A/N: Here is the next chapter. This was actually difficult to write but hopefully it all turned out well. This chapter has the most overlapping with the previous chapters.

Chapter 4: Order and Chaos

The dispatch office was still and quiet. The well-waxed hallway gleamed in the overhead lights as row after row of closed doors stood like silent sentinels guarding against unwanted intrusions. Only William's door was open as he sat wordlessly at his desk, carefully going over paperwork. The occasional scratching of his pen as he signed a document and the endlessly ticking of the clock on the wall were the only sounds to be heard. It was precisely the way William liked his mornings to begin.

Routines were comfortable, and he preferred to know exactly what he was to do one moment to the next. It helped with productivity and efficiency. Across the polished surface of his desk, folders were arranged in a straight row as if on an assembly line. It was a good illustration of how he liked to deal with day to day issues. Finish one task and move on to the next and then the next.

He always came in before everyone else so that he could have a few minutes to work in relative peace, and he always started out the day with his door open. That way he could watch as the subordinates filed in so he could see who was on time, who was late, and speak to any worker that had issues that needed to be addressed. Once everyone had arrived, he would shut his door. This wasn't just an attempt to drown out any distracting noises, but it also created a barrier – a physical representation of the separation between supervisor and subordinates.

At the appropriate time, workers began walking into the office. He could hear their laughter floating down the halls along with the smells of brewing coffee from the break room, although conversations hushed briefly when the agents passed by his door. So far, he hadn't called out to anyone to correct behavior or draw attention to some issue, but no one wanted to be the first. Maybe, for once, he could get everything completed on time.

Someone rapped loudly on the doorframe, and William sighed in annoyance as he looked up only to see Eric standing there with Ronald positioned nearby. He would have usually demanded an explanation for the interruption, but there was something about the wide smile decorating Ronald's face and the way that Eric was shifting from foot to foot as if he was either excited or desperately needed to use the facilities that gave him reason to pause. "Yes, Slingby?" William prompted, noting the reaper's rather disheveled appearance.

"Alan doesn't have the Thorns anymore!" Eric blurted, "I took him to the hospital last night after a bad attack, but now he's completely healed!"

For a brief moment, William was at a complete loss for words as he processed what he had just been told. "What?" he finally managed, "But how?"

"Dr. Wells said it might be a miracle," replied Eric, "but I don't really care. I'm just happy that Alan's going to be okay. He has to stay in the hospital for a least today so they can keep an eye on him, but hopefully he'll be out tomorrow."

"I see," William said, "So I guess I need to get started on the paperwork excusing the two of you for work today." He allowed himself the faintest ghost of a smile, and wasn't surprised to see the shock on the tall reaper's face. He had heard the talk around the office and knew that he was often regarded as having all the personality of a houseplant. There were jokes about how everyone knew exactly where he stored his scythe when it wasn't in use that accounted both for his uptight demeanor and his posture, but this didn't bother him in the least. It was better if he was seen with automaton that demanded respect and the best performance from all those working under him rather than an emotional leader which could be taken advantage of and manipulated. Most people never even noticed the little things he did to accommodate the agents such as always letting Slingby and Humphries work together while the younger reaper was ill, or the fact he had been careful not to assign any of the infant victims of the latest measles outbreak to Grell.

Eric's eyes widened slightly. "The day off for both of us?" he asked.

"Yes," William confirmed, "You don't look like you're ready to work today, and I would suspect that you'd prefer to spent the day with Humphries. He can have a few more days to recover, but I'll expect you to report to work tomorrow in a proper outfit. Understood?"

Eric nodded quickly. "Is it okay if I tell everyone else the good news before I leave?"

"As long as you don't keep anyone from getting their work done."

"Oh, and we were thinking about maybe having a party for Alan when he comes back," added Eric.

William allowed his gaze to slide over to Ronald briefly. "Knox's idea, no doubt," he stated, "Any such functions would have to be held after working hours."

"Thanks," Eric said, his already wide smile growing. With a nod towards Ronald, they both hurried down the hall to spread the good news.

Despite the interruption, William found himself in a relatively good mood. He was sincerely happy to learn of Alan's apparent recovery, and he wasn't too far behind schedule. The measles outbreak was also slowing, so they shouldn't be too shorthanded even with both Eric and Alan out of the office. He liked to think of life as a straight road, but occasionally small detours weren't so bad if you could find your way back to the main path quickly.

He was considering this when he heard the familiar sound of heels clacking down the hallway and sighed softly as the biggest detour of his everyday life came walking down the hall. Glancing at the clock, he saw that Grell was later than usual, but he wasn't all that surprised. He dropped his gaze and turned his attention to a paper on his desk as the footsteps came closer and he knew that the redhead was just outside his door.

"You're late, Sutcliff," he announced.

"Oh Will," replied the familiar voice, "You know you can't rush a lady. Besides, I'm fashionably late."

William raised his head and started to say how there was no such thing as fashionably late in the office, but stopped the moment he got his first good look at the normally flamboyant reaper.

Grell had worn makeup for years, although William really didn't see the point in it as he sincerely thought he looked just fine without the cosmetics. However, Grell's makeup application had always been tasteful as he had told William that the point was to make it look natural. Apparently Grell had abandoned that philosophy today because it looked like his foundation had been applied by a paint roller, and it still hadn't disguised the fact that his skin wasn't its usual healthy color. His eyes were dull and flat, and he had never seen Grell voluntarily wear his hair in a high ponytail at work. Something was definitely off, although he had no idea if he should say anything. Grell could be self-conscious about his appearance.

