A/N: firstly a disclaimer, Recognisable characters belong to Valve.
I hope you enjoy, apologies for any bad French, it has been a long time since I learnt it.
I'd also like to apologise for wondering Accents, I use them sparingly.
Reviews are appriciated.
The Only Mistakes he'd ever made.
Jean Claude- known to his team as the Spy- was a no nonsense kind of man. He cared about nothing but himself. Nothing he did didn't have some side benefit for himself. Jean Claude was proudly French, and missed the days where he'd be able to stare down those cobblestone streets of Paris, watching the city rebuild, from a war that he'd been too young to take part in, watching people go about their daily lives without a care for anyone else's, the perfect cover.
René Baudin however, had been born between those two great wars. His childhood had been difficult for the simple reason that their mother had to both care for his father, who'd hadn't completely come back from the war, care for both him and his brother, Dominique, but also bring in enough money to survive.
He'd ended up spending most of his time with his brother who was only 2 years his senior. Dominique was how René imagined a father should actually be, not the miserable lump that wasted away his days. It was also Dominique who had taught him what a lie was.
For René life was alright in those strange times of the 20's and 30's. He married his childhood sweetheart Antoinette, he learnt all kinds of knife tricks from his brother. He learnt to forgive his father for imagined slights, His mother was able to have a social life as well as Dominique was able to take over caring for their father.
He became a father himself. The boy was born in '37. Mathieu definitely fit his name, a gift from God indeed. The child had been in good health, was joyous and always awoke with a giggle. René was smitten with the child. It was a strange juggle the pair had, both had decided that they would work, and he'd ended up as a chef within a cosy little restaurant - while she had a more daytime hours work.
Mathieu had been 3 when the occupation of France had started.
"Dominique! Where have you bloody been?!" Mathieu made a small noise in his sleep, René quick to apologise to the boy. "Mama has been worried sick! This is the worst-"
Dominique had the habit of fiddling with his knife when he was nervous, or when he was lying, René had quickly spotted the knife and glared at the proximity it had to his little bundle. The blade was gorgeous, the butterfly knife was dark in colour, the one sided blade allowing for tricks which would otherwise nick at the fingers, thin white lines across Dominique's fingers (and his own) showed what happened when it went wrong.
"You can't tell anyone any of this René, I know your a good liar- so you'll be fine." That was an understatement, in his 21 years of life, he'd lied to everyone he'd ever met. Hell once he even lied that he had a dinosaur in the back garden, his mother had straight away panicked that he'd been digging in the garden. No one had once called him out on it. He'd even lied to his brother about lying, he always found it fascinating that even Antoinette couldn't tell his lies.
"Keep the Knife out of Mathieu's reach" his brother was panicked, the 23 year old had disappeared for a while - he'd send letters and messages that he was alright. But once the occupation had started even those had stopped.
"I'm with the resistance. Sh!" Dominique placed the blade to his lips in a shhing motion, causing a cut along the middle of his lip. "I'm going to help free France Ray." he grinned like a child then, bright and hopeful. "and Mama will be okay"
Antoinette came in the door then, a shocked gasp leaving her lips, "René what have you done to your lip!" The pair of brothers rolled their eyes. They had been confused for each other for most of their lives, their parents, teachers friends, everyone they'd ever met. René poked his head around his brother. He always thought that Dominique had inherited their mothers eyes, the brightest blue, while he'd inherited their fathers cloudy grey eyes.
She sighed a breath of relief, "Dominique, you realise you've cut yourself don't you? Ah! Mon petit, Mathieu come to mama!" She smiled at her little boy and took him into her arms. "René I'll leave you to catch up with your brother." She knew how much he'd been worrying about the man who'd given up his own life to make sure he was okay.
"Merci," The pair of almost twins watched her go upstairs to get Mathieu fed and tucked up nicely for his nap. "The resistance. You would be a dreadful solider"
"I'm a Spy"
That had been how he'd been introduced into the world of espionage. It had been necessary in those times. No one wanted the Germans in their country, especially when they bullied those he cared about. The officers were frequent visitors of his wife's work. There had been one day when she'd come home quite, a distant look in her eyes. She'd gone straight to bed that day. Thankfully Mathieu was well behaved enough that his bosses had let him stay in the back office with them.
He'd got in contact with Dominique that night once his shift ended. "I'm in Dom"
He'd had to go into hiding, and sometimes, in the darkest nights looking over Teufort and thinking over what had led him here, he wondered if that had been the best of decisions.
He'd abandoned his family, his wife who probably needed him there beside her, to make her feel safe, to tell her it would al be okay. His son who he never got to see grow up beyond those toddler years.
Sometimes he allows himself to wonder if they're still alive.
He and Dominique had been the best pair within the resistance. Together and individually they had been requested to do more and more dangerous missions.
Within their hideout there were about 3 others, the 5 of them had formed a replacement family in the days they spent there.
Then Dominique went missing. They thought nothing of it. It was possible that he was just seeing family, something they all did, but none of them would admit to.
