last chapter! centered around 3.06 - Dee

It had started weeks ago, after one of her trips to Melbourne visiting Matthew. He'd started to stand closer than usual - touching her unnecessarily - and it made Alice's skin crawl every time. She'd tried fighting back, tried pulling his hands off of her (tried to ignore the time he'd spotted a mark left by Matthew and took that as a sign she was willing towards his advances), until she made a complaint against him to the administrator.

Beaufort all but laughed in her face when she told him; he'd made a snide remark about how she was letting the only chance "to get one up you" slide by, and threw out the complaint - stating there was no basis for it. Men like Beaufort and Orton she could deal with, the silence and whispers that followed her in the weeks after Beaufort threw out the complaint… were harder. It hurt, seeing the cold shoulders, the stony faces, and the talking that stopped when she entered a room in the hospital; she'd dealt with this kind of thing before, but she'd thought Ballarat would be different.

At least she still had Lucien's friendship - as scatter-minded as he could be sometimes when focusing on a case - and she both blessed and cursed his obliviousness towards her silent plight. Mattie was included in Lucien's friendship, though she was kept busy between her studies and her work around the district - she didn't frequent the morgue as often as Lucien or the ambos did.

Even they'd stopped talking to her, except for Mr. Grant, and as long as someone helped her do her job right, she'd figured it was better than nothing; at night, she lay huddled under the covers of her cold bed, wishing Matthew were beside her or that she could get away - visiting him had been spots of sunlight in her current state, but with the latest developments in his fight to get back to Ballarat, they hadn't seen each other since that morning after the Colonist's Club. He called when he could, but it wasn't the same.

So engrossed in her own day to day workings that she hadn't realized it was Orton who'd died in the hospital until he lay on the stainless steel slab in front of them. On top of this surprise, Superintendent Munro lurked in the corner as she and Lucien did the autopsy - his eyes bored into the back of her skull.

Alice fell back into her old ways - drawing her walls up around those she held near and dear to prevent the tiniest sliver of what had been happening to get out; it made her feel cold, detached, when she wanted to feel the opposite of that, but it was all she knew - it was the only way she'd gotten through times like these before.

And yet, she couldn't help feeling that the worst was yet to come in this case.

It was hell.

Munro sat across from her - asking question after question, not letting her explain her answers, only waiting to hear what he wanted to; she clenched her fists in her lap - itching the pull out that cross around her neck, to seek some form of comfort as the accusations piled up, and everything she'd suffered silently with for weeks came to light.

This was not what she'd wanted; this was not how she'd wanted Lucien to find out - for anyone to find out.

She held back her tears until after the interview. Lucien's hand was warm on her back as he led her outside. It all came out: how it started, what Beaufort did, and she almost - almost - asked him to take her to Melbourne, but she didn't want to reveal that part of her just yet to her friend.

Later, when it was revealed who had murdered Orton, Alice dashed through the hospital halls to catch them; she needed to know why.

"Where do you think I come from?" She asked Mr. Grant as he went on his spiel about having a bad childhood.

"Miss?"

She set her jaw - livid that he was yet another man who thought she needed protecting without asking if she wanted it first.

"Your childhood was bad, so was mine. It doesn't excuse anything. Dr. Orton had children… Who's going to protect them now?"

"Well, I was protecting you, Miss."

Part of Alice wanted to clock him across the face; she had a title, she was a doctor, and had fought hard to get where she was - the fact that this man was standing there insisting she needed protecting while also continuing to call her miss made her blood boil.

"I haven't needed protecting since I was twelve years old," she bit out.

"You might think that, miss."

Biting her tongue so hard she tasted blood, Alice tore her eyes from Mr. Grant's face to look at Sergeant Davis. "Thank you, Sergeant."

Charlie pushed the ambo away, and Alice felt like she could finally breathe since this whole case began; Mattie and Lucien came up around her - comforting her silently as she fought back tears.

"Let's get you home, Alice," Lucien murmured.

"I can do that, Lucien," Mattie smiled.

"You're sure?"

The district nurse nodded and continued to rub Alice's upper arm as their mutual friend walked away; finally, Mattie turned to her.

"Do you want me to take you home, Dr. Harvey? Or do you want me to take you somewhere else… like Melbourne?"

Alice looked up at her in surprise - her heart jumped up into her throat as she tried to speak; all she could get out was, "How?"

"I… I saw you… once."

Mattie softly launched into how she'd stumbled across Matthew taking a smoking break one day outside of the hospital - in a small quiet corner not many staff knew about - when Alice approached him. Alice remembered that day well; she'd been in a good mood - a teasing mood - and playfully bantered back and forth with the former superintendent as she drew closer to him. Matthew leaned into her playful banter, physically pulling her close as they teased each other; Alice had then kissed him - bold for such a public place - and trailed her hand down his arm, only to steal his cigarette and bring it to her lips with a laugh at his shocked face.

Alice smiled at the memory - despite the circumstances.

"I won't tell anyone, Dr. Harvey."

"I know you won't," she patted Mattie's hand.

"Do you want me to take you to him?"