"You're incorrigible, Sutcliff," he finally said as he adjusted his glasses, "You'll be on desk duty today." It wasn't what he wanted to say, but it was the best he could manage at the moment. Even though it would mean more work for everyone else, especially with Eric and Alan both absent, he hoped that by keeping Grell in the office he could get to the bottom of whatever was wrong. The logical part of his mind told him that sending Grell out on field assignments when he clearly wasn't his usual self was too much a liability, but he knew the real reason was that he was concerned.

"Oh, Will," the redhead whined. Even his typical response seemed wrong somehow, as if it was all part of an act.

"My decision is final, Sutcliff," he stated in a firm tone, "Now go to your desk and get to work. There's already a mountain of paperwork stacked there precariously and I'd like to see you get at least some of it done for once."

Grell finally nodded slightly and trudged down the hall in a faux meek manner, but something still nagged at William. He had seen Grell after he had been nearly been beaten senseless on a few occasions, but he had never seem him look so weak and tired before. He almost looked defeated, and the William just couldn't figure out what might have happened.

Mumbling to himself about how his workday was already shot and it wasn't even quite lunch yet, the dispatch supervisor began looking through all of the most current reports, but he couldn't find Grell's paperwork from his last assignment. If William remembered correctly, it had been a routine job concerning a young girl, but he worried that something else might have happened. The paperwork wasn't actually due until 4:30 pm, and knowing Grell, he wouldn't see it any earlier than 4:29 – but William wanted to know if anything unusual had occurred now.

Swiftly, he left his office and walked down the hallway to talk to Grell. As he approached, he saw Ronald and Eric standing outside of his door, no doubt spreading the good news about Alan. For some unknown reason, he saw Ronald's face darken slightly and he heard him say something about not needing anything from Grell before walking off and nearly bumping into William in the process. Ronald, looking a bit confused, asked Grell why Eric had acted like that and Grell was just explaining that he had no idea when William reached the doorway. Ronald squirmed a bit since he no doubt knew that he should be busy with work when he had been just hanging out with Eric all morning. He mumbled a quick goodbye before hurrying away, and William stepped just inside of Grell's office.

"Sutcliff, where is the paperwork for last night's reaping?" he demanded in his normal, no-nonsense tone.

"That's not even due until later," Grell answered, as he raised an eyebrow, "Why so impatient, darling?"

"I'm not your darling," William said automatically, "And it's due today. It shouldn't take you that long to finish the necessary documents on a simple job like that."

"Fine. Fine. I'll get right on it," Grell said as he turned his chair around, no doubt gathering some of the necessary documents, but then he suddenly paused. Although William could only see only a little bit of his form from behind, he saw Grell jerk slightly as if his muscles had suddenly tensed, and he heard a sharp intake of breath.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Just grabbing the papers," Grell answered, but William could hear the unsteadiness in his voice.

Finally Grell turned around and flashed a large, rather fake, smile at him. William stood there, his mind practically pleading with Grell just to admit what was wrong, but the red reaper remained as silent as the night. Not knowing what else he could do, he turned to leave so that he could return to his own office.

"William."

He stopped immediately at the plaintive, vulnerable tone, because he had never heard Grell sound like that before. While he liked playing the 'damsel,' Grell was far from weak. It was actually one of the things that bothered William the most about the agent. Grell had the capacity to be one of the greatest reapers of all time, but he seemed complacent to be average and just do the minimum required of him. "What is it, Sutcliff?" he asked.

"There was never a chance for us, was there?"

That was the question that William had always dreaded the most. Grell threw himself at William every chance he got, and loved turning even the most innocent encounter into fuel into an innuendo laden account of an imaginary tryst, but he had never simply asked the question directly until this moment. William turned slightly, but he didn't want Grell to have a full view of his face just in case any of his emotions showed.

"What do you mean? If you mean an 'us' as in a couple, then no there never was a chance." Pausing, he took a deep breath in an effort to keep his voice steady. "Even ignoring the fact that you are my subordinate and any relationship between us would be highly inappropriate, we are just too different. You are simply chaos, Sutcliff, and I don't care for chaos in my world." There it was – his well-rehearsed answered. He only hoped that Grell accepted it.

"I had guessed as much," he responded in a subdued tone.

William stood there for a few more minutes. He had heard the hurt lacing Grell's voice, and a part of him wanted to turn around, to say something. Perhaps he could admit that it was all a lie. But it wasn't a lie, at least not entirely. Grell was chaos and William only wanted order in his life. He didn't want chaos. He didn't want it.

But he wanted Grell.

It was ridiculous and illogical. Any relationship beyond a professional one between them simply couldn't happen. It wouldn't be right for either one of them. He couldn't ask Grell to change or to tone down his vivacious personality, but William couldn't imagine trying to handle that personality day in and day out. They were order and chaos – two things that could never coexist.

After a few minutes, he left the office and, as he walked down the hall, he heard Grell gently close his door. To anyone walking past, William was fairly sure he looked the same. His cold mask was in place without a sign of emotion, but inside he was trembling. He had come to accept that there could never really be anything between him and Grell, and he had learned to be happy with just their daily contact and routines. Yes, it was all about routines. That was how he lived his life.

He walked past his office into the main hall to glance up at the large clock on the wall to see it was nearly lunchtime. Despite his other feelings, the fact remained was that there was something wrong with Grell, and he should do what he could for his subordinate. With a plan in mind, he walked over to his secretary's desk.

"Miss Fletcher," he said to the slender young girl with straight, dark hair, "I'm going to step out for lunch. Please let anyone looking for me know."

"Of course, Mr. Spears," the girl said immediately with a gentle nod.

William returned the nod as he turned to leave. There was still someone he could turn to for advice, and he had to seek him out. It was the rational thing to do and everything he did was rational. He was order.

And he was going to try to help chaos.