finally! finally this chapter is done! set just before and during 5.07, enjoy! - Dee

Alice sat back as she finished up the slice of cake and let out a happy sigh.

"Feel better?"

Rose's teasing question made her chuckle, but she nodded.

"I do, thank you for getting me out of the morgue."

"You looked like you needed it, Aunt Alice."

"Oh, not you too," Alice huffed.

"Hey, I'm not hovering about you like Uncle Matthew is, I'm looking out for your emotional mindset."

Half-heartedly swatting at her future niece's shoulder as the niece in question laughed, Alice found herself grinning; it'd been a very nice break from work in the morgue and Rose took her to a quaint little cafe that Alice hadn't realized existed in Ballarat, so she didn't mind the bit of teasing that came with an outing with Rose Anderson.

"I noticed you have a stool in the morgue, does it help?"

"A lot, but I'm still tired of sitting down a lot."

"I'm sure the leg will heal faster than you think."

Glaring down at the offending casted appendage propped up on the remaining chair, Alice just shrugged. "I guess I'm just… bored."

"Happens to the best of us, I'm afraid."

"I know… but I used to be able to go on walks around town or the park, and now I can't do that… almost makes me want to take up smoking again- I said almost," she tacked on at Rose's raised eyebrows. "Don't tell your uncle."

"I don't think he'd believe me even if I did," Rose laughed. She was about to say something else when her smile faltered a bit. "Oh… no…"

"What?"

"Edward Tyneman," Rose sighed before she put on a polite smile when the younger Tyneman approached their table.

"Ah, Rose, there you are."

"Edward."

"I see you're enjoying your afternoon off."

Rose looked to Alice, and Alice decided to butt in (she wasn't a fan of Edward Tyneman's tone).

"Rose has been a godsend, Mr. Tyneman."

"Really?"

Alice plastered on a polite smile - knowing it didn't reach her eyes, "Yes, it's been tough to get around with my broken leg and she's been helping me get to and from work a few days a week. In fact, we were just about to go pick up my daughter from school."

"I see… good to hear. Rose, are you free later?"

"I actually have dinner plans with Dr. Harvey."

Edward nodded and smiled before leaving the two of them. Alice watched him go and turned to her future niece when Rose let out a relieved sigh.

"Is that why you were insisting on helping me out this afternoon and all those other afternoons?"

The slightly guilty look on Rose's face told her all she needed to know.

"How long?"

"It's just recently started up, but I… I don't know what to do, Aunt Alice."

"And you don't want to push back too hard because he's your boss and it could jeopardize your job," Alice nodded when Rose gave her an affirmative answer. "What a dickhead."

"Aunt Alice!"

"What!"

Rose laughed as she shook her head, "I can't believe the things you say sometimes."

"It's true, and you know it. Men making advances on women under their employ when said women aren't able to refuse out of fear of losing their job is absolutely repulsive. Even women who are confident enough to speak up about such things are ridiculed and still threatened with losing their jobs."

Rose reached out and squeezed her hand, "Thank you. I'm… I still don't know what to do, the last time I stood up for myself, I got blacklisted by every newspaper in Melbourne. I love my job here in Ballarat, but…"

"I know the feeling."

"You do?"

Alice nodded and squeezed Rose's hand back, "I… Wandering hands aren't a stranger in my past. Even with a reputation of an 'Ice Queen' it still happened to me. The last time, I stood up for myself because Ballarat had become my home, and the hospital administrator started disciplinary charges against me."

"What rot! How dare they do that to you."

"Oh, he's certainly not the administrator now and the hospital reexamined the complaint I had against the doctor, but it happens a lot. It shouldn't, but it does, and unfortunately there's not a lot of ways out of it."

"So… what do I do?"

Alice shrugged, "I don't know… try talking to him like an adult? The next time he makes an advance and you're not comfortable with it, tell him you're not interested? If he pushes…"

"Come to you?"

