Author's Note: Hello everyone! A couple of years ago, I started writing for The Doctor Blake Mysteries (You may be familiar with a series of mine entitled Little Lynette Blake) but I ended up not having much time to write and I was also posting them on a different profile which meant that they were getting lost among my other fanfics. I want to get back to writing them though and so I thought that I would set up this little account dedicated to Lucien and Jean. I plan to be quite active on here, so I hope you all enjoy my works, starting with this little one shot! x
From where she was standing at the stove, Jean was unable to prevent the smile from gracing her features while she listened to Lucien read to their little girl and poured some more milk into the saucepan. Before she had made her way into the kitchen to fix herself and her husband some cocoa, she had said that he could read Lynette a bedtime story of her choosing and then it would be time for him to take her upstairs and settle her in bed for the night. She had been looking in on them every couple of minutes, however, and she knew they'd moved onto their third story.
If she didn't adore the two of them beyond belief, she would have given them a piece of her mind about it.
It was a short while later when she finished making the cocoa and turned the flame on the stove down, a deep sigh escaping her as she poured the liquid into the two mugs on the counter before her heart raced when she turned in place and padded across to the sitting area. She stood in silence for a time then, content to just watch her husband spend a few quiet minutes with their little girl even if it was an hour past her bedtime. Lynette was curled up in his lap, her head on his chest as her chocolate curls framed her face and she sucked on her fingers. Lucien's arm was wrapped protectively around her, his hand on her hip as his lips were buried in her hair and he spoke softly to her.
Despite the fact that she was rather reluctant to break up the precious scene in front of her, when Lynette yawned and rubbed at her eye with the back of her palm, Jean knew that it was time for her to go and fetch her and get her to bed. 'I think that's enough for tonight. Someone's going to be dead on her feet come morning if she doesn't get some sleep,' Her voice was soft as she entered the sitting area and approached the sofa, her daughter and husband looking up at her before she crouched down in front of them and smoothed Lynette's curls down with the palm of her hand. 'Come to mummy, sweet-pea.' She opened her arms, smiling when she went willingly into her embrace.
She let her tuck her head into her neck as she returned to her mediocre height and brought her to rest on her hip, her lips finding her temple before she kissed her there and ran a hand up and down her back through her pyjama shirt. 'I left the cocoa on the counter in the kitchen. Why don't you make yourself useful and bring it in while I get this little lady to bed?' She suggested as she glanced at her husband before he rose from the sofa and rested a hand on her hip through her skirt, the two of them looking at one another in silence for a second before he lowered his head and brushed three tender kisses against her lips. 'I shouldn't be too long. She'll be out like a light in no time.'
He nodded his reply before his hand fell from her hip and he watched her leave the sitting area and head upstairs.
Not even ten minutes had passed when she wandered back into sight and the two of them shared a smile when she looked over at him, the love she had for him deepening when he held a hand out to her before she brushed a curl out of her face and approached him again. Slipping her hand into his, she eased herself down onto his knee with a yawn and let her eyes fall closed when he laced his arms around her while pressing a kiss into the side of her neck. 'Still just as beautiful as you were on the day we met.' He hummed into her ear, causing her cheeks to burn madly.
'You can suck up to me all you like, you're still in trouble,' She smirked while cuddling against his chest, curling a hand into his shirt when he settled back against the cushion behind him and tightened his hold of her. 'I honestly don't know why I even bother telling you to read her one story because you never listen to me. I waste my breath.'
'What can I say? We have a very persuasive two-year-old.' He teased.
'No,' She shook her head. 'We have a two-year-old who has a complete pushover for her daddy.'
'That too, I suppose,' He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek, revelling in the giggle that he got out of her. The two of them fell into a comfortable silence for quite some time after that, sipping at their cocoa while the rain continued to beat against the windowpane, but it wasn't long until he realised that she was truly lost in thought. 'You seem to be very preoccupied about something,' He told her while trailing a hand along her side. 'What is it?'
'Do…do you ever wish that you and I had met sooner than we did?' She inquired.
'Oh, well,' He was somewhat taken aback by her question. 'Sometimes, I suppose, why do you ask?'
