Teenagers

"…sidents in the area are advised to be extra cautious these next da—"

Arthur turned off the television. He was tired of hearing news about the death of Franklin Gates. It was Aredian's idea to let news outlets know of the suspected home invasion. He said it was for the good of the people, but Arthur knew it was to implant fear. The more the public is scared, the bigger the heroes they appear when they catch the killer. Even if Mr. Gates' murderer wasn't a home invader, the minute they find them it will be all over the news. Arthur just wanted to do his job; he didn't like it when a spectacle was made out of it.

Mordred came into the kitchen dressed for school and his backpack slung over his shoulder. He rummaged through the refrigerator, pulled out a slice of pizza, and devoured it cold.

"What's the rush?" Arthur asked. "You still have an hour."

"I'dun wanna 'is 'da 'us," Mordred said with his mouth full.

Many lunches with Gwaine and Merlin allowed Arthur to have no problem understanding the teen. "I was going to drive you."

"No. It's ok. I want to." Mordred brushed his hands off on his pants leg. "Is it okay if I'm home a little late? Tyr and Daegal want to hang out after school."

Arthur was fine with it. "Sure. Just call if you need anything."

Mordred thanked him and was out the door.

Arthur and Merlin met with Alice down in the morgue. She confirmed that the murder weapon was indeed a baseball bat. A sliver of wood with part of the brand name was found in Mr. Gates' skull.

Alice held it up with tongs to show them. "It's one helluva spinter."

Merlin made a face. "Okay, so either Mr. Gates has a really hard head, or Mrs. Gates has a really mean swing."

"Or it was their son," Arthur muttered. The rest of the bat was still missing, but at least they could ask about it during the interrogations with confidence.

Once back on their floor, they found Gwen and Morgana being swarmed by the other officers.

Arthur was immediately filled with concern. "What's going on?"

Gwen appeared around Percival and went up to them. "Do we have to work on your in-person greetings now?" She greeted Merlin and then she went back to Arthur. "See. It's easy," she teased.

"Hello, Guinevere," Arthur corrected himself, fighting back his own a grin triggered by Gwen's infectious smile. "What are you doing here?"

She looked him up and down and pointed at his Henley shirt. "Casual Friday?"

"At least he shaved today," Merlin snickered. As Morgana moved out of the way, what he saw on the desk behind her made his eyes go wide. "Are those Seward's Pastries?"

Morgana was about to answer, but Gwaine beat her to it. "'oo 'et 'ey are!" he said with a mouth full of apple turnover and pure joy on his face.

Morgana rolled her eyes at him. "As we were passing it, Gwen insisted we pick something up. I thought she was crazy because they're always sold out by now, but they pulled out a secret stash for Gwen."

Arthur wasn't buying it. "So you stopped here after to be nice and share?"

"We're going shopping!" Elena cheered. "I took a half day by the way."

That made more sense. "You shop too much," Arthur said to Morgana.

Morgana waved him off. "I'm an editor of a fashion magazine. It's relevant to my job."

Gwen moved away and signaled to Arthur to join her before he can make a comeback. "So, are going to interrogate another killer wife?"

"How do you know about that?"

"Gwaine was very chatty before he got into the box."

"I see." Arthur stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "It might not be her."

"It's always the spouse." Gwen gave him a wink and Arthur snorted. "Oh, c'mon!" She leaned in a little closer, and in a conspiring whisper she said, "You're talking to a statistic."

Arthur chuckled. Looking down at her, he took in how she has changed. Something was different in the way she carried herself. It could've been that she was wearing sneakers instead of heels, but he's seen her in casual clothing before. He couldn't put his finger on it.

Gwen caught him staring. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"Yeah. Freckles," Arthur blurted out. He didn't mean to, but it was the second time he's really noticed them since the day she appeared at the bar after returning from God only knows.

She looked at him funny.

Aredian walked in and his cold eyes locked on them for an agonizing second. "Ms. Leodegrance, see me in my office in five minutes." He then turned his attention to Arthur. "Pendragon, I hope your interrogation skills are more put together than your appearance."

"It helps me blend in with the common folk," Arthur fired back with a serious face. Aredian responded with his usual glare and went into his office.

Morgana came up to them. "What was that about?"