Then they'd received a package.
"and I am throwing it on the floor like all of you did!"
he'd managed to repress the instinctive flashback and raised just an eyebrow.
But for a moment, the briefest of moments which had only solidified as a pause in his speech.
He'd been back in France in that tiny run-down hideout.
"is that Dominique?! Oh God it is, we've gotta go."
He'd stared in wonderment, the others starting up a panic, wondering how much had been leaked, did they know about their families?
He couldn't take it, his brother wasn't like that! He wouldn't have betrayed them all. None of them would believe him, not with that lie. They could all imagine what kind of tortures Dominique would have faced. His voice was quiet, his longest lie was about to start just then; they had taken Dominique's eyes- his fucking eyes were gone! -in their place the knife stuck out of the remains. He let the words penetrate the panic, pulling the knife out- the knife he'd always always seen his brother with, the butterfly knife, that they'd both cut themselves on so many many times. "It's René, 'e…. 'h must have taken it and…."
"Oh God your Dominique? Why they hell have you been calling yourself René then?!" He started to fiddle with the knife, a perfect imitation of his brothers normal panic.
"He.. he hadn't told me what he was doing.. just… to to pretend to be him I ... I didn't know.."
The War had been won soon after that. The hideout cleared out of all those who had lived there in those days.
He didn't know how quickly the French government started to hunt them down. He spent the next few years playing the field. By the time he left the continent in 1950 he'd worked for every major government most the time he'd be hired by multiple governments at once. Every European nation had someone who wanted the head of Dominique Baudin. He'd started to master his disguises in those days. It took him just over a month, of tailing listening and changing his eating habits before he could accurately take on another personality, but it had earned him the bucks he needed.
And the enemies.
He had enough information that should he wish too he could personally destroy every major political figure within Europe and almost all of France's officials.
He was foolish in those days.
He'd thought leaving Europe was enough.
He lent against the cooker in the American Diner he'd found himself working in, Dominique again. One of the waitresses was talking to him again. She was beautiful, but her accent had made him dismiss her and everyone else of this city. He'd found however, that there was something about her, a quiet intelligence and smirk that made him actually listen to her.
"So Dominic, what brought you here from France?" Her name was Cassady
"Many things, I'm afraid. I wanted to see more then my little town, and well" he gestured around them "The American dream" She knew him to be from a small town on the edge of France, near the Catalan region of Spain.
"Cassy! Larry's here for you" Larry was her husband. They'd been together in school like he and Antoinette, and she'd gotten pregnant with their first before they'd graduated. She had quite a few children with the man, the oldest reaching 15 while her youngest was a mere 2 years old. She was proud of every one of them
Jenny was a co worker, she was bright bubbly and friendly, she had however taken a disliking to Dominique when she first met him. They'd developed a general working attitude towards each other by this point however.
" Cheers Jen, alright Domic- oh he's brought Frankie without Benny? The kid will be impossible to deal with.."
Cassady spent a lot of her time talking about her kids, she loved every single one of them and would do anything for them. Frankie and Benny were the youngest two, and apparently they had become inseparable.
It was about 4 months later when he'd first been invited over to the house. Larry was away on a business trip, or at least that's what he'd said, but by the way that Cassady has said it, she didn't think that was the reason at all.
"Ah Frankie! No don't leave Dominic alone" the child had become fascinated by the man and was crawling insistently toward him.
"Mama is so worried non?" He picked the child up and cradled him against his side, keeping a tight grip. "but she's silly too" he smiled at Cassady's relief as he ruffled the boys thin wisps of hair.
It was the evening when the younger lot of kids had gone to bed, only really the oldest two, Larry jr., and Danny, left up "you're really good with kids, I didn't expect that"
"You know that Benny's gonna be askin' fer ya to babysit right?" Danny was about 13 nearly 14 and was very much a fighter, he got himself into all sorts of scrapes, either in defence of his younger brothers, something Larry did with as much regularity, or for some other insult that he felt had been thrown.
Dominique smiled while Cassady shook her head " I can't aska that from you," she looked sternly at Danny, who had become just a little bit meek, "'Sides don't you wanna get youse and Larry's pocket money?"
It was the way it worked in that house, the older looked after the younger, and if she could afford it, then they were paid for it.
"I wouldn't mind honestly, it wouldn't be a problem." the three Americans looked to him shocked. "Also It's not Dominic," he harshly pronounced the final syllable, he smirked at their surprised looks, "It's Dominique"
She hit in on the arm for that.
That was how life was for a while, half a year at least, he'd get up, get the kids from school, bring them home while he listened to tales of the school yard and bullying, and would stay until Larry returned from his own work.
Whatever that work may have been. It wasn't an office job, he knew that much the man hadn't yet figured out how to fully get blood stains off of his collar, and there was that distinctive smell. It was probably nothing too harmful, bare fist boxing maybe?
But he knew that it worried both Cassady and his younger kids.
"Uncle Dominic was the best, he seriously taught me these tricks" Larry Jr. excitedly told the youngest about the man who'd looked after them while their parents had started to drift apart.
