Jean woke and stretched, stroking her hand down her front to the line that Lucien had found two or so hours ago. She turned to Lucien and found him lying on his side, with his head propped up on his hand. He was smiling tenderly at her.

'I didn't dream it, did I?' She whispered, 'I am going to have a baby, our baby?'

'It wasn't a dream, sweetheart,' he tipped his head and kissed her lips, gently, 'you are pregnant.'

She put her hand up to the back of his neck and pulled him down to her and they kissed slowly and deeply. Wriggling closer and under him she traced a line down his side and round to his stomach, then down to find what she was looking for.

He raised his eyebrows at her touch, and mirrored it with his own on her delicious body. Neither needed any encouragement and hands stroked and teased, lips kissed and tongues tasted and they made love again, slowly, rhythmically until Jean arched under him and gasped as the release took her somewhere in the universe she had never been before. How did he do it? She wondered, and not for the first time, how did he make every time seem like the first time. He rolled onto his back taking her with him and held her against his chest, breathing heavily.

'Bloody hell, woman,' he laughed, 'is there no stopping you?'

'Sorry, old man,' she smiled back at him, 'can't you keep up?'

'Hey!' He slapped her naked behind, 'less of the old. Haven't I just fathered a child?'

'...and who's going to do all the hard work?' She teased.

'I'll be with you all the way, my darling,' he tightened his hold on her, 'all the way, you wonderful, beautiful woman.'

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Jean gave Amelia her milk and the food she was able to keep in the cool box, while Lucien fried some bacon and tomatoes and made sandwiches. This would be their meal for today, they didn't keep to proper meal times at the cabin, though they may have to as Amelia grew. They sat at the small table and ate the hot food then some fruit that Jean had put in the box, and drank tea. There were certain things that Jean had started leaving in the small cupboard next to the plates and cups, like tea and sugar, packets of biscuits and some tinned goods, so she didn't have to carry anything other than fresh groceries and some meat, which was usually sausages or bacon. Lucien had suggested that he have the cabin extended a little to include another bedroom for Amelia and refine the bathroom somehow. She was now wondering if they could make more of a kitchen. She put the idea to him.

'I suppose so,' he went to the door and tipped the bowl of washing up water away, 'what are you thinking of?'

'Not much, just maybe a counter with a better sink.' She looked round the room, 'I know we won't have running water, and something more to cook on.'

'Hm...' Lucien thought for a while, 'what about a two ring camping stove with a grill. They are powered with a gas canister, and they're easy to get hold of.'

'That would do, we could still boil the kettle on that stove,' she pointed to the wood burner they used usually.

'We could.' He agreed, 'it'll be a regular home from home.'

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They made love again later that night before sleeping soundly until the birds and sunlight woke them. Amelia woke and demanded her milk. Jean grabbed the nearest piece of clothing, Lucien's shirt, and picked up the baby. The stove had enough embers in it to be persuaded to light the fresh, light kindling she put in. The kettle boiled and she was able to warm a bottle for Amelia and make tea. Lucien appeared by her side, and took the tray through to the bedroom where Amelia was fed and they sat close together, sipping tea. Lucien put his arm round her and she lay her head on his shoulder, smiling gently.

'We'll have to go, once we're up and dressed,' Jean sighed. 'I've no more milk for Amelia, and I have things to do at home.'

'You're in charge, darling,' he kissed her temple, 'we nearly didn't come anyway.'

'True, but,' she turned to him, serious, 'can we keep this, our baby, a secret for now?'

'Of course,' he smiled, 'but you mustn't worry about anything, I intend to make sure you are both safe and well, and remain so.'

'Thank you,' she snuggled closer, 'I take it you are taking over my medical care?'

'If you'll let me.'

Jean was more than happy to let him be her doctor, at least if anything did happen he would be with her quickly.

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Mattie and Charlie had just got in from shopping for groceries when Jean and Lucien arrived back.

'Good trip?' Mattie asked as she put the kettle on.

'Yes, thank you.' Jean smiled and went to pull the twin tub out.

