Archive of Our Own ^beta

Aaron was sitting in a cafe across the street from the office building where the think tank he was sent to observe resided. He was to retrieve some information from them, or rather from one of them. Dr. Spencer Reid. The pictures of the young man had made taking the mission easy. M was very specific on what they needed and Aaron aimed to get it.

Felix Leiter, MI6’s CIA liaison had been told what Aaron was doing, and the CIA allowed the mission, as long as MI6 shared what it was they were appropriating. This was a mission that needed a delicate touch, which Aaron excelled at. He was currently sipping an excellent cup of tea and snacking on a pastry while he observed the comings and goings of those that occupied the building. Aaron would take a run later to burn off the calories from the pastry.

This particular cafe was currently Aaron’s target favorite. The timing wasn't coincidental. It was the exact time that Dr. Reid would come across the street to procure his coffee and either a bear claw or a cinnamon roll. The man, in some things, was boringly predictable. But, he was easy on the eyes, so Aaron didn’t see this as a hardship.

He put down the current copy of The Guardian he had been reading, though it wasn’t his favorite newspaper, it was something to read while he waited. A few moments later, Aaron saw Dr. Reid coming across the street. Today he looked rather dashing. The man usually had on trousers and a too-big jumper, or a button-up and a vested jumper. Today, the man had on a tailored suit that included a waistcoat. His hair was styled and he even had an expensive pair of loafers on. Aaron wondered at the change. He watched Dr. Reid through half-closed eyes and admired the long lean body as he came closer to Aaron's table.

Reid gave him half a glance as he walked into the cafe to pick-up his order. Aaron looked through the window and saw Reid in line with three other people ahead of him. Aaron’s timing needed to be perfect. He finished off his tea and decided to get a refill. When two minutes and thirty-seven seconds had passed, the time Aaron calculated for Dr. Reid to get his coffee, Aaron stood and entered the cafe. He saw that Dr. Reid was not paying attention, so the run-in would appear completely natural.

Aaron saw the perfect moment, then the bump with Dr. Reid spilling his coffee all over Aaron’s suit.

“Oh, dear. I do apologize, I was not looking where I was going. I was headed over to ask for a refill.” Aaron held up his cup and allowed a blush to creep all over his cheeks.

“I’m so sorry." The embarrassment over the perceived accident was evident in the young man's voice. Perfect, Aaron thought as he watched Dr. Reid flounder a bit. "I wasn’t looking where I was going. Here, let me help you.” Dr. Reid grabbed several napkins and tried to help Aaron clean up.

“No, no. It is entirely my fault. Please let me buy you a new coffee?”

Dr. Reid blushed a deep red and Aaron wondered if he had never been flirted with. Or if he had, did he even realise it?

“Um, okay. Thank you.” The slight stutter over his words charmed Aaron, despite the situation.

“It is no trouble. Please, I have a table just outside. I would be happy if you would join me.”

“Y-you want me to join you?” The blush deepened and Aaron knew he had Dr. Reid already hooked.

“Yes. I would like that very much.”

“Oh, um okay.”

“Brilliant. I’m Aaron, by the way. Aaron Hotchner.” Aaron smiled and walked back to the barista to get a refill on his water and a fresh tea bag. The cafe was known for its fresh teas that they packed in tea bags daily. When Aaron sat back down, Dr. Reid smiled shyly as he sipped his coffee.

“I’m Dr. Spencer Reid. I ah, can tell from your accent that you are from London? I’d say around the Kensington area?”

“You’re pretty good at that. Can you do that with most people you meet?”

“Umm, sometimes. It helps if I’ve been there, or have some knowledge of the area they are from. I’ve traveled to London several times. While the accents aren’t that distinct, there are subtle differences in speech patterns, cadences, and word usage. You speak as if you are from a wealthy or privileged area. There are five distinct areas of London where you could potentially be from...

“I’m sorry, I can often ramble on.”

“Don’t let me stop you. I quite enjoy the sound of your voice.”

Dr. Reid smiled a smile that even Aaron wasn’t immune to. This assignment was going to be much, much more pleasant than he had originally anticipated.

__________________________

Aaron took his time. Long-terms missions were his forte and although M hated to have one of his best agents out for long periods of time, Aaron knew how to play subtle, and how to leave no clues behind. Aaron was patient and knew how to play the long game, unlike Alec or James who were useful when they needed information quickly and didn't mind getting their hands dirty, so-to speak. Aaron was their best sniper, but he prefered getting missions completed with as little killing as possible. 

Three months he had been wining, dining and seducing Dr. Reid. Aaron skillfully pulled information from Reid about his life, family, schooling, and how he had earned his fortune. It almost made Aaron regretful about what he was doing...almost. Tonight Aaron had decided was the right time for seducing the beautiful young man into his bed.

“This has been a wonderful date, Aaron.”

Aaron leaned in and cupped Reid’s cheek before he kissed those soft, tempting lips.

“The evening does not have to end, Spencer.”

“Oh!” Reid blushed, and Aaron didn’t even hide that he was charmed by the blush. He had enjoyed keeping the good Doctor off-guard for the last three months..

“Let me take you home, Spencer,” Aaron breathed into Reid’s ear, kissing his neck, nipping at his jaw.

“Yes. Oh god yes.”

Aaron smiled, paid the check and led Reid out of the restaurant. They arrived back at Reid’s apartment in no time. Aaron plastered himself against Reid’s back as he slipped his hand in Reid’s trouser pocket, pulling out his keys before Reid could. He made sure the younger man could feel his hard cock as he nestled himself between Reid’s clothed ass cheeks.

A hiss and Aaron softly chuckled in Reid’s ear. Aaron opened the door and Reid practically fell through. Aaron locked the door behind them, and Reid’s cats Pythagoras and Hypatia came to thread their bodies through Aaron’s legs. The kittens had come to adore him. It made him think of his cousin and his cats. Aaron put that thought right out of his head as he crouched down and scratched their heads.

“You will be good kitties for us, won’t you?”

Aaron looked up and saw Reid smiling down at him.

“They like you.”

Aaron smiled as he stood and took Reid’s mouth in a searing kiss. His hands weren’t idle as he started to work on the waistcoat Reid was wearing. Aaron made quick work of the buttons, then pushed it off his shoulders. Next he worked on the button up and stripped Reid of that in no time.

Dr Reid wasn’t idle. He quickly worked on stripping Aaron as well. The two of them wanting to get to skin as they made their way towards Reid’s bedroom.

Aaron didn’t hide the moan as Reid worked on his trousers. Aaron let them fall as he stepped out of them, and Reid did the same when Aaron got his trousers undone. Aaron grabbed Reid by the waist and pulled him close, kissing him with abandon. His hands gripped Reid’s ass and pulled him up. Reid quickly wrapped arms and legs around Aaron as he moved the last few feet into the bedroom where Aaron slammed Reid against the wall and kept up the heated, passionate kisses.

Needing air was the only reason Aaron pulled away.

“I want to fuck you, Spencer. Hard and fast.”

“Oh god,” Reid panted against Aaron’s neck.

Aaron chuckled as he pulled away from the wall with Reid in his arms. Throwing Reid on the bed, Aaron made quick work of stripping his boxers off of him, then divesting himself of his own boxer briefs.

“Lube?”

Reid waived towards the nightstand which Aaron quickly rummaged through. He grabbed a condom as well, then settled down on the bed next to Reid. He slid one hand under Reid’s head, he wanted that mouth again that had driven him crazy. Kissing Reid wasn’t a hardship. Fucking him wasn’t going to be one either. Aaron used his other hand to flip the cap on the lube and got some onto his hand. There was enough to coat his fingers, and he slid one inside Reid’s hole making Reid moan into his mouth.

Aaron made quick work of preparing Reid. Letting go, he got up on his knees, grabbed the condom and pulled it out of the wrapper then as fast as he could rolled it over his now aching dick.

“You ready for me?”

“Yes, please, Aaron.”

Chuckling softly, Aaron held his cock in his hand as he guided himself inside Reid. Grabbing Reid under his thighs, Aaron pushed Reid’s legs up and settled his ankles on Aaron’s shoulders. Aaron then bent over Reid and started to fuck into him hard and fast. Bending down even more, he took that sensual mouth in more heated kisses. This time he encouraged Reid to open and slipped his tongue inside, tasting Reid as he pistoned in and out of that tight ass.

Reid writhed and moaned beneath Aaron as he fucked him hard and deep. Aaron felt Reid’s hands trying to find purchase on his sweat-slicked back. Nails raked down making Aaron shout out in pleasure. He had never told Reid that he liked a little pain, his partner back in England knew it well and exploited it every chance he could get. Putting him out of his mind for the moment, Aaron only thought of Reid, and the mission.

Aaron could feel Reid’s cock throbbing between their bodies, getting harder and needing release. Words fell from Reid's mouth begging, pleading for Aaron to bring him the sweetest of releases.

“Fuck, Spencer, you are amazing,” Aaron breathed out as he thrust in hard once more, making Reid cry out at the pleasure. Aaron came with his own strangled cry. Sitting up without pulling out, Aaron took Reid’s cock in his hand and jacked him off till Reid’s body bowed and he painted his stomach and chest with his release.

Aaron closed his eyes a moment as he felt those muscles on his softening dick, milking him, and pulling a dry orgasm from him. Breathing in deep he pulled out, then went to go clean up. After disposing of the condom, which he would actually take with him later, he grabbed a flannel, wet it down with warm water, and went to clean Reid up as well.

When he got to the bedroom, Reid was passed out. Aaron checked his pulse, his eyes, and his breathing. He estimated that Reid was going to be out of it for a couple of hours. Silently he left the bedroom, gently shut the door, then broke into Reid’s office after grabbing his lock picking kit from his jacket. He also grabbed the thin gloves he had with him and put them on before breaking in.

He knew that Reid wouldn’t leave the code lying around. It would either be locked in one of the cabinets, or on his computer. Aaron turned on the computer, then activated the earbud and got ahold of R. The old Quartermaster, while excellent at building gadgets, didn’t have the first clue about hacking a computer. He wished he could contact Ashcroft, but he was away for a University trip before his big graduation in just a couple of weeks. Ash was already ensconced at MI5 in a appreticeship program. He had already been giving a hiring packet which would activate upon Ash's graduation. Aaron shook himself out of his thoughts and got his head back in the game.

“R, it’s 009. I’m in Dr. Reid’s computer but I don’t have his password. Can you get in? His IP is 157.00.06.033.”

“On it. Give me just a moment, 009.” Aaron saw when R connected to Reid’s computer. It only took a few moments and he easily hacked in. Together they quickly found the encrypted file. Aaron plugged in the USB drive and copied the file. He had a feeling that it wasn’t the complete code, but he had only about another hour before Reid would be waking up. Not enough time to turn the apartment over to find any more clues about the code.

“Alright, I got what I could.”

“Shall I tell Mallory anything? He’s been antsy. And M has ordered him back to MI5 on more than one occasion.”

Aaron laughed, knowing his partner wanted him back home.

“Tell him, I’ll be home when I can. Ta, R.” Aaron disconnected the link. R would scrub any digital footprints, which Aaron was skilled enough to do, but he knew R's thoroughness would leave zero traces. Aaron closed down the computer, grabbed the USB drive, stood and left the office, locking the door behind him. He was one of the better lock pickers in the agency, he never left any trace that he had picked the lock.

Aaron stuffed the USB down into the hidden pocket of his jacket, slid his kit back in its place, pulled off the gloves and stuffed them into another pocket. Padding back to the bedroom he slid under the covers and wrapped around Reid, who let out a little sigh, but didn’t wake. Soon the cats were on the bed and snuggled with the two of them. Aaron was feeling quite accomplished, but he needed to know that he had gotten everything, which meant a little more time with Dr Reid.

_____________________

Aaron could admit that the sex with Reid was amazing. He also could tell that the younger man was falling in love with him. He knew he was going to be breaking Reid’s heart when he left, but it couldn’t be helped.

Morning sex with the sleepy man was always best. Reid was loose and willing to let Aaron manipulate his body however he wanted. Right now they were on their sides, Reid’s leg was up over Aaron’s and Aaron was rocking in and out of Reid. His hole was still loose from the thorough fucking Aaron had given him the night before.

That was when Reid talked in his sleep.

Aaron was very much taking advantage of that. He had learned a couple of weeks ago, that Reid truly liked it hard and rough. Aaron was not above hurting Reid physically if that was what the boffin wanted. And boy did Reid revel in it. It was also when Aaron figured out that if Reid was out of it enough, he talked in his sleep. Aaron was even able to hold a full conversation with the man, but in the morning, Reid had no idea what they talked about.

Aaron had no qualms exploiting this quirk. He was able to get more information from Reid until there was nothing more Aaron needed. This was going to be the day Aaron Hotchner, Family Lawyer disappeared. But, he wanted one more pleasant fucking before he left.

“Aaron,” Reid moaned as Aaron rocked in and out of Reid a little more. He reached over and wrapped a hand around Reid’s cock and moved his hand to the same rhythm as his cock. It didn’t take much to get Reid off, then Aaron was cumming in the condom. Aaron wrapped his arm tighter around Reid and just held him until he softened. He pulled from Reid and went to go clean up.

Arms wrapped around him, but Aaron had heard Reid following him.

“What is on the agenda for today?” Reid asked as he kissed Aaron on the back of the neck.

“I need to go to my place and work on some files. There are some big cases coming up. But, how about dinner tonight? I’ll take you to Houston’s and you can get that steak you like.”

Reid buried his face against Aaron’s back.

“That sounds wonderful.”

“I need to shower and get going.”

“Alright.”

Aaron was already distancing himself. He had already taken anything that was his from Reid’s apartment. He also worked on cleaning any fingerprints he might have left behind. He was going to take the toothbrush that Reid had there for him, as well as the regular hairbrush. He always cleaned out the sink, wiped down the nightstand after opening drawers and such, and always made sure he did the dishes when Reid cooked for them.