Danny grinned along with him, "yeah he was a cook at ma's workplace, but he also told the best stories, ah man kid I wish you coulda heard them."
The youngest looked up at them hopefully, "could ya tell me them?"
"This Spy wasn't like other spies." he'd always start like that. He'd come up with fantastic tales that 'The Mischievous Spy' would get himself into. There was one story where he'd jumped off of a plane because someone he'd once beat up was there.
"Nuh uh, not right now, Dominic's gonna be late for work otherwise, and you two should be in bed already!" her hands were on her hips, her work uniform was stretchered across her chest as she looked sternly at the two troublemakers, actually the three trouble makers.
"Mama is right, I've got to get ready. Bon Nuit boys, and be'ave."
They were on their break sitting opposite each other. Each lost in their own minds. "I think I finally fallen out of love with Larry…"
That had surprised him, "Why now? You've been complaining about him for as long as I've known you" that was one whole year from today, he wondered weather she remembered… and hoped she didn't realise why he had it in such vivid memory.
"...I dunno ... I guess I've just remembered what it's all meant to feel like…" she was looking at her hands. There was something more wrong.
"Cassady, what aren't you telling me?" he found himself biting his lip, he hadn't done that since he was a mere teenager embarrassed about how he was thinking about Antoinette and fearing she'd hate him for it.
She glanced up into his eyes then back down to her hands. Running them over her wedding band, silent a moment longer before gaining her confidence. "I've got a hypothetical for you"
He nodded along, allowing her the shield for the moment. "What would you do..." She smiled then subconsciously, at the thought of whoever had captured her attention. He felt himself smile in response, in a way he hadn't since Antoinette. "if someone you care about… if they were lying to ya"
"Who," There was a protective tone in his voice then. Dammit he'd have to admit it to himself at the very least… he'd fallen for her. Totally and completely. He loved her eyes and how bright they were. Her smile that just did things to him. He loved her children, Larry's quickly developing knife skills, Danny's proficiency in boxing. How much the pair had taken on in looking after the younger ones so that their Mother could do what needed to be done. Without the worry that her kids would wake up from a nightmare and have no where to go. He loved the energy that she had as she'd wait on the same tables that she had as a teenager. Damn he really did love her with everything he had. "Is it Larry?"
She looked started then, somehow she'd managed to always know which Larry was being talked about and react accordingly. "Larry ain't that much of a liar, no… me and him… we're talking about separatin' he'll still see the kids… but I can't stay in a loveless marriage no more."
He didn't realise he was relived until the sigh had actually left his body. "So who's lying to you?" he brushed a hand across his face to hide the smile.
Cassady looked across at the man she'd met here in this dinner one year ago. His eyes were small and beady, but somehow managed to show the caring that was trapped in his steel grey eyes. His nose was actually pretty big, sometimes she was sure she'd seen it proceed him into a room and the though made her laugh slightly. He was so very protective, of her and her kids.
She remembered when she'd been robbed on her way home. She hadn't dared tell her kids that it had happened to her. She knew exactly what they'd do, and she didn't want to think about what would happened if they managed to get on the wrong side of an actual gang. Somehow though, Larry and Danny those clever boys, had found out exactly what had happened.
They'd told Dominic,- and he'd … well he'd denied it, but her stuff was back in her work locker and he had smiled at her just so. Well she had no idea what he'd actually done, but she was the only person in the whole of Boston who people who were hiding in the ally-ways would actually back off from.
"Dominic, it.. alright, It's Jenny's problem alright," She rushed through her words, not giving him the time to correct her pronunciation like he normally did. "She's so sure he's lyin' to her, and about stupid things as well… she's"
He knew she was lying, he'd known the moment she'd said hypothetical, but he also knew that Bruce, he was everything he'd said to be. He had grown to like the boisterous girl who also worked in the Dinner, She was blond and as heavy a smoker as he is, they'd shared strange little titbit's about their lives- some of it from him was even true. Once he'd found out that Jenny had a new man in her life, Dominique had taken it upon himself to give the man the hurt her and I'll break you line; and of course he had his knife on hand as he'd done so.
"This isn't about Bruce, is it?"
"I can't keep deludin' myself any more…." She stood up, a melancholic look in her eyes, "Dammit Dom I keep falling more and more for you but I don't know a damn thing about you and I've got my boys to think about an-"
He was shell shocked. His job, for a decade his job had been lying, before that he'd lie to see how far he could get. In his 32 years of life he hadn't yet found the boundary. Anything was possible, any lie believable.
She stood up and was ready to leave, she was due a day off and dammit if this was how today was going to go then she was having it. "I .. I love you Dom, but I can't do that to my boys. All I know is that your from France…."
He stood up after her, she … she loved him as well? She could see through his lies? She loved him, with his chain smoking, his fucking nose? Dammit she loved him? The pain in derrière who just had to be a know it all. His need to push as far as he thought he could get away with then a little bit further? That him?
