A/N: Happy new year, people. And for the new year, I give you Will's return to the office and cute little Mark. And the promise that next chapter we find the plot which we've been hitting at for the past few chapters. Thank you for your reviews and please leave more reviews for me.


Alan groaned softly and his eyes flickered open. His head was pounding. He didn't remember having that much to drink last night but he definitely had a hangover. He frowned and buried his head in the soft pillow. He was in Ronald and William's bed again which was weird given that he'd not slept in their bed in months, he usually took the spare room these days. Still, it was nice to be snuggled up between the pair.

Wait. Between them? He never got between William and Ronald, that was asking for trouble. He opened his eyes slowly and glanced up. Yes, he was definitely snuggled up between them. And naked... He frowned. They were too. This was getting more and more confusing. He was in William and Ronald's bed, lying between them, wrapped in their arms, all three of them completely naked and with a hangover. What the hell had he done last night? Well, actually, that was a pretty stupid question, the situation seemed to speak for itself.

He snuggled up into Ronald's chest. He knew Ronald's hold well; after Eric's death he'd spent a lot of time in their bed and Ronald would hold him close while William held Ronald possessively. So it was rather surprising to be between them, given how possessive William was, and to feel strong, firm body pressed against his back and powerful arms wrapped around him. His fingers on Ronald's back slid lower and Ronald made a sound surprisingly similar to a purr until he reached a criss-crossing set of scars on the small of his back. Only death scythes could leave scars on a reaper. A sadistic teacher had torn his scythe across Ronald's back on several times but Ronald had been drugged and drunk, all he knew was that he was waking up with no memory of the night before. Alan couldn't believe Ronald had been through a horror like that.

"You ok, Al?" Ronald whispered.

"My head hurts," Alan groaned and Ronald giggled, sending pain shooting through his head. "Shh, Ronald."

"It's your own fault for drinking so much last night," he replied.

That's right, he had far more than normal at Christian's, then he'd come back here and... ended up sleeping with William and Ronald. It was all coming back to him now. Ronald had fetched drinks and they'd stayed up far too late considering they were supposed to be working at six thirty that day.

"Time to get up, Ronald," William breathed.

"Hmm, no," Ronald whined, pressing Alan close between them and leaning up for William's lips only to be pushed away. "Boss."

"No arguments, Ronald, get up."

"He's right, Ronald," Alan said quietly. "Come on."

"Alright, alright, let's go. What are you going to do, boss?" he muttered.

"Considering I'm on paid leave until further notice, I'm going to stay here, in this nice soft, warm bed and enjoy the view," William said quietly.

Ronald frowned and climbed out of bed, search the floor for at least something to cover himself with. After a moment, he offered Alan his top and pants from the night before, which Alan took gratefully. Ronald was muttering about having no view with the curtains closed and the bedroom not having the best view anyway. Alan pulled on his clothes quickly and hurried out toward the spare room.

"I always thought the bedroom had the best view, Ronald," William murmured.

He glanced back to see Ronald pulling down the back of shirt and glaring at William over his shoulder as the older reaper smirked. Alan hurried out, shutting the door behind him. It was best to leave the pair alone, they'd already done so much for him, he should let them have some privacy. He needed to remember to thank Michelle for saving him last night. Whatever she had done to Christian, he hoped he'd learnt his lesson.


"Eric?" Mark said quietly.

Eric grunted and opened one eye for the briefest second before closing it again. He smiled slowly, forcing himself not to give in to his jealousy and settling for gently stroking Eric's hair. He didn't understand. Why would a man who had loved Eric through everything suddenly decide that he didn't love him? Well, he didn't really understand why anyone would not love Eric. He made no secret of the fact that he was head over heels for Eric but had also never pretended except perhaps in his wildest dreams that Eric was ever going to let go of Alan and look at him like he wanted.

"What's wrong with you?" Eric murmured.

"It's almost time," Mark replied. "Is it ok if I head off for a bit?"

"Sure thing," he said, opening his eyes and sitting up. "Go have fun, catch up on sleep, whatever. You didn't need to stay all night."

