Alice looked at the front of the house that, until nearly two months ago, had been home. Now, perhaps, it could be home again. Matthew brought the suitcases, one by one, over to her, and handed her the key.

'That one's yours,' he murmured, 'well it was before...'

'Thank you,' she didn't look at him, just took the key and one of the cases and let herself in.

They moved round each other in an awkward silence. Upstairs she noticed the bed was unmade.

'Er, yeah, sorry,' he pulled the sheets off and threw them in the laundry basket, 'I'll get fresh ones.'

She bit her lip, he'd obviously relied on Jean to take care of him, feed him and do some of his laundry at least. Before she had moved in with him he had taken care of himself, when she was there they did such things together, and then she'd left...

They made the bed together then Matthew said he'd use the spare room,

'Why?'

'Er... well, I ...' he wanted to give her time, not back her into a corner and have her leave again.

'Don't,' she whispered, she'd slept so badly on her own, perhaps she needed him for that, at least.

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He woke to find her curled up by him, one arm flung over his chest and her rounded belly, underneath the fine cotton of the nightdress Jean had picked out for her, against his side. They had started one side of the bed each, but it would appear nature had taken over and she had moved in her sleep to be next to him, just like she always used to. He smiled and gently lifted her hand to kiss the fingers.

'Hmph,' she sniffed and shifted her head to look up.

'Morning,' he whispered, 'sleep well?'

'Yes, thank you,' she pushed herself up, 'did you?'

'Better,' he smiled, 'tea?'

'That would be lovely,' she pushed herself away and sat on the edge of the bed, 'but first...' she reached for the robe Jean had chosen for her and headed to the bathroom.

Tea was taken downstairs if Matthew made it, so she headed to the kitchen where he was busying himself making the drinks.

They sat opposite each other at the table, silently sipping their tea, neither one knowing what to say, it was worse than the morning after they had slept together for the first time.

'I suppose I ought to go to the hospital and tell them I have returned,' she put her cup down, 'get back to work.'

'Could you perhaps do that tomorrow?' he asked, 'I thought we could talk.'

'We should talk, but I need to let them know I'm ready to go back,' she tipped her head, 'are you thinking of taking the day off?'

'Only if you are,' he looked at her, trying to gauge her mood, which had never been easy, 'look what happens when we don't talk, Alice. We need to talk about what you want, what this,' he waved his hand in the general direction of her midriff, 'this means for us.'

'You said you weren't angry,'

'...and I'm not,' he got up and went round to her side of the table, 'I do love you, Alice, very much. I know neither of us expected to be parents, but it would seem nature has other ideas.'

'I don't know anything about children, they just seem to be rather noisy and messy,' she bit her lip.

'You were one, once, so was I,' he smiled.

'But I didn't feel loved,' she sniffed, 'ignored or abused, that was my childhood, how am I going to love this child?'

'Well, I didn't have such a good time either, so at least we know how not to do it,' he kissed her hand and placed it on her belly, covering it with his own. 'I think you have a lot of love to give, you've given me such a lot and between us I think we could give this little one a lot, too.'

'Oh Matthew,' she sighed heavily, 'I'm sorry, I was just so...'

'...scared?'

'Maybe not scared, as such, but... it's not something I ever wanted.'

He gasped.

'No, that's not what I mean, well yes it is,' she hurried on, 'I was told I couldn't have children, maybe that's it...'

'Your way of coping with having the choice taken away, perhaps,' he breathed again, 'now, here you are, here we are.'

'Yes, here we are, completely clueless,' she smiled, then giggled, 'honestly, Matthew I get through university, qualify as a doctor, you work your way through the ranks to Chief Superintendant, and here we are, clueless about raising a child.'

He smiled, then joined in her laughter. They were still laughing when Jean and Lucien knocked on the door, Lucien needed Matthew, there was a body at Susan Tyneman's and she insisted the Chief Superintendant attend. Jean had grabbed a loaf of bread and some butter, remembering that there was unlikely to be any in the house, and gone with him.

