Just a little something to tide you over until the lengthy one week hiatus is over. :p I highly doubt it will actually go down like this, but to me this is more realistic than what I think the writers have planned for the two parter finale. And I know I have no right to talk about realism given all of my fantastical stories but I would appreciate it if after all of this, Jilliam finds their own way out of this mess, rather than relying on external events to solve their problems for them. After all, they can't be the only people in the history of the world who wanted a divorce back then from someone not willing to grant it! Rant over. P.S. it's never over...

"Darcy is my burden. I will deal with it."

Julia said this with much more determination than she actually felt. Though she had deemed it necessary to say something comforting to William after all of their fighting over the past few days, she had absolutely no idea how she would accomplish her goal. Her dear husband was being extremely unreasonable and acting like a spoiled brat; like a child who has too many toys to play with but doesn't want to share the older ones with anyone else, even though they had grown bored of them. Now she was this old beaten up toy that was forever in the slimy death grip of a grown man. What had his exact words been?

"If I can't have you for my wife, neither can he."

And then he ripped up the divorce papers! Just like that! She could barely believe her eyes! It had taken all of her strength not to wrap her hands around his scrawny neck and squeeze until he stopped breathing; until what little of his senses no longer remained; until this nightmare was put to bed. And he had done it why? Because she had rejected his advances? Because she had offended his stupid self pride? Because he hated William that much? Because he hated her that much?

And now the situation had disintegrated to such dire straights that even William couldn't keep his composure around him. William! He was the most reserved, level headed, stoic person on the planet! If he couldn't restrain himself from pummelling Darcy, (in public no less!) there was little hope left for them. They needed to solve their dilemma and they needed to do it soon, before either of them completely lost their heads and did something truly drastic; something they would live to regret; something murderous.

If only I had found the courage to lie, this would all be over now!

Rather than chastise herself on her past failings, (the list was long) it was time to focus on the present, on a game plan for dispatching her husband. Not literally of course, though it would certainly make things much easier for them to get married. She could pretend like she had never planned out his demise before but she would be lying. But those had been moments of weakness and fancy, nothing more. However, she was at least capable of killing, she knew this much, and it had almost destroyed her. So she had done her best to block out the memory, with little success (truth be told, this was a large part of why she had desired a change of profession). But William had gotten her through the worst of it and she only rarely had nightmares about it anymore. Unlike the time she was buried alive. That one still plagued her at least once a week, even after all of her intense electric shock therapy; even after all this time.

Julia shuddered involuntarily at the odious recollections and continued her journey home. When she walked by Darcy's residence she could feel his eyes on her. As she passed, she looked up towards the window but there was no one there. Every time she went by his place, she felt like he was there, watching her every move, and she knew that was precisely the reason he had moved to this location in the first place. He was taunting her. First it was the house and now it was his mistress. She could barely believe it when William had told her. Another woman? Who was this man? Who was this stranger who had replaced him? What had become of the sweet, tender thing that used to rub her feet after a hard days work and patiently listen to every little complaint?

It was like he was Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and she and William only ever saw the Jekyll part now.

Lucky them.

Julia was upset by the idea that she had evoked this change in him, that she was the cause of his terrible transformation. It was true wasn't it? She had willingly married a man that she was not head over heels in love with and then almost immediately regretted the decision. For months she had put on a show and pretended like she enjoyed his touch, but really she had been thinking of William at every instance, pretending he was the one embracing her, pleasuring her, loving her.

Then he had returned from the Yukon and she could no longer pretend, all of those emotions had come rushing back to her in one fell swoop. So she had retreated as far away as she could get and yet still remain in Toronto. But she knew where her heart would always belong. She knew Darcy knew. Had possibly always known. And now he was so bitter with this knowledge that it had driven him from one extreme of his personality to another.

But enough about all of that. She had lost whatever sympathy had remained for his feelings. If he was going to play dirty, so was she. And with that thought in mind, a plan began to form, one that was unworthy of her but wholly necessary. In order to accomplish her goals, she would need help, and since William could not be a part of this, (besides, he would never approve) she changed course and headed towards the morgue. And then thought better of it. Before she ventured down that road, she was willing to give him one last chance. Maybe William's punch knocked some sense into him?

Julia found him at work, busy on the telephone. When he turned to see who had knocked, she saw his black eye and couldn't help but feel a large amount of satisfaction at William's devotion to her, even if it had been the epitome of stupidity.