"You know I wasn't just going to abandon you."

"Alright, go on. Have fun. I can deal with this."

"I'll come back later."

Before Eric could argue he opened a porthole and stepped through into a back alley just behind the offices of the London Branch. He could never stand London's part of the realm. It was too big and too busy. No one ever seemed to have any time. He sighed and strode into the offices, glad he wasn't in uniform so just looked like someone in on their days off.

"Hey," he said, leaning on the reception desk. A pair of girls rushed over instantly, like they'd been dying for someone to talk to them for hours. "Where's admin in this place?"

"You're new here?" the blonde said.

"Yeah, just come in from Stafford," he replied with a small smile. "This place is huge. How do you not get lost?"

"It takes a while to get used to yeah," the brunette giggled. "Admin is on the fourth floor."

"Thanks."

He pushed off the desk and strode away towards the stairs when the brunette called to him again. "Hey, what's your name, stranger?"

"Mark," he called back with a grin.

Well, if might have been big and busy but the people seemed friendly enough. The fourth floor didn't really help. This place really was so big. The Midnight Branch had a head office, their office in America was a little bigger than their normal and held almost everything a normal head office did. Their entire admin section was one room full of filing cabinets. This was an entire floor of a building that had a ground floor at least twice the size of any of their offices. There was a small desk in the waiting room- there was a waiting room straight off the stairwell, it was getting more and more overwhelming- and a smiling woman behind it.

"Good morning," she said, her smile widening. "Can I help you?"

"Wow, this place really is huge," he muttered.

"Isn't it?" she laughed softly. "So, what do you need?"

"Yeah, sorry," he said, waving his hand slightly. "Umm, yeah, I just got a super quick transfer put through, I went into work this morning and got told to pack up, put on some travelling clothes and head down here and then my supervisor stops me as I'm heading out the door. He tells me he was with... yeah, while filling out my transfer paper and filled out a hell of a lot of it wrong. He promises me he got my ID number right, if that helps."

She laughed and nodded. "You'd be surprised how often this happens, don't worry about it. Which department are you transferring to?"

"Dispatch."

"Oh, soul collection, always fun, and do you know which division?" He fumbled in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a form and handing it to her. "Oh, this makes things much simpler. Wait here a moment." She disappeared then after about five minutes, returned with a file. "Here we go, Mr Davis. I've fixed it for you."

"Thank you."

"I can't believe they've got another officer already," she sighed, shaking her head. "I knew Mr Moore wasn't exactly endearing himself to them but so quickly... Oh well, you'll have fun."

"That sort of place, huh?" Mark said quietly.

"I'm afraid so," she said with a smile. "They're an amazing team but it takes someone special to fit in there. They're all a little... quirky. And who knows when they'll get their actually supervisor back. Dispatch is on the sixth floor."

"More stairs then," he laughed.

"I'm afraid so, sweetie," he laughed.

"Thanks then, bye."

He hurried out and the second there was no one around opened a new porthole and stepped through into his bedroom and office. He grabbed out his old uniform- the regular reaper uniform- and pulled it on quickly before using a porthole back to the office and bounding up the stairs to the sixth floor. More offices. He glanced at a clock. Quarter past six. A blonde was hurrying passed with four cups of coffee but he was only person near. He sighed.

"Excuse me," Mark called. The blonde turned and smiled. "Umm, I'm sorry, but I just transferred here, I'm a bit lost."

"No problem," he said with a bright grin. "Where are you looking for?"

"Uh, Dispatch division 39B," he said, glancing over the file in his hand.

The boy's grin vanished. "You've been transferred there?"

"Yeah."

"You're not the new supervisor, are you?" he said quietly.

"No," he said quietly. "I'm the new Senior Officer."

He frowned, then grinned. "Come on. I'll take you."

He linked his arm with his and guided him along. "Oh, thanks."

"I'm Ronald," he said.

Ronald. He smiled and nodded. Of course he was. Mark should have known really. The big, bright eyes framed by thick boyish glasses, half his hair dyed blonde. He could only have been Ronald Knox.

