My heart was in my throat was I walked up the familiar walk to my parents' front door. I'd done it so many times before, but this time felt... I was about to tell them about the love of my life, and I had no idea what they'd think. My mother had adored Rosie, they'd been close, and my father... we hadn't spoken about the divorce since I had told him at dinner a month after it had happened. I told him. We spoke of sport and how mother was doing. Phryne was nothing that they would expect, and I was desperate for them to love her the way she deserved to be loved. Her own parents couldn't take on that role for her - too embroiled in their own issues to think about their daughter - and I desperately wanted mine to step in and show her the love and family she deserved.

I glanced around the brick building. They'd moved here a year or so after I'd started on the force. Father had come into quite the inheritance and he'd wanted to take Mother to a nicer place then North Richmond. Not that North Richmond was awful by any means, just... he wanted to give her everything he could. It was a lovely house, completely to my mother's taste. Father had even dug her out half a dozen gardens for her to play in when she felt the need.

"Jack!" My little sister's voice chimed out of the bushes I had just walked by. Eyebrow raised, I turned to look at her.

"You are nearly 30 years old. What on Earth are you doing hiding in a bush?" I asked her, attempting to be gruff and intimidating. She didn't believe it for a second. Jumping out of the foliage, she jumped into my arms and hugged me tightly. I kissed her cheek and pulled her close. God I'd missed my sister.

"Jack! I didn't know you were coming!"

"I didn't know you'd be here, Liz."

"Visiting with the kids. Spur of the moment. And you?"

"Question for mom and dad."

"You know, it's really too bad that they haven't invented some device which you can talk into and someone a very great distance away can hear you and then they could reply and you could hear them. Then you wouldn't have to travel 2 hours each way just to ask mum and dad a question." Suddenly here eyes grew comically wide and she snapped her fingers. "Wait a minute..."

"You're hilarious." I replied without an ounce of humor showing on my face. "It's an important question. May take a while to explain, cheaper to take the train than to stay on the phone that long."

"What's the question?" She asked eagerly.

"Wouldn't you like to know, little sister?" I taunted.

"Yes, I would that's why I asked, now tell me or I'll sic your nephews on you. They've started to pretend they're assassins and they hit everyone. Hard. Dad's got a few bruises."

"I love those kids but God, Liz. They're insane."

"I'm told all twins are like that."

"And Emmaline? Why is she a menace?"

"Well she - no! Don't get me off topic! What are you going to ask mom and dad?" Her face lit up. "Do you need a loan? Are you poor all of a sudden? Oh! Have you gotten some awful disease and you need help deciding which treatment you'll need - a lobotomy or a personality replacement?"

"That's not a thing, Liz."

"Oh dear God, please tell me you haven't taken up with Sanderson again."

"No, but I'd advise you to keep your thoughts about her to yourself, she's going through a lot."

"Oh is she. I feel awful." She said, her voice completely monotone.

"Her fiance and her father were involved and heavily profiting from a smuggling operation involving young girls they shipped off to perverts and pimps."

"Her father the commissioner?!" She was excited again. If you could count on Liz for anything, it was having a flair for the dramatic, and getting far too involved in other people's business.

"Yes, so be nice."

"If I must. Come on, let's go show you around and give mum a break from her grandkids."

"Wait - you never did tell me why you were in the plant, Liz."

"And I never shall." She looped her arm through mine and dragged me forward. "JACK'S HOME!" She screamed out, alighting several birds from a nearby tree.

"My dearest sister, you get shriller every day."

"Dearest sister, huh? I'll have to tell Dee."

"It's an expression."

"Sure it is."

"Promise you won't tell?"

"If you insist."

"I do." I pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear. "You're my favorite sister."

"YES!" She screamed, excitedly, her face far too close to my ears to be using a volume like that.

"Jack?" My mother opened the front door. "What are you doing here?" She asked, grinning. "We didn't expect you?"

"What kind of son would I be if I didn't bother to surprise my mother every once in a while?"

"Your brother." She replied, pulling me into a hug. "And he and I get on just fine so it's not necessary in the least." She squeazed me comfortingly. "But admittedly very appreciative." She murmured.

