The Almost Honeymoon

This chapter has been requested by Fez98x and the prompt was Where and what exactly do Joe and Lindsey get up to on their honeymoon

So they weren't technically married yet, they had made it up the aisle but the all important vows had never been exchanged. But just because they weren't husband and wife, it didn't mean that their holiday, a week in Paris, had been magically unbooked, or that they couldn't go on it. So only a day after they were meant to become Mr and Mrs Roscoe, the young, almost married couple loaded themselves into the taxi off to the airport for a few days away –something Lindsey had dreamed about since she was a little girl, wondering just what Joe would have planned for them to do during that time.

One thing that had always been a certain, yet surprising fact in their ten years together, was that Joe was a real old romantic. He prided himself on doing that little bit extra for Lindsey, something to brighten her day and make her smile.
Sending her flowers at work.

Breakfast in bed.

Letters in her work locker.

All of Lindsey's work colleagues were jealous of how old-fashioned romantic her relationship was, they were lucky if they got a box of chocolates for Valentines day and not a lot more. It wasn't why Lindsey loved Joe, no, that was because of his big heart, his selfless manner, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, the feel of his scruff against her cheeks when they kissed; but the thoughtful gestures did keep their romance well and truly alive.

The planning of their honeymoon was no different, and despite knowing what hotel they were going to spend their nights at, Lindsey knew little else, trusting Joe to have sorted it out completely, though her worry peaked as she couldn't help but notice her partner constantly on his phone as they travelled to the hotel, glaring at the screen as if that could affect the person on the other line, someone who was most definitely part of the hotel's staff if Joe's arguments were anything to go by.

She couldn't help but worry that they wouldn't have a room to sleep in, though any worries that Lindsey had were instantly forgotten the second they left they taxi and entered the elegant building.

"Welcome to Hotel Bourg Tibourg Mr and Mrs Roscoe," the concierge said, his French accent almost overpowering as he took the young couple's bags from them, before they could even wonder how the older man knew their names. "Your room has just been made up, and if you'd like to check in, I can lead you to the honeymoon suite itself, our most beautiful room in the whole hotel and a favourite amongst guests."

"Yeah about that-" Joe began, looking uncomfortable. He had been working for so long to make this the perfect week for Lindsey, somewhere that would only strengthen them as a couple, but here they were, not even married and a bucketload of troubles under their belts already.

He knew Lindsey still loved and wanted to be with him, it had been all they talked about on the plane journey, but that didn't mean she wanted to stay in the honeymoon suite with him of all places, hell, he wasn't sure if the junior doctor was even prepared to share a bed with him after finding out about his infidelity with Nancy.

Of course Joe had called the hotel, frantically did so in fact, prepared to do anything to swap rooms and cancel the champagne that would be ready and waiting when they walked through the hotel doors, though it was to no avail. He could only hope that the hotel staff were a little more lenient in person than they had been over the phone.

"It sounds absolutely lovely," Lindsey interrupted smoothly, having connected the dots as to what was happening instantly. "Honestly we're so excited to stay here aren't we Joe?"

"Uh.. yeah, it's going to make our week even more special," he said after a pause, Lindsey's stern look telling him exactly what to do. Well if she wanted to stay in the honeymoon suite when they weren't even married, he wasn't going to complain, the bed in the brochure had looked amazing and was one of the main reasons why Joe had picked this hotel over all the others on offer.

"Of course Madame, Monsieur," the concierge said smiling at the couple. "Now if you can just sort out the last of the paperwork, you can then spend the rest of your week completely relaxed without any worries."
"Now that sounds like something we need," Lindsey beamed, taking a flute of champagne that a passing staff member offered her.

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"Oh wow," the brunette gasped as she and Joe entered their hotel room for the first time, both completely blown away and for good reason. The room was absolutely huge, almost twice as large as their bedroom back home, though it didn't feel unnecessary. The walls had been painted a deep red, warming the room in such a way that you couldn't help but feel relaxed the second you entered, the scent of the candles that were burning merrily in the corners doing nothing but putting the hotel's latest guests at complete ease.

But it wasn't that that Joe or Lindsey found themselves focused on, nor the scenic pictures that were dotted around the room, or the amazing view that they had over the city, the balcony allowing them to get up and personal with the outside world with the most perfect of views, no it was the bed, an expansive four-poster that took up a considerable amount of room, the white sheets littered with rose petals, the scent having hit the young couple the second they entered, being even more overpowering than the scented candles.

"Now everything is as it should be," the concierge said as he squeezed past the hotel's latest guests, placing their suitcases to the side and staring at the room with satisfaction, brushing an imaginary piece of lint off of his suit as he went. "Enjoy your honeymoon mes amis, I hope it will be just as your dreams have shown you. If you need any help, just call and I shall be here!"