She smiled and nodded, "I'm sure a crutch to a shin might put him in his place… or maybe I'll aim higher, but let's hope he's enough of a gentleman to respect your wishes."

Rose scoffed a little, but she looked far more relieved than she had been a few minutes ago.

"Come on, Aunt Alice, it's time to go pick Anna up from school."

"I've never seen anything quite like it."

Alice leaned forward slightly on her stool to pick up said wad with her tweezers when Lucien unwrapped it from his handkerchief, "The wad hasn't entered the wound, which means there was some separation between him and the shooter."

"Yes."

She placed it in a tin - noting to herself to send it off to the lab for a range of tests.

"You found it…?"

"By the body," Lucien answered before he watched her from the corner of his eye. "This isn't your first shotgun homicide, is it?"

"No, my fourth," Alice sighed - shotgun homicides were always so… messy, she couldn't fathom what would drive someone to kill in such a way. "You?"

"My third," her dear friend replied and Alice turned to put the tin on the counter behind her in order to hide the smug smile no doubt spreading across her face; Lucien wasn't always competitive, but he did like being the more experienced of the two of them, but in this case, she had seen more shotgun related homicides than him. Oh, how it must be rankling his pride.

As they theorized and chatted over Daryl Fitzpatrick's body, Lucien circled around behind her and Alice sharply wheeled the stool out of his way - narrowly missing his foot.

"Careful there, or should we have Matthew issue you a speeding ticket in that thing?"

"It's not my fault if you're not paying attention to your surroundings, Lucien."

He chuckled and lightly patted her shoulder, "How are you finding it?"

"It's sturdy and mostly comfortable, but I'm so tired of sitting."

"You'll be fine when I have to leave and give the report?" Lucien deflated slightly under her withering stare. "Right, you're an old hand at this by now, I'm sure."

"Quite. Now, cause of death?"

"Right."

As they worked on the report - bantering back and forth over the blood drops on Daryl's boots that didn't fit with the catastrophic damage to his neck - Lucien kept watching her until she finally sighed and turned to look at him fully.

"What is it?"

"What?"

"Don't try the innocent look with me, Lucien, what is it?"

"Nothing, nothing… it's just…"

"What?"

"I was just thinking… you look so very happy."

Alice felt her cheeks warm as she looked down at her clipboard of notes, "Honestly, Lucien."

"No, really, you look so happy. I don't know… I guess I just really noticed it now."

"Well, I am, even with the broken leg. Anna's a joy, the house is finally finished, and Matthew and I are… well."

"Yes. Speaking of the two of you, and the wedding…"

"Yes?"

"Whose best man am I going to be?"

Swatting at his elbow - grinning even as he laughed brightly - Alice scoffed and gave him a light push back towards Daryl Fitzpatrick.

"Enough talk of weddings that have yet to be planned, it's rude to leave the dead waiting."

"Mumma, I can't get this," Anna brought a tangle of lights over to where Alice lounged on the couch - her cast propped up on a pillow at the other end.

"Oh, we've got ourselves a regular Gordian Knot here."

"What's that?"

Looking up to see Jean also watching intently, Alice smiled and launched into one of her favorite tales from her Classics background. "It's an impossibly tangled knot, my dear girl. There were these people without a king, but an oracle told them that the next man who entered their city driving an ox-cart would become their king. A peasant farm named Gordias drove in and was declared their ruler - fulfilling the prophecy. To thank the people, oracle, and prophecy, Gordias' son Midas dedicated the cart to… Zeus, I believe, and tied it to a post with an intricate knot; the knot was described as several knots all entangled together in such a way that it was impossible to see how they were fastened and to find the ends."

"Oh," Anna frowned as she watched her mother slowly start to untangle the lights. "Was the knot ever solved?"

"In a way."

"Another story?"

