Archive of Our Own ^beta

Endeavour: Snow
By Parakeetist

In the winter following the wedding, Endeavour Morse ordered a whole pizza and stared at it.
He was in a ski lodge, in Cardiff, Wales. The scenery was beautiful, as it always was. He had rented a toboggan, and was going to pick it up at the kiosk when he was finished eating. Which he would be, if he ever got started.
A highly familiar man walked up to him.
“Hello, how’ve you been?” said Jim Strange. “May I?” Jim asked. He didn’t bother to wait for an answer – he just sat down and began to eat. “You can’t finish all this yourself.”
Endeavour stared, but did not say anything.
“I’ve got something to talk about with you. Something serious.”
“How did you know I would be here?” Morse said.
“I didn’t. We just happened to book a stay here.”
“We?” That meant Joan was here.
“I was going to call. Bumping into you saved me the time.” Jim wiped sauce off his mouth. He stretched his legs. “Listen. We are trying to start a family. No luck so far.”
Endeavour nodded.
“I took a test. At a clinic. Proper doctor, and everything.”
“Yes?”
“My little swimmers don’t swim. Hardly any of them in the pool. Do you get the drift?”

Morse thought he did. “Ah, yes. Sorry to hear that.” He picked up his first slice of pizza. Jim was just demolishing his second one.
“A few years ago, it seems Joanie had this… problem.”
Morse gulped. “Yes?”
“She told me that she'd been pregnant, and lost the child.”
Morse nodded.
“I won’t ask why she couldn’t speak to her parents about it. I don’t want to know whose child it was.”
Morse took his finger and tapped a piece of crust on the tray. He spun the crust round and round.
“She would love to have a child.”
“There’s a treatment, where they take a sample from the father and a sample from the mother, and put them together in a petri dish.”
“We’ve tried. My ‘supply’ is unable.”

....... “I am sorry.” Morse cleared his throat and sipped some cola. “Have you thought about adoption?”
“Yes. We may consider that as well.” Jim went to the concession stand and got his own glass of fizzy drink. When he sat down, he cleared his throat.
“She told me… she’s had feelings for you since she first set eyes on you.”
Morse’s eyes went wide. “Ah, that shouldn’t be an issue anymore. She’s with you.”
“She cares about me. That’s what she told me. But she loves you. Always has. Always will.” Jim sipped his drink again.
Morse blinked. “She’s chosen you.”
“You’re not getting what I’m saying.” Jim tapped his glass on the table.
“I think I might be.”
“Come now, Morse, this isn’t the Fifth Century B.C.E. I’m not going to beat you with a rock.”
“But to violate your vows? To break up your marriage? No. I can’t.”
“Ha. We’re going to stay together. Nothing’s wrong. We’ll be fine.”
“But that’s – that’s – No.” Morse shook his head.
“Breaking a commandment. You didn’t care about that when you were with what’s-her-name. You are not a prude.”
“I don’t want to be the cause of what happened to my parents, happening again.”
“Believe me, it won’t. We really will be all right. We’ve talked about this.”
“I’m not for hire.” Morse snored.
Jim leaned back in his chair. “She said she’s fine with it. She still likes you. Went to art class. Sketched a number of us from the old days. Her father, Mr. Bright, some others. Who do you think was the most detailed?”
.......
Morse sighed, and pushed a serviette back and forth on the table. “Listen, I-“ He looked at the food. There was hardly anything left. “Did you like your lunch?”
“Pretty good.” Jim patted his stomach. “There’s never going to be another one of me on the Earth. I know this for a fact. I’ve had the test.”
“She’s really here?” Morse asked.
Just then, he heard another familiar voice.
Joan walked into the lodge and strolled up to the table. “Hello. There’s a face I miss.”
“Please, take a seat.” Morse gestured to the chair. Joan sat down.
“Did he tell you – what we talked about?”
“Yes.” Morse drummed his fingers on the table. “I’m thinking about it.”
“Morse, you won’t be breaking us up. Don’t worry.” She put a hand on his.
“You don’t mind raising someone else’s kid?” Morse asked.
“That’s what adoption is.” Jim smiled. “People do that often enough.”
“Anything for you,” Morse said to Joan, and covered her hand with his own.
…….

