Justice, a merlin fanfic

A million thanks, and hugs to eeshbelle for the quick and fantastic beta, along with the words of encouragement! This is a fanwork and no profit is made. Fair warning, this is a crime drama and there are graphic descriptions of violence! Enjoy!

"Has the child said anything?"

Detective Sergeant Du Luc shook his head, arms crossed and head dipped. His sharp gaze was riveted on the monitor, the grey screen showing the interview that was going on in the next room. Detective Inspector Knight was sitting calmly in his steel backed chair; ankles crossed and pen dangling between his fingers. He looked the picture of ease, as if he didn't have a care in the world and that he could sit there all day waiting on his answers; that the woman sitting across him didn't make his skin crawl.

But she did – she had that effect on everyone in the department. It wasn't just the way she looked; like she hadn't seen the inside of a shower in a long time, her hair long and greasy and piled on top of her head, her fingernails dirty and broken, the cakings of plaque between each of her teeth (the ones she had left), or the stench that followed her around. Even though they had taken her clothes (disposed of them) and given her the blue scrubs to wear, the smell still followed in her wake. It was the acrid smell of an unwashed body, the sweet-bitter scent of stale sweat, and the salty-pungent smell of semen. It wasn't just this, though that alone would make anybody's stomach roll, it was the fact that she didn't seem to care.

Didn't care where she was, didn't care what everyone was saying to her, but most importantly, didn't seem to care that her three year old son was dead.

"What do you think?" DS Du Lac asked.

Arthur Pendragon leaned forward, hands resting on the edge of the desk and frowned at the monitor.

"We won't get her for murder, no jury will buy it."

"But..."

"Lance," Arthur said, "murder won't fly, trust me. She didn't actually kill the boy; there was no intention behind it. You need to get that little girl to talk."

"I don't know how, we're running out of ideas."

Arthur stood up, and lifted his jacket from the back of the chair. "Make her trust you," he said, looking pointedly at Lance as he shrugged the garment on. "Make her believe you are her best friend, little girls don't like keeping secrets."

"That's entrapment," Lance said, following Arthur out the door.

"Just make sure you have an appropriate adult with her. Get me something, Lancelot."
Lance nodded as he watched Arthur walk through the double-doors, navy wool coat flapping out behind and a peek of red silk visible as he round the corner.

Throngs of people milled around the tube station, waiting on their train to arrive and take them to their destination; work, school, or a day enjoying the bustle of London.

Merlin stood inwardly cursing every living creature in the small area as he fruitlessly rubbed the front of his new suit jacket with a paper napkin. He had felt very dapper that morning checking himself out in the hall mirror after a breakfast of a hardboiled egg, and two slices of toast liberally covered in butter – real Irish butter. Will had smirked at him as he tied his tie, lazing on the kitchen chair in nought but his boxers and a ratty old Big Bang Theory t-shirt he had bought in Vegas.

"Break a leg," Merlin had heard him call out as he closed the door to their flat.

Now Merlin was wishing that he had broken his leg when that man had crashed into him at the top of the stairs, and hadn't just tipped his steaming-hot latte all over his new suit.

"Well", he mused as the tracks began to quack and the small, confined space was filled with the sound of the impending train, "it's not like I'll be cross-examining a witness in the Old Bailey today."

Today was Merlin's first day as Junior Crown Prosecutor.

"I need you to sign here and here," Gwen said, tapping the end of the pen on the sheets, the gold bangles on her arm jangling.

Merlin smiled at her, picking a Biro from the box of pens on her desk and signed his contract with a flourish.

"Excellent," Gwen said, gathering the pages and slipping them into a folder. ""Now your office is..." she started to say as she stood up but the phone rang. She mouthed a "sorry" at Merlin who shrugged as she lifted the receiver. "CPS London, Gwen speaking."

Merlin glanced around the slick office as she nodded, frowned, and "hmmed" to whomever was on the other end of the line.

As Merlin waited for Gwen to wrap up the call the double doors to the office opened and a man walked in; Merlin knew who he was, he had seen him enough times on the BBC news. He was Merlin's new boss. He was Arthur Pendragon, Senior Crown Prosecutor for London.
Merlin stood stiffly in front of Gwen's desk, biting his lip nervously. Hopefully Arthur wouldn't notice the coffee stain on the front of his jacket – Gwen hadn't, or maybe she was just too polite to mention it.

Gwen lifted up a file and held it out to Arthur; he took it flipping through it without once looking at Merlin.

"Who are you?" Arthur asked, a frown marring his forehead as he continued to read whatever was in the file; briefcase sitting at his feet.

"Eh..." Merlin looked around, but Gwen smiled at him as she rattled off numbers down the phone. "The new junior?" he said hesitantly, still unsure if Arthur was, in fact, talking to him.

Steel blue eyes flicked up to meet his under a fringe of blond hair. "Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling..." the blue eyes narrowed, "you?"

Arthur snorted and shook his head, turning and walking towards the office across from Gwen's desk.

"Arthur, Mithian called wanting to make sure you were still on for tonight?" Gwen said, as she hung-up the phone.

"Yes, I'll be there at five," he smiled at her from the doorway. "Can you get me the case files for the MacTaggart case? Ring the station and see if Lance has had any luck, and can you also ring Morgause Fox and tell her that I'd like to discuss a plea bargain with her?"

"Sure thing, will I try to arrange a meeting with her today?"

"Yes, the sooner the better."

"Okay," Gwen said, scribbling more down into her little purple notebook. "You have to be out of here by half four though."

Arthur sighed and raked his hand through his hair, "okay today or tomorrow."

"Cool – I'll get you those files and make the calls," Gwen said, closing her little notebook.

"This is Merlin by the way," she said, gesturing in Merlin's direction.

"Yes, I thought he might be," Arthur smirked at Merlin before turning and closing his office door.

"Is he always such a prat?" Merlin asked, turning back to Gwen.

She wrinkled her nose before smiling tightly, "Your office is this way."

"Merlin!"

He jumped at the shout before hurrying out of his office, Gwen was on the phone but she pointed towards Arthur's office without even looking up. Merlin buttoned his suit jacket and hesitantly knocked on the ajar open.

"Come in," came the brusque reply from within.

Arthur was sitting at his desk; black framed glasses perched on his nose. His tie was loosened, the top button of his shirt undone, sleeves rolled up, and his jacket was nowhere to be seen. His hair was a mess; it looked like he had spent the last three hours running his hands through it.

"You hollered," Merlin said, walking towards the desk.

Arthur looked up, one eyebrow raised and a smile playing at his lips. "Yes, I hollered," he cleared his throat, and picked up a file from his desk. "I need you to go down to MIT and observe an interview."

"What? Me?" Merlin asked, today was his first day – he was supposed to be getting his office set up, and reading all the current case files – there was a lot of them! He didn't think he'd be doing any real work for the first week or so, he figured he'd be trailing after Arthur, getting him coffee's, watching in court, taking notes and getting to know everyone on the team.

"Yes, Merlin, you. I can't go down, and someone needs to be there. It's a delicate situation," Arthur said, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes.

Merlin took a deep breath, "okay, what do I need to do?"

"Take a seat," Arthur gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk which was currently playing house to a number of huge Law volumes, and a stack of files. "Or... We'll sit on the couch."

Merlin couldn't help his eyes straying to Arthur's arse as he walked across the office and mentally slapped himself.

"I'm sure you've read in the papers about the young boy who was found dead in his mother's flat?"

Merlin nodded, taking a seat at the opposite end of the couch.

"Okay, well they're not getting anything out of the mother whether she's a sociopath who just doesn't care, or she's still drugged up to her eyeballs and is unable to comprehend what's going on is anybody's guess." Arthur needled his eyes with his palms and sighed.

"So you want me to go down there and watch an interview, guide the questioning?" Merlin asked, leg jiggling.

Arthur barked out a laugh. "No, God no – you won't be doing that until I know what you're made of." Merlin frowned. "The little boy had an older sister, she's ten. DS Du Luc is about to start an interview with her, they're secured an appropriate adult, but I'd feel better if someone from the CPS was there as well."

"Okay," Merlin said.

"Your job, Merlin, is to witness the interview, and make sure that nothing untoward happens. That nobody over steps, or does anything that could jeopardise us if we prosecute. Just make sure Lance, DS Du Luc, sticks to the book."

"Is that not why there's an appropriate adult present?"

"Yes," Arthur smiled and Merlin felt like he'd gotten a pat on the back. "But I'd still prefer if I had someone there – appropriate adults are great at what they do, but they're rarely professionally trained in the field of Law, and I want this done properly."

"Right, I can do that. So go down to MIT, ask for DS Du Luc, and observe."

"Yes, and take some notes. Read as much of this as you can on your way there," Arthur said handing Merlin a file.

"Okay," Merlin said standing up.

"Do you know where you are going?"

"Eh..."

"Ask Gwen," Arthur said looking at his watch. "You'll do fine."

Arthur stood and walked over to his desk, rolling down his sleeves as he went and picked up his jacket from the arm of his chair.

"I hope I do," Merlin said.

"You will."

"You sound very sure," Merlin teased.

Arthur looked up from putting papers in his briefcase. "You wrote your Master's dissertation on how children are treated in the Justice System, I'd say this is right up your street."

"You read it?" Merlin asked.

"You got the job, didn't you?"

Merlin nodded, and bit his lip. The door handle crashed into Merlin's elbow as Gwen walked in.

"Arthur, you are going to be late!" she said, pointing at her watch. "Sorry Merlin," she added as Merlin rubbed his funny-bone, barely holding in his whimper of pain.

"I know, I know – I'm out of here. Call my mobile if you need me. Give Merlin directions to MIT and I'll see you tomorrow," Arthur said hurrying out the door, coat thrown over his arm.

"I'm here to see DS Du Luc," Merlin said to the police officer as he reached the desk, warily keeping an eye on the man two officers were dragging through double doors to his right that was shouting a litany of curses and barbaric statements.

"Is he expecting you?"

"Yes, I'm Merlin Emrys from the CPS."

"I'll call up, you take a seat over there," the burly officer said as he picked up the phone, pointing to a wooden bench.

Merlin sat trying to block out the noise of the station, the hustle and bustle, and the distant clanging of cell doors opening and closing.

"Mr Emrys?"

Merlin looked up to see a man poking his head out of a set of double doors; he had a kind, cheerful face with closely cropped mousey brown hair and wide shoulders that were accentuated by the pull of his light blue shirt over his muscles. Merlin stood and smiled, and the man strode forward with his hand outreached. Merlin took it, and tried to meet the powerful shake while avoiding scrunching his face at the forceful grip.

"I'm Detective Constable Oakley, Percival, Percy," his grin was infectious and Merlin couldn't help smiling with him. His demeanour was a complete contrast to his sheer physical presence.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Merlin."