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'That's a good sign,' Jean observed, 'at least they aren't screaming at each other.'

'Shame I've got to drag him away,' Lucien mused.

'Mm..' she agreed.

Matthew opened the door, still grinning, 'Mornin',' he stepped aside for them to enter.

'Matthew,' Lucien couldn't help but smile at the cheerful man that greeted him, 'sorry, mate, but we've been called out. They rang me because you have been staying with us.'

'Bugger,' Matthew grumbled, 'well, best get dressed, was hoping to have the day off,' he muttered as he hobbled back to tell Alice they would have to postpone their chat.

'Best laid plans, Matthew,' she looked up from her chair, 'don't worry, I'll go and tell the hospital I'm back, I'll see you later, or in the morgue.'

'Blake...' he turned to the doctor, 'should she be working.'

Alice glared at him, Lucien grinned,

'Of course, she's pregnant, not sick,' he grinned at Alice, 'I'd welcome your help as always, Dr Harvey.'

'I'll get dressed then,' Matthew harrumphed and plodded up the stairs.

'Are you going to take Matthew, Lucien?' Alice stood and took her cup to the sink, 'only neither of us have had any breakfast.'

'Bread, Alice,' Jean smiled holding up the supplies she had brought, 'at least he can have some toast. So can you.'

Jean turned the grill on and sliced some bread for toast while Alice washed the cups they'd used.

Matthew stomped down the stairs and took the piece of buttery toast Jean passed to him,

'Thanks,' he mumbled, then smiled as Alice went up to him and kissed his cheek.

'See you later,' she murmured.

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'Jean,' Alice watched the two men leave, 'when I've been to the hospital would you come with me to get some groceries. Matthew has obviously been eating at yours and, if it wasn't for you bringing the bread...'

'Of course,' Jean smiled, 'why don't you go and get washed and dressed, there's no rush, is there?'

'Not really, I'm sure Lucien can manage on his own for a while,' she smiled, 'unless he's got a new assistant.'

'I assure you, he hasn't,' Jean laughed.

'I'm going to have a quick shower, if you don't mind waiting?'

'Go on, I've nothing planned.'

Jean watched her go and smiled. She wasn't surprised Alice asked her to go shopping with her, she was slowly opening up and was probably a little worried that eyes would be upon her and she had been seen out with Matthew. There was also a chance they would bump into one of the officers. Jean knew what it was like to be the target of gossips and she didn't want Alice to suffer that, she had enough to deal with.

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As she showered and dressed she felt relieved that Jean was able to go with her, into town. It wasn't that she couldn't shop for groceries, she could and did, but she was obviously pregnant, she couldn't hide it, and she was nervous. She knew was being silly, but she'd been rather silly lately and it would seem Jean was the friend she needed.

She dressed in the same skirt and jacket as the previous day with a plain white blouse, applied her usual make up and brushed her hair, now in need of a cut. That was, for her, the only thing wrong with her appearance today, her hair. Perhaps she should go to the hairdresser's as well. She went down, she could smell toast and it was making her mouth water.

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She couldn't help but fiddle with her hair while she ate the toast and drank the tea Jean had made. Jean watched her, seeing the irritation. Alice's hair had a natural wave which had disappeared when she had it cut into the new short style, but it was coming back as the hair grew.

'Alice,' she put her cup down, 'would you like me to do something with your hair, it seems to be bothering you?'

'It needs cutting, it's...'

'...at that awkward stage.' Jean stood up, 'do you have any pins, it will probably go into a French pleat.'

'Yes, I'll get them,' she went back up to the bedroom and found the pins, where she had left them, on the dresser. 'I must have known,' she muttered to herself.

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Hair elegantly swept into a French pleat, Alice took her basket and handbag and joined Jean at the front door.

'We'll have to take the bus,' Alice sighed, 'I sold the car, I don't like driving in cities.'

'Well, when we've finished I can always get our car,' Jean agreed, 'drive you back if you aren't staying at work.'

'Thank you.'

