Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Hey, Matty!”

Q spun around at the shout from a familiar voice. He searched for one particular face among the people near him on the pavement, and spotted it approaching against the crowd. Q waited until the man was closer, then inclined his head. “Rhys.”

His brother grinned at Q’s carefully neutral tone. “Aw, don’t be like that, kid.”

“You’re five years younger than me, Emrys, you don’t get to call me kid. And don’t call me Matty, either.”

Emrys Drake threw back his head and laughed, startling some of the nearby pedestrians. A few of the uniformed officers apparently recognized him, and did double-takes at the sight of one of their senior forensic technicians laughing on the steps of New Scotland Yard. “I’m the taller brother though, Q!”

“You’re still younger, Merlin.” Q mock-glared, although he generously used his brother’s preferred nickname.

Merlin smirked. “And more handsome.”

“Hah!”

Merlin snickered. “You don’t have a real argument for that, do you?”

Q shook his head fondly. It was nice to see his brother in a good mood. Merlin could get too wrapped up in his assignments at work. Which was rather like the pot calling the kettle black, he thought ruefully. “Marriage suits you.”

Merlin glanced at his feet for a moment, biting his lip, before looking up to meet Q’s eyes. His cheeks were flushed. “It does, doesn’t it? We were practically living together, so I don’t know what making it official really changes, but somehow it makes a huge difference.”

Q watched his brother’s eyes go soft and unfocused. He grinned. “Thinking about your husband, brother-mine?”

“Yeah. Arthur’s a bit of a prat sometimes, but he’s my prat.” Merlin’s gaze sharpened. “But you didn’t come all the way down here to visit me at work or discuss my relationship. Why are you here, Q?”

Q hesitated.

Merlin waited, his serious brown eyes never leaving Q’s face.

“I’m here to pick up Alec’s — our — son.” Q stumbled a bit over the phrasing. He still wasn’t quite used to his relationship with James expanding to include Alec, and had no idea how to feel about suddenly acquiring a son along with their new lover. Someone who called him Papa.

James had taken to the idea of being ‘Pop’ like a duck to water. As much as Q loved seeing James be a doting father, he was also afraid that James regretted not having a traditional family after all, with a wife and children.

It was different with Alec. Q had come to care deeply for him, deeply enough that when James had tentatively suggested that they try a relationship between all three of them, Q had said yes. But he felt guilty relief that Alec shouldered most of the parental responsibility.

Alec tried hard to be a good dad, even after he learned that he wasn’t Aiden’s father. That knowledge had been difficult for Alec to deal with. It was almost as hard as breaking free of the programming that left him believing for years that he was Martin Odum.

That programming had already begun breaking down by the time James found him in L.A., but it hadn’t been an easy process to complete. Alec had recovered nearly all of his memories, leaving only a few gaps. That had been one of the conditions they had all agreed upon before beginning their relationship.

“What happened to Aiden? Q?” Merlin sounded worried and a bit exasperated, as if he’d tried to get Q’s attention more than once.

He flushed. “All I know is that I got a message saying that Aiden had been brought in, and that someone responsible for him needed to pick him up.”

“Aiden is just a kid, Q. Are your secret agent boyfriends training him to be a spy at age 10?”

Q huffed, “I don’t know, Merlin. One of my technicians took the call, and they couldn't be bothered to get the details.” Q didn’t mention there would be distinct unpleasantness in that technician’s future. “Maybe you can help me find out what’s going on. Fortunately, both James and Alec are unavailable at the moment, and I’d prefer to wrap whatever this is up before they get wind of it. If they do, the results might be… regrettable.”

Merlin winced, obviously imagining the chaos that Q’s two lovers could create, and nodded. “You’re right, that would be a situation we don’t need. I’d help anyway, you know,” he chided, as he headed towards NSY.

Q hurried to catch up, cursing his brother’s longer legs under his breath. “Merlin! Wait up.”

