robbie made to talk about what had happened between them Laura easily deflected with office gossip or a story of mutual colleagues. After they had cleared the dishes and cleaned the kitchen Laura led Robbie to the swing on her patio.

They sat in the pale moonlight in silence. Finally, not able to take it any longer, Robbie asked, "Laura, what has tonight been about?"

She smiled gently at him, "I told you at the very start of the evening, friendship."

"It didn't feel like just friendship."

"What did it feel like Robbie?"

He looked at her hopefully, "It felt like us finding our balance, returning to who we were before…"

"Before what Robbie?"

He couldn't meet her eyes as he answered, "Before Allison, before I messed things up."

"It can't be that Robbie."

Robbie was stunned he didn't know what had happened, "What do you mean Laura? Why can't it be that? We've had a perfectly lovely evening. We could have so many more of these."

She shook her head, "Except that I don't want what we had Robbie."

He stood, pacing in front of her, "I don't understand, I thought that's what this was. A return to what we were."

She stood and pulled him to her. He didn't hesitate for a moment when she kissed him tenderly then more passionately. She whispered to him as the kiss broke, "I don't want what we were, I want more. Tonight was about me showing you what we could have if you would just let it happen. We could have lovely evenings like this which end with lovelier nights spent in each other's arms. That's what I want. And if I can't have that then I don't want what we had."

Robbie's heart broke as he looked at her. He could have taken her screaming at him but this soft longing was too much, "I'm not ready Laura."

Smiling she turned on her heel and headed indoors, "I'm perfectly aware of that Robbie Lewis. So here's my rules. I will flirt with you, go for drinks with you and James or you and other people. I will be everything I have always ever been for you. But I will not be your convenience date."

"Laura that's not fair, that's not ever how I've thought of you."

She raised her eyebrow at him, "Perhaps not how you've thought of me, but it's how you've treated me. And, quite simply, that is no longer good enough for me."

"So that's it, you're just a work colleague who hangs out with the boys."

"If that's all you want, then that's exactly what I'll be."

"That's not what I want Laura and you know it."

She shrugged as she walked toward her front door, "Until you are ready to prove to me that you want more, that's all you are getting."

"And what are you going to be doing while I prove it?"

Turning very slowly towards him, she fixed him with a gaze that bordered on coldness yet somehow he felt anything but cold, "I will do whatever I please." She took a step closer to him, her body brushing against his. He could feel the heat emanating off her wave after wave. Looking up at him through her lashes she gave him a smile that bordered on predatory, "And anytime that you want to stop me doing whatever I please all you have to do is ask me to dinner."

He swallowed as he struggled to maintain his equilibrium, "I think I asked you to dinner just a few minutes ago."

She shook her head, "Let me make this crystal clear Robbie Lewis." She pushed her body against his letting him feel her softness, "The next time you ask me to dinner, it better be with the full intent that you are offering me everything I want. If you can't do that, don't ask."

"What do you want Laura?"

She stepped away from him and walked to the door. Opening the door she turned back to him, "I want flirtation at work, lunches together, drinks with friends, dinners alone. I want quiet walks by the river where we talk about nothing and everything. I want all of that and more." She locked eyes with him before she continued, "I want you Robbie Lewis, heart, mind, body and soul. When you are ready for that, all you have to do is ask."

He closed the distance between them and touched her cheek, "Laura you act like it's so easy."

She pushed up to him and captured his lips. There was nothing tender about this kiss. Passion fired between them in a flash. Robbie groaned as she pulled away from him and stepped back, "It's just that easy Robbie. You just have to decide to trust me. You have to trust that I will be here to catch you, to guide you, to love you. I can't make that decision for you. And until you do, it's time for you to go." She gently pushed him backwards, out the door. Once he was on the other side of the threshold she smiled kindly, "Goodbye Robbie." Laura saw the tears forming in his eyes as she closed the door and locked it.

She promptly turned out the lights and went upstairs before she was tempted to go to him. Franco had been right. She had enabled him for too many years. It was time for to take a stand.

Robbie stood outside her house watching the lights in her house turn off. As each light switched off he couldn't help but think of lighthouses. She had been his protector for so many years, guiding him away from danger, keeping him safe. What would he do now without her to guide him? Walking to his car he ventured one last look at her house.

At that moment, a light turned on in a room he felt certain was her bedroom. He laughed bitterly wondering if that was a light meant to steer him from danger. Or, and his breath caught as he thought this, was it the light meant to guide him home?

Laura has laid down the law and she is only going to get saucier. What will Robbie do now?