"I'm Mark," he said quietly. "It's nice to meet you, Ronald."

"You two," he laughed. "So, if you're going to be working with us, do you know what's happened to Mr Moore?"

"I assume he's the last officer?"

"Yeah, left last night, I didn't know he'd left left though. I mean, after the stuff with him and Alan and it's just not been good, you know," Ronald said, seemingly happy to chatter on as he led him through the winding halls. "I didn't like him at all. Kept hitting on me, and then someone said he'd hooked up with Alan."

"Oh..." he said quietly. "So, why've they been so many officers?"

"You're really from a long way, away, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Well, did you hear about Eric Slingby? Killed a thousand people to save the man he loves and got killed while being apprehended?" Mark nodded dumbly. Ronald had been led to believe his blow had killed Eric. He couldn't imagine how bad that must have felt. "Well, he was part of our division. You're replacing him. We've been trying get someone who can replace him and stay for years. And recently our supervisor's been put on temporary leave while there's an investigation into Grell's latest incident. He'll be back soon though, I'm sure. He always is."

"You're in this division?" Mark said, doing his best to play dumb.

"Yeah. I like you so far, Mr..."

"Davis, but Mark is just-"

"Mr Davis," he said. "So, if you decide to stick around I'll get your coffee order."

"Coffee?" Mark said.

"Yeah," Ronald laughed, then looked worried. "You do drink coffee, don't you? I do the drinks around here. It's why I'm in so early."

"Oh. Well, thank you. Yes, I drink coffee." Ronald smiled and pushed open the door to a large office. "Your desk will be that one over there. Just stuff everything in the box at the side of the desk. Where's your stuff?"

"You're kidding me. I woke up this morning and was rushed out. I haven't had time to bring stuff in yet. I'll do it tomorrow."

"Great. The guys will be in soon." He set down two coffees on the desks, one on his own then took the remaining on into the adjoining office. "I shouldn't keep getting one for the boss, but it'll be the day I don't that he comes back, you know?"

"Yeah," Mark said quietly. He smiled. Ronald was lovely, just like Eric had always said; bright and fun and bouncy. He reminded him of Eric, perhaps what he might have looked like when he was younger- if he'd been created younger. Eric said he looked at Ronald like a little brother, he could see why. "You must really like your old boss?"

"Yep," Ronald said, grinning as he came back in. "I love him." Of course, Eric had told him that Ronald had been involved with William. "I really love him."

"Oh?" he said quietly. "Scandal?"

"Nope," he laughed, pulling himself up onto Mark's desk and helping him clear it. "It's totally by the rules. It started while I was part of a different division then I got transferred. Totally by the rules. And let me make it perfectly clear before people start filling your head with crap, we love each other, it's an equal relationship, no matter what anyone say, he's not using me. I know he's not."

"Alright, I believe you."

"Morning, Ronnie!" There was a pause and Ronald smirked. "Ronnie? You'd better be in today." A redhead strode in and put his hands on his hips, glancing around before his gaze settled on them. "There you are!" He flounced over and looked over Ronald. "How's your cheek?"

"Fine, fine, Miss Grell," Ronald laughed, turning away as Grell touched his slightly bruised cheek. "It's not so bad, painkillers and all. I don't know what happened with it. Oh, Miss Grell, this is Mr Davis, he's taking Mr Moore's place. Mr Davis, this is Miss Grell, my partner."

"Oh good," Grell said, folding his arms, cocking his hip and glancing him over. "You'd better be better than the last one, darling. He wasn't at all nice. Wonder what happened to him..."

"Who cares?" Ronald said, jumping off the desk as Grell turned away and picked up his coffee. "He's gone, it's a good day."

"You're unusually chipper, Ronnie dear," Grell said. "Even with this good news. Good night with Will?"

"Will you please leave the gossiping for your own time, Sutcliff?" Ronald stood straight and Grell jumped, almost dropping his coffee, turning to the tall, dark man in the doorway Mark assumed was William. He'd seen the others before- vaguely and from a distance- but never William before. He strode in and glanced at Mark who stood slowly. "My office then."

