The story bellow is a bit simmilar than my last story, but with somewhat of a different plot.
For once, the setting is the same of the other one, between seasons 11 and 12, with the difference that Julia stay pregnant and have the baby, a girl name Marilla.
Other than that, the plot gets different and depite of the climax also been simmilar to the other story, i just wrote this, because i felt sorry for what i wrote before.
Hope you enjoy,
Good reading.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
That sunny summer afternoon, Detective William Murdoch found himself walking around the living room while he cradled his sleeping daughter on his arms. He smiled while humming an old lullaby, his little Marilla was just about to turn 2-months old and he thanked God that she was growing strong and healthy.
Suddenly, when he was about to put Marilla on her basinet, he heard a knock on his apartment door. It was Mrs. Rich, an old lady who also lived in the Hotel and who always took time to knock the detective´s door, to see how the baby was doing.
''She´s doing fine Mrs. Rich, I was just trying to put her to sleep.'' The detective replied embarrassed.
''Oh, so I will not bother,'' the older woman smiled. ''Did you give her a bottle?''
''Yes, I did.'' William replied quietly.
''Oh, then I leave you to it. Tell me if you need anything, detective.'' She said and left.
Once alone again, William set on the rocking chair still holding Marilla, looking at every inch of her feature, with a sad smile on his face. ''I love you very much,'' He said quietly. ''you know Mari, you look quite like your mother…except your hair, I guess you´re going to have black hair, like myself.'' He told her. Indeed, Marilla Murdoch has Julia´s same blue eyes and long face, with a tuff on black hair on her head.
For a skilled detective, expert on finding fingermarks and who had thrown more than thousands of criminals to jail, William Murdoch found out during the last month that he knows next to nothing about raising a baby. However, he could admit he was happy to have such a good help during that time, otherwise, he truly didn´t know what to do.
He took a deep breath, adjust the sleepy baby on his arms and look at the photograph on his bedside table, it was a picture of his wedding day, which made his heart breaks.
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Despite of the complicated pregnancy due the abortion she had years ago, Julia gives birth to a healthy baby girl, Marilla, who had born coincidently on the same day as her father. Because of that, William liked to say that Marilla, his sunshine, was Julia´s last and more important gift to him.
For the first three days everything was fine, the proud parents receive visits from friends and a few family, who keep fusing around the baby, wanting to carry her on their arms. It was like a dream come true, everything seemed to lead to a perfect life now and nothing could disturb them.
However, that perfect life ended abruptly, not only a week later. It was just a few days after Julia and the baby were home, just after breakfast, after William left for work, Julia feeds Marilla, put her to sleep and then, gone without a trace.
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It was Mrs. Rich, who called the police, after hearing the baby cry without stop, hours after he mother´s disappearing. William was distraught when he arrived with the constables, holding Marilla protective against his chest, while barking orders to whoever was near, to find his missing wife.
They search at the hotel itself first, where witnesses said they saw the good doctor leave the hotel in a hurry, carrying just her small purse, but she didn't look scared or coerced, she had told a maid that while Marilla slept, she would stop by the corner bakery and be back in a moment. However, the owner of the bakery, denied seeing the doctor enter his store. When they search around the block, they found her purse, still with money and kays inside, lying on an alley a few blocks away from the hotel.
A search for Julia began. All the police stations in the city came together to look for the missing woman, but it was as if she had simply ceased to exist. Some witnesses said they saw her getting into a cart, others said they saw her coming back to the hotel, but the truth is that there was no sign of her anywhere in Toronto, at the hospital, at the police station, at the morgue, at the train station. even in the Star-Room, they look at known and unknown places and she was nowhere to be found.
William didn´t sleep anymore, between taking care of his newborn, search for his wife and been plagued with nightmares every night, the skilled detective was exhausted and about to explode with whoever ask him something. In the meantime, friends start to step in to help him with the baby, since the day of the disappearing, Mrs. Brackenreid, the Inspector´s wife came to teach him how to care for Mari, while Miss Ruth Newsome, Mrs. Rich and even Nina Bloom came some times to help around and give him support. Not to mention that all constables on Station 4, keep fusing around little Marilla, every time William came with her to the station.