Her husbands face became grim and he said, "I'll call you back Thompson."

"Darcy."

He gestured to his face. "Have you come to inspect his handiwork? Or would you like to make them a matching pair?"

"I'm very sorry he did that. It was very wrong of him."

"So now he's got you apologizing on his behalf? How noble of him."

This was going about as well as expected but she intended to persevere a little longer.

"Darcy-"

"I've noticed that my complaint has yet to be addressed. The constabulary is as corrupt as he is. But what's one more malfeasance? It's not like he's an angel." Julia bit her lip to prevent herself from screaming at him. "I seem to recall something about dereliction of duty awhile back. Conveniently the charges disappeared, as did he. Too bad he decided to come back. Toronto was better off without him."

"Oh, you're impossible!"

And she stormed out of there.

Emily was still at the morgue, busy finishing up the paperwork for this most unusual, yet highly romantic case. At least, she was trying to do this. George was hanging around her, distracting her with some anecdote about something or other. Emily looked up as Julia approached and smiled.

"Doctor," said George, nodding slightly.

"Three visits in one day," Emily said smirking. "Apparently you just can't live without my input. I'm highly flattered." Julia did not return the smile. She was incredibly focused on formulating her plan and nothing else. Emily quickly noticed her demeanour. "What is it, Julia?" she asked standing up and going over to her. "Has Detective Murdoch gotten himself into further trouble?"

Julia glanced at George and didn't respond. Then they both looked at him and he appeared confused. Apparently he couldn't take the hint.

"Please constable," said Emily sharply, "give us some space."

"As you wish, doctor," he said stiffly and left the room.

"Well?" said Emily. "Has the detective broken the law again or what?"

"No, Emily, but I fear that I am about to. That I must."

Her protege raised an eyebrow at that and touched Julia's arm. "Whatever it is, Julia, perhaps I can talk you out of it? Is that why you are here?"

Julia shook her head slowly once. "No, Emily, I came here to ask for your assistance in a rather sensitive matter. I know I have no right to but-"

"I'll do it," Emily interjected quickly, a light beginning to shine brightly in her eyes, like the time they had attempted to start up the illegal contraception clinic.

Taken aback, "But you don't even know what I have to ask of you. It will be rather morally questionable."

"If you think a small detail like that would stop me from assisting my friend and mentor, from what I suspect has to do with attempting to end your terrible marriage once and for all, you don't know me very well."

Julia smiled at her little proclamation. "When you say it like that, I realize it was foolish of me to think otherwise."

"Yes," she said also smiling, "very foolish indeed."

What were the requirements for a divorce to be granted? They were two fold. First it had to be proven that someone in the party (meaning her in particular) was being unfaithful. Well, they both were now and it still wasn't leading to any solution, at least not in a timely manner. The news of her scandalous night with William at The Queen's Hotel had caused less than the uproar she had been expecting. And she had no idea why. So what was the second, more speedy option? She had to prove undue cruelty (a beating here and there was perfectly acceptable though). Now this was basically an impossible feat, so she needed to resort to alternative methods, or a third option if you will.

This is where things became rather tricky, which is why she needed Emily's help. Her protege was the only one she could trust with her unsavoury plan (except maybe for her sister but Ruby was off gallivanting God knows where). Besides which, it would be much easier for her to accomplish the first stage in Julia's master plan, than it would be for Julia herself. This was because Emily was far less visible to Darcy than she would be, having only met him a handful of times, even though she frequently used to visit Julia at the Garland residence. And this was because Darcy had often been away on business in Buffalo or some other location. Those had been blessed times.

Since Julia didn't want to risk being spotted by Darcy, she had opted to not go there at all, at least, not yet. Where was there? Emily was currently doing reconnaissance at The Imperial Hotel, waiting (and hoping) for Darcy to make an appearance. Finally he did and to her utter delight, he was not alone. There was a blonde haired woman holding his arm and Emily couldn't help but be off put by how similar she appeared to Julia from behind, as if he were trying to replace her in some sort of sick way.

I hope this works. We shall all be glad to be rid of him.

And now she commenced stalking her prey from a discreet distance. Following them up the main lobby staircase, they continued up one more flight before coming to a stop outside of their room. Emily halted before the bend here so as not to be seen, which was fortunate, for Darcy had chosen that very moment to look over his shoulder and down the hallway, where she would have been.

