"We are not broken things, neither of us. We are cracked pottery mended with lacquer and flakes of gold, whole as we are, complete unto each other. Complete and worthy and so very loved." - Mackenzi Lee, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
A birthday present for the wonderful alicesharveys on tumblr! I hope your birthday is a wonderful one!
Matthew crept into Alice's rented bungalow after pocketing her spare key. She'd missed both phone calls (one to her house, the other to the morgue) and when he still didn't see her by mid-morning, Matthew figured he'd better go investigate. Her car was out front, her house quiet save for the sound of someone retching in the bathroom.
"Well, that explains it." He muttered and limped back towards her bathroom after he hung up his uniform jacket and hat. When he got closer, he called out her name - receiving a pitiful groan in the return that made Matthew grin.
Doctors were the worst patients, and Alice absolutely hated being sick.
Slowly pushing the bathroom door open, Matthew's heart went out for the pathologist-turned-police surgeon. Alice lay half-sprawled on her bathroom floor, leaning up against the wall next to the toilet - her hair a tangled, sweaty mess, and her skin paler than he'd seen in a long time.
"What're you doing here?" she cracked her eyes open, her voice low - throat raw from emptying her stomach's contents so many times already.
"You didn't show up for work today, I got worried. You also didn't answer your phone."
Alice pointed to the toilet and Matthew ducked his head to hide his smile.
"I figured that's what was going on when I heard you just now." Matthew limped in and filled a glass with some water, "Rinse first, then I'll get you some more to try and keep down."
"I didn't know you had a key," Alice took the glass with shaking hands. She rinsed out her mouth and spat into the toilet bowl with a grimace.
He reached over and flushed the toilet, refilling her glass with fresh, cold water. "I remember where you put the spare key. Don't worry, I'll put it back when I leave."
Alice opened her mouth to speak and promptly heaved into the loo. Matthew pulled a footstool over and sat as he rubbed her back between the shoulder blades as she threw up.
"Just my luck that I'd get sick right before my birthday," Alice groaned, her head leaning against her hands.
Matthew grinned behind her and continued to rub her back soothingly. "It'll pass. Hobart had it too."
"Hm, so I got it from him… or even you or Peter."
"Maybe, it's that thing… what did you call it?"
"Asymptomatic, like Typhoid Mary."
"Hey," he frowned in mock outrage, grateful to hear her laughing (even if it was into a toilet bowl), "neither Crowe nor I willingly and knowingly infected people if it's even us you got sick from."
"I have to blame someone."
"So you're going to blame the person who came to check on you, is that it?" Matthew laughed.
Alice turned to him after she'd rinsed her mouth again, "You… you know I'm just teasing, right, Matthew?"
She looked at him with such wide, shining eyes, her teeth worrying her bottom lip that he couldn't help but reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear - his thumb caressing her clammy cheek as she leaned into his touch.
"Yeah, I know you're teasing, Alice."
"Good," she smiled.
"Feeling a bit better?"
Alice nodded gingerly, "I… I think the worst is passing."
"How long has it been like this?"
"Since the middle of the night," she leaned against the wall as Matthew flushed the toilet for her. "I'm so tired."
"Give me a second and I'll come help you get into bed, how does that sound?"
"Sounds like heaven," Alice grinned - her cheeks flushing when Matthew leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Matthew smiled and lurched to his feet. Quickly moving to Alice's phone, he first dialed the station to let them know he was taking a long weekend (thank goodness it was a Thursday afternoon), and then he dialed home.
"Blake Residence," Jean's voice was bright and cheery over the line - she must not have Council business today.
"Jean, I thought you'd be at work."
"We finished very early and decided to take today and tomorrow off. We're reconvening Monday. What can I do for you, Matthew?"
"Alice is sick, I'm over at her house… and I was wondering."
"Need some help, do you?" He could hear Jean's impish grin over the phone and he rolled his eyes
"Oh very funny, Jean. But, yeah, I do need your help. Just with helping her into bed and changing clothes, that sort of thing. I'd do it myself, but…"
"No, I completely understand! Give me a bit to change into more suitable clothes and I'll even wrangle up some ingredients for a good strong broth for her. How sick is she?"
"I dunno, but she's been throwing up on and off since the middle of last night."
"How horrible! And right before her birthday too… I'll bring some ginger tea then. See if you can get her temperature - see if she has a fever - and only small sips of cool water if her stomach can handle it."
"Aye, aye, ma'am."
"Very funny, Matthew. I'll let myself in when I get there - I know where she keeps her spare key; you focus on Alice."
"Jean, could you grab the present I have on my bedside table when you come over? I don't know when I'll get a chance to grab it."
"Of course, I'll even sneak some shortbread in with the food. If she feels better by the time her birthday comes around, I'll scrounge up a candle for it."
He laughed, "I think she'd like that."
"Go take care of her. I'll see you soon, Matthew."