"Ma Chère! Non! Wait! Cassady!" he grabbed her arm just as she started out of the door.
"I'm not doing this Dom.. or whoever you are.. I don't wanna see you ever again."
"Let's talk about this, somewhere private."
They'd ended up at his, the small little place wasn't very homely, there were no photo's of family on the walls. The only thing that looked to have actually come from him besides clothes was a blanket and his trusty butterfly knife.
"It's René," she looked curiously at him, and eyebrow raised. "René Baudin Flourent" She had her hands on her hips, and irritation still radiating off of her.
"So who in the hells is Dominic?"
"My brother."
He told her everything, his hand moved automatically has he told her about his brother, how he had gotten him into Espionage. The blade dancing across his hand.
His brother's head being mailed to them.
How he was wrong that his brother hadn't given them away.
How he was the only one who'd survived that.
He spoke looking at one spot on the ground. Lost in the memories of what he'd seen. What he'd done in that world war. How he'd been forced to leave France- never seeing Mathieu grow up.
He spoke of the threats he'd receive about his 'nephew'
Then he spoke of the proof he'd been sent regarding the boy's demise.
He spoke of the identities he'd taken.
He spoke and spoke and spoke, not one stopping or being interrupted.
His story jumped about in places, one minute he was talking about something that had happened after the war- the next he was speaking about something Antoinette would do.
But she listened, every word she listened and she stayed quiet and sat beside him. Allowing him to take her hand and eventually rest his head on her lap as she stroked through his hair.
It wasn't long after when René moved in with them. The boys were happy that their mother was as happy as she was; and René himself was ecstatic with life.
He had a home a family and a job which didn't lead to death.
Larry Sr. had taken to the split quite fairly, there was some tension between himself and René, but nothing that couldn't be stopped with a swift glare and hiss of behave from the women they both respected.
Larry didn't disappear from his children's lives either. If he was needed to babysit he would do what he could to be available, knowing that it was the best opportunity to see them as well as not having to deal with a grumpy wife at the end of all. He made his way downstairs, passing the door of Benny and Frankie, René had been taken in as a step-dad quiet easily and the two boys were demanding stories before they would sleep.
"Cassy, I've gotta go, jobs starting soon"
Cassady smiled and popped her head from the kitchen, she'd made a start on the washing up, "Alright hon, you seen them all?"
"Yeah I've said my good nights," he loitered around the door, still unsure of how to leave without at least hugging his ex wife.
Giggling interrupted the awkward moment.
René was walking down the stairs, Frankie, a rambunctious almost 5 year old had a hold on one of his legs. " Au reviour, et bonne nuit" he was walking carefully as he headed down the stairs, lifting the leg as high as he could before placing it down genitally so as not to dislodge the child.
"yeah… night, Frankie, behave you'll hurt yourself" he looked at the child with a stern look, " You should be in bed."
Life had continued like that for about 2 years, he would wake up, a soft smile forming on his face as Cassady had moved in her sleep. He'd head downstairs and start on breakfast, calling everyone down once it was done. He take those who were in school in his car, and Cassady would look after those who weren't.
He'd give Larry Jr. advise, and keep Danny out of too much trouble,(not that he was ever successful with that.) He would get home, to help looking after the youngest. He would meet friends he'd made. He would go to work, come home and help with homework, more problems, bandage up cuts that had been caused. He'd teach Larry knife tricks- a butterfly comb had been purchased pretty quickly. He ended up teaching Danny some Savate, if he was going to get into fights then he should at least win, the other boys ended up joining in. He sit Benny and Frankie onto he counter and show them what he was cooking and Cassady would teach him baking.
And for the first time since his brother first said the word Spy to him, he would live.
He'd thought that leaving Europe would be enough.
They'd stormed the house. There was crashing and clattering and yells.
René rushed downstairs as fast as he could.
Larry was at the fridge, a glass in the 15 year old's hands as he stared down an actual real life gun for the first time in his life. The boy froze as the yells started. "Who the hell are you?!" Larry found himself moving into a fighting stance before he knew it.
If they got past him they'd get to his brothers.
He stopped only when he noticed René at the bottom of the stairs. On the other side of the armed men. "Dad what's going on?"
Larry had realised that they were speaking in French, so there was something his dad had done.
René was deathly calm. "Larry I want you to get upstairs. Tais-toi!" the anger in his voice as he yelled at the men almost calmed Larry down.
"How the hell am I meant to get through? Huh?! You want me to fucking fly?" René glared at him for a moment. The yelling of the men causing Larry to panic again.
Then René smirked.
Larry never found out what René said had actually meant. He just knew that the tone of which he said still gave Larry nightmares.
"Vous avez besoin de moi de vie," -You need me alive - he nodded at the few men who'd tried to deny him, "Sinon je serais déjà mort."- if not I'd be dead already - He held his own knife to his throat, a challenging glare in his eyes as Larry dropped the knife he'd been hiding.
"No.. dad… what're you..."
