“Late night?” Ric teased Diane, as she arrived late, with a packet of aspirin in her hand.

 

“Yeah…” she replied, opening the packet and putting a pill in her mouth. “I’m never drinking again.”

 

“I’d like to see you keep that promise.” They started walking down the corridor. “So, what happened last night?”

 

“Medical ball thing.” She rubbed her temples. “I mean it, I’m never drinking again.”

 

“I didn’t think you’d been invited to that,” Ric replied.

 

“I went as Tom’s guest,” she smiled.

 

“You went to a ball with a recovering alcoholic and drunk the bar dry?” Ric queried. “That’s a bit mean even for you, Diane.”

 

“Oi!” Diane protested. “Do you really think I’d be that cruel?” Ric just smiled. “You really have a low opinion of me. If you must know, Tom latched onto that psychiatrist person, Anita somebody-or-other, and I spent the evening with Alex.”

 

“How lovely for you.”

 

“It was very nice, actually,” she retorted. Ric didn’t see how he could argue with that, and they lapsed into silence, until he remembered something.

 

“Before I forget, Diane, how would you like to spend a few days in London?” Ric asked.

 

“Ooh. Why?” Diane liked the idea, but there was bound to be a catch. “Are you so desperate to get rid of me?”

 

“I’m always desperate to get rid of you, Diane.” She pretended to glare at him, but dropped the pretence quickly, and giggled. “Well, you know Marcus Denby?” Ric decided to explain from the beginning. If he didn’t, Diane would be asking questions until Doomsday.

 

“The guy who got you the job at the Hadlington?”

 

“That’s the one,” he agreed. “There’s a big medical conference in London, and he’s been invited to be a guest speaker. He knows that I’m interested in that sort of thing, so he’s asked me to go along.”

 

“And…?” Diane prompted.

 

“He’s taking his fiancée and he asked me if I’d like to bring my significant other.” Ric looked away as he spoke.

 

“And you don’t have one, and you didn’t want to admit it, so you want me to go with you,” Diane finished. “I know you too well.”

 

“Well… do you want to come or not?” Ric demanded. “Two weeks in a posh hotel that neither of us are paying for, and the chance to go to some of the biggest speeches and exhibitions there are.”

 

“I’d love to go,” Diane replied. “When is it? And what about leave from this place?”

 

“I’ll handle that. And it’s next week,” he replied, as they arrived on Darwin ward.

 

“Sounds like fun.”

 

*~*~*

 

And she thought it was even more fun the next week, when, laden down with bags, she struggled down the stairs from her flat to Ric’s car. “Damn bags…”

 

“How long are you going for?” Ric queried, amused at the amount of luggage she had with her.

 

“Two weeks is a long time, you know. I don’t intend to wear the same clothes every day, even if you do,” Diane retorted, gladly dropping a suitcase on the floor, and wincing, as there was the unmistakeable sound of breaking glass. “There goes my mirror.”

 

“Well done.” Ric picked the suitcase up, and carefully placed it in the boot of his car.

 

“No need to be so cautious – I’ve already broken everything in it.”

 

“I’m being careful of my car,” he replied, smiling at the new car he’d purchased only the previous week.

 

“Huh. Nice to know that my things mean so much to you,” she huffed, pretending to be insulted. She peered into the car. “Where’s your luggage?”

 

“In the back – and I haven’t brought as much as you.” He pointed to the small holdall in the back seat. “That, and my suit, is all I need.”

 

“I’m so glad I’m not you!” Diane commented, climbing into the car. “Ooh, leather. How can you care so little about clothes?”

 

“I do care about my clothes,” he returned, as he started the car. “Got everything you need? I just do not see the point in having so many clothes as you do.”

 

“I don’t have that many…” Diane trailed off, remembering the shopping spree that she and Jess had embarked on only the previous day – with Ric’s credit card. He didn’t know about it, suffice to say. She paused. “So, where are we going?”

 

“We’re meeting Marcus and his fiancée at the Hadlington,” Ric replied.

