Matthew had no idea why he was here. (Scratch that, he knew exactly why he was here on Dr. Harvey's doorstep, he had an apology to make.)

He adjusted his grip on the bottle of wine in his hands - it might be a bad idea, bringing her alcohol, after dinner, and on New Year's Eve no less, but he needed to apologize to her. Matthew needed to apologize for how he acted during the Wooten case a few weeks ago; he'd been stressed about facing his childhood bully, but it was no excuse to snap at Dr. Harvey.

As he reached up and knocked on the door, Matthew wondered if she'd even want to see him unexpectedly.

The door opened slowly and Dr. Harvey warily appeared in the doorway - her head tilted to the side and her face still mask.

"Yes?"

"Um… Dr. Harvey, I hope… I hope I'm not interrupting."

"No. Why are you here?"

Matthew rubbed the back of his neck, "I wanted to… apologize for how I acted a few weeks ago during the Wooten case."

She shifted in the doorway, her shoulders relaxing slightly as she leaned against the doorjamb, "You had a lot going on, Superintendent."

"Still… it's no excuse for snapping at you like that when all you were doing was trying to help."

Dr. Harvey nodded, "Is that all?"

"Oh! Um, no," Matthew lifted the bottle of wine for her to see. "I figured if the apology didn't work, you'd still appreciate a gift for your trouble."

Her head tilted further as she looked down at the bottle in his hands and then up at him again. Her eyes - a light, blue-grey - pierced through him and Matthew fought the urge to squirm under Dr. Harvey's intense stare.

"I'm more of a whiskey kind of girl, but I won't say no to a good red," Dr. Harvey finally answered and opened the door further. "Would… would you like to come in?"

"You're sure?"

"It's New Year's Eve and it would be a shame not to share the gift you brought."

He stepped over the threshold of her home - something changing in the air between them. Matthew didn't quite know what, but there was a sort of tension in the way her eyes watched him, and the tiniest intake of breath he heard during the brief moment when he'd stepped forward and she had yet to step back. (Matthew also caught the way her eyes dipped down to his mouth for a fraction of a second before she looked down at the floor - though he could have imagined that part.)

Dr. Harvey took the wine from him while he hung up his hat.

"Shoes off too, please," she called over her shoulder as she walked down the hallway.

Matthew obediently toed off his shoes and left them next to her heels by the door as he shrugged out of his overcoat. He closed the front door and followed Dr. Harvey further into her home. Curiously, Matthew took in the clean and sparse decor in creams and greens; it was simple, but it was nice. Stepping into the living room (that looked into the kitchen), Matthew smiled at the wall of books immediately opposite him - this was more of what he imagined her house would be like. Dr. Harvey had no television set, instead her couch - which looked comfortable with a folded quilt draped over the back of it - faced her bookshelves with a coffee table in front of it. He noted a half-filled cup of tea on the coffee table with a smudged lip print and a tattered paperback book next to it.

(He hadn't pegged her to be one for romance novels, but then again he barely knew her.)

"You can sit if you'd like," she called from the kitchen and Matthew looked up in time to see her remove the cork from the bottle.

"Would you like any help?"

"No," Dr. Harvey flashed him a smile and Matthew returned it. "Would you like a lot of wine or a little?"

"I'll have whatever you're having."

She laughed lightly and brought over the opened bottle and two wine glasses; he watched her quietly as she poured them both a generous amount and handed one to him.

Matthew gently clinked his glass against hers with a smile, "Cheers, Dr. Harvey."

"Cheers."

She closed her eyes and let out a small hum of pleasure when the the wine hit her tongue; Matthew swallowed hard and felt his cheeks grow warm at the noise. He shifted on the couch and cleared his throat - willing away his thoughts of that noise in another context, he'd come here for a reason.

"I really am sorry for… how I spoke to you, Doctor."

Dr. Harvey turned to him and leaned back against the cushions as Matthew fiddled with the wine glass in his hands.

"You're a very smart and capable doctor and I shouldn't have snapped at you the way I did - regardless if I was stressed out about the case or not."

"It happens a lot."

"Still… you don't deserve it."

She bit her lower lip and looked down at her glass, "You know… I think you're the first man besides Dr. Blake to think that in a very long time, Superintendent."

"Well, then they're idiots." He smiled when that startled a laugh from her - she had a gorgeous laugh.

The two of them relaxed a little more around each other - the wine helping - and once Matthew started questioning her about books, the conversation flowed easily from one topic to the next.

Lawson surprised her, Alice thought as they shared the bottle of wine he brought while the hours counted down to the new year. He surprised her with his apology and gift, and the insistence that she deserved respect - something not always given to her in her line of work.

