by Amy Crook
Julian told Horace about his day, and this time he 'listened' as carefully as he could while Horace chirped back, trying to use that sense he used on plants to feel the things Alex heard off the construct. He thought he could feel concern and warm affection, but he couldn't be sure he wasn't just projecting his own hopes instead of feeling what was really there. He definitely felt the plants around them, their green aliveness showing an appreciation for the humidity, and for the daylight-spell Alex had constructed to make sure they didn't starve in the windowless room.
"At least you're safe," said Julian, kissing Horace's head before gently coaxing him back onto the tub's edge. He still remembered the sight of Horace's crumpled body, and he was determined not to let that happen again. "I'm going to wash now, go on."
He could swear he got a burst of fussy amusement as Horace hopped further away, then flew up to perch in one of the hanging plants where he'd be safe, and it made Julian laugh with delight. "Maybe I am learning to listen to you," he said happily.
Somehow that one small thing made the rest of the day seem worthwhile.
CHAPTER 7
Julian woke the next morning to the sound of Horace chirping, and his phone trying to vibrate itself off the bedside table. "Oh, thanks," he said sleepily, rescuing it and checking the screen. "Where's Alex?" he asked with a yawn.
Horace flew over and rubbed his head against Julian's cheek, then presented his chest, which held a note. Alex had folded the paper into a little heart, which made Julian smile, and he read it before bothering with his messages.
Dear Julian,
It feels like ages since I wrote to you, do you ever miss it?
Lapointe called me, there's been another murder. I've gone to the crime scene, but you were so tired you slept right through the phone call and me putting more potion on your bruise.
I love you, and I wish I could leave a kiss with Horace along with my note.
See you soon,
Alex
Julian beamed, hugging the little note to his chest. "Oh, Horace, he really is the right one for me," he said, stroking the little bird's head. "I hope he never stops being this sweet." Julian sat up properly with a yawn and stretch, though the latter was rather less stretchy than usual. Even with the potion, his shoulder was stiff and sore with a deep ache right at the centre of the bruise.
Julian checked his missed calls and texts, then decided he wasn't ready to deal with strangers before breakfast. He texted Alex that he was awake and ignoring his messages for now, and then went to make himself a little more human. Once he had clean face and teeth, he put on warm slippers and dressing gown and headed out for breakfast. Alex had returned his text saying if Julian stayed inside the wards until Alex got home, he was welcome to ignore everyone else.
Julian giggled. "Alys, is there breakfast?" he asked the thin air.
He heard the kettle start to fill, and followed the sound into the kitchen. Alys came strolling out of the laundry room where she and Nat had set up their own little home, and more things started to emerge from cupboards and set themselves up. "You need protein, so it'll be a proper fry-up for you, young man, and then you'll let me look at that bruise."
Julian sat, feeling very grateful indeed to have so many people who cared about his well-being. "Alex put potion on it already, before he left, but I wouldn't mind another dose," said Julian. "I took some paracetamol, too."
"Human medicine," she said dismissively. "Though Alex's potions do work, he's a very good mage."
"I know," said Julian proudly. "My life is full of magic now."
"He wasn't ready for a brownie before you, but he's interested in life now," said Alys.
Julian thought about this, and the way Alex talked sometimes about life before they'd gotten together. "He was interested before, I think, he just didn't know he was allowed."
Alys chuckled. "Wise," she said. A cup of tea floated over to him, already made up the way he liked, which usually meant he'd done something to please her.
"What's Nat up to today?" asked Julian curiously. The cabinets all had their new hardware now, with a floral theme that made him feel quite at home; the finials on the hinges were rosebuds, with full rose blossoms for the doorknobs. "The kitchen is looking really nice."
"Oh, this and that," said Alys, busy adding things to the anodised aluminium frying pan. One of the first things they'd requested Alex buy was some non-iron cookware, though the cast iron pan still had a place of honour in case of future difficulties. They'd told him that brownies had less problem with iron than some fae, having spent many years on such tasks as cooking in big iron pots or repairing hobnail boots, but it was still a bit of a discomfort. Alex had set up an account online and let them get whatever they thought was best, which made Julian like him even more.
