At the station it was business as usual. Bill Hobart greeted Danny with a grunt and a hint of a smile. Charlie had taken him around and introduced him to Ned and the other new officers Danny didn't know. After an hour it was like he'd always been there. Charlie glanced at Danny where he sat on the edge of Charlies desk, laughing at something Bill had said, and was slightly jealous at the way Danny had fitted back in so easily.
It was a pretty quiet start to the morning as the people of Ballarat slowly assessed the storm damage. As the morning went on they got steadily busier. There were reports of trees down and branches over roads, and they'd joined forces with the fire station to clear the storm debris and go out and help patch any houses with damage created by the wild winds.
At one of the houses, Charlie had climbed on to the roof to fix some lose tiles. Danny kept his feet firmly planted on the ground while he was reminded again of just how different country policing was to a usual day in Melbourne. He looked up to see Charlie's backside coming down the ladder and smiled admiringly.
As they shared some sandwiches and lemonade provided by the very appreciative woman whose house they were working on they chatted easily.
"Well you seem to have fitted right back into the team. Truth be told I'm a little envious"
"What of?"
"It took me forever to fit into the team"
"Yeah, but you gotta remember, they all thought you were a spy from Melbourne when you first arrived, I remember Auntie Jean's letters. He looked at Charlie and grinned as Charlie chuckled at the memory.
"And also I already have a history with these blokes. You had to create one from scratch"
"Yeah I know" Charlie took a sip of his lemonade "I was a bit of a stuffed shirt when I got here." He scoffed "Actual policing is quite different to what they prepare you for in the academy"
Danny nodded and leant back on his elbows "I was just thinking about that. How policing can be even so different here than in Melbourne"
"How so?" Charlie questioned as he unthinkingly reached across and brushed sandwich crumbs from Danny's blue police shirt
Danny glanced down, slightly surprised at the familiarity of the gesture "Well in Melbourne the police wouldn't have to go and patch up people's homes. That would be someone else's job. We'd be doing actual policework"
Charlie stopped brushing Danny's shirt down and looked at his face "But this is important"
"I know mate, you don't have to tell me that. I really love this side of policing, actually building relationships with the people in the town" He looked at Charlie whose hand was still resting on his chest, and wondered what it would be like to run his fingers through Charlie's perfect curls.
Charlie looked down and, realising his hand was still on Danny's chest, quickly removed it as if suddenly burned.
Danny missed his hand on him immediately Damn it! He was actually falling for Charlie! He cleared his throat and tried to push that from his mind. He needed to be careful and absolutely sure that Charlie wasn't just a rebound. He deserved better than that. Danny pushed himself up to standing and offered Charlie a hand to get up. "Come on, We'd better get back to work"
Charlie grabbed his hand and Danny pulled him up. He was so strong! Charlie thought. He watched as Danny began to roll his shirt sleeves up, revealing surprisingly muscular forearms.
"Are you coming?" Danny's voice brought him back to earth and he smiled at the retreating back. Perhaps this distraction was just what he needed to get over Rose.
Matthew was finding it difficult to focus today. Even in the busyness of the station in storm damage recovery mode, his mind kept wandering to a certain redheaded doctor. What was she doing, right at this moment? Was she regretting the intimacy they had shared last night? He glanced at the clock which read 12.30. He groaned.
"You alright boss?" Ned was quickly at his side "Is your leg bothering you?"
Matthew smiled at the bright young constable "I'm fine Ned, thankyou"
Ned was shocked. One, the boss hadn't growled at him for asking, and two, he'd called him 'Ned' as opposed to 'Constable Simmons'. He'd even smiled at him! He nodded at the superintendent and wandered away, shooting him a curious glance as he retreated.
Matthew caught the look, and realised too late his odd behaviour. 'Come on Lawson, snap out of it' he mumbled to himself and tried to look busy with paperwork.
After a few trips to the kitchen to make a cuppa, fielding a few phone calls from concerned residents about fallen tree branches, and shuffling papers around on his desk, the clock finally read 1.45. "I've got a very important lunch meeting" he informed Ned, who nodded "I'm not sure what time I'll be back." He grabbed his stick and whistling happily, shuffled out of the station.
At 1.50 on the dot Alice Harvey grabbed her coat, checked her hair and lipstick in the small handheld mirror she kept in her desk drawer, and pulled the morgue door shut behind her. She was excited, but nervous. Part of her was sure Matthew would pull away in the light of day, and see her as an oddity. That is, IF he showed up at all, but she remembered how sure he was last night, and how he had called her beautiful this morning while kissing her neck. She smiled at the memory and the nurses at the desk she walked past looked at her oddly. "I'm out to lunch" she sang joyfully at them, oblivious to their stares. As the door closed behind her one nurse was heard to observe in a surprised voice "Doctor Harvey eats lunch?"
