R: So, it was brought to my attention by Miss Hannah Lynn that my last Lucas fic was rather sad (I can be mean, sorry!) so I told her I would write a significantly more fluffy one to make up for it. This what I came up with, and I must say, I love it quite a bit! I decided to go off the idea that, by the point this story takes place, Lucas, Jo, and Hanson know Henry's secret. (For some reason I couldn't bring myself to leave Hanson out, even though I don't really know how to write him! I took a few liberties with him, but I think I nailed it.) Enjoy and review, my lovelies, if you wish to see more!
Disclaimer (possibly in addition to our usual)- The closest think I own to Henry Morgan is a golden beta fish named Dr. Morgan that doesn't die.
V: *every bit the rebellious rowdy teenager, even though I'm not even a teen anymore* She owes me a Tremors fic now. She's turned me into her posting slave. And nobody should own that many hats!
*DISCLAIMER* RV makes no claim to own Forever or its characters or Rumpy. They are the property of Mathew Miller and BBC. No profit is made from this writing, but donations are welcome in place of Rumpy's absence.
Lucas threw open the glass doors of the morgue, spreading his arms wide with a flourish as he walked in. "I'm home!" he called with a wide, bright smile. "Everybody miss me?"
His boss, none other than Henry Morgan of course, and his lovely partner, Jo Martinez, glanced over their shoulders at the medical examiner's assistant.
"No? Well, that's a bit disappointing," he said, looking down, but demeanor otherwise unchanged.
"Lucas, you were on vacation for a week," Henry responded, if just a bit distractedly. "Of course you were missed. I was forced to recreate a crime by killing Hanson. It was quite an unwanted change."
The younger man's grin returned as he walked over to join him, patting the medical examiner on the back. "Thanks, Doc. I didn't miss anything awesome while I was away, did I?"
"I suppose that depends on your definition of 'awesome'," Henry replied, raising an eyebrow at him.
Jo rolled her eyes a bit at that. "You know that by now, Henry. Yes, Lucas, you missed a case. But it's all wrapped up now, sorry."
That clearly left him a touch disappointed. "So, anyway," Henry said, turning away from a body he had obviously just finished up with, "how was your vacation?" he changed the subject.
"It was fun, going to see my grandparents again after so long," Lucas said, "but to tell you the truth, it was a bit boring for my tastes. I ended up blowing a lot of money to entertain myself."
"I'm sure that was a wise financial decision, Lucas," Henry said with a light teasing time in his voice.
"Hey, just because you are immortal doesn't mean you are the only person who knows how to save up some money," his assistant chided back jokingly.
Henry sent him a glare that lacked any true malice behind it, slipping into a hint of smile before he turned away to collect a file. Jo chuckled. "I'm glad it at least sounded like you enjoyed yourself."
"Yeah, but mostly I'm glad to be back," Lucas rubbed the back of his neck with a smile. "Hey! We should celebrate my return tonight. Maybe you guys and Abe and Hanson should come over to my place for-"
"Nonsense," Henry interrupted and Lucas's face fell. "Not at your apartment, it's much too small. Abe has been practically begging me to invite you all over lately. I'm sure he has some new recipe up his sleeve he wants us to try for him."
"So your place then?" Jo asked, looking over to Henry.
Henry turned a questioning eye to Lucas, who was now practically beaming. "If Abe's cooking you don't have to ask me twice," he replied.
Henry gave a quick nod with a smile. "Dinner tonight then it is. I'll call Abraham and you can ask Hanson, Jo."
The detective nodded. "Will do."
As anyone who knew Abe Morgan would expect, the initial part of the dinner was a mix of stunned silence and ecstatic praise over his experimental twist on beef Wellington. In this case, it was much more like 'pork Wellington', substituting the usual protein and subtracting the classic pâté to enhance the mushrooms and rosemary.
Around the second helping- because of course they all wanted more- things settled down into a comfortable chatter between the Morgans, Jo, Hanson, and Lucas. However, the assistant was actually surprisingly the quietest of the group. He seemed anxious, excited even, and it didn't take Henry terribly long to notice.
"So, Lucas," the medical examiner started in order to bring the younger man into the conversation and figure out what he was hiding, "did you do anything particularly noteworthy over your vacation?"
"Actually, yeah," Lucas beamed. "I actually have some stuff I want to show you guys." He got up from his chair and quickly zipped from the room.
Henry nodded. That explained a small duffle bag that his assistant had brought into the house with him and left with his jacket, and now brought back into the dining room with him.