"Darling?" She called out into the house. "Didn't you hear Liz? Jack's here! Come out and say hello!" My father strode towards me and held out his hand. I shook it heartily and we exchanged pleasantries and greetings.

"Well come in, dear! We're about to serve tea."

"Speaking of, mother, Jack has a very important question to ask you, so I'll just take the kids round to the store to pick up some ice cream. Hot out today, isn't it?"

"He does, does he?" Mum asked, her eyebrow raised questioningly. "How interesting. And here I thought you just came to see me."

"As Liz pointed out earlier, if it were just the question, I could have called. Clearly my main purpose was to visit."

"Very nice, son. But you'll have to try harder than that. Come on in, I hear the kettle whistling."

"I wanted to talk to you about something." I began, swallowing hard.

"Yes, we gathered." My father replied, his stoic expression not hiding the laughter twinkling in his eyes at his teasing me.

"I'm not quite sure how to begin." I admitted. "I don't know how you'll react and I don't want to hurt you or make you upset in any way."

"Jack, dear, you're making your father and I nervous. Perhaps you'd be best off just telling us immediately and then we can move on the reaction bit."

"Yes." Still I remained silent. How did I explain Phryne? I didn't want it to seem trite or inferior to when I told them how I'd fallen in love with Rosie. I hadn't even known love could be like this then, but how was I to explain it to them? How could I find the words to even begin describing Phryne? She was more than words could say and I didn't know how to make them see that this was possibly the most important person in the entire world and that I loved her more than anyone had ever loved anyone without sounding like a crazy person?

Just then there was a pounding on the door - breaking into my reverie. "Jesus." I swore quietly. I was too on edge right now.

"Language young man."

"Sorry mother."

"Can one of you get that?" My sister called out. "I'm having a children related problem at the moment." The pounding intensified and my father rose to go to the door. Before he could reach the entryway however, a small, female voice called out angrily.

"OPEN THE DOOR THIS INSTANT JACK ROBINSON OR I'LL BREAK IN AND MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!" My parents both turned to me in shock.

"Is this related to your problem?" My mother asked, reaching out for me protectively. My eyes were wide. I knew that voice. I loved that voice. That was - "Jack! Is this what you came to talk to us about?!"

"No." I replied simply walking toward the door. She was still pounding away when I unlatched and pulled open the oak boards. As a result, she toppled into the room, just barely giving me enough time to catch her. I held her in my arms and narrowed my eyes, for what felt like the hundredth time in this confusing, confusing week.

"Jane. What are you doing here?" She curled up her fist and punched me soundly in the shoulder. Hard.

"What are you doing here?!" She yelled, furious.

"Ow!" She'd punched me again.

"You absolute and complete twat!"

"Language!" I admonished her, setting her back on the floor. "You know damn well we don't talk like that."

"Fine! Vous complétez chatte!"

"That's not actually how you conjugate that, and Jane, it still counts as swearing when it's in French."

"I have been sitting outside for 15 minutes trying to come up with a rationale and reason for what I've just witnessed and I have nothing other than your being a complete tw-"

"We get it! There are impressionable children in this house. You don't need to let that sort of language rub off on them."

"Miss Phryne doesn't believe in censoring language."

"For you. Yes. Because she doesn't want to lie to you and she knows that you should be treated as an adult whenever possible because of your life, and your grit, but there are some very young, innocent children who do not need to know that word, and Miss Fisher also believes in being polite, and well mannered around strangers."

"Are we talking about the same person?"

"Jane- what is going on?"

"You ran away."

"I told Miss Fisher I had to go run an errand that would take me out of town for a few days and exactly when I'd be back. That's hardly running away."

"All week you've been distant and weird and I can tell that there's something going on between the two of you and Miss Phryne doesn't want me to worry so she just told me that you'd sort it out and she'd tell me after the pair of you made any plans or decisions, but then I saw you get on a train this morning and I ran over to Cec and Burt and asked where you were going and they said that you'd bribed them not to tell so I had to mind my own business so I hoped the train and followed you."

"So you ran away." I ran my fingers through your hair. "Does Miss Fisher know where you are? She must be worried sick!"

