Danny shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and was shocked to find that breakfast wasn't ready yet.

"Sorry, I got a bit of a late start," Jean apologized, casting a sly glance at Lucien who was looking quiet smug, sitting at the table reading over the morning paper.

"Of course, not a problem Jean. I just need some coffee at the moment… I stayed late at the station last night to finish up some paperwork and now I'm paying for it." he explained.

Suddenly the ring of the telephone broke the conversation.

Danny hopped up, "I'll get it…" but before he could reach the phone Jean had slipped around him and answered it.

"Hello?" she answered, daring herself not to hope that it would be Jack's voice on the other end of the line. But of course it wasn't. A body had been found in a car abandoned on the roadside leading into town and they needed the doctor and superintendent to come have a look.

Turning to her husband she rolled her eyes, "There's a body on the outside of town, they need you and Matthew to go out and run preliminaries. I'm afraid there's no hope of breakfast being ready in time."

"No breakfast?" Asked Matthew as he limped down the hall. His leg had much improved since moving in with the Blakes, but he still relied heavily on the trusty cane at his side.

"Unfortunately not. A body's been found on the outskirts of town and we're needed." replied Lucien as he collected his coat and medical bag in the hallway. Then with a quick kiss to Jean he was gone, taking everyone else in the house with him.

"Well, best start my day," thought Jean. She would just stop her breakfast preparations and eat some toast. In all honesty, she wasn't very hungry, but she knew it could be some time before Lucien would be back to eat lunch.

She tried to busy herself with housework, mending shirts for all three men and cleaning up the room Mattie was to stay in. Lucien's old room could be prepared closer to the time they were to expect Jack's return… if he returned at all. This wasn't the first time he had called his family mysteriously, early in the morning, though it was the first time he had called her. Typically he would call Christopher to get him out of trouble. She knew because it was the only way she could keep up with her wayward son.

Eventually the entire house was tidied, the laundry was done, and there was nothing left to do besides sit and worry. "This is silly!" she chided herself, "I'll go lay down and take a quick nap."

She wasn't willing to admit it to herself, but she had been feeling less than okay for the past few weeks. She had been so stressed leading up to the wedding, and life certainly hadn't calmed down any upon their return. In fact, the rumor mill had begun to churn out even more horrid things to say since she left the church. She really did try not to let the grumpy old ladies get to her, but obviously she wasn't doing a very good job of it, she told herself as she lay down, hoping to settle her sick stomach.

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This morning had certainly not started out as Matthew had expected. He was supposed to have had the day off, but instead he had to call Alice from the station and ask her to head to the morgue to prepare for a body, essentially canceling their later date.

Matthew tried not to sound nervous as he spoke, "I'm sorry we have to cancel. I had planned something I hoped you would enjoy…"

"It's fine." was her cursory response. "You could come to dinner at home with me tonight?" she added softly.

"Of course, I'll pick you up from the morgue this evening." and with that, he promptly hung up.

Alice Harvey had never been one to buy into the concept of marriage. She had never wanted children and had been far more focused on succeeding in science that seeking out a husband when she was younger… But recently her perception of marriage had changed. She saw the loving glances passed between Jean and Lucien, the way they loved to be together at any time, the mindless touches and kisses as they went throughout their day, their lives somehow fitting together perfectly in every way. She marveled at the fact that two people who were so different could somehow also be so similar and she envied their happiness.

Or at least, she had envied their happiness, until she found her own. She and Matthew had known each other for a decent amount of time now, though only romantically for a few months. But those had been some of her happiest months in her own way. She would never be a bashful lover, she was past that point in her life (if it had ever existed), but she was genuinely happy when Matthew was around- a happiness she had never experienced before. In fact, if she were truly being honest with herself she would have admitted that she was much more than happy with Matthew, she had fallen in love. And at that thought she shook her head and chided herself for losing time. The morgue needed to be prepared for the new body and she needed to finish the paperwork she had come in to do today.

I'm not totally sure how I want to proceed with this story, so any comments/suggestions are welcome!