Archive of Our Own ^beta

It was Win who suggested it, of course. Fred himself never would have – later, he would be rather ashamed of it, but old habits died hard, and he and simply never thought of it; and furthermore, he was sure that Morse hadn’t either, although that really was far from a point in his favor, since if there was a way to make things complicated, Morse was sure to find it…

And so, when he arrived home at the beginning of December, still dwelling on how thin his bagman looked since he had returned to work after being wrongfully accused of murder and found Win working away on the protections that people deemed (and that he, with his years of policework under his belt, knew to be) necessary at this time of the year, he did not think too much of it until he realized that she was changing them in ways he had never seen before.

“Win, what –“

“Oh, hello love. Don’t mind me – I had an idea and I’m just checking if I’m right. You know Morse is always slightly uncomfortable here” a bloody understatement, but there was only so much one could do for those with demon blood, the protections were simply there to keep them away, and although he thankfully was only a half-demon, it still meant –

“So I’ve been working on them.”

“Working on them?” he exclaimed because everyone knew it was especially dangerous this time of the year. Samhain had thankfully passed and gone without incident, it was true, but on these days, the last of the year, right before Christmas, it was more than a little thoughtless to pull down protections, and Win knew that –

“Yes. If we want to invite Morse in, we have to make sure he can enter the house!”

He would agree that it was a pity that he could never even offer his bagman a cup of tea, and that he had to wait outside even when it was pouring down, but this did seem a bit...

“So I went to the dark library.”

Fred, who had been contemplating all of this while lighting his pipe, let it sink and stared at his wife. “You went where?”

She tutted. “Oh, really, love, it’d just a library like any other – yes, I did think it ought to be more, different, like most people, but – no! It just has books on magic and mayhem and whatnot” he couldn’t help but wonder what those running the library would have said to that description “and they were very helpful once I explained what I wanted. It’s – well – they called it – customization we want.”

“Customi –“

“I know how it sounds, but it would make sure that our house is shielded as it usually is – except for Morse, that is. Now, I really wish we could make a permanent exception for him, but all sources agree that for that to happen, he would have to accept us as – not that it’s important; the point is, he’ll be able to come and go as he pleases.”

That really did seem almost too good to be true. It would be nice to get him into the house, perhaps sit him down to a proper dinner for once… “And you’re sure?”

She nodded. “I think we can indeed invite Morse in… and you know that we should, on Christmas Eve, at the very least. He has no family in Oxford, you say – it won’t do just to let him be alone, this time of the year.”

He could have pointed out that demons had their own customs, but this was Win they were talking about, so she would of course not hear another thing against it.

And of course she would put her plans into action immediately.

The next day when Morse rang the doorbell, she was the one to open it and invite him in.

Fred emerged from the kitchen to find Morse looking uncomfortable. “I really can’t, Mrs. Thursday – “

“Oh nonsense, I pulled own the protections half an hour ago so you would be comfortable – “

His eyes widened. “Mrs. Thursday your really shouldn’t – “

Win cut off his protests by laying a hand on his arm and gently drawing him inside. “There. Now that’s better – it’s a little cold outside – now, why don’t you have a cup of tea with us.”

He threw Frewd a panicked glance, but since the deed was already done and he really looked like he could use it, he certainly wasn’t going to protest, so Morse had no choice but to follow Win to the dining room and sit down with the children, looking profoundly uncomfortable until Sam asked him if he had somehow turned the wrong corner or why did he look like that; Win chastised him for it, but Morse apparently liked that the attention was no longer on him.

Joan, meanwhile, seemed to have a lot of fun with this, if her sparkling eyes were anything to go by.

“I do hope you’ve made your flat ready for the season, dear?” Win then inquired, and for a moment, Fred was rather confused since both of the children still lived at home, and as a matter of fact they all only understood when she added, “Morse?”

He looked up from the cup of tea he was still nursing as if it we something precious, blinked, then cleared his throat. “Yes, yes I made sure of it, don’t worry, Mrs. – “

“Win. Oh, and if you ever need help with one of your friends – you can bring them over, of course. This place is a safe haven for all who need it.”

Fred was getting the distinct impression that he only understood about half of what was going on, and that the children were not faring much better.

“I – that’s really not – I don’t – I – “ Morse stuttered, then looked down into his cup again. “If you – if you insist on it – Win.” The last word sounded rather weak, but she clearly had no problems with it, if her gentle smile was anything to go by.