Two men passing by paused, turning to look as Q called his brother’s name. The change of movement when they stopped drew Q’s attention. They were well dressed, and both wore similar thick-framed glasses. He thought that the younger man said, “Harry,” as the older man bent closer, whispering something in the younger man’s ear.

Q frowned, but before he could stop and investigate, the men walked on and Merlin turned back to laugh at him.

“You need to keep up, little brother!”

Chapter Text

The two brothers strode through the halls of New Scotland Yard, looking for the office they needed.

Merlin drew ahead, stopping at a directory on the wall. He studied it, then looked over his shoulder at Q. “I think we’re close.”

“You think? Shouldn’t you know? You do work here.”

“Yes, but I’ve never had to visit —” Merlin cut himself off as a woman barreled out of an office ahead of them and pushed roughly past him.

She was clearly intent on her own thoughts as she ran into Q, nearly knocking him over.

Q automatically put his arms out to catch the woman, and realized that he’d seen her before. Sergeant Sally Donovan. His cousin Sherlock had some sort of on-going vendetta with her and Anderson, one of the forensic techs that worked with Merlin. Q had no idea who started their childish sniping at each other, and preferred to stay out of it.

Sgt. Donovan started to apologise before she recognized them. Then she straightened up, holding her head high. “The brothers Foreman. How nice to see you. Not. Is your freak cousin about, too?”

Merlin’s lips thinned in anger, but before he could say anything, Q drew himself up. To hell with staying out of it. “Is this what you call professional behavior, Sergeant? Detective Inspector Lestrade might give you some leeway, but I will not.  Disrespect my brother — whose name is Drake now, as you well know — or my cousin Sherlock again, and I will hear about it. And you will regret it.”

Sgt. Donovan’s cheeks flushed as her eyes sparked with anger. “You can’t threaten me!”

“That wasn’t a threat.” Q wouldn’t put up with her behavior. He dealt with people far more dangerous than her every day, and knew how to put them in their place. “It was a fact.”

“Sergeant!” Detective Inspector Lestrade bellowed from the doorway of the room Donovan had erupted from.

A fake smile replaced the sullen look on her face as she turned to towards Lestrade as he approached.

“You have your assignment, Sally,” he said gently. He nodded towards the other end of the hall. “Go on now.”

Her jaw clenched. “Yes, Sir.” Sgt. Donovan spun and walked down the hall, offended dignity obvious in the tension of her spine.

“She’s a good officer.” Lestrade regarded Merlin and Q with a sigh. “I don’t know why none of you lot can get along with her.”

“Pride, Detective Inspector. All of us, including Sergeant Donovan, have too much,” Merlin pointed out with a wry smile.

Lestrade huffed. “Yes, you do. And unfortunately, I’m the poor bugger who has to deal with it. Now, why are you haunting my end of the building, and not forensics?”

Q blinked, startled. The desk sergeant had said that they could find Aiden waiting for them in DI Lestrade’s office. “I’m here to pick up Aiden. He is here, isn’t he?”

Lestrade went from a relaxed slouch to alert, his feet planted squarely under his shoulders. “What do you want with the poor kid? He’s had a difficult day, and doesn’t need MI6 mucking things up or taking charge of this case. I’m waiting for his father to come pick him up.”

Q started to exchange a puzzled glance with Merlin, when he realized that Lestrade was attempting to protect Aiden. From him. Q clenched his hands as adrenaline-fueled fear surged through his body, demanding action.

He didn’t know what was worse, the sick feeling of worry flooding his gut, or the sudden fury that someone had harmed his son. “What exactly did happen, Detective Inspector? Is Aiden all right? Where is he?”

Lestrade looked taken aback at Q’s demanding questions. “Why the interest? Is it the kidnappers? We still haven’t been able to identify —”

“Kidnappers?” Q’s voice rose sharply in surprise. What the hell had happened?

Another door opened a few feet down the hall. An anxious face peered out, then broke into a relieved smile.

“Papa!” Aiden darted out of the room towards Q as Lestrade looked on in disbelief.

