Disclaimer- This story is for fan purposes only. All of the characters and quoted text are property of their respective owners (not me) and are used here without permission.

Supping With the Devil

Cornish: A drink, for old times' sake?

Lewis: There isn't a spoon long enough…

Cornish: For supping with the devil? Very good, Robbie. Almost witty.

Lewis: You do know that from now on everybody in the force will be on your back?

Cornish: You'll have to find me first. See you...

-The Ramblin' Boy

Prologue:

Inspector Lewis sauntered off to quench his raging thirst at the Whitehorse with Chief Superintendent Innocent and their colleagues. What would Nick Cornish say if he knew that Lewis was off to have drinks with his boss? He'd likely reprise his line about Robbie Lewis and the Ladybird's book of policing. Lewis himself didn't give Cornish a second thought, though. He was looking forward to seeing James Hathaway freshly returned from Croatia, though the real reason for his lively step was Laura Hobson. Lewis and Hobson were a couple now, and he wondered if (Innocent) and how (Hathaway) should find out. Lewis decided that he would just quietly hold Hobson's hand under the table and then assume that the other detectives would figure it out. Dr Hobson, as we know, had other ideas.

The next morning…

Sergeant Hathaway decided it would be prudent to ring before turning up at his governor's flat the next morning. "Where should I pick you up, sir?" Prudent, yes, but with an undeniable bit of cheek.

"What do you mean?" Lewis countered. If Hathaway thought that he could tease Lewis, the senior detective was going to turn the tables by obfuscating at every turn.

"Your flat or her house, sir?"

"My flat, of course."

"Do you have company?"

"Faithful Monty."

"And… Dr. Hobson?" Hathaway sounded incredulous that Hobson was not in the picture.

"Probably at her house or on her way in to work I'd think." Lewis said nonchalantly. He could just imagine Hathaway thinking: but surely Lewis and Hobson must've…?!

"So I'll be around in 15 minutes, if that's OK?"

"Better lick your fur, Monty, James doesn't want to see anything untoward!" Lewis did enjoy teasing Hathaway.

At the appointed hour, Lewis hopped into Hathaway's car with unusual alacrity. "Morning, James!"

If his eyes hadn't told him his passenger was Robbie Lewis, Hathaway wouldn't have believed it. The Inspector's cheery demeanour was unrecognizable to the sergeant who had come to expect a curmudgeon.

"You're certainly chipper this morning, sir. Sleep well?"

"Heh." Lewis just smiled. "I suppose you're going to gloat. Go ahead."

"Gloat about what, sir?"

"You were right all those years, ribbing me about Hobson."

"Ah, yes." Hathaway was glad to be receiving credit. "I am the last person who should be consulted on relationships, of course, but it was as plain as the nose on your face since the day we met. She was rubbing your shoulder in the pathology lab. The way she retracted her arm when I walked in made it pretty clear. I never thought you'd actually do something about it, mind you. If I'd known that all I had to do was disappear to Croatia for a while, I'd have left years ago." Hathaway suddenly looked uncomfortable as he wondered about his own future plans and how to tell Lewis that he might leave for good.

Lewis sensed his discomfort and decided to change the subject. "Hobson or not, I'm glad you're back, James, so let's have no more talk of you leaving. Remind me again why we're going to Heathrow?"

"Right. DI Grainger's case. Innocent needs us to bring in one Victoria Merton, pastry chef with possible ties to a prostitution ring. She's expected to arrive on a flight from Frankfort."

"Innocent needs detectives for that?"

"Well, we can always charge her with obstructing an enquiry, but we're supposed to interrogate her first to see if we can extract any more than Grainger was able to. Airport lock-up is going to make a room available to us. I think you're sitting on the case file. Sir." Hathaway had the habit of briefly pausing before adding 'sir' to mitigate any demeaning remarks.

Lewis shifted to retrieve the folder and put it on his lap. Hathaway continued to enumerate possible charges with which they could inculpate Ms Merton, but Lewis' mind wandered. He opened the file and pretended to read.