Aaron was quick in the shower, and in drying off. He wasn’t worried about the towels, Reid did washing daily. The towels were a week old and Aaron knew Reid was going to wash them that afternoon. Aaron didn’t bother drying his hair fully. He patted it down, then grabbed the lint roller and rolled it over the towel to get any hair that may have been transferred. He pulled off the dirty sheets of the roller, grabbed the condom and wrapped them up in tissue. Stepping out of the bathroom he found his clothes and put them on.

“Breakfast?”

“I’m sorry, love. I really have to go. Don’t have time.”

“Alright.” Reid looked a little hurt, but Aaron couldn’t help that. Reid followed him and Aaron allowed him to open the door.

“I’ll see you tonight.” Aaron kissed Reid once more, then stepped through the door. Once he was down the hall he checked himself and made sure he had everything. Once outside he found a public trash can and disposed of the trash in his pocket.

Once down on the street he was no longer Aaron Hotchner, lawyer. He was Aaron Maxwell Paddington, MI6’s 009. Aaron Hotchner disappeared without a trace.

_____________________________

Getting back on English soil, after a twelve-hour flight, Aaron felt like himself once more. It was still early evening, and though he had eaten on the plane, it had been hours before. After getting his bags he walked out to the waiting area where he was picked up by the car service he had booked the day prior. Aaron had the driver take him to his family home.

Stopping in front, Aaron handed the driver a tip, he was grateful he had not gotten one of the talkative ones. After grabbing his luggage from the trunk, he made his way inside the Paddington estate.

It wasn’t exactly in Kensington, but it was easy enough to have let Dr. Reid believe it because it was the slight deviation in his own accent that helped him. Smiling to himself on a job well done, Aaron walked inside the home and shook off the last vestiges of the role-play he had to do with Dr. Reid.

“Uncle!” Aaron heard as a four-year-old boy ran towards him and in his arms.

“Jack, my boy. Have you been good for your Papa?” Jack smiled a smile that was an exact copy of Aaron’s. There was a very good reason for that, Jack was actually Aaron’s son. When the boy had been born, and the mother gave him up to Aaron, he didn’t know what to do. He loved Jack, desperately, but he knew being a 00 was dangerous, and the sometimes long missions were hell on families. When his cousin Ashcroft said he would adopt the boy Aaron didn’t think twice, even though Ash was still in University working on his masters at the time.

“Yes, Uncle. He made me some new toys.” The bright enthusiasm of Jack always made coming home worth it. Aaron often would spend hours with him. Making their dinner, giving him a bath, reading to him, all the things a father would do. Ashcroft wasn’t jealous in any way over the relationship, he encouraged it. Aaron knew what he was doing, but in the long run, it wouldn’t work. Aaron liked what he did. If he didn’t give up his 00 status for Gareth, who he dearly loved, he wasn’t going to give it up for Jack. Aaron knew it was selfish of him, but he wasn’t going to change.

“Did he now? And just where is your Papa right now?”

“I’m right here. Welcome back.” Ashcroft smiled and gently patted Jack’s back.

“Thank you. I just wanted to come by and see Jack before heading home. If I don’t get there, Gareth just might start a mutiny.”

“He understands what it is you do.”

“I know, Ash, but he has a right to worry. How has your internship at MI5 been?”

“Fine. In fact, I’m no longer an intern. They decided not to wait until my thesis was accepted for them to hire me permanently. They bumped me up to logistics and coding.”

“Wow, that’s good. Soon you just may take over Q-Branch.”

“That’s my goal,” Ashcroft's smile held a touch of deviousness as he took Jack and led Aaron towards the kitchen. “Are you hungry? I was going to put together a midday meal.”

“Thank you, Ash. That sounds lovely.”

Aaron took Jack from Q and sat the boy on his lap, holding him close. He let the boy babble to him about all the things he and his Papa had done over the time Aaron was in the States. It was times like this that had been hard to make the decision to give Jack up, but with Ashcroft adopting the boy, Aaron could still be a significant part of his life. He kissed Jack’s head and they went to wash up before settling down to the meal Ash had prepared.

“Thank you, Cousin. I needed that.” Aaron watched as Jack ran off to go play with his new toys.

“I know you love him, Aaron.”

“I do. But, it was the best decision for both of us. You are doing a bang-up job with him. I know Mum wishes she could be Grandmum to him, but she revels in being a Great Aunt.”

“You know  both of our mums spoil him to no end.” Ash smiled as he watched Jack playing with the toys.

“They are educational, aren’t they?” Aaron stood with his mug of fresh tea and walked with Ash to where Jack was playing.

“Colors, textures, shapes. They all work together to help his brain and the logic centers that are developing at this age. They are puzzles of a sort.”

“He loves them.”

“Yeah, he does.” Ash's love for Jack shone in his eyes.

“Hey, little man. I need to go, but I promise me and your Uncle Gareth will be back this weekend.”

Jack ran over and gave Aaron a hug. After going back to his toys Aaron stood and settled his heart as much as he could, then said his goodbyes to Ash.

Going to the family garage, Aaron took his keys, got in his car and headed back to London and the flat he shared with his partner. He had a couple of hours to reflect on the mission and what it could mean if they didn't find all of the pieces to this strange puzzle. He knew what he had was important, and the significance was reiterated to him by M a few times already, but no one had told him what the code could do.

Aaron parked in the car garage several blocks from his flat, that he paid handsomely for and often bitched about how much they charged, but it was safe and no one ever bothered his vehicle. He made it up to his flat in no time.

Walking through the door the first one to greet him was Pip and Pop, the two Jack Russell’s that Aaron and Gareth had adopted the year before. Aaron stooped down and let the dogs jump on him and lick his face.

“I wondered where they ran off to.”

Aaron looked up to see his lover leaning in the doorway separating the lounge from the hallway.

“I do believe they missed me.”

“They weren’t the only ones.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea the mission was going to be that long. I missed you as well.” Aaron stood and walked over to Gareth, pulled him close and kissed him. “How about we go to bed, do some reconnecting, then go out for a late supper. Margo’s maybe?”Aaron knew he should feel guilty over how long the mission went, but it was important that they got the code and cracked it. What Dr. Reid and the others in the think tank had created was potentially dangerous, at least that was what Aaron was told.

“You can’t charm me, Aaron.” Gareth glared at Aaron as he refused to move.

“What’s wrong?”

“You didn’t contact me once. You usually do. Was this one a little too much to your liking?” Gareth angrily bit out as he crossed his arms over his chest

“Gareth, you know you’re the only one I want. It was a honeypot mission, that’s it. I got the information needed, even a little more. I will admit this one was more pleasant than most, but I didn’t go and fall in love if that is what you think. I didn’t contact you because I was ordered by M not to.” Aaron moved to stand in front of his lover, he curled his hands around Gareth’s hips and waited for him to relax.

Gareth frowned as he straightened up in Aaron’s hold.

“Why would she do that?”

Aaron knew that sex was going to be off the table for a while, but he could wait, for a short while at least.

“I’ve heard some rumors from the Home office. Seems that M’s affection for Bond is attracting attention that she really should be worried about. She lets him off of his leash too much and the havoc he causes takes someone like me and 004 to go clean up.”

Aaron set the kettle on, he wanted a strong cup of tea.

“Are you hungry?” Gareth asked.

“No. I went to see Jack for a few and Ash fixed an early tea. I needed to see him.”

“Aaron, I will never be upset if you need to spend time with the boy.”

“Good. Because I told him we would come over on the weekend. He likes you too, you know.”

“Bastard.”

Aaron smiled, grabbed Gareth’s tie he was still wearing and pulled him close.

“I am, but you love me anyway.”

Gareth broke a smile as he allowed Aaron to kiss him. They knew their relationship was strange to some, but they made it work, and they made it work well.

_________________

Spencer made his way to Houston’s over on Del Mar and Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena. He was lucky that he was able to get a table without a reservation since it was midweek. Thankfully, Spencer didn’t have to wait to be seated. He was handed a menu, and another was placed at Aaron’s spot.

Ordering a bottle of their house red, Spencer sipped at the glass of wine after placing an order for the warm bread plate they were famous for.

After the second glass of wine and finishing off the focaccia and olives from the appetizer, Spencer wondered just where Aaron was. He stood and walked to the bathroom to call. When he got a disconnect signal, Spencer frowned. He thought maybe he dialed wrong, so he tried again and got the same thing.

Wondering what the hell was going on, Spencer got back to his table and asked for his entree to go. He downed a couple of glasses of water, sobering up from the wine he had already drunk. Paying for his dinner, Spencer left the restaurant and drove over to Raymond Ave where Aaron was renting an apartment. He parked underground, Aaron’s apartment building had been built over the train tracks. Residents got free parking, but everyone else had to pay the exorbitant hourly rates. Spencer didn’t care. He quickly made it up to Aaron’s floor and knocked on the door. There was no answer. Spencer knocked again, and again there was no answer.

Going down to the front office, he charmed the woman working there for answers.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Mr. Hotchner left early this morning. He broke his lease and paid it in full.”

Spencer’s heart was beating fast as he tried to understand what the hell was going on.

“Can I see it?”

The woman looked hesitant, but Spencer put on his best, most charming look.

“Alright. Come on and I’ll take you up. If anyone asks, you were looking to maybe move in.”

Spencer smiled and stepped away from the counter letting the woman move out and show Spencer back up to the apartment. Stepping inside, Spencer saw there was nothing there. The living room was bare. The bedroom had a twin bed and a small dresser but that was it.

When he looked in the kitchen it was empty as well. The fridge was spotless.

“I don’t understand. No one moves a whole apartment this fast.” Spencer was pacing and talking to himself.

“Well, when Mr. Hotchner moved in he only had a couple of suitcases. When I was here I only saw him mostly with take-out or he went to the Luggage Room for most of his meals. Sometimes he'd walk over to Russell's for breakfast, but he never bought anything for the place, at least I never saw him with anything new.”

Spencer thanked the woman and practically ran down to his car. When he was in the vehicle, he laid his head on the steering wheel and tried desperately not to cry. He felt like he had been played for a fool.

Taking a deep breath Spencer went to the one person he knew he could talk to. He just hoped Charlie was there because Spencer was barely holding on.

Getting to the Epps house didn’t take Spencer long. He parked, jumped out of his car, and ran up to the door. He waited after knocking for someone to answer.

“Spencer. Come on in.” Amita smiled as Spencer walked into the house. But her smile faded quickly as she watched him slowly deflate. “Spencer?”

“Is ah, is Charlie home?”

“I’ll go get him. Is there anything I can do, sweetie?”

Spencer shook his head and wandered around the living room he had spent many a night in when he had been in college. He and Charlie met at CalTech when Spencer started at the age of twelve. When Charlie’s mom found out that Spencer didn’t have a family to help take care of him, she brought him home and insisted he stay with them. That not only saved him money on his scholarship, but Spencer had found a real home with the Epps family. Margaret had shown the young Spencer what a real mother was like. Spencer had tried to protect his mother as much as he could after his father left, but when her schizophrenia became more than he could handle, Spencer made the heart-breaking decision to put her in a full care facility. The next day he showed up on the Epps doorstep needing his friends around him and stayed there for a week. Margaret wouldn't have had it any other way. 

“Spencer, Amita told me you were here.”

Spencer turned to look at his best friend and tried to hold in the emotion that threatened to overtake him.

“I think I’ve been played for a fool, Charlie.” Spencer swallowed and wiped his eyes as the tears fell.

“Hey, hey come here.” Charlie wrapped around Spencer and hugged him close. “Come and sit, tell me what happened.”

Spencer sat down on one end of the couch, pulling his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. He told Charlie everything.

“I fell in love with him, Charlie. What do I do?”

“What do you want to do?”

Spencer looked down at the throw blanket that was over the couch. He picked at the lint and tried to think about what he wanted to do. He weighed the pros and cons of all the actions he could take, but he knew he would never get closure unless he found Aaron. He just wasn’t sure how to begin.

“I want to find him.”

“Alright. I’ll call Don and we’ll get started. You know, Spencer, that I would do anything to help you.”

“I know. Thank you, Charlie.”

“Don’t thank me yet. But, if I know my brother, he’ll be like a bulldog.”

Spencer knew Charlie was right. If anyone could find the man Spencer had been sleeping with, then it would be Don Epps.

_______________________

“Spencer, do you have any photographs?” Don asked as they sat in a room in the Los Angeles FBI offices the next morning. Don’s team was with him as was Charlie and Amita.

“Yeah, hold on.” Spencer pulled out his phone and scrolled through his pictures to find the ones he had taken with and of Aaron. Spencer’s frown deepened and his heart sped up as he frantically searched his phone.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Goddamn, fucking asshole.” Spencer threw his phone on the table and leaned down, head in his hands.

“Spencer, what happened?” Don asked as he laid a hand on the man’s shoulder.

“He got into my phone. Deleted everything with him in it. I don’t use social media so there wouldn’t be anything there. I checked the deleted files, those are all gone as well. He cleared the cache. Must have done a backup and reload of my saved stuff. It’s clean, completely clean. What the hell did I get myself into?”

“Did you ever go to his apartment?”

“Just last night. I can give you the address.” Spencer dashed out the address and handed it to Don who had Colby and David go to take a look.

“Spencer, is there anything you’ve been working on that would make you some kind of target for someone?”

Spencer sat up and knew exactly what Aaron might have been after.

“The code. Fuck me. He could have been after the code.” Spencer wiped his face and stood up, pacing back and forth.

“What code?” Don and Charlie asked at the same time.

“It’s one part of a larger whole, but the part that Dream Studies Institute worked on was actually the key. Without it the code would be useless. But, this is all hypothetical. We were in development with other institutes to come up with a complex algorithm that could potentially change the Internet. A code that could worm itself into the very core of the system. No one was supposed to use it.” Spencer looked up to see the stunned look on Charlie’s face.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Spencer? What were you thinking?”

“We were thinking of the science and if it could be done.”

Charlie threw the piece of chalk in his hand across the room and tried not to look angry at his friend.

“Spencer! That is beyond stupid. Why would you, or anyone do this? Do you know what could happen? God, I can’t even begin to comprehend the math that would have to be used to generate a code like this!”