"He wants to speak with me?" Gwen said with uncertainty and moved towards Aredian's office, but Arthur stopped her.

"He means it when he says five minutes," Arthur said. "Shall I read you your last rites," he joked. Morgana slapped him on the arm. They waited until time was up before Gwen went to the door. Arthur couldn't help but think of a lamb being led to the slaughter.

"You're coming out with us later," Morgana said out of the blue.

"Am I?"

His sister nodded vigorously. "Tonight at the Red Dragon. You guys need a night out. Gwaine, Percival, Leon, and even George are in. And where Freya goes, Merlin goes. All that's left is you, little brother."

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Arthur already knew the answer.

Morgana just smirked in response.

"I'll let Mordred know that I'll be home later than him." From Morgana's surprise he remembered that he forgot to tell her what happened. "Mordred is staying with me."

"Oh, how is he?"

"A teenager."

The siblings shared a small laugh together until Arthur deemed it time to get to work. "Unlike you right now, I've got a job to do."

Morgana gave him a push. "I was gonna buy you something nice, but never mind!"

Dread washed over Gwen the moment Aredian looked at her. Now in close quarters with him, she couldn't shake it off. She noticed that the chair she was sitting in was different than the one she sat in when it was Gaius' office. Gaius' chair felt like a dream next to the electric chair she felt like she was in.

"How would you describe your relationship with DCI Pendragon?" Aredian started with.

Gwen didn't realize she could be thrown more off guard. "Relationship?"

"Would you say that you are friends?" Aredian added.

She didn't like his tone. "I believed he once described me as a pain."

"Once," Is all Aredian said.

"Sorry?"

Aredian made the slightest move forward and the room felt smaller. "You said he once described you as a pain. What about now? He seems to go out of his way for a…" he paused to size her up. "pain."

She wanted to shrink away, but Gwen couldn't lean back in the chair if she tried. "He just does his duty."

"His duty is to solve crime. If you are as DCI Pendragon claims, you risk blowing your cover and his by loitering around here."

"Would you prefer us meet in dark alleys?" The slight clench of Aredian's jaw let Gwen know she victoriously struck and nerve. It wouldn't help her situation, but it was a small win.

It took a moment before Aredian appeared to relax. "I will not tolerate inappropriate behavior. I will not have you put my team in unnecessary danger. I will not have your personal life and contagious recklessness be the downfall of this establishment."

Gwen gripped the arm of the chair. "I think it's time for me to go."

"Yes. It is."

Arthur looked at Robert Gates from across the table. The teen leaned back with his arms crossed. He looked everywhere except at Arthur. "Robert, do you like sports?"

Robert's eyes finally went to Arthur. "Yeah."

"How about your dad?"

Robert glanced away. "Yeah."

It was a small opening, but Arthur was going to take it. "We suspect the weapon used was a baseball bat. Was there one in the house?"

"Other than the one I practice with?"

"Right," Arthur nodded. "One wasn't recovered. If this was a home invasion, was the bat in a visible place?"

Robert went from stoic to uncomfortable. "I left it in the living room last night. Dad tripped over it, and he... Mum moved it, I think."

"What did your dad do after he tripped, Robert?"

"He got mad..." the boy mumbled.

"At you or your mother?"

"Both."

Arthur gave Robert a moment before he continued. "And your mother… How did she appear when you found her?"

Robert straightened. "You think she did it?" The chair screeched as he quickly pushed back and got up. "I don't want to be here anymore."

"Just one mor—"

"I don't want to be here!" Robert shouted, and an officer came in to take him away.

Arthur let out an exhausted sigh. When he came out of the room, he saw Mrs. Gates envelope her son and calm him down. After she passed him to her sister, she went to Arthur.

"I'm ready. I don't want to drag this out," she said. "I did it. I killed my husband. I didn't want him to hurt my Robbie anymore." An officer stepped forward to take her away, but Merlin stopped him, giving Mrs. Gates time to kiss her son and her sister goodbye.

When Mrs. Gates was finally led away, Arthur turned his attention back Robert and his aunt. He didn't like the look they shared with each other.

Something was wrong.

While they waited for the girls, George treated them to the first round. Warmed up, he finally admitted he was the one who taped up Aredian's door.

"Our George is all grown up," Gwaine said, brushing away an invisible tear.