Smiling at her daughter's enthusiasm, Alice nodded, "Farther into the future from Gordias and Midas, the kingdom had shrunk to a province of the Persian Empire. Another oracle declared that any man who could unravel the Gordian knot was destined to become ruler of all Asia. Alexander the Great - then the emperor of Persia - wanted to be the man who fulfilled the prophecy, but he was struggling to undo the knot."

"What did he do, Mumma?"

"Well, Alexander was considered very wise and he looked at this knot and this prophecy and said that it just said 'he who unraveled the knots' would be ruler, and didn't elaborate on how to unravel said knot. So, with that in mind, he drew his sword and cut the knot in two with a single stroke."

"Will we have to do that with the lights, Mumma?"

Alice chuckled as Jean let out a strangled noise at the suggestion, but she shook her head, "No, Anna, I don't think we'll need to do that. Christmas lights can be expensive and I don't think your Auntie Jean will appreciate us cutting them, hm? Besides, these were relatively easy to untangle."

"Mumma! You're the ruler!"

Laughing as Anna bounced over to Jean with the freshly untangled lights, Alice shifted on the couch, "Maybe just the ruler of tangled Christmas lights, my dear girl."

"I see we're all having fun in here," Matthew's voice interrupted them and he smiled when Anna hurried over to give him a hug. "Let me get changed, sweetheart, and then I'll join you."

"Okay, Daddy, Mumma untangled the Gordian knot and is now ruler of Asia!"

"My, you have been busy," her soulmate chuckled as he leaned down over the back of the couch to give her a soft kiss. "Does this mean I'm your royal consort?"

Alice laughed into his kiss as she heard Jean join in on the amusement. "If you behave."

"Of course, my queen."

"Go change, you silly man, and could you bring me some socks? My feet are cold again."

"As my queen commands."

"Matthew."

He just laughed and kissed her again before limping back to his (somewhat disused) bedroom at the Blakes.

"This looks wonderful, my dear," Lucien kissed his wife softly - his hand resting on her baby bump as Jean paused in putting up the strand of lights.

Alice was busy untangling another strand while Anna and Lucien started to pull out the tinsel and ornaments; she smiled as she watched her daughter and best friend work - hopefully the Blakes would return the favor and help the Harveys put up their own tree. She'd never pictured this sort of thing when thinking about her future: Christmas trees, laughter with friends, a daughter she would never give up on, and - as Matthew came back into the parlor with a kiss to the side of her head - the love of a soulmate.

"Everything alright?" He asked her quietly as he helped her put on the socks before lifting up both feet to sit gently on the pillow in his lap.

"Everything's perfect, my royal consort," she teased.

"Good," he rubbed her good ankle and smiled when Anna came over for another hug. "Having a good afternoon, Miss Anna?"

"If Mumma is ruler of all Asia, then that makes me Princess, Daddy."

"Right," Matthew grinned as Lucien looked to his wife in confusion ("Later, Lucien, I'll explain later.") "My apologies, your highness."

"Thank you, Daddy."

"Where's Molly?"

"Outside, hopefully not digging up my flowers," Jean grumbled a little as she and Lucien started hanging the ornaments. "Anna, dear, could you go and check on her?"

"Yes, Auntie Jean!"

With her daughter out of earshot, talk turned to the case; Matthew left her feet in his lap as he unfolded the evening edition of The Courier, and Alice felt herself nodding off occasionally.

"Sump oil?" she heard Jean ask.

"Yes," Lucien answered. "That's the accelerant our arsonist used. Thank you."

Alice peeked an eye open and saw Jean hand Lucien another ornament.

"That's hardly the best choice," her friend frowned - and Alice was reminded that Jean had been a farmgirl before housekeeper; sitting up slightly, she paid more attention to what Jean had to say.

"Mm, good point." Matthew agreed as he continued to read.

Jean continued, "If it was me, I'd use something much more flammable."

"Uh, you've missed a spot."

"Hmm?"

Matthew pointed it out on Lucien's side and smiled when Alice chuckled beside him.