Q caught Aiden in a tight hug, burying his nose in the boy’s dark hair. When he felt his heart stop pounding, he let go and checked for injuries.

There were a few scrapes and bruises under the torn clothing, but nothing major. Still, he had to ask. “Are you all right, Aiden? Where are you hurt? I know your fathers, don’t try to pretend you’re not.”

Lestrade shifted, catching Q’s attention. He looked up to see Lestrade mouthing “Papa?” and “fathers???” at Merlin. His oh-so-helpful brother just grinned back.

“Merlin, explain to him,” Q snapped, noting with satisfaction that Merlin’s expression sobered. “I’m taking care of my son.”

Q focused his attention back on Aiden, ignoring his brother and Lestrade as Merlin explained the facts of life to the detective inspector.

“I’m fine, really.” Aiden insisted, his dark brown eyes earnest.

Q narrowed his own eyes. That guileless expression had been learned quite well from two Double O delinquents. He knew better than to take it at face value. “Aiden. Are you really all right?”

“Yeah.” Aiden looked away and swallowed. When he looked back, his face was uncertain. “I guess, I don’t know. I was real scared. It was like that time when Mom —”  Aiden’s voice cracked, and he tried again, “When the terrorists —” Aiden caught his breath, his eyes going wide and panicked, as the events of the day suddenly hit him.

Damn. Q would find whoever it was and destroy them. James and Alec would be eager to help. Hell, he’d be hard pressed to rein them in. Q’s tone was gentle as he put his arm around Aiden and tucked the boy in close to his side. “We can discuss it later.”

Q looked up as Lestrade cleared his throat awkwardly. “Yes?”

“Merlin told me you’re one of Aiden’s legal guardians.” Lestrade’s eyes held a wary look. “Along with Bond and… Trevelyan?” At Q’s nod, Lestrade blew out a breath. “Of fucking course. And of course Trevelyan will be just as bad as Bond. This day just keeps getting better.”

Q glared. He hadn’t expected Lestrade to know Alec, and at least he didn’t say anything about their unusual relationship, but — “What do you mean by that, Detective Inspector?”

Lestrade held out placating hands. “I just meant that I’m already going to have Sherlock and John angry at me because I arrested Mrs. Hudson.”

“What?” Under other circumstances, Q might have been amused that he and Merlin had said the same thing at the same time.  

“Well, I had to.” Lestrade winced slightly. “There was a drugs dog that alerted its handler when she walked by.”

Q took a deep breath. “Detective Inspector, I’d like a full report — now — of the events that my son has been involved with today.” His voice warned, don’t leave anything out.

Merlin moved closer to Q, and added his own glare, standing there with folded arms.

Lestrade’s shoulders slumped. “All right. But not here in the hallway. My office is right there.”

Considering that the hallway was very much not deserted, and their little group was garnering curious stares, Q agreed. “Very well. And then you’ll tell me everything.”

Merlin leaned closer to Q as Lestrade led the way to his office. “Remember what we talked about last week?”

Q frowned in confusion. He and Merlin had gone to lunch for some sibling bonding time, and to catch up with each other. They had talked about Arthur’s latest escapade, and where it ranked against James and Alec’s. Merlin had told Q that he worried about Arthur getting injured or killed on duty, and Q had admitted that he felt unprepared to try being a father to Aiden. Why was Merlin bringing that up now? “Yes?”

“Congratulations, brother. It’s a boy!” Merlin smirked at him.

Chapter Text

Why had Merlin said that? Q shook his head, dismissing the thought. It made no sense. His brother was crazy, and he needed to focus on Aiden and what happened.

As they entered the office, Lestrade waved Q, Merlin, and Aiden to the visitor’s chairs in front of his desk. Without speaking, Merlin took the chair closest to the door, while Q took the one on the other side, which left Aiden in the protected spot between them.

Q smirked when Lestrade sat in his usual chair behind the desk, instead of pulling it out to sit with them. The detective inspector obviously felt that he needed a barrier between himself and his visitors.