Two weeks later with still no sign of Julia, the Hamilton Constabulary was called when someone found a body of a mangled woman on the ditch. She could have been there more than ten hours, due the decomposition. To make the matters worse, there was no identification with the woman, except a ring. Still, it didn´t stop William to break down on the Inspector´s office when he heard the news, he couldn´t believe that corpse could be his wife, so he demanded to open a murder case, however, after another week of searching and noticing that Hamilton hadn't any case of missing person, the Inspector, with a heavy heart, convince him to stop searching.
''I want to proceed the investigation, Sir… in my heart, I feel she´s still around and I can´t rest till I find what happened.'' Murdoch said.
''You don´t think that if she could, the good doctor wouldn't have contact you? Think Murdoch, she would try to reach you and Marilla, she wouldn't have left her family this way.'' The Inspector point out.
''Maybe she´s somewhere she is unable to contact anyone.'' William replied quietly, remembering when Gilles buried her alive and yet he did everything to find her.
''So what you suggest?'' the Inspector asked and Murdoch shook his head. ''Listen Murdoch, there´s no word of comfort I can say now, but I would advice you to go on with your life, for your daughter´s sake, she needs you now, more than Dr. Ogden does, if she´s alive, she will come back to you sooner or later.'' He finished and in response, William just nodded, too tired to argue with his inspector.
The following days passed in a blur, Miss Ruby Ogden came from Europe to meet her niece and help William take care of her, while making the arrangements for the burial. It happened that after much discussion with the inspector, William agreed to buried the Hamilton´s body under Julia´s name, this way their daughter Marilla could have a place to visit her mother when she was older. An on the case of Julia´s return, at least they give the poor woman a proper decent burial. In the meantime, William spend most of his time with his little Marilla, part of him felt guilty for having ignored her a bit during the previous month, but seeing her now, holding her properly on his arms, made all the love he felt on the first day he saw her, come back and he didn´t felt alone.
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William Murdoch was brought back to the present, when a nasty smell invade his nostrils and a second later, Marilla started to cry annoyed with her dirt diaper.
''What kind of a way to woke up, little one?'' William smiled. ''Lets get you changed.'' He said as someone knocked his door again, this time, was Mrs. Brackenreid, who came to know how William was doing and if he was taking care of the baby.
''I can see she had some business here!'' the woman exclaimed. ''Is everything alright?''
''Quiet alright, Mrs. Brackenreid, I was going to give her a bath, I guess she need it.''
''Indeed she does, you know how to do it, Detective?'' she asked and when William assured her he could manage, Mrs. Brackenreid offered to prepare the bottle and later feed Marilla, as she missed feed her own children.
One hour later, the baby was clean, feed and happy playing on her father´s arms, when Mrs. Brackenreid asked William if he had already thought about the christening, making he smile.
''You mean, Baptism, Mrs. Brackenreid, I want my daughter to be catholic, like myself.''
''Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot,'' The woman apologize. ''But you thought of something?''
''Just that I want it to be on the same church Julia and I got married, but I didn't had time to think about other details.'' He said.
''Well, tell me when you have something in mind, I will be delight to help you.'' she said and kissing the baby´s forehead, she left.
For the rest of the afternoon, the detective spend with his daughter, entertaining her with noises and faces to make her laugh, playing with her of hide and seek, beside singing and talking to her. When evening arrived, he asked Mrs. Rich to watch Marilla a bit while he performs his own needs, after that and after a small supper, William once again feed and change his newborn baby, before sit a bit to read, while rocking Marilla back and forth on his rocking chair.
One hour later and knowing the next day he would have to go back to work, William Murdoch place his daughter on er basinet and lie down to sleep himself, holding the baby´s hand trough the basinet´s bars.
He agreed he wasn't a good father and he couldn´t give Mari everything she needed, but he loved her, she was his world now, his first and last priority and he will do everything to protect her, no matter what come on their lives.
As they felt sleep however, both the man and the child, failed to notice a figure sitting by the window, a blond woman, who smiled with proud the scene before her; the man she loves trying hard and succeeding at been the best father possible to their child and she love him for that, as she knew they would make it.
END.