"Oh, thank you, Matthew," Jean smiled. "I mean, I'd only use sump oil if I wanted to, I don't know, spoil the land, or…"

"Well, the neighbor in fact said the Fitzpatricks would have to strip the topsoil to get rid of the contamination."

"Hm. that'd be Lionel Taylor."

"Yes," Lucien nodded. "You know him?"

"He was a friend of Christopher's. He moved here fresh out of university. Christopher taught him all about farming. He was a very fast learner." Jean pulled out the angel for the top of the tree and handed it to her husband, "Now, do you mind, Lucien?"

"Ah, yes, of course. Isn't she lovely?"

As Lucien placed the angel on top, Jean continued recounting her acquaintance with Lionel Taylor.

"No-one really spoke to him when he first moved in."

(Alice wasn't surprised, it'd been the same for her)

"Why, Jean?" she asked as Matthew squeezed her ankle.

"Oh, I think they thought he was city trying to be country."

Lucien laughed, "Ah, that old chestnut."

"His wife was a bit of a cold fish but I always really liked Lionel. He was such a hard worker and very intelligent. In fact, I think he was probably the smartest man I'd ever met."

Matthew got a kick out of that and raised his eyebrows in Lucien's direction - ignoring the tut of Alice in his ear. "Is that so?"

Jean smothered a grin, knowing how much this would rile up Lucien's ego, "Well, up until that point, anyway. Dinner's almost ready."

Alice bit back a laugh as Jean left them for the kitchen - her daughter coming in to ask her auntie if Molly could be in the sunroom until they left. Matthew, always knowing how to push Lucien's buttons, casually looked back down at his paper.

"Smartest man she'd ever met, hey?"

Just as Alice swatted at his shoulder, Jean's voice rang out from the kitchen, "And I'd thank you, Matthew, not to encourage him quite so much."

Lucien laughed along with Alice and Matthew before he reached down to light the tree; Matthew pressed a kiss to Alice's cheek as she gazed up at the shining decoration.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart," he whispered as Lucien left them to help Jean and Anna in the kitchen.

"Merry Christmas, my dear Matthew."

"You're sure about your source?" Jean asked as she rubbed her belly - out in full view as she was in the sanctity of her home.

Rose nodded as she sat at the kitchen table - strewn with last minute gift wrapping, Alice and Anna were out in the garden with Molly. "He said that the higher ups were growing more concerned about Lucien's drunkenness while on duty."

"Yes, I'll certainly speak to him about that once he gets home, but the other source."

"The one who saw you coming out of the clinic in Melbourne? I've sworn them to secrecy, Jean. No one will hear about it from either me or her."

Jean let out a sigh; she didn't like hiding her pregnancy aside from close friends, but that age-old fear of losing the babe mid-term hung heavy over her head. Lucien, wonderful and understanding, booked them an appointment at a clinic to hopefully alleviate her fears.

(It hadn't, and Lucien hadn't showed - too caught up in his research for a case)

Jean bit her lower lip, "Thank you, Rose. For telling me."

"Of course… I wanted you both to know about this. Where is Lucien, anyways?"

"Investigating the Fitzpatrick case, Alice is heading back into the morgue to finish some blood tests."

"I'll leave you to enjoy the rest of your lunch, then," Rose smiled and pressed a kiss to Jean's cheek.

Jean could hear her talk with Alice and Anna out in the backyard before the Harveys came back inside. It worried Jean, the news Rose had brought to her doorstep - about the clinic visit, about Lucien's drinking, but she wasn't sure how to address everything. People were starting to talk, whispering about her waistline, gossiping about her once again, and while this time it wasn't a scandal, she could still feel their eyes on her everywhere she went.

'Oh, Lucien, come home.'

Alice looked up sharply when the morgue door opened so hard it bounced off of an equipment tray.

"What on Eart-!" she started to snap, but it died in her throat at the sight of Rose in the doorway - barely holding it together as tears streamed down her cheeks. "What happened?"