She chewed on her lower lip, but slowly nodded; it might be a selfish decision, but all she wanted to do right now, was leave the hospital and stay with Matthew until he returned to Ballarat. Mattie smiled and a short time later, they were in her car she used for district rounds on the way to Melbourne; Alice felt more at peace than she had in weeks.

Matthew sighed as knocking on the door to his flat interrupted his preparations for bed; pulling the robe tighter around him, he opened the door without seeing who it was first.

To his surprise, Nurse O'Brien stood there with a pale and exhausted Alice next to him.

"Sorry to disturb you this late, Superintendent," Nurse O'Brien spoke while Alice just silently walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"It's… it's alright, Miss O'Brien," he smiled and let the door open further so the younger woman could bring in a suitcase. "Difficult case?"

"You could say that. I'll… I think I'd better let Dr. Harvey explain. I'm going to go spend the night with some friends, Dr. Harvey, if you want me to take you back in the morning."

"Thank you, Miss O'Brien," Alice answered her - muffled from her place in Matthew's arms, "but I'll be staying more than one night."

"Let Jean or I know when you get home safe," Mattie squeezed Alice's shoulder and gave Matthew a smile before she left - closing the door behind her.

Matthew shifted as he pulled Alice closer - smiling into her hair at her big sigh; he kissed the side of her head and rubbed his hands up and down her back - noticing the tension along it.

"Want to tell me about it?" he finally asked her softly.

"I don't want to… but I know I'll have to."

"In your own time, sweetheart," he drew back and cradled her face in his hands - brushing away her tears with his thumbs. "How about a bath? Might help you relax."

"Is the tub big enough for two? I don't… I don't want to be alone."

"I'm sure we'll fit, might be snug."

"Just as long as you're with me, I don't care."

"Alright," Matthew nodded and kissed her forehead, "c'mon."

He led her away from the door and into his bathroom; the tub was a little on the smaller side, but Matthew was sure they could fit in there together. Alice stood by - still silent and looking… broken in a way he'd never seen before, and Matthew wanted to help make that look go away. Adjusting the water to the temperature they both liked, he added some eucalyptus bath salts and let the tub fill; he kissed Alice's forehead again.

"Are you alright with me helping you, or…?"

"You can help, Matthew… I know you won't hurt me."

That statement made his blood run cold, and as he quickly helped Alice with her clothes, he vowed to find out what happened to her; Alice sighed when he unpinned her hair and combed his fingers through it.

"Want it up?"

"Please."

Kissing her cheek, Matthew deftly gathered her hair and twisted it up off her neck and shoulders - a few wild curls fighting against the pins to hang around her face.

"Beautiful," he whispered and kissed her cheek while his hands moved to unclasp the necklace he'd given her.

"No!" she grabbed at his wrists and he immediately let go of the necklace. "I… could you leave it?"

"Of course, sweetheart, I wasn't sure if you wanted to bathe with it on."

"It… it's a comfort."

He kissed her cheek again and pulled her back into his arms, "Good, I'm glad it is, and I'll leave it on. Could you turn off the water while I get out of my pajamas, sweetheart?"

Alice nodded and stepped out of his arms to do as he asked; Matthew wasted little time to strip and join her by the tub. Squeezing her hand, he got in first - shifting around until he was comfortable - and then held out his arms for her.

She silently slipped into the water, cradled by his legs and arms as she settled back against him with a relieved sigh; Matthew wrapped his arms around her and held her close as the warmth of the bath seeped into his bones. Silence stretched between them other than the sound of the water when either one of them moved.

Alice sighed again when he kissed her temple, and Matthew's heart nearly broke when her sigh ended in a sob. He held her close as she sobbed in his arms, and soothed her as the story came out little by little.

Dr. Orton had made sexual advances on her - grew angry when she refused. Beaufort, the arsehole administrator, threw out Alice's complaint when she'd had enough of Orton. Talk got around the hospital, and people stopped talking to her. Orton ended up dead, and Munro had grilled her as a possible suspect. The ambo, who'd been the one to actually murder the handsy doctor, had done it out of some perverse sense of protecting Alice - which both incensed her and added on to the guilt.

It all made sense now, her fragmented family life, the way she'd been resistant towards him outside of sleeping with him, and why in the past few visits she'd been reluctant to do even that (Matthew hadn't minded, and hadn't pushed, he was just happy to see her); he held her close and kissed her temple.

"It's alright now, sweetheart. Let it all out."

Alice sobbed in his arms - her blunt nails digging into his skin as she tried to pull him even closer - and Matthew tried to wrap her up with his body as much as he could. Finally, her sobs petered out, but the tears still fell; she sank against him - utterly exhausted now that all of that had been let out.

"Matthew?" her voice hoarse and cracked on his name.

"Yes?"

"I'll always be safe with you, right?"

"You will. I promise, sweetheart."

"And… you'd never do anything like that, would you?"

"Kill a man out of some perverse sense of justice?"

"Yeah."

"No, sweetheart. I'd only do that if there was absolutely no choice."