"I was supposed to spend the weekend at May's, that's why I was at the station in the first place. She doesn't expect me home for two days."

"And that makes this okay?!"

"How can you lecture me on hurting Miss Phryne, when you're out here with your girlfriend?!"

"I'm sorry, my what?"

"I watched you and that girl hugging and kissing, and laughing together, and you and Miss Phryne haven't been close in days."

"Janie. That girl, is my sister." I turned back a bit to give her a better view of the people who were watching wide eyed behind us. "These are my parents." She flushed bright red.

"15 minutes. And I didn't once think 'sister'." She breathed out, horrified. "My detective skills are rubbish!"

"That's not- actually if I say yes, is it more likely that you won't be breaking into my crime scenes?" She shrugged.

"Probably not."

"Damn."

"I'm so sorry. I just burst in here and called you an awful name and... I've embarrassed you. I'm so sorry. This has all been a big misunderstanding... I'll just... I'll just go..." Before I could protest, my mother chimed in.

"Nonsense! We've just poured tea. You must stay and have some!" Janie glanced at me nervously.

"On a scale from that time I broke that awful vase Aunt P gave Miss Fisher to the time you thought she'd killed herself, how angry are you with me right now?" She spoke smally, and I was sad to see a glimpse of that girl I'd met on the train all those years ago flashing through her eyes. I pulled her in for a hug.

"Vase. And even that's only for the cursing." She hugged me and smiled.

"Then I would be delighted to stay for tea. I apologize for my brash insert into you home." She replied to my mother, the picture of sophistication. "I hope you can forgive me."

"Of course, please, come." We retreated back towards the parlor, but not before my sister grabbed my arm and hissed in my ear.

"Who the hell is Miss Phryne?"

"Have fun with your children, sister."

"Tell me!"

"No."

"By the time I reached the parlor, Jane was sitting politely and properly, and accepting a cup of tea from my mother, answering her questions with that tone Phyrne had taught her. Proper. Polite. But genuine, never pretending to be someone else.

"Jack and I began our acquaintance," she stopped to think, her eyes darting about as she tried to remember. "Three years ago?" She turned to me questioningly. I nodded. "He arrested me." She took a sip of her tea calmly as my mother choked on her own beverage. It wasn't the answer she had been expecting.

"He arrested you." She repeated. It hadn't been a question, but she was clearly looking for more information.

"Yes ma'am. For thievery, suspected murder, and-" She turned back to me again. "What was the other one?"

"Illegal boarding of a train without a ticket." She looked crestfallen.

"That's it?! That doesn't sound very impressive at all? Can't we at least call it the trafficking of a young girl aboard a train?"

"I don't think that applies as you were the young girl in question."

"Please?!" She begged, her eyes lighting up. I bit back a smile and rolled my eyes, begging heaven to help me against the wiles of this young girl for whom I would give anything.

"Fine. Smuggling a young girl aboard a train." She grinned before turning back to my shocked looking parents.

"There. Suspected murder, thievery, and the smuggling of a young girl aboard the train." She took in their expressions and was quick to reassure them. "Of course I hadn't murdered anyone, I just happened to witness the whole affair, on account of seeing a bunch of jewels that someone else had already stolen, and there is a rather potent argument that stealing stolen property isn't actually that awful. And they were just laying there on the side of the train I'd hopped and no one was coming to claim them so I just took them before hiding away back in the steward's compartment."

"So you did hop the train then." My father asked, an air of seriousness hiding the joke he was trying to make.

"Of course! How on Earth else was I suppose to steal things from people without their notice? When they loose things in transit they don't usually look for a thief so often as an incompetent worker or their own idiocy as to misplace things."

"Jane has since given up her thieving ways, but as you can see the knowledge remains." I added dryly. "I'd also like to point out, Jane, that we only arrested you for about a minute because there wasn't another way to keep you around as a witness. I didn't actually think you'd hauled a full grown person to the top of water tower and hung them there."

"And then Miss Fisher took me home." She beamed, pleased at the memory.

"Yes. And I'm still trying to decide if that has improved your situation or not."

"You aren't as funny as you think you are Jack Robinson."

