Lewis, Hobson, Hathaway, and Kershaw were sitting rather quietly in the White Horse. Finally, Hobson turned pointedly to Lewis.

"Now, tell us, honestly, how you'll be spending New Year's Eve."

He looked from one to the other.

"I thought I'd have you lot over for champagne and a lot of noise, how would that be?"

They all smiled broadly, with exclamations of "Great!" and "Wonderful!" and "That would be fun!"

"Okay, then. Say, ten o'clock?"

"Oh, and don't wear your good clothes. I figure as long as I have some extra hands, it would be a good opportunity to get the place cleaned up a bit. Seems it's a bit of a mess after the Christmas break." He grinned at their horrified expressions.

"It's a joke! All that hard scrubbing was very therapeutic. I feel better right now than I have in a long time, at least at this time of year. Thanks to all of you. You lads are better than gold." He looked at Laura directly. "And you lass, too."

He raised his glass to them. "Here's to having friends who'll take care of you even when you think you don't want them to."

Then a unanimous, and heartfelt, "Cheers!"