" Laissez-les aller, tous em, ou je vais crever ma gorge et mourir silencieuse"- let them go, all of them or I will gouge out my throat and die in silence -
The men looked to their commander, who barked an order. Larry was given a clear path to upstairs, where Cassady could be seen holding back the other's who'd woken up.
René looked up the stair case at them all, and smiled brightly at them, holding out his hands in surrender. "They will not touch you I promise" he turned back to the men, especially one who was leering at their mother at the top of the stairs. " Je peux encore mordre ma langue" - I can still bite my tongue- he spat at the feet of the men before him. "and if you touch them, after I leave with you" his eyes flared with anger, "I will gut every single one of you, and hang you up in your mothers houses like lamps."
They looked at him in a mix of horror and confusion. " Avez-vous besoin d'une traduction?" -Do you need a translation?- There was a nod from the meekest of those there.
Larry, who was hugging their mother tightly at that point never heard the translation, as René was taken out of the house while giving it.
The next day René didn't come back.
Or the next.
They finally washed the blood that had made it's way onto the front porch on the next.
Cassady was 5 months pregnant when she next saw his face.
The news still called him Dominique, only she'd ever been told his real name. They thankfully glossed over what the body looked like, instead using the picture that he'd attached to his CV. They mentioned that he was only identifiable due to dental records.
She decided in that moment on what her little boy's name would be.
All of his brothers would tell him all about the man who'd they'd only known for 3 years, the man who'd come into Ma's life and made her feel special. Who had taught the guys their weird boxing style.
The man who'd cooked them breakfast every morning.
He knew Uncle Larry of course, he had moved to be nearby after everything had happened. So it was strange when the man had mentioned it one Fathers day.
"You look just a little like him you know that?" He'd looked curiously up at the man. "Got his crazy nose."
"Shouldn't I look like you Dad?" Larry had smiled down at him then, and told him all he knew about the Frenchman who was his actual father.
The others had helped their dad tell him all about his own. They'd spoken of the stories he'd tell, the tricks he'd do. It made him jealous that he'd never got to meet him. Larry and Danny, who were both just in their 20's now would give their own retelling of the stories that the man had told them.
It had been alright for a while, hearing about this mystery man who spoke with a heavy French accent, telling tall tales the lot of them.
But sometimes when he heard his brothers telling them, he tried to imagine what they must have sounded like in the French accent they all attempted to mimic.
They'd warned him against asking their Ma about his father, but it was a homework assignment, so surely she'd actually be willing to tell him something about him.
"Ma, I need to know about Papa," he'd learnt a little French, not much but he wanted to figure out what that accent might have sounded like. It had become a habit for him to call Larry pop's and his real father brothers had followed his habit.
His mother looked over her shoulder at him, her latest boyfriend sitting beside her. None of her kids had warmed up to him, but she didn't know how long she should keep trying. "You know all about Dominic hon, ya brothers tell ya about him all the time."
He was young when he realised that he could always tell when his Ma was lying. Weather she was lying about liking the dude next to her, eating the last chocolate biscuit or lying about not getting mad at all the fights. There had been one time when he'd asked her if she had any regrets, and she'd smiled and held him tightly as she'd shook her head. He'd cried all night knowing that there was something in his Ma's life he couldn't make better.
But he'd always known when she was lying. " Hey Ralph, can ya maybe go, I've got this assignment to do, n' stuff..."
The guy grumbled as he decided not to incur the wrath of the son's who did still live in the house. Larry and Danny's threats had been more then he'd needed. "I'll see ya later Sweetcheeks."
"Bye babes." She patted the sofa on her other side, inviting her youngest to sit with her. "What's the matter?" she'd have to let Ralph go… he didn't like her kids and they didn't like him…
"Dominic's not my dad is he?"
The tears started within the minute, her eyes had been drawn to the picture of him on the mantle piece before she wrapped her arms around him and held on tightly. He was quick to return the hug and was apologising for making her cry, begging her to stop. "What actually happened ma?"
That's when he learnt about that night that Larry would never speak about. And the night he learnt for his uncle Dominique.
He had covered his face since then. Dominique Baudin was never used as an alias again.
And he'd created a Death certificate for one René Baudin Florent as well.
He'd had to fake his death to get away from the people who'd taken him. It had taken him most of a year to track down every agent who'd been in the house that night- who'd been involved in his detainment, and he'd slaughtered every single one of them. By the end of his personal mission, he'd mastered stabbing through the spine in such a way that the opponent was paralysed before they bleed out to death. He didn't allow himself to believe that would be the end of it.
He hid from everyone. Those who hired him knew him only by reputation and voice. Some people had come up with nicknames for him, others he gave them generic fake names to address him by.
He finally perfected disguises, it took him three days of tailing someone to get their voice right, along with nuances within their speech. He usually tailed a mark for a week before he'd assume their identity.
He mastered wigs, make up, nails, body suits anything and everything to keep himself anonymous.
It was another 15 years till he dared to go to Boston again.
He met her in the guise of Jenny, the temptation to pretend to be in those carefree days again was too much and he couldn't resist. It had taken him 3 days to perfect everything he'd needed to fully become her.
