Title: Absent in Adelaide
Fandom: The Doctor Blake Mysteries
Author: Ceindreadh
Type of Story: one-shot
Characters: Matthew Lawson, Lucien Blake, Mattie O'Brien, Charlie Davis
Rating: 15
Spoilers: S3 finale
Summary: It's one thing to follow your dream, but what happens the people you leave behind? Set post S3 finale
Word count: ~ 2,800
Disclaimer. I don't own the characters, I'm only borrowing them, and no copyright infringement is intended.

It had been a long day thought Lawson as he worked through the last of the paperwork. No, he mentally corrected himself; it had been a long six months. There had been plenty of occasions during that time when he'd wondered if he'd ever be able to return to Ballarat in uniform. But he'd stood up to the Special Branch committee, defended himself against all their charges and finally, with Davis's help, he'd been able to come home. Not that it would have meant all that much if Munro had had his way of things. But fortune had been on their side, Munro had slipped up and all Lawson had left to do was to finish his report on the matter and send it down to Melbourne.

Lawson knew that he was taking his time with the report, checking every detail, making sure that the case against Munro was as airtight as it could possibly be. He didn't care how long it took; he was going to bury the bastard
Not that he was in any great hurry to leave the station. Once he'd realised that his stay in Melbourne was likely to be a lengthy one, Lawson had rented out his house in Ballarat, rather than leave it empty indefinitely. When Melbourne demoted him, he'd taken a room in a boarding house until his house could be vacated, which while it was comfortable enough, still lacked a certain sense of home. "Ah well," thought Lawson as he stamped another page, "things will get back to normal soon enough. Another few weeks of Blake driving me crazy and I'll probably wish I'd taken that early retirement." It briefly crossed his mind that he hadn't seen him since soon after they'd taken Munro in for interview. Blake had babbled something about having to catch a bus and had disappeared, leaving Lawson and Davis to see to the police business at hand.

Half an hour later, Lawson had finally finished the last of the paperwork relating to Munro and was ready to call it quits for the day. Tomorrow he knew was going to be another long day; he intended to go through every case that Munro had dealt with, every bit of evidence that he had handled and every piece of paperwork that he had signed off on. The last thing Lawson wanted was any nasty surprises a few weeks or months down the line. And then there was Doug Ashby's case to be dealt with. A police funeral should have been his due as a former officer, but given the circumstances of his death, Melbourne could easily be reluctant to sanction it. But that was something that could be dealt with in the morning as well.

Lawson pulled on his coat and was just about to switch off the light when the phone rang.
"Ballarat Police Station," he said crisply into the receiver. "Sup...Inspector Lawson speaking."

"Ah, Lawson," Blake's voice came through over a very crackly line, "I was hoping I'd catch you."

"Blake!" said Lawson, "Where are you? This line is terrible."

"Well, to tell the truth, I'm not exactly sure. It's about half way to Adelaide but I didn't catch the name."

"Wait," said Lawson, "I think I missed that. Sounded like you said you were half way to *Adelaide*?"

"Yes," said Blake. "The bus stops here for half an hour to give the passengers a chance to stretch their legs, so I thought I'd phone you and let you know where I was. Now, I have a favour to ask you..."

"Back up there a minute," interrupted Lawson, "Why the hell are you half way to Adelaide?"

"Ah, now that's a bit of a long story."

"You've got half an hour, start talking."

"Well you see, I got on the bus to talk to Jean, and then the bus was leaving, so I thought that I'd travel with her for a while and then get off and catch the return service back to Ballarat. But when I spoke to the driver, he told me that the service only operates every other day this time of year, and by then we were already a few hours out so I thought; well; why not travel the rest of the way to Adelaide."

"Hmph," grunted Lawson, "It's a long journey there and back."

The line was silent for so long that he thought they'd been cut off and was almost about to replace the handset when Blake spoke again, "That's why I've decided to stay there for a while."

It was Lawson's turn to fall silent as the words hit him. On the other end of the line, he could hear Blake continue, "After all, there's no point in travelling so far and not seeing what Adelaide has to offer. I'll phone Doctor Sinclair in the morning, he was able to cover my practice when I went to China, I'm sure he'll look after things for me this time."

"And what if I need a police surgeon?" said Lawson, a little petulantly. "How do I explain to Melbourne that my first day back in charge and my police surgeon decides to go walkabout?"

"Just tell them that as far as I knew," said Blake, "I'd officially been sacked. It's not my fault if I assumed that Munro had filed the paperwork before he'd been relieved of duty." There was a pause that wasn't caused by a breakup in the line. "He hadn't filed the paperwork...had he?"

