Title: Bond
Author: Fallenbelle
Rating: T just to safe, nothing salacious here, but it does vaguely hint.
Summary: Though her relationship with the Inspector was at times a bit contentious, Julia was relieved to know that they shared a bond of their own in wanting to protect William.
Warning/Notes: Spoilers for season 9 finale. This is a companion story to Aftermath, but it is not necessary to have read it to make sense of this story-knowledge of the season 9 finale will suffice. Thanks to RuthieGreen for her suggestions, but this story is unbeta'd and all mistakes remain mine.
After having been shot, Julia returned to her job at the city morgue several weeks later, just before Christmas. It was a quiet day, and as such, there was no autopsy to complete. Having spoken with William earlier, she knew there were no crimes to investigate either, and he was currently working on another project that may or may not be of assistance to him in his work.
Julia would like to believe that perhaps humanity had decided to turn over a new leaf and had decided to stop inflicting pain upon one another, heeding the season's call for goodwill unto men. But the pragmatist in her suspected that it was the bitterly cold weather the past few days that had brought upon the civic truce as it were, and that as soon as the cold spell passed, so too would the peace and quiet.
Thus, as she sat at her desk comprising a list of things she needed to buy for the Christmas celebrations, she wasn't entirely surprised when Inspector Brackenreid came to the morgue, figuring that the man must be bored and looking for something to do. But when the man asked Miss James to give them some privacy, she knew that it must be a more serious matter.
She wasn't wrong.
"Pardon the indelicacy, Doctor, but I'm going to cut right to the chase," he began with his usual candor.
As usual, Julia appreciated it. "Of course, Inspector. What is it you need to discuss?"
"I'm trying to put the Eva Pearce matter to bed. Initially, I didn't want to involve you as you'd almost been killed, and I tried asking Murdoch, but as I'm sure you know, he's quite defensive of you, and hasn't been helping me as much as I would like," he admitted with a wave of his hand towards the direction of William's office.
"Well, William is a bit protective of me, I suppose," she admitted with a slight chuckle.
"Protective is a bit of an understatement, Doctor. Murdoch and I have seen the worst of our society, and we've seen some unspeakable things, yet Murdoch remains cool and collected. But the handful of times I've seen him lose his temper and or come close to completely coming undone have inevitably been linked to you. The man had his code by which he conducts himself, and is a master of self-control, but if something has happened to you, then that control is out the window," Brackenreid clarified.
"Ah, yes. Well, William is also quite loyal to me as well," Julia admitted with some nervousness. She wasn't sure what to do with the Inspector's information and insight into a side of William she didn't have much first-hand experience with. Sure, she'd suspected that his feelings for her were capable of such things, but having them confirmed by a third party was a bit disconcerting.
"Unquestionably loyal and devoted to you Doctor. When Gillies told him that he'd buried you alive and wouldn't divulge where you were, did you know that the man would have beat the insipid little bastard to death if I hadn't pulled Murdoch off of him. I don't suppose I need to inform you of the time when you were on trial and subsequently found guilty of your husband's murder, but you should have seen him while you were unconscious at the hospital just after you were shot. Threw your doctor out of the room when he suggested that you'd never awaken, and damn near throttled me when I suggested the same. Only, I said it just to infuriate Murdoch into action-I couldn't stand to see him so heartbroken," the man added.
Stunned that there was such solid evidence of William's feelings towards her, Julia set her pen down and pushed her chair back from her desk, sighed deeply.
"Doctor, I say these things only because I want you to know that you will never find another man more faithful and ardently devoted to you. I don't know what happened with Eva Pearce, but I suspect I know what her intentions were, and if anything happened, it was certainly not anything Murdoch desired," Brackenreid said.
"Inspector, I appreciate your insights and advice, but William and I have already discussed the events surrounding my attempted murder and his abduction and captivity, and we have come to an understanding. However, this is a matter concerning only my husband and I," Julia interjected, slightly annoyed that the man was trying to insert himself into their marriage when he could sometimes hardly manage his own.
"Doctor, I don't want or need to know those particular details. I just wanted to make sure that you realized that you were aware of all of the details. I just don't want to see him hurt again," he stated, holding a hand up in defense.
Exhaling sharply, Julia pushed her chair back from her desk and walked to the cabinet to put some space between her and the brusque Englishman. She didn't appreciate the implication that the Inspector was accusing her of being careless with William's feelings and that she would hurt him again-implying that she had hurt him before.