"Well, I'm sure it'll be wonderful, whatever it is," said Julian. "We're lucky to have you both."
Alys grinned, "It's a good place for us, too, safe as houses and well-appointed, not too much work nor too little."
"Good," said Julian cradling his tea and taking a sip. They talked a little bit about this and that, mostly the food and any special requests. Alys didn't seem to mind that they still ate out a fair amount, which was good because Julian hesitated to think what she'd do if she did take it amiss. He really didn't want to be turned blue.
Breakfast was a huge fry-up, and Julian thought he couldn't manage to eat even half of it until he realised he'd eaten all of it instead. "I swear, I never used to eat like this," he said, wiping his mouth on his napkin before finishing off his tea.
"You're using your magic properly now," said Alys, and she sounded highly approving. "The only fat magic user is a lazy one who never does any good work."
"I'm glad you think my work is good," said Julian shyly. "I'm never quite sure of myself when I'm working yet."
"Your magic's all about nurturing and listening to the heart of things," she said.
Julian smiled. "I suppose it is," he said happily. "More tea?"
She laughed. "More tea, then you go listen to that message machine of yours, it went off about a dozen times earlier."
"Yeah," said Julian with a big sigh. "Oh, but I can write Alex a letter as my reward," he added, perking up. He let his teacup go so she could float it over to the big pot and make it up, then stood and caught it midair when it came back to him.
"I might bake some biscuits later," she said, by way of dismissal, already busy cleaning up after breakfast.
Julian grinned. "I'd appreciate that very much," he said, which they'd decided didn't count as thanking, especially in advance. He wandered out and plopped in the big, comfortable chair, curling up and wishing he could see out the window from this angle. It was too heavy to move around, though, so it lived in this spot, facing the conversation group instead of the two big windows that flanked the fireplace.
He started with his texts, telling Alex he'd had a giant fry-up thanks to Alys, then telling Lapointe that he was safe and sound in the flat and had no intentions of leaving unaccompanied, especially as Alex had yet to return his amulet. Then he started in on the voicemails, of which there were nine. Nine! Ugh.
First was Lapointe, looking for Alex, which he listened through and then deleted unanswered because obviously she'd found him. Then there was the sweet Officer Tiny, who had called to ask if Julian was all right after the attack last night, and then assured him that he knew Julian was taken. Julian wrote down his number and saved that one to answer later, finding he rather liked the idea of having his own friend in law enforcement. Maybe it would make Alex a bit more aware that he could still have competition, which Julian sometimes felt very keenly around the handsome doctor.
Two more messages were from Lapointe, asking after his health, then saying she had more questions for him about last night, which Julian thought was weird. He deleted those, but made a note to call her back once he'd listened to the lot. Alex was the next three, telling him to stay home keep himself safe, then asking him if he wanted
to come down, then telling him not to come down. That made Julian giggle, and he didn't delete them just so he'd have Alex's voice for a bit longer.
The second to last message was, unsurprisingly, from Fischer. He seemed very concerned about Alex and Julian's whereabouts last night, and Julian was tempted to delete this one and pretend he'd never gotten it. He definitely put it at the bottom of his callback list, anyway. The last message was Father Stephen, sounding very sad, and it wasn't until then that Julian realised the other murder had happened at one of the smaller Temples. The big one had really good wards, but the smaller ones were often untenanted at night and sometimes weren't kept up as well as they could be. Julian had always liked the ones where the plants were allowed more free rein than the carefully tended gardens at the main Temple, and it made him sad to think of more plants hurt by whoever was doing this.
Julian took a breath, then called Lapointe back first, figuring he might get three calls in one that way if she'd take care of Fischer for him. She was always happy to hand the phone off to Alex if he wasn't busy, anyway.
"Julian, how are you?" said Lapointe. "Shoulder still hurting?"