"No, but I bloody might," snapped Lawson.

"Don't worry Matthew," said Blake, and Lawson could envisage the smile that was probably on his face right then, "Alice owes me a favour. I'm sure if you ask her, she won't mind stepping into the breach."

Lawson sniffed disdainfully, "Seems like you've got everything figured out. I suppose you've sorted out Doug Ashby's funeral arrangements and all?" He regretted his tone as soon as he'd spoken and when Blake replied, it was in somewhat more subdued tones than before.

"As far as I know, Doug had requested that his body be donated to medical research." There was a sigh on the end of the line, "He'd said that after Violet, well, there weren't all that many people left to mourn him, so he figured he'd save them the bother."

Lawson sighed inwardly, "I suppose you could do with a bit of a break. Can't say I blame you after having to deal with Munro for so long. So how long will you be away for? Until Jean gets sick of the sight of you?" There was silence on the end of the line. "Blake? Did you hear me? When will you be coming back?"

"But he *is* coming back...isn't he?" asked Mattie as she poured the tea for Lawson and Charlie as they sat around the kitchen table in Blake's house.

Lawson shrugged, "He said he'd be back for Doug Ashby's memorial, that'll be in a week or so. But whether he'll be back for good or just to tidy things up here..." He pulled the cup and saucer towards him and poured in the milk.

Mattie and Charlie exchanged glances.

Lawson took a sip of his tea and then continued, "As for Jean, she'll be up in Adelaide for as long as she's needed. Could be a month...could be six months..." The words 'for good' were left unsaid. He looked up from his tea and saw the expressions on their faces, "She's doing the right thing by her family, and we should all respect that."

"I do," said Charlie. "We do," said Mattie, simultaneously. She sighed and added, "I just wish her family weren't quite so far away from here."

"As for Blake," said Lawson, "To be honest, after the way Munro treated him, can't say I'd blame him if he wanted shot of this place for good."

"So what did happen with Munro," said Mattie, wrapping her hands around her cup. "Charlie told me you'd interviewed him."

"He's been recalled to Melbourne on disciplinary charges," said Lawson. "He'll face a special branch committee set up for such matters."

There was a small tinge of satisfaction in Lawson's voice. Not that he took any pleasure in the thought of ending a man's career, but Munro had brought it on himself, Lawson had just brought things to the attention of the proper authorities and made sure that they couldn't ignore it. Being a stickler for protocol and taking against Blake, was one thing, and Lawson didn't fault him overmuch for that...lord knows he himself had been on the verge of throwing the Doctor out of the station more than once. But at least he'd had the good sense to realise that Blake's methods – unorthodox as they may have been – usually got results, and the Doc knew what he was doing...most of the time. Munro however, by all accounts had made things personal, had been willing to let his feelings towards Blake negatively affect his investigations...and that was just not on.

Lawson didn't even condemn the man for being in tight with the Police Commissioner. That was just the way of things, and while Lawson didn't like the way that sort of police politics affected the job, he was smart enough to know that without the ear of the commissioner or other high ups in Melbourne, there was little enough *he* could do about it. But Munro had crossed a line when he'd started tampering with evidence to help out his cronies. And the sheer stupidity of leaving evidence of his association with criminals just lying around, that would have been enough to damn him in Lawson's eyes, even if he'd been best buddies with Blake.

"Sir?" Charlie's voice interrupted Lawson's reverie.

"What?" Lawson put his cup back in the saucer. "Oh yes, Munro." It was amazing how much venom could be inserted into a single word. "He's a slippery bastard all right," said Lawson. "There's no guarantee the committee will be able to make anything stick. More than likely, they'll just 'suggest' he take early retirement and give him a pension to make sure he doesn't rock the boat."

"And if the Police Commissioner pulls strings?" asked Charlie.

"The commissioner is on shaky enough ground as it is. If he tried to interfere, he's pissed off enough people that would be glad to take him down as well as Munro. More likely he'd throw Munro to the wolves to save his own skin. There could be a few more 'early retirements' on the cards as well." Lawson couldn't hide the bitterness in his voice. He *loathed* all this politics, especially when it got in the way of him doing his job.

"And will you be reinstated as Superintendent?" asked Mattie.

Lawson smiled at her, "Maybe...maybe not."

"But you'll still be in charge, Boss?" asked Charlie, "Won't you?"