"Cassy!" 'she' smiled brightly, glad for a moment that he didn't have to wear something over his teeth, Jenny's being a tobacco stained as his. "how are you hunny" 'she' hugged her best friend briefly before taking a seat to enjoy lunch with an old friend.
"Jenny I'm good how about you?" The following conversation have been nothing but uncensored girl talk. Nothing substantial about their lives.
It had almost been enough.
It was a year or two later when he was hired by RED. He'd developed the identity Jean-Claude for the role.
Jean-Claude was a Master Spy, involved in everything and nothing. The man was a French national, born and raised in the streets of Paris. The man despaired at the lack of culture he saw while in America and longed for the days of tasteful food, decent wine and the atmosphere of Paris. He was a no nonsense snark who had no attachments, who kept to himself determined to keep himself continually free of said attachments. He was mysterious and suave and most of all kept all his features covered with a balaclava. Jean-Claude was a neat freak with a taste for high quality who didn't care about those around him. He had also never fallen in love.
At lot of the Jean-Claude personality had formed out of his own life. He did miss Paris, and his mothers cooking. He did keep to himself, and was determined to keep it that way. René was different to Jean-Claude in one important way however.
René had loved and lost because of his job, Jean-Claude had never made that mistake.
His team reacted as well as Jean-Claude could hope for.
He was practising Jean-Claude in Boston when his petit has walked into his life again.
She was still working in that same diner, as she had all those years ago- she might have owned it now though.
"I'll be right with ya hon, take a seat anywhere" she still smiled like the sun.
It was easy to tell that she had taken a liking to Jean-Claude as she sat opposite him during her break. "You look new around here"
He'd raised an eyebrow at her, bold move to take a seat without asking, Jean-Claude wouldn't like how rude that was, "Oui, just sightseeing."
He didn't expect that his second relationship with her would start then.
"Why'd you wear that all the time?" she pulled lightly on the balaclava, his hand covering hers and stopping her from pulling it off.
"Because I'm a Spy," he'd playfully grinned at her, "A mischievous spy who can never show his face!"
She paused for a moment then laughed with genuine amusement, "Well my mischievous spy, you better take that nice suit of yours and take me to dinner."
There were times when he'd do something, or she'd see something of him and she would be lost for a moment, just a moment in the memories of someone else.
Jean-Claude didn't have a clue who of course.
René could only hope.
Finding out that Scout was her youngest made it all the more fun.
"Oi where're you sneaking out to so late?"
A wicked grin appeared on his face and in the background the Engineer could be seen to sigh.
"Just off to see your mother~" the slight sing song was necessary, Scout was annoying it was hard to believe that Frankie had grown up to be such a brat, that messing with him and causing him to get angry, especially when he tried to plaster it over the face of the toddler from his memories was just too irresistible and far too funny.
"You stay away from her dammit you greasy frog!"
"I can't hear you over your mothers orgasm's!" too far. He swiftly got to the other side of the door and cloaked. As Scouts cries and temper tantrum echoed around the base.
He didn't need another trip to re-spawn to make him late.
Like last week.
And the week before.
Scout sat crossed legged on his bed arms folded as he thought to the phone call he'd just had.
He hated that damn back-stabbin bastard, but dammit… Ma… Ma was really happy with Jean-Claude (and no he wasn't going to tell spy that Ma'd slipped and told him his name). The Man hadn't made her cry, or left her alone. Hell he hadn't even said something she didn't like.
With him Ma felt like she was the only person that he'd ever cared about in the whole world. He made her feel like a princess and she loved it.
Jean-Claude-Spy had changed a little too, it weren't no great big change, but… well he was a bit dare he say it.. fatherly over them all. He'd make sure they'd all eaten, and damn the man was a fine cook. He'd even heard that it was because of Spy that Medic had found out that Heavy was trying to woo him.
Maybe Spy weren't all that bad.. he was still a dime a dozen back-stabbin bastard, but not bad.
Something about fighting along side each other every day caused a strange family like feeling amongst them causing strange evening times where they'd all sit in the one room and talk.
This evening somehow they'd all got talking about families, and mothers, and quiet honestly Spy was happy to stay at the edge of the room and not think back on how his life has effected his family.
It was bad enough that Medic had tricked him into indicating how old he was.
"Scout we've all heard about yer Mum," Tavish was interrupted by Medic briefly.
"A little Too much zanks to a certain spy"
"Yeah, but we ain't heard a thing about your Daddy" The Engineer was homesick, he missed his daughter back at home it was obvious.
"Well ..." Oh God Scout was going to answer… he didn't need to hear about Larry, the man had been a fine father, and he was sure that once he'd left Larry made his way back into the family and he was never spoken of again.
"I didn't know him actually" Scout shrugged his shoulders, "he wasn't really… there"
Scout shuffled in his seat, tugging at the dog tags he always wore. "Mais…. Non.." everyone in the room turned to Spy with a surprised expression.