Spencer swallowed hard and watched his friend pacing. He knew Charlie was angry.

“We used a combination of Quantum Mechanics, spatial reasoning, differential equations and we used an advanced code to hide the real code inside of it. Even if Aaron got even a part of the code, he won’t be able to decipher it. It is exceedingly complex.”

“Unless they have someone or someones like you.” Charlie scrubbed his face and Spencer could see that he was trying to control his emotions. “I knew that damned think tank was going to get you into trouble. I just don’t get why you would even try to do this.”

Spencer looked down at the table and took a deep breath.

“What if we could stop things like child pornography. Graphic pictures and videos of the torture of animals. Real videos of rape, or exploitation. What if we have the means to stop it before it even hits the public eye. What if we could identify terrorists before they happen? Or, pinpoint drug sellers, assassins, parents trying to get rid of their children through nefarious means.  Don’t you think we should try to stop some of this?”

“Spencer, while that is an extremely noble cause we don’t have the right to police like that. What if this code gets into the wrong hands?” Charlie leaned on the table and glared at Spencer.

“Okay, we can debate the ethical issues of what Spencer and his think tank did later. Right now, let’s move on.” Don paced around the room and stopped near Spencer.

“We could go to your place and dust for prints.”

Spencer nodded and knew that was a logical step. He felt his world falling apart around him, but he would see this through. Needed to see this through.

Don had everyone else leave the room and it was just him and Spencer. He asked Spencer questions to try to get a handle on their relationship. From the moment they met to the moment Spencer realized Aaron was gone, it was all laid out on the table.

It was two hours later when David and Colby returned to the office.

“It’s a bolthole.”

Spencer looked between the three men and wondered what they meant.

“We found the hiding place you’d expect in a bolthole. No art had been on the walls, nothing personal. He left nothing behind.” Colby leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

“Probably because he didn’t have much to begin with. And no, no prints, no DNA, nothing. Even the bed was completely stripped and clean.” David didn’t even look Spencer in the eye.

“So, we just need to figure out which agency he was working for.” Spencer knew that tone and the look on Don's face. He was contemplating all of the different scenarios that could be related to Spencer's overall problem and who the hell Aaron really was. He just had one question, as he attempted to follow the threads of the FBI Agents conversation.

“I’m sorry, what?” Spencer finally asked.

“Spencer, I don’t mean to be insensitive, but he was an agent of some kind and you were, most likely, a honeypot mission.” Colby kept his expression neutral while Spencer processed that information. He stood and paced the room, his fingers in constant motion as he tried to think through the problem. As he did, his agitation grew by the second.

“How did I not know? How did I not see this?” Spencer had stopped and looked around at his friends, feeling like an utter fool.

“Trained agents like this are people who can slip in and out of anyone’s lives. They’re chameleons that know their targets inside and out. He probably studied you and knows you inside and out. I’m sorry if this sounds insensitive, but you should understand how these operatives work.”

Spencer leaned against the wall and looked down at his feet as he crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t even try to stop the tears that fell from his eyes.

“I was falling for him. That’s stupid, right?”

Charlie walked over and laid a hand on Spencer’s shoulder gently squeezing to give him some semblance of comfort. Charlie had always treated him like another brother in the Epps family, and Spencer was never more grateful for it than he was at that very moment. When Charlie spoke again, Spencer let his gaze fall on Charlie's face, the concern and love that shone out of his friends' eyes helped to bolster Spencer's spirit.

“No. It isn’t stupid. We’ll find him, I promise.”

__________________________________

Aaron was in the building across from where Bond was engaging in the target. He had his sniper rifle set-up and watched through binoculars that were set-up on a tripod. He would have one chance if Bond cocked this mission up.

“I’m in position, 007. I’ve been ordered to tell you not to fuck this up.” Aaron touched the comm sitting right against the back of his ear.

“Is M really that worried about me?” The cheeky tone had Aaron shaking his head.

“Frankly yes.”

“Don’t worry 009, I’ll be a very, very good boy.” Bond turned slightly to the window and Aaron would swear he saw the man wink. Aaron growled and just knew something was going to go wrong. He wished he was here with 008, at least his cousin knew how to execute a mission properly.

Aaron watched as Bond hit on the woman at the front desk, charming her. The smile he gave the woman made Aaron groan, he knew where this was going.

“Bond,” Aaron growled, “We don’t have time for this, you need to get into that office, get the hard drive and get out.”

The Stillman Institute had part of the code that MI6 had tracked down. They had four parts, the Russians had gotten one of the parts, if they get this one, they would have five. They almost had all of it. M was currently trying to negotiate with the Russians for the part that they had stolen.

“Darling, don’t worry so,” Bond purred and Aaron hung his head a moment. He looked back-up in time to see one of Stillman’s top Physicists walking in.

“Islington has entered the office. Watch yourself.”

Aaron heard a moan, then a thump, the slamming of a door, then he once again had eyes on Bond. He watched as he walked down the corridor to Dr. Stanley Watanabe’s office. Once Bond was in that office, he was on his own.

Aaron’s job was to take out Watanabe if it became necessary. The rumor was the man was going to move on the other Think Tanks and get all the parts of the code for himself then sell it on the open black market, hoping for a bidding war.

Watching for Watanabe, Aaron almost missed the secretary who was quickly advancing on Bond. Aaron focused on her when he saw the gun in her hand. He had a split-second decision to make.

Switching frequencies he got M on the line.

“Ma’am, assassin advancing on Bond. He made it into Watanabe’s office. I have seconds here, what do you want me to do?”

“Take out the assassin, get Bond out of there, 009”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Aaron had her in his sights just long enough to take the shot. It was an odd angle by the time he was able to get refocused on her, but just barely two seconds later, she was down. Aaron broke down his gun, got his equipment packed, and ran towards the other building. Stashing the bulky equipment in a small concealed area, he grabbed his pistol and a knife from his pack, then ran full out and made it up to the Stillman Institute about two minutes later. When he burst into the building security was there, which he made quick work of, then ran to the stairs. Taking them two at a time he got to the eighth floor just moments later to see two more people running towards Watanabe’s office.

Pulling his Glock free of its holster, Aaron ran and aimed at the first one, the man went down which caused the second man to stop and spin around to face Aaron.

Thankfully the man was not the talkative type. Aaron holstered his gun and got ready for the impending fight. The assassin ran full out towards him and Aaron anticipated the move. He did a split kick right in the man’s face, startling him and making him stumble back.

The attacker recovered and came after Aaron, getting a glancing blow to his side. The two men fought hard, but finally, Aaron got the upper hand when he pulled out his knife and buried it in the attacker’s neck.

“M, we’ll need clean-up and identification. These were not employees of Stillman. No physical identification on the two I just eliminated, and I wonder about the woman. Bond was flirting with her when we first arrived. I have a feeling she isn’t the real secretary.”

“I’ve already dispatched the waiting agents. Get Bond and get out of there.”

“Right, Ma’am.”

Aaron made his way to Watanabe’s office. When he got inside, he saw that Watanabe was restrained and Bond had the hard drive sitting on the table.

“What the bloody hell?”

“He had a secret entrance.”

“You take the hard drive, I’ll take him.” Aaron stalked over to Watanabe and hauled him to his feet. “Don’t even pretend you are going to lie. We know from very reliable sources that you intended to collect and sell the code on the open black market. Come on.” Aaron wasn't gentle as he pushed Watanabe forward, hands restrained behind his back. Aaron growled when the man pretended to stumble to try to stall Bond and himself.

“You cannot do this to me.”

“Oh, but we can. We have an extradition order for you that the Austrian Government already agreed to. They have revoked your visa. Interpol asked us to pick you and the hard drive up knowing you would run if you had a heads up. Come on. Many people have a good many questions they want to ask you.”

Aaron continued his rough treatment of Watanabe as he gripped the man’s arm and pulled him along. Bond and he took the stairs that led them out the back of the building where a car was waiting. Watanabe was given a sedative, which would be in full effect by the time they got to where the plane was waiting for them.

With Watanabe safely tucked away, Aaron was stretched out on one of the couches with a book in his hand and a good strong cuppa on the tray table next to him. He was trying to do his level best to ignore Bond.

“Are you going to ignore me the whole flight home?” Bond smirked.

Aaron sighed as he set his book aside and sat properly on the couch.

“James, you could have cocked-up the whole mission because you decided to stop and flirt with the secretary, who turned out to be an assassin. If I wasn’t there for back-up, it could have gone much worse than it did. It’s as if you love being a blunt instrument when precision often works better. You make a lot of noise and people notice. We aren’t supposed to get noticed.” Aaron tried to keep his temper, but Bond was one of few people in his circle that pushed all of the wrong buttons.

“Where is the fun in not making a little noise? As I recall, you used to love making a lot of noise.” The salacious tone and cheeky smile had Aaron narrowing his gaze at James.

“Yes, well the days of us bedding each other are long past, James.”

“You, my friend, have been domesticated.” James took a sip of scotch and leaned back in one of the recliners.

“I like being domesticated. I have someone I can come home to, someone who respects me, and doesn’t ask me to change.”

“Someone that can be used against you.”

Aaron snorted as he sipped his tea.

“You really think Gareth would go that easy? You forget he was an agent in his own right for years before he became head of MI5. He knows the risks, and so do I. You know what I think...” Aaron stood and went to the little kitchen to go see what they had as far as snacks. He found some cut fruit in sealed packages, some cheese, and crisps. Making a plate, he turned to James and held it up, asking if he wanted some.

“And what is it you think?” James had come to the kitchen and made a hand gesture that he would like a snack as well.

“I think you’re afraid to care about someone other than yourself. I know you and Alec have this thing between you, but can you honestly say that you love him?”

James took the offered plate and moved back to his chair, Aaron followed a moment later and sat down.

“You mean do I want to live in domestic bliss with the man?” Bond looked out the window and ate some pear with brie, his shoulder slumped a little but remained quiet for the rest of the flight home.

Aaron let James have his space. He and Alec knew more about James’ background than even M did. They were told things in a pub while they were all getting shit faced that James would never admit sober.

Aaron picked his book back up and started to read again, his tea had cooled but he didn’t feel like getting up and refreshing it. When they landed back home, there was a flurry of activity as MI6 took Watanabe into custody. The man was waking up from the sedative and he was, for the moment, being cooperative. But, it was now out of Aaron’s hands. If they needed someone to go at him hard, he would be called in, but for now, Aaron just had to write up his reports as quickly as possible to free up the rest of his evening. He had plans with Gareth that included wine, something light yet decadent for dinner, and maybe taking his partner apart little bit by little bit.

_______________________________

“How do we look, Tony?”

“We’ve got almost all the parts, but I’m not sure that it’s a good idea. It makes us too vulnerable.” Tony was tinkering with some code as he hunched over his computer while Aaron stretched out on a chair opposite him.

“What do you suggest?”

Tony looked up and was silent. He shook his head to indicate that they shouldn’t talk openly in Q-Branch. Aaron raised a brow and Tony gave him a series of hand signals that only the cousins knew. Aaron frowned and nodded.

There was a problem in Q-Branch. Tony was on their trail, but he needed more time.

Aaron stood and went to go find Edward. 008 was on the firing range testing out a new batch of weapons that Tony and Ashcroft had been tinkering with. Aaron and Edward were the anomalies in the 00 program. They had family, they were family. All but one or two more were orphans. M, it seemed, had a penchant for orphans. Aaron and Edward often disagreed with her on that subject. Men and women like Bond and Alec took chances they didn’t need to mostly because they didn’t have familial connections. They didn’t have people to come back to and it made them unpredictable and dangerous.

Aaron contemplated his rise to the 00 program as he sat on a bench and watched his cousin, itching to try the weapons out himself. Aaron remembered the day MI5 recruited him right out of college. He already had his MPsych degree, as well as a Bachelor in Civil Law. He had competition level marksmanship scores in shooting and was well versed in International law. But, it was his thesis paper on international espionage that caught the attention of the Home Office, and MI5. Aaron had always had a thing for spycraft. His cousins always teased him about it, but two of them had found their way into that world along with him. Ash had also caught the attention of MI6’s aging Quartermaster.

Boothroyd had been invited to an advanced robotics fair where his input would be invaluable. Without any prodding from Aaron or Edward, Boothroyd was incredibly impressed by Ashcroft. He not only had a programmable working robot, but there were also smaller ones that could be utilized for easy tasks. To say Boothroyd was impressed was an understatement. Ashcroft already had a place as a programmer for MI5 through a summer internship program, but Boothroyd wanted him in Q-Branch. Ashcroft just needed to get the time in and he would be eligible for transfer.

“I suppose you want to try out what our dear cousin has concocted here?” Edward laid the weapon that was currently in his hand down on the shelf of the shooting booth he was standing in.

“Can’t let you have all the fun, now can I?” Aaron stood and took the ear protectors from Edward, slipped them on then took one of the weapons and checked it over. Aaron filled the clip, inserted it then shot at the target that Edward had already replaced. Aaron tried different lengths, angles, called shots, and more. The gun was smooth with an incredibly stable scope.

“Impressive. What is the catch?”

“He’s hidden a small poison dart in a catch. If you unlock the safety and the gun doesn’t recognise your DNA, it will infect you. If it is your gun, but had malfunctioned, at the base of the clip is a quick-acting antidote.”

“Clever, and deadly. Aunty should be both impressed and horrified that her son can make such a thing.”

“Which is why we won’t tell her.”

Aaron laughed before taking up one of the other weapons and tried it out. An hour later, both he and Edward had exhausted their testing. They would tell Ash what they thought later.

“Okay, what really brought you to find me.”

“Not in the open. Tony has some...concerns.”

“Enough to take to M?”

“Enough to at least discuss with her in a secure location.”

“Give me a few moments. I’ll go speak with Moneypenny and have M see us immediately.” Edward pulled out his secure mobile and dashed off a note.

“We should see if Mycroft is available as well.”

“That serious?”

“It could be.”