Merlin waited for the crack about his name but none seemed to be coming, and he let Percy guide him through the double doors with a scan of his card.

"The interview hasn't started yet; Lance is just briefing the Appropriate Adult on what we're going to be asking." Percy said as he took the stairs two at a time.

"Have you gotten anywhere with the mother?" Merlin asked, trying to keep up. His new shoes were very shiny, and didn't seem to have much grip on the floor.

"That cow, no," Percy said with a sigh as he paused at the top of the stairs. "Some people I just don't know what to make of. One of the reasons I love this job is knowing that we're going to do everything in power to put that bitch behind bars." Percy gave Merlin a slight smile before hurrying off down a corridor.

Merlin could already tell that he was going to like DC Percival Oakley, but he'd bet his last chocolate Digestive that the man let his heart rule his head, and became too emotionally embroiled in his work if that outburst was anything to go by. Not that Merlin could judge, but it was a dangerous business especially in their field.

He hurried to catch up with Percy, who was waiting at the end of the corridor holding a door open for Merlin.

After the sterile halls he had just walked through the MIT office was like a slap on the face. There were desks piled high with stacks of papers, notice boards overflowing with newspaper cutting and pictures, white boards that were basically black with the amount of writing on them, and just a general sense of disarray that suggested this office was somewhere where people worked, and the cleaning crew wasn't allowed in for fear losing something in the jungle of information.

"Merlin," a man said as he walked forward, hand outstretched. "I'm DS Lance Du Luc."

"Nice to meet you," Merlin said, wondering if it was a criteria to be good looking to work for MIT.

"Gwen called to say you'd be the one coming over, said you were new – you just started this week?" Lance asked, walking further into the jungle and Merlin thought he better follow.

"Just started today," he said, sidestepping around boxes on the floor.

Lance barked out a laugh as he sat on a swivel chair by a relatively tidy desk in comparison to the rest of the office. "You gotta hit the ground running when you work with Arthur."

Merlin gave him a lopsided grin, and cocked his head to the side unsure of how to reply. He'd spent a grand total of twenty minutes in Arthur's presence.

"Speaking of which, where is he? He was really adamant about this earlier," Lance continued.

"I dunno, he had to leave early – someone called... Megan, or Milli..."

"Mithian," Lance smiled.

"Yeah, that might be it," Merlin said scratching his head.

"I think she's going away for the weekend on some teachers retreat up to the wilds of Scotland," Percy said, stepping up the desk.

"Right, so he'll have his hands full for the next few days," Lance said. "Now Merlin, do you want to sit in the room with us or would you prefer to just watch a video feed?"

"Which do you think would be better?"

"It all depends on Rebecca, the little girl. I don't want to overwhelm her by having lots of people there, but at the same time Arthur would have my head if this doesn't go right."

"I think I'd like to be in there then, if that's okay?"

"Sure," Lance said, clapping his hands together. "Let's get cracking."

The interview was small but cosy; not like the ones that you would see on crime Drama's on ITV. It looked like a therapists office; two couches, a coffee table, pictures on the walls, and a chair or two lining the walls.

Merlin took one of these chairs, and put his notepad on his knee; sitting quietly out of the way.

Rebecca and the appropriate adult, Ms. Jones, sat on one couch, and DS Du Luc and DC Oakley sat on the other.

"Hello Rebecca," Lance said when everyone was settled.

"It's Becca," the little girl corrected, and Merlin couldn't help the grin that tugged at his lips.

"Becca," Lance said, smiling apologetically. "My name is Detective Sergeant Lancelot Du Luc, but you can call me Lance, and this is Detective Constable Percival Oakley."
Becca eyed both men up, but her eyes lit up when they landed on Percy.

"Oakley?" she asked, a small smile on her face. "Like Thomas Oakley?"

"Em..." Percy cocked his head, and his brow furrowed; Lance shrugged. As the clock ticked and neither man said anything, just looked confused, Becca's eyes darkened and the small smile slipped off her lips – Merlin could see she wasn't impressed with either of them.

"Thomas Oakley?" Merlin asked, putting his notebook on the floor and leaning forward; elbows on his knees. Five sets of eyes flicked over to look at him. "You know, Goodnight Mister Tom was one of my favourite books!"

"Really?" Becca asked.

"Really, really." Merlin nodded enthusiastically. "I read it when I was about your age, and I still have a copy of it. Are you reading it in school?"

"Yes," she smiled, and crossing her legs under herself she turned to fully face Merlin. "We finished it last week."

"Who was your favourite?"

"Um..." she looked around, twisting her hands together. "I liked Zack a lot cause he was so cheerful all the time."

Merlin nodded, "and he had that amazing jumper! I wanted one like that."

Becca giggled, and nodded at Merlin. "But, I think I like Mister Tom the bestest cause he helped William."

"I think you're right, he was the best because he did everything he could – he even went to London to help William."

"And Trudy," Becca said sadly.

"Yeah, poor Trudy." Merlin watched Becca as she sat twisting her hands, and looking sad.

"My name is Merlin by the way."

"Merlin?" she looked up, a big grin on her face. "Like the wizard."

"Just like the wizard," Merlin nodded.

"He was really cool, he helped King Arthur didn't he?"

There were two coughs muffling sniggers from the couch.

"He did, he was super cool – way cooler than Dumbledore!"

Becca giggled, covering her face with her hands. "Nobody's cooler than Dumbledore!"

"What are you talking about? Merlin was definitely the best wizard of all time. He helped the King Arthur, like you said, but he also helped the Knights of the Round Table too."

"Yeah, I... I read that in one of the books at school," Becca said, kneeling up and gripping the back of the sofa. "Are you like that Merlin?"

"I'm not a wizard, but I am here today to help Sir Lancelot and Sir Percival."

"Oh..." Becca turned around and looked at the two men on the other couch. "Are you really knights?"

"Yeah," Lance said, seeing Merlin nodding at him from behind Becca. "We're the modern day knights of London."

"Cool," Becca said, eyes huge and a big smile on her face.

"So," DI Leon Knight said, as Merlin, Lance, and Percy settled into his office, "did you get anything from her?"

"She says Jack was alive when she left for school," Percy said. "Mrs. Leavy from two apartments down walks her to school every day."

"Okay," Leon said, rubbing his face. "We have Mrs. Leavy's statement – it was her who found the boy when they came from school. Did Rebecca have anything else to say?"

"Just stuff about her mother, which will be good in court," Lance said.

"I don't know," Merlin said, and the three turned to look at him. "There's something not quite right about her."

"What?" Lance asked.

"She's a very clever kid, obviously reads a lot but..."

"Her teacher said she's a very diligent student," Leon asked, opening a file.

"She is, for a ten year. But for a ten year old she's very innocent," Merlin said, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean she got so wrapped up in our names..."

"So she's got an imagination," Lance said.

"She didn't seem to be affected in any way by the fact that her little brother is dead," Merlin said bluntly. "She was more interested in talking about fantasy worlds than reality."

"A defensive mechanism?" Percy asked.

"I don't know," Merlin said.

"Look at the environment that she grew up in, maybe escaping reality is the only way she can cope," Lance said, frowning at Merlin.

"Maybe," Merlin agreed. "Have you got the PM report yet?"

"Yes, it came in a minute before you lot did. Haven't had a chance to look at it yet," DI Knight said, reaching for a file on his desk. "Cause of death cerebral haemorrhage brought on by a heavy blow to the head, impact site suggests it could have been caused by a fall."

"Or a push," Percy added.

"What's the time of death?" Merlin asked.

"Estimated to be between seven and eight am," Leon said, a frown appearing on his face as he read.

"So he couldn't have been alive when she left for school," Merlin said, cocking his eyebrow at Lance who had turned pale.

"She lied to us," Percy said.

"Like I said, a very clever little girl."

"Fuck," Leon said, reaching for the phone.

"You're late," Will said, as Merlin closed the door.

"Sorry," Merlin said, dropping his bag on the floor and collapsing onto the couch beside Will.

"I made dinner, you can stick it in the microwave," Will said as he flicked through the channels.

"Thanks, I'm not really hungry at the minute," Merlin replied, nuzzling into Will's shoulder.

"Tough first day?" Will asked, eyes trained on the TV.

"Yeah, Arthur asked me to witness an interview that's why I'm so late."

"Arthur?"

"Yeah, Arthur Pendragon."

"On your first day?"

"I know, but he was in a rush."

"So you had to pick up his slack?"

"What?" Merlin asked, sitting up. "It's my job."

"Right," Will said, voice bored as he settled on reruns of How I met Your Mother on E4.

"Who is that?" Merlin asked, handing a folder over to Gwen.

Gwen cast her eyes over to the doors where Arthur was shaking hands with a tall, blonde woman.

"That's Morgause Fox, she works for Defence."

"Oh, the plea bargain?"

"Yep," Gwen smiled. "Fancy going out for lunch?"

"Don't be too long, I want Merlin to go to Rebecca's school and talk to her teacher and Headmaster," Arthur said as he walked by.

"Did she take the plea bargain?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah, she jumped at it. Court ordered detention in a secure psychiatric unit instead of possible life in prison for murder."

"One less case," Gwen smiled.

"In exchange for prosecuting a ten year old girl for the murder of her brother."

"We don't know that yet," Merlin said.

"Everything is pointing that way," Arthur said, leaning against Gwen's desk.

"It's going to be tough," Gwen said, reaching out and squeezing Arthur's hand.

"Children shouldn't be subjected to life like that," Arthur said fiercely.

"You're still going to go after the mother, aren't you?"

"It all comes down to nature and nurture in the end, ones with kids always do."

"Don't let it get to you," Gwen said. "What are the plans for tonight?"

Arthur laughed. "Early night tonight I think, we were up late last night watching bloody Twilight."

"I know you love it, Arthur," Gwen teased.

He laughed and straightened, "okay you two get off to lunch. Merlin come and see me as soon as you're back."

"Want us to grab you anything?" Gwen called after Arthur as he made his way to his office.

"Sandwich?"

"Okie dokie," Gwen said shrugging on her coat.

"I like the new kid," Leon said, as he swivelled his chair towards Arthur.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked, not looking up for the PM report he was reading.

"Yeah, he seems bright. He was good with Rebecca yesterday."

"I thought he might be. I've no doubt he'll be a good researcher, how he does in court remains to be seen."

Leon smirked as he took a sip of his coffee. "Here we go," he said as the monitor showed the interview room door opening and Lance leading Rebecca in with her appropriate adult.

Arthur looked up and closed the report, eyes fixed on the monitor.

"Okay Becca," Lance said when everyone was settled around the table; this time the interview was taking place in a proper interview room. "We just want to ask you a few more questions about the day Sammy died."

"Where's Merlin?" she asked, gripping the edge of the table.

"He's not here today," Percy said in a gentle voice.

"I can see that. I asked where he is."

Arthur jerked back slightly, eyes narrowing and glanced at Leon.