Her niece just shook her head and hurried into the morgue; Alice barely had time to put down the test tube safely before she had Rose in her arms. Through the tears and sobs, Alice coaxed out what had happened to Rose as she pulled over another stool for her niece to sit on comfortably; she held the young woman close - not bothered about anyone potentially coming in and disturbing them. It all came out: Edward's continuing advances, the concern over Lucien's drinking, Jean's pregnancy, Edward publishing it all into a scandal that would set the gossips of Ballarat afire with new material - all because she had made dinner plans with Charlie instead of him. When she pushed back, Edward had fired her, and Jean and Lucien were of the mind that she had actually written the article instead of Edward giving it to her out of spite and to cause pain amongst their friend group.

"It'll be alright," Alice soothed Rose. "It'll be alright."

"It doesn't feel alright, Aunt Alice, I don't know what to do!"

"For right now, you cry your heart out," she cradled Rose's face in her hands and brushed away the tears. "You just cry it all out, and then we'll figure it out from there… why don't you come over for dinner tonight? Charlie can join us and your uncle and I will help you figure how to move forward."

"You're sure?"

Alice nodded, "I think it's best to leave the Blakes alone for the rest of today, let Charlie explain to them what happened once he knows. You shouldn't be alone."

"Lucien was angrier than I'd ever seen him when he belted Edward across the face."

The image of her best friend - usually so gentle even when excited - getting violent sent a shiver down Alice's spine; she didn't like seeing Lucien like that, and he only got that way when it came to protecting those he viewed as family (she'd glimpsed its potential once, during the Orton case, but had never actually seen him hit someone), and even though Edward Tyneman likely deserved it, there would be ramifications for Lucien's actions.

And Alice wasn't sure how he'd wrangle his way out of this one.

"C'mon, let's get you home, you can have some tea and try out Anna's latest biscuit recipe… I hope you like lemon."

Rose hugged her tight, "Thank you, Aunt Alice… for everything."

"Family sticks together, even when the world tries to pull us apart. Lucien and Jean will both calm down - and both are humble enough to admit when they are in the wrong - and I don't know how this will all end, but we'll do it together."

"I accomplish more drunk than you and your entire bloody department do sober!"

Matthew's frown deepened as he turned another circuit in the bedroom - that damned declaration beating a regular tattoo in his head and drowning out any other thought he might want to entertain.

Rose was sleeping in the guest room, having taken their offer of spending the night in Alice's house; he'd kept most of his emotions to himself as his niece told them all what Edward Bloody Tyneman had done - both he and Charlie exchanging a look, both wanting to get up in that instant and tell the rotten man what for - and what had happened with the Blakes.

'Lucien Bloody Blake,' he swore as he turned for another pass on the carpet, hearing Alice sigh from the bed.

"You're making me dizzy, dearest."

"I just…" he stopped and nearly growled in frustration as he tried to piece together the swirling emotions in his mind.

"I know," Alice gave him a soft smile and patted the bed next to her. "C'mere."

"I don't think I can sleep right now, Alice."

"I'm not asking you to sleep, I'm asking you to stop pacing so much; I can feel the ache in your knee, come here."

"Alice."

"Matthew," she raised her eyebrows. "You can be grumpy in bed and comfortable. Stop being so bloody stubborn."

He chewed on his inner lip, knowing Alice was right (and his leg was starting to ache between the long day at the station and the pacing); he was being stubborn, so… Matthew climbed under the covers and pulled himself over to Alice. Tucking himself beneath her chin as he curled around her - very much like he had after the Mickey Ellis case - Matthew let out a sigh that released some of the tension coiling in his chest.

"Lucien Bloody Blake."

Alice hummed and ran her fingers through his hair as he scowled at the darkened wall; Matthew sighed again and held Alice tighter as she shifted beneath him.

"Thinks he's so damn smart, like we were incapable of solving cases before he graced our doorstep… I could wring his bloody neck."