"See you soon," Matthew nodded as the line clicked. Briefly stopping by the front to replace Alice's spare key, he walked back to Alice. "Alice? Where's your thermometer?"
"Medical bag, by the wardrobe."
Snagging the thermometer, he found Alice half-leaning against the toilet, "Still throwing up?"
"Not sure," she replied with a small shrug. "It's that weird state between not throwing up and throwing up."
Matthew ducked his head to hide his grin as he sat on the footstool again, "I called the station to let them know I'm taking the long weekend. You shouldn't be by yourself sick, and Jean's coming over soon."
Alice's eyes filled with tears and she rubbed at them with shaky hands, "I… thank you, Matthew."
"We stick together," he smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "Now, let's get your temperature before Jean gets here, and if you feel up to it once she's here, we'll get you changed and into bed."
"Are you sure you know how to use that?" Alice asked.
Matthew rolled his eyes and deftly stuck it under her tongue, "I've lived at the Blakes for how long now?"
She just narrowed her eyes as she smiled around the thermometer. Reaching out, Alice slid her hand into Matthew's - holding on as tight as she could while they waited. Matthew rubbed her knuckles with his thumb and she leaned against him - her heated forehead resting on his thigh. He carded his fingers through her tangled and sweaty hair, smiling when she hummed.
Alice handed him the thermometer after awhile, "What's it say?"
"Um… about thirty-eight degrees."
"Hm, I have a fever," she hummed when he rubbed her upper back.
Matthew marveled at the fact that she stayed next to him, that she allowed him to touch her at all. They'd grown closer again after Lucien's disappearance - their dance resuming after the town focused more on Jean's exploits than the two of them. Perhaps being sick brought down some of the walls Alice erected around herself - her need for comfort overriding her (extremely justified) fears of judgement. Perhaps she was finally tired of holding back. Whatever the reason, he was happy that she trusted him enough to be this close.
"What's the treatment plan, Doc?"
Alice's body shook with silent laughter, bubbling up into her voice as she spoke, "Fluids, rest, try to keep things down. The usual. If it persists for more than two days or if my fever gets higher, I'll have to go to the hospital."
She made a face at that and Matthew laughed. For someone who worked in a hospital day in and day out, Alice hated them a lot.
"Alice? Matthew?" Jean's voice echoed in Alice's small bungalow.
"Bathroom, Jean!" Matthew called back.
"Be with you in a second!"
"Are you going to fall asleep on me?" Matthew asked Alice quietly, feeling her slump further against him.
"You're comfortable."
Matthew laughed as Jean popped her head in the bathroom.
"Ah, I see the party is in here," she smiled. Kneeling down, Jean smoothed Alice's hair away from her face and checked her forehead. "How are you feeling, Alice?"
"Like I'm dying, next question," Alice deadpanned.
Jean clucked her tongue and shook her head fondly, "Temperature?"
"About thirty-eight degrees, Jean," Matthew answered. "She said the vomiting is starting to taper off, though."
"Good. Alright, Alice, I'm going to ask Matthew to go start brewing you some tea. It's ginger based, and if you can keep it down, we'll work you up to a hearty broth. While he does that, I'll help you get changed into some fresh pajamas and into bed, how's that sound?"
"Perfect."
Matthew squeezed Alice's hand, "I'll be back soon."
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead when she looked up at him; Matthew got to his feet - avoiding the knowing look Jean tossed his direction as Alice leaned up against her instead. He took his time brewing the tea, drawing it out so Jean and Alice had plenty of time to get the pathologist settled into bed. Jean's heels tapping against the hardwood floors alerted him to her presence.
"She's settled into bed, Matthew. Why don't you take her that tea? I'll start on the broth."
"Thank you, Jean," he squeezed her shoulder.
"I'm happy to help. And Matthew? The two of you should talk… really talk. I know both of you have been holding back, but…"
Matthew nodded with a rueful smile, "I don't want to push her before she's ready. We have been getting closer since the Russell case, like we were before Lucien fell. It's just… we're both still a little unsure of where we stand… where we'd like to go."
"That's why you need to talk with each other. Take her the tea, take care of her, and use this time to really hash it out between the two of you. I'll keep to the background, make sure both of you have food and other things, but you'll have privacy, Matthew. I promise."
Matthew leaned against the counter and stared at the floor - his hands idly twirling his cane as Jean joined him. He smiled softly when she gently bumped shoulders with him; Jean had come to remind him of his relationship with his sister - her and Vera behaving similarly enough that he often forgot that Jean wasn't his little sister. He was grateful for her friendship, for her help since his accident, for her resilience and kindness in the years since.
Wrapping an arm around Jean's shoulders, Matthew held her close in a brief hug, "Thank you, Jean."
She pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Love shouldn't be squandered, so don't blow it."
He laughed as she pulled out one of her aprons and went to work preparing the broth for Alice. "I'll try not to, I know you'll knock me into next week if I do."