"He's away doing other work today, Becca," Lance said.

"Okay," she nodded, and Arthur leaned forward towards the monitor and caught the sweet smile on her face. "You asked me about Sammy yesterday."

"We did," Lance said. "But there's a few more things we need to know."

"Do you think my mummy killed Sammy?"

"We don't what happened to him yet which is why we need your help," Lance said.

"Okay," she nodded, glancing around the room.

"Can you tell me about that morning when you were getting ready for school."

"I told you this already."

"I know," Lance said, "but if you could tell me everything you did from when you got up that would be a great help."

Arthur couldn't make it out clearly from the monitor but it looked like she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I got up at a quarter to eight, I made my bed, I got Sammy up, we went down to the kitchen, I had Rice Krispies and he had Coco Pops. Then I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and then Mrs. Leavy came to take me to school."

"And what time did Mrs. Leavy come and get you at?"

"She always comes at the same time, nine o'clock."

"And Sammy was definitely alive when you left?"

"Yes."

"Did Mrs. Leavy come into your apartment?"

Becca sighed and rolled her eyes. "No."

"So she didn't see Sammy?"

Becca sat up straighter, and looked around the room.

"You'd have to ask her. I don't know what she saw, they're her eyes."

"Merlin was right," Arthur said, tapping a pencil on the edge of the desk, "she's a very clever child."

"Yeah," Leon said, rubbing his eyes. "We're not going to get anywhere with her, are we?"

"Wait," Arthur said, sitting up straighter and grabbing the PM report from where he'd thrown it. "Coco Pops, she said?"

"Yeah," Leon said leaning forward.

"No trace in his stomach," Arthur smiled. "Tell Lance, and see if that trips her."

Leon jumped up and disappeared into the corridor. On the screen Arthur could hear the knock and see the door opening. Percival stood up and had a whispered conversation with Leon at the door before he it closed and Leon arrived back into the room.

"Becca," Percy said as he sat back down. "Do you know what happens when someone dies, and the police have to figure out why?"

"I don't think this is an appropriate question for a child," Ms Jones piped in.

Rebecca turned in her chair and Arthur could just imagine the look she was giving Ms Jones if her reaction was anything to go by. Lance and Percy looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"A doctor comes and looks at them," Becca said a minute later.

"Yes, very good. These doctors are very clever, and they can tell what someone has eaten just before they died. Now you said Sammy had Coco Pops, but the weird thing is there were none in his stomach. Can you explain that?" Percy asked.

"Obviously he'd already digested them by the time he died."

Arthur snorted out a laugh.

Lance sighed loudly. "The thing is Becca that we know that Sammy died before you left for school."

"No," she shouted. "He didn't!"

"He did, that doctor told us," Lance said in a soothing voice.

"Then that doctor got it wrong!" she shouted, jumping up.

"Becca, calm down," Percy said.

"No! Mummy killed him after I went to school, she did!"

"I'd like this stopped right now," Ms Jones said loudly as Becca began to scream; gathering the girl into her arms. Becca struggled and kicked, and Ms Jones let go.

"Calm down, Rebecca," Lance said; holding his arms out as he walked towards her. Percy had an arm around Ms Jones.

"My name is Becca! I want my mummy!"

"Well, fuck," Leon said.

"Has she seen a psychologist?" Arthur asked, leaning forward and hand over the lower half of his face.

"So get this," Merlin said on Friday morning, leaning across Arthur's desk, "her teacher says she has a bit of a sadist side."

"How so?" Arthur asked.

"Just an impression she got really, the games Rebecca plays, how she treats the other children in her class. She's been in trouble for bullying a few times, tormenting some of the younger children."

"And why didn't this come out when the police spoke to her?"

"She didn't think it was relevant."

Arthur sighed, "not relevant?"

"That's what she said. What are we going to do?" Merlin asked.

"Lance and Leon are going to have another go with the mother, and see if they can get anything. I want you to talk to people, their neighbours, their friends. Just gather as much information as you can."

"What are you going to be doing?"

"I have a Parole Board meeting in an hour, I won't be back till the afternoon," Arthur said, looking at his watch.

"Okay," Merlin said.

"I'll see you later, call me if you need anything."

"Merlin, you coming out for a drink?" Gwen asked, as she shrugged on her coat later that same evening.

"Em..."

"We all usually head to The Dragon for one or two on Friday evenings," she said brightly as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Who's we all?" Merlin asked.

"Well us, and usually Lance, Percy, and Leon tag along if they're not busy. Come on, it'll be fun! We have to get to know you," she smiled brightly.

Merlin laughed, and ran his hand through his hair; Will wouldn't be too impressed, but he really needed a drink after all the work he'd done this week.

"Let me just text my other half and let them know, I'll be two minutes."

Going out for a pint, won't be late xx

As he gathered his bag and coat in his office, his phone buzzed.

Merlin rolled his eyes, and went back out to Gwen.

"All set?"

"Ready to rock n' roll," he grinned at her.

"Arthur!" she called out, and bit the tip of her tongue.

A minute later Arthur walked out of his office looking dishevelled; hair a mess, shirt sleeves rolled up, and tie missing.

"Pub?"

"Yeah, for a quick one," he said hollowly.

"Everything okay?" Merlin asked.

"Rebecca Thornton has just been charged with the manslaughter of brother."

"Shit," Merlin said.

"Yeah."

"What happens now?" Gwen asked, biting her lip.

"Now we go to the pub," Arthur said smiling slightly. "On Monday, we start building our case."

It was a morose group of people gathered around the table at The Dragon. Leon and Lance arrived half an hour after Gwen, Merlin, and Arthur, and Percy ambled in a while later.

Merlin's interest was piqued when Lance arrived and Gwen's face lit up, the DS sat beside her and they spoke quietly between themselves.

It was clear Arthur and Leon were old friends; from the greetings to the easy banter between them.

"So Merlin," Leon said after a while, "tell us a bit about yourself."

Merlin lowered his pint slowly as all eyes swung to him, expectant looks on everyone's face but Arthur's, who kept glancing at the bar.

"Well what do you want to know?"

"Where are you from? Where'd you go to school? Are you married? You know, the usual interrogation stuff," Percy smiled.

"Right," Merlin laughed, scratching his head. "I'm from a small town in Wales called Ealdor, my mum still lives there. I went to Cambridge, took two years off after my degree and travelled the world with my boyfriend, Will."

"Oh, where'd you go?" Gwen asked, eyes lit up.

"Travelled all around Asia; China, Japan, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia. Taught English in India for six months."

"Wow, that sounds amazing," Lance said. "I'd love to do something like that."

"Me too," Gwen smiled at him adoringly.

"How long have you been with Will?" Leon asked.

"About ten years."

"Wow."

"Yeah, it's been a while," Merlin nodded.

"Can I get all you lovely law abiding citizens another drink?" an Irish accented voice asked.
All eyes swung to the head of the table, and Merlin admiringly looked at the man. He was tall, with long brown hair, and chiselled features with a scruffy beard.

"Hey Gwaine," Percy said.

"Oak Tree! How are we this evening?"

"Good good, little man," Percy laughed.

"Drinks all round," Leon said.

"Cool, and who might this be?" Gwaine asked, looking directly at Merlin.

"This is Merlin, my new junior," Arthur said.

"Working for the princess, eh?" Gwaine winked at Merlin. "Best of luck to you." He laughed and took a step back as Arthur slapped at his leg. He cuffed Arthur on the back of the head and leant over to gather the empty glasses from the table.

"None for me, Gwaine," Arthur said, swallowing his last mouthful and standing.

"Off so soon?" Gwaine asked.

"Yeah, I've got some work to do and then off to dad's for the weekend," he said shrugging no his coat.

Gwaine nodded, arms filled with glasses. "Well have fun," he smiled and sauntered back to the bar.

There was a chorus of "goodbyes" as Arthur walked away, his hand held up in a wave.

Outside the air was frigid, and he tied his scarf a bit tighter. He leaned against the wall for a minute, blowing onto his hands, and then the side door opened.

"So he's cute," Gwaine said, as he lit a cigarette and leaned beside Arthur.

"Is he?" Arthur asked, reaching out and taking it for a drag.

"Naughty, naughty," Gwaine said, clicking his tongue.

"It's been one of those weeks," Arthur said, handing it back.

"And don't pretend you haven't noticed."

"I haven't had a chance to," Arthur said, "but now that you say it..."

"Shut up," Gwaine laughed, swinging around and leaning against Arthur's chest. "Do you really have to go away this weekend?"

"Yeah," Arthur said, closing the last few inches and slotting his lips over Gwaine's.

"Good morning, Gwen," Merlin said cheerfully as he unwound his scarf from around his neck.

"Morning Merlin, how was your weekend?" she asked, eyes not leaving her computer screen.

"Quiet, didn't get up to much. What about yours?"

"Same old, same old," she grinned at him before going back to the computer.

"Is he in yet?" Merlin asked, jerking his head towards Arthur's office.

"Yet?" Gwen asked, a laugh in her voice. "He's been in and gone."

"It's 9.15!"

"The law doesn't sleep."

"Maybe not but humans do or is he not human? I've had my suspicions."

Gwen smiled, her eyes crinkling. "He's gone down to a crime scene; DI Knight called."

"Oh!"

"He left this for you," she said, handing him a folder.

"And there was me thinking I was getting a morning off," Merlin said, shaking his head sadly.

Arthur and Leon stood in the small, dank, musty room of an apartment on the 15th floor of a derelict block of flats in one of the run-down areas of London. The wallpaper was peeling, the paint was cracked, the window was broken, and somewhere under the piles of rubbish and debris there was a damp, moulding carpet – the smell was nauseating.

The facemasks did little to eliminate the smell, and the back of Arthur's throat was burning. The flat that had stood empty less than three hours before was alive with activity now. There were police officers, forensic scientists, detectives, and Arthur.

It was a surreal environment and not one that Arthur often had reason to attend. Men and women moved around the small flat dressed in the blue, sterile overalls, faces covered, and every so often the flash of a camera would startle Arthur with its intensity. Crime scene tape covered the entrances and floodlights were placed in the corners of the room; illuminating the dark flat to shoulder level; above that was a dark abyss of foul air and cobwebs. Arthur was usually given the work once the police were done, but Leon had called him. He had known that Arthur would want to be here; to see it for himself.

"He's back," Leon said, voice slightly muffled by the facemask as Arthur crouched down; empty crisp packets crunching under his feet as he examined the corpse lying on the old, worn mattress in the corner of the room.

"Either that, or we've got a copycat."

"Some details were never released," Leon said, crouching down beside his friend.

Arthur nodded and swallowed loudly.

"You okay?" Leon asked, putting a hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"Yeah."

