As Alice hobbled into the station corridor, she collapsed gratefully into a chair. Exhaling heavily she leant back as Jean placed a tentative hand on her shoulder.
Matthew raised his eyebrows, "I'll go find Lucien." He turned and as he began to walk away a joyful shout came from the other end of the passage.
"Alice!" Lucien cried as he moved towards her with a big smile and his arms open wide. His face changed as he saw the uncomfortable way she sat, and the awkward way she gingerly held her foot.
"What's going on? What happened?" Lucien looked from Alice, to Jean and then to Matthew.
"I'm fine Lucien."
"She's not fine. She got run over by a cyclist."
"I did not get 'run over.'" Alice shot Matthew a look, "He knocked me down, I sprained my ankle. It was my own bloody fault. I stepped back into his path."
"He didn't stop to see if you were alright though, did he? And he shouldn't have been going that fast, especially not on the footpath." Matthew responded angrily.
They glared at each other as Jean and Lucien shared an uncomfortable look.
Matthew looked at Lucien, "Check her over will you? Make sure she hasn't broken anything? Use the interview room, Then I'll come and take her statement." He nodded at Alice and turned and walked away.
"Statement? What for?" Alice protested as her rib gave a pinch. She sucked a breath in and blinked with pain. "Lucien I'm not pressing charges against some kid on a bike when it was my own stupid fault!"
Lucien held up a hand. "First things first, let's get you to the interview room and have a look at you. You can tell me where it hurts." He helped Alice up and looked to Jean. "Why don't you go and have a word with Matthew?" he muttered as he kissed her cheek.
Jean nodded, and after watching Alice hobble away with Lucien's help, headed after Matthew.
She found him in the kitchen staring at an unboiling kettle.
"It usually works better if you turn it on," she quipped as she flicked the switch then turned to face him. Crossing her arms she leant back against the counter. "Is this your way of showing her you still care?"
Matthew looked at her and feigned aloof apathy. "I don't care, not about her, not like that. These young kids shouldn't be riding on the footpath."
Jean softened and put her hand on his arm, "You do care," she murmured gently, "You care too much. That is your problem. You know you said and did some stupid things last time you saw each other, and now you're scared to revisit it."
Matthew glared at her defiantly.
"Thing is Matthew," she continued, "Alice is just as scared. She misses you."
"She tell you that did she?"
"No, but I know Alice. I know when she's not saying something. Matthew, just give her another chance. She knows she wasn't entirely blameless in the break up. You both were acting like stubborn idiots. Just like now." Jean raised her eyes pointedly.
Matthew sat heavily into the wooden chair at the table. "Jean, I…"
"Matthew I'm sick of tiptoeing around the subject with both of you. It's been three years. Either make up, or move on. And as neither of you have dated anyone since, I'm inclined to suggest the former." Jeans voice was stern but gentle.
Matthew raised his head to look at Jean, "Alice hasn't been seeing anyone in Melbourne?"
"No, and you'd know this if you'd bothered writing to her."
"She never wrote to me!" Matthew crossed his arms.
"Matthew, communication is a two way street! One of you has to bite the bullet and apologise. Neither of you are to blame, sometimes in relationships arguments just happen, despite how much you love each other. Things happen, tempers flare, and the sooner you work out a way to move on from that, the better."
There was a silence in the kitchen and the kettle started boiling.
"What if she won't have me back?" Matthew asked tentatively as he traced a pattern on the table with his finger.
"Then at least you'll know," Jean said kindly. She crossed to the kettle and turned it off. "Look, take her a cup of tea. Be gentle with her. These kinds of injuries, they've probably brought up some nasty memories."
Matthew's heart sank. Of course. He was annoyed with himself for not realising it sooner. He wished he'd not been so gruff with her. "Jean I was so cross with her," he admitted quietly.
"Just take her a cuppa, and talk."
"So Alice, can you pop up on the table here for me?"
Alice rolled her eyes but did as she was asked, with a bit of assistance from Lucien.
He knelt in front of her. "I'm just going to carefully take this shoe off, alright?"
"This is so silly Lucien, I am a doctor!"
"I know you are, and a far more competent one than I am, I must admit. But I won't rest until I know you're all right, neither will Jean, neither will Matthew."
At the mention of Matthew's name Alice let out a slight 'Hmphf!'
Lucien heard it but said nothing.
Alice shut her eyes against the pain as Lucien inched the shoe off her foot and probed it gently.
"You know it's so good to see you Alice, even under the circumstances. We've missed you." Manipulating her stockinged foot Lucien took note of when Alice inhaled sharply from the pain.
"Hmmm, I'll have to bandage that in a moment." Lucien looked at her "Where else does it hurt?"
Alice chewed on her lip.
"Please Alice. I just want to help."
Alice sighed. "I think I've bruised a rib. And I banged the back of my head when I hit the ground," she replied reluctantly.
"I'm sorry Alice, I hate to ask but do you mind if I untuck your blouse?"
Alice waved a resigned hand in his direction. "Do what you must."
Lucien gently pulled her blouse from her skirt. Lifting it he let out a whistle as he saw her red skin. His fingers lightly feeling her ribs. He paused. "Alice…" He looked at her face, "Just how much pain are you in?"
Alice shrugged a shoulder, "It hurts to breathe, but it's not too bad… I've had worse," she uttered softly.