He shut the room door behind him with a gentle click, leaving the not so newly married couple on their own, in a honeymoon suite with not nearly enough champagne in their systems to stop the whole thing from becoming awkward.

"We can change this you know?" Joe said after a moment, as Lindsey refused to move from her spot by the door, playing with the engagement ring that had been part of her for so long. "After everything that happened, well I'd get it if you didn't want to stay in this room of all places."

"Honestly Joe this is fine, more so even," Lindsey said, trying to put her long suffering fiancé's worries at ease. "You really outdid yourself with this place, it's.. well it's amazing."

"It's not the room I'm worried about though, it's us," Joe admitted. After the disaster that had been their wedding, he and Lindsey hadn't really had chance to work out the finer details of their future. They knew that they loved each other and wanted to remain together, but making that work was another ball game entirely. "Not even two days ago we were meant to get married, but instead, I got punched twice at the altar, once by you!"

"Because you slept with Nancy," Lindsey said without missing a beat, arching a brow as if daring Joe to keep talking.

"And we've already gone through the semantics of that till I've gone blue in the face, but that doesn't mean everything is okay, doesn't mean we're okay. I want us to work through this Linds, because I love you so much and without you in my life, well I don't think I'd be able to cope. You're my everything babe, but if you feel uncomfortable here, I'd rather change it sooner rather than later."

"I love you so much Joe Roscoe," Lindsey sighed, walking over to the older man and entwining their hands. Yes it had hurt hearing about how Joe had betrayed her, and the petty side of Lindsey wanted nothing more than to give Joe another slap and to leave him on the wayside after treating her, them with such little respect.

But that wouldn't fix anything, would just make everything worse in the long run, and the young doctor knew she'd just live to regret it, because she still loved Joe, and whilst she didn't know why he'd done what he had, couldn't wrap her head around the action, she could most certainly forgive him for it.

They had been together for too long, had been through so much, that Lindsey wasn't ready to let it drop without a fight. Something she had been trying to convince her almost husband of ever since they had left Chester airport, on their way straight to Paris.

"And I know that we're so much stronger than this. You're my everything too Joe, and I love you so much. It's why I'm here, because even the thought of a week away from you, especially after everything that's been happening recently, well I don't think I'd be able to handle it. But I know that if we're together, we can handle anything."

"Yeah?" Joe breathed, a small smile painting itself on his lips, it growing as Lindsey took another step forward, forcing him to go in the same direction, his legs hitting the bed frame and making him stop.

"Yeah," Lindsey replied, leaning forward so their lips could meet, though agonisingly slowly as if she was scared of what Joe's reaction would be.

"Come here you sop," said mechanic laughed, pulling Lindsey to him with such suddenness she couldn't help but let out a surprised gasp before falling onto the bed, pushing Joe down with her. Neither of them minded though, already in a passionate embrace, their minds on one thing and one thing only.

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Lindsey awoke to the sounds of the busy city life pouring through the open window, smiling with content as she listened to the people that truly belonged in this city make their way home after a hard day at work, whilst she found herself in the most amazing bed she'd ever come across, with the best man, the man she loved more than anyone else in the whole entire world, they didn't have to be married for her to know that.

As she finally cracked open an eye the first thing she saw was Joe, only inches away from her though he appeared to be more awake than she. He was watching Lindsey with a smile, his fingers tracing light patterns on her thigh.

"You creeper," Lindsey teased, her smile only growing as Joe pulled her into a kiss. She and Joe must have embraced thousands of times over the years, but Lindsey knew she'd never tire of it. Every single time it felt like fireworks were going off, her skin breaking out in goosebumps and her breath catching short.

It felt like her first kiss, but at the same time, reeked of familiarity and made Lindsey feel safe, no matter what the situation be. No matter what happened, Lindsey knew that as long as she had Joe by her side, nothing in life would ever be that bad.

"Hey less of the abuse," Joe exclaimed with a look of mock hurt after he had pulled away from Lindsey, lips red and swollen in a way that no doubt mirrored the brunette's current look. "Now come on, we've got to get up."

"What? Why? What's even the time?" Lindsey asked with a confused frown as Joe rolled off the bed, pulling open the suitcase and grabbing his smarter pair of trousers.

"It's just gone six, and we my dear, are going out. It is our almost honeymoon remember, and you'll be sorely mistaken if you don't think I haven't planned out everything to the finest detail."

"Well where are we going?" Lindsey couldn't help but ask, sitting up so she could watch Joe getting ready, though still unwilling to leave.

"I'm not going to tell you, it'll just ruin the surprise," Joe said with a sly smirk, already knowing just how annoyed Lindsey would be getting for being out of the loop. It was one of her biggest pet peeves, and something Joe liked to take advantage of at every possible chance. "But don't wear those heels you can't get further than ten feet in without getting a million blisters, we're doing a bit of walking tonight."

"Is that all I'm getting?" Lindsey pouted, letting her bedsheet slip dangerously low, in the hopes that her feminine charm would be able to get her a few more details.

