Just a little bit of fluff while we wait for the next episode. :D

"So as you can see," said Julia, pointing to the young womans back, "she suffered a knife wound clean through her thoracic vertebrae." She chuckled. "In other words, she was literally stabbed in the back."

William raised an eyebrow but did not comment. Just once she wished he would lighten up a bit. Julia's smirk vanished and she became all business again.

"She would have died instantly then," he said, needlessly gesturing to the woman. "She would not have suffered."

"Indeed," she said trying to catch his eye but unsuccessful. "Mrs. Melville would have felt nothing. A small mercy."

For some reason she was thinking of herself here, as if it applied to her current emotional state.

"Anything else, doctor?" he asked, still not looking at her.

Notice me for once as a woman and not just a colleague!

She knew that thought was unfair. William had looked at her that way a few months ago when they had been investigating the supposed martians. He had even gone so far as to compliment her hair, proclaiming it lovely. And for a brief time after that unguarded moment, she had expected something else to result. But there had been nothing and he had apparently forgotten about her in any kind of romantic capacity; if such a capacity had even existed in the first place! Now she was left to wonder if she had mistaken the whole situation and simply seen a desire in him that was not actually there. William was a gentleman. Of course he would have said something polite. Most likely the compliment didn't mean anything in particular. Julia would have moved on and attempted to seek the attentions of another man, but his were the only ones she craved.

"That's everything, detective."

"Very good," he said with a nod in her general direction. Finally he looked at her and she felt the usual fluttering sensations that accompanied this. "Good night, Dr. Ogden."

"Good night."

Julia turned on the tap for the purposes of cleaning her instruments, and just as he was reaching the exit, the pipe burst! Thankfully it was a minor leak. Such a thing was a pretty common occurrence so she was used to it by now and had managed to jump out of the way before getting more than a sprinkling. Still, this brief taste was enough to convince her that the water was freezing! Apparently she had cried out at the contact because William had marched back over to her to find out what all the fuss was about.

"Are you all right?" he asked in a concerned manner, as if she had actually gotten hurt, as if he took a particular interest in her well being.

Stop flattering yourself, Julia. He is simply being a gentleman again.

"I'm perfectly fine, William."

He eyed the slight spray of water. "Do you require assistance?"

"No, thank you. I believe I can handle this myself." Avoiding the spray, she knelt down to pick up the wrench propped up against the tiled wall. "It would not be the first time this has happened."

He stood there as if uncertain and she was vaguely amused by this indecision.

"Should you not first cut off the supply?"

"Don't worry, detective," she said as she attempted to tighten the bolt surrounding the leak, "I will not flood my morgue."

Not with the drain in the floor.

As she thought this, the water arced up suddenly and splashed his trousers! He yelped and she did her best not to laugh at his expression. However, her merriment was short lived for as she rotated the wrench once more, a veritable geyser shot out and drenched her head to toe!

Sputtering in surprise, she jumped back awkwardly in her kneeling position and away from the frigid liquid. In an instant he was by her side. He whipped off one of his leather gloves and touched her hand for a second.

"Julia, you are freezing."

Don't you think I know that? she wanted to snap at him but couldn't because her teeth were now chattering.

Immediately he took off his winter jacket and placed it across her shoulders. Then he helped her to her feet, dodged the gush of water and led her into the waiting room where the wood stove was. Finally, he brought a chair right in front of the glorious warmth.

"Try and warm up," he said and then abruptly turned his back on her.

"Will...iam?" she managed.

Without glancing at her he said, "I will attempt to get this situation under control."

In no condition to argue, she watched him leave, feeling like an utter fool for not following the proper procedure. She knew why she hadn't. Partly because it had seemed unnecessary but mostly because she had been impatient to impress him with her unusual skills, just like he did on a daily basis.

Stupid girl!

By the time feeling returned to her iced limbs, William entered the room, with his suit jacket slung across his arm and a triumphant gleam in his eyes. Apparently he had been sprayed a bit more, judging by the fact that his upper torso was wet, along with his hair. The ruffled and sloppy appearance of his hair was a distant second to the primary distraction, his body. Since his suit jacket was off, the water had clung to his arms, outlining the musculature there. If he hadn't been wearing his vest still, she was sure she would have been able to see everything in great detail. Considering all of her fantasies about him, the thought almost made her salivate and she couldn't help but stare at such an unusual and glorious sight.

"I've managed to stop the leak," he said, doing his best to talk normally and not let the cold affect him. She didn't respond and continued to stare at him, mouth parted slightly, eyes unfocused. He caught her glance and arced both eyebrows. "Julia?"

Shaking herself out of her trance she smiled and said, "That's wonderful news, William. Thank you very much for your aid." After a slight pause she continued with, "It would be best if you warmed yourself by the fire before heading home. The weather outside is quite frightful."

"Yes, I had planned on it," he replied, moving towards her, still giving her a puzzled look. He pulled a chair up beside hers and said, "How are you faring?"

"Much better."

"Good."

With that enquiry settled, they sat in silence for some minutes, hands held up to the enclosed flames. When she attempted to move hers to her lap, she accidentally swiped his fingertips and felt a thrill go through her. If only she were bold enough to tell him her true feelings, then she wouldn't have to live in this constant turmoil day in and day out. Either he would reciprocate them or he would not. It was precisely for that latter option that she always held her tongue. Vaguely she wondered if that was William's dilemma as well. After all, they worked together fairly often. If the feeling was not mutual, where would that leave them, professionally speaking?

Unbeknownst to her, she sighed aloud.

William cocked his head in her direction. "Very tedious process, drying."

It was Julia's turn to give him a confused expression. "Indeed."

His attention was back on the flames. "I imagine that one day there will be further advances in the field of thermodynamics, and as such, future generations will benefit from the resulting innovations."

"Future generations? Why not us, now?"

"Change takes time," he said, glancing at her for slightly longer than was his custom.

Once again she imagined that there was some sort of hidden meaning behind his words.

"Quite the pity. In my experience, people's threshold for inconvenience...for waiting is exceedingly low."

William gave her a curious peek before looking away again. "That may be so, doctor, but you must agree that rushing into things is rarely advisable."

"Certainly, detective, but there comes a point when change must occur or else stagnancy is the only outcome. And no one wants that, now do they?"

"No, they do not," he said, after a moment, looking at her keenly.

For one blissful second she thought he might say or do something that would be pleasing to her but instead he just glanced back at the fire and spoke no more. She held back a sigh of frustration and then stood to dry her backside. Eventually they began conversing on other topics, mostly case related things, as usual, and this frustration took a backseat as her intellectual mind ignited.

Much later and after another log had been added to the stove, she handed him back his winter coat and thanked him for his chivalry and assistance again.

"Julia, would you care for an escort home? It's after eleven o'clock and John [the constabulary carriage driver] has likely turned in for the night."

"That would be lovely, William," she said with a smile.

"Very good," he said, genuinely returning it.

For the first time in a long time, she was hopeful of things to come.