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The bus was relatively quiet, one or two ladies Jean knew nodded and smiled but otherwise nobody took particular notice of the two ladies. They passed the short journey discussing whether or not she should get another car, Matthew wasn't driving because of his knee so she couldn't borrow his.

'Perhaps you should get one between you,' Jean stood up ready to leave the bus, 'you will need one if you are on call...'

'...and I can drive him to work, save Lucien collecting him, or you,' she smiled, thoughtfully.

'Lucien did say if he got an automatic he could drive,' Jean muttered.

'Right,' Alice thought it was a good idea, 'I'll put it to him, but not just yet.'

Jean sensed some hesitation in her friend, some worry about the relationship.

'It will work out, Alice, patience, that's all you need,' Jean squeezed her hand.

'I'm not a very patient person,' Alice whispered, 'I like to know when things will happen.'

'But surely, you have to wait for test results, at work and from the autopsies?' Jean questioned this logic.

'The tests are run for a specific time,' Alice explained, 'I don't have to wait for something to happen, it has to happen in a specific time, or it won't happen at all.'

'Of course,' they strolled in and out of the shops buying what they both needed before heading to the hospital where Jean was going to collect the car and wait for Alice to see the director.

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Alice smoothed down her jacket and patted her hair, then, satisfied she was correctly presented, knocked on the office door.

'Come,' she turned the handle and took a deep breath.

The director was relatively new to the hospital; at least she didn't have to see Malcolm Beaufort; he only knew what he had been told by Dr Blake about Dr Harvey.

'Dr Harvey, nice to meet you at last,' he indicated she sit, 'Dr Blake has told me all about you.'

'Oh, right,' she wasn't quite sure what to make of this, she hoped Lucien had been kind in his assessment of her.

'I believe you've just taken some family time,' he smiled, he wanted to put her at her ease. Rumour had it she was a little... difficult, but he didn't pay much attention to rumour.

'Yes, I needed to get away for a while,' she swallowed, 'I'm ready to come back to work, now.'

'I see,' he steepled his hands on the desk, 'Dr Blake seems to be looking forward to having you back, by his side; he came to see me first thing; but...' he had noticed her 'condition'.

Alice blushed, not sure how to approach this, so she stumbled over her words,

'I ... er... I should be able to work for another three months,' she looked down, 'as long as my GP is happy with my progress.'

'Of course, he would be...?'

'Dr Blake,' she looked up, he raised an eyebrow.

'Well, Dr Harvey,' he smiled a little smile, 'times are changing, and I don't have any problem with you working in your present state. I expect you to be sensible in the activities you undertake, the hospital cannot be responsible for you harming yourself if you are careless, but somehow...' he stood up, 'let's see how it goes, shall we?'

She stood up and shook his extended hand,

'Thank you, sir,' she left, a little hastily, not seeing the smile and the shaking of his head.

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Jean had put all the shopping in the car then wandered round to the director's office to see if she could catch Alice. She was just coming out of the office looking, Jean thought, rather relieved, as she leaned against the wall and exhaled.

'Alright?' she touched her shoulder.

'Hm...? Oh, Jean,' she sighed, 'yes... yes, he's much better than Beaufort,' she smiled.

'Well, Lucien says not to bother today,' they turned to walk towards the morgue, 'the man drowned, fell into the pool. No evidence of foul play.'

'Who was he?'

'A burglar, but it's been raining and it was slippery, they could see his shoe marks on the edge and his tools at the bottom of the pool.' They were at the morgue, 'go in and talk to him, I'll wait to see what you want to do.'

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Lucien looked up and smiled at her as she walked through the door.

'Hello, Alice, everything ok?'

'Yes, I can come back to work,' she smiled, this was where she should be. 'Jean says it's an accident,' she nodded at the body on the slab.

'Yes, nothing to do, except contact his family and send him to be buried,' Lucien nodded, 'silly fool.'

'So it would seem,' she agreed, 'do you want me to stay or...'

'Not unless you have a burning desire to,' he grinned, 'I'm sure there are other things you need to do.'