'Let me do that, Jean.' Lucien passed Amelia to her, 'you have a cuppa first.'

She smiled, knowing why he would do such a thing, and sat down at the table. Mattie shot them a look, it wasn't like Lucien to do domestic chores, except a little bit of washing up and changing the bed. Oh well, Jean had been tired lately.

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Mattie and Jean did the housework and laundry and put another store of bottles for Amelia in the fridge.

'It won't be long before she doesn't need these,' Mattie observed.

'True,' Jean smiled, 'I have been wondering about trying to use a sippy cup, and just a bottle morning and night.'

'You could try,' Mattie agreed, 'she's sitting up and almost weaned.'

'I'll get one, next time I'm in town.' Jean finished making a light lunch of cold meat, salad and bread, knowing Lucien would want something before surgery. She hoped she wouldn't doze off on the couch that afternoon, but if she kept busy in the waiting room, and making the evening meal, perhaps she could stay awake long enough. She could use the trip to the cabin as an excuse for going to bed early. She just hoped that she wouldn't suffer from morning sickness, at least not as bad as she had with Jack, because if she did she would have to tell Mattie and Charlie, and she wasn't ready to, she wanted to keep it just between her and Lucien, for now. Jean was sure the two lodgers would be pleased for her, but for now, she wanted to keep it a secret.

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The weekend passed quietly, Jean was pleased to see. She managed not to fall asleep in the middle of an afternoon, but retired to bed early, claiming it had been difficult when Christopher had been there. Lucien explained to Mattie and Charlie, that she was struggling with her relationship with her son. That he had been almost silent during their visit to Ruby and had not stayed as long as they had expected.

'If there's anything we can do, doc,' Charlie said, gently, 'let us know.'

'it can't be easy for her.' Mattie added.

'Thank you both,' Lucien smiled, swirling his whisky in his glass, 'it means a lot to Jean, to have your support. But the adoption of Amelia is sorted so hopefully she will relax a little more.'

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The phone rang just as Lucien was finishing his last bite of egg. Jean had made breakfast as usual and told him that as per his instructions she would ensure that her notes from Dr King would be on his desk before the end of the week and she would make an appointment to see her new doctor as soon as possible.

'Any time will be fine, Jean,' he smiled, 'but I understand if you want me to do your check-up out of hours.' She smiled and answered the phone.

'Dr Blake's residence.' Jean's voice was always light and musical when she answered the phone, instantly putting anyone on the other end at ease. 'Oh, hello Alice, what can I do for you?'

She waited,

'He's right here, I'll pass you over.' She handed the phone to Lucien and picked her daughter, her 'daughter', that sounded strange now, out of the high chair and took her to be washed and dressed.

Lucien watched her go, smiling, then turned his attention to the call from his colleague.

'What can I do for you, Alice?' He smiled down the phone, thinking she had beaten him to an autopsy, 'What? No!' he leapt up. 'I'll meet you at the hospital.' He dropped the receiver into the cradle and went to find Jean.

She was in the nursery changing Amelia's nappy.

'That was Alice.' He gasped. 'Sorry, you know that. She went to Matthew's,' Jean looked at him, 'don't ask. He was in the drive, beaten up, and his house, ransacked. I'm off to the hospital.'

Jean watched him go, as she clutched Amelia tighter than necessary. The baby squirmed and registered her displeasure, which brought Jean round. She finished dressing her and took her through to the living room where she could roll around on the rug while Jean readied the pram for a trip into town for groceries and a sippy cup.

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A police car sped past her, on the way to Matthew's she assumed, and the speed made her worried. Why would someone beat up Superintendant Lawson and ransack his house? What was he working on?

She found the things she wanted in town, including a sippy cup. She needed to stock up on vegetables and fruit now that she was weaning Amelia. She bought a nice piece of pork to roast for dinner that night, big enough to feed extras, or Alice.

There were more police on the streets than usually which, while comforting was also faintly unsettling. She spotted Ned Simmons and approached him.

'Ned,' she spoke quietly, 'what's happening?'