“Alright. I’ll come find you.” Edward broke off, Aaron went back to his desk to at least appear that he was working. Aaron had some side projects of his own. He often wrote papers on the psychology and mental well being of those working for Queen and Country. Nothing that would catch too much attention was mentioned. He knew how to word the papers so no national secrets were revealed. Home Office approved them before they went out and it was a way to show SIS in a better light. Aaron received bonuses for each article that was published. Nothing huge, but every bonus he put into an account he had set-up for Jack.

Aaron also evaluated international law and often gave his own insights into some of the bigger cases that showed up in national news. After getting some research done and a paper finished, Edward came to find him.

“Alright, we’re ready.”

Aaron nodded, then went to collect Tony before following Edward to M’s office. This meeting was going to be very interesting, Aaron couldn’t wait.

_______________________

“And just why, Anthony, do you think there is a problem in Q-Branch? Why didn’t you bring your concerns to Q?” M sat an imposing figure behind her desk. Hands steepled in front of her, a cup of tea pushed off to the side, and stacks of files that had yet to be gone through littered her desk. 

Tony rubbed at his short almost spiky hair as he stood. Aaron watched his cousin pace. It was his gut instinct again, and when it came to Tony’s instincts Aaron always knew to listen.

“I like Q, a lot. He’s a great guy, but he has no understanding of today’s technology. He'd been hesitant to make me his R in the first place, but when I went over our security issues, and our outdated technology, we came to an understanding. It's taken me the last two years of working closely with him to get him to trust in computer technology. He accepts it but doesn't understand it, not like most of us who have recently come to work for Q. I believe he can't help us with this mission because I believe someone is trying to figure out how to steal all the pieces of the code we have in our possession. I can’t stress this enough, Ma’am. We cannot let that code get into anyone’s hands. We also need the last parts, but I don’t think we should keep all of it here. It’s too dangerous and leaves us vulnerable.”

“And where do you have it now?” Mycroft watched Tony pace. For some bizarre reason, Mycroft and Tony got on really well. Aaron would never understand it, but Tony had a penchant for liking difficult people. One Mycroft Holmes was not what you would call an easy man to deal with.

“In a safe location. But, My, I think we need to secure each part separately. We mix up the locations and only certain people know certain locations.” Aaron almost spit his tea at the affectionate moniker. Only Tony thought Aaron.

“Why not just destroy it?” Mallory had shown up in the meeting, which surprised Aaron. It made sense though, he currently ran the other half of SIS. Aaron knew, though, that he was up for promotion to be Chairmen of the Intelligence and Security Community. Gareth had sworn Aaron to secrecy until it was finalized.

“Destroying it won’t do a thing. The people, these think tanks, that created it would have extensive documentation on how they came up with it. Creating and writing code is a process akin to  a scientific experiment, you catalogue every step that you do. There will be research notes, possibly blueprints, etc. No, if we destroy it, they’ll just recreate it. They know it’s out there and they will hold off, for now. You were able to get some of Dr. Reid's notations, now we need to find the other's as well. I won't do one whit of good if we destroy this code only for it to be pieced back together in a year or so. We need to find out the motivations behind creating this code.” Tony finished and walked over to Mycroft and sat on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. 

Aaron kept his own counsel as he listened, but he knew the best way to find out why the code was created lie with the person he had played like a violin. He was sure that even if they did bring Dr. Reid here, the man might not talk. The old adage of you never take your work home with you came to Aaron's mind as he tried to think of another solution. But, if they were to get a handle on this, why not get one of the originators.

“I know this is an infinitely stupid idea. Usually, we leave those to Bond or Trevelyan. But, your best answer to understanding why, is to lure one of the programmers here, to us.”

Gareth lifted his brow at Aaron, crossing his arms and glaring.

“What do you mean, Paddington?” Mycroft looked tilted his head up towards Tony, an inscrutable look on his face before he turned his eyes towards Aaron and wondered what was going on.

“We lure Dr. Spencer Reid here, to England and to MI6 specifically.”

“Wasn’t he...” M shut her mouth quickly when Aaron looked at her.

“Yes.”

“Is there something I should know, M? Aaron? Edward?” Mycroft looked between all of them, his stoic demeanor giving nothing away, but his voice dripped with both curiosity and disdain.

“He was my honeypot mission to get the code that Dream Studies Institute worked on. We get him here and we find out from him exactly what this was all about.”

Mycroft, M, and Mallory all had a silent conversation with each other. Finally, it was Mycroft that spoke.

“Alright, get him here. Get whatever leaks you have in Q-Branch locked down, and keep me apprised. I will assign an attache that I will personally vet.” Mycroft got a wicked smile on his face and Tony’s eyes grew wide.

“You wouldn’t”

Mycroft almost laughed and Aaron wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what was really behind that laugh.

“Oh, believe me, I most certainly would. He would be perfect because he would absolutely hate it.”

“Your funeral My.” Tony shook his head and when neither Mycroft nor Tony gave up the name, Aaron had to wonder if it was going to be Mycroft’s brother, Sherlock.

“Here, Aaron. This is a secure number that only three people know. Any communication on this project, you call me here. Now then, I shall see myself out.” Mycroft handed Aaron a small piece of paper as he passed by before heading out the door.

“I’ll go get started on trying to flush out whoever keeps trying to find the code.” Tony left, following behind Mycroft.

“I will go see what I can do to help Tony.” Edward stood and left as well.

All that was left was Aaron, Mallory, and M.

“I know you, Ma’am, and Boothroyd were waiting to pull Ash in from MI5, but I think he would be invaluable on this project.”

“You want us to bring him on now?” M narrowed her eyes at Aaron as she leaned over the desk. Aaron knew it for the tactic it was. Never once did Aaron ever consider M to be docile. She may be older, but she was no less dangerous now than she was as an agent at the age of 25. The only difference was that now, she had political power, and she used that power to every advantage she could give MI6.

“You know as well as I do that Ashcroft is beyond any position that they have put him in at MI5. His tinkering alone has helped save a few of us in the field. If he were brought in now, we can utilize him to lure in Dr. Reid. Ash is young, he thinks a lot like Dr. Reid does. He would know exactly what would entice him.”

M stood and looked out her window and stared down at the Thames and the morning boats coming in and out of the harbour.

“Alright. Have him come in.”

___________________________

Spencer and Charlie were once again at the L.A. office of the FBI. After three months of searching, there was a hit. Spencer looked at the code that was being sent to him, personally, and wondered.

“Amita, look at this.” Spencer swung the laptop around for Amita to look at the screen.

“Looks like some kind of riddle in the code.”

Spencer kept watching the code that scrolled across his screen. The more he watched the more the riddle became clear. This was also something about it that made Spencer think that it was targeted directly at him.

Grabbing a pad of paper and pen, Spencer wrote it down after it finished. Going to the chalkboard he copied the code, then spent the next hour working to crack it, when he did it was almost too easy. But, in the back of his mind, he knew this had something to do with Aaron and The Code.

“What are you going to do?” Amita leaned a hip on the table, while Charlie looked at the code on the computer screen. 

“I’m going to answer it.”

“Spencer.” Charlie leaned over his shoulder after Spencer sat at his computer.

“I know what I’m doing Charlie.”

Spencer followed the link, typed in his response, then was sent to a secure website. There was another puzzle and Spencer worked that one out as well. With Charlie and Amita’s help, Spencer worked through several layers until he hit a stumbling block.

“Shit.” Spencer groused as he pushed his computer away to stand up and pace around the room in agitation. “If I follow that, I have to go to New York.”

“You don’t think it’s a wild goose chase?” Charlie leaned against the wall and watched Spencer pace.

“No. There are enough clues in each level of this puzzle that only Aaron would have known. It’s legitimate.”

“What if it’s a trap?” Amita asked as she sat on the table, legs curled under her. Spencer knew, deep down, that it was a possibility, but he also knew without a doubt that to get the answers he sought, he had to follow through with this riddle.

“I don’t think it is. This is very specific. It’s from a conversation that Aaron and I had on Schrodinger.”

“Really?”

“He’s incredibly intelligent. I believe he can use it to his advantage to catch his targets off guard. I will hypothesize that he often dumbs down his intelligence to fool whoever it is he is after. At no time did he ever stumble in any of our conversations. If something was out of his range of understanding, he would ask me to clarify, but never talked at or down to me. It was some of the most stimulating conversations I ever had with a lov..." Spencer verbally stumbled on the last words that wouldn't leave his mouth. The pain came at him anew. He slumped down in the chair and covered his eyes with his hands. Spencer attempted to keep it together, but a breakdown felt just out of reach. He was determined not to grieve, only after finding Aaron would he let himself feel all those pent-up emotions.

“So, you think this is specific to you?”

“I don’t think, Amita. I know. They, whoever they are, want me to follow the trail they have laid out. I have to go. I can’t stop now.” Spencer sighed as he sat down and started to check travel sites for the best flight.

“Yeah, and what if the point is to get you in their hands so you can crack the code and they wreak utter devastation.” Charlie raised his voice, not quite shouting, but Spencer knew he was upset.

“I don’t think that’s what is happening. I don’t know, Charlie I just...I have to go, okay?”

Charlie sighed and shook his head. He walked over and grabbed Spencer by his shoulders and looked him in the eye.

“You be careful. I mean it, Spencer. You are too important to me for anything to happen to you.”

Spencer let the corner of his mouth lift just a bit. It wasn’t quite a smile, but he knew what Charlie meant.

“I will. I promise.”

Three days later Spencer walked out of LaGuardia Airport and headed towards a cab. The strong scent of spices hit him first covering up the quintessential cab smell of sweat, heat, and cracked viny. Spencer had been to New York many times, but the address given to him buried in the computer message wasn't familiar. Handing over the slip of paper with the address Spencer took a moment to reflect on just how insane this impromptu trip was. Sitting back against the hard faux leather, Spencer pulled out his tablet to attempt to get some minor projects for his business finished. None of it had anything to do with The Code.

“You need me to wait?” The driver asked as Spencer looked up to see that they had stopped in front of the hotel he had been directed to.

“No. I’m fine.” Spencer paid and gave the driver a generous tip after exiting the cab. He entered the hotel, got his key from the front desk, and went to the designated room. He knew this was all so foolish and very cloak and dagger, which he was hardly cut out for, but Spencer wanted to know what the hell was going on. When he entered the room, Spencer stopped and for the first time in a long time felt real fear.

Sitting in the corner was a well dressed black man, with a gun sitting across his lap and a single light on in the room. Spencer began to question his life choices at the moment.

“Dr. Reid. Please do come in and sit down.”

Spencer swallowed hard as he moved inside the room, sat on the end of the bed closest to his guest after dropping his small suitcase near the dresser. With shaking hands he clasped them together and wasn’t quite sure what to do or say and attempted not to freak the fuck out.

“My name is Felix Leitner and I work for the CIA. You, Dr. Reid, have been caught up in something that I know you aren’t sure how to handle.”

“I...I’m not sure what I did...”

“Come now, Dr. Reid. I know you are a smart man. Probably too smart for your own good. Don’t you think I know that you Dr. Reid are the actual head of Dream Studios Institute and that you, yourself, recruited some of the best minds in the country to your think tank.”

Spencer sat up ramrod straight. Gone was the shy, nervous young man. That was replaced by the intelligent, formidable head of his own company.

“I’m not surprised that the CIA knows that information. See, its organizations such as yourselves that pushed many of us to create The Code. Too many secrets. Too many times you have lead the US down into these little clandestine wars that have an effect on all of us. We want to stop people like you.”

Felix set his gun down on the small table next to him, crossed, then uncrossed his legs. He smiled at Spencer, then started to pick imaginary lint off of his trousers. Spencer's nerves were getting the better of him the longer the silence went on.

“You intellectuals believe you know everything. You have the solution to all our problems, yet you don’t understand what is really going on. I admit I’ve seen and done things that are questionable, but everything I and my colleagues have done is to prevent a much bigger crisis.”

“Yet, your organization funds the drugs that keep coming into the US. You keep the false ‘war on drugs’ going because a lot of that money gets funneled into your organization. Gunrunning, wiretapping, and don’t think I didn’t find the wiretaps in my office. All three times. While I admit that the CIA, NSA, FBI, and others are necessary evils, all of you have an underbelly of corruption and misuse. Don’t even try to deny it, Mr. Leitner. We have ample evidence. The only reason that my company doesn’t release it, is because the knowledge of what it is that you really do could destabilize the US to the point of no return.

“Might I remind you that it was organizations like mine that began to expose your MK Ultra experiments and the irreparable damage you did to children and adults in the program?”

Felix’s lips thinned as he glared at Spencer.

“And that project was shut down..”

“Or it just went deeper underground. How about the child sex-trafficking ring that you used a Cult to cover up what was happening. That was barely shut down in the ’90s. I wonder what the next iteration of the CIA’s more nefarious activities will take?”

Felix was out of the chair and towered over Spencer who was still sitting.

“I see now that a certain agent didn’t know exactly who he was playing with. Tell me, Dr. Reid, are you just pretending not to know? Did you play him?”

“You mean as he played me? No, I’m not pretending. Whoever he is he really did catch me off guard, but I can assure you that it won’t happen again. Also, don’t think because I run a think tank that I can’t defend myself, or use a gun. I may be an ‘intellectual’ but I also know the kind of dangers that are potentially out there. So, back the fuck off.”

Felix stepped back and held up his hands in supplication.

“So, now what?”

“I’m to get you onto a private plane and you will be taken to your next destination. From there, you are on your own.”

“And just exactly how will you get me out of here if I don’t want to go?”

“You are not the smartest man in the world, Dr. Reid. Oh, I know you are very highly intelligent, but what I’ve learned about men and women like you is that they don’t observe the smallest things around them. In about,” Felix made a show of looking at his watch, smiling and leaning against the wall that made Spencer nervous once again. “Two minutes the sedative will take effect and I will get you out of here, into a waiting car then to the private airport with little to no problem at all.”

“Wait, but I didn’t...” Spencer thought back through everything he had done since getting out of the airport. He didn’t remember anything unusual from the cab driver, not even when he passed over the money...oh shit.

