3 May 1895 — Dorian Fisk's Home, Bartonburg

The past 12 hours had been a bit of an education for Mabel. Dory had taken her to the Ministry where Auror Sterling had been waiting for them, stern-faced but greeting Dory with more familiarity than she expected. Once pleasantries were out of the way, Mabel had been told it would be best for her to be assigned an auror. It was at this moment she immediately balked and refused to stay with anyone, even an auror - a Ministry-sanctioned official.

However, exasperating an auror was one of the last things she wanted to do and so - despite their early morning fight - Mabel had said she would stay with Tilda MacFusty and the midwives at The Mandragora Abbey; a place with more protection than she herself would have at her flat. She wasn’t happy about it, but it appeared that was the only solution that provided a way for the conversation to move forward. She would be able to floo directly to work from there, instead of having to take her usual route.

And so onward the discussion went: directly into the topic of how important it was that Mabel stay there and not go anywhere unless otherwise accompanied. At this point, the mediwitch refused to even look at Dory sitting beside her and relayed to Sterling the resolution she and Dory had come to earlier that morning which involved her still working, but staying in the hospital wards instead.

Sterling was visibly not enthused by the matter but it was clear he sensed that this battle had already been fought out between the two people sitting in front of him, and so he settled on the compromise.

Much to Mabel’s chagrin, the auror still encouraged her to stay home for the rest of the week until the details between him and the Abbey could be worked out. Mabel said she would certainly take his expertise into consideration and that was the end of the meeting.

Work was marginally better until the time came for dinner when Rowan stopped by to check in on Mabel. After relaying the difficulties of the past twenty four hours to her friend, Mabel was astonished to realize that her friend was completely on Dory’s side of things. “Mabel, I know you’re angry,” said Rowan when they took a seat in the hospital tea room. “But I don’t think you realize the gravity of the situation.” Rowan then proceeded to remind Mabel of what had happened to her little sister Maisie, which chastised her thoroughly. “I know it might be completely different, but there are bad people out there and they won’t hesitate to hurt innocent people to get what they want.” That included, Mabel was now realizing, sick patients and hospital staff.

She very nearly went home right after her conversation with Rowan, but couldn’t leave without completing following up on the patients from earlier in the afternoon. It was Rowan who ended up accompanying Mabel back to Dory’s flat. Dressed in her Ministry robes, Mabel was hoping that her friend’s official presence might quell any of the potential gossip that might spread. Rowan didn’t stay long, only enough to say hi to Dory before leaving the two of them alone together.

There was a long pause as Mabel undid her cloak and hung it up on the coat rack. “I talked to Rowan.” She murmured, still facing away from Dory as she spoke. “I’ll stay at the Abbey for the next few days. I won’t go in to work.” She hesitated, her lips pressed together, unsure of what she would do next. “Could I please just...stay here for a while?”

  

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Dory might as well have stayed home for all the focus he managed to dedicate to his work. When he wasn't stressing over what was potentially happening to Mabel, he was staving off sleep with an unhealthy amount of coffee. When the coffee stopped working he began visiting with each person involved in his squad, checking in on their work and using the interaction to propel him further. By the time his shift had ended Dory could have cried with relief that no major catastrophes had occurred.

Upon returning home, he collapsed on the sofa for a quick and unsatisfying nap. While there was nothing stopping him from sleeping longer, especially considering how exhausted he was, Dory had more paperwork to sort through now that discovering how to prove Coyle's criminal background was even more vital. Sterling believed them, sure, but if they were to take any action they had to have proof.

He wasn't expecting Mabel to return tonight after the decision for her to stay at the abbey was made. It prickled his skin to think of Mabel sleeping anywhere other than where he might keep his eye on her. However, with her reputation in the balance they had little other choice. (Dory had heavily considered suggesting they elope, but realized that would go over as well as a bucket of water on a wildfire.) The abbey was the safest choice, the most obscure and random place where Coyle and Chetwold weren't likely to look for her. In truth, Dory had no right to ask for anything else.

Still, when Mabel and Rowan arrived shortly after he'd begun cooking himself some supper, a wave of relief washed over him. And what was even more relieving was after quick hellos and farewells from Yaxley, he and Mabel were alone once more.

Their argument from this morning was one he would have preferred to let lie. The past twenty-four hours were extraordinarily taxing and seeing as Sterling's directives were the orders they now followed, their argument was a moot point. And yet —

“I know this isn't fair to you or what you had hoped for.” He acknowledged heavily, his shoulders sagging slightly in defeat. “I'm sorry this is happening.”

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Mabel was trying to apologize and he was apologizing to her. And the only thing he’d done in this was try to keep her safe and make her see reason. She was, as he’d put it, too stubborn for her own good and she’d gone and proved it. She not only thanked Dory for providing her with somewhere to go but Rowan for ultimately being the one to help her see how unreasonable she was being.

“I’m the one who should be apologizing,” Mabel returned with a soft laugh as she walked into the flat. “You’ve just tried to protect me and I was being selfish.” She had wanted to go to work because she would have had something to do all day other than worry. But what she had ended up doing was potentially put all the hospital staff in danger. Rowan’s words echoed in her head. They won’t hesitate to hurt innocent people to get what they want. 

