Having left Alice earlier by kissing her forehead, he wasn't sure how to say hello but, as Matthew made his way into Alice's room, he decided just to be brave and kiss her again; this time on the cheek. Alice blushed but both Jean and Lucien gave her a hug which only made her blush worse. Lucien and Jean asked Alice how she was doing but they all watched as she struggled to get herself comfortable in the bed; the bandaged hands, the sling holding her left arm from the broken clavicle, the laceration on the leg, the broken ribs, the bruises. They all felt so sorry for her and Jean started to tell Alice about how they would like Alice to come and stay with them when she was discharged from the hospital.
"You're going to be in here for a while Alice. They won't let you out for a week or two, we suspect. Just with the severity of your injuries."
Alice started to reply rather aggressively, "I want to go home. I don't want to be here. I don't want people feeling that they have to look after me…I'll be fine on my own…I have been beaten before…many times…I have been looking after myself for a long time and never needed anyone's help before…" The tears started to fall and Jean and Lucien looked at each other then over to Matthew, as if to let him know, it was for him to comfort Alice.
Mathew took Alice's hand and said "Alice, love…" Matthew looked over at Jean and Lucien with embarrassment, but Lucien just shook his head, as if to say, "don't worry about it."
"Alice, I know you've been hurt before but never to this extent. We don't feel like we have to look after you; we want to look after you." Mathew looked over to Jean and Lucien for confirmation. Jean was the first to say something.
"Alice, I know this might come as a surprise to you, but we all love you. Very much. You are our friend and we don't want you to struggle on your own in your flat. We all know you would survive on your own but, why struggle when you have friends who want to help you?"
Lucien walked over to the bed and cupped the side of her face with his hand, "it's true Alice, we all love you." He looked over at Matthew and said, "some of us more than others!"
"Lucien!" Jean patted his arm in protest and both Matthew and Alice blushed profusely.
Alice nervously laughed then looked at Matthew. "I…I'm scared. What if I lose my job? What if they don't want me back after this? How long will it take before I can do what I did before? I…I'm not good with doing nothing…I…" Alice burst into tears and, without realising it, reached out with her one arm as if to motion that she needed human touch. Matthew sat on the edge of the bed, leaned in and pulled Alice towards him. He tried not to hug too hard as her left arm was lying in a sling between their bodies and he didn't want to hurt her. He held her as she sobbed into his shoulder, mumbling words none of them could understand. After 5 minutes, Alice's sobbing subsided but Jean looked and saw that Alice had fallen asleep.
"Lucien, help me move Alice back onto the bed and off of Matthew's shoulder."
He did as he was asked and as Matthew moved from the bed, he took his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the unshed tears and tear tracks from Alice's face; taking care to avoid the badly bruised areas.
"I want to kill the bastard who did this. Look at her. There's going to be long road to recovery for Alice…and the rest of us." Matthew moved the hair from Alice's face and tucked the stray strands behind her ear. Matthew continued to look at Alice and quietly said, "I love her. I know it seems strange but…I do."
Lucien reached over to Matthew and said, "It's not strange Matthew, maybe this is what both of you need. You'll need to be very patient with her though."
"I know."
The next two weeks were spent with Lucien, Jean and Matthew going between Mycroft Avenue, the hospital and work. Jean kept them fortified with food but Matthew hardly left Alice's side in the evenings and would take a taxi back to the house after the nurse in charge or Alice made him leave. Jean cleared out the space that had once been Lucien's mother's art room. In the process, Alice did not renew her lease on her house and so they had moved the furniture from Alice's flat into the space in Mycroft Avenue. They arranged the space like a studio flat, that way, if Alice required time on her own, she could do this but surrounded by her own things.
"They charged Joseph Usher with all three murders and your assault; they charged him with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder." He looked over at her and said, "I know this shouldn't give me any pleasure, but some of the crooks in jail beat the shit out of Usher when they found out he had killed a few women. Seems like they have some code of conduct, even when they are criminals themselves: men and drug dealers are fine, but they draw the line at innocent women, it seems." Alice smiled over at him and said, "I shouldn't take pleasure either…but, like you, I am."
Matthew fussed the covers on Alice's bed. She was looking a good deal better than two weeks ago; the bandages on her hands and arms were off but the cuts were still healing, the laceration on her leg was healing nicely and the left arm was still in a sling aiding the broken clavicle. The ribs were still causing Alice pain but the bruises and cuts on her body were healing well, and the doctors were happy to release to Mycroft Avenue.
"We've put all of your things into the studio, Jean has washed your bed sheets and put them back on your bed and everything is waiting for you. Matthew sat on the side of her bed, cupped the side of Alice's face and leaned in to kiss her cheek. He moved back and said, "Alice, how are you feeling about all of this?"
"I'm not sure…if I'm honest…I…I've never lived with people since I was a child and look how that went."
"Alice, love. No one wants to hurt you. We all love you. You do believe that, don't you?"
Matthew looked at Alice and put his finger under her chin to make her look at him.
"Alice? You know we love you, don't you?"
He looked at Alice, to gauge what her reaction might be as he continued, "you know I love you and that I will promise to keep you safe, when I can. Jean and Lucien are great, and they only want to look after you."
Alice let silent tears fall and Matthew pulled her to him, kissing the side of her head as he held her.
"Let's get your things packed up and get you dressed, and we can get out of here when Lucien arrives. I hear Jean is making stew tonight."
As Matthew picked up her bag to start packing her things away, he stood up and said, "I also hear…there might be chocolate cake too!" then winked at her. Alice laughed. She laughed for the first time in a few weeks.
When Lucien arrived, Matthew and Alice were waiting in her room for him: Lucien helped Alice and allowed her to lean on him and Matthew limped behind them, carrying her bag. Lucien helped Alice into the front seat and Matthew put the bag in the bag seat then slid it along so he could get in. On the journey home, Lucien told Alice of the stew that Jean had made and that she had make chocolate cake, just for Alice.
"Not that Matthew and I won't help to eat it, eh Matthew?"
Matthew just smiled and said, "Jean is a great cook, but I do love her cakes!"
When they arrived at Mycroft Avenue, Jean was there to help Alice into, what would now be, her room. Matthew placed her bag on her bed and said, "I'm just going to wash up before dinner. I'll let you get settled in Alice. Jean, will I set the table?"
"Already done, Matthew. Just wash up and dinner in half an hour."
Jean helped Alice sit on the bed and let her take in her surroundings; as she looked back round, Jean noticed Alice had tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Jean…I…this is lovely…wonderful…I…thank you. Thank you for all of this and for letting me stay here for a while."
Jean wrapped her. Arm around Alice's shoulder and said, "Alice, dear. If you need anything, you only have to ask. If you'd like me to make something special for you, again, just tell me. This is your home now and we are a little family of sorts. We will all look after each other but for now, you are our priority."
Alice wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up to Jean and asked, "I hate to ask this but, I was wondering is you might help me take a bath later? I've been washed with a cloth for two weeks and I'd like to take a bath. Would that be alright?"
Jean stood up and said, "of course. We'll get it all sorted after dinner. OK?"
Alice nodded her head in agreement and got up to empty her bag. Jean put her hand over Alice's on the bag handle; "let me Alice. I'll empty the bag and get your things washed. You keep your wash bag. Settle yourself in and when you're ready, come and join us in the kitchen."
Alice sat down on the bed again and Jean leaned over and kissed the top of Alice's head. "We all love you Alice." Alice looked up at Jean and nodded her head.