When the girls arrived, Arthur stood up to let them in the booth. He tactfully stopped Gwen, letting Elena in first so she could sit next to Percival. They dragged over another table and chairs, and constantly swapped seats every time someone got up, though Elena and Percival managed to stay together each time.

Morgana decided it would be fun to flirt with George. It was entertaining until she laid a hand on George's forearm and he jumped, spilling his beer. It splashed on Gwen's arm, and she went to the restroom to wash it off.

Sitting at the end of the booth, Leon was able to see the entrance door open and Aredian come through it. "It's Aredian!" They all turned to see the superintendent going straight to the bar.

"Arthur," Morgana said, getting her brother's attention. "After Gwen spoke to him, she was upset. I don't think—"

"Way ahead of you," he was already getting up and hastily making his way to the restrooms. Arthur didn't know whether to barge into the ladies room and get her or wait and risk being seen by Aredian. Luckily Gwen came out shortly after. He grabbed her hand and started pulling her to the back exit.

"Aredian's here," was all he had to say. He felt her squeeze his hand, understanding.

They made it out in the fresh air, and Arthur took a deep breath and then exhaled. "That was close."

"My hero," Gwen swung their hands back and forth before letting go. "Sooo…do we just wait here?"

"I drove. We can wait in my car." Arthur's phone vibrated. It was a text from Merlin.

Aredian's sitting with us while he waits for someone. Gonna be a while. The message ended with the poop emoji.

They ended up at a nearby food truck. Arthur had to pay because Gwen's purse was still in the booth. Arthur texted Morgana to let her know what was happening.

"Aredian's not wrong about this," Gwen gestured between them, "being inappropriate."

"That's what he spoke to you about?" Arthur couldn't say he disagreed.

"And apparently I possess the ability to ruin you and the entire serious crimes unit. I think he gives me too much credit." Gwen laughed at herself. "Maybe I'll get you killed. Hell, I could be the one who kills you."

Arthur could hear the lack of conviction in her voice. "I've seen you dance with children. You're not so scary anymore."

"Aredian doesn't seem like the man to cross."

"Gaius said to give him hell." Arthur thought about the former superintendent's words. "He didn't know it would be Aredian, but…" he finished with a shrug.

Gwen smiled. "Always the loyal one, detective."

Arthur's phone repeatedly buzzed. He was getting a call. He expected it to be Merlin or Morgana, but it was the station calling.

"Pendragon," he answered. The officer on the other end gave him news he wasn't expecting.

Arthur told Gwen it would only take a minute, and ran into the building. It was still early in the night, but the first floor was very active. Among the drunken adults handcuffed to their seats and petty criminals, Arthur saw Mordred and a teenage girl sitting furthest away from the others. He frowned at Mordred and went to the officer at the desk. "What happened, Jimmy?"

"Caught them doing graffiti. There were two others, but they got away," Jimmy explained. "The moment he was caught, he dropped your name."

Back over were the teens were, Arthur had to stop himself from laughing at Mordred grimacing at the older drunk woman blowing kisses at him from the opposite wall. "How has it been?"

Jimmy looked up at the clock on the wall. "Not long. Probably about a half hour since picking them up. I called you right when we got here. The girl's mother is on her way now."

"You should've let him sweat a bit." Arthur and Jimmy laughed. "Thanks." He motioned for Morded to follow him out. Like the officer, Arthur opened the backdoor of his car and led Mordred in.

"Guinevere, this is Mordred. Mordred, this is Guinevere," Arthur introduced them. "She's coming home with us."

Gwen turned to Mordred. "You can call me Gwen." Mordred looked down and away. Gwen then faced Arthur and they shared a look that said teenagers.

On the way home, Arthur explained to Gwen that Mordred was staying with him for a while, and to Mordred he said Gwen was locked out until she got her purse from Morgana.

When they got inside, Mordred went straight to his room.

"We're gonna discuss this later!" Arthur called after him. They heard the door slam, and then Arthur received another call from the station. The moment he answered, Jimmy spoke.

"You need to get back here right away!"

A/N: I unintentionally made the comparison of the comfort of Aredian's chair vs the interrogation room chair. Did anyone catch that? I didn't until I reread it for the final time lol.

And sorry for the wait! I have no excuses.

Thank you for reading!