Frankly Mabel was lucky nothing had happened earlier today, that she’d made it through. And now, it struck her that Dory was likely on edge all day waiting for news of some sort of catastrophe at the hospital. She heaved a sigh. She was such a selfish idiot.

“I’m sorry Dory.” She walked over to where he was setting out dinner and reached out to him, placing a hand on top of his. She peered up at him. Lord, he looked so tired. So stressed. And up close, though maybe it was a trick of the light, Mabel thought she could even spot a few grey hairs at his temples. “I’m sorry I’ve caused you so much stress.”

  

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“There were more polite ways to explain it.” Dory had promised her once already that he'd be more careful with his tongue and already he had broken it. Maple had every right to want her routine to remain the same, to return back to her home and pretend everything was normal. She hadn't asked to be forced into the position she was, to have to tend to a broken body time and time again. Dory was certain that if he were in her shoes he would want everything to go back to normal too.

Her hand atop his saw eyes widened in surprise. She was too close – impossibly close really if they were to maintain friendly boundaries throughout this stay. He swore he could smell her shampoo, or was that a perfume considering she'd used his last night? And she seemed so small, so open and vulnerable. Dory abandoned their dinner and straightened fully before making the split second decision to draw her into a hug. 

Fuck propriety. Even friends sometimes needed hugs after a long day. 

“You seeking me out for help isn't stressful.” Dory said softly. “I only ever wanted you to be happy and safe. Helping to ensure you are both is the least I can do.”

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Upon closer inspection, there were more than a few grey hairs at his temples. Mabel had to smile at that. The years would be kind to him, she decided; provided that she didn’t drive him into an early grave with her foolish decisions. She was content to stay there, but she saw him shift his position. Move closer. Her eyes widened, only to find herself engulfed in a hug. In his arms.

It only took a second for her to completely dissolve. She shut her eyes. Inhaled, leaning into him. He smelled like, well, Dory. Clean, like cold air and fresh laundry. A hint of cedar mixed with soap. It had never been anything overwhelming but just so distinctly Dory that Mabel felt she could melt into his arms and never let go.

Truthfully they shouldn’t have been this close anyways, but with the past few days she’d had, Mabel couldn’t bring herself to care. She could feel his chest rumble as he spoke. It only made her want to burrow further into him. Disappear completely. “Even so,” She murmured into him, not wanting to pull away. “I’ve been ungrateful, and you don’t deserve that.”

  

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Dory's anger this morning was rooted solely in fear – no, it was more akin to white hot crippling terror. That Mabel was taking his anger as another mark against herself broke his heart, but it was obvious that she wasn't going to hear him right now when he said she had nothing to apologize for. And, frankly, Dory was too exhausted to continue talking in circles. 

He sighed and rested his head atop hers for a moment before saying, “make it up to me by staying alive, alright?” Dory knew he ought to pull away from the hug and put some space between them. Society would be dragging their names through the mud with all the too-close sightings lately, and it was going to be a herculean task already to not be forced into marriage just to salvage their names without adding in any sort of shared physicality. (Not that Dory was against marrying her, he would in a heartbeat if he believed for a second it was what she wanted.) 

Still, Dory remained in the embrace, his arms tight around her frame as if he could keep her safe so long as she didn't let go.

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She thought he’d pull away, break their embrace, but he stayed; even further, she felt him rest his chin on the top of her head. She enjoyed the rumble of his chest once more as he spoke. And in that moment she felt something so complete there was no other option than for it to be real: that Dory genuinely cared for her, just as she did for him. It wasn’t a new revelation, but one that had to be questioned over the past few years as her thoughts had always inevitably drifted towards him. And when they’d renewed their friendship, it was easy for her to have doubts; what if he’d done this just to try and make up for their break?

But in the end, Mabel realized, years of friendship couldn’t have been thrown away so easily. Certainly not for her, but it was also unfair of her to think that Dory would have done so.

She stood there in his arms, a soft smile on her lips. “I promise.” She said, and though she didn’t want to draw away, even though she wanted to stay like this for eternity, she took a step back. It cost her something to do so, she thought; it felt as if she was breaking away a piece of herself. She still smiled up at him. “They haven’t succeeded yet. And now they have you to get through.” She chuckled. “You and Rowan, Tilda too…I know I’m in good hands.”

  

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“Rowan is a force to be reckoned with.” Dory answered once they had parted. The embrace had ended too soon – a lifetime would be too soon – but there was nothing he could do to stop her pulling away. “As is Tilda.” Tilda was one of the best healers Dory had ever encountered, stronger in fortitude than most. 

He took a small step back and looked over at the table. Their dinner would still be perfectly hot, the roast and potatoes a delicious meal, and yet Dory found himself without an appetite. He was tired, so mind numbingly tired. 

“Let's eat.” He suggested despite knowing the food would sit like lead in his stomach. “You can tell me about what dear old Mrs. Smith has been up to.”

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