He couldn't sleep. He hadn't slept well since she had left but that night he couldn't sleep at all. He missed her … probably too much to be considered manly. He burried his face in her pillow. It had already lost her scent. He sighed and rolled on his back, in the middle of their bed. She had been gone for over a month now and he still couldn't get used to it. He closed his eyes and remebered every time he had seen her since she had taken that dreadful train. He had gone to Buffalo the weekend following her departure, he had helped her get settled in the room she was renting not far from the hospital. They had planned on walking around the city but they had not moved from the room, neither of them wanting to let go of the other.

"Three months is going to be really hard." Julia had said against his chest on his last morning there.

"I thought I would be stronger than that." William told her. "Not even a week and I feel like I havent' seen you in forever."

William had gone back to Buffalo the following weekend and this time they forced themselves to go out. They hadn't seen each other since then, it had been three weeks. Julia should have come home for a few days but one of her colleagues had gotten sick and she had to replace him and the next weekend William had not been able to leave, a big case landing on his desk two hours before he was supposed to leave for the train. Given the look on the inspector's face, William had known there would be no need to try and negociate giving the case someone else.

The third week without seeing his wife was almost over and it was having some bad effects on his work. He kept fighting with Doctor Francis, Julia's replacement at the morgue, he was short tempered, snapping at George or Higgins every time something didn't go as he wanted, he had even been very close to insubordination with the Inspector lately. William knew Thomas understood his situation but it was clear he would not be understanding for very long if things went on like that.

William looked at the clock on his bedside table. Four o'clock. He clearly would not go back to sleep so he got up and got ready for work. He would be the first one there, as it had been the case for three weeks, first one in, last one out.

William was sitting at his desk, reading a letter Julia had sent him when George entered his office.

"Sir, we have a murder victim … or rather part of a victim down by the river." the constable announced.

"Alright. Please inform Doctor Francis and have him meet us there George."

"Are you sure? He doesn't really ..."

"Just do as you're told George."

"Yes Sir."

"Don't be so hard on the man Murdoch, it's true that Francis doesn't like to come to the crime scenes. He is not Doctor Ogden." the inspector said as he joined the detective in his office.

"I had noticed Sir." William said coldly before walking away, leaving the Inspector to catch up with him.

Doctor Francis barged into Brackenreid's office.

"First he takes photographs and now he steals the remains, when is this going to stop? When are you going to do something about it?" he yelled.

"What are you talking about?" the inspector asked, trying to gain some time.

"Don't act stupid Brackenreid! Murdoch is getting out of control! He stole the remains. What did he do with them? Where is he? I know this is not England, but I'm sure even in this … dreadful country this type of action must be illegal!" the coroner continued, his anger rising with every passing minute. "When I arrived, you said Murdoch was the best you had, well I don't see it. He certainly thinks high of himself but he is not the only one needing post mortems or results on some tests. When you see him, you tell him that from now on, his requests are sent to the back of the line!" he exclaimed, getting out and slamming the door behind him.

The inspector looked out the window of his office and saw all the blinds drawn in William's office. He walked out of his office and into the detecive's and found him on the telephone.

"Murdoch, follow me, now." he said.

"Sir, I'm on the phone with ..."

"NOW MURDOCH!" the inspector yelled.

"I'll call you back." William said in the telephone before hanging up and following the inspector out to the interview room.

He walked in and the Inspector slammed the door behind him and trapped him in a corner.

"So you're a thief now Murdoch? Contemplating a carrier change too? The wife gave you ideas, uh?" Thomas asked, almost threatening.

"Sir, if it's about the remains I …"

"If? Of course it's about the remains! What has gotten into you?"

"Doctor Francis said he wouldn't look at them until ..."

"I don't care what he said, you crossed a line here Murdoch."

"I know. Julia already yelled at me for that." William admitted.

"Well, at least there is a sensible one in your family. Now, I have to do something about your action here if I don't want to lose Doctor Francis. So, as soon as this case is over, you're suspended for … four days."

"Really?"

"Try not to look so happy Murdoch, this is supposed to be a punishment!" the inspector warned him. "This one may not find its way to your police record but I swear if you ever pull anything like that I will not be so … accomodating. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Sir." William said, trying not to smile and hug his superior. That would definitely not go well.

"Alright. Now, what did Doctor Ogden find?" Thomas asked

She was here, with him, finally. The last three weeks had been hard on her too. She had burried herself in her work not to think about William and had spent the least amount of time possible in the room she rented because when she was there, all she could think about was how small it was and how empty it was without her husband.

She sighed in contentment when she felt his arms pull her closer to him. She looked at him, a smile on her face. He was still sleeping, a light smile on his face. She had seen right away when she got off the train that he hadn't been sleeping well either. She had arrived in the morning of his first day of suspension. She had managed to negociate a few days off work and had taken the train as soon as she could. He was waiting for her, restless on the platform and it had taken all she had not to run to him. They had kissed lightly and hugged for a couple of minutes before William had taken her home where he had prepared a picnic lunch in their garden. He wanted to spend time with his wife, he wanted to make the most of the great weather but he didn't want to have to restrain himself.

"William, wake up." she whispered in his ear.

"I don't want to." he mumbled.

"Come on, let's go inside." she laughed. "It's getting cold out here and the ground is hard." she said, trying to sit up despite William's arms pulling her down.

"I can help you warm up without moving." William suggested, finally opening his eyes.

"We'll be much more comfortable in our bed." Julia teased, kissing him before getting up and running inside.

The next day, Julia woke up to the smell of hot cocoa. She slowly opened her eyes and found William sitting in bed, looking at her, a tray of food and drinks on his lap.

"Good morning." she purred.

"Good morning."

"Why did you get dressed?"

"Well, I really don't like the idea of cooking naked, you never know what can happen." William laughed.

"And what did you cook?"

"I made some cocoa, toasts and even some eggs if you want some. I figured you must be hungry after all the energy you burnt last night." he said, winking at her.

"I hope you made enough because I recall someone else being full of energy." she laughed, sitting in bed, letting the sheets fall down her naked body kowing full well the effect it would have on her husband.

"Well, they say absence makes the heart grow fonder." William said, looking at her chest without any restraint as she picked some food from the tray.

"And not just the heart apparently." Julia said, laughing when she saw William blush deeply. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining." she said, kissing him deeply before taking a cup of cocoa from him.

"I can't believe I'm saying that but … can you put something on? Because if you don't I'm going to lose my mind..."

Julia laughed, handing him her cup before taking William's undershirt that was on the ground and putting it on.

"Do you have anything planned while you're here?" William asked, giving her the cup back.

"No, nothing at all. I'm all yours." she said, smiling at him.