The end of yet another story :)

But another one will take it's place soon, the first chapter just needs typed up and polished up a bit.

Till then I hope you enjoy this and if you have the time or inclination leave one last review :)

This chapter takes place over the period of about 6 months overall.

Robbie felt his heart stop when he heard Jackie scream, racing out of the shower, still wrapping a towel he'd grabbed, somewhat haphazardly around his waist. His feet skidded slightly on his wooden floor as he stopped abruptly in the kitchen, slightly confused to see Jackie looking perfectly fine, apart from the fact she had her eyes closed.

"You just scared the shit out of me," he barked out, "What the hell's wrong?"

Her eyes snapped open, and she glared at him, her shaking hand moving to point at the cluttered kitchen surface. "That container of Chinese just shuffled along the counter of it's own volition, that's what's wrong."

"Don't be daft," he snorted, feeling the remainder of his shampoo start to slide down his face. He was wet, cold and wanted back in the damn shower, so stepping forward quickly he grabbed the container to prove his point that all was well, and a mouse darted out from under it, scurrying underneath his cooker in the blink of an eye.

Jackie screamed again, jumping backwards and colliding with a bag of rubbish, sending it careening to the floor. "I told you!" she yelled. "I bloody well told you!"

He shifted slightly on his feet, feeling slightly guilty that he hadn't believed her. "Right, ok," he admitted, "Maybe I do need to clean up a bit."

"A bit!" she hissed. "The place is a fucking tip! I don't understand how you can live like this, there's a glass over there growing penicillin!"

"I'll deal with it," he replied calmly. He'd learned over the last few months that worst thing he could do when she was in this sort of mood was yell back, it just encouraged her.

Apparently this time though calmness was not going to cut it. "I'm going home," she announced suddenly. "And I'm not coming back until you've learn to pick up after yourself!"

"Ah come on, Jacks," he tried to reason with her, "it's not that bad."

"It damn well is!" she replied. Twisting slightly she announced bitterly, "And I've got some sort of gunk on my top." Her nose wrinkled. "I need to shower."

"You can shower here."

Her teeth gritted. "I'm going home," she growled.

She made to storm past him and he caught her arm, pulling her back into his damp chest, he wasn't going to let her leave annoyed or angry. They didn't do that, arguments between them were always resolved before they left the other or before they went to sleep, whatever came first. The past six months had shown them that it didn't do to hold grudges or wait until later to fix things; so he wasn't going to let her walk out on him and certainly not over something so stupid.

Jackie let out a squawk of annoyance, hitting his hand as his arm tighten around her waist, pulling her backwards with him as he muttered in her ear, "Like I said, you can shower here."

"This place is a tip."

"So I'll clean it, after we have a shower"

"We're so not having shower sex," she informed him almost haughtily.

He laughed as tried to undo the buttons of her shirt one-handed. "I'll let you off on this one occasion."

"And I'm not helping you clean either, I'm not a maid."

Robbie nodded, slightly relieved that she was no longer fighting him, made things a lot easier. "Also fine, you can lie in bed and read while I don my pinny."

"You don't own one," she shot back, although he could hear the amusement in her voice now.

Again he laughed. "And I'll check all the rooms for any cracks and fill them with wire wool."

She shuddered. "I really don't want to talk about that."

He dipped his head, running his mouth along the side of her neck and this time Jackie couldn't repress her smile. It would have been foolish to expect everything to go smoothly, but unlike in her other relationships it seemed easier to find ways around the problems. It helped that they could talk about anything, and that they accepted the other's flaws.

Her smile widened when she felt the towel finally lose it's fight against gravity and slip to the floor, giggled when his hands skated up and over her sides, tickling her lightly. Her clothes were soaked through at the back now, so she may as well stay and change into one of his t-shirts, and finish off the book she'd been reading. As for the whole no shower sex stipulation…well he had apologised, kind of.

She brushed her hand over the stone, brushing away small flecks of dirt and a few damp leaves that the wind had deposited on Michael's headstone. Then kneeling down, she tidied up, removing the dead blooms that she'd left the last time and replacing them.

"You know Burke's not so bad," she told him. "Bit blunt but bearable, sometimes he even verges on likeable. Stuart gets on quite well with him, I sometimes wonder if that's because he can do all the technical stuff that none of us can quite manage, and Robbie," her smile widened, "is close to becoming a changed man, in some respects, although I think you two would still butt heads," she admitted.

She turned slightly, looking over to where Robbie was leaning against a nearby tree, close enough to see her but far enough away that he couldn't hear her. "I know you wouldn't have approved, at least not at first, but he does make me happy. I think that this could actually work this time, I really do love him.

Her eyes flickered up and over the carved words of remembrance. "I still miss you though," she whispered quietly. A small, sad smile played about her features as she added, "I think I always will."

Burke watched with narrowed eyes as he saw Robbie's hand drift across the small of Jackie's back, standing more than a little closer than was strictly necessary. He let out an annoyed hiss as he saw the younger man lean his head closer to hers, laughing at something she said.

He was going to have to talk to them, he'd put it off long enough, and not only was he sure now, but tongues were beginning to wag. Better he sorted this now rather than later.

Coughing loudly so that there heads jerked up, he told them, "You two, my office now, want a word."

They shared a look of confusion but followed him regardless. He waved at them to sit, which they did, but he remained standing. It was Jackie who spoke first, asking him, "Is there a problem Sir?"

"Possibly," he grumbled, he cleared his throat awkwardly, glancing between the two; he hated this part of his job the most. "I've heard rumours that you two are…involved," he choked out after a painful pause.

Jackie paled slightly, but Robbie's reaction surprised him slightly, the man straightening his shoulders as he asked calmly, "And if we are?"

"Then I need to be sure that it doesn't effect upon your time here at work and the dynamics of the team."

"It doesn't," Robbie replied shortly.

Burke nodded. "So how long have you both been…dating?" He hated that word, but shagging seemed a bit uncouth even for him.

It was Jackie who replied this time, "We've been in a relationship for the last five months." She didn't count the months before as part of that, although they'd meant everything to her.

"Right," Burke looked between them. "So we're going to need a few ground rules then."

Looking back, Robbie occasionally wondered why he'd been so scared of taking that first step. Now he was with Jackie it felt like everything in his life had fitted together. She made him happier than he thought he could put into words; although there were still times he wanted to strangle her. He could see she felt that way too sometimes, saw it when her eyes narrowed and she pulled her lips into a razor thin line.

The way they had started their relationship was probably not the most conventional, and in most circumstances should have been a recipe for disaster, but it had worked for them.

Her divorce had been finalised the month before, by which point they were already living together, and for once Robbie had decided that marriage was the next step. Not only that, but the more he thought about it, the more he decided that it was what he wanted. He'd never really believed in marriage as a concept before, but he did now. The thought of calling Jackie his wife made him grin like the proverbial loon.

His hand brushed over the engagement ring in his jacket pocket, he kept it on him almost all the time. He hadn't quite decided the best way to propose and he didn't want to risk the perfect moment passing him by.

"Admiring it again," Robbie laughed proudly as he watched Jackie twist her hand to see the diamond on her new engagement ring shimmer.

"Yes, you have better taste than I'd ever have given you credit for," she told him.

He dug his fingers into her side, until she arched her back, laughing as she tried to pull herself off him, only for him to pull her back. "You don't get away that easily," he murmured into the side of her neck.

Jackie tilted her head back, brown eyes sparkling as she looked into his, whispering, "That better be a promise."

"Definitely."