'Well that was an interesting event!' Inspector Brackenreid sarcastically commented to Detective Murdoch as they travelled in a carriage back to Station number four.
The two had been invited to a police conference that was nothing more than a chance for senior officers to get together. The Inspector used the opportunity to indulge in some fine whisky, but Murdoch remained abstinent.
It was a snowy day in Toronto and both Murdoch and the Inspector were looking forward to getting back to the warmth of their respective homes.
'The only thing that was good about that event was the whisky!' Brackenreid laughed. Murdoch looked at him and smiled.
'So, Murdoch, what will you be doing when you get home tonight?' The Inspector asked to break the silence that had descended in the carriage.
'Oh, I have a text that I will read, Sir.' Murdoch replied. Brackenreid looked at him, surprised that his detective wanted to work even when not at work.
'Murdoch, you have to relax sometimes!' he told him. 'I know you have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, but I keep telling you that you have to go out more! I know that there is a certain person who would gladly enjoy your company!' Murdoch almost blushed at the Inspector's last comment. He knew full well that he was talking about Dr Ogden. Brackenreid noticed that Murdoch was getting uncomfortable about the way the conversation was going, and smiled. Murdoch was about to respond when the two felt the carriage lurch.
'What's going on?' Brackenreid asked.
'I'm not sure, Sir.' Was the reply 'Maybe it's a slippery patch on the road.'
Just at that moment, the two men were thrown to the side of the carriage, as it fell to one side and down a small precipice. The driver had lost control of the carriage when his horse slipped. They were travelling through the woods and so was on uneven ground. This unfortunately caused the carriage to fall. The driver could only watch as it fell on its side. His horse lay on the path, clearly lame following the fall. He slowly went for his gun and sadly put the horse out of its misery. He then went to the precipice and looked over the side.
'Sirs! Are you alright?' the driver shouted, hoping for a reply. He waited a couple of beats, but there was no response. He shouted again, but again got no response. The driver got no reply, as Inspector Brackenreid and Detective Murdoch were lying unconscious within the wrecked carriage. The driver left the scene on foot, with the hope that he would get to Station four in time to get some help.
At Station four, Margaret Brackenreid was waiting for her husband to return, when Dr Julia Ogden walked in.
'Mrs Brackenreid, it's lovely to see you!' Julia exclaimed when she saw the Inspector's wife.
'Are you here to see Detective Murdoch' Margaret asked.
'Yes. He asked for my help on a case he was working on and I have some information for him.' Julia replied.
'He's on his way back with Thomas. He shouldn't be too long, if you would like to wait with me.' Julia accepted the offer, removed her hat and coat, and sat down. Margaret watched her and sighed internally. She could see that Julia cared a great deal about William, but couldn't work out why the two of them have not managed to work out their relationship. Margaret was about to speak what was on her mind, but was disrupted when Constables George Crabtree and Henry Higgins walked in.
'Good evening Mrs Brackenreid, Dr Ogden.' George greeted the seated ladies. The women responded in kind.
'We'll not keep you too much longer.' Mrs Brackenreid told them. 'We're just waiting for Thomas and Detective Murdoch to return and then we'll be off.
Pain. That was the first sensation he felt. This was closely followed by a feeling of being crushed and difficulty breathing. He struggled to open his eyes, but when he did, William realised that the inert form of Inspector Thomas Brackenreid was resting on top of him.
'Sir' William said as he struggled to move. 'Inspector? Can you hear me? Inspector?' Brackenreid did not move, and so William did his best to manoeuvre himself into a better position to be able to assess the extent of the Inspector's injuries. As he was moving, the Inspector stirred.
'Murdoch! Give it a rest will you!' Brackenreid scolded. 'Oh I hurt!' He turned around to face Murdoch. 'What happened?'
'We crashed, Sir.' Murdoch replied simply. 'Where are you hurt?'
'I think I've broken my leg.' Murdoch looked down and agreed with Brackenreid.
'Well, We need to get out of here so I can get a better look at your leg.' Murdoch pushed the door of the broken carriage and slowly shuffled out, so as not to disturb Brackenreid's leg. When he was free from the carriage, he turned back and slowly pulled the Inspector out by his arms. As soon as the two men were clear from the carriage, it began to teeter, then it fell all the way down the bottom of the precipice.
'Well timed Murdoch!' The Inspector said as he viewed the wreckage.
'Thank you, Sir. Well, let me see if I can find something to bind your leg.' Murdoch said as he got up to look for a twig. Thankfully, his search was fruitful. He found a broken branch that would be ideal for strapping the Inspector's leg. He rushed back, removed his tie, and used it to hold the branch in place. 'That should do until we get help.' Murdoch then sat down, grateful for the extra coat that he chose to wear.