"Don't be absurd." I said, dryly. "I'm hilarious."

"We've heard quite a bit about this Miss Fisher person." My mother pointed out diplomatically. "Is she a social worker of sorts? A foster mother?"

"Well she's my foster mother, but I don't think she ever would have considered that as something she was interested in doing before."

"She's not particularly... she doesn't think that she's fond of children, but she and Jane seemed to form an understanding from the beginning. They're the perfect match."

"I'm not terribly fond of adults you see, and she doesn't much care for children. But I'm not really a normal child, and she's not really a normal adult." I snorted into my own tea cup, unable to stop the stream of laughter at that statement. "What?" Jane asked, concerned I was mocking her statement.

"I spent the entire train ride over here trying to find the words to describe Phryne, and came up with nothing, and there you have it in a single sentence. She's not really a normal adult."

"She's perfect." Jane insisted.

"Indeed." It was now or never. "Jane, would you like to go give my sister a hand with her children. I think she may be a bit overwhelmed at the moment." She glanced at my parents with a knowing smile. That girl was far too perceptive most of the time for her own good.

"Of course, Jack. Take your time, Detective." She smiled at me mockingly and exited the room. I sat in silence for a few moments before turning to face my parents.

"Perfect, hmm?" My father asked, very likely expecting me to deflect or backpedal as I often did with emotions.

"Entirely." I confirmed, without joke or irony. I was serious. She wasn't perfect in the actual sense, no one was, everyone had flaws. But her flaws - they were what made her perfect. Who she was, the good, the bad, and the terrifying, they made her perfect for me. "I've been in love with Phryne Fisher for a very long time. She is without a doubt, my best friend, and until recently, that was as far as I thought it could go. I finally acted on my feelings a handful of months ago, just before she had to leave for England to help her family. She has since returned and we've begun a relationship. When Jane said that she isn't normal, I don't know how to explain that fully, because without meeting her, there just aren't words. Anything I could attempt to convey would only be this tiny piece of her and you'd come away with an image that is nothing compared to the real thing. She's always claimed fully and entirely that she isn't the marrying type. I went into the relationship with that in mind, knowing that while I was committed to her forever, there very likely would never be a wedding. Something has changed in that regard." I smiled, thinking even now of the look on her face when she'd asked if I would marry her. "Mum I was wondering if I could have grandma's ring. That's why I came here today." Her brow furrowed, confused.

"I don't understand. When I offered it to you for Rosie you said it wouldn't be right, that you wanted to get her something just for her."

"I lied. Sort of. I thought I loved Rosie, but I just couldn't imagine her wearing an heirloom that important to me."

"And this woman, this Phryne - what is she to you that Rosie wasn't, Jack?"

"She's everything, mum. She's... I didn't know it could be like this. If I had known this existed I never would have been with Rosie."

"Just to clarify, what you're saying is that you aren't here to tell us that the Sanderson girl has realized amidst her misfortunes that she is in desperate need of an upstanding husband and has played on your honor to get you to remarry her and put everything behind you both and the pair of you are together again?"

"What? No!" She turned to my father.

"Oh thank God."

"Mum!"

"Darling, I'm sorry, but I know you, and this was clearly about a woman, and I thought if that viper has sunk her claws into you again I don't know what I'm going to do because I don't think I can pretend to like her again! She was horrible Jack!" I stared at my mother in awe.

"I thought you adored her." I said, finally, after a long pause of shock.

"No! We all hated her! She was fine enough it was just... you weren't you Jack. You were this other person for her and you did so much to make her happy and to give her what she wanted, what she needed, and she didn't do shit for you Jack."

"Mother!" I exclaimed. I had never heard my mom curse in her life, but this was clearly a topic which impassioned her.

"I know it was wrong of me because you were going to face so much censure in the church, and it may be the 20th century but many people socially aren't that evolved yet, but I was hoping you would divorce her. Not at first, obviously, I thought, well, he's married her and that's it. You'll just have to love her too. But then when she moved into her sisters and you paid for her rent there, and moved into that awful bungalow so you could afford to keep your wife in comfort despite your own self imposed poverty and angst, I just kept praying that you two would get a divorce so you could stop being so self-sacrificing for her. Your father came home from that conversation you two had and we had drinks! To celebrate! I know that makes me an awful mother but honestly darling, your father had to avoid the subject the rest of your dinner to keep from grinning madly." I glanced at him in shock. He nodded, admitting to my mother's accusation.