“I see you remember. Yes, when you exited the cab, then physically handed over the cash instead of using the more accepted method of a card, or the transfer box in the partition. Don’t worry, there won’t be any lasting side effects.”

“Bastar...” Spencer felt the sedative working and before he could try to do anything, he was falling back on the bed, closing his eyes Spencer knew no more.

_____________________________

Aaron stood nearly naked at the window of his bedroom looking out at the London night sky sipping some scotch. Gareth was in the shower, cleaning up from their rather vigorous round of sex. He had already cleaned up and just had a robe draped on him hanging loose. His thoughts were in turmoil as he sipped his drink.

“What has you brooding?” Gareth came up behind Aaron and wrapped his arms around his waist.

“I’m worried, Gareth. This code has me worried. I hope we are taking enough precautions.”

“You think we aren’t?”

“I don’t know. I hope we are. I’m just glad that Ashcroft agreed to help.”

“Hmm...”

“What?”

“What are you going to do if this Dr. Reid does show up?”

“What do you mean?” Aaron turned in Gareth’s arms and looked right in his lover’s eyes. “You’re jealous.”

Gareth was quiet for a few moments then pulled away.

“You were gone for a long time. Longer than most. I looked him up and could see what it was that made you stay so long.”

“Gareth, you cannot possibly believe that I want to be with anyone else.”

“He’s young, attractive, intelligent...”

Aaron took the few steps to get to his lover and wrapped his hands around Gareth’s waist.

“And not who I want to spend my life with. You knew going into this who I am and what I do. Are you asking me, in a very passive-aggressive way, to not take any more of these types of missions?”

Aaron grabbed one of Gareth’s hands and led him to the bed. Aaron sat down with his legs out and pulled Gareth onto his lap. Gareth was silent as he slid onto Aaron’s lap. Pip and Pop had run into the room, hearing their humans were up, they jumped on the bed for some pets and belly rubs.

“Maybe I am. Maybe I’d like you around for a long time you know.”

“I’m not Bond. I do my best not to blow things to bloody fucking hell.” Aaron slid his hands up Gareth’s waist and held him right there. “I made you a promise a long time ago. To always come home. I like my job, I like my life. I’m not going to do anything stupid, but if you don’t want me to take any more honeypot missions or anything longterm I can discuss it with M and tell her they are off the table. And as for Dr. Reid, I don’t know what’s going to happen if he shows up. I’ll deal with it when and or if it happens. But, he’ll never replace you. No one could.”

“You’re a bastard.” Gareth softly chuckled before slipping under the covers next to Aaron. “But, I can agree with your compromise.”

“If I asked a question would you answer honestly?” Aaron stood, took off his robe after giving the pups some love then crawled back into bed and spooned in behind Gareth.

“If I can, I will.”

“Is M in trouble?”

Gareth stiffened in Aaron’s arms a moment then relaxed back on the bed.

“The Committee is watching her closely, Aaron. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but yes. She’s been let to run MI6 without much oversight, but with how quickly the world is changing, that can’t happen anymore. MI6 as a whole is being looked at.”

“Should I be worried?”

“No. I don’t believe so, but Aaron, get this thing with the code wrapped up. Find out what it does and how to keep control of it.”

Aaron didn’t like what he heard in Gareth’s voice, but he wanted this mission done as well. It was weighing too much on his mind and causing a crack in his relationship with Gareth. He loved the man too much to let anything happen to either of them. Aaron could admit he was nervous and restless. He hoped to get everything wrapped up quickly because the fall out if he didn’t was an unknown he did not like hanging over their heads.

__________________________

Spencer woke up with a dry, sticky feeling in his mouth, and his eyes felt gritty. Blearily he looked around and figured out he was on a plane. The CIA agent was sitting across from him reading something and as his eyes scanned the rest of the plane he noticed another man there as well.  A blond-haired blue-eyed man that filled out the suit he was wearing quite nicely. But, Spencer didn’t want to ponder what the two of them could do in the bedroom. He was slowly remembering everything that had happened over the last few months, from meeting Aaron to being basically kidnapped.

He tried to speak, but his throat hurt from the dryness. Closing his eyes he let his mind wander sussing out every possibility on trying to get himself out of his current situation. He had friends he could call, but when he thrust his hand in his pockets he found his cell phone gone. Only then was his head clear enough for him to remember his satchel.

“Un un. Naughty boys who play with very dangerous toys don’t get their phones back.” The blond stood next to Spencer with a bottle of water in his hand.

“And who the hell are you?”

The smirk on the man’s face as he sat down, crosse his legs, and picked at imaginary lint off of his well-tailored trousers, made Spencer narrow his eyes and glare as best as he could.

“James Bond. Dr. Reid, you have no idea what kind of trouble that little code you decided to come up with has caused, have you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Spencer continued to glare at Bond as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“We have five of the six parts. Did you know that three of the parts were going to end up on the black market?”

“What!” Spencer tried to get out of his seat but he found out just how thoroughly he was being held. He looked down and barely noticed the restraints. they weren't handcuffs, which made him huff as he pressed his back into the seat. Looking up again, he felt the deep frown form as he scowled at Bond. “That’s not possible.”

“Dr. Reid, I can assure you that it is very possible. We have employed someone to hide it even from us. No one who understands what it is will be immune to wanting to use it. Except for the one person, we know who cannot be corrupted. He disdains corruption.”

“Who?”

“Sorry, that information is confidential.”

Spencer closed his eyes a moment and knew he was completely fucked. He never thought things would go this far. He and the others...shaking his head he knew where everything went wrong. Money. While he had it, in spades from patents for some of his engineering projects, and money from gambling he did on the side, not all of those that worked on the code were as lucky. He trusted too many people and it burned him, again.

“Thinking you shouldn’t have put your trust in too many people?” Bond watched Spencer for a moment, Felix had been pretty silent the whole time Bond was questioning Spencer.

“So, which of your agencies was Aaron Hotchner, or whatever his real name is, from? His English accent was too perfect to have been faking it. CIA? MI5? MI6? Interpol?”

Bond was silent, And Spencer got the feeling he wasn’t going to say anything more.

“I’m sorry to do this to you, but we’ll be landing soon. Our friend Felix will be headed back to the US while you, Dr. Reid, will be our guest for the foreseeable future.” Bond had stood up with a kit in his hand. He pulled out one of the small syringes and before Spencer could protest, Bond was dosing him once more and it was mere seconds for Spencer to once again blackout.

When he woke up again he was in some kind of infirmary with different clothes on. They fit him perfectly and they were of his style, but they weren’t ones he had bought himself. Slowly he opened his eyes because the lights in the room were harsh.

“Take your time, Dr. Reid.”

That voice. Spencer bolted upright on the bed and looked across from him. He couldn’t believe it, after all of these months he finally was face to face with the man that broke his heart. Not caring that his body was still dealing with the effects of the sedative, Spencer flung himself off the bed and was in front of Aaron in three seconds flat. The slap surprised even him. Aaron though looked completely unaffected. Standing taller, glaring with anger, and far too many emotions he reached up and slapped Aaron on the other cheek. Tears ran down his face as he raised his right hand once more, but this time Aaron caught it and stood up.

“You had your little tantrum. Now, sit down.” Aaron looked right in those hazel eyes and Spencer felt the attraction was still there, but he wouldn’t let it go anywhere. He was still too angry, confused, and felt betrayed beyond belief. When he was finally able to speak, his voice came out more of a growl.

“Where am I?” 

“MI6. Currently in the infirmary. For full disclosure, a subdermal tracker has been implanted in your arm. Don’t think about removing it, it’s very...sensitive. Q does make the most interesting toys.”

“You're a bastard.” Spencer glared hard at Aaron.

“I am. And when you’re calm we will leave here and you will be taken to Q branch where you will speak with our Quartermaster and tell him where the last part of the code is. Then, after we retrieve it and deal with those who want to have it, we shall talk about what to do with you.”

“I don’t understand. Why can’t I just go home? Go back to my life like none of this ever happened.” Spencer regretted more and more creating that code. Being talked into it by Ethan and the others. He believed in the altruism of what they were doing, but the reality was quickly sinking in that what they had created was dangerous.

Aaron’s answer was an American newspaper with a bold headline, Prominent Engineer, and Entrepreneur, Dr. Spencer Reid killed in a suspicious accident.

               'The remains of one Dr. Spencer Reid have been positively identified through dental records. The scientific world mourns the loss of such a brilliant mind. Dr. Reid has patented
                several things hat have gone on to become some of our most important environmental cleanup procedures. Several of his friends and colleagues have expressed deep sorrow
                at losing someone they cared very deeply for...'

The article went on with interviews from friends and those he had considered family. Spencer didn’t realise he was crying until he was done.

“Why? Why would you do this to me?”

“Dr. Reid, that code you created could be used to bring down whole countries. Economies could be wiped out with a few keystrokes. While many of us empathise with why you did it, doesn’t mean that you should have. If we had not brought you in and made you disappear, those wanting the code would be after you until you were either in their hands or dead. Neither was an option."

Spencer shoved off the bed again and started to pace around.

“So you find me, seduce me, fuck me, make me fall in love with you and you just use me to get what the fuck you want, then you ruin the rest of my life? This isn’t fair!” Spencer shouted as his breath hitched. He felt like he was in some bizarre eighties spy movie, but he wasn’t. This was real, it was happening, and he didn’t like it.

Aaron sat back and crossed his legs, and just watched as Spencer angrily paced the room. 

“No, it isn’t. You have two choices. One you can continue to blame others for your circumstances, or you can take responsibility for your own actions and do something about it.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

“Well, Dr. Reid that depends on you.” Q walked into the room and left the door open. “You can help us close down everything on this code and come to work with me, or we give you a new identity, an apartment, and several recommendations for work and let you flounder on your own. It’s up to you. If you want to know more, follow me. 009, I believe Mallory and M were looking for you.”

Aaron nodded then left. Spencer watched him go and wondered if he could stay when the person he had fallen so hard for would be there every day.

“You should know that 009 is one of the good ones. He almost didn’t take the mission because he knew at the end of it you would get hurt. The only reason he did was that the threat of what you created was bigger than anyone.”

“He’s a cold bastard.”

“Hmm, yes, while here in this office he is. But, Dr. Reid, there are sides to all of us. Come on, we’ll talk.” Q started off down the corridor and Spencer took only a moment to follow. His curiosity winning out. “I’m Q and I am the Quartermaster for MI6. And, Dr. Reid, we have a problem that I believe that you could help us solve.” Q led Spencer to his private office, closed the door, and turned on his security protocols before he spoke again.

“Have a seat. I’ll have someone get us something to eat and drink in a moment, but first, I think you can help us catch the traitor in our midst.”

Spencer sat and frowned at Q.

“I don’t understand how.”

“You’re smart, you also have degrees in sociology, psychology, and I believe you took some profiling classes when you thought about becoming an FBI agent. You decided to abandon that course and turned to academia, when that didn’t hold your interest you started Dream Studios Institute. A think tank with others that you recruited to find solutions for pollution and other environmental issues. Your groups' work on creating sustainable bamboo and hemp forests for marketing to several textile industries is a brilliant push towards helping our world in general. Then, you go and create this code.”

Q leaned back in his chair and didn’t once take his eyes off of Spencer. Spencer knew the man was trying to get a reaction out of him, but the reaction wasn’t one Q was expecting. Spencer was terribly turned on at the moment and he wasn’t sure what to do with that. Intelligence had always been a huge trigger for Spencer. This Q, which Spencer surmised wasn’t his real name, was both attractive and intelligent. Spencer felt a bit flummoxed until he remembered where he was.

“You seem to know a lot about me. I take it you helped in scrubbing my identity and my life.”

“It was completely necessary. You’ll need a new public identity. While we can’t change much about your looks we can help you blend in. When the code is either scrubbed or in a very secure place we’ll be able to send out a press release that you are indeed not dead. Don’t worry, MI5 is very good at coming up with plausible explanations. For now, though, you will need to stay out of the public eye until we think it is safe. I’ve already cleared it with M for you to come live with me while we search for a secure location for you to move into. You’ll get a generous allowance for clothes and other necessities. If you do come work with me, I can assure you the salary package will be generous as well." 

“Look, I know all of this is confusing and frightening, but I assure you we will help get you through this.”

Spencer looked around the small office he was in and took his time thinking. He was gutted that Charlie, Amita, and the others thought he was dead. He had never meant for any of this to happen. He wanted to blame Aaron for much of his circumstances, but even he knew that was a lie. While Aaron did hurt him and hurt him deeply, Spencer was the one that was the driving force behind the code and he knew the responsibility for it in the wrong hands was on him. Sighing, he let his gaze turn back to Q.

“If I help you with your investigation, what happens after? I just go back to my life?”

“It will depend on what you want to do. What I want is for you to work with me. Be my right hand. The previous Quartermaster retired just a couple of weeks ago and I need good people I can trust. I have a few, but I want you on my team. Not only are you brilliant at coding, but your engineering skills will come in handy. I like to tinker as well. I think we could make a formidable team.”

“I need time to sort all of this out.”

“Well then, let’s get out of here and I will show you where you’ll stay for the next little while. First I have a few things to take care of, can I trust you to stay put?” Q stood and grabbed a tablet then shut down his computer and left Spencer alone. It was a moment later that he came back in and handed Spencer a tablet.

“I know you prefer paper, but unfortunately we don’t have a lot of it around here. I have several books on there, and it is a little faster than a regular tablet. Sorry, but it’s the best I can do while we get you settled.”

“Thank you.” Spencer took the tablet and turned it on. When he tried to hack it, he was stopped at every turn. Spencer almost smiled at that. This Q really did know what he is doing. Spencer pulled up the list of books and chose one at random. It would at least occupy his mind while he waited. He wanted to let his mind go for a little while, everything was too much and he didn’t want to think about his current circumstances until he absolutely had to.