"Yeah, but it's not so bad. Alys said she'd look at it once I'd done my due diligence and called everyone back," said Julian. "It's just bruised."
"That's good," she said, sounding relieved. "Geoff wanted to go haring off and wake you up to make sure nothing was cracked, but Alex talked him down."
Julian smiled, then frowned. "Oh, no, does this mean we're bailing on poor Thomas?"
Lapointe huffed a laugh. "We're trying not to, we drafted him to come help here so the plan is to collect you on the way to his. Alex said he only needs a little longer to fix your amulet."
"Good," said Julian with a little shiver. "I'd hate to go out without it. But did you need me today?"
"No, tomorrow will be soon enough, Alex is going to bring you by after you do whatever it is you're doing at the nursery. He thinks walking through it one more time will give you perspective here or something." Julian heard some voices in the background, and then she was talking too distantly to hear properly before she came back. "Sorry about that. Fischer is still determined to talk to you, but he's been told to stuff it."
Julian laughed, surprised. "By who? He'd never listen to Alex."
"By our boss, who was impressed that Alex got out of bed early on a Saturday to help us while the scene was fresh, and apparently has also received a reminder from someone even higher up that you're still peerage and not just any plebe."
"Ooh, no wonder he sounded so pissy," said Julian. "Good, I'm not going to call him back, then, you can tell him whatever you like."
"Well, not whatever I like, as I'd like to tell him to shove it up his... Alex! Your boy's on the phone and I'm certain he'd rather talk to you than me."
There was the sound of fumbling, and then Alex's voice replaced hers on the line, low and warm as usual. "Julian, how are you?"
"Better, and Alys is going to look at it, and apparently I'm to be cornered by Geoff later as well?" said Julian. "How are you? Did you eat?"
Alex laughed. "I did, Alys wouldn't let me leave without some food in me, she cooked while I took a quick shower. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn't have the heart to wake you."
"I liked my note," said Julian softly. "Horace was very pleased to have something for me, too."
"I think he misses our letters a little, too," said Alex fondly. "I should be no more than another hour here, then I'm going to come fix your amulet while they finish up and we'll all meet at MacLean's, which he assures me is now fit for company."
Julian giggled. "Why don't you bring Geoff, he can prod me here in the privacy of my own home."
"Oh, good idea," said Alex. "He's been loitering around here for a while, the coroner was running late and they wanted some medical thing so Thomas dragged him in. Did you know Thomas has one of those silly giant SUVs? He could hardly even park the thing in the lot."
Julian giggled. "I didn't, he clearly needs the love of a good man or woman to reassure him he can make do with a smaller car."
"Amen to that," said Alex. "I know you've done me wonders."
Julian felt a wave of warmth cheer him to his toes. "The feeling's entirely mutual, my love."
They shared a moment of perfect, comfortable silence, then someone in the background said something and Alex sighed. "I've got to go, but Murielle's promised not to talk too much about the case tonight, so we're fresh for tomorrow."
"Oh, Father Stephen called me, he's still okay to meet us. You didn't tell me you were at a Temple!" said Julian.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't think... Have you been to this one? It's the little one out in Gainesbury," said Alex. "It was quite nice before this, I think, very green."
"I have a few times, but not in years," said Julian with a sigh. "This feels worse than the nursery, somehow, but I know the Temple can fix it easier than Mary Margaret."
"They can, and they will, love," said Alex. There was more squawking in the background. "I've really got to go, but I'll bring Geoff over. And Lapointe is telling me to tell you to keep ignoring Fischer if he calls."
Julian giggled. "All right, love you. Stay safe."
"You, too," said Alex, and then he was gone. Julian sighed, then went and deleted Fischer's message with glee, and sipped his tea for a moment before calling Father Stephen.
"Hello?" said the voice at the other end.
"Hello, is this Father Stephen? It's Julian St. Albans," he said formally, in case this went to a main line instead of directly to the priest.
"Julian, my boy, how are you?" said Father Stephen, his voice warm and familiar now that he knew who was calling.