She'd thought he was just another stuffed shirt, who looked down at her because she was a woman in a man's world, but… he'd surprised her. Alice enjoyed talking to him - his vast knowledge of history melding well with the different books she'd read, and he genuinely listened when she spoke about science. He asked questions - curious about different terms and tests that Lucien didn't always explain clearly to him (or assumed Matthew just knew like he did), and Alice found she enjoyed passing on her knowledge to a willing listener. He was smart, caught on quick, and had a dry sense of humor that no one told her about in the months since she moved to Ballarat.

Lawson also wasn't that bad to look at; his features were odder than most men, more sharp and angular than her previous encounters, but Alice found herself staring at the cut of his cheekbone, the line of his jaw, and the way his lips moved when he talked - they utterly fascinated her and a growing part of her mind wondered what it would feel like to trace those sharp features with her fingers… what his lips would feel like against hers.

(Evidently, Alice mused, the wine had quickly settled into her veins)

"You haven't heard a word I've been saying, have you?" Lawson's voice startled Alice from her thoughts and she felt her cheeks grow hot as she looked up to meet his eyes.

(They were warm, open, and teasing - completely different from the way he'd looked at her in the morgue during the Wooten case)

Lawson had turned her assumptions of him on their ear and left her wanting more. He'd completely surprised her - showing up on her doorstep with an apology and the wine - and Alice's curiosity was piqued.

She wanted to know him.

She wanted to fuck him.

Her eyes trailed down his jaw - across the now smirking lips she'd been (somewhat blatantly) staring at - and along the line of his neck. She took in the broadness of his chest, the way his hand cradled the wine glass - Alice wondered what his hands would feel like against her skin.

Oh yes, she definitely wanted to fuck him.

"Doctor?"

"Mm?"

"You haven't been listening to me for the last five minutes, have you?"

"Yes, I have."

The slight smirk on Lawson's face, coupled with the knowing look in his eyes - God, those eyes, Alice thought - made her cheeks heat even more as he caught her blatant lie. She cleared her throat.

"Alright… I haven't really been listening."

"I… I can go if you'd like me to, if you're tired… it is getting pretty late."

"No!" Alice stuck out her hand in protest - the wine in her glass almost sloshing over the sides with her sudden movement. Lawson jumped and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"I mean…" she sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I don't… I don't want you to go, Superintendent. I've had a really good time just talking with you and… I don't want it to end… not yet."

He smiled and slowly reached towards her with his hand; Alice returned the smile and slipped her hand into his - shivering slightly when his thumb rubbed her knuckles.

"I've had a good time too, Doctor. You're… comfortable to be around, if that makes sense."

"It does," Alice smiled wider and nodded. "It's hard to find people that you can just…"

"Exist around? I know the feeling. It's hard to get a word in edgewise with other people… like Lucien."

She laughed and nodded again - catching sight of Lawson's grin as he watched her. His hand tightened around hers and Alice felt her breath catch in her throat when he lifted her hand up to brush a kiss against her knuckles. When he looked up to gauge her reaction, Alice smiled as Lawson kissed the back of her hand - heat coiled in her belly when he turned her hand over to kiss her palm and then against the pulse point of her wrist.

(Alice wondered if he could feel how rapid her heart was beating when he did that)

"Dr. Harvey."

"Yes?" Alice whispered.

"It's… It's New Year's Eve and I was wondering if I could kiss you when the clock strikes midnight, if you'd like to, that is."

She glanced at the clock over his shoulder - noting it was less than a minute to midnight - and nodded.

"I'd like that, Superintendent Lawson."

Lawson smiled and put their wine glasses on the coffee table as Alice scooted closer to him on the couch. He took her hand again and pulled her to him as his other hand cupped her cheek; Alice met him halfway - their lips brushing tentatively as the clock in the kitchen started to chime midnight. A jolt of pleasure fizzed down her spine as Lawson pressed his lips more firmly against hers - his hand sliding into the curls at the base of her skull and Alice sighed into the kiss.

He drew back - his hand still on the back of her neck, the other curling around her hip - and Alice followed him. She cupped his face with her hands, her thumbs caressing those sharp features she'd admired as she leaned in and kissed him again. Her hands smoothed down to his shoulders and Alice shifted on the couch until she straddled his lap without breaking the kiss. Lawson's fingers tightened on her hip and in her hair as she nipped at his bottom lip - tasting the wine lingering on his lips.

"Is this okay?" Alice asked, drawing back from him and smiling when Lawson frowned at the loss of contact.

