Chapter 13

The next morning dawned quietly. Laura, who had always been an early riser, woke warm in her own bed. The memories of the night before had not caught up with her groggy mind. She stretched lightly and rolled over. The minute she saw James, rather than Robbie, the memories from the night before came slamming back into her mind.

She watched James sleep, unsurprised that even in repose he seemed worried. She wondered what he could be dreaming about that would cause him such concern. Without thinking she reached out to smooth the furrows on his brow. His eyes opened instantly, startled at first then he relaxed into serene smile, "Robbie Lewis is a lucky man to wake to you each morning."

Laura leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the forehead, "Thank you James."

"For what, telling you that Robbie is lucky? I suspect you already know that."

She shook her head smiling at him, "No, for being here last night. You were absolutely correct, you were the only one equipped to handle me."

"I usually am. But in case I ever need a reference, what drew you to this conclusion?"

"I just know how Robbie and Jean would have each handled me last night. Neither of their approaches would have worked."

James rolled to his back and put his hands behind his head, "Do tell. How would the dynamic duo have handled it?"

Laura moved closer to him and lay her head on his chest. James looked down at her surprised by the move. He smiled tenderly before putting his arm around her, "Robbie would have been concerned that he had hurt me in some way. He would have wanted to shelter me."

James smiled knowing that her assessment was accurate, "And you don't like being sheltered?"

"It's not that, he sometimes forgets that I am quite capable of taking care of myself. He would want to protect me."

Absentmindedly James stroked her arm, "You know that is more about how much he loves you than him thinking you can't take care of yourself?"

"I know but sometimes it can be suffocating."

"And how would Jean have handled it?"

Laura laughed, "Jean would have marshalled the forces, made a plan, given everyone a list and sent you all off to fight my battles. There would likely have been charts and graphs and she would have wanted reports in triplicate until the threat had passed." James tried not to laugh but the more he tried the more he shook. Laura looked up at him shocked to find tears streaming down his face, "It's not that funny James."

"It's hysterical. I can hear her saying it all. I can see Robbie wanting to lock you in a closet or rush you back to Manchester." He looked down at her and smiled, "And somehow they both fail to see how strong you are. That sometimes you just need someone to listen and not have a plan. You don't need to be fixed because you are quite magnificent just as you are."

She nodded at him as tears filled her eyes, "And that is why you were the perfect person for me last night. You didn't try to protect me or make a plan, you just let me be."

"In fairness to both of them, they don't know as much of the story as I do."

With a sad smile she buried her face in his chest, "I'm pretty sure that Robbie doesn't think I am all that magnificent at the moment."

Kissing her lightly on the head, he wrapped her in his arms, "He loves you Laura nothing is going to change that." She looked up at him with an unsure look on her face, "Even once you tell him the whole story, he's only going to love you even more."

"I scared him last night."

"To some extent we're all scared Laura. From what Jean told me as well as what you told me Malcolm Tucker is a bit of a loose cannon. He has some type of an agenda and it seems to be centered on you."

"I know you probably won't believe me but I don't think Malcolm will hurt me." She saw the skeptical look on James' face, "He could have hurt me years ago. He could have made me go away with him for a weekend. He probably could have made me fall in love with him all over again but when it came down to it, he did the honorable thing."

James raised an eyebrow at her, "I'm not sure honorable is a word I would use in relation to Malcolm Tucker."

"I would. I know it seems odd. Actually, you and Malcolm are similar in many ways. You both have your own code of honor. You never revealed my secrets. Malcolm went to prison rather than reveal his. The difference is you don't use those secrets to your advantage."

James stared at the ceiling unsure how he felt about being compared to Malcolm. He wondered if Laura was the most impartial judge, "Do you still love him?"

He felt her tense beside him. He could feel the breath she was holding. Finally, she released it, "Yes, I suspect I always will. He was my first love there is a power in that. I thought I'd been in love before but Malcolm taught me differently."

"Does Robbie know?"

Laura pushed up so that she was looking down at James, "I might love Malcolm, but the only person I am in love with is Robbie Lewis. I need you to know that James."

The fierceness with which she'd said it took his breath away. James had always been mesmerized by Laura's ability to go from perfectly calm to intense in the blink of an eye. She was stunning in her fierceness, "I wish I had ever stood a chance with you."

Laura blinked at his words, "What?"

James shook his head, stunned that the words had come out of his mouth, "I don't mean…that's not right, I meant the words Laura but I don't want you to think..." James sat up in the bed, his hands went through his hair.

Laura watched him struggle to find words. It was an unusual moment, James Hathaway always had a ready response. She softly touched his arm, "I understand James."

A bitter laugh escaped his mouth as he looked at her, "Well I'm glad one of us does. Care to explain it to me?"

"On paper we are the better match. Well educated, well read, witty, verbose."

He looked at her, "You thought about it."

She nodded, "I even admitted to Robbie once that you were quite dishy. I think I even once rated you a nine."

"All this time Dr. Hobson, you've been pining for me."

Laura laughed and slapped his shoulder, "No, you cheeky sod. Like I said there were aspects of you that reminded me of Malcolm. You had all of his good qualities without the bad boy edge."

"And yet you still chose Robbie?"

The smile she gave him lit up her face. James was happy to see her smile, "Yes, yes I did."

James feel back into the bed with his hand over his heart feigning injury. He looked up at her and smiled mischievously, "I would say it's your loss doctor. But I suspect the loss is mine."

Touching his cheek tenderly Laura leaned forward and kissed him, "Actually I think I won. I found the love of my life in Robbie and a dear friend in you."

They stared at one another for a moment each lost in the truth of the moment. James took her hand in his, "What are you going to do?"

"I am going to get dressed, go downstairs and tell Robbie a very long story."

"I think that is an excellent plan. And to help you with it, I'm going to get the Chief Super out of here."

James sat up then stood. Laura grabbed his hand and pulled him down to her before wrapping her arms around him, "Thank you James. Thank you for being here and for keeping my secrets for all these years."

James melted into her embrace, tears formed in his eyes as she whispered to him. He buried his head in her neck and said the most honest thing he could think of, "It's what family does Laura; it's what family does."