Chapter Text
“I understand you wrapped up your case this afternoon…” Dr. MacMillan entered Jack’s office without preamble or invitation.
“Uhh,” his brow wrinkled, surprised to see her walking in with such ease. “Yes... Yes, I’m just finishing the paperwork now.” He motioned to the paperwork scattered across his desk. “Was there something you needed to add to the postmortem?”
She shook her head and helped herself to the guest chair. “No, nothing to add." She crossed her legs, folded her hands on her lap, tilted her head and pinned him with a firm stare, the kind that would make a lesser man cower. For Jack, however, it only served to pique his curiosity.
She inhaled slowly. “I am familiar with your,” she thought for a split second, “let’s call it a habit of turning up at Phryne’s house after the close of a case… However, you’ll do well to keep your distance from her for at least the next few days, though I’d recommend giving it a week,” Mac eyed him knowingly across his desk. “She may not willingly admit it, but she’s ill, Inspector. I’m afraid she’s picked up a particularly nasty strain of bacterial infection. I’ve been pulling double duty between the morgue and the hospital and have seen more than a dozen people in the ward struggling to defeat it.”
The creases in Jack’s brow deepened in concern as he met the doctor’s stern expression. Beneath her hard exterior, he knew there was a heart of gold, and an especially soft spot for a certain Lady Detective.
“She telephoned yesterday afternoon to say that she couldn’t attend the interview with our prime suspect… She said she was feeling, and I quote, ‘ a touch under the weather, but nothing serious, so don’t bother making a fuss …’” He sat forward, folding his hands atop his desk to stop from fidgeting nervously. “If, however, you’re here warning me off because it’s that bad, shouldn’t Miss Fisher be at hospital? I mean, if you’ve had people in the infirmary struggling to recover, why are you allowing her to remain at home? Won’t that endanger her further, or slow her recovery?” He started to push up from his chair, intending to pace his office, but sat back down again. “We should make her go. Can’t you issue her a doctor’s order by which she would be compelled to abide? She’ll need to be looked after...”
Mac bit back a smirk. If only they knew just how transparent they really are , she thought. These two will be the death of me, I swear it… She also made a mental note to bring with her, the following day, a hefty dose of Vitamine Extract, which she would force feed to the good Inspector if he refused to take it willingly.
“Phryne is, at her core, a healthy woman, Jack.” She used his given name, something she rarely did, in hopes that he’d realize she was there as a friend, not necessarily a colleague. “I went to examine her this evening after my shift because Dot telephoned, concerned about Phryne’s rising temperature and her... irritability . I gave her medicine that should help with the fever and in her ability to sleep, which should , in turn, take the edge off of her bad temper... I’ve given strict instructions to Mr. Butler and to Dot about what Phryne may need in the coming days and additional symptoms they should watch for. If they notice any, they will telephone me. Nevertheless, I plan to stop over to Wardlow again tomorrow after my shifts, and I’ll assess any changes at that time.”
Jack’s eyes flitted to his mantle clock, then back to her, and she knew in an instant that he was calculating the minutes until he could eject her from the chair without appearing rude, and make a rapid escape from his office to hotfoot it over to St. Kilda. With a raised eyebrow, she pinned him. “I am here to advise you to keep your distance , Inspector, to mitigate the risk of contracting it…” When she saw a mutinous expression cross his face before he was able to school his features, she knew it was a moot point… the second she left the station, he’d be out the door and on his way…
She sat forward. “For now, I’d like you to accompany me back to my office, if you would be so kind?” She wasn’t going to let him barge into Wardlow without some sort of medicinal protection, but she didn’t have it with her in her bag.
“What?” Jack tilted his head at the unusual request and squared his shoulders. “Why?” He practically squeaked in rebellion. If he went to her office, (which meant trekking in the complete opposite direction of where he intended to be), he would lose precious time. “When you arrived, you indicated you were done for the day. Shouldn’t you be on your way home?”
“I need to return to the office, Inspector,” she deadpanned. “Are you really balking about escorting a single woman through the dangerous streets of Melbourne at dusk?”