Both men stayed crouched, a foot away from the body and Arthur couldn't tear his eyes away; no matter how much he wanted to. It made his stomach roll, and his eyes sting; to think that there was someone out there in the city, his city, who was capable of something like this. He had hoped when Leon had called that it was a mistake; some junior police officer horrified by what he had been called to investigate barely looking before he called in MIT. But no, that wasn't the case.

It had been two years since Arthur last saw a body, well crime scene photos, of such horror.

The bodies had been appearing around London sporadically, usually in haunts such as the one they were in now, for over four years. And then, it had stopped. No warning, all resources used up – there was nowhere left to go with the case. No witnesses, no suspects, and no hope. They had all hoped that whoever was responsible had met a nasty end of their own. But no such luck, he was back.

The body, a young woman by the looks of her, was lying dressed in only her knickers with her hands tied above her head with cable ties. Sigils carved into her flesh, trails of dried blood standing in sharp contrast to her pale skin, a white veil covering her face, and her throat cut.

Arthur's eyes were trained on the rune adorning her left breast and he felt the acidic taste of bile rising in his throat. He coughed and stood up sharply, walking from the room. He walked as quickly as he could out of the flat, tearing his mask off and bracing himself on the wall outside the flat breathing heavily and trying not to vomit.

Percy was standing a few feet away, talking to a WPC, and he took a step toward Arthur.

Pity and sorrow marred his features but Leon exited the flat a minute later and shook his head. Percy nodded and went back to the WPC, casting concerned glances at Arthur all the while.

Leon leaned back against the wall beside Arthur; not daring to speak until Arthur was ready. There were some things nobody should ever have to see; Leon had seen his fair share but nothing could prepare you for seeing that.

PC Valiant was exiting a flat two doors down and caught Leon's eye. Leon motioned with his hand, and Valiant nodded rummaging a packet of Benson and Hedges out of his pocket and handed two to Leon.

Leon nodded his thanks before lighting them and putting one into Arthur's trembling hand.

"I quit," Arthur said, voice hollow.

"I know."

Arthur turned his head and smiled at Leon, though it didn't reach his eyes before raising the cigarette to his lips.

Arthur's phone started ringing and he had to unzip his blue scrubs to get to it; he groaned
when he saw the caller ID. Leon raised an eyebrow at him.

"Dad," he said, rolling his eyes.

"You better give him the details."

"He wouldn't be calling if he didn't already know."

Leon laughed, "Well tell him that we don't want any spooks sniffing around down here then."

Arthur gave Leon the finger before raising the phone to his ear, "Home Secretary."

Leon rolled his eyes, before stubbing his cigarette out; never understanding why Arthur never called his Dad "Dad" outside the family home.

It was half two by the time Merlin made it back to the office after completing all the tasks Arthur had left for him. He'd gone back to the school to talk to Rebecca's teacher again, now that she had been formally charged. He'd gone to the hospital to pull medical records on the family, and then he'd tried to get hold of the social worker in charge of the case with no luck.

"Merlin," Annis; the Director of CPS London; called as he walked through the door.

Merlin froze and smiled at her; he hadn't really crossed her path yet and was unsure what to make of his boss. She seemed a little cold, and he got the distinct impression that she was waiting for him to do something really stupid. Though everyone else seemed to like her; on a number of occasions he had heard Arthur and Annis laughing from inside her office..

"Yes?"

"Let's go into your office and see how you're getting on," she smiled warmly at him and gestured down the hall. "I understand Arthur left you a lot of work to do today while he's out on other business."

"Is he not back yet?" Merlin asked.

"He'll be back just after three," Gwen said as she walked by. "Can I get tea or coffee for you?"

"Tea please," she smiled at Gwen. "Shall we Merlin?"

"Of course," Merlin said, following her down the hall; feeling like a schoolboy on his way to the Headmaster.

Merlin ran his hands through his hair and needled his eyes, before taking a gulp out of his now cold cup of coffee. The sticky sugar and coffee residue stuck to his teeth and he grimaced in disgust. Wiping his lips with the back of his hand, he looked down at his rewritten notes. After getting his wrists slapped;

"This writing is illegible. How do you expect Arthur to be able to read this? Can you read this, Merlin?"

- he had spent the last hour and a bit rewriting all the notes he had taken that day and hoped now that they were neat enough for Her Highness.

Pushing away from his desk and grabbing the folder he made his way out into the hall.

Gwen wasn't at her desk but the door to Arthur's office was ajar. He wrapped on it once, before pushing it fully open and walking in, head down.

"Arthur, I have the file..."

"Who are you?" a voice asked, a child's voice.

Merlin stopped in his tracks and looked up, then looked behind himself and back into the office. There was a little boy sitting behind Arthur's desk.

"Em... I'm... I'm Merlin," Merlin said slowly, looking around but there was no other signs of life anywhere.

"Oh!" The little boy's face lit up, "you're Merlin."

"Yes... Do you know where..."

"Merlin, can you do long division? I'm stuck," he screwed his face up in an adorable manner and picked up his pencil.

"Long division?" Merlin asked, taking a step forward; still very unsure as to why there was a child sitting where Arthur should be.

"Yes, we just started it at school and I'm stuck and there's no one here to help me but you."

"Okay, I guess I could..."

"Oh Merlin, there you are," Gwen said walking into the door, huffing and puffing and carrying a large box. "Could you take this from me?"

He grabbed the box, which weighed a lot, out of her hands as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Arthur's got the other ones."

"Yeah, okay..."

"Gwen!" The little boy jumped off the seat and ran round to give her a hug.

"Hey there, cutie pie! I didn't know you were here," she said rubbing the top of his head.

"You weren't at your desk when we came in, and I have to stay here until mammy comes to collect me," he said beaming up at her. "Where's daddy?"

"He's right behind me somewhere," Gwen said, running her fingers through his mop of brown hair.

"Have you got your maths finished?" Arthur asked, walking in the door carrying two more boxes.

"I got stuck," the little boy said.

Merlin was standing back with his mouth hanging open.

"You'll catch flies like that," Arthur remarked as he put the boxes on the floor.

"What's in these boxes?" the little boy asked, walking over to stand beside Arthur as he crouched down.

"Very important files," Arthur said, smiling at him.

"Okay," he frowned at the boxes before taking Arthur's hand. "Dad will you help me with the maths?"

"Sure," Arthur said standing up.

"Dad?" Merlin mouthed at Gwen when their backs were turned.

"Oh!" Gwen said, hand over her mouth. "Arthur," he looked at her and she gestured towards Merlin with her head.

"Sorry, Merlin," Arthur said smiling slightly. "This is Alex, my son. Alex this is Merlin."

"We've already met," Alex said, smiling at Merlin and he now could see the resemblance; the same bright blue eyes, finely cut features, and full lush lips. It was like looking at a smaller, mini version of Arthur only with brown hair.

"Merlin, will you go grab the other boxes out of the archives?" Arthur asked as he leant over the desk to look at his son's homework.

"Sure," Merlin said; feeling slightly dumbfounded. How did he not know Arthur had a son? Was he married as well?

"Percy," DI Knight said, poking his head out of his office door, "Come in here for a minute, will you?"

Percy looked up from the report he was writing, before sighing and walking into Leon's small office.

"Close the door," Leon said, from behind his desk.

"Everything alright, Gov?"

"Take a seat," he opened a file, and skimmed the first few pages before closing it and smiling at Percy. "You've been with us now for eighteen months."

Percy nodded.

"What are your goals, Percy? Why do you do this job? What do you want from it?"

"I do it to make a difference, to protect people."

Leon smiled and nodded, some of his unruly auburn curls falling across his forehead.

"Some people might say that being a copper out on the beat protects the people more."

"Eh... Sure," Percy said, fidgeting on his seat, "I guess it would."

"How so?" Leon asked, resting his forearms on his desk.

"Well... The copper on the street would be better able to protect the people of his beat from day to day crimes. Burglaries, assaults - if they were happenin' while he was on duty and in the area."

Leon smiled and nodded, seeming happy with the answer and Percy let out a deep breath.

"Did you enjoy working the beat?"

"I did," Percy smiled, remembering the days in the barracks and the comradery between himself and his fellow officers.

"Do you miss it?"

"In some ways."

"Understandable," Leon said picking up a pen and opening the file. "Are you happy here with us?"

"Yes."

"What is it that you like about this job? What makes you keep coming in?"

"The challenges, every single day is different - we never know what's going to happen."

"Very true," Leon nodded. "It's a tough job but someone's got to do it, eh?"

Percy nodded, completely bewildered about the line of questions. Was he getting sent back to the beat? He knew that the budget had been cut but he had hoped that his job was secure. There had been plenty of cuts within the force, but he hadn't heard any rumours of it extending to MIT.

"I've decided to put you forward for your Sergeant's exam," Leon said, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Really?" Percy's mouth dropped open.

"Yes, you've done a remarkable job since you transferred to us. And I think you're ready for it."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Hard work deserves the rewards, but it's not going to be easy." Leon sat back in his chair. "The next set of exams are in seven months - I want you to start preparing now; talk to Lance, he only took them last year, study as hard as you can, and start taking a step forward in investigations. Don't always wait to be told what to do, you've got good instincts - I want you to start showing me that you can lead."

"I will, I promise," Percy said, a huge smile adorning his face making his eyes crinkle into slits.

"Right, off with you back to work."

"Thanks, Gov."

As the door closed behind Percy Leon let out a little chuckle. The man's happiness and excitement was catching - Leon knew he would make a great DS when the time came, and he would be ready to step up to the plate. That's what you needed in this job, hunger. Without it you could end up working the beat for all your life, or get stuck behind a desk. But it's also the hunger for justice that motivates someone to come in day after day, no matter what horrors had greeted their eyes the day before. Every man and woman in MIT had it, the hunger, and DC Oakley was no different.

"What was all that about?" Lance asked as Percy retook his seat.

"The Gov's putting me forward for me Sergeant's exam."

"That's fantastic mate! Any help you need, just ask. I've got loads of books and shit at home I can give you."

"Thanks," Percy couldn't keep the smile off his face as he lowered his head back to the report.

A pen hit him on the forehead a minute later, and he glared up into Lance's smiling face.

"No studying tonight though, tonight we celebrate."

Percy laughed, "yeah, you're on!"

Arthur leaned back in his chair, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes.

"Coming," he shouted as he got up from his chair and made his way towards his front door where an insistent, and irritating knock could only signal the arrival of one person.

"Gwaine, what a pleasant surprise."

"Well princess, aren't you a rumpled sight for sore eyes," the Irishman said with a cheeky smirk, as he took in Arthur's messed up hair, the top of his normally creaseless shirt unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up and bare feet.

Arthur laughed quietly, closing his eyes and shaking his head as he stepped back to let Gwaine in. The other man bounced by him with the energy of a puppy on ecstasy.

"I brought food, and beer," he declared holding up a brown paper page.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Arthur asked, padding across the hardwood floor to get the bag of delicious smelling food.