"I think… Alice, I think you've cracked at least one rib, if not two." Lucien didn't like to think about the casual way she'd said 'I've had worse' if two cracked ribs was nothing, "I'd like to have that x-rayed."
"Noted, Moving on," Alice dismissed him with narrowed eyes.
Lucien sighed quietly, "You know it's true what they say. Doctors make the worst patients." He moved to the back of her head and began to feel around, "Just ask Jean what I'm like when I'm ill."
Alice managed a small smile but winced as Lucien's fingers came into contact with the bump on her head.
Lucien came to stand in front of her and held a finger up. "Watch my finger please?" He moved it slowly from side to side. "Any dizziness? Nausea? Light-headedness? Trouble focusing?"
"None. Look Lucien, I'll agree to an ankle bandage, but I'm not going for an x-ray and I do not have a concussion." Alice decreed defiantly. "If Superintendent Lawson hadn't come butting in, I wouldn't even be here."
Lucien raised an eyebrow at her, "Not the way you wanted to see him again, I guess."
"I was hoping to never see him again," Alice muttered. "I only came back to see Jean. And you," she added.
"Alice give him a break," Lucien urged gently as he put his hand on her shoulder, "He still cares about you. Much more than he lets on. Why do you think he insisted on bringing you back here? He could have just called for an ambulance and sent you right to hospital. True sometimes you can bring out the worst in each other, but when you were together…" Lucien paused and scratched the back of his head, "well I've never seen either of you as happy as you were then."
Alice pursed her lips and said nothing.
"Please Alice, just think about it. I'm going to find a bandage. Do you think you can remove that stocking while I'm gone?" he nodded at her shoeless foot.
"Of course I can," Alice bristled indignantly.
"Right then. Back in a tick."
The door closed and Lucien was gone. Alice let out the breath she'd been holding and a tear escaped her eye. The pain of a cracked rib was all too familiar and brought back too many memories. She swiped the tear from her face and set about unclipping her stocking from her garter belt. But bending was proving incredibly difficult. After a brief struggle she sat back up, exasperated and exhausted. Sighing heavily she bent to try again. A piercing pain shot up her side but she gritted her teeth, determined.
The door opened and Matthew entered with a cup of tea in his hand. Seeing her perched on the table, bending at an awkward angle he frowned, "What are you trying to do?"
Alice's face flushed as she sat up, "Remove my stocking. Lucien's gone to find a bandage."
Matthew chuckled. "Good luck. He used our last lot a few weeks ago patching up some idiot involved in a punch up, don't think they've been replaced yet." He looked at her, "I brought you a cup of tea." He offered it to her tentatively.
Alice hesitated, then taking it from him blew on it gingerly.
"I, uh, put some cold water in it, the way you like it. That is, if you still take your tea like that?"
Alice blinked. "I do. Thank you."
"To be honest I wasn't sure if you'd take the tea or throw it in my face."
"The thought did cross my mind."
The silence in the room echoed like an empty tomb.
"It's… good to see you again," Matthew began.
Alice shot him a harsh look.
"No, really. I've…uh… missed you"
Alice stared at him. "You didn't come after me" she accused quietly.
"I didn't know you wanted me to"
"I didn't think you cared."
"Of course I care sweetheart" The word slipped out of Matthews mouth automatically and he snapped it shut as Alice glared at him.
"Alice why are we like this?"
Alice's face softened and stared at the floor and said nothing.
Matthew rubbed a frustrated hand through his hair. "We're no good for each other, and yet, the time I spent with you was the happiest time of my life. What happened to us?"
"Oh Matthew." Alice looked at him with sad eyes. "We were tired, overworked and stressed. We both handled it badly."
"And then you left."
"And then I left," Alice repeated numbly. "Forgive me? It was a rash and emotional decision."
"Do you regret it?"
"Every day since," she whispered.
Matthew itched to draw her into his arms and hold her tight, but he settled by taking her hands in his own.
"I'm sorry I didn't write. I'm sorry I didn't come after you. I didn't realise how much I should have fought for you until it was too late."
"Matthew. It's never too late." Alice looked into his cool blue eyes and cupped his cheek gently. "Do you think we might… start over?"
Matthew nuzzled his cheek into her hand. "But how? I want to, Of course I do, But I don't understand how we can make it work this time if we couldn't before. How do we even begin?"
"You can start by helping me take my stocking off" she nodded to where the top of her stocking had bunched above her knee.
Matthew looked at her knee and nodded. Swallowing heavily he knelt in front of her, and taking her foot carefully in one hand, used the other hand to gently roll down her stocking. As her leg was revealed to him, he cupped his hand around her calf and pressed his lips to the inside of her ankle. Lowering her leg he kissed her shin, then her knee. Standing up he looked at her.
Alice had closed her eyes, savouring the sensation of his lips against the bare skin on her leg. It had been three years since anyone had touched her with such intimacy and she shivered slightly as she bit her lip to keep from crying. She opened her eyes and saw Matthew's intense eyes on hers. "Matthew. I've missed you. So much."
Instantly his mouth was on hers. His hand cradling her head. "Alice" he murmured against the skin at her neck, the way he knew she liked, "Please. Come home?"
Alice wrapped her arms around his neck, ignoring the pain in her side. "Matthew, I am home."