This was all Emily could do for now. Tonight's goal had only been to determine which room they were using for their dalliance, well that and to acquire one of the rooms beside it. Of course it would have been simpler to just surreptitiously check out the registry but she had tried that and couldn't find Darcy's name on the list. For a man who didn't claim to care about who he was seen with in public, he certainly behaved strangely. To Emily this was a good sign. It meant that Julia's plan had a good chance of working. So without further ado, she went back downstairs and checked into room 307, using an alias of course; Harriet Burchill; George's biological mother's name.

The next day began the preparatory work. Once Emily was quite sure Darcy and his lady friend had left, she called Julia over and they met in the lobby. Julia had a large hand bag with her, similar to the one William had used to bring his infamous dominoes in.

"I'll take things from here, Emily."

"Are you sure? I'd be more than happy to stay with you."

"No, Emily, I must do this on my own. You've already done plenty."

"All right then. Good luck."

With that, Emily handed over the room key and Julia made her way up. Once within, she removed the hand drill and got to work. The idea was to make a large enough hole in the wall for a camera to get a good view (and so that she could spy on Darcy and his mistress) but not so big that she would be discovered herself.

Though Julia didn't want to stoop so low, it was impossible to do anything else since Darcy refused to listen to reason and he had all the power here. She hoped her little endeavour today would tip the scales in her favour for the first time in a long time. Julia had gotten this blackmail idea from a case William had worked years ago (also involving a woman she would rather had not been in the picture). Julia had denied being threatened by Sally Pendrick but the fact was, she had been. William had just spent far too much time with her to think otherwise, even if the woman had been married. She felt justified in her fears from way back when, especially now that he was carrying on with a married woman.

Hopefully not for much longer.

The hole finally completed, she fixed a state of the art camera to it (the smallest available model) and took a look through. She had a perfect view of room 309 (specifically the king sized bed) and she smiled grimly to herself.

Now all she had to do was wait. It would be a very dull day indeed but she was afraid to leave the room and miss her last chance. Emily had informed her that Darcy had only booked the room for one more night at this hotel. After that, there was no telling where he would continue his dalliance, or even if he would.

The moment of truth came and Julia steeled herself for what she had to do and what she must witness. She grit her teeth the whole time and once she was certain she had ample firepower against him, she hightailed it out of there.

Julia again went to see Darcy at work the next day.

"Julia?" he said surprised as she entered his office. "What do you want now?"

"I came here to once again try to make you see reason."

Immediately his features changed and he said coldly, "As long as you remain with him, I will never grant the divorce."

"You're quite sure about that?"

"Positive."

"Well that's a shame. I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this but you've left me no choice."

Narrowing his eyes slightly, "Resort to what?" She tossed a folder on to his desk. He looked at it suspiciously. "What is this?"

"Open it and find out."

He did and the colour drained from his face. He slammed the folder closed.

"Where did you get these?" he hissed.

"Where do you think? At your little den of inequity."

"I mean, how did you get these?"

"With difficulty."

Standing up he walked over to her. "If you think this changes anything, Julia, you're dead wrong. You still have to prove I've been abusing you." He stroked her face, "And we both know I'd never harm you."

Moving away from his touch she said, "That may well be the case, Darcy, but you're the one who's dead wrong. If you don't grant the divorce by the end of the day, I will make sure that these pictures find their way to the hospital board."

He was silent in his shock."You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I?"

Darcy shook his head disbelieving. "I never believed you capable of such tactics."

"I could say the same to you. Are you really so surprised? You've pushed me into a corner like a rabid animal. I had no choice but to strike."

Becoming angry, "If you even try to attempt this, I will have you arrested for extortion."

"Which will only produce a further scandal for you. If you think getting a divorce will cause one, you have no idea what these pictures will do to your career. How do you think the board members will react when they learn their Chief Administrator is associated with such sordid affairs? What do you think Lamont will say?

Darcy clenched his fists tightly, and for a moment she was slightly afraid he might get physical after all. But the moment passed and he plopped down into a chair.

With eyes full of sorrow and defeat he said wearily, "How did we come to this, Julia?"

Despite everything, she was still capable of feeling sorry for him and she touched his shoulder.