He rolled his eyes, knowing she was up to something. “Of course not, Dr. MacMillan. But perhaps I can ask Constable Collins to see you safely back? I have an urgent matter to attend-”
“No,” she simply stated as she picked up her medicine satchel and tucked her free hand into her trouser pockets. “Your ‘urgent matter’ can wait until you’ve seen me safely to my office , Jack... ”
Jack could count, on one hand, the number of times Dr. MacMillan had addressed him by his first name, and here, in the last five minutes, she’d done it twice. The abrupt change in her tactics worked, and soon, the Senior Detective Inspector found himself reluctantly following the city’s most renowned female physician down a long corridor that led to her office at the Women’s Hospital. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he bit the inside of his cheek in order to avoid saying something that might come back to haunt him at a later time. Once she had successfully unlocked the door, he started to bid her a good night, only to be tugged into the room, quite against his will, by a surprisingly firm grip on his trench coat.
“Dr. MacMillan?” He asked, once inside and set free from the manhandling.
“Sit,” she ordered him, pointing to the chair before her desk. “It’ll only be a moment. Then you can be on your ill-advised way…”
Jack had the good sense to actually blush, but decided to play innocent. “Ill-advised way? What-” he cleared his throat. “What do you mean?”
Mac rolled her eyes and turned her back to the Inspector as she reached into her medicine locker. “Do you actually expect me to believe you’ll stay away from Phryne’s house the minute I turn you loose? You must think I'm a fool, Jack…”
There it was again, his given name, taking him by surprise and throwing him off-kilter . “I… I would just like to see her… And... to offer my assistance, should her household require anything.” He fanned his fingers wide, his urge to fidget almost overwhelming. “I know that Mr. Butler and Miss Williams are very capable and likely won’t need my help, but…” He wasn’t sure what to say, how much to admit about his feelings, so he just shrugged.
“ But , you just won’t be able to stop yourself from going…” She spun around, her eyebrow arched high as she approached him, a bottle in one hand and a glass of water in the other. “You’re not fooling anyone, Jack Robinson, least of all me… And for that matter, neither is Phryne, but that’s a discussion for another day....” She leaned against her desk and handed him the bottle and the glass. “Take one now, and then, if you insist on paying visits to Wardlow against my advice, take two a day, one in the morning, one at bedtime.”
Jack looked down at the unlabeled bottle then back to the doctor. “What is it?”
“Vitamine Extract in pellet form. It will help to boost your health, to hopefully help protect against catching the strain, but it is, by no means, a guarantee against infection.” She watched as he swallowed a dose. “Promise me, Inspector, that you won’t spend too much time. Phryne will need all the rest she can get.”
He placed the glass on the desk and nodded. “I will do my best, Doctor, to limit my visits to nothing more than that which is absolutely necessary.”
~MFMM~
Jack’s knock was answered in short order, Mr. Butler opening the door wide.
“Inspector, how lovely to see you,” he smiled warmly, allowing the guest to enter. Closing the door, he turned. “I regret to inform you that Miss Fisher is not well, Sir.”
“Ahh, yes,” Jack held his hat, worrying the brim between his fingers as he spun it around. “Yes, Dr. MacMillan stopped in to see me this evening at the station.” He looked down at his hands, then back to his partner’s houseman. “I just wanted…” he shrugged. “I wanted to see if there was anything I could do…”
“Pardon me, Inspector?” Miss Williams was descending the stairs, wrapped in her robe, as if she had been preparing for bed.
Jack turned, looking up at the young woman. “Miss Williams. Are you well?”
Dot smiled. “I am, thank you, Inspector.” She walked down the final stairs. “I was just with Miss Fisher, we heard the knock, she suspected it would be you,” the young lady smiled. “I’m sure Mr. Butler mentioned, Miss has taken ill.”
“Yes,” Jack approached the staircase. “I just wanted to stop and pay my respects, and to offer my assistance should the household need anything. I am off duty for the next few days and am happy to assist in any way.” He tilted his head. “And if you would, please tell Miss Fisher that I hope she recovers quickly.”
“Well,” Dorothy stepped a touch closer. “If you would like, Miss Phryne would welcome the greeting directly. Though, if you are not comfortable, given her fever, she will understand.”
Jack glanced at Mr. Butler, noting the man’s knowing smile, then turned back to Dorothy. “I - I would be happy to look in on Miss Fisher, though only briefly. Dr. MacMillan warned that Miss Fisher would need sleep to recover.”
Dorothy simply swept her arm towards the next landing, offering the stairway to the Inspector. “I’ll bring up some tea, Sir.”