________________

Aaron skulked around Q Branch trying to stay out of the way of Spencer. He knew his cousin had the man tucked in his office, but the problem was Aaron’s office was next to Q’s. He really needed to get in there to get reports done and work on his side project. Besides the papers on the psychological effects of long-term undercover work, commentary on law enforcement, and suggestions for improvement, he had added some scientific papers on a few of Q’s inventions. Q liked to make the things, but he hated writing about the things, which made Aaron learn some mechanical engineering enough to understand what Q’s inventions actually did.

MI6 often bought some of Q’s patents and some inventions had been released to the public and made a nice side business for the agency. Much like NASA had done with things like Velcro and improvements to packaged food that was marketed to campers, hikers, and other outdoor sportsmen.

One invention Aaron had sitting on his desk waiting for a write up for several engineering and technology journals, as well as a few interested medical journals was an improvement to the earwigs that agents used in a variety of scenarios. This one though could be adapted for an advanced hearing aid, or could be used by any of the lettered agencies in the US or UK. It had a small remote that could be hidden that controlled a variety of options for the earwigs. The best part was the programmable channel switch. Aaron loved that the most as he could switch channels and coordinate with agents in the field as well as Home Office.

Sighing and thinking about what he needed to do had him finally moving forward. When he passed Q’s office he saw Spencer sprawled out on the too-small couch with a tablet on his chest. His eyes were closed, but Aaron did not think for a moment that he was asleep. He had spent too much time with the man on his assignment and knew his breathing patterns. Stepping back Aaron went to his own office to hopefully get lost in work.

When James came in and plopped down on his own couch, Aaron ignored him except to refresh the teapot he had on his desk. When the tea was properly steeped he poured out a cup and moved to the couch, setting the tea on the side table.

“Cuppa if you want it.” Aaron turned back to his desk, knowing that James would work in silence while Aaron worked on the article. This was fairly routine as 007, and on occasion 006 didn’t like their own offices, and M tired of trying to make them use it. The ’00s, especially those that worked closely together most often, had formed bonds that even the higher-ups were hard-pressed to understand. Aaron, James, and Alec were like their own little unit, some even thought they were all fucking each other. While Aaron could admit there was both a physical and oft times emotional attraction to the two men, he was wholly committed to Gareth. Aaron thought that if he and Gareth had not met in college when they did that he probably would have ended up in an odd sort of sexual relationship with James and Alec. But, they had formed another kind of bond, almost akin to brothers. Its what frustrated Aaron so much at times. He hated when James took too many chances, and his devil may care attitude sometimes made Aaron hate James just a little bit. At the same time, he could admit that he loved the man, as he did Alec, and would see them safely home every time they had missions together.

There were other units like theirs in MI6, his own cousin Edward was closer to the two agents he always ended up working with and Aaron had a suspicion that there was definitely fucking going on there. He was just gentlemanly enough not to ask. He couldn’t blame Edward though, Tali and Malik were not only intelligent, but both were gorgeous.

“What has you thinking way too hard?” James asked as he set his work tablet aside and watched Aaron.

“Oh, just thinking that if I had never met Gareth what might have happened to me.”

James smirked at Aaron and didn’t even hide that he was sitting with his legs suggestively open.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Bond.” Aaron teased, but both of them knew he was lying.

“Oh, I don’t have to. I know my effect on others. As do you. Especially that lethal smile that you let so few see.”

Aaron snorted and grabbed his tea.

“But, I’m serious. You and Alec would have been very dangerous to my heart, you know.”

James stood and walked to Aaron’s desk. Moving things aside, James sat down in front of Aaron and gently grabbed his chin.

“What has you worried?” James liked to touch those he cared about and when it first happened around Gareth, it had not gone over well. But, over time Aaron’s lover understood what it was. A need to ground himself, to stave off the depression and anxiety that some ’00s had let themselves fall into.

“Everything. I’m worried about that young man, I’m worried about Q Branch, I’m worried about this goddamned code. We have to find the last piece and we have no clue where it could be. And bloody hell, I’m worried about Gareth. Something is going on at Home Office, but neither he nor Mycroft will say what it is. Mycroft won’t even tell Tony.”

James gently rubbed at Aaron’s cheek then pulled away, but stayed where he was.

“I uh, I might know where the sixth part of the code is.” Spencer cleared his throat as he stood awkwardly in the doorway.

“You can enter, Spencer. We won’t bite.” James turned towards Spencer and tried not to be obvious in his head to toe eye fucking.

“Bond.” Aaron put enough warning in his voice to make the man back off a little.

“Anyway, you were saying, Dr. Reid?” Aaron could see the hurt in the man’s eyes and knew he had put it there. He wasn’t going to feel guilty, it had been a mission, nothing more.

“I think I might know who has the last part of the code. But, I don’t know if she would be willing to give it up.”

“And why not?”

Spencer moved into the office and plopped down on the couch. He was wringing his hands and Aaron knew that as him trying to work out the exact words he wanted to say.

“She’s a Medical doctor. A researcher actually. She’s brilliant, but I know her research grant is coming to an end. I have a feeling she may be tempted to sell it, or use what she knows to do something she shouldn’t.”

Aaron stood and walked over to Spencer. He sat down on the chair he pulled over with him.

“Dr. Reid, if you think she is going to do something she shouldn’t you need to let us know. That code, even a small piece must not end up in the wrong hands.” Aaron sat back and watched the war going on Spencer’s face.

“What are you not telling us?”

Spencer looked up and at the two 00 agents and made up his mind.

“Maeve has a stalker. She won’t get help, but I know she needs it.”

“What else do you know about her situation?”

Spencer shook his head.

“You don’t want to tell us, or you don’t know?”

“I don’t know much. I had been getting these migraines and every Doctor just told me it was stress, but I knew it was something else. I reached out on an internet forum and we started to talk. I found out she is a neuroscientist and I sent her copies of all my tests. She helped me control them, then we just kept talking.”

“No last name? No address?”

Spencer shook his head from side to side.

“Alright, we’ll take it from here Dr. Reid. We'll do some research, but we do need to find and secure that code.”

Spencer looked up and Aaron saw a war going on inside of him, but Aaron put up a wall. He didn’t want to care.

“Just don’t hurt her.”

“We won’t harm an innocent, Dr. Reid. We might be spies, but we don’t kill indiscriminately.” Aaron pulled back and walked back around his desk, James watched him the whole time. Aaron had someting on his mind and got ready to speak again when Q walked in and raised a brow.

“Dr. Reid, I wondered if you were ready to go.”

Spencer stood up and Q just looked at Aaron before he turned to Spencer telling him to go wait in his office.

“Dinner at the house. And I will not take no for an answer. Tony and Edward will be there as well.” Q turned on his heel leaving Aaron once again alone with James. It wasn’t until they heard the familiar sounds of Q leaving the office that James spoke once more.

“I think you are lying to yourself, Aaron. You care more for that young man than you want to admit.”

“James...” Aaron growled a warning.

“You don’t have to be in love with him to care. I saw the concern, you forget I know you, Aaron Paddington.”

“I can’t care about him.”

“You can, doesn’t mean you have to go and fall in love with him. But, if I know our Quartermaster at all then he already has his sights on wooing that man into Q Branch. Of course, that means Dr. Reid becoming a British Citizen, and who do we know that could make that happen quickly, and make it look like he’s been here for a while?”

“No. I am not going to ask Gareth to do anything of the sort. But, I think you are right.” Aaron leaned back in his chair and knew that things between him and Spencer were going to get complicated before they could even think about being even somewhat friendly with each other. “I have some research to do before I go to the house.”

James stood and went back to the couch, picked up his tablet, and started working again. Aaron picked up the earwig then set it back down. He then started to study the blueprint and got lost in the article, it was what he could focus on at the moment because there was too much chaos going on around him. He hoped when the dust finally settled that he could put all of this behind him and just get on with the business of protecting Queen and Country.

__________

Spencer wasn’t sure what to expect when he walked into what Q called home, but a fucking true to life English castle wasn’t it. He also wasn’t expecting the elegant looking couple who greeted Q, real name Ashcroft.

“And you must be the young man our dear Ash keeps going on about. He has read every single thing you have written. He also spent a few hours watching your wonderful TED X talks that you gave.”

“Really?” Spencer side-eyed Q and almost frowned at the man. He was about to say something when a little boy came running into the room and practically knocked Q over.

“Daddy, you’re home. Come see what I made.” The little boy grabbed Q’s hand and started to pull on him.

“In a minute, munchkin. We have a guest.”

The boy turned and stopped. He looked up at Spencer and grabbed his hand as well.

“He can come to, Daddy.”

Q laughed as the boy pulled on both men.

“We might as well give in now, or he’ll be a bundle of hyperactivity until I see what he’s made.”

“Umm, okay.”

Spencer reluctantly let the little boy pull the both of them along. When they got to a set of rooms that was obviously the boy’s he let the hands of the adults go then ran to a table where a cardboard and string circuit board was laid out.

“Jack, this looks wonderful. Shall we see if it works?”

“Yes!” Jack jumped up and down. Spencer looked at the coding and was impressed that a boy of Jack’s age had done something that was above what his peer group would be doing. Spencer was also intrigued to find out what Q meant about it working.

Walking over to a desk there sat a rather crude looking cardboard contraption. Q put the circuit board in what Spencer could only think of as a rudimentary computer. There were only a couple of things that Spencer could see were traditional parts of a computer. The small monitor, and a fan. But, when he looked inside the back at what Q was doing, he saw  complex cardboard inner workings. Even the keyboard was cardboard. After setting the circuit board inside, Q turned on the contraption and Spencer was shocked that it worked.

Jack sat down and started to type. The code came up and a little dancing rabbit was jumping around on the screen.

“Wow, that’s amazing.” Spencer didn't hide how impressed he was.

“We’ve been building it together over the last few months. He wanted his own computer and I teased that he needed to build one himself if he wanted one. The family computer was good enough. One day I caught him looking up ways for kids to build their own machines. And, he found blueprints to create your own cheap computer from sturdy cardboard and a few small electronic components.”

“How old is he?” Spencer didn’t even try to keep the awe out of his voice.

“Four almost five.”

“Wow.”

Q smiled and blushed deeply. Spencer found he rather enjoyed seeing the somewhat put together Quartermaster blushing in shyness.

“Daddy! It works, see?” Spencer and Q turned back to look at what Jack was doing. He had been typing gibberish on the screen, but there it was a simple word program.

“Very good, Jack. Now, why don’t you try working on your lessons.”

Jack stood up and grabbed a workbook from his bookshelf. Smiling up at Q, he turned back to the homemade computer and started to work from the workbook.

Spencer could see much of himself in the boy, but there was a big difference, Q adored his son and would protect him no matter what happened in his life. His own mother had decended far into her schizophrenia that normal day to day activities were beyond her. Spencer's father had up and left when he was ten. That act left an indelible mark upon him, and made it difficult for him to trust and get close to people. The Epps family had been the anomaly in his life up until that point. Spencer felt a hand on his shoulder that pulled him out of his maudlin thoughts.

“He’ll be at that for a while, come on, I’m sure Auntie Liv and Uncle George are wondering what is going on.”

Spencer followed behind Q while they looked for his Aunt and Uncle, who were currently lounging in one of the most beautiful libraries Spencer had ever laid his eyes on. He was tempted to forget everyone around him and drift off to peruse the shelves, but he knew that would be rude.

“Ashcroft, what stray have you brought home this time?” The woman asked with no little affection in her voice. The fond smile on her face made Spencer not even upset at being called a stray. He certainly felt more than a little lost at the moment.

“Auntie, Uncle, this is Dr. Spencer Reid. He needs a place to stay for a while until he can get settled in London.”

“Ash,” The way Aunt Liv said Q’s name had Spencer almost chuckling.

“Auntie, you know as well as I do that security here is almost as tight as that of the Queen Mum herself. With Edward, Tony, and myself living here, nothing is going to happen. I promise. Now let me finish being the gentlemen my mother raised me to be.”

Liv and George almost snickered at the tone in Q’s voice which amused Spencer to no end.

“Sorry, dear. Please finish your introductions.” Liv said with a smile and a mischievous gleam in her eye.

“As I was saying, This is Dr. Spencer Reid, Dr. Reid, this is my Aunt Olivia Paddington, the Marchioness of Montague, and my Uncle George Paddington, the Marquess of Montague. You will be able to meet my mother later tonight. She usually comes for a visit in the evenings.”

“Ma’am, Sir. It is nice to meet you.” Spencer smiled and gave a shy wave to the couple.

“And a pleasure, Dr. Reid. I am to assume that you are an academic?” George asked as he crossed his legs, turning to look at Spencer.

“Yes, Sir. I have three PhDs and several other degrees. I love learning.”

“You sound quite like our Ashcroft here. Book in his hand from the time he was two years old.”

“Uncle.” Q admonished and Spencer couldn’t help the laugh that escaped at the blush on his cheeks.

“We were just going to sit down to tea. Chef has said she had something special planned. Do you two care to join us? It would be lovely to have someone else to talk to.” Olivia stood and walked over to Spencer, threading her arm around his and smiling. Spencer felt himself blush at her boldness, but it was nice and Spencer found himself accepting before he really knew what he was doing.

“That would be very nice, Ma’am.”

“Oh, please. Call me Olivia, or Liv. I get enough of the formal bullshit while out in public.”

“Auntie!” Q looked shocked, but Spencer had the feeling that the elegant and beautiful Olivia Paddington did not give one iota how people thought of her.

“Ashcroft, you know your Aunt Liv is as crude as a sailor when she wants to be. Now, come on and tell me all about what’s been going on at MI6 that you can discuss.”

Spencer stared wide-eyed at George. He was shocked that they knew what Q did.

“Spencer, half of this family has or does work for Queen and Country. Uncle is often an advisor to Mycroft Holmes. It’s how Tony and Mycroft met. Their friendship still baffles everyone around them, but for some reason, they really like each other. Much to Sherlock’s chagrin. I say we should have the Holmes brothers here for dinner one night, it’s always fun when the two of them actually make an appearance. And that Doctor that Sherlock is rooming with is quite intriguing. I don’t think you both have met him yet.”