'What a situation to be in.' Brackenreid sighed. He looked at Murdoch for a moment, then continued. 'Where is it?' He asked.
'Where is what, Sir?' Murdoch countered. Brackenreid glared at his detective.
'Murdoch, you forget. I am a law enforcement officer as well, with a lot more experience than you! I can tell by the way that you are favouring your left side, and the fact that you've not run off yourself to get help, that you are hurt. Where is your injury?'
Murdoch looked at the Inspector and was going to reply to the negative, but then he saw the concern in his eyes. Murdoch sighed, then slowly unbuttoned his waistcoat. He pulled it back to show the Inspector the large bloodstain that had formed on his shirt.
'I think I must have been impaled by the carriage as we fell.' Murdoch surmised.
'Bloody hell Murdoch! How long do you think you would have been able to hide that?' Brackenreid exclaimed as he pulled out Murdoch's shirt to assess the extent of his injury. There was a large gash on Murdoch's side, and it didn't look like it had stopped bleeding. The Inspector took off his scarf and applied it as a crude bandage to Murdoch's side. The detective tried his best to mask the pain, but as Brackenreid tied the final knot, he hissed.
'What a right flaming pair we are!' Brackenreid laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood. His leg was beginning to throb and he longed to be indoors and in the warm.
'If you give me a minute, Sir, I'll go and find some help.' Murdoch said quietly as he began to stand up. However, the Inspector stopped him.
'Murdoch, you're in no fit state to go anywhere. You move too much with that cut, you'll lose too much blood, and then you'll be no help to anyone at all!' Murdoch conceded and slowly sat back down.
'I'm sorry, Sir.' He apologised. The Inspector looked at him and smiled at the despair on the detective's face.
'We'll be fine, Murdoch.' Brackenreid assured him. 'We'll be found soon enough. Margaret will see to that. There's no way she'll let me have a night out with the boys without her say so!' The two of them laughed out loud at the comment.
'They're taking their time.' Margaret said out loud. Her and Julia had been waiting at Station four for a couple of hours now, and it was beginning to get dark.
'I'm sure that they won't be too much longer now.' Julia replied in an attempt to calm Mr Brackenreid. However, Julia was just as worried. She wanted to know that William and the Inspector were alright, and she knew that it was not like them to be late without good reason.
George was thinking the same thing. He went to Constable Higgins and was about to say something to him, when a man burst through the door to the station.
'Constable! I need your help!' The man cried. It was the driver of the carriage.
'Calm down, Sir.' Crabtree said calmly as he walked towards him. 'What seems to be the trouble?'
'I was involved in an accident! My horse slipped in the woods and my carriage fell over the side!' The driver hastily responded. 'I was coming back here with two officers and they were in the carriage when it fell!'
George, Julia, Margaret and Henry all knew that the two officers in the carriage were Murdoch and Brackenreid.
'Henry! Assemble the men! Quickly!' Crabtree instructed as he grabbed his coat and a torch. Higgins needed no further information as he rushed off. Julia and Margaret stood up when they heard the news.
'Ladies, maybe it's best if you stay here.' George advised.
'Constable Crabtree. That's my husband out there. I need to be there for him!' Margaret responded, determination in her voice.
'And I can provide medical assistance, if needed.' Julia added. She hoped deep down that she wouldn't have to, but she felt she needed to offer. George knew there and then that he was defeated.
'Alright ladies, let's go! Let's be quick about it!' The three of them boarded the first carriage that was waiting outside, and were soon followed by another, with Higgins and three more officers.
Brackenreid and Murdoch had been sitting on the precipice for hours. Brackenreid's leg was giving him hell, but he was grateful to Murdoch for putting the splint on it. Murdoch tried to busy himself by getting wood to make a fire. When he had enough, he built a small fire that was sufficient to keep the two of them warm. However, it was taxing on the detective. His energy levels had depleted greatly and he knew it was because of his injury. The scarf that the Inspector had used to dress the wound was almost saturated with his blood.
It was getting darker, and Brackenreid noticed that Murdoch was quieter than usual. He looked over to Murdoch and noticed that he was pale and looked like he was about to pass out from the blood loss. He knew he had to get him talking.
'So Murdoch. What is the situation with you and Dr Ogden?' He asked. Murdoch raised his eyebrow at Brackenreid's question.
'Sir?'
'Don't play coy with me, Murdoch! It's clear to anyone that you have feelings for her! And it's also very obvious that Dr Ogden has the same feeling!'
Murdoch looked on at the Inspector. He could tell that this subject was not going to be dropped anytime soon.