"But let's not focus on the shrew, shall we?" He added, cutting off my mother's every lengthening tirade of my ex-wife. "You're in love. And you want to marry her. I do have to backtrack a moment here, you mentioned that she wasn't the marrying sort but that something changed. Jack Robinson, did you get this girl pregnant?"

"MISS FISHER'S PREGNANT?!" Jane screamed out from where she must have been listening in the other room.

"Jane," I sighed.

"I'm going to have a little sister! Or a brother if you could go ahead and try for a little sister if it's a boy this time, I'd really appreciate it. Jack. We could teach her how to pick locks at 3 years old and then when we need to break into somewhere we just send her because no one could blame a baby for knowing how to pick locks, and they'd just assume that it was an accident if she got caught!"

"We are not teaching her to pick locks at all!"

"Oh come on! It would be so adorable! We'd have a lady detective, a burgeoning lady doctor to be, moi, and a baby detective, all in one family!"

"No! You are not teaching my daughter- wait. Back up. Miss Fisher isn't pregnant. We aren't having a baby!" I insisted, turning roundly on my father. "I did not get her pregnant!"

"Awwww. Come on! Why not?" Jane asked sadly.

"Because we aren't married and that would be highly inappropriate. Not to mention I doubt Miss Fisher wants to have any more children than you and if she really felt the need, I imagine we'd be having a conversation about adopting some more street urchins instead of her actually having to give birth. Can you imagine Miss Fisher giving birth." Jane's eyes widened.

"You're right. She will not want to do that." She leaned closer and whispered. "But accidents happen Jack, and I do want a little sister so-"

"Out." I demanded, before she ran back out to help my sister, laughter peeling behind her.

"I didn't get her pregnant."

"Then what changed?"

"She asked me to marry her."

"What?!"

"She knew I was never going to ask because she'd made it very clear she never wanted to get married, and so she asked me."

"And you said yes and now you're getting her a ring! How lovely!"

"Actually... I didn't say anything. I was... completely shocked out of my mind. It wasn't something I'd expected in any reality to happen. So I just sat there, without speaking, for about a half an hour."

"And she still wants to marry you?"

"She's a very confident woman. She was very accepting of my reaction, said it went better than she'd expected, and that I should take some time to think about it. That was three days ago. We've been trying to have this conversation ever since but her parents are staying with us and they are absolute nightmares who care far more about their own issues and making a scene then their daughter and how much she's sacrificing for them, and so we haven't had the time to talk about it thoroughly and I decided that I'd spent enough time without her knowing exactly how I felt about marrying her so I thought I could come up here and get grandma's ring if you'll let me have it still, and propose to her properly."

"I want to meet her."

"Well of course, it isn't like I wouldn't be inviting you to my wedding, even if it is just a courtroom affair."

"No my idiot son, now. I want to come back to the city with you and meet her properly. And if I have to hold off on giving you the ring until I meet her just to ensure that it does indeed happen, then that is exactly what I will do young man."

"Mum, now isn't really a great time. Her parents are-"

"Wonderful. We can help distract them so the pair of you can go out on your own so you can propose properly. See? We'll be helpful!"

Half an hour later it was no use. There was only one course of action my mother would agree to.

"So you're coming home with me. Back to the city. To meet Phryne. And her parents."

"Yes. I'll just go pack now, shall I?"

Author's Note: Please Review!

P.S. If you are looking for a new fandom - PLEASE check out Still Star Crossed! It's a continuation of Romeo and Juliet and it's on ABC (American ABC) and it's incredible! The network isn't throwing a lot of money at it and its... well it's hella predictable but still nerdy and wonderful and I LOVE it! Please watch and support so they don't cancel! It's an amazing show that really deserves a lot more than the network is giving it so the fans have to intervene! Please! (Plus you're gonna love it!)