"Yes," Joe chuckled, pulling out one of the many dresses Lindsey had packed and throwing it over his shoulder so she could grab it as he spoke, well used to her... tactics after ten years together.

"You suck."
"Actually love, I think we both know that's your job," Joe laughed, ducking into the bathroom at the outraged sound that left his fiancée at his latest comment.

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"Oh wow," Lindsey found herself gasping, completely breathless at the sight that had been presented to her.

"Welcome to the Pont des Arts," Joe said with a smile, as stunned as Lindsey. Although he had looked over leaflets about the romantic location, the pictures really didn't do it any justice. For the Pont des Arts was a massive arched bridge, overlooking some of the most picturesque locations in all of Paris.

There were street players on either side of the walkway, all playing hauntingly beautiful tunes into their instruments, and whilst none were the same, every single sound melded with the next like it was always meant to be.

The street lamps dotted around the place gave the whole bridge a warm glow, hitting the water below and tingeing it a deep golden colour. It made the whole place seem rather intimate, and although Lindsey could see at least another half dozen couples near her, as well as all the musicians, it truly felt like it was just her and Joe on this bridge, together with no-one else, just like it should be.

But it was not all this that caught her breath, no it was the bridge itself. For the walls weren't the standard grey like you'd expect, but were multicoloured, some even sparkling when the light from the streetlamps hit. There lay hundreds, no thousands of padlocks, all with two names apiece written on them. Some had intricate designs drawn also, but the majority, were your standard padlock, though when placed with all the rest, it made a truly beautiful sight.

"They say this is the most romantic place in the whole world," Joe said softly, reading some of the names as he and Lindsey got closer. "And this is why. These are all lovelocks. You write your name and your loved one's on the padlock, hook it onto the bridge and then throw the key into the river. It means your love will remain forever and undying."

"It's beautiful," Lindsey breathed, feeling a lump in her throat coming up as she watched a young couple just a few feet from her click the padlock into place before throwing the key as far as they could, it landing in the water with a small plunk.

"It's why I got this," Joe said softly, pulling out a padlock from his pocket. It wasn't anything special, just your bog-standard lock really, but his and Lindsey's name were written in neat print, their letters conjoining slightly, and it was enough to take the doctor's breath away. "If you'll do the honours."

With shaking hands Lindsey took the padlock and hooked it around one of the remaining free bars, clicking it into place with ease. Once that was done, Joe took the key and dropped it over the bridge's edge, not looking away until it had hit the water and consequently disappeared.

"I love you Linds," he said softly when he had turned back, cradling her cheek in his icy cold hand.

"I love you too," she sighed, kissing him gently, the music fading to nothing as they remained entwined. "Forever and always Joe Roscoe."

Next Chapter - Jack confronts Ziggy about the affair with Frankie – prompted by Ellie

I know it must feel like I thank every single person who reviews this story all the time, but I genuinely can't say nothing, especially after all the amazing feedback I received for the last chapter. With 39 reviews, the last chapter was officially my most popular and I finally broke 600 reviews overall.

Every single review was honestly amazing and it has really given me confidence when writing humour, as I sometimes struggle with it, and don't view it as my best work. So to get all those reviews telling me otherwise, well it's genuinely amazing!

Review Replies

Aaron – I will most probably refer to the twins Dad as Rick now he has been introduced to the show. Vinny was just a random name and the only reason I stuck with it throughout all my chapters with him was to avoid confusion, but now we have a canon name for him, I'll be using that.

Eric – I do have a couple of multi-chaptered fics about the Roscoe's in mind that I would really like to be able to start writing, and hopefully, once my exams have finished, I can start focusing on them. One of those is the potential chapter 115 due to not only the dark nature of the prompt, but also the fact that I had a very similar idea myself a few months back, the other, well you'll just have to wait and see!

Guest- As you've may have noticed, when writing up chapters, I do try and incorporate parts of what's currently going on in the show, into the prompt. This means, I'll definitely try to

incorporate Darren having a heart attack into a future chapter.

Guest – The reasons why Robbie collapses and has a seizure in chapter 79 has already been given by the original prompter I'm afraid!

Guest – What I meant by leeway of five chapters is sometimes I simply don't have the time to write a long chapter, whether it be down to school or work or another cause. When this is the case, I will skip it and move to the next prompt to write that, before coming back to the prompt I was meant to write.

For example, chapter 70 will probably be a very long chapter, and will most likely be time consuming due to any research I may need to do. If I know I won't have time to finish writing it before the update day, then I will move past it and write chapter 71, therefore posting chapter 70 at 71. But if I'm still busy, I will continue to push 70 back till chapter 75 at the latest. That's all I meant by leeway of five chapters, I will try my absolute hardest to publish every single chapter, they just may be a little bit later than I originally said. I hope that was a little clearer!