But, as she quickly had to admit to herself, she had hurt William before, as well as herself with decisions made in regards to doing what she had thought best for both of them. She would not make that decision again, but the Inspector didn't necessarily know that. Squaring her shoulders, she turned around to coolly thank the man for his concern, and hope that would be enough to send the man on his way.
"Inspector, I thank you for your…" she began.
"Doctor, I meant no umbrage or attack, I just wanted you to be aware of your husband's feelings-situations you may have been unaware of," he interrupted.
Julia pursed her lips and nodded. It was one thing for her to aware of William's feelings about her, but quite another for other people to be privy to her very private husband's thoughts and feelings. It was a bit disconcerting to say the least.
"I've overstepped my bounds, Doctor, and I apologize. It was not my intention to upset or offend you, so allow me to return to the purpose of my original visit. Murdoch originally wanted me to submit a report that you killed Eva in self-defense, which is what I tried to submit. However, given that you have already killed Harland Orgill in self-defense and of course having been tried for Dr. Garland's murder, the Crown wants something a bit more substantial. Help me out doctor, Eva shot you, then what?" he asked.
"Eva Pearce had tried to seduce William previously, and had even told me that she was going to take him from me as she always got her man. She attempted to have me killed at the asylum last year through manipulation as you already know, and when that wasn't successful, she decided to handle the matter herself by shooting me, and abducted William by drugging him later that evening. Mr. Jones has already confessed that Eva manipulated him into assisting her from within the hotel. I don't understand why this must be brought up and discussed again. In the name of salacious gossip perhaps?" she asked acidly.
"Relax, Doctor. I'm trying to put this matter to bed with as much delicacy as possible. I don't want to see this play out in the press any more than you do. There's no question of Mr. Jones' or Miss Pearce's involvement in your attempted murder. The question is concerning the exact events surrounding Miss Pearce's death. Apparently, there's some question as to whether you killed Miss Pearce in anger at her having an affair with your husband. I tried settle this matter with Murdoch, but as I'm sure you know, your husband was not helpful-he's trying to protect you, which I do understand."
Julia was too busy seething with anger to immediately reply. She was aware that she'd made an enemy with the Crown Prosecutor as the result of her actions, but she didn't suspect that the man would go this far. She'd almost been killed, for God's sake!
"Doctor Ogden, allow me to fill in some blanks. When you awoke at the hospital, I'm assuming that you already knew that Eva Pearce was your would be murderer. You snuck out of the hospital to come find your husband here at the station, but he wasn't here. Why?" he queried.
"It was a premonition, I suppose. I knew something was wrong when William hadn't come in to see me that day. There was no way he wouldn't be there unless something had happened to him. I came to the station to speak with you and George, but neither of you were there. I did not trust Constables Jackson and Higgins to do whatever it took to find William like I know the two of you would have," Julia replied.
Brackenreid nodded. "So you took matters into your own hands and went after her yourself?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes. I intended to only wound her so as to debilitate and subdue her, so that I could rescue William. But as she refused to surrender and attacked me again, I engaged with her in a fight to the death if I may be so blunt. Not only could I not stomach the thought of another woman touching him in that way, but I also could never abandon William to her clutches. He was a challenge to her, and once she'd had him, I have no doubt that she would have disposed of him just like she's done with other men who are no longer any use to her or who she's grown tired of," Julia answered.
"I appreciate your forthrightness, Doctor. I assure you that I will be as discreet as I can and I will close this matter at once, the Crown Prosecutor already has no case, but I will absolutely make sure that he can't even overreach and create one. You have nothing to fear on that matter," he assured her.
Julia relaxed and smiled at the man, realizing that however intrusive, his intentions were good.
With a smile and nod of his head, he bid her farewell to return to the Station before Julia stopped him, suddenly wanting to address his earlier concerns.
"William is my husband, Inspector. I may have hurt him in the past, but even then, I thought I was doing what was best for him. However, I will not make that mistake again. I love him intensely, and I would do anything for him; just as I know that he would do absolutely anything for me. I am his, and he is mine. Our bond is solid, and cannot be broken by anyone," Julia supplied.
"I'm glad to hear that you're as devoted to him as he is to you. Murdoch deserves that, and I'm relieved to know that," he responded before resuming his journey.
Though her relationship with the Inspector was at times a bit contentious, Julia was relieved to know that they shared a bond of their own in wanting to protect William.
Smiling, she picked up her pen to resume her shopping list, and instead began to brainstorm ideas for seducing her husband that evening. She planned on further reassuring him that he was and would always be hers.