"I'm afraid it's not a social visit," Gwaine said, taking a head of lettuce and a tub of coleslaw out of Arthur's fridge to make room for the beers.

"And yet you still brought beer."

"Naturally, no business can be done without the aid of some alcoholic lubrication."

Arthur laughed, grabbing two plates from the press and opening the containers of Chinese food.

"Smells great."

"Yeah, you do," Gwaine said, coming up behind Arthur and twining his arms around the other mans waist before slapping his arse and stepping away. "Will I open you one? Won't be too cold at the minute."

"Sure," Arthur carried the plates to the table. "So not a social visit?"

"Keep your knickers on, love, we might get to that later if there's time," Gwaine gave a roguish wink before shovelling some rice into his mouth. Arthur rolled his eyes and took a tepid sip out of the Heineken bottle.

Gwaine chewed slowly, eyes locked on Arthur's face and when he finally swallowed he pulled an envelope out of his pocket.

"Contract on my new flat, will you just give it a looksie before I sign?" he batted his eyelashes and took a swig of beer, making a face as he swallowed. "Maybe I should throw a few in the freezer to chill them quicker."

Arthur nodded as he took a bite of a chicken ball, eyes roaming the contract in front of him. "Looks pretty straightforward to me; one year lease, deposit will be returned at the end of year in full unless damage has been done, or cleaners needed."

"Damn! I was gonna have a few epic food fights," Gwaine said, the bottles clanking as he moved them into the small freezer.

"Oi! Put the frozen veg back in, I don't want it melting and going to waste."

Gwaine looked over his shoulder with a disbelieving look on his face. "Beer or broccoli? and he chooses the broccoli. Got your priorities all wrong, man."

"Be that as it may, Alex loves the stuff."

"How is the little tyke?"

"Good."

Gwaine felt his heart flutter at the tender smile on Arthur's face, but he stamped it down as quick as he could. These butterflies that seemed to have taken up residence in his chest and abdominal cavity were beginning to be a problem.

"So you think it's safe enough to sign?"

"Yeah," Arthur said, "don't worry you're not making an Unbreakable Vow with Mr Patris."

"A what?"

"Nothing," Arthur smiled. "Have you seen the Harry Potter films?"

Gwaine shook his head, and then smirked. "Interesting that you ask if I've seen the films but not if I've read the books. Saying something about my intelligence, are we princess?"

"Surprised you knew they were books!"

Gwaine laughed and kicked Arthur's leg under the table.

"So now that the business side of our evening has concluded..." Gwaine said with a waggle of his eyebrows. Arthur rested his elbows on the table and laughed.

Merlin set his empty cup on the floor and picked up another file; he was lying on the couch with his feet on Will's lap looking through the old case files on the recent murder, and they were making him unsettled. Will was watching Doc Martin and absentmindedly rubbing Merlin's ankles.

"You always going to be bringing work home with you?"

Merlin looked up and scratched his nose with his pen, leaving a trail of ink behind. "Sometimes I guess, Arthur just wanted to be aware of all the facts."

Will huffed and shook his head.

"What is your problem with him?"

"I don't have a problem with him," Will said, pushing Merlin's feet off his lap and standing up.

"Clearly you do, everytime I mention him you huff and puff, and then," Merlin said raising his voice so it would carry with Will to the kitchen, "you walk away!"

"I do not."

"Yes, you do. Point and example," Merlin said, putting the file on the coffee and sitting up.

"I just don't like him," Will said walking back in with a glass of Coke.

"Thanks, I'd love one," Merlin muttered. "You don't even know him," he said louder.

"Don't need to know him; privileged brat bossing you around all day. Making you take work home."

"He's my boss."

"So? Does that mean he gets to take up your free time as well?"

"It's my job, Will."

"Fuckin' shitty job if you ask me."

"Well thanks," Merlin said, standing up his blood beginning to boil now. "And I didn't fucking ask you!"

"No, you don't ask me anything these days."

Merlin slapped his forehead and walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water; trying to cool down as the tap ran. He gulped the water down, wiping his top lip as he turned to rest against the counter. Will was standing in the doorway, leaning against the jam.

"There's this thing in Tanzania."

"What?" Merlin asked.

"They're looking for volunteers to build houses in a village."

Merlin just started at his boyfriend.

"It sounds great, and I'd be helping."

"You're thinking about going?" Merlin asked.

"Well, yeah. There's nothing for me here."

"I'm here," Merlin practically shouted.

"I know that, but you're so busy with your new job and I'm getting restless and bored."

"What about your job?"

Will let out a bitter laugh, "my job? Phone-sales for an internet provider? Hardly the thing careers are made of!"

"I thought you liked it."

"As something to pass time, yeah. Not forever."

"But..."

"I want to do something worthwhile, I want to see the world. When we came back to the UK I didn't think it'd be permanent. I didn't expect to become a house-husband."

"So you're just going to fucking leave?"

Will sighed and rubbed his face. "Wouldn't be forever."

"No," Merlin turned to look out the window. "Just until you missed home, then you'd come back until you got bored again. What is it, you bored of your life or bored of me?"

"Merls..."

"If it's your life then you can get another damn job, one that makes you happy, you don't have to up sticks and leave. On the other hand, if it's me that's boring you then you better fuck off to Africa," Merlin shouted, and stormed out of the kitchen into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

"Going for a pint until you cool the fuck down!"

Merlin heard the rattle of keys and then the front door slam. He took a few deep breaths and sank down onto the toilet seat, holding his head in his hands.

"You know, when you asked me to stay the night I didn't think it would just be so someone slept in your bed tonight."

Arthur blinked and turned away from the papers he was reading to see Gwaine standing in the darkened doorway, casual as you like, leaning against the wall in all his glory.

Arthur's eyes travelled from his naked feet, up his strong muscled legs resting for a moment on the flaccid cock hanging between his legs, over his sculpted abdomen and chest right up to his full, smirking mouth. Arthur licked his lips.

"Couldn't sleep," Arthur said, voice rough. "You snore like a fucking pig."

"Tut tut," Gwaine shook his head, pushing away from the door jam and taking a slow step towards Arthur.

Arthur's heart started to beat faster at the predatory glint in Gwaine's eyes, and he swallowed audibly.

"Still no reason to leave a man all alone."

Gwaine was right beside him now, and Arthur had to crane his neck to see his shadowed face in the half light emitted from his desk lamp. Gwaine cocked his head and raised his eyebrows, clearly waiting for Arthur to reply. Slowly Arthur shook his head, eyes never leaving Gwaine's.

"Have to do something about those terrible manners, don't want you making the same mistake twice," Gwaine whispered, bending down and catching Arthur's earlobe between his teeth; he gave it a sharp pull and Arthur gasped - work completely forgotten.

Gwaine chuckled and stepped back. "On your feet."

Arthur stood slowly, and turned to face Gwaine but he kicked the chair out of the way and pushed Arthur's shoulder until he turned to face the desk.

"Take your t-shirt off," Gwaine said, "Then put your hands on the desk, and don't move."

"Gwaine..."

"Hands on the desk."

Arthur looked over his shoulder to see Gwaine's naked arse disappearing into the darkness of his apartment before moving the papers he had been reading and bracing himself against the polished wood. His heart was hammering in his chest and his blood-flow seemed to have been redirected south.

Less than a minute later Gwaine was back, he put the bottle of lube from the bedroom on the desk and a condom. Arthur closed his eyes, and tried to steady his breathing.

He felt Gwaine move behind him, and run his tongue along Arthur's spine. He shuddered at the feeling. Then Gwaine's hands were at his waist and yanked his boxers down, almost catching his half-hard cock on the elastic.

Gwaine hummed and Arthur felt his fingertips run down his back and across his arse cheek; his hands tensed on the desk.

"What a pretty little bottom you have, princess." Gwaine's hands gripped his arse, and then started massaging roughly before dropping down to run along the top of his thighs.

The only sounds Arthur could hear was his own thundering heartbeat and ragged breathing. Gwaine's touch disappeared and Arthur opened his eyes, and began to turn when a sharp, sudden sting across his arse made him yelp in surprise.

"Did I say you could turn around?"

There was another intense bout of pain, and the sound of skin on skin echoed around the office.

"Answer me when I ask you a question. Did I say you could turn around?"

"No," Arthur gasped.

"Good boy," Gwaine laughed quietly, eyes trained on the bright red mark from his hand on Arthur's otherwise pale backside. He struck again, marvelling at the spreading redness and Arthur whimpered.

"Like that, do you princess?" Gwaine asked, leaning over the other man, and scraping his teeth across Arthur's shoulder blade.

Arthur whimpered again, and Gwaine reached around wrapping his fingers around Arthur's now fully erect cock. He chuckled, "it would seem you do." He gave a few sharp pulls on Arthur's cock before stepping away away, and raising his hand. The sting radiated up through his own hand, but it didn't bother him as he looked at the red arse in front of himself.

"Did they used to smack you in school when you were bold? Or did Lord Pendragon take you across his lap? I bet he did," Gwaine whispered. "I bet he'd make you come into his study when you were bold, and make you drop your trousers before bending over and spanking your little bottom until you promised to be a good boy..." Another hard slap, and Gwaine's breath caught.

"Gwaine..."

His hand was really beginning to sting now, and he switched to his left before bringing it down again as hard as he could. The thrill of spanking one of the most powerful men he knew, and Arthur's reaction to it was mind-blowing. He had only meant to do it once, for a laugh but this was invigorating, and his cock was loving it too. But so was Arthur, and that was the most important point.

He wanted to continue but his hand was smarting and was about to stop when he saw the ruler on the desk. He smirked and picked it up, testing it against his own leg first as Arthur panted across the desk.

He brought it down with less force than his hand, and Arthur groaned. So he did it again and again.

Arthur's arm gave out and he ended up slumped on the desk; breathing ragged. He tried to straighten himself up but Gwaine pushed down on the back of his neck to keep him in place.

"Stay there, princess. I rather like the view from here."

Gwaine reached for the bottle of lube, flicking open the lid and his nose was invaded by the sweet tang of the gel. Squeezing a blob out onto his hand, he coated his fingers. He kicked Arthur's legs further apart before sliding his fingers down his cleft until he felt the puckered flesh of his entrance. It was still loose from earlier in the evening so Gwaine wasn't gentle and pushed two fingers in at once. Arthur's hiss turned to a moan when Gwaine gently rubbed at his perineum with his thumb while fucking in and out with his fingers. He quickly added a third, and held Arthur down with a hand on his back when he reacted to the larger intrusion.

There wasn't really a need to prep Arthur again, but Gwaine loved watching his reactions as he fucked him with his fingers; Arthur was such a responsive bottom, reacting to every twist and crook of a finger inside him. Sweat had broken out across his back, and the noises he was making would fuel Gwaine's fantasies for weeks to come.