"You're back then, boss?" Ronald called as Mark followed William into the office.

"It would appear that way, Mr Knox," William replied. "Or do you think I like coming into the office in uniform when I'm on paid leave?"

"Stupid question, Ronnie," Grell laughed.

"Shut up."

Mark closed the door slowly behind him, watching William sitting down at his desk, flicking through the files and rummaging through to find the days deaths. He sighed, muttering about messing up his desk. Finally he turned to Mark.

"Death list, Mr...?"

"Davis," he said quietly, handing him the small black and silver book he used as a death list. Eric was right, William was kind of intimidating. "Mark Davis."

"Mr Davis," he said. "Welcome to the division. Hopeful you'll last longer than the people you're replacing."

"I'll do my best, sir."

"Just Mr Spears will be fine," he said. "I've never liked being called sir." Mark nodded. "Mr Humphries is a good worker, he'll show how we do things here. It will take some time to get used to how things work here in London, we're considerably bigger than most branches, it often takes a while to get used to it."

"Is there anything I should know? I've heard there've been a lot of quick transfers here."

"Don't worry about it," William said, standing up again. "It's just not everyone's cup of tea." He picked up his coffee and turned towards the door. "They're a perfectly nice bunch if you like that sort of thing, but as I said, not everyone's cup of tea. However, they do tend to gang up if something happens. For instance, the person you're replacing, Mr Moore, was rather a crude, he'd taken a liking to Mr Knox and spent a lot of time harassing him, and Mr Humphries for that matter. Needless to say, they didn't take to him."

"No, I suppose they wouldn't."

He nodded and strode out to the main office. "Mr Humphries."

The small brunette stood quickly and came over. "Mr Spears?"

Mark had never seen Alan up close. The first thing that struck him was how similar they looked. Suddenly a lot of things made sense; the way Eric looked at him, why he didn't mind how Mark had tried to be his friend when he'd first arrived and was ignoring pretty much everyone. Alan was lighter and more delicate and feminine, and a little short too. Alan smiled and offered his hand which Mark shook slowly.

"Just Alan is fine," Alan said.

"Mark," he muttered. "Just Mark is fine too."

"Good, now I don't know how Mr Corbin let you work but we should be going," William said. "I'd like to get out on time on my first day back." He handed Mark back his death list, Grell a red book covered in hearts and chainsaws and Alan a more elegant black one with only the words Death List in gold breaking the dark cover. "Shall we get going, Mr Knox?"

"I'll see you guys later, guys," Ronald called, heading out after him with Grell on his heels. "You're not coming with us are you, Miss Grell?"

"Mr Knox," William snapped. "Sutcliff is not a woman, please do not encourage him by referring to him as one."

"Will!" Grell cried.

Alan sighed and shook his head, opening his list and checking through the souls. "Come on, we've got some time. I need to talk to Miss Galloway."

"Alright," Mark said quietly.

He frowned, dropping back behind Alan was they walked through the halls. He knew Michelle. She'd recognise him. He was sure she would. Alan was greeted warmly by the bunch of young reapers that made up her division, grabbing their things ready to go. Michelle's office door was open. She was just coming out as Alan bumped into her. She smiled and patted his head.

"How's it going, Al?" she said, striding out. "Walk with me."

Alan nodded and walked slowly at her side as she pulled on her coat. He murmured something and Michelle laughed, glancing back at him.

"Ask him."

"Who?" Alan said. "Christian? I would if I could find him, he's vanished and there's a new guy in his place."

"Don't be silly," Michelle laughed. "Ask the replacement."

He glanced back at Mark, who smiled innocently. "Well I wasn't told what happened to him."

"Why would you be told?" Alan said. "Oh, by the way, this Mark-"

"Oh we know each other well, sweetie," Michelle said, glancing back at him.

"You two-"

"I mentored her through her exams," Mark said quickly.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Alan said, glancing up at her. "And what about Mr Corbin? He just vanished."

"No, we didn't kill either of them. Alan, stop worrying. You know, I'm always going to protect you. I won't let anyone hurt you."