Mattie was busy. She had intended her first day back to be relaxed, reading, and checking out Jean's garden, maybe checking out the library and the new milkshake bar that had opened up since her departure, But Lucien had other ideas. He had knocked on her door after her shower, and explaining that Jean wasn't feeling up to it, asked would she mind taking over her duties in the surgery for the morning. 'It's not that she resented helping out' She thought to herself, in fact she found the work quite interesting, but that's just it. It was work. And she really needed a break. She sighed and her mind wandered to Rose. Had she managed to get away from Edward long enough to go home and have a shower? As if summoned by her thoughts the girl appeared, looking fresh and clean, in a brick coloured top and navy capri pants.
"Mattie, what are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be on holidays?" Rose leant on the desk heavily as Mattie smiled at her arrival.
"Jean wasn't feeling well, so Lucien asked if I could help out" Mattie explained to her
"Jean's not well? She seemed perfectly fine at breakfast" Rose said curiously as she sat on the desk and swung her legs
Mattie shook her head "I haven't seen her since"
Rose scrunched her nose "So no chance of you getting some time off to have a milkshake with me?" she pouted prettily "I'm supposed to be reviewing the new milkshake bar for the paper"
"Oh damn, and I really wanted to check that place out too" Mattie grumbled as she looked at Rose
Just then Jean appeared at the desk. Rose immediately slid off it gracefully
Mattie jumped to her feet "Jean! Are you feeling better?" she looked at her and saw her red rimmed eyes
"Thank you Mattie, I'm feeling much better" her voice was low and hoarse, as if she'd been crying
"You don't look like it, or sound like it, for that matter" Rose observed, accurately but untactfully
Jean gave a small chuckle "Go on" she urged the girls, "I'll be alright" she waved them away as the clinic door opened. Lucien gave a start to see all three of them standing there and he looked enquiringly at Jean
"Elephant shoes" she said to him and he smiled at her fondly and called the next patient in.
Mattie glanced at Rose, who grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room. They stood in the passageway looking at each other, confused.
"Elephant shoes?" Rose muttered. "What on earth?"
"Oh good, so I'm not the only one who has no clue what happened back there? I thought they must have developed some secret code while I was gone!" Mattie's eyes were wide as an amused smile crept across her face
"Looks like they have! But it's not one that I'm privy to" Rose shrugged a shoulder. "Anyway. How about that milkshake?"
"Sounds great" Mattie answered then looking from Rose to herself she started laughing.
"What are you laughing at"
Mattie looked again at her and gestured to herself, laughing too much to answer.
"Mattie! What's so funny?"
Mattie finally stopped laughing but her grin was still firmly in place "Look at yourself, then look at me" she urged Rose, who did so. Upon realising what Mattie had been laughing at, she also burst out with laughter.
"We're dressed in opposites" she managed between giggles. And sure enough while Rose was in her brick red top and navy pants, Mattie was wearing a burnt red pair of capri's and a navy top. They both wore matching white loafers and while Mattie held her hair back with a red ribbon, Rose sported a navy headband.
They fell against each other laughing hysterically at which point Jean appeared in the doorway and glared at them until they linked arms and left. Jean shook her head in amusement. Yesterday these two were at each other's throats, today they were laughing like best friends. She had to say, she preferred the latter.
Alice looked up and down the pathway and not seeing Matthew, her face fell. Maybe he wasn't coming. She sat herself down on the bench nearby and took out her book and pretended to be reading it as her mind raced. What would happen if he didn't show? Would they just go back to being casual acquaintances, being brought together by Lucien and Jean? Could she forget the words he had spoken to her? The way he had held her when dancing? Could she forget how easily she told him honest truths she had not admitted to anyone in years?
"Sorry I'm late" Matthews low voice broke through her dark thoughts and she quickly stood up and smiled at him. Matthew risked a quick peck to her cheek and a blush began to creep up her neck. She looked around furtively but there was no one else in sight. "The leg was giving me some troubles" Matthew explained as he tapped his cane on his foot.
Alice was so pleased to see him there, she tucked her arm in to his and grinned up at him "Right, I believe you promised me a coffee Superintendent"
"That I did Doctor Harvey" they set off down a gravel path towards the coffee shop.