As he twisted his fingers and massaged Arthur's prostate, bringing about a series of whimpers that would knock a man for six, Gwaine decided he'd be stopping by that sex shop down the road from his new flat the next day. The amount of fun they could have with beads, and plugs, not to mention paddles and whips if Arthur's earlier reaction was anything to go by.

"For fuck sake, Gwaine," Arthur said, bringing him back to reality and the naked, writhing man spread across the desk in front of him.

"There, there, princess," he said, removing his fingers and picking up the condom. He quickly ripped it open with his teeth and slid it on; giving his cock a quick pull before lining it up and pushing in.

Arthur moaned loudly and arched up.

Gwaine took a tight hold of his hips and started thrusting slowly. The heat and tightness was overwhelming.

"Come on," Arthur panted a minute later, using his arms to brace himself again, and shoving his arse back to meet Gwaine's thrusts.

Gwaine slapped Arthur's thigh as hard as he could before pushing him back down, pulling his hips away from the desk so as not to damage the jewels and pounding as hard and fast as he could into that gorgeous arse.

He could feel his climax building from low in his belly, and reached around to grab Arthur's cock. He was thick, heavy, and leaking; he pulled at it in rhythm with his thrusting. He could feel Arthur's entire body tighten up, before he let out a loud moan that sounded a lot like "Gwaine" and his arse spasmed around Gwaine's cock ripping his orgasm from too.

Gwaine slumped over Arthur's back who was lying on his desk, trying to get his breath.

"Now, the next time you decide to get out of bed and come here to do work this is all you'll be able to think about," Gwaine panted into Arthur's shoulder blade.

Arthur whined in response as Gwaine pulled out, and Gwaine spanked his arse once more for good measure.

"All rise," the court clerk announced.

Merlin fidgeted in his robes, thanking the Lords above that he didn't have to wear the wig - at least not yet. As soon as the judge, the right honourable Bayard Russell, was settled everyone took their seats barring Arthur and the defence attorney, Ewan Thorne.

"This is a preliminary hearing to determine the custodial arrangements for Rebecca Lewis until the trail," Bayard said, eyes down as he read the file.

"Yes, Your Honour," Arthur said. ""The prosecution applies to section Rebecca in a psychiatric hospital until the time of the trail for observation, as well as the safety of herself and others."

The judge frowned, and cast a glance at the small girl standing in the dock. "Under what grounds?"

"We have a report from a child psychologist," Arthur said holding out a file to the clerk who took it off him and handed it to the judge. "As well as the recommendation from both a doctor, and the police. Pending further investigations she has been charged with the manslaughter of her brother and it is in the Crown's best interest to have her committed for evaluation and to keep her safe. There have already been a number of incidents which lead us to believe that her safety is of the utmost priority at the point."

"Mr Thorne?" Bayard asked.

"Sectioning a child is too extreme a measure in this instance, Your Honour. She poses no threat to herself or any member of the public. A place with a foster family has been allocated, away from London. There is only circumstantial evidence, based on stomach contents, that Rebecca was involved in any way. My Lord, she is a child, ten years old. It would be more prudent that she be placed with a family rather than in a hospital."

"I'm inclined to agree."

"Your Honour."

"Yes Mr Pendragon?"

"All reports and evaluations of Rebecca up until this date clearly state that she is of an unstable mind - the best place for her is where she can get the care she needs..."

"Objection Your Honour," Thorne cut in. "Taking into account that her little brother has just died one would expect her mental capacity to be unstable. Surely the best place for her would be a loving and nurturing environment."

"Without knowing the scope of her mental state placing her with a family could be detrimental. She is to stand trial for the manslaughter of her brother; placing her with this family could endanger them. She needs to be somewhere safe where she can be treated, placing her in a home so far removed from her own environment could potentially trigger any number of responses. There is no way to predict her reactions and it is for the safety of everyone involved that she remains somewhere secure and under constant supervision."

Merlin felt himself holding his breath, his eyes hadn't left Arthur since he had begun speaking; there was something magical, majestic, and down right sexy about him - even wearing the stupid wig - when he spoke. The power and control was exhilarating, and all eyes were drawn to him.

"I'm inclined to agree with Mr Thorne, a psychiatric hospital is no place for a little girl, no matter the charges. However I can't ignore the evidence or Mr Pendragon's arguments."

"My Lord, surely..."

"Mr Thorne," Bayard gave the defence lawyer a cold glare for interrupting. "I grant the prosecution's appeal to have the child sectioned, with the stipulation that once the reports and evaluations have taken place we will review the situation."

Merlin couldn't believe it; it was exhilarating to be sitting in court, listening to the arguments flowing back and forth, and then to come out the victor. It was the best high ever - making him wonder why people ever did drugs. Maybe to replicate the feeling when it disappeared?

"Mr Pendragon, I'm giving you two weeks."

"Thank you, Your Honour." Arthur bowed his head, face neutral as if he hadn't just come out the victor.

"All rise."

"Merlin," Arthur snapped, "I want you to call the hospital, arrange for a meeting with their head psychologist and then I want you to call Gwen and have her ring Dr Antony Hill. I want an outside view on this."

"Yes, Sire," Merlin muttered as Arthur swept from the courtroom.

"Are you alright?" Merlin asked, juggling the arm-load of files as he hurried after Arthur out of the Court House.

Arthur half turned and raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Well for one thing," Merlin said skipping down the sweeping staircase, "Have you hurt your leg cause you're walking a bit funny?" Merlin thought he could be imagining things but it looked like there was a blush creeping it's way up onto Arthur's face. "Also you just kicked ass," - Arthur snorted - "in there, I would think you'd be a bit more... Merry."

"Merry, Merlin? Really?"

"Well... Yes."

They paused outside on the steps, Arthur still looking surly and thoughtful.

"So, are you?" Merlin asked.

"What?"

"Alright...?"

Arthur took a deep breath and Merlin was sure he was in for a lecture, but there was something bothering his boss and he was damned if he was going to let him be a grumpy arse.

"One, my leg is fine. Two, yes we won but that just means that we're sending a little to a mental hospital - forgive me if I'm not jumping for joy at that pros... Oh for Heaven's sake!" Merli startled at Arthur's curse, following his gaze to the road where there was a sleek, black Audi with tinted windows parked. There was a dark skinned man standing by the back door, a small smile on his face as he looked at Arthur.

"Take these back to the office, make sure Gwen makes those calls, and tell Gwen not to forward any calls to me just take messages," Arthur said, handing over his briefcase and files before walking down the steps towards the waiting car.

"Where will I tell them you are?" Merlin shouted after him.

"At lunch," Arthur called back as the dark skinned man clapped him on the shoulder and opened the door to the car.

"Shall I wait for you, Mr Pendragon?"

Arthur grinned and shook his head; "for God's sake Elyan, call me Arthur. And no, I'll just get a taxi back to the office."

"If you're sure, I'll just be waiting until he calls me anyway."

"It's grand, go get some coffee or something."

"See ya later, Arthur," Elyan tipped his hat and climbed back into the black town car.

Arthur let out a sigh as he stood looking up at the white Georgian building, home to the "club" his father preferred. He shook his head and made his way up the steps, the door opened as he reached the top to reveal the butler.

"Mr Pendragon, welcome. The Home Secretary is in the back drawing room - shall I take your coat?"

"Thank you," Arthur said shrugging out of the garment and handing it over.

"Any refreshments, Sir?"

"Tea."

"Very good, Sir. I'll have it brought in. You know where you're going?"

Arthur nodded and set off down the hall, the noise of his footfalls echoing as he walked across the hardwood floor. The building was otherwise silent - the concealed staff wearing soft soled shoes so as to move silently and not disturb any of the patrons.

Membership to the club was strictly restricted - only the high and powerful were allowed access. Arthur had been a handful of times, and only by invitation. It was in this building that a lot of major decisions were made in both politics and security. This was where the "king-makers" had their playground.

Uther Pendragon was sitting in a high backed, leather chair reading a broadsheet in front of the fireplace. A tumbler of scotch was sitting on a table by his left hand side and a cigar was burning in the ashtray - Arthur always found the cigar amusing as Uther didn't smoke but there was always one burning.

Arthur sat in the chair across from his father and waited to be acknowledged. A middle aged woman placed a tray with a teapot, teacup and saucer, and crumpets beside Arthur and slipped away.

Halfway through his first crumpet, Uther lowered the paper, folded it and took a sip of scotch.

"How's Alexander?"

"He's good, at the zoo today on a school trip but I'm sure you already know that."

Uther nodded and fixed his son with an intense stare.

"And Mithian?"

Arthur sighed and put the unfinished crumpet back on the plate. "She's well."

"Indeed."

"Father..."

"Ah Home Secretary, this must be your son," a man said approaching them.

Uther frowned, "yes, Adrian. This is Arthur, Arthur this is Adrian Charles."

Arthur stood up to shake the man's hand, he had a firm, cold handshake and intense dark eyes.

"So like your mother."

"So I've been told," Arthur said, not wanting to be the first to break the handshake. "I don't think I know you."

"No," Uther cut in. "Adrian has been working at the Embassy in South Africa."

"That must have been nice, what made you come home?" Arthur asked, finally pulling his hand away.

"Unfinished business," he smiled. "Home Secretary, always a pleasure and Arthur I'm sure I'll be seeing you around." He nodded and walked off.

Arthur stared after him, before turning and seeing Uther glaring at the retreating mans back.

"Friend of yours?"

"No, though he could be useful."

"Now," Arthur said sitting down again, "you didn't summon me to talk about Mithian or Alex, what do you want?"

"Have you heard from Morgana lately?"

"Not really, why?"

"She's been pestering my office."

Arthur ducked his head and smiled. "What does she want?"

"Dinner or some other such nonsense."

"Maybe she just wants to see you."

Uther glared at him. "This is Morgana we are talking about."

"Okay, well I haven't seen her in a few weeks."
"She'll try you next," Uther leaned forward in his chair. "Do not give her any details about the case."

"Which case?"

"Don't play stupid with me, I will not have the nation panicking about the return of this madman."

Arthur nodded - as much as he loved his sister he knew she was usually only interested in getting front page stories out of him.

"Good, now tell me about this Merlin Emrys."

The coffee shop was nearly empty, the lunchtime crowd having left already, and Merlin and Gwen managed to grab a table by the window.

When Merlin had gotten back to the office, sans Arthur, Gwen had dragged Merlin out so they could "have a bit of a chat".

Merlin sipped his flat white and looked up. Gwen was sitting across from him, chin resting in her hands and looking at Merlin like a lost puppy.

"So want to tell me what's going on? You haven't been yourself for the last few days."

"It's nothing," Merlin said, feeling the tips of his ears heating up.

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It's just..." Merlin waved his hand around, "stuff with Will. I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, if you're sure..."

"He just does my head in, you know?" Merlin burst out. "I just wish he'd grow up."

Gwen startled at the outburst.

