Here we go, let's give Bill Hobart a bit of romance! Don't think he's married.
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Sean McBride had to admit he was glad his brothers had come clean about killing the copper, the husband of the woman he'd impregnated. Meeting his baby son, Andrew, that day in the prison had been a shock, he wasn't used to being confronted by any of his illegitimate progeny. He usually had his fun and then abandoned the girls to bring up or have their babies adopted.
He had no love for Deborah Cooper, not proper love, but she had been needy, her husband hadn't provided her with the child she craved, so he'd done the deed, more than once. She had been a bit clingy, he supposed, just in case Cooper threw her over for the affair, if he found out.
He'd been let out of prison and gone to stay with Deb at first, but surrounded by nappies, a whining kid and a woman who wasn't that keen on being with him. She'd only agreed he could go there because everyone seemed to think that was what they should do, be parents to Andrew and try and salvage some sort of family life out of the mess made by his brothers. If Peter had come clean in the first place he'd have been free to go about his cavalier ways with other girls, though he suspected he'd have to have left Ballarat. One thing that really irked him was the constant presence of Sergeant Hobart. He would pop in to see if Deb was ok, and, as Sean was no good with a hammer and nails, he continued to do the little things for Deb that he had done since Clive had died.
'Don't know why you don't leave them to it, Bill.' Lawson had said.
'He's a toe rag, boss.' Bill had replied, 'useless, not bringing in any money, never at home, and never helps with the boy.'
The truth was Bill liked seeing Deb and felt protective towards her. He didn't even blame her for seeking comfort somewhere other than Clive's bed. Clive was a good copper but a bit of a grumpy sod, in his words. He'd often wondered what Deb saw in him.
She always seemed happy to see Bill, telling him one day how trapped she felt. Sean wouldn't marry her, she was talked about in town.
This carried on for some months after Sean was released and Bill asked the rest of the coppers to keep an eye out, not do anything, but let him know if they saw McBride out and about.
'Bill,' Parks caught him one day. He'd just come in from checking the report of some youths in the Botanical Gardens, or more precisely the glasshouses. He hadn't seen anything there but as he'd walked back...,
'McBride.'
'What?' Bill stopped.
Danny pulled him out of sight, 'I saw him in the gardens. Well coming out of the bushes. I ducked out of view and a girl followed him. They were smiling, smoothing their clothes, y'know, as if they'd been up to it.'
Bill narrowed his eyes, 'Bastard!' He hissed.
'Have you seen Deb lately?' Danny asked. 'Maybe she needs something fixing.'
'Right, she needs a new catch on the kitchen window.' Bill had picked one up but not had time to go and fit it. It was in his car.
Bill thanked Danny and left the station. As he drove he wondered how he could broach the subject of Sean possibly being up to his old tricks. He pulled up outside the house, noticing that McBride hadn't even cut the grass. Bill added it to his list of things that Deb might like him to do. He got out and looked around, it was a quiet street, neat and tidy gardens, except for Deb's, she must be embarrassed that they couldn't even keep the lawn tidy. He knocked on the door and waited. Deb never opened the door immediately, she waited behind it until the visitor spoke. He saw her shape through the figured glass and called,
'Deb, it's me, Bill.' The door opened, just a little and she peered round it. 'Hello, love.' He smiled, 'I've got that catch for the kitchen window.'
She opened the door to let him in, keeping her head down and not speaking. At first this didn't surprise him, Deb wasn't a talkative woman, unless she had something to say. He went through to the kitchen and was surprised to see dirty pots in the sink, not like her at all. He'd do something about that shortly, first that window catch. It didn't take him long and when he'd finished he ran water into the sink to wash his hands and the pots at the same time. He left them on the draining board, something wasn't right, more wrong than usual. He went into the small living room where Andrew was playing on the floor. Deb was sitting on the couch, a rather tatty old thing that really needed replacing but that would be way out of her reach. She had trouble paying the phone bill, Bill did that for her, he had insisted and worn her down. It was the only financial help she took from anyone. She just about survived on Clive's pension.
'Right that's done, and I've washed up for you.' He stood looking at her but she wouldn't make eye contact. This was beginning to worry him, that and the fact that she hadn't offered tea, which she always did, if Sean wasn't about, and he obviously wasn't. 'Deb?' He spoke quietly and went closer, she moved her head so he couldn't see her face unless he got down on his knees.
Bill wasn't good with women. He didn't know how to talk to them, how to show his interest. Deb was the only woman he did talk to, and that was only when he was fixing something. But now he had to think, what should he do? He didn't want to frighten her, or do something inappropriate, but he had to do something, and that something was look at her face. He leant down and put his hand gently under her chin, encouraging her to turn to him. He gasped, she had a black eye and the traces of dried blood on her upper lip where her nose had obviously bled. The injury, he surmised, must be about twelve to twenty four hours old, but only a doctor could say for sure, or her, if she'd tell him what had happened.
'Deb?' He crouched down beside her, 'did he do this?'
'He's gone, Bill.' She sniffed, 'packed his bag and went.'
'I'm going to get the doc to look at that eye.' He told her, as he lifted the phone receiver. He dialled the mortuary number and waited, then,
'Doc, it's Hobart.' He waited while Lucien's cheery voice asked what he could do for him, 'could you come over to Deb Cooper's? Black eye, nose bleed.' He waited while Lucien told him he'd be there as soon as possible, Dr Harvey could continue with the autopsy, 'Thanks, doc.' Bill put the receiver down and turned back to Deb. He wanted to kill the bastard, but that wouldn't help her, so he said he'd make a cuppa. He was in the kitchen when Blake arrived. He took Deb a cup of tea and went to let the doctor in.