'It's complicated, Sir.' Murdoch responded. Brackenreid sighed out loud. He could see that Murdoch was hurting, both physically and emotionally, and so had to do something about it.
'Murdoch, I'm going to tell you something. Bear in mind, if you tell anyone that I told you this, I will deny it, but you need to hear it.' The detective looked at his superior officer with confusion, but remained silent to allow him to speak. 'Murdoch…William, you need to let Julia in your life. She is a fine woman, who thinks the world of you. For the life of me, I cannot see why you cannot see that. Over the years that I have known you, I have always respected you. And I'm not the only one. Crabtree thinks the world of you. He wants to be like you. Young Higgins also looks up to you. The other boys at Station four would agree with me when I say that you are a valued member. But you're always so hard on yourself! Here is a beautiful woman who wants nothing in the world to be with you, but you don't take the plunge! Why, man?'
Murdoch was shocked to hear the Inspector talking so frankly about such a personal issue. He took his time before responding.
'Sir, I don't know what to say. I am flattered that you all feel that way.' Brackenreid rolled his eyes at Murdoch's opening comment, but he allowed him time to formulate his response. 'I care greatly for Julia. She is an amazing woman.' Murdoch took a long pause before continuing. 'I guess I don't want to go through all of that pain again. When Liza died, a part of me died too. I loved her and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, but she was taken from me. I couldn't bear it if it happened again.'
Brackenreid truly felt for Murdoch right then. He moved closer to him and put a consoling arm on his shoulder.
'Son, I cannot begin to imagine the pain you had when Liza died, but do not let it stop you from loving again. You could do a lot worse than Julia Ogden.' Murdoch smiled at him. The smile faded when he saw the grimace on Brackenreid's face.
'Sir, is it your leg?' He asked.
'Of course it's my bloody leg!' Brackenreid replied shortly, the pain in his leg making him irritable. He quickly realised his temper had gotten the better of him. 'I'm sorry, Murdoch. It's just so bloody frustrating!' Murdoch took a look at the leg and adjusted the splint.
'Maybe that should help.' He said as he finished tying his tie on the splint.
'Thanks Murdoch.' The Inspector said warmly. 'You're a good man. Don't forget that.'
The two men fell into companionable silence, as the weight of their previous conversation took its toll.
The carriage ride was a tense one. Crabtree sat up front with the driver, who was carefully retracing his steps to remember where the carriage fell. Julia and Margaret sat quietly inside. Margaret looked at Julia and could see the worry on her face. She knew that Dr Ogden was more than worried about William.
'You're in love with him, aren't you?' Margaret asked Julia, breaking her out of her reverie.
'Excuse me?'
'I said, you're in love with Detective Murdoch.' Julia just watched Mrs Brackenreid in shock. 'Don't deny it Julia. It's as clear as day. And it's not hard to see why. Detective Murdoch is a decent gentleman, not to mention very handsome!' They both laughed.
'I care very much for William.' Julia gave in. 'He is so intelligent and caring and thoughtful.'
'Don't forget handsome!' Margaret interrupted.
'Yes, he is handsome!' Julia smiled. 'I just don't want to hurt him. I don't know if I can be the woman he wants to be.'
'Has he told you that?' Mrs Brackenreid asked. Julia shook her head. 'Then you don't know! Give him a chance! It will be nice to have companionship with him. You two are made for each other!' Julia looked down as she tried to hide her blushes. She went back to her thoughts, and hoped that William was alright.
'He's too quiet again.' Brackenreid thought to himself. He looked over to Murdoch, who was really struggling to stay awake. 'Murdoch!' He shouted. The detective jumped to attention.
'Are you alright, Sir?' Murdoch asked as he sat up straighter.
'I'm fine, Murdoch. It's you I'm worried about.'
'Oh I'm alright, Sir.' Murdoch replied weakly.
'Let me take a look at your injury, Murdoch.' Brackenreid eased himself closer to Murdoch. The detective tried to move away, but the Inspector had a grip on his shoulder that he could not get out of. The light was fading, but Brackenreid could see that the cut was still bleeding and there was the start of an infection. He knew that they needed to get help and quickly. Murdoch grimaced as the Inspector replaced the scarf. 'You need to get that seen to.'
'The same can be said for your leg, Sir.' Murdoch winced as he stood up.
'Murdoch, what are you doing?' Brackenreid asked.
'I'm going to see if I can get some help.' Came the reply. Brackenreid tried to stop Murdoch, but he knew that it was never going to happen. Murdoch stiffly walked to the precipice and tried to work out a way to climb it. He looked around for something to grab on to, when he heard horse hooves hitting the ground. 'Sir! Do you hear that?' Murdoch shouted. Brackenreid looked up.
'Yeah! I hear horses!'
