Epilogue:
Julia was reading Doctor Dreyfus's report in her office at the hospital. She was bent over the neurosurgeon's document, and she had trouble concentrating. Was it because she had only slept for two hours? Because she kept remembering how William had cherished her all night. Or was it because it seemed to her that everyone looked at her suspiciously today? Surely the three reasons.
She sighed and rested her elbows on her desk to put her head in her hands. She closed her eyes. She could not. She felt really annoyed by it all, in truth. By her work. She liked being a doctor of course. It was her reason for living. Finally, her reason for living until William. But today she felt she had made the rounds of the Toronto hospital. It seemed to her that she needed something else...
That very morning, William had awakened her. She had growled. Then, William had pushed her a little harder, telling her that they were both late. Julia then opened her eyes in panic and got straight out of bed. It was nearly 8:00 and they both started between 8:00 and 8:30. They were very late. They had dressed and prepared as quickly as possible and William had made a point of accompanying Julia to her work, despite her own delay.
When they had been in the building and in the lobby near reception, they had kissed quickly and waved at each other before William ran off and Julia rushed over her office.
She met a large number of people on her way, who looked at her curiously. Julia had found it rather strange, but she finally pulled herself together and thought that anyone could have looked at her like that as she ran down the halls, completely disheveled.
Eventually, she made it to her own office and immediately slowed down when she saw Dr. Aymeric Bishop inside.
"Doctor Bishop?" she exclaimed, surprised.
She had asked him what he was doing in her office, and he had explained to her that he would have liked to speak to her. And the discussion had been surprising to say the least. He had asked her directly if she was courting someone. She was so surprised she did not know what to say. Why had he asked such a personal question, she wondered. Then, while she was looking for an appropriate answer, the young man confessed to her that the whole hospital was only talking about her relationship with William, which had not gone unnoticed at all. Julia had laughed. Why did they care so much? It was strange. She had always seemed so transparent to most of them that this revelation made her laugh out loud.
Afterwards, the young man had looked at her with an expression that she did not know him. He seemed…sad or even pained. He gently took her hand and kissed it softly. Julia did not back down, thinking that would be rude of her. However, this seemingly innocuous gesture had not really been so. Aymeric confessed to her sincerely that he had a big weakness for her, and Julia had blushed. She had never interested anyone and now what? He was the third person to confess his love to her in less than three weeks. Who else could be hiding before revealing their feelings to her, she absurdly wondered with amusement.
He had told her that he had seen her with this man the day before, when they had slipped away from the hospital together, and he had felt pain and jealousy. It was then that he realized that he did not really see her as a colleague or a friend...
Julia apologized, covering her hand with hers. She had explained to him that she only felt friendship for him and that she was madly in love with William Murdoch. He had simply looked down, admitting to her that he had suspected the outcome of the conversation, and had looked up, his eyes shining slightly. He smiled sweetly at her and promised that he would not talk to her about it again. Then he changed the subject, as if the previous scene had absolutely not happened.
The young woman sighed again. Doctor Dreyfus's notes were incomprehensible to her at the moment. She looked at her pocket watch and smiled. It was almost time to leave. Then, after a few minutes, she decided to leave work right now. She had decided to pick up William from work and she hoped it would make him happy.
She quickly headed for the exit, again ignoring the stares of her colleagues. She walked past the reception and smiled at Gisele, who looked at her disapprovingly. Julia could not help but giggle. This woman was bitter.
When she arrived at Station 4, she got out of the carriage. She looked at the huge building and found herself marveling at its architecture. She walked slowly through the doors and then found the main hall. She looked around, her eyes shining. It was so different from the hospital. Everyone seemed happy to be there, to begin with. The men were laughing among themselves, and you could easily see that there was no competition or anything between them. Only people who have come to do their job.
"Oh! Doctor Ogden!"
Julia turned around and saw Thomas Brackenreid approaching her, all smiles.
"It's nice to see you. How are you?" he asked her as some officers stopped performing their duties to eavesdrop.
"Marvelously well!" Julia smiled. "And you? And your family?"
"Everything is going well for us too." he answered. "Are you coming to see Murdoch?" he smiled playfully.
"Yes indeed." Julia blushes.
"He told you?"
"What?" asked the confused young woman.
"That we would like to hire you as a coroner in our Station?" enthused Thomas.
Julia lost her smile slightly. He had never told her about this offer. Why had not he told her anything?
"Yes… Yes, yes, he told me about it, of course." the young woman pulled herself together.
"So?" he asked, full of impatience.
"I…I don't know yet…I need to think." Julia stammered, sneaking into her mind that William did not want to work with her...