'Deb, Dr Blake's here.' He said gently. Lucien raised his eyebrows, Bill Hobart, gentle, caring well, who knew? 'While you're here doc, I just need to get something, will you stay until I get back?'
'Yes, of course I will.' Lucien was curious, what was Bill up to? He just hoped he wasn't going to find the man who did this to Deb, there's be nothing left to autopsy if he did.
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Bill drove down into town. He needed two new locks for the doors, a chain, then to the grocers for some milk, which, he noted, he had just used the last of for the tea. The fridge was practically empty but he hadn't checked the pantry, so he settled for getting butter, bacon and bread. He could get more if it was needed, he didn't know what a child of Andrew's age would eat.
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Lucien had looked at Deb's face, checked her eyes and her nose, which wasn't broken and was trying to get her to talk when Bill arrived back. Bill entered through the back door and put his purchases down on the table. He took off his jacket and went into the living room. The doc had Andrew on his knee but Deb just sat staring into space. Lucien turned and looked up,
'Get everything?' He asked, conversationally.
'Yeah, new locks for the doors, and a chain.' He told him, 'Deb, I got you some milk, bread, butter and bacon. Is there anything else?'
Deb looked up at him, her eyes were full of tears. Lucien stood up with the baby and indicated to Bill he should sit down, he knew what was about to happen and he, rightly, assumed that Deb needed Bill more than him. She turned to Bill as he sat, gingerly, next to her and put her head on his chest and let the tears fall with huge choking sobs. Bill looked aghast, now what? Lucien mimed putting his arms round her and Bill raised his eyebrows. Lucien raised his back and gave a slight nod. So Bill did as instructed and felt her relax against him. He too relaxed, it was an awfully long time since he'd held a woman in his arms, but it didn't feel all that strange, he thought. He started to stroke her head and leant his chin on top of it.
Lucien left them and took Andrew into the kitchen to see what food supplies were available. Not much, but he knew where he could get a meal made for them, if she didn't mind.
'Deb, I'm going to take Andrew on an adventure.' He smiled, 'we're going to see Mrs Beazley.'
Deb looked alarmed at this, someone taking her son away.
'It's alright,' Lucien crouched down, 'that's all I'm going to do. Jean'll give him something to eat and drink, and I'll bring him back with something for you, too.'
'Doctor, I can't accept.' She hiccupped, her pride was getting in the way.
'Yes you can.' He said gently, 'and if you insist, perhaps Mrs Beazley can find you something to do to pay her back.' He stood, 'I'll leave you to sort the locks out, Bill. Come on Andrew, let's go and see Mrs Beazley.'
'Doc.' Bill said, his arms still round Deb. He looked at her, what a sad sorry state, but he didn't voice that thought. 'Right, Deb.' He released his hold on her, 'I'm going to change the locks on both doors and put a chain on the front.' He got up and went out of the room, still not sure what was happening.
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Deb listened to Bill unscrewing the locks and dropping bits onto the hall floor, rattling the handle and chain like some benevolent spirit, he whistled tunelessly as he worked. It was the first thing that she had smiled at for some time. She got up. The house was a mess, she had let things slide, fending off Sean's advances took most of her time. She should never have let him into the house, Bill was right the day he'd told Sean to get a job and get his act together. But he hadn't, he'd sat around smoking, which she hated, spending the little money she had on beer and she knew not what, leaving her precious little, just enough to feed her son, she ate what was left, not enough, as the loose waistband of her skirts told her. It had been hard, accepting Bill's payment of the phone bill, but at least it meant she had a life line.
She went into the kitchen and put her apron on. The first thing she did was to wash the tea things and put all the clean pots away, then the few things Bill had bought. Then she cleaned round, putting it to rights, making it much more to her liking. She got a duster just as Bill was coming through to do the kitchen door, she smiled, shyly at him, and went into the living room and started to dust round, plump the cushions and put Andrew's few toys away. There was some laundry on the only other chair in the room that needed ironing so she folded it ready and took it back into the kitchen to be dealt with when Andrew was in bed.
By then time they had finished their tasks Lucien had arrived back with Andrew in Jean's arms, while he carried a casserole dish wrapped in a tea towel. Andrew got an extra strong cuddle from his mother, grateful that the doctor had been true to his word.
'He's had some meat and vegetables, Mrs Cooper,' Jean said, 'it's what's in the dish, mashed up. I hope that's alright.'
'Thank you, Mrs Beazley, that's very kind of you.' Deb smiled, 'he'll eat almost anything.'
'Well, he's at that stage, exploring.' Jean said with the confidence of a mother who knew these things.
'Er, Bill,' Lucien said, Bill was the only one not carrying anything, 'Mrs Beazley says this needs to go back in the oven to keep hot.'
'There's enough for both of you,' Jean said, helpfully.
'Right, doc.' Bill and Deb both coloured at this. He took the pot off the doctor and took it into the kitchen, sliding it into the oven and turning it on. As a bachelor Bill had learned to cook basic 'meat and two veg' meals like his gran had taught him, it was nice to have something cooked by someone else for a change. He knew Mrs Beazley was a good cook, especially her biscuits, which regularly made their way into the office at the station.
'Come on, Doctor Blake.' Jean touched his arm, bravely, 'it's time we were going. I'm sure Mrs Cooper needs to see to Andrew.'
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Well, this was supposed to be a one shot, a whimsical look at a background character in TDBM, and yet again I have gone off on one of my long trails. Should I apologise? Reviews and comments most welcome as always.