Chapter One: Plotting in the Locker Room

Author note: This story is the fifty-second in the Magical Flashpoint series. It follows "Go Sailing No More" as well as 04x12: A New Life, so spoilers for that episode.

Although all original characters belong to me, I do not own Flashpoint, Harry Potter, Narnia, or Merlin.

It had been an unsettling few weeks. Greg Parker snorted to himself at the thought. If he was being blunt, it had been an unsettling few years. Still, he couldn't bring himself to regret any of the decisions he'd made. He particularly didn't regret his decision to pull his team back, putting them on secondary status and practically bullying his commander into giving Wordy a week off. He'd been tempted to argue for Spike having that same week off, but eventually decided against it.

Wordy needed the time off; time and space to come to grips with going lethal on the serial killer who'd been about to torture Spike to death. Greg knew his constable's family would help with that, though he might need to do a personal debriefing with Wordy at some point. Get the whole mess out in the open and start draining the emotional poison it had inflicted.

"Morning, Boss."

Glancing up from his locker, the Sergeant smiled. "Morning, Eddie."

"Word off for the week?"

Trust Eddie to practically read his mind. Half-turning, Greg nodded once. "Who do you want as backup team leader?"

"Greg." Exasperation and affection, all at once.

"It's a precaution, Ed. Nothing more."

Lane cast him a narrow-eyed glare, but minutely relaxed when Parker gazed back calmly. "Sam," he decided. "And I'll have Lou shadow him if we get a call out."

"Do a little cross training?"

"Yep."

The two men finished changing in companionable silence, heading out just as the rest of their teammates arrived. Lane moved towards the workout room, but paused when Parker tapped his shoulder and tilted his head at the briefing room. Resigned but game, the team leader trailed after his boss, arching an eyebrow when Greg tapped the controls to lower the steel door behind them.

"Something wrong, Boss?"

The stocky man let his shoulders slump and he heaved a sigh as he dropped into a chair. "Yeah, Eddie. And it's more than just this thing with Wordy and Spike."

Ed stilled, catching the reference at once.

Discouragement wrote itself across Greg Parker's features. "Wordy needs more than just a week, Ed, but that's all I can give him. Spike…" he stopped, grimacing.

"He's still slipping," the team leader filled in quietly.

"To say the least."

The first time had been bad. Right in the middle of delicate negotiations, just as Ed and Jules needed Spike's intel to get to their Sierra locations, the bomb tech had lapsed into a frenzy of Narnian babbling, not even realizing he wasn't speaking English until Wordy's frantic, "Englisc, Spike, Englisc," broke through his concentration.

Although none of the other lapses had been at critical, do-or-die moments, Sergeant and team leader were agreed that it was only a matter of time. Spike, realizing the same, was pushing himself twice as hard, desperate to stop slipping, but he still slipped at least once per shift and every member of the team now knew the Narnian word for English, which seemed to be the only way to break the bomb tech out of a slip.

Another sigh heaved out of Greg's frame and he pushed himself upright to pace, his movements quick and agitated – a caged predator. "Sam's been working with Giles, but he's still right on the edge." Fear gleamed in the hazel that turned briefly towards Ed. "If Donna hadn't stopped…"

"He'd be dead," Ed finished again, frown deepening. "He took one heck of a risk, Boss."

"I don't think he saw it as a risk, Ed. More like an opportunity." The Sergeant halted, stock still as he wrestled with himself. Lane waited patiently, letting his boss decide what to share. When the words came, they were a punch to both men. "Sam had to take away his gun the first night, Eddie. He hasn't given it back yet."

"He's that close?" the team leader hissed, dismay and horror blazing through him in equal measure.

A nod. "Everything he said to Donna that day, Ed, he believes it."

"Would explain why he's trying to push Roy away," the bald sniper mused; his boss offered another sober nod.

"And Donna…" Greg stopped, unable to continue.

Ed managed a mockery of a laugh. "Four messes by my count, Greg. We got any more you wanna pile on?"

The Sergeant did not smile and his demeanor was one of a man twice his age as he turned, found his chair, and sank back into it. "Well, I still have Marina as a girlfriend – we could add that if you'd like."

The team leader's jaw dropped open.

For a moment, Ed was too astonished to reply, then he blurted, "I thought Merlin fixed everything."

His boss managed a parody of a shrug. "Missed a spot."

It was Lane's turn to pace, in a circle that took him around the briefing room table twice as he worked through their collective issues, frowning as he thought things through. Finally he asked, "How bad, Greg?"

