Chapter 3

The taxi pulled up to the Blake residence. Matthew got out of the front seat and went to retrieve their bags from the trunk. Lucien was holding on to Jean's hand staring at the house. Jean was watching him, looking for some sort of recognition. She knew there was something, but she could tell his confusion and frustration were overpowering it. She gave him a moment and squeezed his hand, nodding to the house. He met her eyes and gave her a half smile.

He got out of the car and took a deep breath. He reached his hand out to Jean as she came around the car. Before they reached each other though Alice came running out of the house and threw her arms around Lucien's neck. His eyes went wide and looked to Jean for help, who just gave him a watery smile. Matthew was quite amused. "Lucien! I can't believe it's truly you." She hugged him tight. "We have missed you so much!" His stiff body reminded her that he had no idea who she was. She gave him one last hug and took a step back. She wiped at her tears and began to apologize.

He stopped her, smiled, put a hand on her shoulder and said, "You must be Alice. It's nice to see you too." He took Jean's hand. "Shall we?"

Amy was on the porch. Lucien was preparing himself for another assault, but fortunately she just stuck out her hand to shake his. "Hi, Lucien. I'm Amy. Glad you're okay."

"Thank you, Amy. Me too."

They went into the house and Jean walked him throughout, familiarizing him with the floorplan. He paused at each area where there were pictures. He shook his head, frustrated with his memory. Jean squeezed his hand. "Give it time. Come on, let me show you my favorite area of the house." She led him out to the garden and they sat on the bench.

"It's beautiful out here. Did you do all of this?" He put his arm around her.

"Over the years, yes. It's my sanctuary." She beamed proudly.

"I can understand why."

They sat there for a while. She looked up at him, he seemed to be a million miles away. "You okay?"

He gave her a squeeze and a sad smile. "Just processing."

She could understand that. She patted his knee. "I should go get dinner started."

Not wanting to be away from her he asked, "Mind if I help?"

They walked into the kitchen hand in hand. Alice and Matthew were sitting next to each other at the table, both smiling at the couple. Their other boarder, Constable Peter Crowe, arrived home and was introduced to Lucien. Jean and Amy got to work preparing dinner while the rest of them sat at the table making small talk. Lucien got up and asked Jean if he could set the table for her. She smiled and showed him where everything was.

Dinner was relatively comfortable, Peter and Amy on one side of the table, Matthew and Alice on the other side, and Lucien and Jean at each end. Throughout dinner they kept catching each other's eyes. He knew she was worried about him and, frankly, so was he. It was all so damned overwhelming. He couldn't understand what would make him want to leave this life. He didn't remember the house or the people, but as it was, he knew he would be okay if he never left this house again. Although, he knew that wasn't very realistic.

Jean noticed he was looking tired and excused them to the studio. Everyone went their separate ways, Alice giving Lucien another hug and Matthew patting his back, "Good to have you home." He smiled at them as they walked away. He looked at Jean who took his hand and closed the door to the studio.

She started the fireplace and he sat on the couch. As she came to join him, she said, "You know…I haven't spent a night in here since shortly after you went missing."

Stunned, he met her eyes. Angry at himself. The heartache he must have caused her. "Why the hell would I be so stupid? How could I ever leave you, Jean?"

"Oh Lucien. You weren't being stupid. You help people find answers and closure."

"At what cost?! You deserve better than that."

She put her hand on his cheek. "You'll understand it eventually."

"No, Jean. I hope I never will. I don't want to go back to being the man who would recklessly throw himself off a bridge."

"I doubt it was like that, but I can appreciate you feeling that way." She leaned in and kissed him, making more out of it than she intended.

He broke the kiss, breathing heavily and closed his eyes, keeping their foreheads together. "I can't yet. I'm sorry, Jean."

She lifted his chin so she could look in his eyes and smiled at him. "You have nothing to be sorry for. No pressure. I love you and I'm not going anywhere. Just hold onto that." She rubbed his cheek. "Come on, let me show you where your things are so you can get changed."

After a nice long shower, Lucien joined Jean in bed. She could tell he was on edge and nervous. She reached for his hand. "Relax. It will all be okay. You just have to let it happen." He smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "Alice has a friend who specializes in amnesiacs. He's offered to meet with you the day after tomorrow. Would that be alright?"

"Goodness, yes. Anything to try to help me work out this mess in my head." He ran his hand through his wet curls. "You think maybe you can take me to get a haircut tomorrow? I don't look anything like in those pictures."

She ran her hand through his hair, messing it up. "I don't know, I quite like this." Her smile meeting her eyes. "But if you'd like, yes, I will take you." He blushed and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her shoulder. It was good to be home, even though he didn't know home. He was getting to know Jean and it was good to be here, in her arms.

With a fresh haircut and his beard growing back in, he was beginning to look himself. Matthew and Alice insisted on coming with them to Melbourne. Jean was thankful to have the support. In the backseat, she and Lucien were discussing his practice and patients. Every so often he would think of someone's name and ask her who that was. He kept getting frustrated that he only knew glimpses. She squeezed his hand. "Hey, you know more than you did yesterday. Give yourself a break." He smiled and kissed her hand.

He looked at Matthew who was intently checking his mirrors. He felt the car going faster. He looked out the back window and noticed a car keeping a close distance. "Everything alright, Matthew?"

"I think we're being followed. Everyone, hang on."

Matthew sped up as did the car behind them. Jean squeezed Lucien's hand and looked back at the car. Matthew swerved in and out of the lanes. They were just about 10 miles out of Melbourne and he was heading straight for the police station. Alice was frightened but she trusted Matthew implicitly. Just before they reached the road for the police station, the car following them backed off. Matthew parked the car and ushered all of them inside. They met up with Charlie, who was elated to see the good Doc up and walking around. Matthew filled him in on their adventure and gave him the description of the car. He gave it to a Constable and had him investigate. Charlie was just off duty and asked if they would mind if he followed them, just to be sure they were okay. Jean was relieved. She looked at Lucien, who was looking all around. He had been terribly quiet. He had a tight hold of her, protectively, looking for possible threats. Matthew and Jean made eye contact, each mirroring the worry that someone might be after Lucien and wondering what trouble he had gotten himself into all those months away.

They had a productive visit with the specialist. They were doing all the right things and he was confident that Lucien would fully regain his memory in due time. They were all still on edge when they had left the doctor's office. Charlie had gone home to pack a bag and got back just as they were walking out. He followed them home in his car, leaving plenty of space to try to draw out whoever it was that was following them before. The ride home was uneventful, fortunately. They were all exhausted from the excitement. Matthew left to take Alice home while Jean made dinner. Charlie got situated in one of the spare rooms.

Jean looked at Lucien, who was stewing. "Lucien. Don't."

He stared hard at her. "We know that was because of me. What the bloody hell did I get in to? None of you are safe around me. I could have gotten us all killed!" He was up and pacing now.

Jean was about to say something when Charlie came back down. He had overheard. "Doc, we will figure this out. Strength in numbers. We have your back."

"What if it gets you hurt, Charlie? We don't know who we're dealing with here."

"Neither do they." Effectively ending the conversation, he began setting the table for Jean.

Lucien took a deep breath and Jean hugged him from behind, instantly calming him, whispering in his ear before giving him a kiss. "Everything will be okay." He wished he could believe her. He loved this family he was getting to know, more than anything.