Here you go, I hope you like the chapter, I lectured yesterday so today I'll stick to the usual. I own nothing, enjoy.
No one was surprised to see Henry and Jo leave together, but they were surprised to see Detective Hanson meeting them at the elevator. The door was almost closed when one last person slide into the elevator.
"We getting the gang back together!" Lucas looked from one person to the other.
"No." Hanson rolled his eyes.
"Story time." Jo informed the young man.
"Oh ouch, boss you okay." Lucas turned to the ME.
"Not me Lucas." Henry corrected.
"Detective," Lucas turned back to Jo, "Are you okay?"
"He knew!" Hanson confronted the couple, "You told him before you told me!"
"He kind of saw me die." Henry explained letting Jo lead them to the nearby bar. "When we were held up in the morgue."
"That's why we never found the second bullet." Hanson reasoned.
"Yea, and now I'd like to clear the air I did not faint, despite what Detective Martinez said at the time." Lucas rushed to clear up any misconceptions regarding his name.
"You told him before you told me." Hanson repeated.
"Mike." Jo tried.
"We're partners don't you think this is the kind of thing I'd like to know." Hanson questioned.
"Detective it's my fault." Henry cut in, ordering a drink from the bar before quickly ushering the small group to a back table. "I'm not as trusting as I could be, I didn't want Jo to tell any one of my condition and I'm afraid I may have passed that paranoia on to her. You see I was married at the time of my first death."
"Henry you don't have to tell this story." Jo frowned.
"I'm afraid I do. I want them both to realize why they weren't trusted sooner when they probably should have been." Henry answered, "After a couple months I made it back to my wife, and at first we were happy just to be with each other again. Then she started asking about my scar. So after some convincing I told her, by that time the next day I was on my way to Bedlam where I spent the next couple years of my life."
"Jesus Doc." Hanson could only sip his beer. "If my wife did that to me I'd have lost it years ago."
"Yes well the asylums techniques were enough to make any man lose it so to speak." Henry flinched and opted not to take a drink just thinking about what had been very plainly a form of waterboarding.
"So Bedlam was real place." Lucas spoke up.
"Still is." Henry could finally swallow his cognac. "Bethlem Royal Hospital in London. Though it's methods have updated with the times I'm sure it would be much more pleasant to be a patient now than it was when I was there."
"Whoa." Lucas whistled, "That's pretty cool. Not that you were locked up there, but the fact that it still exists."
"This wife, that was Nora that you mentioned early today wasn't it." Hanson frowned.
"Yes it was." Henry nodded.
"Yea I mean no wonder you don't trust people. I don't blame you Doc, that's pretty messed up." Hanson didn't really know what else to say.
"Well now that we've gotten that out of the way I'm sure we can find a much more interesting story to tell." Henry brushed it off, but he wasn't fooling any of them. "Where would you like to start, I've lived through two World Wars, died in the Klondike, and met a handful of famous men and women."
"Those cards you gave my boys, you told them you went to some of the games. Is that true?" Hanson wondered.
"Yes it is, and even though I'm not much of a baseball fan a baseball game is an excellent way to spend time with your son." Henry nodded.
"So you do have a kid." Hanson frowned, "Why didn't you just say that?"
"Because it would be a little difficult to explain why my son looks twice my age." Henry returned.
The group spent the rest of the evening at the bar listening to Henry's stories until Hanson couldn't possibly avoid his house any longer. "We'll have to finish this some other time Doc. Karen will kill me if I stay out any later."
"It would be my pleasure Detective." Henry nodded, "We should probably get home to. It's a miracle Abe hasn't tried calling yet."
"See ya tomorrow!" Lucas smiled, "Good to have the gang back together!" He led the way out of the bar. While the other three just rolled their eyes. With that the group said their farewells and went their separate ways, Hanson and Lucas to their homes and Jo and Henry to the shop.
Henry stopped the minute he entered the shop. "Are you okay?" Jo watched him.
"I'm fine." Henry nodded, locking the door and heading up to the living room, "Abraham are you whistling?"
"Is that a crime in this house?" Abe looked up from his book.
"So I take it you had a good day." Henry continued.
"I had a very good day as it happens." Abe was refusing to acknowledge his fathers underlying question.
"Did you have a date this evening?" Henry tried.
"No." Abe didn't look away from his book.
"Abraham you only whistle after having been in the company of a woman." Henry pointed out.
"If you must know, after you left Fawn Mahoney came by the shop. We went and had a cup of coffee."
"Your friends widow. Abraham I don't know if I should be scolding you or congratulating you." Henry rubbed his brow.
"It was just coffee Pops." Abe finally set his book aside. "We do however plan to meet again next week."
"Who is Fawn Mahoney?" Jo cut in.
"His first kiss." Henry grinned.
"That's actually really cute." Jo couldn't help but grin to.
"Also an old friends widow." Henry added.
"He likes to get hung up on that part." Abe rolled his eyes, "Besides it's only coffee."
"Be careful Abe." The warning was the only thing Henry could impart on his son.
"Always." Abe nodded, "Now if you don't mind I'm going to bed."