Julia tried to smile as best she could, suddenly feeling lost.
"Julia!"
The young woman turned towards what seemed to be her lover's office. She saw him in his black suit, a big smile on his lips. She felt her breath catch. William must have had a good reason for not having spoken to her about recruitment...
She watched William put on his hat and walk towards her.
"What are you talking about?" he asked enthusiastically.
"Of my proposal that Doctor Ogden, be our new coroner."
Julia watched William's face fall slightly and give her a guilty look.
"Actually..." he began, his voice shaking slightly.
The young woman grabbed his arm and smiled: "I told him that I had been thinking since you made this proposal to me."
The young man nodded nervously.
"Okay, come on! Come home well lovers." he joked as he walked back to his office. "Ha and you should come home one of these nights. Margaret would be delighted with that." he smiled before closing his office door.
William turned his head towards Julia, his face guilty. The young woman nodded toward the exit, gently inviting him to follow her. She looked around and noticed the looks of the other employees who seemed fascinated by William's actions.
"Excuse me, Doctor Ogden."
Julia turned slightly to her right and saw a dark-haired officer approaching them.
"Delighted! I am Officer George Crabtree…I…"
"Detective Murdoch is only talking about you..." suddenly cut in another man who was standing right next to George. "Officer Henry Higgins, at your service."
The doctor laughed softly. She found them rather amusing. She saw Officer Crabtree roll his eyes and nudge Henry disapprovingly.
"It's nice to meet you, doctor." George finished with a smile before slipping away, dragging his colleague Henry with him, to the laughter of the other officers.
"Why didn't you tell me about it, William…?" Julia asked sadly as they both stood in front of the Station 4 building.
"I…" William stopped his sentence, hesitating.
"Wouldn't you like us to work together?"
"Of course, yes Julia! It's my biggest dream!" exclaimed the young man, taking his lover's hands.
"So what?"
"I thought you wouldn't want it considering how hard you tried to get hired at the Toronto hospital...I guess I was afraid I'd be disappointed...Forgive me."
Julia smiled and kissed her lover on the cheek.
"You're adorable…" she smiled at him under the young man's surprised gaze.
"So what?" he asked her anxiously.
"Well, I'm interested...I think it would be a very good opportunity for me...I can't stand working in the hospital anymore...It was my dream but, in the end, my place is not here."
William could not stop a smile from spreading across his face. He laughed madly and took Julia in his arms to hug her and turn. The laughter of the young woman joined that of her lover, under the disapproving and envious looks of the passers-by.
"We're going to celebrate!" exclaimed William.
"Take it easy, my love, I haven't even been taken..."
"But he will take you. Inspector Brackenreid wants it to be you!" insisted the young man.
Julia rolled her eyes, amused by the childish behavior of William Murdoch, the great detective, who took her by the hand and dragged her to nowhere.
They had a wonderful evening. William invited his lover to the restaurant, and they dined quietly, thinking about how the young woman was going to announce her resignation to Doctor Belford.
Afterwards, William accompanied Julia home and she invited him in. They greeted Monica who, as usual, was on the lookout for any news or requests from her mistress. They sat by the fire, next to each other and fell asleep without realizing it, sitting, their heads resting on each other. After a while, Julia had felt a slight touch on her arm. She had opened her eyes to see Monica who was kindly offering her to go upstairs to sleep more comfortably in her room. She nodded, still asleep, then lovingly caressed her lover's shaved cheek, under Monica's tender gaze.
Going upstairs was difficult, but they finally found the strength to slip into each other's arms, satisfied and happy. The next day, Julia would accept the position of coroner and resign from her job at the hospital. Thereafter, she would start working for the police and quietly adapt between all these police officers who would become real friends.
Then she might receive a letter from her father, congratulating her on her work on The Winter Mist. A case he heard about in the newspapers, but also between people he knew. He might tell her for the first time that he was proud of her, and she might burst into tears. William might propose to her, and they would commit to love each other for their entire lives. They might have a child, or two? Then, they would quietly live their lives, having finally found each other. Finally, no longer looking for their places in this world now that they had the other.
Note: And There you go! It is the end! I really hope you enjoyed it. I loved writing this story - I say that every time haha - but what I especially loved was creating characters and a story outside of Toronto and all the family we know from the series. Don't hesitate to give me your opinion on this story, and maybe we'll see again if I manage to find another idea, but I find that it's still getting a little difficult! :) Thank you so much for all the comments I received throughout the story. And thanks to Joyfully-Fascinating for your last comment, I hope you enjoyed reading this story! :)