"Whenever my grandparents went on vacation," Lucas started, excited but with a hint of nervousness, "they always brought me gifts when they came back and it always made feel great so I thought-"
"You bought us gifts?" Jo interrupted, receiving a quick nod. "I'm guessing that's what you blew money on?"
Lucas didn't answer until Henry raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, um, yeah. Anyway." He unzipped his bag and pulled out a long, thin box. He handed it to Hanson who smiled.
"Thanks," he said, "I don't think I've gotten a gift recently that wasn't for a Christmas or birthday," he commented as he opened the box. He first pulled out a surprisingly nice-looking pen. He looked it over. "Oh, wow. It has my name engraved on it," he said in surprise, next pulling out a rather sedate, silk tie. It didn't look like much, but it was very much his style, actually something he would wear. "Just, wow. You actually got stuff I'll use."
Looking a bit proud of himself, Lucas pulled something else out of the bag. It was a large square, flat and wrapped in paper. He handed it to Abe, who took it with the eagerness of an excited child.
As soon as it was in his hands, Abe handled it gently, getting a sense of what was inside. He removed the paper to reveal the sleeve of a jazz record he- but no one else- immediately recognized. He gaped at it.
"I knew you liked jazz," Lucas said a bit nervously, trying to gauge the older man's reaction, "but I don't know a whole lot about it myself. I had to trust the guy in the store and he said this was a really good record. If you already have it or-"
"No, he was right," Abe said with a big grin, "This is perfect!"
Eyes lighting up even more, Lucas dug back into the duffle again and pulled out a much smaller package, about small enough to fit in his hand. It was silver and shimmery and tied closed with a ribbon. He placed it in front of Jo.
She gave him a skeptical look. "You aren't asking me to marry you, are you?" she asked.
He laughed in mild surprise. "No."
"Good," Henry added with a smirk, meeting Jo's eyes and she returned the look.
She turned back to her gift and pulled the ribbon off, opening it up see a bracelet and matching earrings inside. They were simple, not too sparkly or bright, with onyxes and opals against a darker metal. They fit surprisingly well with the detective who would much prefer to hide her looks than risk than the interfering with her job. Jo removed the bracelet gingerly and placed it on her wrist without hesitation. "To tell you the truth, I hate jewelry. But I actually like this."
"I thought I should get you something as pretty as you are," he said, but paused and looked away. "That sounded a lot less creepy in my head."
Jo just chuckled, reassuring him a bit as he pulled a final package from his bag. Another box, this one bigger than Jo's but slightly smaller length-wise than Hanson's, he hesitated with it in his hands.
"Okay, Doc," Lucas started, "I really wasn't sure what kind of thing to get you. Maybe I just started to over-think it, but I've never tried to buy something for someone who's lived for, like, forever."
Henry just offered him an understanding, patient nod.
"So I kind of just went with my gut," he finished, handing the box to the doctor.
Taking it, Henry set the slightly heavy box down on the table in front of him and glanced up at Lucas momentarily before opening it. The object inside was not only buried in crinkled paper for protection, but also wrapped in a soft, patterned cloth. As he unwrapped it, Henry quickly discovered the material was a long, vintage scarf similar to the many he wore. Unveiling the object, he instinctively placed the scarf over his neck and inspected the clearly antique magnifying glass with a far-away look. "Magnificent, Lucas," he finally said after a nudge from his partner brought him back to reality, causing Lucas to let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "It's beautiful."
Hanson laughed from where he sat. "I've never heard someone describe a looking glass as beautiful before."
"You've never really looked at an antique one before," Abe countered.
"Touché," he responded, pointing his new pen back at the man.
With a chuckle, Abe stood from his seat, brandishing his new record. "I'm going to go put this on. It's been ages since I've heard any of this music." He started to head into the other room.
Henry stood as well then. "Abraham, I must remind you not to play it too loud! It's late, and I won't have you disturbing our neighbors," he reprimanded as he followed his son, carefully clutching his gifted antique.
Jo rolled her eyes with a smile as she went after her partner, putting her new earrings in as she went.
Hanson followed suit, tying his new necktie with practiced precision. "Don't listen to him, Abe, I say crank it up!" he half-teased.
Lucas smiled contentedly to himself as he sat back, kicking his feet up on the table and putting his hands behind his head. He stayed that way for approximately a second before Henry stuck his head back in the dining room, a scolding look on his face, causing his young assistant scramble to put his shoes back on the floor. In doing so he knocked down an empty glass with a shatter muffled by jazz starting in the next room.
"I was- uh, I'll, um, clean that-" he stuttered for a moment before Henry smiled, shaking his head with a small chuckle.
"Come on, Lucas," he said over the music. "We are celebrating your return, remember?"