" Cassady, she told me about him" He lightly rolled his eyes at the others, "Larry's always around." and sometimes he'd glare at Jean-Claude with so much hatred that he'd never really been sure what he did to cause it all.
Scout half growled as he spoke "That's my uncle Larry, and she ain't got no right to be telling you about him. That's private."
"Cassady is a grown woman and can tell 'hoever 'hatever she likes." Spy couldn't help his defensive tone. Cassady had done her duty to her Children, they'd all grown up in to fine men- bratish man-children some of them, but men all the same. So she had a right to not have to think of them over her.
"No fighting, Scout, Spy has a point." Heavy- Misah made to move in between them, as Medic also said his two cents.
"And don't aggravate him so much Spy." Engineer thanked them for stopping it there.
" Interuptin's still rude as hell Frenchie" Sniper gestured to Scout to continue. "Go on lad"
"Well uncle Larry's" Scout had sat down heavily facing away from Heavy and the rest of the room. "Everyone else's dad, my papa's name was something weird."
Spy mouthed the word back to the room in shock, 'papa', "Your the youngest Non?" finally made it's way past his lips, Medic the only one who'd seen the confusion on the man's face.
"Yeah, I am," Scout was confused by Spy's question, "Ma and Larry never got back together My papa's name was Ray, or something?" At the questioning looks that everyone else gave him he elaborated.
"The others have all told me about him, my brothers and Aunt Jenny that is, Ma once told me his name is Ray or something- but they'd called him Dominic "
"Dominique." Spy's voice was quiet, but commanding "Look at me, boy"
"What's your problem?"
It had been a very very long time since he'd seen those eyes- he remembered the holes they'd left behind. The sound the Knife had made coming out of what remained. He remembered them on another face- his Mama giving him a treat. The eyes he'd never inherited, but his brother had.
They were staring up at him in confusion and a slight hint of worry." you alright there frog?"
"Your not Frankie"
The short laugh was accompanied by a shake of the head, "What you thought I was Frankie? Nah, I'm Dominic, she named me after him- or… well I think it was him.- Whoa!"
Scout fell to the floor as Heavy scrambled to get out of the way of the cloaking Spy. He pushed through the mercenaries and left as swiftly as possible. "Hey what's your problem man?!"
Sniper and Medic had been close enough to hear what was muttered under his breath. "Non"
"How Interesting, Misha, get up the floor is filthy"
He made his way straight to the phone. "Cassy!"
"Jean hon it's late what's the -" she was cut off from finishing her sentence as her partner panicked down the line at her.
"Vous Avez huit fils?!" he'd slipped entirely into French as he'd left the room-this could not be happening.
"You wanna say that in English honny?" She was curious now, something had really spooked Jean…
"8 sons?" he started to count, un, deux…took a deep breath after each one.
"What?.. yeah I've got 8," She took a deep breath and became defensive. "I didn't think I'd still have to do this… dammit Jean don't make me choose between my boys and you." she had had to do this too many times in her life, she had tried to get over René all those years ago… and she wasn't fully there she never really would be but Jean was helping.
"You only had 7" he couldn't make sense of all of this, she had 7 kids, just 7, Frankie was the youngest...his breathing was starting to calm down… Scout wasn't… no.. he couldn't be..
"With Larry, yeah, look you make me choose and mister, that will be you gone. I ain't never gonna choose a man over my boys"
It had been 15 years till he was able to see her again longer till they got back together…. Maybe...yes of course that was it, he wasn't seeing Dominique's eyes after all these years…. They .. it was someone else. "Who is the Father of your youngest?"
"I… What?" This was probably the weirdest she'd ever hear him. "Jean…. I don't like Talking about then.." she went silent, lost in memories for a moment.
"s'il vous plait, I'm begging you"
He hadn't been able to find out what had happened after that night. He knew that he'd been tortured for information on officials who have since ceased to be important. He had a scar on one of his palms, were they'd stabbed his knife through to keep him in place. He also had one on the hollow of his throat, where they'd dared him to do as he'd threatened.
He hadn't thought about what it was like there. Larry of course had been terrified. He hadn't slept for a week afterwards, finally succumbing to sleep while he had been in school. The boy wouldn't go downstairs in the dark without some form of weapon in hand for months. Even today there would still be nights where he'd have a nightmare from the event and his own wife would have to go downstairs to assure him.
Cassady herself became just a little bit insomniac, waiting for him to come home. It had been up to Danny to get to at least lie in bed, even if she fall into a half dream state, rather then the full rest she needed.
She spoke to him about the pregnancy that she'd forced herself to get healthy for. The pregnancy that she could never tell René about. Spy shoo'ed away the Solider as he approached the phone, quiet for once in his life.
He pointed at his own eyes before softly speaking "your mask is getting wet, come back when your done on the phone, Medic has made dessert" Spy raised a hand to his mask to feel what Solider was talking about.
He was actually crying.