"We came back to England so we could start to build a life, you know? Grow up, get jobs, get an apartment, be adults. But now all of a sudden that's not what he wants, suddenly he's bored."

Gwen nodded but decided to remain quiet.

"I don't know what to do or what to think. I honestly don't know if he's just bored of the nine to five lifestyle or if it's me."

"You?" Gwen asked, "but you're lovely." She slid her slice of carrot cake across the table.

"Like, we're both nearly thirty, and as gay as it might sound I'm ready to settle down. I want a job, I want a stable life. I want to know that there's money going into my bank account, that I can afford the bills, that I have a bed to sleep in, and bloody hell, that I have a working shower and cooker." He sighed and stabbed at the cake. "It was great for a few years, travelling around and not knowing where we'd be in a months time but now it's time to be real."

Gwen took a sip of her tea, having no notion of what was going on.

"We've been together for ten years, I met him in my first year of Uni. He was doing the street fundraising for the British Red Cross," there was a small, fond smile on Merlin's lips as he said this. "He was great, he was exciting, full of ideas of how he was going to change the world."

Gwen nodded and smiled, remembering her own idealised dreams when she was that age but like Merlin, she had grown out of them.

"When he asked me to go travelling with him I didn't even have to think about it, though my mum wasn't too happy about it."

"Yeah, I'd say so," Gwen said.

Merlin nodded, "but it was Will, and he was offering me adventures and excitement. And I loved it, but God, I've grown out of it now. I might sound like an old man but I'm sick of sleeping in a tent, or going hungry, or not having a shower for weeks on end."

"I know what you mean."

"I mean, I look at the likes of Arthur - who's what? A year or two older than me and his life is all set. He has a stable job, money, a wife, a kid, a house."

"A wife?" Gwen spluttered.

"Yeah, Mithian..."

"They're not married," Gwen laughed. "They're childhood sweethearts but they never tied the knot. I keep hoping that maybe one day they will."

"Oh okay, well you know I mean. He's all grown up, has everything set. I want that but Will doesn't." Merlin sighed and rubbed his face.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting those things, I want those things. I can't wait to get married and start a family. Buy a house, and spend the rest of my life paying off the mortgage. Maybe Will's just panicking, give him some time."

"He's moving to Tanzania."

"What? When?"

"I don't know, we've haven't spoken since he sprung it on me last week."

"Oh, Merlin." Gwen reached across the table and squeezed his arm.

"Yeah," he said glumly. "So who's going to be the lucky man for you."

She made a face at him. "Lance."

"DS Du Luc?"

"Yes," she smiled and her whole face lit up. "We've been together for three years now, I'm just waiting for him to drop down onto one knee." She sighed like a very put-upon woman and Merlin laughed.

"Maybe you should ask him?"

"You know I think I might if he doesn't get around to it soon," she grinned. "He's had the ring for two months now - I found it in his underwear drawer."

"Maybe you should just put it on and see if he notices," Merlin laughed, feeling lighter now than he had in a week.

"Maybe," Gwen grinned. "More cake?"

"DCI Knight," Leon said as he picked up the phone. His face drained of colour as he listened before slamming the phone down and rushing out of his office. "Lance, Percy with me," he said as he ran through the office.

The two men dropped what they were doing and sprang up, chasing after him.

"Arthur," Gwen said as he walked in the door. "Morgana rang, she has a table booked for eight o'clock at La Cafe Anglais."

He closed his eyes and groaned.

"Shall I ring back and say you can't make it?"

"No, I'll go or she won't stop pestering or God forbid she'll move onto Leon and we all know he'll crumble and tell her everything."

Gwen laughed and opened her mouth to say something else when Arthur's mobile started ringing.

"Leon," Arthur said, giving Gwen one last smile before turning into his office.

"Arthur back?" Merlin asked, walking up the hall with an arm full of files and hair all over the place. Gwen pointed at his office just as they heard him shout. Both froze and turned to face the door. He came out a minute later, looking more weary than when he went in.

"Mandy Lewis died thirty minutes ago."

"What? How?" Merlin asked, dumping the files onto Gwen's desk.

"Looks like she swallowed some glass, or a razor," Arthur said, rubbing his neck.

"How on earth did she get her hands on those?"

"I've no idea, there will have to be an enquiry."

"Has Rebecca been informed?"

"Her solicitor is on the way to tell her now."

"Shit," Merlin said, running his hands through his hair, making it more of a mess.

"I ordered for you," Morgana said as Arthur took his seat. "You look like shit."

"Good to see you too, 'Gana."

She grinned at him, and though everyone thought she was beautiful to Arthur the smile always made her look manic.

"How are you, Arthur? Really?" She reached across the table and squeezed his hand, suddenly looking and sounding like his older sister who picked him up and held him when he fell as a child, who was there for him when their father pushed him too hard, or was too harsh, who sat in his college dorm with him when he found out Mithina was pregnant and later who cheered the loudest when he graduated. As much of a witch as she was, she loved him and he loved her at the end of the day. But he still knew he couldn't trust her, she'd do anything for a story.

"I'm fine, how're you? Looking pretty tired."

"Piss off," she laughed and poured them both some red wine. "How's my darling little nephew?"

"He's great, you should come over on the weekend. I'll have him for a few days."

"And his mother?"

"You sound just like dad; first Alex, then Mith, you going to ask me about him next?"

"Oh so he's talking to you, is he?"

"'Gana," Arthur leaned forward, "you should try contact him just to say hello sometimes. He knows you only ring when you want something and that's why he ignores you."

"Whatever," she waved her hand, "now tell me what's going on in your life. You still shagging that barman?"

An old lady at the next table dropped her fork and glared at Morgana. In typical Morgana fashion she just smiled sweetly and waved at her. The siblings grinned at each other.

"You mean, Gwaine? Yes I am."

"Well I can't say I'm not jealous - nice bit of hunky Irish meat. Ah, this must be us now," she said as a waiter approached with two steaming plates.

"Arthur," Merlin said as he muted the TV.

"Merlin, sorry I know it's Friday night and I'm sure you're busy."

"Nah, it's grand. I'm just watching Graham Norton."

"Not out on the town?" Arthur asked.

"No, not this week. You not either?"

"I've got Alex this weekend, just got him into bed."

"Cool, so what's up?"

"Right, everything you have at home on the Rebecca Lewis case can you bring it in on Monday?"

"Yeah, sure. What's going on?"

"I was... What are you doing back up?"

"I want a glass of milk," Merlin heard Alex say.

"You've already brushed your teeth!"

Merlin couldn't help grinning.

"Okay, go on back to bed and I'll bring you one in a few minutes. I'm just talking to Merlin."

"Tell him I said hi."

"Alex says hello," Arthur said, sighing down the phone.

"Tell him I say hi back," Merlin laughed and Arthur huffed.

"Merlin says hello. Now bed."

"You sound exhausted," Merlin said a minute later.

"One of those weeks. Anyway, I was talking to Ewan Thorne and he wants to come in on Monday to discuss what to do with Rebecca - the events this week have to be taken into account and especially her reaction yesterday to the death of her mother. It's changed his view on the case, and if we can we're going to avoid a trial. We'll arrange a meeting in Bayard's chambers later next week, and hopefully get a result where Rebecca can get the care she needs."

"So what'll that mean for the manslaughter charge?"

"It's still in place, but it's best for all if it avoids trial. We'll decide what's best for her.. A hospital would be the best place, I'd prefer not to see her in a detention center but we'll see what the Judge says."

"Alright, I'll bring the files in."

"Good."

"Night."

"Night, Merlin." The line went dead.

"Who was that?" Will asked walking out of the kitchen.

"No one," Merlin said, turning the volume back on.

"You coming to the pub?"

"No," Merlin didn't take his eyes off the TV.

"Suit yourself."

"I will."

The photograph of Merlin and Will in India fell off the wall and smashed as the door slammed.

The sun was blazing down in Hyde Park as Arthur stood and watched Alex run around after the ball. He cheered and clapped with all the other parents as the boys played the game of soccer.
Alex kicked the ball, and stopped looked over at Arthur and waved before running down the pitch.

"So like you were at that age," a voice said from Arthur's left. He glanced over to see Gaius standing beside him, blazer thrown over his arm and a sun hat on his head.

"Gaius," Arthur said, turning back to watch the game.

"Arthur, walk with me."

Gaius walked off and Arthur had no choice but to fall into step beside him.

"What brings you here?"

"Just out for a stroll in the sun."

Arthur laughed, these days Gaius spent most of his time sitting behind his desk in Thames House or in meetings with Uther Pendragon.

They circled the makeshift pitch before Gaius spoke again.

"There's something I need you to do for me, my boy."

"Isn't there always?"

Gaius raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

"Sorry, what can I do for you?"

"Your friendship with Gwaine Kelly has been noted."

"Excuse me?" Arthur stopped, then catching Alex's eye waved at him.

"Arthur, you are the Senior Crown Prosecutor for London, your father is the Home Secretary, as well as having a half-sister who is the editor of one of the biggest newspapers in the country - of course we keep an eye on you."

"That is my private life."

"Noted but when something in your private life becomes of interest to us for the security of this country it is no longer of relevance whether it is private or public."

"The security of the country?"

"How well do you know Mr Kelly?"

"Um..."

"His family have been of great interest to us for many years," Gaius said as the ref blew the whistle. "Maintain the relationship and report directly to me of anything unusual in his behaviour."

"What?"

"Always a pleasure, Arthur. I'm sure you'll enjoy the paper tomorrow morning." Gaius said, turning and walking away as Alex came barrelling towards them.

"Dad, dad we won, we won! Can we get ice-cream?"

"Ninety-nine?" Arthur asked, swinging the boy around, keeping one eye on Gaius as he walked away.

Leon stood in front of the board looking at all the evidence for the latest murder. All the previous case files were piled around - crime scene photos stuck up and mountains of paperwork which still had to be looked through.

It was definitely the same killer, there was no detail different between this murder and the previous ones. As frightening as it was that this serial killer was back, it was better than having a copycat out there.

With everything they had they were still no closer than they were two years ago. He was just too good, and like previously he always seemed to be one step ahead.

Leon had only been a DS when he first got assigned to this case, and Arthur had only been a Junior Prosecutor - the amount of hours the two of them had spent pouring over the evidence, the hours spent arguing about his and that in the reports, and the hours they had simply talked about it. It had become an obsession for both of them, and then it had stopped.

Leon rubbed his face and looked around the deserted MIT office. He knew he was becoming obsessed again - what he needed was a drink, to get away from work.

The review team were coming in on Monday to help, some spooks were sniffing about, and an enquiry was about to be launched into the death of Mandy Lewis while in police custody. Yeah, Leon definitely needed a drink.

"Nice flowers," Arthur remarked as he walked into the kitchen of Mithian's two bed terrace house on Sunday evening. Alex bounded up the stairs sounding like a herd of elephants.

