Title: Documentation
Author: Fallenbelle
Spoilers: None
Warnings: This is an actual period piece if you catch my drift.
Notes: I was encouraged to do this by Corujaviajante and Demosthenes23 in a discussion on fics topics one would like to see.
Rating: K+ or Teen for mild references to acts of marital union
Unbeta'd. All mistakes are mine alone. Please let me know what you think? Reviews make me happy!
1895
It wasn't that he was titillated by the topic per se, but William Murdoch had become somewhat proficient in understanding and tracking a woman's monthly cycle. He wondered what Father Keegan and the other Jesuits would think about how he was applying the deductive and reasoning skills they'd taught him.
When he'd become engaged to Liza, he found himself interested in such matters; and while he knew and understood all contraceptive efforts to be immoral and illegal even, the thought of producing a larger family than he could comfortably provide for was a very real concern for him. He'd seen the poor in Cabbagetown and even in church with families so large that they were dependent upon handouts or simply went without basic needs. Given the uncertainty of his own childhood, this was something he'd wanted to avoid if at all possible while still enjoying his wife in the marital bed.
Thus, even though he was an officer of the law, his interests were such that he undertook not infrequent visits to bookstores specializing in less than reputable titles, and picked up a copy of "The Guide to the Afflicted", which among many other things, instructed how a couple a might intentionally avoid pregnancy through natural means without artificial contraceptive devices such as prophylactics or other methods undertaken by women. He'd learned about a woman's monthly cycle and the course it often took over a 28-day period.
But never in his wildest dreams did William think he would ever have a female co-worker, or that tracking her monthly female courses would even be necessary. Yet, he found himself experiencing exactly both of those things. Dr. Ogden was an excellent pathologist who not only understood his methods (something most other men failed to grasp), but one who also happened to be a woman.
Given that his analytical mind always sought out a solution to a problem, he soon found that if he applied his knowledge of a woman's monthly course to Dr. Ogden and tracked her symptoms by dates, he eventually came up with a rough estimate of when it was that time of the month for her. It pleased him how this had further improved their working relationship that was already quite excellent.
Of course, he would never admit that he did such a thing because not only would it be absolutely mortifying if the men were to figure out he what he was doing, it could insinuate that Dr. Ogden was incapable of performing her job at certain times of the month, which wasn't the case either. She was still just as professional and competent as she always was, but during these times a different approach was sometimes necessary, depending on what task he desired.
He also decided to not feel guilty about it as well, because didn't he do a similar thing with the Inspector in regards to his previous evening's alcohol consumption? To the greatest extent possible, he avoided asking the man anything particularly outrageous or challenging when the man had bloodshot eyes and kept all lamps off on his office because he was particularly sensitive to light. In fact, the Inspector suffered from this affliction far more often that Dr. Ogden did hers, and whereas William felt sympathy for Julia, for such maladies were beyond her control, he felt none for the Inspector, as his were self-inflicted.
Nonetheless, proper knowledge aided him in better performing his job, so therefore his actions were completely justified. Or so he convinced himself.
But he was still never going to tell her. It would be far too unseemly and ungentlemanly. Still, he wondered if such knowledge could be applied to policing as well?
1905
Having finally finished for the day, Julia dragged herself up to the Station House and waited not so patiently for William to finish for the day. All she wanted was to go home, remove every last bit of her clothing, have a glass of wine, eat dinner, take a hot bath, and read a book, enjoying the silence of their suite to herself as William had made plans to meet with Father Clemens after dinner. She adored her husband, but there were times when she wanted to enjoy some quiet time alone, and mercifully, William understood that and even seemed to sense when she needed it.
Seeing that he was giving some final instructions to the night shift, she strolled into his office to give them some space and went to look at his desk to see what case he was currently working on when she saw that his calendar was open.
Glancing at it to see what other commitments he might have in the near future, and whether they conflicted with any of hers, she was again reminded that she had been meaning to ask him what the abbreviated notations meant, as she'd seen them repeated in his calendars for some time now. It was clear that he was tracking something.
"J/22" was marked on today's date in fact, and tomorrow "J/23" was noted. Was the "J" for Julia? Quite possibly, as "J/x" was noted throughout the calendar, and then she remembered that earlier today, she had looked at her own calendar and determined that her monthly course was due in about a week's time, or approximately 6-7 days from now.
Gasping in surprise, she flipped through previous entries/days for the year and found that his notations roughly matched up with corresponding entries from her own journal in regards to her menstrual cycle and she was floored. Not only did it appear that the man was tracking her menses, it appeared that he was also tracking their marital relations, as she saw "IC/2" for three days ago, and guessed that it was short for intercourse, knowing that they had engaged in such with one another that morning before work and again that evening.
Laughing, she shook her head. The two of them engaged in regular relations, and while she knew the number would be quite high, she did not know the exact number nor did she care. But she was willing to bet that William did, and had probably documented the exact number of encounters between them since their marriage. Laughing she shook her head.
Such a male tendency to document and have trophies of your conquests done in a uniquely William way.
At that moment, he walked in and saw her smile as she looked down at the calendar.
"Julia?" he asked confusedly.
"Just how long have you been tracking my menstrual cycles, William?" she asked.
She wasn't particularly angry, more curious than anything. But the frozen look upon his face told her that this was not something that he wanted her to find out. Looking both sheepish and nervous, William hesitated before taking a deep breath and looked down, mumbling something about more than ten years.
Ten years? So far longer than the time they'd been intimate with one another. Fascinating. "Any particular reason?" she asked.
"Well, I wanted to maximize our professional relationship and that there are some days that you must admit that you are more sensitive to particular things, and I uh…" he trailed off, looking even more nervous.
"I must say William, I'm impressed that you undertook such a detail, that you tried to understand me even," she reassured him.
Laughing, he smiled in relief. "So you're not upset with me then? I never planned on telling you and I was always careful to use shorthand and abbreviations so as to not identify you or what I was keeping track of," he hurriedly explained.
"Yes, I see that." she agreed laughing in return. "But I'm curious William, I see that you've also been documenting our encounters as well. Am I correct in assuming that every one of them is accounted for in your calendar as well as those for previous years.
Turning bright red, he sheepishly smiled. "Perhaps, Julia. That is also useful scientific data that I can index to events in my personal journal," he explained.
"I suppose that's true," she admitted with a shrug. Then, she smiled fiendishly as a particularly diabolical question came to mind.
"William, if I were to go back through all of your old calendars and journals, which I know that you still have, would I find accounts of previous encounters, even during times in which we were not with one another?"
Julia laughed as the color drained from his face and he stared at the floor. Got him! She wasn't angry, and more amused than anything. Her most proper man had not only been tracking her monthly cycle, he also kept an account of every encounter they'd ever had or even those with others.
Rather than confirm or deny, he smiled. "A gentleman never tells," he informed her.