"Too bloody right I will," Jean waved a knife at him over her shoulder. "Go, take Alice her tea before it becomes tepid."
Matthew chuckled again and quickly prepared Alice's tea to her liking (his own as well), and carried them carefully by their handles into Alice's bedroom. She leaned up against her headboard, a book in hand, but her eyes blinked slowly as she struggled to focus on the pages before her. Jean had helped Alice change into a light cotton nightgown - one of Alice's lighter cardigans draped around her shoulders, her hair combed flat, and (Matthew grinned when he saw it) a bright red lipstick print on her forehead.
"Hey," he softly called out as he entered. "Up for some tea?"
Alice smiled as he rounded the bed and sat next to her hip - taking the mug of tea when he offered it. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome," Matthew smiled over the rim of his own mug.
She hesitantly sipped at the warm ginger tea, her eyebrows raising when she tasted the bit of milk and honey Matthew had added - a noise of surprise echoed in the cup.
"Good?"
"Good," she nodded. "Thank you, Matthew, for… for coming over."
"As I said, we've gotta stick together," he gently bumped her chin with his knuckles.
"I know, I'm just… not used to being taken care of."
"Well…" Matthew smiled. "How about we take care of each other?"
"I'd like that. Matthew… I'm… you've been incredibly patient with me… regarding us."
He shrugged, "I… I never wanted to push you. You're worried about what people will say and if you're still worried about it, I'm okay with waiting."
"It… I'm not as worried as I was before," she reached out and grasped his hand. "I'm… I'm just…"
"Still a little scared to take that first step?" he supplied - squeezing her hand when she nodded. "That's okay, sweetheart, I am too."
Her cheeks flushed at the term of endearment and Matthew felt is own cheeks grow warm. He rubbed her knuckles with a smile. "What a pair we are, hm?"
"Indeed," Alice smiled. "Matthew?"
"Hm?"
"If… If in the future, you'd like to go to the pictures… I wouldn't mind tagging along."
"You'd be okay with that?"
She nodded, "I… I would like it, and I'd be okay to be seen out in public with you. You… you make me happy, Matthew, bugger everyone else."
Matthew laughed loudly - Alice's slightly crude language startling him, but he squeezed her hand. "When you're better, we'll go."
Alice grinned. Her eyes widened when Matthew leaned in and kissed her cheek, "Careful, you could catch what I've got."
"Nah, I'd only really get it if I did this," He smiled and softly kissed her lips - his smile widening at Alice's surprised hum in the back of her throat. She tugged her hand free and cupped his cheek as he kissed her again.
"You're going to get sick."
"Eh, you're worth it," dropping one last kiss to her lips, Matthew leaned back with a smile - noting the dark blush on her cheeks and neck.
Alice smiled back, her fingers featherlight against the lines of his face in the quiet of her bedroom.
"Matthew… would you… do you mind reading to me?"
"No, I don't mind."
"And…" she looked down at her mug - her fingers dropping from his face to trace the rim idly.
"What, Alice?"
"I'd… I'd like you to sit next to me."
"You're sure?"
She nodded, "Please?"
"Alright, give me a bit." Matthew kissed her cheek and toed off his shoes. He took her tea mug and put it next to his on the bedside table. Loosening his tie before he pulled it off completely, Matthew eased himself onto the bed as Alice scooted over to make room for him. He laid on top of the covers - out of a sense of propriety - wrapping an arm around Alice when she curled up next to him and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Comfortable?" He asked as she finally settled.
"Yeah," Alice answered softly and handed him the book she'd been reading earlier.
"Ah, Agatha Christie, this one's a good one."
She hummed in agreement as he opened up to her bookmark. Matthew felt her shift against his shoulder as he read to her, her body growing heavier with each page, and Matthew felt himself dozing off not long after her. Figuring a nap wouldn't hurt either of them, he leaned his head against Alice's and drifted off.
That was how Jean found them - curled around each other, a dog-eared copy of an Agatha Christie mystery forgotten in Matthew's lap as they both slept. Jean smiled and gingerly eased the book out of Matthew's hand. She'd put the broth on a low temperature and tidy up the bungalow while they napped; she was in no rush today.
Alice loved the book he'd gotten her, she even smiled when he brought a bit of shortbread to her a couple days later - a single lit candle stuck in the small piece to commemorate her birthday. She'd blown it out after both he and Jean serenaded her - laughing when both of them kissed her cheeks.
She got stronger with each day, keeping more food down and managing solid foods after her birthday.
She'd been right, also, when she said he'd catch what she got after (many) shared kisses, Matthew mused as he bent over the toilet in Alice's bathroom.
Alice's hand was warm against his back as she rubbed it in circles, "I told you so."
"And I told you, sweetheart, you're worth it."
She kissed his temple as she giggled, "You're silly, Matthew, but I'll take care of you like you did for me."