Matthew knocked on the mortuary door - slowly pushing it open when Alice called out for him to enter.

"Superintendent, I wasn't aware that I had anything waiting for you."

"You… you don't, Doctor," he gave her a short smile and closed the door behind him. "I'm… not here about a case."

Alice put down the next slide she was about to put on the microscope and turned to face him, "Why are you here then?"

Matthew walked in and leaned up against the autopsy table with a sigh, "Uh… bit of a tough day and… I guess I just wanted to go somewhere that wasn't the station or be around Blake."

"Tough case?"

"One of them, yeah."

She shifted - her stool squeaking a little - and he smiled softly when she got up and took his hand.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Alice asked him quietly.

Matthew shook his head, but the smile remained, "No, but thank you… I feel better already being here with you."

A blush filled her cheeks, but she smiled nonetheless, and Matthew couldn't help but smile wider; Alice was so adorably awkward outside of bed, but he loved that she felt comfortable enough around him to be awkward without expectations or holding back.

"This is probably going to be a strange question, given that we're sleeping together, but…"

"What?"

"May I… hug you?"

That got him a strange look, and a bit of a smothered smile, "The grumpy Superintendent of Ballarat Police wants a hug from me, the cold and odd pathology registrar?"

"You look plenty huggable to me," Matthew grinned as she laughed when he pulled her into his arms - loosely holding her around her waist. "Nope, definitely not cold or odd to me."

"That's because you're different," she poked him in the chest with a smile - but she didn't pull away. "You see what others don't."

"Or just what others don't take the time to see, sweetheart."

Another blush - darker and wider spread - crossed her cheeks as Alice bit her lower lip and ducked her head; she played with the buttons on his uniform jacket as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Too forward of me again?" he asked softly.

"Ah… no," Alice shook her head, her voice equally as soft, "just… unexpected. Unexpected… but not unwelcome."

"Really?"

She nodded, "I, uh, I've never been called that before."

Matthew wondered just what she's gone through in her life that she'd never been called terms of endearment before; he simultaneously wanted to throttle the people who'd made her feel less than she was, and shower her with all the affection she never got. He settled for pulling her closer and wrapping his arms around her tight; Alice froze initially, but she melted into his embrace and snaked her arms around his shoulders as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. He could feel her fist her hands tightly in the fabric of his jacket and just held her closer.

"I thought you were the one wanting the hug," Alice whispered.

"Maybe both of us do, sweetheart," he kissed the side of her head. "That's the good thing about hugs - they go both ways."

She giggled softly and relaxed further against him, "That's true… you'll have to help me practice."

"Gladly."