'Oh, Mrs Blake.' He tipped his hat, 'we're not really sure.'

'I know the superintendant has been hurt, Dr Harvey phoned my husband this morning,' she reassured him she wasn't completely in the dark, 'but why?'

'Honestly, I don't know.' Ned insisted, 'his house was turned over. The paperwork he had was thrown about, it was only some reports to go to court today. A couple of robberies and a public affray. Nothing that would warrant this.'

He put his hand in the pram and stroked the baby's hand. 'Perhaps you'd better go home, Mrs Blake. Just to be on the safe side.'

Jean smiled.

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She prepared lunch for her and Amelia and tried her with the new cup. At first she was unsure, which was no more than Jean expected. So she left it on the tray while she spooned pureed vegetables into the baby's mouth, and talked to her. She told her what a big girl she was, so grown up. She took the dish to the sink and picked up a bowl of mashed banana and stewed apple and turned round to find Amelia holding the cup and drinking her milk. She smiled, typical, she thought, independent little miss. She knew what Lucien would say, 'Just like you, Jean.'

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Lucien arrived with just over half an hour to spare before surgery. He was angry, slamming the door as he walked in.

'Lucien?' Jean stood by the kitchen door, 'is he alright?'

'He will be.' He sat down heavily at the table.

'What happened?' Her voice was soft, calming.

'Apparently, some men called last night,' he accepted a cup of tea from her, 'they dragged him out of the house. Two of them went inside and the others tried to beat some information out of him.'

'But what about?' She touched his arm, 'Ned said that all the papers he had at home were reports for court today, nothing too bad, petty crime.'

'And so it was.' Lucien agreed, she could charm the birds from the trees. 'They were after his statement about the Commissioner's involvement in the Munro case.'

'But Munro has been charged.' She hoped that this wasn't going to start all over again. 'I thought that case had gone through court.'

'Munro has,' he looked at her, 'but the Commissioner is more difficult. Much more evidence is needed, apparently, the photograph is not enough and Froggy Morgan isn't saying anything. So they want a detailed statement from Matthew, mainly about the time they tried to implicate him in nefarious dealings, if you remember.'

'I do.' She grimaced, 'it was awful. The only way they could get Munro here and put you on a watch list.'

Lucien looked at her, astonished. Nobody had put that slant on it. Nobody had thought that the case against Matthew was just a way of getting Munro stationed in Ballarat to investigate Lucien's connection to China.

'Bloody hell, Jean.' He grasped her hand, 'that's it. It wasn't about Matthew, it was about me and Li and Mei Lin!' He started to get up.

'Wait.' She hung on to his sleeve. 'One, you need to eat, two, you have surgery and three, who are you going to tell?'

'I, er...' impetuous as ever he hadn't thought.

'Charlie will be home later, let's see what he thinks.' She soothed, 'he found the photograph, that night Jacqueline Maddern was killed, remember. Wasn't he always acting for Matthew?'

'You're right,' he sat back down. 'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be.' She put a sandwich in front of him, ham, cheese and tomato and stood watching him while he ate.

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Surgery passed without incident, although Agnes noticed he was distracted. As the oldest friend of the family and the only one who had known both his parents she considered him an honoury nephew, of sorts. She was also very good at getting things out of him. Lucien invited her into the living room for a cuppa and a chat with him and Jean.

'So you think this is all to do with the file that Sergeant Davies found on the desk, that night?' She asked after Lucien had explained all that had happened that day.

'Pretty sure,' Lucien fiddled with his cup, 'it was Jean's idea...that Munro was planted to snoop on me.'

'It's extremely plausible,' Agnes agreed, watching the two. The worry was palpable, Jean was nervous as she held the baby and Lucien kept running his hand over his head. 'But why? You worked in intelligence, bound to have contacts all over the world, and as for Mei Lin, surely a product of working the way you did would bring you into contact with all sorts of people and it wouldn't be unusual for romance to grow from that.'

'I think it has more to do with the trip to China I made to reconnect with Li.' Lucien suggested. 'The fact that I have a daughter in China keeps me in contact with that country, and I speak various dialects of eastern languages.'