'Probably, I expect Jean knows what I should be doing, at this stage,' she smiled, 'I think I'll go home and ...' she tipped her head in thought, '... do something.' She shrugged her shoulders and left, telling him to call if anything came up.

He watched her go, she needed to be kept busy, he thought, this situation was so new to her. He wondered when she was going to show herself to the officers. On the way to the Tyneman's that morning Matthew had asked his friend if he should tell anybody, about the baby.

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'God no!' Lucien blurted out, 'that's for Alice, when she's ready.'

'Right,' Matthew stared ahead.

'I know you're rather pleased with yourself, Lawson,' Lucien grinned, 'but Alice is still trying to come to terms with it, that and you aren't married, she's worried about your reputation. She told Jean she thought it would ruin you, and don't consider proposing just because she's expecting, unless you want your head bitten off.'

'We ought to,' Matthew mused, 'it's her reputation too.'

'Sit down and discuss it, make the decision together,' for once Lucien was talking sense, though Matthew thought he was the last one to be dishing out relationship advice. 'Do you want to marry her?'

'I want us to stay together,' he admitted, 'but marriage was not something we'd ever thought of. She'd want to continue working, with or without the baby... which is no bad thing, is it?'

'I can't see Alice as a stay at home mother,' Lucien admitted as they turned into the drive, 'she would have to work for her to have some sense of worth. Not that being a mother isn't an important job, one of the most important, really.'

'She doesn't think she'll be able to love it,' Matthew thought of the conversation they had had that morning, 'because neither of us had good childhoods.'

'So, you know what not to do,' Lucien reached into the car for his bag as Susan came up to them.

'That's what I said,' Matthew heaved himself out of the passenger seat, 'good morning, Mrs Tyneman.'

'Superintendant,' she muttered through gritted teeth. 'When can you get him off my property?'

'When Dr Blake has seen the body and we have had a look round,' he nodded politely.

'Susan,' Lucien nodded at her and headed out to the pool to examine the body and the scene.

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Jean took Alice back to her home and helped her put the groceries away before they sat down and had some tea.

Jean broke the silence,

'What were you two laughing about, this morning? If I'm not prying.'

'No, I was just saying that I could get through university and qualify as a doctor and he could rise through the ranks to be a Chief Superintendant, but neither of us know how to raise a child.' Alice smiled at the memory, 'it all seems rather silly, really.'

'You know, Alice,' Jean put her cup down and looked at her, 'raising children doesn't come with an instruction manual, like your new twin tub, or the vacuum cleaner. They don't have a volume control.'

'Oh, hell,' Alice huffed, 'Jean, what do I do?'

'Take each day as it comes,' Jean said softly, 'there will be good days, bad days, times when you laugh, times when you want to cry, times when you want to walk down the drive and never come back. But you will remember and treasure the good times, and the bad times won't seem that bad, they get overtaken by the good. My boys were always up to no good, getting into scrapes around the farm, cuts and bruises, torn trousers and just when I was at the end of my tether they'd bring me a bunch of wild flowers they had gathered from the fields and hedges and hand them to me with a 'sorry', and somehow I found myself forgiving them. There will be times you don't like what your child does, but I'll bet you will never stop loving him.'

'Perhaps if I'd given my mother bunches of flowers she'd have forgiven me, for being me.' Alice sighed.

'Never apologise for being you, Alice,' Jean reached over and took her hand, 'just be the best you, you can be. You are one of a kind, Matthew loves you, just the way you are.'

'Your boys are so lucky,' Alice swallowed the threatened tears, 'to have a mother like you.'

'Pshaw!' Jean snorted, 'your child will be lucky with parents like you two. I bet he'll be the smartest kid in school.'

'I hope he's not too smart, he won't have any friends, believe me, that was me.'

'But you will support him, show how proud you are of him, of every little achievement, that will make all the difference.'

Alice sighed and stared into space for a few minutes then pushed her chair back.

'I'm hungry,' she sighed, 'shall we have some lunch?'

'An excellent idea,' Jean picked up the cups and took them to the sink.

'I'll just...' Alice indicated the stairs.