"I'm fine, Father, Alex is taking good care of me. It's just a big bruise," Julian reassured him. "I'm sorry to hear about the Temple, though."
"Thank you, we were all quite shocked to hear of it. The Gainesbury Temple was a very peaceful place, though attended quite sparsely," said Stephen, his expressive voice full of sadness. "We'll rebuild it, though, it's been there too long to abandon over this tragedy."
"Good," said Julian. "And you'll let me know if we can help, right?"
"Of course, my boy," said Stephen, and Julian could hear him smiling. "Though at this rate the Temple is going to end up owing you."
Julian laughed. "Well, next time I need Guarding I'll remember that," he teased. "James and Jacques would have made short work of our incompetent mugger."
Stephen chuckled wryly. "I'm sure they would have. Well, thank you for calling me back. I'll see you tomorrow morning?"
"See you then," said Julian warmly, feeling less scattered and worried as he hung up. Father Stephen always had that effect, even on the phone, and even Alex appreciated it. Well, most of the time.
He finished off his tea, then curled back up and hit the button to return Tiny's call. "Officer Engebretsen, it's Julian St. Albans," said Julian, when he answered the phone.
"You don't have to, I mean, you can call me Tiny," said the man awkwardly, which Julian found charming.
"Only if you tell me your first name," teased Julian. "Engebretsen is a bit of a mouthful, I admit."
"It's, uh, Tjostolv. My pappa was Norwegian, wanted me to have a proper Nordic name, so it's been Tiny since I was a kid," he said, with a laugh.
"So you were always a big boy, then?" said Julian, then he chuckled. "Sorry, habit, I shouldn't flirt. I really do appreciate you calling to check up on me."
"I was always tall for my age," retorted Tiny, and he sounded more relaxed. "You're really all right? You're so small, it seems like you'd just break in half."
Julian chuckled wryly. "I'm not so fragile as all that. I've got a big bruise on my shoulder, but I managed to keep from getting a lump on my head. Alex made me a really good protection amulet, and it gave the attacker a nasty zap."
"Are they meant to do that?" said Tiny curiously. "I thought they just did passive stuff, like making you less prone to accidents or..."<
br />
"Or getting mugged?" said Julian. "Most of them do, but Alex built in a kind of one-shot active protection, because of the trouble last year. He's going to fix it today before we go out again."
"It's good to know he takes care of you," said Tiny, sounding shy again. "I try to take care of my girl, but she's really strong and independent."
"Oh, well, I wanted to be a consort before I met Alex, you know, like in the tales? I almost was, but Alex helped me get out of it after my fiancé was murdered."
"So you are the one that was in the papers last year?" asked Tiny curiously. "What are you doing working at the nursery?"
"Actually, I'm her apprentice," said Julian. He explained about his apprenticeship and how he came to be working for Mary Margaret, and Tiny told him about how he got to be a cop, and before Julian knew it his phone was beeping with another call. "Oh! That's Alex, wow, time flies. Call me again, though? We'll take you and Gemma to Padma's."
"I'd like that, thanks. You take care, now," said Tiny.
"I will, promise." He switched over to Alex's call and just barely caught him. "Sorry, I was calling back Officer Tiny, who says you have to keep taking good care of me."
Alex laughed. "I accept his assignment. Are you going to be ready for company when we get there?"
"When are you going to get here?" said Julian right back.
"Oh, um, it's about forty-five minutes, we're leaving now," said Alex, after consulting with what sounded like Lapointe. "Murielle's going to meet us directly at Thomas' place."
"Then yes, that's plenty of time to shower and dress, I've already returned everyone else's calls," said Julian. "I'd better go now, though. Love you."
"Love you," said Alex, and they both hung up.
"I'll be looking at your shoulder before you bathe, lad," said Alys, coming out of the kitchen with a little dish of what looked like pesto.
"I don't have too long, should I wait and put that on after?" asked Julian. "Assuming it's a poultice and not a condiment."