"More than okay, Dr. Harvey." He curled his hands around her waist as she shifted on his lap to a more comfortable position. "Is it alright for you?"

She nodded and kissed him again. Her hands cradled his face and neck as he swiped his tongue across her lower lip; Alice hummed in the back of her throat as his hands burned a trail up her back through her dress. As Lawson continued to sweep his hands up and down her back and sides, Alice trailed her fingers down his chest and curled them under the hem of his jumper.

"Impatient, are we?" Lawson chuckled against her lips as she pulled the jumper up - or tried to at least.

"You are not helping," she pouted.

He grinned and leaned forward and removed his jacket so she could pull the jumper up and over his head. Both garments were abandoned at the other end of the couch and Lawson wrapped his arms around her again as their kisses grew more heated and hands started to wander.

"Wait," he drew back - gently grasping Alice's wrists when she reached for his belt buckle.

"What is it?"

"I… um, it's just… it's been awhile for me, Dr. Harvey, and there's also the question of…"

"Of what?"

He shifted beneath her and cleared his throat, "Of… protection. I wasn't… I didn't have this in mind when I stopped by tonight."

Alice smiled and bit her lower lip, "Technically… you stopped by last night, last year even." Her smile widened when Lawson laughed. "And as for protection… I think I have that covered."

"You do?"

"I am a doctor," Alice grinned. "It helps to be prepared. That, and, sometimes women feel more comfortable coming to another woman with their troubles than a male doctor."

"Ah… you're discrete."

"Exactly."

She pressed a kiss to his lips. "I'll be right back."

Lawson pulled her down for a kiss and nodded. Alice rose to her feet - giggling when he kissed her again - and quickly walked to her study. Her medicine cabinet in there should have what she needed, otherwise this night would turn out quite differently than what she wanted. Luckily, Alice was prepared and grabbed what she needed; she returned to the parlor where Lawson waited on her couch.

"Find it?"

Brandishing it with a smile, Alice clambered back onto his lap. "I told you, I'm a doctor and I'm prepared."

He grinned back, "You continue to surprise me, Dr. Harvey."

"If we're going to be sleeping together, Superintendent, you may as well call me Alice."

"Then… you can call me Matthew… Alice."

"Good," she kissed him.

Matthew could scarcely believe what was happening. He'd come to deliver an apology - maybe grovel a bit to get back in Dr. Harvey's good graces (if he was even there to begin with) and then go home to celebrate the new year alone. Instead, Dr. Harvey - Alice - had invited him in, shared wine and conversation, and now sat on his lap kissing the hell out of him - with the promise of more.

He kept kissing Alice - gentle kisses, messy kisses, kisses that made her gasp and his trousers grow tighter. He kept kissing her and kept his hands on her back as her fingers ran through his hair.

"You can touch me, Matthew," she whispered, "if you want to."

He raised his eyebrows at her, quirking a half smile when she sighed impatiently.

"I want you to touch me; I didn't go into my medical cabinet for just kissing."

"I dunno… I kind of like just kissing," Matthew teased.

"I could order you," she grumbled even as he kissed her and swept his hands along her hips and thighs.

"Nah, I don't think you have the authority." He trailed his lips along the line of her jaw - nipping and sucking at the soft skin of her throat and neck as his hands worked at unbuttoning her dress. Her fingers tightened in his hair when he nipped at the tendons of her neck and she pulled him up for another kiss as he fought with the buttons of her dress.

"Trouble?" Alice asked as she nimbly unbuttoned his shirt.

"Women and their damned buttons," Matthew muttered as Alice took pity on him and undid the dress for him. At his defeated sigh, she giggled against his mouth and kissed him again; his fingers teased along the hem of her skirt, dancing up her thighs underneath the fabric until they reached the tops of her stockings - feather light touches to the soft skin above them as Alice sighed against his lips.

Alice pushed the shirt from his shoulders - he threw it over where his jumper and jacket lay as she shrugged out of the top half of her dress. Matthew eagerly explored the newly revealed skin - his hands sweeping up her arms and down her back as he left glistening love bites across her chest. She tangled her fingers in his hair as she pressed her hips down against his - Matthew groaned and nipped a little harder at her skin.

She bore down on him again and he grabbed her hips. "Stop teasing."

"Then get busy, Superintendent," Alice kissed him, nipping and sucking at his lower lip as he groaned.

Under her skirt, Matthew fumbled with her garters as he unhooked her stockings. She helped him with the garter belt and briefly stood from his lap to let it and her knickers fall to the floor. Returning to his lap, Alice unbuckled his belt, undid his trousers, and pulled his erection from his shorts with little fanfare.