“Aiden was in the care of Mrs. Hudson,” Lestrade began, then hurried on as Q glared. “Yes, you know that. They apparently decided to go to out —”

The story unfolded quickly, with minor asides from Aiden to clarify matters. After the first interruption, Lestrade muttered something under his breath. He got a nod of permission from Q when he raised his phone to record the conversation.

Aiden and Mrs. Hudson had gone to the shops that morning. On the way, two men had confronted them. One had distracted Mrs. Hudson, and then shoved her to the ground as his partner grabbed Aiden and started running.

Q stopped Lestrade. “How is Mrs. Hudson?”

Lestrade hesitated, looking uncomfortable. “She’s… well, she’s fine. We can get to that later.” Q started to ask another question, but Lestrade raised his voice to talk over Q, and continued the story.

By the time some of the onlookers helped Mrs. Hudson to her feet, the men were gone. She hadn’t been able to contact Sherlock or John, so she had called Lestrade instead.

Lestrade and his team had been in the area, investigating a murder scene a few streets away. He’d left Sgt. Donovan in charge, and left to go help Mrs. Hudson. She told him that the boy she was caring for had been kidnapped.

Lestrade had summoned several police teams to search the area, and they found Aiden locked in a flat just a street over. The kidnappers had been waiting for a contact and had been alarmed by the police getting closer, so they had abandoned their victim. Aiden had untied himself just before the police entered the flat to rescue him.

Merlin beamed, leaning over to tell Aiden, “Good job!”

Q rolled his eyes, then ignored his brother to focus on Aiden. “Of course your fathers taught you how to untie yourself. Did they tell you not to mention it to me?”

Aiden answering nod was hesitant.

Q lowered his voice to whisper, “Which one’s advice helped more?”

“Promise not to tell Dad?” Aiden whispered back.

Q solemnly crossed his heart with a finger.

“Pop is better at knots. But Dad is better at picking locks.” Aiden looked anxiously at Lestrade. “I didn’t say that.”

“No, of course not.” Lestrade gave a pained sigh, and wiped a hand over his face.

“What’s the rest of the story?” Merlin cocked his eyebrow at Lestrade. “You haven’t explained why Mrs. Hudson was arrested.”

“Ah. Yes. Well…” Lestrade trailed off uncertainly.

“The dog barked at Mrs. Hudson when we got here,” Aiden prompted.

Q raised an inquiring eyebrow at Lestrade. “And that’s when you arrested Mrs. Hudson.” At Lestrade’s nod, Q shook his head. “You’re right — Sherlock will not be happy.”

Lestrade opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. It opened, revealing a still scowling Sgt. Donovan and Mrs. Hudson.

Mrs. Hudson peered around Sgt. Donovan. “Oh, Aiden dear, you’re all right. I was worried about you. Oh, and here’s Q and Merlin. How are you boys?” Mrs. Hudson managed to appear unaffected by her arrest.

“I got Mrs. Hudson, like you said,” Sgt. Donovan directed her words to Lestrade. “So here we are. Not in the holding cell. Where she should be.”

“Oh, nonsense.” Mrs. Hudson had walked past Sgt. Donovan into the office, but turned back to face her. “They were only herbal soothers, nothing wrong with them.”

“They smell nice, too.” Aiden leaned forward in his chair to look past Merlin.

There was silence in the room.

“What?” Q blinked down at Aiden in surprise. “How do you know that?”

“It was nothing, really.” Mrs. Hudson attempted an innocent smile when Q glanced over at her. “My hip was acting up this morning.”

Q took a breath, unprepared for the anger that swept through him. Then another. Then he realized — this feeling. This was what Merlin meant. It didn’t matter if he felt unprepared to be a father, he was one. And he would do whatever he had to make sure that Aiden was properly cared for. He stood up, and walked over to Mrs Hudson, feeling the eyes of everyone else in the room watching him.

“Mrs. Hudson. I know my cousin and his flatmate love you, so please understand that I am trying to keep my boyfriends from dismembering you when they hear about this, but do you mean you smoked marijuana around our kid?”