'Yes, Lucien, dear.' Agnes smiled, 'and I speak a little Russian, but that doesn't make me a red, does it?'

Jean shot her a shocked look, 'Russian?'

'I did spend some time there when I was young, remember?'

'Of course, sorry.' Jean relaxed and thought back to a previous conversation they had had in the surgery once.

'Don't be, dear,' Agnes smiled.

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They waved goodbye to Agnes and Lucien picked up his car keys.

'I'm going to see Matthew,' he kissed her cheek, 'I'll be back for dinner.'

'Bring Alice with you, I don't suppose she's eaten today.' Jean told him, 'and don't take no for an answer, or I'll go and fetch her!' She called after him. He waved and smiled. Dear Jean, always thinking of others.

'Right, miss,' Jean turned to the baby in her arms, 'let's get your dinner, shall we?'

Amelia looked at her and reached up to pull a curl. Jean disentangled the little fingers and kissed them, 'and we'll have none of that, thank you.'

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Lucien breezed into the hospital, trying not to let the worry show. He knocked on Matthew's door and waited to be admitted.

Alice was sitting beside the bed, holding Matthew's hand, stroking the bruised knuckles, unconsciously.

Matthew had a glorious black eye, there was blood round his nose which had been broken in the attack. Lucien hoped he'd managed to align that properly. There was bruising round his neck where whoever had attacked him had tried to strangle him, and Lucien knew that hidden under the covers, were cracked ribs, footprints on his back and a broken shin.

Lucien smiled at Alice then turned to his friend,

'How are you?' He stood opposite Alice and picked up Matthew's wrist, checking his pulse.

'Oh, just brilliant.' Matthew snarled.

'Matthew!' Alice scolded, 'that's not fair.' She turned to Lucien, 'I thought doctors made the worst patients but it would appear that the superintendant can out do us all.'

'So it would seen, Alice.' Lucien nodded, 'but I'm afraid he's going to have to stay her for a while.'

'Bloody hell.' Matthew muttered.

'A few days, Matthew,' Lucien looked serious. 'You were given a good going over, those ribs'll take a while to heal as will that leg.'

'I'll be alright at home.' Matthew grumbled.

'You will stay here for a few days, or I'll set Jean on you.' Lucien repeated adding a further threat to him, '...and your house is a crime scene.'

'Why did they do this?' Alice asked, concern still on her face.

Lucien pulled up another chair. 'I think it's something to do with Munro's digging into my connections with China.' He told them what Jean had suggested and his thoughts, and his private worry that Li may become involved.

'My statement is in the safe in the station,' Matthew gasped through the pain, 'and I have a copy in...'

Alice put her finger over his mouth, 'Don't tell us.' She whispered, looking over to the door.

Lucien patted his pockets, wondering if he had a piece of paper on him.

'Ah,' he drew his hand out of his jacket pocket, a scrap of paper between his fingers. He passed it and a pen to Matthew who wrote it down. Lucien read it, then tore up the paper and soaked it in the glass of water. He took the sodden mass out and rubbed it between his hands until it was a mass of tiny, wet pellets of paper that it would be impossible to reassemble. He dropped them into the waste bag attached to the bedside locker.

'Now, Superintendant Lawson,' Lucien patted his shoulder, 'time for you to rest and time for Dr Harvey to join us for dinner.'

'I'll be fine, Lucien, thank you.' Alice said, not moving.

'You either come, willingly, with me,' Lucien smiled at her, 'or Jean will be down to collect you. Your choice.'

'Go on, Alice.' Matthew croaked, 'you need to eat. You've been here all day, and hospital tea won't keep you going.'

She stood up, 'I'll be back later.' She bent over and kissed his forehead, not bothering to hide her feelings from her colleague.

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Why has this case reared its ugly head again, you may ask. Well, I never felt Lucien's involvement was completed, the file on him on Munro's desk, as well as the others as far as I can see, are still there. No, I am not actually planning this, why change the habits of a lifetime? x