'Someone's coming, Sir! I'm going to try and get their attention!' Murdoch looked around and found a branch sticking out. He grabbed it and hauled himself up. He tried not to scream as the exertion of the movement caused great agony. Brackenreid could only watch as he saw Murdoch slowly climb to the top of the precipice. He sent a prayer of thanks upward as Murdoch made his way to the top.
'Get us help, Murdoch.' Brackenreid said as he massaged his leg.
In the carriage, the driver recalled where his carriage fell, and pointed it out to Crabtree. Just as they began to slow down, George saw a figure limping towards them.
'It's Detective Murdoch!' George shouted as he recognised his friend. The driver slowed the carriage down, allowing Crabtree to get down and run towards the detective, who was rapidly slowing down.
'Sir! Sir! Are you alright?' Crabtree asked as he reached the detective.
'Oh George! Am I glad to see you!' Murdoch wheezed 'The Inspector has broken his leg and can't get up!' He then turned around and headed back to the precipice, with Higgins, Crabtree and the other officers following closely behind.
When they got to the edge, Crabtree shouted out. 'Inspector! Can you hear me?' He shouted.
'Of course I can bloody hear you!' Brackenreid replied 'I've broken my leg, not my hearing!'
George smiled with relief as he looked down to see the Inspector sitting there with a splint on his leg.
'Let's get the Inspector out of there boys!' George shouted as he took command. The team of constables quickly constructed a stretcher and attached it to a rope. Crabtree and Higgins carefully went down with the stretcher and safely secured the Inspector to it. They then climbed up and joined the others, who pulled the stretcher up with the rope that was attached to it. No one questioned Murdoch when he helped with the pulling. It wasn't long before the Inspector was back up from the precipice.
'Thank goodness for that!' He boomed. 'Thanks lads!'
Margaret rushed to him and hugged him tightly. Dr Ogden remained behind to allow them to have their reunion.
'Oh Thomas I'm glad that you're alright!' Margaret cried as she hugged her husband.
'Oh I'm alright! Nothing a couple of days off my feet won't fix!' The Inspector said as he returned the embrace. 'Murdoch and I had a good old chat! By the way, how is he?' Brackenreid looked around just as the detective fell to the floor. Pulling the rope proved one task too much for him. The pain and the bloodloss pushed Detective Murdoch into unconsciousness.
'Murdoch!' Brackenreid shouted. Everyone turned at the Inspector's voice. Julia led the way as she ran to the fallen detective. She quickly bent down and gently turned Murdoch over. As she did so, she saw the blood that was staining his side.
'Oh William, what happened to you?' Julia said sadly as she cradled his face. Just then, Murdoch's eyes fluttered open.
'Julia?' He asked, confusion spread over his face.
'Shh, it's alright William.' Julia comforted. 'We're going to get you some help.' Murdoch smiled at her, but the smile didn't last long as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he lapsed into unconsciousness again.
Crabtree and Higgins gently lifted the detective onto another stretcher and placed him into a carriage. Now that the two fallen officers were safely in the carriages, the journey to Toronto General Hospital began.
'How is he?' Inspector Brackenreid asked Dr Ogden as he limped into Detective Murdoch's hospital room on crutches two days later.
'He's still unconscious, Inspector.' Julia replied, the worry clearly shown on her face. She looked down towards Murdoch's face and stroked his dark hair. He looks so peaceful in sleep, she thought silently to herself. 'There was a lot of blood loss, and he is fighting an infection. '
'Detective Murdoch's a strong man. He'll be fine.' The Inspector reassured her. 'Margaret has been asking after you. She wants to see if you're alright.' Julia took the hint that he wanted to spend some time alone with the detective, and so got up and went to leave, not before planting a kiss on Murdoch's head.
'You are a silly boy, Murdoch!' Brackenreid began as he sat down next to Murdoch's bed. 'What were you thinking, taking the rope in your condition! You just can't help yourself, can you?' He looked down at his detective, who was completely unaware of what was going on. 'Well you just hurry up and get yourself better. Certain people are missing you, not to mention a particular doctor.' He smiled and slowly got up. 'You're a good man, you deserve happiness.' As he got up, Margaret Brackenreid came in and placed a hand on Murdoch's cheek.
'Thank you, Detective.' She said quietly. 'You kept Thomas safe for me. Now get better so that Julia can do the same for you.' The Inspector smiled at his wife and the two of them walked out slowly, allowing Julia to come back into the room and continue her vigil. The Inspector and his wife both looked at her.
'Take care of that young man, he's special.' Margaret told her as they walked out. Julia smiled as she sat down.
'You and I are going to have a talk when you wake up.' Julia said as she stroked his face once again.
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