'I've just been thinking about what things would be like at this moment in time if we'd met when we were younger. Before I had married Christopher and you had married Mei Lin. I mean,' She admitted. 'I imagine that we would have had a number of children and we would be surrounded by grandchildren. We also would have had so much longer together as husband and wife. I don't want you to misunderstand me, Lucien, I love you and Lynette more than I can explain and I wouldn't change our life together for anything. There are just times when I truly wish that circumstances had been different and the two of us had been able to start a life together much sooner than we did.'
He smoothed the backs of his fingers across her cheek as he looked into her eyes, nothing but love for her shining in his own. 'I know what you mean,' He reassured her. 'I also have times when I wish that we had met sooner – like when I think about how we aren't going to have as many years together as we would have done if we had met prior to the war, but then I think to myself…if we had met before the war, things wouldn't be anything like they are now.'
'I'm not sure I follow.' She replied, a crease forming between her brows.
After kissing her there and pulling her closer, he cleared his throat. 'If we had met before you married Christopher and I married Mei Lin then we wouldn't know what it feels like to lose someone. I feel that, since both of us have experienced loss in some form, we appreciate one another and what we have a little more and we know how important it is not to waste a minute of the time we have together,' He watched her nod in response as a tender smile crossed her lips. 'I don't care that we didn't meet sooner and that we weren't each other's first love. That isn't what matters to me. All that matters to me now is ensuring that I'm the best father and husband I can be, and I keep you happy.'
Jean leaned forward to set her mug down on the coffee table before wrapping both arms around his neck, her gaze falling to his lips for a second before she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. Their kiss was soft and chaste for a while, mere brushes of their lips as she teased the hairs at the nape of his neck with her fingers and felt him run his hands over her back through her blouse. She decided to deepen the kiss when he pulled her closer though, and so she curled a hand into his hair and grinned into their kiss when he parted his lips beneath her own as if on instinct.
For a time, all that mattered to the two of them was one another as they got caught up in their little bubble and the rest of the world seemed to fade away more with each passing second, but soon enough the urge to come up for air arose and so she gave him one last kiss before drawing back from him and meeting his gaze. 'You've made me the happiest woman alive from the moment you asked me to be your wife,' She told him, her fingers dancing along his jawline. 'I know we have our fights and you drive me insane a lot of the time, but we always manage to work things out in the end. You mean everything to Lynette and I, Lucien, and nothing is ever going to change that. I promise.'
'Jean Blake, you are an absolute wonder.' He whispered, pressing his forehead against hers.
'Tell me something I don't know.' She jested with a kiss to his lips.
Just as the two of them began to lose themselves in one another once again, a floorboard creaked above them and they broke apart just in time to hear their lovely little girl call sleepily for the two of them from the top of the stairs.
'Go and climb into mummy and daddy's bed, darling, and we'll be there in just a moment,' Jean called back to her before the sound of thundering feet caused her and Lucien to chuckle. They both knew that their daughter would never pass up an opportunity to spend the night with them in the big bed. 'I shouldn't encourage her, I know that, but she isn't going to be two forever and soon enough she's not going to want to sleep with the two of us anymore.'
'You don't have to convince me,' He shook his head. 'She can sleep with us every night as far as I'm concerned.'
'I think just tonight will suffice,' She laughed before rising from the sofa and holding her hand out to him, helping him up when he slipped his hand into hers before he pulled her close and she wrapped her arms around his waist. 'Thank you so much for her. She's truly the best gift you ever could have given me, I mean that with all that I am.'
'I should be thanking you just as much,' He replied with a kiss to her nose. 'Now come on, let's get upstairs.'
Neither of them said another word as he released her from his arms and took her hand in his, the smiles on their faces saying all that needed to be said as he led her out of the sitting room and up to their bedroom so that the two of them could make the most of the rest of their perfect evening.
Author's Note: Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this little one shot and I hope you liked it because it was so fun to write. I'm planning on doing a series of one shots at some point and it's going to be alphabet inspired! Every chapter will be a prompt based around a letter of the alphabet, so that should be a fun challenge. I hope you enjoy them when I start to post and I would love it if you could leave a little review for this one shot to let me know what you thought. Thanks again! x