Little did he know that this was the beginning of a gentle but steady stream of visitors dropping by with Morse – as it turned out, the bagman he had thought spent most of his time alone was quite busy helping out the creatures of Oxford whenever he could.

Not that they stayed long – Morse normally only wanted to quickly use the telephone or get them something to drink or nibble at because some of them could get rather volatile when peckish, something Win seemed not to have any problems with at all, so it might not be Fred’s place to say anything, and again, what if he chased Morse off by protesting? No, much better to let things take their course. 

Most of the time, since it happened during the weekdays when Morse was out pursuing inquiries anyway, Fred wasn’t even at home. Of course he usually called in beforehand so Win would know when to pull down the projections.

Then again, sometimes, he was too busy to do so, like that one time Fred was actually at home as well…

Jerome, “I insist on it, Inspector” (Fred became aware that just a short month ago, he had considered none of this normal, and now he just nodded at the will-of-the-wisp) suddenly stood still at their threshold, frowning. “Endeavour?” he inquired.

The lad, already halfway to the kitchen, stumbled, as if suddenly having run into something, turned around, then shook his head. “Of course, I forgot… yes, of course – Win, may I pull down the protections for an hour or two?”

“Of course, dear” she called out and he set out to do just that.

Fred meanwhile wondered if he was overlooking something, because from what he knew, Morse would have noticed sooner, not to mention that he should have had more of a problem moving around than just a small stumble, but none of the others seemed to worry about it, except for one or two expressive glances of Jerome’s.

And, really, since everything seemed to be fine, he was not going to risk scaring Morse away again by asking questions.

Not that that seemed to be a problem, if he went by what took place as they moved closer and closer to the holidays. As a matter of fact, Morse now usually came in for a cup of tea when he picked up Fred in the mornings, and had more than once had dinner with them since that first time; and he was slowly but surely losing that haunted look about his eyes, which Fred could not help but attribute to Win, and Win alone.

Still, in the week right before Christmas, he felt he had to – perhaps not put his foot down, but say something.

“Win –“

“Yes, love?”

 “What is that?” he asked, very slowly picking the jar form the shelf in the fridge and showing it to her.

“Oh, I got that from the butcher Mel from the library recommended. It’s not as ideal as human blood, of course, but it’s from very healthy animals, and it should be more than enough to tidy him over when he eats here…”

“Win…” he replied, rather helpless. Yes, he and been worried about Morse for a while, but to keep blood in the fridge…

“And now put that back, we don’t want it to go bad, do we.”

He automatically obeyed because there was nothing else to do.

And when Win that very evening triumphantly brought Morse a glass of blood to the table – “Just to bring a bit of colour to those cheeks, dear” – he did not even protest anymore, simply shared a glance with Fred to make sure he wasn’t upset, and he simply shrugged. He already had so many of his meals with them, why shouldn’t he have the beverage of his choice – or necessity, in this case?

It wasn’t even a question anymore if the lad would spend Christmas with them, of course – Win had asked the week before “So when will you be coming over on the 24th,Endevaour?” and that had been that.

Still, even in his wildest dreams – if he was being honest, a short month ago – Fred would not have imagined that he would simply walk into their house that very Christmas Eve, holding a bag of presents, smiling widely and greeting them all (not one of them cared even the smallest bit when he showed his black eyes anymore) –

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned to his wife. “Win, the protections went down – you should –“

“What do you mean, dear? Of course they are up.”

He didn’t even react to the endearment anymore, instead frowning at her. “But…”

She reached out and patted his arm. “It’s like the books said, when you’re home, you’re home.” It shocked him as much into silence as it did Fred himself.

She smiled benignly at them both. “Well, then, come on, it’s Christmas – I still need help putting up the decorations, there are a few places I can’t reach – “

“Of course, Win” Endeavour said simply, confusing Fred even more (and only later would he understand that, as someone who had been born into all of this, the lad had simply accepted what she told him because he knew there was no other choice) and followed her into the living room.

And then he understood.

He stood still for a moment or two., listening to the laughter of his – family.

After all, with whom else was one supposed to spend the holidays?

He smiled to himself as he hung up his hat and coat – next to Endeavor’s, as usual, these days, this turn of events really was no surprise, now that he thought about it – and joined Win and the children in celebrating the time of the year that more than any other demanded its fair share of laughter, shared meals and the feeling of belonging, now and forever.