At the first touch of her hands on him, Matthew's head fell back on the couch - his hands tightening around her hips as she pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw. As she opened the small packet she'd retrieved from her study and rolled the protection down his length, Matthew's hands swept up her skirt - chasing the heat between her thighs as she gasped above him.

"Matthew," she sighed as he teased her folds - making sure she was ready. "Matthew."

"Patience, Alice, we've got all night and it's been awhile for me. It's not every day a man gets to kiss a smart lady doctor."

She pulled him up for a messy, open-mouthed kiss as he inserted a finger, "Flattery, Superintendent, might get you everywhere, but right now I want more than just kissing. So if you don't start actually-"

"Alright, alright," Matthew chuckled against her lips as Alice rose up slightly on her knees - away from his hand. "Fair enough."

"Glad you agree," she grinned. With his help, Alice lowered herself down on him - rocking gently as she stretched around him until she was fully seated.

"God…" he groaned - his hands tightening around her hips as he held her in place. "You feel incredible."

Alice kissed him, "You aren't bad yourself."

"Oh, so I get to flatter you, but none for me?" Matthew grinned as Alice's eyes widened. "I'm teasing, Alice."

"Oh… I… I wasn't expecting that," she giggled. "I'm not… my last few… encounters weren't exactly like this."

"Like what?"

"Fun, silly, teasing."

"Well, then they were idiots," he echoed his statement from earlier in the night and was rewarded with her gorgeous laugh.

"You… are an interesting man, Matthew."

"Why thank you," he pulled her down for a kiss as she rocked against him. One of his hands tangled in her hair, pulling her head back as the other trailed down her neck and shoulder - taking the strap of her slip and bra down with it as his lips followed the same path. Alice sighed when he nipped at her freckled skin - her fingers digging into his shoulders as she moved above him. Matthew lavished her chest with kisses as her blunt nails dug into his arms; he bared one of her breasts, tongue laving over the hard nipple while he palmed the other through the thin layers of her undergarments. Alice arched into him, gasping when he sucked at the flesh of her inner breast - nipping and soothing at the sensitive skin while her nails left stinging welts on his arms and shoulders as he thrust up into her.

He kissed his way up her neck to her pulse point - Alice tangling her hands in his hair as he left a sizable love bite on her skin.

She shuddered in his arms, "Oh… fuck."

Matthew thrust up into her again and growled against her skin, "Say that again."

"Do you like hearing me swear?" Alice grinned.

He kissed her - messily, sloppily - as he cupped her face with his hands. "Maybe."

"That's… that's not an answer," Alice kissed him back, her voice low and throaty as she picked up the pace. "Do you like hearing me swear?"

Matthew buried his face in the crook of her neck with a groan, "Christ, Alice."

His hands trailed under her skirt again, his thumb circling her clit as she gyrated above him - urging her closer to her climax as he felt his own building.

"You haven't answered, Superintendent."

Matthew nipped at her skin, "You're a bloody tease, Doctor."

"Well?" she gasped as he bit down on her shoulder again.

"Yes, yes, I like hearing you swear."

"Why?"

"Don't ask for much, do you?" He grinned as she laughed - sex hadn't been this much fun for him in quite awhile. "There's just…"

"Yes?"

"There's something about an educated woman such as yourself using dirty language that's just… unbelievably sexy."

"You find me sexy?"

"Hell yes," Matthew kissed her. "And beautiful."

Surprised, Alice blushed and stopped moving - demurely avoiding his eyes, "I've… no one's ever said that."

He cradled her face with his hands, "It's true, you're beautiful."

She kissed him and Matthew was surprised to feel a few tears roll down her cheeks.

"You flatter me, Matthew."

Matthew kissed her back and brushed away the tears as they fell. Dr. Alice Harvey was proving to be an enigma - one that he wanted desperately to solve.

Alice smiled against his lips, "And flattery will now get you everywhere. So… Superintendent, please…"

"Yes?"

"Fuck me."

He groaned and thrust up into her over and over again - feeling his climax build rapidly as she clenched around his cock and matched his rhythm. He tried to wait, tried to stave off his own pleasure for Alice as he concentrated on her needs. But, it had been awhile and he wasn't sure he could hold off longer.

"Alice, I don't-" Matthew bit down on her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her - his hips stuttering up into her heat as he climaxed.

Alice sighed against his forehead, her own body still singing for release as Matthew came down from it all. She'd thought it'd be different - it had felt different with him. She'd hoped that for once she'd find the kind of… lover she'd been seeking - one that wasn't just a rut-and-done type.

"I'm sorry," he whispered against her neck. "It'd been some time… I'll make it up to you."