'Ok,' Jean started to wash the cups, Alice, she decided, was going to be a wonderful mother.

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Alice and Matthew slowly got back into the rhythm of living together. Working helped, she wasn't trapped in the house all day, they had things to talk about other than the baby, which they only referred to occasionally. Matthew mused he wouldn't be much good at football with him.

'Shall I order a girl then,' she teased.

'She might want to play football,' he laughed.

'True.'

It was some time before she put an appearance in his office. He had agreed to say nothing to the men, and she stayed in the morgue or the hospital laboratories. All the officers knew she was back, the boss was much nicer to be around, things went back to how they were before, but they were surprised not to have seen her.

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'Alice, you can't hide from them forever,' Lucien handed her a set of lungs to weigh. 'If you don't show your face soon you'll have had the baby and it will be an even bigger shock.'

'I know, it's just...' she sighed and noted down the reading off the scales.

'Come up with me, when I deliver this report,' he took a pair of tweezers and extracted a bullet from the heart. 'Got it,' he dropped it into a dish and the clang echoed in the quiet of the morgue, 'looks like a thirty eight, service issue, I'll bet.'

'So, cause of death, bullet to the heart,' she noted, 'murder.'

'Well, not suicide, he was shot through the back,' he tried to joke, 'sorry, yes, murder.'

'Never assume, doctor,' she teased.

'Quite right, Alice, quite right.'

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Alice took a deep breath as Lucien placed his hand on the door handle,

'Let's go and give your beloved the news he has a murder to investigate,' he quipped.

She glared at him, then rubbed her side as the baby gave a swift kick at the mention of its father.

'Footballer?'

'Don't mention that to Matthew,' she whispered, 'it's a sore point.'

'Of course, ballet dancer then,' he smiled, 'Lawson!' he turned in the direction of Matthew's desk, 'sorry, it's murder.'

'Bugger!' Matthew hissed, 'how?' he smiled at Alice but noticed the second glances she got.

Bill stood up and silently pushed his chair over for her, the only comment she got.

'Shot in the back, bullet lodged in his heart,' Blake dropped the report on the desk and sat down, seeing as Alice had taken Bill's chair. 'Must have been from a distance, not close enough to go through. Service issue revolver, thirty eight.'

'Right,' he opened the file and scanned down the report. 'Davies, Hobart, go and see his wife, find out who his friends were, if she knew of anyone who may have a grudge against him. I want to know where he worked and if he had any problems there, or if he caused them.'

'Boss!' they chorused and left the office.

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'Did you know?' Bill hissed as they headed down the stairs.

'About what?' though Charlie knew exactly what he was talking about.

'Her, Dr Harvey,' he glared at him, 'that why she went away?'

'Nothing to do with us, Bill,' Charlie smiled, 'let's just say things are changing. Boss's happy, that's all that matters.'

'Bloody hell!' his companion whistled, 'who'd a thought it?'

'Mmm...' Charlie grinned as they headed off to do what they had been asked to do.

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'Well, we'll leave it to you, Matthew,' Lucien stood up, 'but I'd also look at whether or not he served, and if any of his mates own a service revolver.'

'Right, anything else?' he huffed, 'there was nothing where he was found.'

'Somewhere to hide while taking a shot...'

Matthew opened the file again, ignoring him.

'...he was a good shot.' Lucien offered his hand to Alice and they left.

'See, it wasn't so bad,' he whispered as they headed down the stairs.

'I bet Bill's pumping Charlie for information, though,' she mused, 'still perhaps you're right.'

'You off now?'

'Mmm...' she nodded, 'can't do anything else on this one, and no other work outstanding. Think I'll go and put my feet up.'

He paused and stared,

'What?' she stared back, 'you keep telling me to.'

'Well, yes,' he smiled, 'I just never expected you to follow orders.'

She huffed and left him shaking his head and smiling, not wanting to let him know that she actually liked putting her feet up, just not for too long! Anyway, she had a scientific publication to read.

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So, now everybody knows who should know, how will they go forward. This was not supposed to be a multi-chapter. Dare I apologise?