 

“And have you told him yet that I am not romantically linked to you?” Diane demanded, smiling.

 

Ric turned to look at the oncoming traffic, which meant that Diane couldn’t see his face. “No.”

 

“No?” she repeated. “Ric, why not? C’mon, do I have to pretend that we’re going out or something?”

 

“That would be nice, yes.” He pushed her backwards slightly, so that he could see the traffic from the other side.

 

“You are joking, aren’t you?”

 

“Again, no.”

 

“All this just ’cause you’re such a wimp that you don’t dare tell one guy that you’re single,” she teased.

 

“It’s just for two weeks, Diane,” he told her. “You don’t have to do anything… you just have to not do something.”

 

“Fine.” But she didn’t talk to him for the rest of the journey.

 

*~*~*

 

“Ric, hi!” Marcus called, good-naturedly. He helped a red-haired woman out of his car. “This is Kerry Holmes… my fiancée. This is Ric Griffin, and, ah…”

 

“Diane,” she introduced herself. “Diane Lloyd.” She moved closer to Ric. “He’s cute.”

 

“Shh…” he hissed. “Marcus, nice to see you.”

 

“And you. So, are you ready to go?” Marcus was business-like as ever. “We need to be there for two.”

 

Diane refrained from telling him that he didn’t have a hope in hell. “We might not make that,” she said, politely.

 

“We can try,” Kerry replied.

 

“Are we sharing a car?” Ric asked, as Marcus opened the boot of his car and began removing Diane’s luggage.

 

“I thought so,” Marcus returned. “My car’s big enough… besides, it can give us the time to get to know one another. How did you ever manage to get such a beautiful girl as Diane, Ric?”

 

Diane giggled, but stopped suddenly as Ric elbowed her. “Ow!”

 

“It’s a long story,” Ric replied, as he seated himself in the car. “Nice car.”

 

“Thanks… it’s new. I can thank you and your commission,” Marcus added, laughing.

 

Kerry and Diane settled themselves in the back of the car. “So,” Kerry began. “Your Ric’s rather cute.”

 

Diane smirked. “I was just about to say the same about Marcus. How did you meet him?”

 

“I moved up from London a few years ago, when my mother got taken ill, and he was her doctor,” Kerry replied. “The rest is history… we’re getting married next month.”

 

“Congratulations.”

 

“What about you and Ric?”

 

Diane hesitated. “What about us?”

 

“How did you meet?” Kerry persisted.

 

Diane kicked the back of Ric’s seat. “Ric?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Kerry was just asking how we met…” Diane replied, leaving a heavy hint of ‘You answer this’ at the end of her sentence.

 

“Oh, we go way back,” Ric said, uncomfortably. “Don’t we?”

 

“Yeah…” Diane continued. “We met when I was a student under him…”

 

“And you took it a bit too literally?” Marcus suggested.

 

Ric laughed. “You could say that.”

 

“So you’ve been together a long time?” Kerry asked.

 

“Well, we got together about six years ago,” Diane replied. It was true… they had.

 

“No wedding bells?” Marcus prompted. Ric shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Should I change the subject?”

 

“Please,” Diane replied.

 

“Alright… You used to live in London, Kerry,” Marcus said. “Anywhere near where we’re going?”

 

“Where are we going?” Kerry queried.

 

“Canley,” Marcus replied, casually.

 

Kerry drew in her breath quickly. “You know it?” Diane asked.

 

“A little bit… I used to work there.”

 

“What do you do?” asked Ric.

 

“I’m a detective… police officer. Used to work in Canley – Sun Hill, to be exact,” she added. “Doubt anyone I used to work with is still there. There was a big scandal when I left – not because of me, you understand,” she added, hastily.

 

“Sounds gossip-worthy,” Diane replied. Kerry smiled, and began to tell the story. By the time she’d finished, they were well on their way to Sun Hill, and by the time they’d arrived in Canley, the four felt like old friends. This was going to be fun!