"Yes, they are. Thank you, I don't know what they were for but thank you," Mithina said, drying her hand on a tea towel as she kissed his cheek.

"What? I didn't send them."

"You didn't?"

Arthur shook his head. "Was there no card?"

"No, I just assumed it was you."

"Not guilty Your Honour."

"That's odd," she said, shrugging.

"Must have a secret admirer," Arthur said, sitting at the table.

"How was he anyway?"

"Grand. You have a good weekend?"

"Yeah, got lots of marking done which is a bit of a relief. Want a glass of wine?" she asked,stopping to run her hand through Arthur's hair. He sighed in pleasure and Mithina kissed the top of his head.

"No, I don't want a glass. I'd like the full bottle."

"That can be arranged," she said, "open it there will you."

As Arthur was looking for a bottle opener, something out the back caught his eye. He looked up, and was sure he saw someone move away from the yard door that led to the alley behind. He went out the back door and walked across the small back garden, the door was swinging open and he looked out into the alley but it was empty. He closed the door and slid the bolt into place.

"Where'd you go?" Mithian asked as he walked back into the kitchen.

"Do you usually leave the alley door open?"

"Was it open again?" Mithian asked, buttering a slice of toast and passing it to Alex who was sitting at the table in his PJ's.

"Yeah."

"Can't say it was me this time," Alex said grinning, "I wasn't here."

"There must be something wrong with the catch, now are you going to open this bottle or not?" She smiled holding up the wine.

"Well that's an hour of my life I won't get back," Arthur said as the credits rolled on The White Queen.

"Shut up, you know you loved it," Mithian said, as she jabbed her elbow into his side.

He laughed and finished the last of his glass of wine.

"Oh, I forgot to ask earlier, can you take Alex after school tomorrow. I can't get through to Abbey. I'll collect him from the office at like, six?"

"Yeah, if I'm not there Gwen will watch him."

"Thanks, I've got a meeting with some parents. One of the kids is being bullied." Mithian leaned her head against Arthur's shoulder, and he petted her head. "Stay tonight?" She asked.

"Mith..."

"I don't mean..." she sat up, "you can't possibly drive now."

"True," Arthur nodded, and rubbed her back. She glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled sadly.

"Do you ever think we..."

"No," Arthur cut in.

She smiled a humourless smile and looked away.

"You know I'll always love you, right?" Arthur asked.

"Of course."

Arthur looked at her back as the BBC news started, and kept running his hand up and was the one thing that always made her relax.

"So..." He said a few minutes later. "Am I on the couch or what?"

She laughed and stood up, turning around a grin playing on her lips.

"Well," she said, lowering herself, knees bracketing his thighs and long, dark hair falling forward. "That's entirely up to you."

He gripped her waist, and closed the last few inches between their lips whispering; "Bed it is then."

Alex giggled from his spot at the top of the stairs before scampering back to his bedroom.

"I'm going to fucking kill her!"

Gwen burst out laughing and had to clamp a hand over mouth so Arthur wouldn't hear. Merlin poked his head out of his office and grinned at Gwen.

"I guess he's seen the paper so."

Gwen nodded, her face red from trying to control her laughing. Merlin crept forward wanting to see the front of the paper again. There was a picture of Arthur emerging from the Old Bailey, Merlin didn't know when it was taken but it was a lovely picture, and a headline that had everyone in giggles apart from the man himself.

CP Arthur Pendragon admits he gets aroused in Court!

"Morgana! Don't you cackle at me, you witch! I want a retraction and an apology." Arthur hollered from inside his office.

Gwen and Merlin broke out laughing.

"I don't see what he's giving out about," Annis said, walking by holding a copy of the Camelot Express. "It just makes him more of a sex symbol." She smirked and kept walking as the door to Arthur's office banged open.

Merlin hurried back to his own office and Gwen hid behind a file.

"Stop laughing, it's not funny," Arthur snapped, Gwen could see Merlin's head poking out of his office and Annis paused at the corner to the kitchen.

"Course, I'm sorry Arthur. It's just..."

"Yes?"

"What did you say to her at dinner?" Gwen burst out laughing as Arthur stormed back into his office.

"Did you see the paper?" Lance asked.

Percy turned from his computer screen and nodded.

"Gwen said he went ape-shit," Lance laughed.

"Would've liked to have seen that."

"I think Merlin recorded it."

"Ah, I knew he was gonna be good," Percy said, going back to work.

"Mind you," Lance said. "It's the least of his worries now."

"Why?" Percy asked, distractedly.

"Gwen's on the warpath," Lance said, twisting from side to side on his swivel chair.

"Right," Percy said, sighing and turning away from his desk. "I'm not going to get any work done till you get this off your chest. Honestly you're worse then the girls gossip."

"Quiet you," Lance said, shaking his finger at Percy and leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Well, Arthur's in a meeting all day but Alex had to go over after school 'cause Mith is doing something or other and someone needed to mind Alex so Gwen was chatting to him and helping him with his homework and the like."

"I'm sure you're going to get to the point eventually."

"Fine, I won't tell you then," Lance said spinning back around in his chair. Percy grabbed the back rest and spun him back around, nearly making him fall off.

"You can't half tell me a story."

"Fine, no more giving out though."

"Promise," Percy said, grinning and holding up his hands.

"Right, so Alex says to Gwen that he thinks mammy and daddy are going to get married."

"What?" Percy shouted, then grimaced and looked around. "Sorry, I meant; what? Arthur and Mithian?"

"Yeah," Lance frowned. "So Gwen says 'why do you think that?' and Alex says 'cause he saw them kissing last night and then they went to bed."

"Fuck," Percy said, looking angry.

"I know, right? Gwen's going to kill him," Lance said nodding. "I mean we'd all love it if they did but they won't. That ship has sailed."

"Maybe for him," Percy said, mouth set in a tight line, "but not for her. What is he playing at? Messing Mith around like that."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Lance looked bewildered. "They're two adults, they know what they're doing. It's just not fair to Alex. Mithina's not some innocent victim - in fact I'd say she's the one who started it."

"Why do you always do that?"

"What?"

"Defend him!" Percy got up and stormed out of the office.

"What was that about?" Leon asked stopping at Lance's desk.

"I have absolutely no idea."

Merlin closed the door to the apartment and looked around; the TV was on, there was an empty Bud bottle on the table and the remains of a meal but Will was nowhere to be seen. He sighed and went into the kitchen to put the kettle on, there was some pasta left in the pot but it looked like a congealed mess that he didn't fancy eating and the bin was in dire need of emptying. He leaned against the counter and out his head in his hands - he wanted to scream but was just too exhausted. The kettle whistled and he made a cup of tea, seeing a packet of Amber Leaf tobacco sitting on top of the bread bin - from Will's spliff making - he decided to make a rollie. It came out as more of a sleeping bag than a cigarette but it would have to do.

"You're home," Will said, walking in, fresh out of the shower.

"Well done, Sherlock."

"There's pasta left."

"Not hungry."

"You're smoking?" Will said, as he opened the fridge. Merlin shrugged.

He watched Will open another beer, and then roll himself a spliff.

"How was your day?" Will asked.

"Good, we closed that case with the little girl I was telling you about."

"Yeah, that's good," Will said leaning against the counter.

"Yeah. She'll be in a psychiatric hospital for the time being, then maybe onto juvenile detention until she's sixteen."

"Putting her away then?"

"She killed her brother."

"Okay."

They stood in silence for a while, Merlin sipping his tea and Will smoking.

"Will, I can't do this anymore."

"What?"

"This!" Merlin said, waving his arms around. "I'm bloody exhausted."

"You're the one with the hump."

"For fuck sake, Will. I might have the "hump" but that's cause you wanna leave me."

"I never said I wanted to leave you, Merls."

Silence fell heavy in the kitchen again.

"We can't go on like this."

"What do you want to do?" Will asked.

"I love you, I always have and I want to be here but you don't so I really don't know."

"I don't wanna settle down right now, I know that's what you want but I'm not ready for that yet. I wanna go out and do things, make a difference."

"Will you be ready someday?"

"I don't know," Will said, looking at Merlin.

"How long are you going to go for?"

"It's a six month Visa that I got."

"You've already got the Visa?" Merlin laughed humorlessly.

"Yeah."

"When you leaving?"

"In a month."

"Are you going to come back? No, wait do you want to come back?"

"I'll have to."

Merlin looked over at the man he'd spent the last ten years of his life with. He didn't want those ten years to have been for nothing, he loved Will but the spark was gone. Two years ago he wouldn't have been looking at other men. Could he be happy with Will forever? Could he deal with having a partner who flew in and out of his life? He wasn't sure of those answers but one he was sure of was that he couldn't handle being single again. At least knowing he had Will, whether he loved him as much as he used to or not, was something.

"Okay," Merlin said. "Go do what you have to, I'll be here."

"Really?" Will asked.

"Really."

Will kissed him, the taste of pot on Will's breath making Merlin's stomach roll.

"Okay, I want all the police reports and statements. And as soon as the autopsy report comes in, I want a copy on my desk," Arthur said as Merlin scribbled in his notebook.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, the Jackson case. I want you to go talk to the night security guard - there's some discrepancy in his statement."

"Grand, I'll do that this afternoon."

"Good," Arthur said, putting his glasses back on. His phone started buzzing on the desk. "It's Leon."

"I'll leave you to it," Merlin said, but Arthur held up a hand to wait.

"Leon, what's up?"

"What? Already?" Arthur voice rose in volume.

"I'll be right there." Arthur hung up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Merlin asked.

"Another bodies been found, Leon said it looks like the Sigil Man."

"So soon? The other ones had months between."

"Yeah," Arthur said, putting on his coat. "Let's hope he's not making up for lost time. Call me if you need me."

Leon was standing in the bedroom of the junkies hideout with a forensic photographer when Arthur walked in, dressed in his blue scrubs.

The body was lying on a folded piece of old carpet in the middle of the room - there was lots of light this time as the boards on the windows had been removed. The girl was young, younger than any of the ones before.

It was definitely the same murderer; the body was naked apart from her panties, and the veil over her face, and her flesh had streaks of dried blood from the wounds adorning her body.

Arthur took a deep breath and walked up to Leon.

"It's bad," Leon said. The photographer walked away. "The doc says she can't be older than eighteen." He knelt down, and Arthur followed suit. "No ID as of yet." Leon lifted the veil off her face. Her green lifeless eyes stared straight at Arthur.

He jumped up and stumbled out of the house, throwing up in the overgrown hedge and feeling dizzy.

Leon appeared beside him, and Percy arrived with a bottle of water; looking concerned.

"You alright?" Leon asked, Percy hovering nearby in case Arthur fainted - he looked pale and shaky enough.

Arthur looked at Leon, took the water and rinsed his mouth.

"Her name is Abbey Rowland, she's Alex's babysitter."

To be continued...

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