Under the Floorboards (and In the Walls)

Anywhere With You-Lucy

From where I was standing I could see a good piece of London. I could see more if the sun wasn't set. But ghost lights shone bright, casting their pale green light over the streets and dark buildings. Gravel crunched beneath my feet as I shifted, rubbed hands and arms to generate some sort of warmth. The brisk wind sent shivers down my spine.

"Wonderful night for a break in, yeah?" Lockwood asked, his breath warm on my cheek as he stood close. I shivered again and moved closer to him. He obliged and we stood together like emperor penguins against the cold.

I tucked my chin into my coat before replying. "Bit colder than Winkmans." That had been freezing.

"Ah Winkmans. We didn't have to wait outside for an age and a half." Lockwood chuckled, remembering back to the Bickerstaff case.

"No," I snarked, "You just got tied to a weird wooden chair and encouraged a maniac to slit your wrists." I turned back to look across the street again, watching.

"Lets just avoid getting electrocuted tonight and I'll call it a good night."

"Yeah that'd be-wait what?" I spun to face him, our faces inches away as I looked up. But I wasn't thinking about that now. Lockwood ran his fingers through his hair as he did when he was nervous.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that." He turned his face away and studied the SPI building again.

I thought back frantically to that day. I was drug into the room by Adelaide Winkman. Unconscious at first and then fuzzy as I awoke. But then I heard Lockwood practically begging Julius Winkman to kill him over me. It's crazy how anger clears your mind in situations like that. He was on that chair, with straps on the wrist. I remember thinking it was odd that they would have a chair specifically for tying people up. But it was an electric chair? Lockwood had wobbled slightly when he first stood. As if he had been sitting for a long time although it had only been a few minutes. I remembered how pale his face was. The circles under his eyes grown darker, bruising his skin. His eyes were stressed. We stood out on the street and his hands were shaking.

Oh my word.

My hand flew to my mouth. To stop a cry or to keep from throwing up, I don't know. "Why didn't you say something?" I choked.

"What would I say?" Lockwood asked, dark eyes on me again. "You were already mad about what I said to Winkman. I didn't want to worry you more."

That boy. He had been tortured but he was thinking of me.

I reached up to the side of his face and gently cupped his cheek.

"It was a long time ago, Luce, I'm fine," Lockwood said, but he didn't pull away. Instead he leaned into my touch.

Against my will my eyes began to fill with tears. "If you're ever hurt, please tell me. You don't have to suffer alone."

And now Lockwood did pull away, ever so slightly, but I dropped my hand. He glanced down at where it dropped by my side and then over across the street. "Thanks, Lucy. I appreciate it." He breathed in, steeling himself. "But I was fine. Just a little shaken. It all worked out ok." He gave a slight smile and that's as far as he would go in admitting he wasn't always ok. I was working on being patient with Lockwood. He was afraid of letting people in. I could see that. And I could respect that. When he was ready to open up, he knew where to find me. In his attic. Drinking tea in his kitchen. Reading a cheap murder mystery in the archives instead of helping George research. Or standing beside him in the dark on a roof top.

Lockwood was keeping a close eye on the building across the street. It had an ornate façade of brick and iron. Boasting of large picture windows almost covering the whole front, it looked modern. With the Problem, people gravitated for as much natural light as possible. A large sign on above the large double doors read "Saunders Paranormal Investigators."

This is where the address George left us brought us. He was in there, somewhere. Flo too. We scouted the building when we arrived but there were workmen milling about around a delivery entrance. From what we could tell, the doors were heavily enforced with fancy new locks. Lockwood wasn't so confident in his lockpicking abilities to crack them. We tried one and Lockwood broke a pick.

It was my idea to climb the building across the street. I noticed a thick cable that ran over the top of the buildings. Electricity or Radio or something. Either way, it looked strong and accessible. Lockwood found the leather straps in a dumpster. Flo would have been proud of us. Now we waited. There were a couple night cabs stationed at the front of the building. As soon as they left with whoever was still in the agency, we would make our move. I just hoped we weren't too late for whatever trouble George was in.

I was cold. Shivering, I watched by breath puff in front of my face.

"Here," Lockwood, noticing my discomfort and pulling off his overcoat. "Put this on."

I tried to refuse but he insisted and soon I was wrapped in the warmth. Gradually I stopped shaking.

"Better?"

"Mmm Thank you."

He nodded, eyes back on the building.

"You don't have any chocolate on you do you?" I asked, for conversation if nothing else.

Lockwood frowned, thinking. "In the left pocket I think."

Lockwood didn't usually carry chocolate so I was grateful that he had thought of it tonight. I pulled out the bar, opened it, and broke off a piece. I handed it to Lockwood and then broke off a piece for myself. We munched on it for a moment. I was putting the rest of the bar back in the pocket when my hand grazed something cold. Metallic. Curious, I pulled it out. It was a necklace. My necklace. The one Lockwood gave me before the Fittes Ball. The one I broke that night when the visitor showed up. I thought I'd lost it. Lockwood had it?

I looked up at him. He was looking out across the street and hadn't seen. I cleared my throat. "Lockwood?"

"Yeah Luce?" He glanced back at me. And saw the necklace in my hand. He eyes widened slightly. Like he had forgotten it was there.

"You found this?"

He smiled thinly. "Uh yeah. In your room. When I was picking up after you got hurt."

I examined the necklace. I know I had broken it. But now it was whole. "You fixed it?"

He looked uncomfortable although I didn't know why. "Yeah, brought it to a shop a couple of days ago."

I jumped forward and hugged him. I think he was surprised but he hugged me back and chuckled. "What's that for?"

"I thought I had lost it." I mumbled into his chest. Pulling back I tried to fasten it around my neck but my numb fingers would cooperate.

"Here." Lockwood took the necklace from me and secured it behind my neck.

"That night, when the visitor appeared. It was the only thing I had on hand. I broke it getting it off and tried to ward off the visitor with it. I ended up chucking it at it." I explained with a laugh, almost giddy with relief. I adjusted the pendant and fingered it. The familiar feel was comforting. "I searched for it this afternoon after we got back but I couldn't find it and thought I had lost it for good."

Lockwood smiled at me. One of his real smiles. Soft and sweet. "You could have asked me to look for it, ya know, if it meant that much to you."

"I was embarrassed about it." I said blushing. "I didn't want you to know that I broke it."

"That's ok. It was an easy fix. I'm glad it was somewhat useful in warding off a visitor."

We smiled at each other. His gaze softened and his lips parted slightly. Maybe this was the right moment?

A door slammed in the streets below. The night cabs were pulling away from the Saunders Paranormal Investigators Agency. Lockwood rolled his shoulders and grinned at me. Maniac. It was time. 

I'm back baby. This was one of the first chapters I wrote. I had to do a bit of rewriting to fit it into the story as it was. Not a lot of plot, mostly fluff, but I had fun. #SaveLockwoodandCo #LockwoodandCoPlanB