She let out a shuddering sigh, "Good… I hated him, hated what he was doing to me and others… but I worry about his children now."

"They've got their mother still, and maybe now she can find someone better than Orton."

"Maybe…"

Matthew kissed her temple, then her cheek when she leaned into his touch, and finally her shoulder - smiling when she hummed.

"Are… are you alright with me staying here, Matthew?"

"Yeah. You're always welcome here, you know that."

"I know… I just…"

"Need reassurance, I know," he kissed her shoulder again. "I do have some news."

"You do?"

"Mm-hm, I'm coming home."

"You are?" she turned abruptly in his arms - sending some of the water to the floor, but none of that mattered now.

"Yeah," Matthew smiled - it widened when Alice laughed and leaned in to kiss him. "It comes with a demotion, and they really tried to get me to quit, sweetheart, but I'm not leaving the force."

"Good, Ballarat needs you home," she kissed him again. "And… so do I."

Kissing her softly, he cradled her face in his hands, "I need you too. So, whenever you feel like going home, we can go together."

"Can we go after tomorrow? Let's just have a day… before you have to deal with Munro, and all the craziness of murder in Ballarat."

He laughed and nodded, "How about I take you dancing tomorrow night? Out for dinner and dancing?"

"Sounds perfect."

She kissed him - wrapping her arms around his neck as her kisses continued.

"Matthew?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," her lips brushed his.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," he deepened the kiss and smiled when she rested her forehead against his - nuzzling his nose with hers - as the water cooled around them. "You're starting to prune."

That got him a laugh and playful swat to his shoulder, but she kissed him again and pulled the drain on the tub; they retired to bed - not even stopping to pull on pajamas - and Matthew couldn't help but smile as Alice curled in his arms.

He was finally going home.

"You showed me a painting of hers once."

Alice's frank voice startled him, and he looked up from his mother's grave to see her standing there in a light blue ensemble he'd never known she owned.

"It was quite good," she smiled as he stood.

Lucien smiled back, "Yes. Yes, it was."

"You think she was murdered."

No inflection, Alice wasn't questioning anything; she worked on a similar wavelength to him after months of working together.

"Oh, Alice… to be honest, I'm not sure. Only that I can't exhume the body to know."

"Well… without the body, there's very little we're able to do. I can test the soil, see if there are trace elements of anything, but… it's unlikely."

Lucien lightly touched her elbow and nearly pleaded with her, "Can we do that, at least?"

"Of course," his friend smiled and they both looked back down at Genevieve's grave. He caught her fiddling with something about her neck out of the corner of his eye, and he was surprised to see the small silver cross draped across her sternum.

He'd never known Alice to be religious, and in all the time they'd known each other she hadn't worn any type of necklace whatsoever. His curiosity instantly dinged inside his head - he had to know where she got this trinket from.

"The hospital's re-examining my complaint against Dr. Orton," she mused in that all too innocent way that Lucien sometimes used in their banter back and forth over the body, and interrupted his internal examination of where she could have gotten the necklace.

She knew. She knew what he'd done and Lucien couldn't help the smile; Dr. Alice Harvey was no fool in any sense of the word, and he could take the hit to his ego to say that she was in all likeliness smarter than him.

"Good," he nodded. "I'm glad."

Alice softly, gently, squeezed his hand and he smiled.

"Thank you, Lucien."

"My pleasure, Alice," he nodded towards the exit. "Shall we?"

"We shall, I'll come back tomorrow to get a soil sample."

"Thank you for doing this. And… might I ask… where did you get that lovely cross?"

Alice pursed her lips, as though fighting a smile, but she shook her head, "A friend gave it to me."

"I've never seen it before."

"A girl must have some secrets, mustn't she?"

"Alice."

Alice's bright laughter echoed in the quiet graveyard, and Lucien couldn't help but join in; he'd figure out the mystery one way or another, but he was very glad Alice would retain her job at the hospital after everything she'd been through. It would be dull, to no longer be police surgeon, but he'd willingly resign again if it meant his friends and loved ones were safe from Munro's spotlight.

She declined his invitation to breakfast, but surprised him with another squeeze of his hand as they parted ways out of the graveyard; that warmth and surprise stayed with him even after Jean presented him with the loan agreement stating Adelaide as her destination, and the devastating news that she was considering leaving Ballarat. True, it was to help out Christopher Jr, but Lucien couldn't help the sinking in his chest at the thought of Jean no longer being here.

Luckily, or unluckily, further discussion was delayed by the door; all thought of what he'd asked Alice to do for his mother, and Jean leaving were gone the second he saw who waited for him in the driveway.

"Matthew!"

His old friend smiled, dressed in his uniform, "I'd heard you'd resigned."

When Lucien didn't speak, Matthew just nodded, "Is it in writing yet?"

"No."

"Good," Matthew's smile turned a touch feral. "'Cause I'm gonna need you. Gonna invite me in?"

At that Lucien laughed and reached for him, "Of course, of course, please… come in. Oh, it's so good to see you."

His world was teetering on the edge of a knife with the possibility of Jean leaving, but at least he had Alice, and now he had Matthew, to help right it.