“No, but we’ve heard about  both of them. I think that is rather a lovely idea. Come on, let’s go to the sunroom and take our tea there.”

Spencer couldn’t help but be led. He was thoroughly charmed by the Paddington's and flustered at the same time. They made small talk while tea was served. Spencer had not expected an honest to god full-on high tea. The food spread out on the table looked delicious and broke every thought he had of what English food was like.

Taking what he wanted after he was prodded, Spencer just listened to the conversation around him for a few moments before he gave his thoughts on certain subjects that came up. The tea was excellent and Spencer wasn’t even missing his beloved coffee.

All of the excitement from the last twenty-four hours was getting to him and Spencer felt the fatigue hit him all at once. He set his cup down his hand was shaking a little as he did it.

“Spencer, I think maybe you should go lie down for a bit. A room has already been made up for you, but if there is something you don’t like you can always change rooms. We have plenty. Ash dear, why don’t you show our guest to his room and let the poor boy have a lie-down.” Olivia looked at Spencer fondly and a part of him wondered if this was how a healthy mother was supposed to act. Spencer shook his head to clear out those thoughts. If he thought about his mother, his heart would break. Her passing was a wound that never seemed to heal.

Spencer was brought out of his thoughts when Q nudged him.

“Here we are. I already have someone working on closing out your accounts and opening new ones here under an assumed name. You have a choice, or you can let us pick something appropriate out and we’ll get your papers taken care of as well.”

Spencer thought about it. He could go with Edmund, it was still close enough to his mother’s favorite author. And even though he was indifferent to his father, Doyle seemed like a good last name to go with. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle being his father’s favorite author. Edmund Doyle. Spencer mulled it over in his head for a few moments until it felt and sounded right.

“Edmund Doyle.”

Q looked impressed and nodded his head.

“Edmund Doyle it is then. That will be your public name. We’ll have to do something with your hair, and your normal style of clothes will have to change. Glasses instead of contacts, and maybe a bit of coloring to your skin tone. Don’t worry, by the time we are done, not many will recognize you. And as long as you are careful out there we won’t have to change much.”

Spencer sighed. He hated that this was his life now, but no one couldn’t say that he wasn’t adaptable. He hated change, but he could slip into changes in his life easier than others. He didn’t say anything to Q, just nodded and made his way farther into the room. He stripped out of his clothes, but kept on his t-shirt and boxer shorts, then crawled under the sinfully soft sheets. The blankets were pleasantly heavy and Spencer’s anxiety slowly seeped out of him as he finally succumbed to the sleep that wanted to take him over.

__________________

Aaron made it to the house close behind Edward. He had swung by and picked up Gareth. The two had taken some time together to go out for tea, and by the time they were done, Aaron was ready to face whatever it was Q had up his sleeve.

Aaron and Gareth were barely in the door when he heard little feet running towards him.

“Uncle!” Jack shouted as Aaron laughed and picked Jack up in his arms. Leaning over he reached out for Gareth who stepped close to give the boy a hug.

“Hey kiddo, how was your day?”

“Wanna see the ‘puter? It’s all finished.” Aaron knew about the project and had contributed some of the items himself.

“Of course I want to see it.”

“You come to, Uncle Gareth.” Jack bounced in Aaron’s arm, his excitement was infectious and had both men laughing.

“He has been waiting all day to show you.”

“Auntie. How are you?” Aaron leaned in and kissed his Aunt’s cheek before pulling back.

“I am doing quite well. But we can talk later, I think this young man has something to show you.” Olivia turned to Gareth who gave her a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. “And it is good to you see you too, Gareth. Dinner will be in about an hour or so. After you two get him settled we are having drinks in the library.”

“Sounds good. We’ll join you in a little while.” Aaron gave his Aunt another kiss on the cheek then wandered off towards Jack's room. On the way there he saw Spencer and cursed his cousin. He had a sneaking suspicion on what it was that Ashcroft was doing. The double-take on the man’s face had Aaron almost laughing. Explanations were very much going to be in order. All they did was nod at each other before Aaron turned towards Jack’s room.

“So, that’s Dr. Reid.”

“Gareth, not now,” Aaron warned as they entered the little boy’s room. Aaron put Jack down then he was led to the small desk where the homemade cardboard computer sat. Aaron folded his tall frame onto the too-small chair in front and put Jack up on his lap.

“This is quite impressive young man, now tell me, does it actually work?” Aaron teased as he lightly tickled Jack’s side making the boy squeal with laughter.

“Uncle,” Jack giggled as he leaned at the waist. After Aaron stopped Jack turned on the computer and showed him all the things it could do. Mostly age-appropriate games and a word program for him to practice writing. It was rudimentary, but Aaron was proud that Jack had built it mostly himself.

“This is wonderful, Jack.” Aaron kissed Jack’s temple feeling the pride swell in his heart.

“It is quite the computer young man,” Gareth said and he kneeled next to Aaron and Jack. “Maybe you should take over being Quartermaster.” Gareth teased.

Jack laughed again as he looked up fondly at Gareth.

“Uncle, I’m too young!” Jack pronounced quite matter-of-factly.

“Oh, I don’t know. Your Dad was already programming at your age.”

Aaron kept hold of Jack and watched his son and his lover interact. This was one of those times he wondered what it would have been like if he had kept Jack. But five years ago he wasn’t ready. Jack was happy and Aaron would never take that away from him.

“Really?”

Aaron smiled as Jack twisted his little body to look up at Aaron.

“Really, Jack. Your father was playing with computers about your age. He has loved them ever since.” Jack frowned in contemplation as he turned and looked at his computer.

“I want to be like Daddy. But, I want to be like you too, Uncle Aaron.”

Aaron’s heart tripped a little. It always amazed him how much Jack loved him.

“No, Buddy, you don’t want to be like me. You be your own person, that’s all any of us wants for you.”

“But, you’re a superhero. Daddy says so.” Jack wiggled out of Aaron’s lap and ran over to one of his shelves that had a stack of comic books. Jack pulled one out and ran back, handing Aaron the comic book. “See, you are like Captain Britain. Strong, smart, and the bestest Uncle ever.”

Aaron choked up a little as he held the comic in his hand. He knew Ashcroft had gotten Jack into the X-Men, but he had no idea that Jack would equate him with the iconic superhero.

“That’s lovely, Jack. I hope to never disappoint you.” Aaron stood up and set Jack back down on his feet. “Now, why don’t you play in your room for a bit, then dinner will be ready.”

“Okay. I love you, Uncle Aaron.”

“I love you too, Kiddo.” Aaron ruffled Jack’s short hair then walked back out of the room with Gareth wrapped around him. It was several moments before he could speak.

“I had no idea he saw me that way.” Aaron walked slowly towards the library trying to settle his emotions.

“He loves you, Aaron. He knows you do something very brave, even though he doesn’t understand.”

Aaron stopped and turned to kiss Gareth. “Thank you for being so understanding. You know I never want to hurt you.”

“I know. And you never expected to end up with a son from one of your missions.”

“Come on, before they send out a search party.” Aaron wanted to steer away from the emotional minefield of Jack and his conception. He and Gareth had a spectacular row about it when the mother had a private investigator track him down. Thankfully the PI cooperated with Aaron’s demands. Of course, she didn’t have much of a choice. It was either sign the non-disclosure confidentiality agreement or become a guest of MI6. She chose to sign the NDA. Aaron was given the name and address of the mother and together they worked out what would happen after she had given birth.

Those were a tough few months, but he and Gareth got through it and Aaron knew they were stronger for it.

Walking into the library, Aaron saw that Tony and Edward were there as well as almost the rest of the family. Crispin was absent, as usual. His own mother was off on some charity tour, and Aunt Isabella would come to visit after dinner.

“Ah, Aaron. Did Jack show you his pride and joy?” George smiled, the pride on his face had Aaron smiling as well. He let Gareth go to give his Uncle a hug.

“He did. I’m impressed by how much he did himself. Reminds of our own Ashcroft at that age.”

“Yes, well as much fun as he had making the computer, I think Jack was out playing football more than he was spending time inside.”

“Have you thought about a club for him yet?” Aaron asked as he walked to the drink cart and poured himself some whiskey.

“There are several in the area that would be perfect for his age. Next days off we are going to go introduce ourselves and figure out which is best for him.”

Aaron handed a glass of alcohol to Gareth as he sat down on the arm of the couch, his own drink in hand. He saw Spencer looking at him curiously.

“I’m sorry, I’m a little confused. Jack obviously looks exactly like Aaron.”

Everyone looked towards Spencer and silence reigned for a few moments. Aaron sipped his whiskey to clear his throat.

“That’s because he is my biological son. Ashcroft adopted him to keep Jack in the family. I wasn’t going to attempt to raise him with the kind of job that I have. But, I see him every chance I am able to.”

Spencer looked like he wanted to say more, but Ashcroft gently touched his knee and shook his head.

Liv and George looked between the men and Aaron could see they had questions, but it wasn’t something he could talk about. What he had to say he would say to Spencer in private.

After the little hiccup, conversation resumed. Gareth kept a possessive hand on Aaron’s leg and Aaron let him. He knew what a difficult time Gareth was having with this whole situation, Aaron wasn’t faring any better. He didn't know how to assuage Gareth’s fear other than to be there and be patient.

Dinner went surprisingly well. Spencer was seated in front of Aaron with Ash next to him, Aaron had no illusions to what that was about. Q was taking control of an awkward situation. Spencer and Aaron kept looking at each other, then finally Spencer broke the ice.

“Did you know that the Potato Chip, or what you guys call crisps was invented by a chef of Indigenous descent in Saratoga Springs New York? A guest at the Moon Lake Lodge had sent back his food because he didn’t like the thick-cut French Fried potatoes on his plate. The chef, George Crum, took the plate and cut the fries thinner, the guest was still not happy. So, Chef Crum decided to try to get even with the guest and sliced the potato very think then fried them crisp. He thought the guest would be unhappy, but surprisingly, the guest loved them. After that, the Saratoga Crisps were added to the menu. Later they were packaged for resale, and the ubiquitous potato chips were born.” Spencer smirked as he picked up a homemade crisp that was on his plate and munched on it.

Chef had made, in honor of Spencer staying with them, American hamburgers and crisps for dinner. Of course, these were no ordinary hamburgers, but the simple fare had delighted everyone at the table.

“I did not know that, Spencer.” Aaron chuckled as he picked up a crisp and munched on it. It felt like one of those long conversations he and Spencer would have on one of their ‘dates’. Aaron had enjoyed the man’s company, and conversation. They could talk on a variety of subjects and never get tired. Something new would always pop up.

“Did you know that crisps are one of the number one snacks in England?” Aaron fired back as he munched on one of his own crisps.

“I missed talking to you.” Spencer looked down at his plate startled that he had blurted that out.

“Spencer,” Aaron sighed as he picked up his napkin and wiped off his hands. “I know we should talk, but not at the dinner table.”

“No. I guess that conversation is best left for some privacy.”

Aaron turned to Gareth who was looking at Aaron with his brows knitted together.

“Just talking, Gareth. Nothing more. Ash wants him for Q-Branch and clearing the air between us will only make a better working environment,” Aaron whispered in his lover’s ear.

“Look, I know. I can’t help how I feel and you can’t expect me to accept this so quickly,” Gareth whispered back. Aaron looked at Gareth and kissed him, his free hand was on Gareth’s thigh, gently squeezing, trying to reassure the man that he wasn’t going anywhere.

Aaron turned back to his food and conversation resumed. Even Gareth spoke with Spencer after he started to get more comfortable around the young man. When dinner was over and people went their separate ways Aaron invited Spencer to his wing of the house, Gareth was right behind. Aaron wasn’t going to keep anything from Gareth, no matter how uncomfortable this whole situation got. Settling in the sitting room, Aaron held up a bottle of scotch. Both Spencer and Gareth said yes.

After settling down next to Gareth, Aaron leaned forward, drink still in his hand.

“Yes, Spencer, you were a job. I can’t apologize for doing that job. But, if I know my cousin as well as I think I do, he wants you for Q-Branch. You’re a brilliant inventor and one of Q-Branch’s specialties is inventions to help us 00’s in the field. So, to that end, we need to clear the air. I’m not expecting us to become the best of friends, but I think we can be at least friendly colleagues.”

Aaron watched as Spencer swirled his drink in his glass then took a sip.

“I don’t like holding onto anger. And, I know that the situation I've found myself in is mostly my fault. I never wanted this. I really thought we were doing something good. But, you have to know something. I fell in love with you and it hurt when you left. Then when a friend at the FBI told me that your place was a bolthole, I felt like a fool.”

Aaron didn’t really know what to say to Spencer. He had not thought someone would fall so fast for him.

“Spencer...”

“No. You don’t have to apologize.”

“I wasn’t.” Aaron sat up and sipped his scotch. “I couldn’t fall in love with you, Spencer. I’m not going to apologize for what happened. I’m an agent of MI6. To be more precise, I am a 00. We do the things for Queen and Country that our regular agents don’t have the stomach for. And before you ask, yes, I have killed. I have seduced, lied, and charmed my way into situations that most agents wouldn’t dream of doing.

“It’s not a pretty life, but I feel that I’m doing something worthwhile. I’m just lucky that I have an understanding partner.” Aaron turned to Gareth and smiled softly as he took Gareth’s hand and kissed his knuckles. “I don’t take stupid chances like other agents because I have a life and family to come back to.”

“So, I was what, a honeypot mission?”

Aaron turned to see the sad, cold look in Spencer’s eyes.

“Yes. My mission was to find out who were the people responsible for the code that was being whispered about among various message boards. I tracked you down, was told to make contact, and to seduce you to get close to finding out just what we were dealing with.”

Spencer shoved off the couch and started to pace. Aaron didn’t blame him for his anger.

“You couldn’t have just told me all of this? You couldn’t have just asked me?”

“Would you have told me if I asked?”

Spencer sighed as he sat back down and deflated.

