Work Text:
Confusing Revelations
Morse is content to sit with Win for a little while and listen to the hum of voices next door before the curiosity becomes too much to ignore.
‘Can I go listen? They are talking about me. At least I think they are. Can I? Is that ok?’
“You want to go down?”
‘Yes please.’
“Alright then, down you go. I’ll go and put the kettle on.”
‘A biscuit would be lovely.’
He sticks to Win's heels as they leave the living room before he shuffles off to the right and parks himself by the dining room door.
‘Why don’t I just go in? It can’t be that bad.’
He barely has a second to have an internal debate before Fred’s voice catches his attention.
“What?”
‘What?’
“What is it?”
‘What’s what?’
“Remember I said that I had everything you asked for and more?”
‘More? What did he ask for in the first place?’
“Now, I’m not 100% certain yet.”
‘About what? Get to the point!’
“I wanted to talk to you before I dug any deeper but…”
‘Talk to him? If it’s about me don’t I get a say? I may be a hedgehog but I still think like a human.’
“I found evidence that suggests Morse’s maternal grandmother is still alive.”
‘WHAT!?’
Morse can’t contain his squeak of shock as he instinctively turns tail and runs to find Win.
‘Mu…WIN….I don’t like it! Pick me up! Please pick me up! I should’ve stayed with you the whole time. Listening at doors is bad.’
Win is quick to scoop him up into her arms despite her confusion and Morse quickly makes himself safe and secure, only stopping his quiet squeaks once he’s sure he won’t be put straight back down.
“Morse love? Whatever’s the matter?”
‘Ask them! Why don’t I know that? Why did mum never tell me that? Why did I never meet her? I’m so confused.’
“Shhh it’s alright love. Let’s go and see what this is all about.”
‘Only if you stay with me.’
Morse refuses to look at Fred and Dorothea as he’s carried into the dining room.
“I let him listen at the door while I put the kettle on.”
‘No you didn’t. You went to make tea. It’s my own fault I was listening.’
“What did he hear?”
‘Something upsetting.’
“I haven’t seen him move that quick for days.”
‘I’m very upset.’
“Came straight to me wanting to be picked up.”
‘Is that…should I not have done that?’
“Fred?”
“Tell you what love, pop him on here and I’ll have a word while you fetch us a cuppa.”
‘Am I in trouble? I’ll never eavesdrop again unless it’s for work purposes.’
“Then we can all have a chat together.”
‘A chat? A good chat or a bad chat? I can’t always tell with you.’
He doesn’t struggle as he’s gently placed on the table, simply freezing in place with his head tucked away as Win gives him a soothing stroke and walks away.
‘I’m not coming out till she comes back.’
“Morse?”
‘Nope.’
“Come on now, you’re not in any trouble.”
‘I shouldn’t have eavesdropped.’
“If you wanted to listen you should’ve just come in.”
‘Oh. I thought about it but…I don’t know. I’m embarrassed I suppose?’
“I wasn’t going to hide it from you.”
‘It sounded like a secret. You’re sure I’m not in trouble?’
Still not wanting to come out until Win comes back, Morse attempts to make his way to Fred with his head tucked and lets out an involuntary grunt as his head connects with large hands.
‘Oof.’
“That’s what you get for not looking where you’re going.”
‘Haha very funny.’
“He’s adorable!”
‘That’s what everybody says. Nobody says it when I’m human though do they?’
“Of course he’s adorable. I don’t know why I’m surprised.”
‘My point exactly!’
Morse hears Win approaching with a tray and brings his head out to level his best glare at Dorothea but it doesn’t seem to work.
“Yep. Very cute even when grumpy.”
‘Rude!’
“That’s the Morse we know and love.”
‘Hmpf.’
“Cheers Mrs Thursday”
“Call me Win.”
‘Ooh biscuits!’
Morse helps himself to a digestive and settles himself next to Win as Fred fills them in on the conversation so far. The more he hears, the more Morse moves closer to Win before finally abandoning his biscuit in favour of comfort and climbing over her hands and propping himself up behind them.
‘Poor mum. I wonder if she ever regretted me. I didn’t seem to do her or dad any favours.’
As he’s doing this he loses track of the conversation and tunes back in to see them all gazing at him.
‘What? Why are you all looking at me?’
He watches Dorothea curiously as she tears up some paper, writes a word on each and sets them on the table.
‘What’s this?’
“Alright Morse. Your turn.”
‘For what?’
“Do I keep digging?”
‘Oh.’
He can only stare at her as his mind whirls before he looks to Fred and Win in turn for their input.
‘I don’t know what to think? What do you think?’
“Go on lad. No need to get shy on us now.”
‘I’m not shy! I’m hurt and confused.’
“It’s your choice love.”
‘But…I don’t know what choice to make.’
Win subtly moves her hands until Morse has all four paws on the table.
‘Hey! Take me back! Oh fine. Why did this have to happen now?’
One paw at a time, with his nose sniffing intently, Morse approaches the paper pieces.
‘Yes or no. Makes it seem so simple. What if finding out is worse than not knowing? What if she’s not nice? What if it turns out mum wasn’t nice? I don’t want either of those. If she was ill maybe? And that’s why she couldn’t take me? I’m never going to settle without knowing, am I? Ok. That settles it. This one.’
YES