"I don't know, Darcy, but we're here now and I think it best for the both of us if you finally let me go, before either of us does irrevocable damage to the other. I for one would like to part on more amicable terms. But it's up to you, Darcy, it's always been up to you."

Again he was silent, this time for much longer. She wondered if she should say something and then he decided to speak.

"All right," he said quietly, looking away, "you've won."

"It was never about winning...but thank you, Darcy."

She handed him the newly printed divorce papers and he begrudgingly took them. He flipped through them briefly and his expression changed slightly. She knew why. She had already signed all of her sections.

He gestured to the photos. "And what of the others? I know you made copies."

"I will destroy all of them once the papers have been signed and processed. I give you my word."

Darcy made a face at that last statement. Flashing back to their wedding, Julia realized her mistake. Terrified that he would once again go back on his word, she attempted to say something but he spoke first.

"Never mind that, Julia." He went over to his desk, sat down and began scribbling here and there.

She realized this was the equivalence of holding a gun to his head and forcing him to sign the documents. But she was counting on his career oriented mind to quell any ideas of ever coming forward with this information, to try and attempt to fight the divorce. Besides which, surely after all this, he couldn't possibly be delusional enough to ever think she would want him back? And why would he want to be miserable for the rest of his life?

After about thirty seconds, it was over. Darcy held the thick stack out to her and she leafed through it. Satisfied with what she saw, she thanked him again and attempted to apologize for threatening him, but he was having none of it.

"Please, just leave me alone now."

Before she left, she removed her wedding rings and placed them on the table. He didn't comment. He appeared to be off in another world, in a brooding silence.

Once she left the hospital, it was all she could do to contain her glee.

"Were you successful?" asked Emily about four hours later when Julia entered the morgue.

Julia smiled hugely and Emily returned the gesture and they hugged for several seconds.

"Oh I am so happy for you, Julia!"

"Yes, I can hardly believe that it's finally over!"

Emily released her friend. "I believe a certain detective will want to hear this most wonderful news."

"I believe you are right, Emily. And thank you for all your help. I couldn't have done this without you."

"I really didn't do very much,"- she caught Julia's slightly annoyed expression- "but you are most welcome."

She knocked on his door and he looked up from whatever it was that he was doing. Her only focus was him, everything else was just white noise. He raised an eyebrow at her likely odd expression.

"Julia, is everything all right?"

She walked over to his desk. "It's more than all right, William." Not capable of containing herself any longer she blurted out, "He did it, William! He finally did it!"

For once William was not slow on the up take and stood up and grasped her hands, hands that no longer bore her wedding rings. "Are you certain this time?"

"Absolutely! The papers were processed just ten minutes ago! I am a free woman again!"

His face lit up like nothing she had ever seen before and they openly kissed with everyone watching them. Then he held her tight and whispered in her ear, "I don't know what you did to accomplish this and I don't care. All I care about is having you for myself once more. And this time, I will never let you go. So," he said getting down on one knee, and retrieving the familiar silver case from his breast pocket, making her gasp, "Julia Ogden, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed.

He jumped up and slid the ruby engagement ring on to her finger, like he had imagined doing so many years before. Next he kissed her again, this time for longer, causing quite the ruckus from the lads still watching, and when they finally parted they grinned stupidly at all of them. Everyone seemed completely bewildered by the occurrence but even so, when they left William's office, everyone congratulated them. Brackenreid and George lingered around afterwards.

"I don't know what the bloody hell is going on but I couldn't be happier for you, me old mucker!"

"Yes," said George, "this is quite the turn of events! I should inform Dr. Grace of this immediately!"

"That won't be necessary, George," said Julia. "She already knows."

"She does?" he said confusedly. "But it just happened!"

"I mean, she knows about the divorce. I would like to tell her about this,"-she held up her ring hand and wiggled her fingers- "myself."

"Right." And then something else seemed to dawn on him. "Dr. Ogden, when you came by the morgue the other night-"

"It's not important, George. Just let it be."

"But-"

"Come on bugalugs," said Brackenreid, putting an arm around his shoulders, "let's give these two love birds a little room."

"Well, Julia, do you have any ideas on how we can celebrate our engagement?"

Smiling mischievously, "Oh I can think of a thing or two, William."

He returned the smile. "Very good, Julia, very good indeed."

A girl can dream, right? Right? ;D