She made a noise in the back of her throat as she lifted herself up off his softening cock. His hands on her hips prevented her from moving any further and Alice frowned down at him.

"Give me a minute and I'll make it up to you," Matthew gently kissed her.

"I'm sure."

She caught the way his eyebrows raised at her tone and she just sighed in response.

Matthew kissed her again and let her stand from his lap; he kicked his trousers to the side and stood next to her. Alice busied herself with straightening her skirts - her movements agitated and short; she let out a shriek of surprise when Matthew suddenly swept her off her feet and up into his arms.

"What are you doing!" she demanded.

"Making it up to you," Matthew grinned and carried her out of the living room. "Bedroom?"

Alice felt her cheeks grow hot as she clung to Matthew's neck - she'd never been carried by a lover to bed and Matthew Lawson continued to turn her expectations upside down. Even after he'd been satisfied sexually, Matthew was insisting on "making it up to her".

She looked forward to seeing just how he was going to do that.

"Second door on the right," Alice answered as they entered the hallway. "You're the first to do this."

"You deserve to be romanced."

"Are you wooing me, Chief Superintendent?"

He chuckled, "Just giving you the satisfaction you want right now, Doctor, wooing can always come later. I'm usually… better than back there, but…"

"It's been awhile, I got that."

Matthew set her down at the foot of her bed and kissed her. She moaned into it as his hands busied themselves with the narrow belt of her dress; wrapping her arms around his shoulders, Alice nibbled his lower lip - smiling when Matthew pushed her dress and petticoat to the floor.

He knelt and rolled her stockings down her legs - pressing kisses and nipping where he liked; his hands sliding under her slip as Matthew stood - smoothing over the soft skin of her thighs and hips as he kissed her again and again. Alice pulled him closer, arching her body into his as Matthew pushed her towards the bed. Pulling the slip up and over her head, he tossed it to the side and kissed down her neck - the two of them falling on the bed with startled laughter when Alice's legs hit the edge of the mattress.

"Please," Alice whispered as he traced idle designs on her skin with his fingers - edging closer to the crease of her hips. "Please."

"Patience."

"Matthew," she pouted and fumbled with the clasp of her bra as Matthew teased her even more. Alice gasped and arched into his touch when he slowly entered a finger and then another into her.

"You gotta have more patience," he grinned against her neck as his fingers curled inside her - his thumb stroking her clit.

Alice just moaned and lifted her hips in time with his hand. "I'll keep that in mind, Superintendent."

Matthew nipped where her neck met her shoulder at the teasing use of his title. He kissed his way down her body - Alice's hands landing in his hair as she writhed beneath him. He certainly was making it up to her now.

It didn't take long for release under Matthew's mouth and hands - the ferocity of her climax taking Alice by some surprise. He was undoubtedly good - and probably knew it - but certainly more attentive than her past lovers. After all, who else would have carried her off to bed to give her pleasure and attention after their own sexual release?

Matthew Lawson was different, and Alice wanted to know more of him.

She pulled him up for a messy, heated kiss - chasing the taste of herself in his mouth as he chuckled against her lips.

"I told you I was going to make it up to you, Alice."

"I'll never doubt your word again," she smiled.

Matthew kissed her softly, "Do you…?"

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if I stay the night? I can leave if you'd like, but I'm… a little tired."

Alice laughed lightly, thinking about all they'd done since he arrived on her doorstep. "Yes, Matthew, you can stay if you'd like. I kind of like the thought of not waking up alone in the morning."

"Technically it is the morning," he grinned when she swatted at his shoulder. "Where… where do we go from here, Alice?"

She tucked her head under his chin as he wrapped his arms around her. "I… I don't know. I like you, I definitely like sleeping with you… I wouldn't mind if we continued that."

"So… you'd like to do this again?"

"Absolutely," Alice kissed his chest, smiling against his skin when she heard him yawn.

"You can come over to my place, I'll even cook you dinner for your trouble."

"I'd like that, but we can discuss it more in the morning. Sleep first."

"Alright."

Alice sat up and they resituated themselves under the covers; she made a detour to the bathroom to dispose of the used protection, bring a damp towel for Matthew to clean up with, and to relieve herself - briefly going back to the living room to turn off the lights - before joining Matthew back in her bed.

"Comfortable?" he asked as she settled back in his arms after turning off the bedside lamp.

"Mm, yes," Alice smiled in the dark - her cheeks growing warm when Matthew kissed the back of her shoulder. "Goodnight, Matthew. And Happy New Year."

"A very Happy New Year indeed," he kissed the back of her shoulder again - grinning when she swatted at his hand. "Goodnight, Alice, sweet dreams."