They hit the slopes. Jim and Joan skied, Morse rode his toboggan. Joan raced with him. Morse tilted over and fell out of the sled. They all laughed.
A few hours later, they went back to the hotel. Morse had a room on a different floor than Jim. He went there, took a hot shower, and got dressed again. Everybody went to the lounge.
Somebody else in the large hall had brought their dog; it barked again and again. Jim got Joan and Morse cups of hot cocoa.
“No whiskey, sorry.”
“Yeah, trying to cut back again.” Morse sipped his drink. “It’s quite good.”
“They’ve got the good stuff here.”

“That dog… I’m thinking of getting one, myself.” Morse crossed his legs.
“Oh, that’s good. You’ll be able to walk it. And have someone to watch the cricket with you.” Joan smiled.
“Ah, listen, mate.” Jim stretched his legs. “We’re going to get a house. A bit closer to yours.”
“Following me around, are you?”
Jim laughed. “Nah. It’s near the bus line. If you want to stop over, you may.”
“I have the Jag now, you know.” Morse raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure you’d like me to give it to you,” he said to Joan.
“Did you get it painted?” she asked.
“Yes. And changed the plates. Your father didn’t want even the possibility of being followed around, given what happened to your brother.”
“What color did you pick?”
“Red.”
“Oh, dashing.” Joan smiled.
“You should try getting groceries in that thing. I’ve been to the store several times, since I received the car. Everybody looks at me funny.”
Joan laughed. Jim sipped his drink.
There was a fire going in the fireplace. Morse took off his shoes and stretched out his legs.
“This feels so good.” He flexed his feet. “I need to get my hair cut soon.”
“There has to be a barber in this town,” Joan said.

....... “Morse, give me the keys to your room. Here’s ours.” He tossed Morse a set of keys. Morse threw his own to Jim. “Them’s the rules. I’ll leave you to it.” Jim walked out of the room.
Morse leaned back into the well-cushioned chair. “I should visit this city more often.”
“It’s lovely.”
“Yes. So, are you the only woman in this country allowed to have two husbands?”
“I imagine more than a few people tacitly live this way.”
“When I get old, will you dump me?”
“No, silly. You couldn’t make me if you tried.”
“The kids. Once they’re here, when will you tell them? What if they get my hair? I don’t look like either one of you.”
“I’ll tell them traits skip a generation. They do, don’t they?”
“They’ve been known to.”
“Morse, you’ve never told me about your aunts and uncles, your cousins – do you have any?”
“No, I was built in a factory.”
Joan laughed. “Come on.”
“I don’t have many anymore. We are not good at meeting with one another.” He wriggled his elbows into the cushion.
“If that’s the way you like it.” She shrugged.
“I’ll be visiting my sister next month.”
“Good for you.”
“Oh, I got you something. It’s a book of puzzles.”
“You know me well. Say, you and Jim did ask at the station where I was going to be this time of year? This couldn’t be a coincidence.”
“Yes, we did.”
Morse breathed out heavily. “You’re really okay with this?”
Joan nodded.
“Let’s go.” Morse got up and extended a hand to her.
…….

A couple hours later, they both lay back in bed.
“I love you,” Morse said.
“I love you too.” Joan smiled.
“What are you going to name the kid?”
“Jim and I will work it out.”
“Mark, or something?”
“That’s good.” She rubbed his chest.
“I’ll be getting a dog pretty soon.”
“Yeah, you said. What kind?”
“Oh, any kind is all right. We strays have got to stick together.”
She chucked him on his chin.
They fell asleep.