"Lucien is smart, and unfortunately has an ego to match, my dear. I don't think he'll charm his way out of this one though."

"I just wish he'd think."

"He does," when Matthew propped his chin on her chest to give her a disbelieving look, Alice smiled, "until he doesn't, and this was one of the times he didn't. Lucien's always used to being the smartest person in the room and once that's been proven so many times, he honestly starts to believe it. You and the station's officers are fully capable investigators, Matthew, and it might take you longer to come to the same connections Lucien makes, but you still make them. Lucien's just… thinks that because you take longer that you're hopeless without him. It's a fatal flaw of his, and usually the norm for brilliant people."

"You're not that way."

"No, because I still have to prove my knowledge to people, but I do admit to being prideful."

"That's the good kind of pride."

"It's still pride, dearest. And unfortunately with Lucien, when he drinks his flaws become amplified."

"Drinking has always been a problem with him, ever since he came back to Ballarat before his father died. He cut back a little for awhile, but… I don't know it's gotten worse since his stabbing."

Alice shifted beneath him again, "I don't think that's something for you to fix, Matthew."

"Maybe not," Matthew sighed. "I still could wring his damn neck. He insulted every single officer in that station today."

"I know."

"He's going to have to apologize, like it or not."

"I'm sure he will, even if Jean or I have to twist his arm to do it."

Matthew grumbled even as Alice scratched lightly at his scalp - trying to soothe him some more before both of them turned in for the night.

"Bloody Lucien Blake."

"Matthew."

Slumping in her arms, he kissed right over her heart, "Sorry, sweetheart, he just makes me so mad."

"I know, and you have every right to be so, but at this rate you're going to be so worked up you can't sleep."

"Why do you think I was pacing? In fact, I should get up and do it right now."

Alice sighed - her hands landing on his shoulders, "Yes, dear."

He propped himself up on his elbows and narrowed his eyes as she pulled both of her lips in between her teeth and looked up at him.

"Are you mocking me?" Matthew finally asked.

Alice's eyes widened slightly, but he could see the teasing pull at the corner of her mouth. "Would I ever do that to you, dearest?"

Matthew stared at her for another long, drawn out moment, before his soulmate burst into giggles; he didn't stop the grin appearing on his face as he watched her amusement and then joined in with her.

"I'm sorry, my dear Matthew," Alice reached up to cup his cheek and smiled when he leaned down to kiss her softly. "I know you're so very mad and upset, but I just… you look adorable when you're fuming."

"Me, the Chief Superintendent of Ballarat Police, adorable?"

Alice giggled and nodded, "Very."

He shook his head and laughed lightly - feeling more of the tension in his chest and shoulders lift the longer he did.

"You've got a unique way of looking at things, sweetheart."

"I don't want you to go to bed angry, or exhaust yourself tonight from thinking about it," she kissed his cheek. "Everything will look a little better in the morning."

"I'm not sure better is the right word."

"It won't be perfect, no," she shook her head as Matthew shifted, "but it won't be as dire a situation either, dearest. Come to bed, sleep, and we'll figure it out in the morning once everyone's calmed down."

Matthew leaned down and kissed her, smiling against her lips when she pulled him closer; wrapping his arms around her as her thighs came up to cradle his hips, Matthew lost himself in the comfort of his soulmate and fiance. She was right, going to bed angry wouldn't solve anything, it would leave him in a dark mood the next day and there was no telling what that day would bring.

"I love you," he drew back far enough to whisper. "I love you, Alice Harvey, and I'm so grateful for you… I hope you know that."

"I do," she nuzzled his nose with hers and kissed him softly. "I do, Matthew, and I'm grateful for you too. I love you so much, let me show you."

Kissing her again, Matthew smoothed his hands down her sides as she nipped at his lower lip; while lost in her kisses and the heat of her body pressed against his, all thoughts of Lucien Bloody Blake were chased from his mind in the sanctity of their bedroom.