Author's Note: Stacy suggested they meet up at a bar and Gwen does karaoke. I already had this chapter which takes place in a bar, but I did add a mention of karaoke!

Drinking Buddy

It's been nearly three months since Arthur saw Gwen. Her post-it was her last words to him. There was a pile of paperwork to go through, but his focus was on the crinkled note. Where are you, Guinevere? He was tempted to file a missing persons.

Merlin knocked on the doorframe. Arthur put the note in his drawer. "Yeah?"

"We're all going out for drinks. Are you joining us, or are you going to spend another night staring at that old post-it?"

Arthur glanced at drawer. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Merlin gave a playful snicker. "Sure you don't. I'll see you tomorrow then."

He had to look for her, he just had to. He didn't know where to start. No matter what he searched for, he ended up at a dead end. The last chance he had was to see Sefa.

Arthur passed a hooker on his way into the old housing. "I'll do you for free," she winked. He took the elevator up to Sefa's floor. The hallway—the building in general—was cleaner than the last time he was there. Arthur knocked on the door and a woman answered.

She looked him up and down. "You're not my client."

"No," Arthur said. "Is Sefa around?"

"She left like a month ago. Someone paid big bucks to get her out."

He was sure it was Gwen. The only problem was that now there was no one else who could give him any sort of clue to where she could be.

After another unsuccessful week, Arthur sat alone at the bar of a nearly empty pub. He ran a hand down his face trying to wipe away the exhaustion.

"I'll have what he's having," the voice he wouldn't admit to missing came from next to him.

He stared at Gwen blankly as she settled on the stool. "Are you kidding me?" he said in disbelief. "I was waiting for your body to be fished out of the Thames!"

The bartender set the drink in front of Gwen. She took a sip and frowned. "Water? Seriously? I thought you were having a brooding-detective-downing-his-sorrow-in-hard-liquor moment."

"Where have you—!" Arthur realized he was on the verge of yelling. He quickly calmed down. "Where have you been?"

"Did you miss me?" Gwen's eyes twinkled. When the bartender went by she asked for a real drink.

"I've been trying to track you down."

"Is that detective-speak for 'Yes, Guinevere, I missed you with all my heart."

Suddenly Arthur needed a real drink too.

"You really did try to track me down?"

Arthur looked away from her and stared down into his drink. "You got Sefa out of there, didn't you? That's great, but she was my only lead."

"Yes, I did. Finally." He heard Gwen sigh. "I had to clean up a lot of messes. Tie up some loose ends."

He needed to ask. It's been eating away at him for the last three months. "Where'd you go? What were you doing?"

"Settle down, detective," she chuckled. "Long story short, I know a lot of bad people that needed to be put down. I also know a lot of bad people who are on my side."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at her. "Putting hits on people now?"

Gwen laughed into her glass before she took another sip. "This is not how I imagined my life to be."

She told him her story. She was going for school for dance, but had to drop out due to her family's financial struggle. She was disappointed, but she wasn't angry. She would do anything for her family, but no matter how many jobs she worked, the money wasn't coming in fast enough. One day, she found herself standing outside a gentleman's club staring at a wanted flyer for dancer. She would be able to make more money in a night than a week's worth of work at her other jobs combined. It was an option.

And that's when she met Helios.

"What's a girl like you standing outside a place like this?" he asked.

Gwen took in his appearance. He was too finely dressed for this side of town. "Times are tough for a girl like me."

Helios gave her a polite smile. "Well, how about I treat a girl like you to lunch?"

She eyed him warily. "I don't go out to lunch with strangers."

"I'm Helios." He offered her his hand.

"Gwen." She took it.

Helios was a smooth talker, and he charmed his way into her heart. He bought her things and helped pay bills. He insisted on it. Quickly, all the debt was gone. And when her father and brother died together in an accident, Helios was there to comfort her. He eased her mind from the tragedy. As they grew closer, he pampered her and took her on trips to lavish places. She experienced luxury beyond her wildest dreams. If only she knew, she would've preferred living a life of struggle than in constant fear and disgust.

She was chopping peppers when she felt Helios' arms wrap around her. She stilled, held her breath, and gripped the knife.

"Tomorrow's going to be a long day. I won't be able to wait to get back home, have my tea, have you," he whispered in her ear. His hot breath, his very being, revolted her.

Gwen continued chopping. "And I can't wait for you to try my new blend. It's to die for."

When she found his body and called the cops, she wept with relief. It made her call sound more convincing. But once the call ended, she laughed, and she laughed, and the tears flowed harder.

Gwen finished her drink. "Maybe I should write a book."

"It'd be one helluva read," Arthur said. "Can I get an autographed copy?"

"Even better, I'll dedicate it to you." Gwen tried to keep a straight face. "To DCI Arthur Pendragon," she raised her empty glass, "Dot, dot, dot. I'm not sure what would come after that."

"How about: Sorry for being a pain in the ass?" he suggested. "Did you know I was here, or was it coincidence?"

"Coincidence, actually." Gwen leaned closer to Arthur. "It's like fate brought us back together."

Arthur leaned in too. "So you can terrorize me again?"

Gwen tugged his tie and then began straightening it. "Terrorize you? If I wanted to terrorize you I'd get up on that karaoke stage and serenade you." She rambled on about song choices. "Or better yet, I can just sing songs by The Police. Get it? Because you're the police, so I'll sing songs by The Police," she chuckled at her little ramble. Her fingers lingered on the knot and Arthur's eyes flickered at to her lips, glossy with her signature red lipstick. Several months ago his first thought would've been that she was trying to choke him. Working his way back up to her eyes, the corner of his mouth twitched up at the sight of her freckles; they were an endearing feature to her femme fatale nature.

The bartender announced last call.

"I should go," Gwen said, not really making a move to leave.

"Go where?"

She ran her fingers along his cheek. "You could do with a shave, detective." She slid off the stool. It brought them even closer, and Arthur had to lean back to give her room. "See you around."

He watched her go until she was out the door.

The bartender let out a low whistle. He'd been watching as well. "Friend of yours?"

Arthur had to be honest. "I have no idea."

The bartender grabbed Gwen's empty glass. Arthur's eyes lingered on the lipstick stain. Then, he realized that she didn't pay for her drink. He smiled and shook his head. He reached into his pocket for his wallet, and found more than that inside.

There was a folded napkin with an address on it.

A/N: I already have a plan for where the address leads to, so I don't need ideas for that. But I think I know of a way I'll be able to incorporate freckled98's suggestion involving a dog :)

Thanks always for reading and reviewing! And keep those suggestions coming!