Once they had ordered and received their coffees (Alice teasing Matthew about the three sugars he took) they wandered slowly through the garden, remarking on some of the strange shapes and colours of the plants
"Did I really snore that loudly?" Matthew sipped his coffee as they walked past a water feature
Alice looked at him and grinned "No not really, but you were snoring softly in my ear when I woke up for the first time though" The sun shone down on them, no sign of the storm that had wreaked havoc on their little town overnight
"Sorry" Matthew looked slightly embarrassed. He wasn't used to someone knowing him so intimately, and it had been a long time since he'd shared a bed with someone.
Alice blushed "Actually I kind of liked it" she admitted softly sneaking a glance at his face as she hid her small smile behind a sip of her coffee.
Matthew stopped in his tracks "Really?"
Alice kept walking "Really. It was kind of soothing"
"So…. You wouldn't be opposed to that happening again then?" Matthew scratched his chin thoughtfully.
Alice turned to him "I think… I wouldn't say no" her lips twitched with a smile. Then her face instantly clouded with worry "But I'm not ready to tell the world Matthew"
"We don't have to sweetheart" the word had slipped from his lips without him thinking. "We can take it slowly and keep it to ourselves for as long as you want
Alice coloured slightly at the term of endearment. It felt so strange, and odd, hearing it said towards her, but she liked it. Her stomach had filled with warmth, and it wasn't just because of the hot coffee.
Matthew motioned to a picnic table and they sat, observing the world as they sipped their drinks.
"How do we keep this from Jean and Lucien?" she worried to Matthew "They're already asking questions."
"Pfft" Matthew waved her concern away "They don't know anything"
"I can't lie to people Matthew. Especially when they're asking direct questions. I get caught off guard so easily"
"It's not lying. It's just selective truth" Matthew smiled at her worried face
Alice was still unsure "Matthew, Jean is way too intuitive and Lucien's just nosy."
"Well, just have some phrases up your sleeve to parrot back at them when they ask you questions."
"Things like what?" Alice lay her head on Matthews shoulder.
"Like 'mind your own god damned business' for starters" Matthew muttered amusedly into her hair as he kissed the top of her head
Alice pushed him away "I'm serious Matthew! Jean will be able to see right through me"
Matthew grabbed her hands and held them tightly in his own "For now, and up until their wedding we can use the excuse we're helping each other plan the celebrations"
Alice looked unconvinced as she shook her hands out of his grasp "My father always just beat the truth out of me, so I learnt pretty quickly that lying was bad" she added quietly
Matthew swallowed as he clenched his hands into fists as Alice confirmed what he had surmised last night about her childhood 'What I wouldn't do to get my hands on that man' Outside he said "Yes lying can be bad, like when it hurts other people, But sometimes it's necessary." He slowly raised his hand and cupped her face, a motion that just last night, caused her to react with angry words and rejection. Today however, she leaned her cheek into his touch and closed her eyes.
"I just don't know that I'm ready for any of this Matthew" She said quietly
Matthew took her other cheek in his empty hand and looked at her. "Alice?"
She opened her eyes and stared into his serious face as his thumbs brushed her cheeks
"Alice, If you want to take things slow, we will take things slow. If I'm going too fast, you just tell me." He dropped his hands from her face, and once again took her hands in his own "There are no rules we have to follow. We can do this our own way. I won't treat you any differently at work, if that's what you're worried about."
Alice raised her eyebrows "Well it's definitely one thing that's concerning me" she paused as she dropped one of his hands and stood up. She waited until Matthew pushed himself out of the seat and keeping his hand tightly clasped to hers, they began to walk slowly down the path together.
"Let me guess? You're still worrying about Lucien and Jean?"
Alice nodded her head as they continued to walk "I just don't believe I can be a convincing liar."
"Well let's practice shall we?" Matthew swung her hand in his. "Pretend I'm Lucien."
Alice scoffed.
Matthew swung her around to face him, stuck his hand on his hip and put on a serious face "Now Alice, what did you get up to in your lunch break today?"
She grinned at his unnatural pose "I went for a walk in the gardens with a very silly man."
Matthew grinned back at her "No one's called me silly in ages."
"Maybe not to your face" she teased, raising her eyebrows and smiling coyly.
"Hey! You shut your mouth you" Matthew joked.
Alice stepped toward him, closing the gap between them "Why don't you do it for me" she stared into his eyes, jutting her chin out defiantly, acting much more confident than she felt.
Matthews eyes darkened with desire as they darted to her lips. She moistened them with her tongue. Finally he spoke "I don't want to rush you sweetheart."
Alice shot her hand up and pushed her fingers into the back of his neck, bringing his face close to hers "Kiss me you silly man" she whispered.
Matthew grinned at her bold confidence and was only too happy to oblige.
A/N. The words 'Elephant shoes' when lip read can easily be confused with 'I love you'