He closed his eyes and remembered watching the sunrise from the swing in Laura Hobson's garden—their last blissful moments together before she drove him home an hour before Hathaway's phone call. In a few minutes' time, Hathaway noticed that Lewis was snoring. He didn't get much sleep last night after all, Hathaway thought- and blushed a little as he did so.

Lewis and Hathaway made it to Heathrow with plenty of time before the arriving flight of the Merton Pie Madame, so they waited at an airport café. Lewis was grateful for the caffeine. Half-way through his coffee, he saw Hathaway do a double-take which prompted Lewis to ask, 'what?'

"It appears, sir, that you are irresistible!" Lewis gave Hathaway a bemused look. "First, Dr Hobson throws herself at you at the Whitehorse, now I do believe that Nick Cornish wants to buy you a drink."

Lewis turned around and saw Nick Cornish two tables over, gesturing that Lewis come over and join him. Lewis glowered into his coffee cup. "I suppose I owe it to Louise to make a last ditch effort." He said before leaving Hathaway to join Cornish.

"Robbie, if you're following me, you're not doing it very discretely." Cornish stated.

"And you're not hiding very well." Lewis spied the ticket tucked into Cornish's passport. "So, Buenos Aires it is then." Cornish smiled, but declined to comment. Lewis decided to cut to the chase. "I know that you made arrangements with Lou, but did you at least say goodbye to the boys?"

"I missed so much of their childhood working this job they'll hardly notice the difference."

Lewis hoped that he could exploit the common ground of fatherhood. "I know, man. I missed a lot too. There is so much I wish I could go back and do over- particularly with me son- but you have the chance to fix things before it's too late."

Cornish rolled his eyes and arrogantly dismissed Lewis' sentiment. "Look, Robbie, I'll never win father of the year, but they'll be well taken care of."

"Ach, Nick, I used to think we were cut from the same cloth."

"We are, Robbie. It was time for a change, no? Need to sow my oats, just like you. How's your vixen of a pathologist?" Lewis tried- and failed- to hide his grin. "That's right, Robbie, news travels fast."

Lewis regained his fatherly expression and focused back on the Cornishes. "Completely different situation, me and Hobson. Lou's a good lass, man. What do you want with anyone else, let alone someone as promiscuous as Tara Faulkner?"

Cornish did not appreciate Lewis' interest in his personal life and knew that Lewis himself was infinitely more vulnerable. Cornish went for the kill. "Your wife may be dead, but that doesn't make Laura Hobson any less promiscuous than Tara Faulkner."

Lewis was far too experienced a policeman to let an adversary draw him into an emotional conflict. He stared down Cornish with a contemptuous façade, though on the inside, his heart beat had gone irregular and he felt lightheaded.

Hathaway, who must have super-human hearing, leapt up from his seat two tables over and entered the fray. "Actually, from a morality standpoint, Dr Hobson is far more honourable than Mrs Faulkner in that she has not broken any marriage vows. Let's not even consider drug-smuggling." Lewis had never in his life been more grateful to see Hathaway's smug face.

Cornish snorted dismissively at Hathaway. "Good bagman, sticking up for your governor's girlfriend. Look, son. Hobson flirts like it's part of the job description."

"I'm aware. She called me 'dishy.' Hathaway said, completely deadpan. "Most detectives have the good sense not to distort innocuous flirting into something more."

"Do they, now? Wonder what Chief Superintendent Johnson would make of that. Do you know how many police officers she's been with over the years, sergeant? Ask Robbie. I'm sure he's been keeping track."

"We're done here." Lewis stated and walked away. The initial shock of Cornish's insult had passed and now Lewis was struggling to contain his rage.

Hathaway followed Lewis, but turned and made an accusatory gesture to Cornish. "Hobson saved the best for last."

Once out of the airport gate, Lewis' emotions were about to erupt. Cornish had insulted Val's memory and slandered Laura. Lewis couldn't abide Cornish's rendition of her sexual history when the night before, Lewis and Hobson had been intimate- saying everything and touching everywhere- but they hadn't actually consummated their relationship. His fury towards Cornish and his desire for Hobson combined as if they were a fuse and a flame. Only a few seconds more and Lewis lost control.