Cassady was as well, 20 years after seeing that news report, the idea of it still brought tears to her eyes, and she caved to them, no knowing that René was crying with her. "You happy now Jean? I told you about the one man I've never got over- I expect I won't be seeing you again huh?"
"I'm coming over- right now. Wait for me."
Her eyes were still red raw by the time he'd got there, his own a little puffy- and his mask uncomfortable as it dried. " Ma Petit Chou fluer," He pulled her into his arms as she clung tightly to him.
"I've been trying honest I have but I loved him so much, and everything was just so perfect then but everything went to shit and I .. I never told him I loved him enough I never told him how his stupid nose would make me laugh. And … I know your different but you remind me a him so much and I just..."
He directed the pair out of the doorway and onto the sofa. " I have a confession to make" he reached up to his mask. He took a deep breath. He heard her gasp as she realised what he was going to do.
He closed his eyes as he pulled off the balaclava.
She reached up to touch his features, the little line that had developed across his nose caused by the mask pushing down on it, he had crow's feet clawing at the edges of his eyes. His head had greyed and on top of that he had the most ridiculous tan lines from his mask.
So this was what Jean looked like… a hell of a lot like René.
"This ain't true, this is gotta be a story, he died. Your Jean, you ain't… you ain't him." she backed away as he opened his eyes, his steel grey eyes that she'd always thought were just a little blue.
"René could never get a lie past me...so you can't be him"
"I never knew how you did that 55 years and your the only person who could tell." he smiled softly at her, for the first time in 23 years there was no disguise, no false identity, no quirks that were specifically there for his targets reaction, there was only him. His face, his neuances, his quirks. He softly covered her hands with his own.
"Lie to me, right now, do it"
He shook his head at her, "If you insist," she folded her arms, pulling her hands out of his and stared at the ghost in her living room. "My name is Jean-Claude"
He had said it thousands of times, and everyone he'd met in the last 5 years had believed it, his employers his team-mates, enemies people in the street. He'd even attended his father's funeral under the guise.
No one had seen the lie.
"ya twitch ya nose, I mean like flare your nostrils… just a little, but it always amused me so I noticed it." She touched his nose and he twitched again. "used to think you had allergies or you were having trouble with English. Till I noticed you never did it when you were talking about Paris."
Now he'd heard it he was aware of the muscles around his nose. He wondered if they had always been his tell. His head turned to face the other side of the room, he looked over to her raised hand.
Surprised to have been slapped. Less surprised to have been punched.
"I oughta make you actually dead, I should tell Larry- or maybe Danny what you've done ta me, they'd knock you right out you skinny French bastard."
The threat was made rather unconvincing as she laughed through her tears before embracing him and crying fully against his chest.
"I'll let them test they're Savate against me for Smissmass."
He was hit again when he talked about their Son.
Nothing changed in the base, he was still Jean-Claude after all, Not to mention that too much had happened between them to change anything about their relationship. He knew that it would break the boy's heart to find out that the man he antagonised was actually the man he'd brothers had told him stories about. Let Dominique keep the dreams of The Mischievous Spy.
"It's pronounced Dominique Boy!"
"I know ma own name frog!" A baseball made it's way across the room to hit him in the head "unlike you!"
He shook off the irritation and brushed off some dirt from his suit, "Ah but I do, I even say it correctly Jean-Claude!"
The Engineer had drawn the 'make-sure-those-two-don't-kill-each-other' straw, "Would you two cut it out!"
It was a Shame he wasn't fast enough to the phone that day.
"Ma I wasn't expecting you ta call! What's up?"
Scout grinned as he heard her voice, while yeah he was a man now he still missed her sometimes, Sniper missed his parents too so it weren't that weird.
Spy had entered the room as well and shook his head as he saw Scout on the phone. "I've got it Spy, it's my Ma anyway"
"René's there perfect, can you put him on hon."
There was a noticeable beat of silence in Teufort in that moment.
"Ma did you just say Renée? Ain't that a girls name?! HA," Dominic started to laugh heavily, especially since Spy had covered his face in that way that usually meant something hadn't gone as he'd hoped. "Ha Spy you've got a girls name!"
Spy glared at the boy, as he took the phone from his uncultured pain in the rear end of a son, "Tu Mon petit Chou fleur êtes en troubé"
He spoke to the boy before him, knowing that Cassady had understood enough of his meaning from his tone of voice alone. The boy had sat down before him, clutching his stomach as he laughed.
"Firstly René is a Male name with a female form! And Secondly," He grinned wildly. Scouts Laughter dyeing down at Spy's expression. "It sounds a lot like Ray doesn't it? Now Shoo,"
He lightly kicked Scout with the toe of his shoes, as he heard Cassady's voice through the phone.
"I'm gonna get tied up again ain't I?"
A/N I hope you enjoyed some of my headcannon's. I do believe that Spy is Scout's father, but Scout sounds so sure in blood in the water that His dad is dead and that he'd never met him that this was born.
I also believe that If Spy had known he was Scout's father he wouldn't ...be as he is- but once he finds out softening to what we see in Unhappy returns and Expiration Date.