Parker did not misunderstand. "She's angry I didn't introduce her to mio nipotes right away. Lance took the blame, said he reacted badly to me having a girlfriend and 'Lanna sided with him." Hazel flashed with annoyance. "Marina cooed at them and literally patted mio nipote on the head; she's been treating them like petulant toddlers ever since."

"And you're sick of it," Ed summed up.

A nod. "When she's not treating them like that, she's acting like their mother. I did call her on that; I said they had a mother and she wasn't winning any points by trying to replace Victoria."

Lane whistled low. "How'd she take it?"

"She told me I'd already replaced their father and they needed a mother, too."

Ed winced. In one respect, Marina was right; his Boss had replaced the kids' father – magically speaking, the two young orphans had gained another 'father' when Greg had been acknowledged as Regent for the Ancient and Noble House of Calvin. In the fundamentals, however… She was dead wrong. No member of Team One, Greg included, had tried to replace their parents. From the very beginning, the Boss had established himself as their uncle; equal in authority to Arthur and Victoria Calvin, but never a replacement. Sophie and Shelley had stepped in as the kids' 'aunts', Spike's mother adopting them as surrogate grandchildren. Family, yes; replacements, never.

"How do you wanna play this, Greg?"

Resignation gazed up, coupled with stress thick enough to choke on. "It's not Marina's fault she doesn't remember our original deal."

Ed inclined his chin.

"Nor is it my fault she hadn't met mio nipotes yet; as best I could tell, in that history, they never came here in the first place."

Another nod, though Ed winced, recalling quite clearly his own obliviousness and utterly stupid remarks during that week.

"She doesn't know about magic or I would've just 'fessed up, laid everything out, and tried to salvage our original agreement. Lance…" Greg trailed off, rubbing at his eyes. "He and Alanna wouldn't have minded, Eddie; they would've been surprised, sure, but they wouldn't have kicked up a fuss."

The team leader tilted his head. "I hear you, Greg." He frowned thoughtfully, tapping two fingers against one arm. "When would you have introduced her to them?"

A wan smile. "Before or after the first date. Hadn't decided which yet."

"You had a couple more months to figure that out," Ed mused aloud, earning an agreeing head bob. "You still think she has transference?"

Parker hesitated, giving the question careful consideration. The team leader moved to the blue panels, leaning against one as his boss's eyes flicked back and forth in thought, weighing factors Ed could only guess at. There was a reason he dealt with team tactics, not negotiation.

"Yes."

The answer dropped into the near silence around the two men; Ed arched a brow, but didn't ask if Greg was sure. "So how do we handle it?"

Surprise flashed. " 'We', Eddie?"

"If you think I'm going to sit by and let you deal with Morgana's manufactured mess all on your own, you got another thing comin', Greg." Ed leaned forward, determined and intense. "Now spill, boss. You've got a plan and I want in."

The smile was weak, but genuine. "Can mio nipotes stay with you and Sophie for a few days? Marina and I need to have a serious discussion and I think it's better if they're not there for that."

"And?"

"And I want Giles to stay at my place until he's not quite as suicidal as he is right now."

A two-pronged approach, Ed realized. While Greg's focus would be on helping Giles recover, it would also give Marina an intimate eyeful of just how hard being a cop was. Not to mention, with Giles present, Greg would have an additional witness and instant backup if his 'discussion' went off the rails.

Which just left the kids…and a Sophie who'd just been reminded of how dangerous his job could be, even in the middle of a wedding. "What about sending the kids to Spike's?"

"Spike's?"

The team leader warmed to his idea. "Yeah. If Spike's slipping on-duty, Greg, he's slipping off-duty, too. They can understand him, right?"

Parker nodded. "It's Narnian, Eddie; they can understand it."

"So maybe they can help him," Ed suggested. "Something's gotta give, Boss, and they're probably just as frustrated with Marina as you are. Get them outta the apartment and doing something instead of sulking 'cause they can't help you."

Greg leaned back in his chair, debating the proposal. Gradually his demeanor warmed, stress receding a touch. "I like it, Ed. That just leaves Wordy and Donna."

"Let Shelley handle Wordy," the team leader advised. "Debrief him when he gets back, just the two of you, but do it like you planned and leave him alone this week."

"And Donna?"

Ed considered, but finally shook his head. "Leave her alone, too, Greg. Hank made it through. Let them have their honeymoon and deal with things once she's back."

Morbid humor glinted. "I doubt she planned on their honeymoon being at St. Mungo's."

"Better St. Mungo's than a funeral," Lane countered. "At least she doesn't have to hide magic from Hank anymore."

"True," Parker granted. He thought for a moment more, then pushed himself to his feet. "Thanks, Eddie. I'll get the wheels turning."

A wry smile worked its way across Ed's face. "Any time, Greg."