Lawson shrugged, "Depends on what Melbourne wants. They could put in another Superintendent. Or they could downgrade Ballarat so that it only ranks a Chief Inspector. Depending on which way the wind blows, they might follow up on Munro's 'suggestion' of early retirement for me. Right now, I'd be almost tempted to take it." He didn't miss the looks exchanged between Mattie and Charlie. "Don't worry; I won't be doing anything drastic in the immediate future. My first priority is sorting out whatever mess Munro has made of the place while I was gone."

"You'll be kept busy then, Su...Inspector," said Mattie. "Well I suppose all we can do is wait and hope that Lucien comes back soon."

"And brings Mrs. Beazley with him," said Charlie, taking a drink from his tea.

"He said he'd phone you both in the morning when he had more time," said Lawson. He cleared his throat before continuing, "There was one more thing he asked me to do."

Lawson had his notebook out and with the handset tucked under his ear; he was jotting down a few reminders. "So, you want me to ask Doctor Harvey to step in as acting police surgeon, get your car moved out of main street and back to your house, and tell your lodgers that you've shot through to Adelaide." He snorted in disbelief. "Don't suppose you want me to pick up your dry cleaning as well."

"Now Matthew," said Blake, a trace of amusement evident in his voice, even through the patchy line. "You know I'm only asking you because I know I can rely on you." His voice changed to a more serious tone, "But there is one more favour that I must beg of you."

"Go on." Lawson dropped his pen on the desk and rubbed his hand wearily across his eyes. "What now?"

"Well, you know that Evelyn Toohey has taken over from Jean as my housekeeper. But she has her own cottage so she's not living in. And well, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I was hoping that you could check in on Mattie and Charlie...and maybe even stay over while I'm gone."

"Bloody hell," snapped Lawson, finally at the end of his patience. "The last time I looked, both Davis and Miss O'Brien were old enough to look after themselves. Don't worry, I'm sure they won't burn the place down or stay up late having midnight feasts!" He chucked his notebook on the desk.

"Steady on Lawson," said Blake, "I'm not asking you to read them bedtime stories or tuck them in! Look, the thing is, I feel, well actually, *Jean* is a little concerned about how it would look to have them, well, unchaperoned. You know what people have said about Jean and myself."

"Can't say I ever took much notice of gossip," said Lawson, as his momentary flash of anger dissipated.

"Well neither did I," said Blake, "But other people do, and I would really hate to see Mattie's and indeed Charlie's good names dragged through the mud."

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you decided to swan off on holiday," said Lawson, but there was no anger in his words.

"Yes, yes, I probably should have," said Blake, "But this, this journey is important to me, and whatever the end result, I needed to make it. At the same time though, I couldn't bear the thought of other people being hurt as a result."

Lawson sighed heavily, "Fine, guilt me into it why don't you."

Lawson cleared his throat, "There was one more thing he asked me to do. Blake asked me to look out for the pair of you while he's away and well, while that goes without saying, he's also asked me to stop over while he's away so as to protect your reputations." He held up a hand to stop any protests, "Now hear me out. I told Blake I'd offer to stay over, but that in the end it was up to the two of you. This is *your* home. You want to keep your privacy and to hell with what the gossips say, that's fine by me, I'll tell Blake where to go." He drained the last of the tea from his cup and looked at his watch. "Blake said the spare key is in his desk. I'm going to take it and bring his car back here. You can let me know then what you've decided." He stood and picked up his hat. "Miss O'Brien, Davis."

"Sir," said Charlie. "Inspector," said Mattie.

"Well it's not such a big deal for me as it is you," said Mattie, as she washed the tea cups. "You're the one who has to work with him every day." She handed a cup to Charlie who started drying it.

"Well you're the one whose reputation might be damaged by gossip," said Charlie, putting the cup down on the countertop.

Mattie rolled her eyes, "Do you really think I care that much about what people say? I'm just surprised that Lucien would be that worried." She scrubbed vigorously at a tea stain, "Although that's probably Jean talking."

Charlie shrugged, "It's a big house, it's not like we'd be in each other's pockets all the time. And besides, I've stayed in boarding houses, they're not much fun." He was silent in thought for a few seconds before adding, "You think maybe that's why the Doc suggested it?"

Mattie stopped washing and looked at him, "So it's us doing the Superintendent, I mean, the Inspector a favour, rather than the other way round?"

"Could be," said Charlie.

Mattie handed him the last cup. "Then I guess we've got ourselves a new lodger!"

"God help us all," said Charlie.

The end