“No. No, I wouldn’t. I would have wondered where you got your information and I would have distrusted you from the start. Fuck.” Spencer leaned forward and buried his hand in his hair. Aaron looked at Gareth and tilted his head towards Spencer, asking permission. Gareth nodded and Aaron got down on the floor in front of Spencer.

Aaron gently took Spencer’s hands in his and lifted his chin. Tears fell, but Aaron knew they were tears of frustration and anger.

“I’m sorry you are hurting. I didn’t set out to make you fall in love with me. Somewhere along the line I did come to care for you, as a friend. I enjoyed our conversations. Your mind is rather beautiful and there is someone out there for you, Spencer. I can understand if you want nothing to do with me, but I hope that at some point we can become friends.”

Spencer sat up and took Aaron’s hand and held it.

“I liked our conversations too. You were one of the first people that didn’t shy away from me when I rambled. You even talked sci-fi with me. I have a habit of falling for people I know I shouldn’t.” Spencer let out a breath as he flopped back. He turned his gaze to Gareth and softly laughed. “You must be one amazing man to deal with all of this.”

Aaron turned and looked at Gareth, then turned back and nodded.

“Aaron is worth it. We’ve been partners since college and I can’t see myself with anyone else.”

“If it makes you feel a little better, I’ve promised Gareth no more honeypots. It isn’t worth it. I can find the information another way. I’ll leave the seduction to 006 and 007.”

Aaron heard a snort coming from behind him and knew what Gareth was thinking. Those two would enjoy that a little too much.

“Look, you are a wonderful person, Spencer. And, I will admit that in different circumstances, and if I was a free man, I could see myself falling for you. But, I have someone who loves me despite me being an utter asshole.”

That at least got a genuine laugh from Spencer.

“Now, I promise you that we can help your friend, but I need to know if you know more.”

Spencer shook his head and looked very sad to Aaron.

“I don’t know any more than what I’ve told you. I promise. If I knew more, you’d be the first person I’d tell.”

“Alright, then Q will have to do some digging. We’ll find her and I will protect her.”

“Thank you. I’m kind of tired, I think I’m going back to my room now.”

“Goodnight, Spencer.” Aaron stood and let the man leave. He knew they still had a ways to go, but he felt better for getting it all out in the open.

“You are a good man, Aaron Michael Paddington.”

Aaron softly laughed as he turned to his lover and pulled him up off the settee that they had been sitting on.

“Come on. I want you to fuck me long and hard. I want you to purge that jealousy that I know you are holding onto.” Aaron leaned in and nipped at the bend in Gareth’s neck. He followed the neckline until his mouth was right at Gareth’s ear. “Stake your claim, Gareth. I’m yours, always.” Aaron pulled back and his mouth was taken in a hard kiss. Gareth was going to do exactly as Aaron asked him to.

By the time Aaron was facedown on the bed, Gareth had marked him almost from head to toe. Now he was bringing it home that Aaron was his and his only. Aaron’s hands were curled in the bedclothes under him as Gareth had one hand curled around his shoulder and the other around his waist holding Aaron right where he wanted him.

They were both covered in a sheen of sweat, making filthy grunting noises as they both were pushed closer to that sweet release. Gareth squeezed tight and Aaron knew the man was going to come. Aaron’s cock ached, but he hadn’t been able to let go. Gareth pulled out and flipped Aaron onto his back, then hovered over the top of him as he grabbed Aaron’s cock and hurriedly jacked him off.

“You are mine,” Gareth growled as he again took Aaron’s mouth in possessive kisses.

“Yours, Gareth. Always yours.” Aaron bucked up and cried out as he finally was able to let go and come in Gareth’s hand. “I love you, you stupid git.” Aaron chuffed as he pushed Gareth down on the bed. He knew they needed to clean up, but he was now taking control. Kissing Gareth back just as passionately and positively.

“I know. Fuck, I know you do. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a jealous asshole.” Gareth panted hard as he tried to calm down from the frantic coupling.

Aaron smiled as he gently stroked Gareth’s face and leaned over and kissed him again.

“Then stop it. I’m right here, with you aren’t I?”

Gareth closed his eyes as he pulled on Aaron, wrapping his arms around him. “Yes, you are. I know you aren’t going anywhere. I love you too, Aaron.”

“I’m going to wash up. Want to join me?” Aaron smiled as he slid off the bed holding his hand out for his lover to take. Gareth smiled and let himself be pulled up and walked towards the bathroom. After getting out, they collapsed on the bed with Aaron wrapping around Gareth, holding him close and letting him know he was there.

_________________

The next morning breakfast was a flurry of activity for the family and guests. Aaron wanted to get into the office early to do some research into Spencer’s doctor friend Maeve. Gareth had already left. He had wanted to check on the dogs and make sure they were alright, and to pay the dog sitter for her time.

“So, do you live here all the time?”

Aaron was sipping his coffee when Spencer sat down in front of him, Ashcroft next to Spencer.

“Actually no. But I still have my suite of rooms that Gareth and I use quite often. We have our own flat in London that is our primary residence. The building houses a lot of the agents from Vauxhall Cross. But, this will always be home for me.”

“So all that stuff you told me, you know about your family...” Spencer picked at his plate as Aaron watched him.

“Is all true. Spencer, there was little that I lied to you about. The secret to secret identities is to tell truths you don’t mind others knowing. I’m a Paddington, which bears no small amount of responsibility. I’ve been in the papers, I play up the celebrity my family has through the charity work, parties, and Parliamentary things that we must be involved in. In fact with Edward and myself, our status is the perfect cover. Much of my life has been written about and speculated on, so telling you didn’t put me in any jeopardy. Flying off to exotic locals to promote some family thing while I go do what needs to be done, isn’t a hardship.”

“They’re very nice, your family that is.”

Aaron smiled and looked over to see Edward with his head down and talking to his father. Aaron was lucky that his mother had left his father when she did and that Uncle George and Aunt Liv took them in with open arms.

“They are amazing people. I don’t know if my brother and I would have been as close as we were growing up without them.”

Aaron knew they were headed into some emotional landmines. He knew about Spencer’s mother and him growing up in a household where he didn’t know how she was going to be that day. He felt for the young man, but there was nothing he could do for him other than be a friend.

“My dear cousin here is also quite brilliant himself. He has written many papers over the years under different pseudonyms. When I started at MI5, he actually took some engineering classes to understand some of the inventions I was making. If he wanted, he’d have his own degree.”

“I’m quite happy with what I’ve done, Ash. I’m sorry, but I need to get going. See you soon cousin.”

Aaron had finished his breakfast and put his plate and cup away. He said his goodbyes to the family, grabbed keys to one of the family cars, and headed off towards London. He would return the car back in a few days. Getting to London didn’t take long, but traffic that morning in London was a bit of a horror show. He finally made it to Vauxhall Cross later than he had wanted. After parking, he got upstairs and was sitting at his desk with a steaming cup of tea close to eight a.m.

“Ah, there you are 009.”

Aaron looked up to see Moneypenny hovering in his doorway.

“Moneypenny.”

“Aaron. You had asked me to research something?”

“Yes. Did you find any information?”

“Actually, I did. There is a Dr. Maeve Donovan, Neuroscientist in the State of Virginia. There are reports she had made of a stalker, but then nothing more. The US police decided that the situation had resolved itself and there was no need for them to intervene.”

“And, from the tone of your voice, you don’t think that is what happened.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Alright, thank you, I’ll dig a little deeper.”

Aaron took the file Moneypenny had given him. He spent the next couple of hours gathering even more. When he was done, he knew the best way to approach her, and if he was around, he wanted to take Alec with him. This wasn’t the time for Bond, and other than his penchant for fires and loud booms, Alec could be quite charming and persuasive when it was required.

Aaron gathered up all of the information and headed to M’s office. Seeing Moneypenny at her desk, she just smiled at him and waved him in.

“009, come in.”

“Ma’am. We have a lead on the final part of this damned code. I want permission to lead a mission to retrieve it and the Dr who helped Dr. Reid create part of it. Here is what we have been able to dig up thanks to Moneypenny, and Dr. Reid giving us at least the first name of the woman.” Aaron handed M the file before he sat down and crossed his legs and patiently waited for her to look over the information.

“You’d have to return to the States.”

“I am well aware. I’ve already put in a call to Leiter giving him vague details of what is going on. He already knows part of it, and I don’t believe we will encounter push back from the Americans. It helps that I hold dual citizenship.”

M set the folder aside and leaned on her desk. Aaron knew she was thinking about it. The delicacy of the situation wasn’t lost on Aaron.

“Alright, but on one condition. Don’t take Bond with you, I have a mission for him.”

“I was considering Trevelyan.”

“Just don’t let him set fire to anything we don’t want another Paris incident.”

Aaron almost didn’t keep the chuckle that wanted to escape in.

“No ma’am. I don’t want that either.”

“As soon as you are ready, just send me your mission outline, then get ready to go.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Aaron stood knowing a dismissal when he heard one. Grabbing the file and some other paperwork M had for him, Aaron went back to his office and quickly finished filling out his start of mission reports. He knew what needed to be done and he was one of few that M let run their own mission from start to finish. Sending the reports off to M, Aaron stood and went to Q-Branch to see if Q had made it in.

“Ah, 009, I just got your e-mail. Give me a moment to go over it, then meet me in the equipment room.”

“I’m just going to track down 006 then we’ll both meet you there.”

“Right. Do try to make it quick. I have Bond getting ready for something for M.”

Aaron didn’t say anything just left Q-Branch to go in search of Alec. Thankfully, the man was where Aaron first looked, in the training room working out some type of aggression, Aaron had a feeling it had something to do with James, but there was no way he was going to get in the middle of whatever argument they were on about now. Alec always came down here to work out whatever mad he had going because of his lover and friend.

“Trevelyan, we have a mission.”

“Aaronska. What mission?” Alec stopped and walked over to grab a towel to wipe off his face and upper body from the sweat that was dripping off of him. “And I can suppose that James is not invited?”

“No, he isn’t. This matter required delicacy.”

“And you want me?” Alec’s smile was a little too feral for Aaron’s liking, but the man couldn’t help himself.

“This may require some stealth and possibly a little seduction. Go shower and meet me in my office.”

“Give me ten and I’ll be there.”

Aaron turned and started back towards his office. He started a fresh pot of coffee, the tea on his desk long since forgotten. Aaron knew Alec preferred strong coffee, and only occasionally a good cup of tea. When he finally sat back at his desk, Alec was sauntering in.

“What has you so worried, my friend,” Alec asked, his Russian accent thick with worry.

“I don’t know. This code worried me, but there is something else that is going on underneath all of this. It feels odd. Like this is another link in a far greater chain. When talking to Dr. Reid, though he had ideas to try to help control certain elements on the Internet, he was steered towards the idea of controlling the Internet. Getting into the matrix, or the main core of the overall system is difficult at best. Only one or two hackers worldwide have ever had the ability to do it. This code is extraordinarily sophisticated. While I don’t doubt Dr. Reid’s abilities, it feels like someone has been pulling his strings, tempting that side of him that is compelled to right the world’s wrongs.”

Alec regarded Aaron for a moment and looked like he was seriously thinking about everything that had been happening around MI6 lately.

“You’re nervous leaving MI6, aren’t you?”

“Something isn’t right, Alec. M is being evasive, she is sending Bond on some mission that is not on the books. There is someone here in Q-Branch that has Tony’s instincts on alert. Q is nervous as well. Moneypenny is sticking close to M. Well, after the disaster of hers and Bond’s mission to retrieve the hard drive with classified agent information, I’m not surprised at that. This is all strangely connected and I don’t know how.”

“Both Tony and Q have been wary about the laptop that Bond retrieved. Neither of them has tried to see what is on it as of yet.”

“No, they haven’t. And, Gareth has said that a Parliamentary meeting is taking place to question M’s place and whether she needs to retire. They are worried about James and the destruction he has left in his wake as of late. We need to get that code and get it secured.”

“When do we leave?”

“As soon as we see Q and secure our tech.”

Aaron and Alec left the office and went in search of Q. He was already in the equipment room and had two kits ready for them. He quickly went over what was in each. Mostly standard stuff, with a few bells and whistles. After the two men signed out their kits, Q handed Aaron another bag, this was a new sniper rifle that he had been working on.

“Here, even since Moneypenny's accidental shooting of Bond, I have been tinkering with your rifle. I know you are a skilled sniper, but I was thinking about how to make your job better.”

Q took the weapon out of its bag and quickly put it together.

“Your scope now has a small computer inside to accurately translate weather, wind, distance. I’ve also tried to incorporate a more pinpoint accurate scope by incorporating your red dot sight into your main scope. Your safety is keyed to your DNA. If someone that isn’t you tries to fire your rifle, they will get a nasty surprise.”

Aaron took the rifle, chambered a round, and looked through the scope. He turned on the new tech Q had incorporated and found that it wasn’t as cumbersome as he assumed it might be. The sight appeared to be pinpoint accurate. He wished he could play with it for a bit before the mission, but he wanted to be up in the air as soon as possible.

The private jet they were going to be using was one of the Paddington jets that both he and Edward traded off using. It made getting their tech in and our of various countries easier. They were going in under the guise of a competition shooting team. Aaron knew from past experience that an International Rifleman’s Association competition was being held that very weekend. Tony did some hacking and got Aaron and Alec put on as a team on the roster. They would attend the competition the first day, then when it was their downtime, search for Dr. Maeve Donovan. They had the general idea of where she might be in hiding. The plan should go off without a hitch, but like every mission, there were contingency plans.

“This is spectacular, Q.”

“Thank you, 009. And here is your competition bag. Your long-range rifle, handguns, and short-range rifle are all in there. The sniper can be concealed, as you can see, in the bottom of the case. It is lined with a new alloy that X-Rays cannot see through. All they will see will be the competition registered weapons.” Q turned to Alec and went over his kit, as well as the guns being assigned to him. After it was all done, Q looked at Aaron with a worried look in his eyes.

“Be careful 009. I don’t like any of this.”

“Neither do I. I’m going to stop and go over a few things with Tony then we are off.”

Q didn’t say anything as he turned to work on projects he had been procrastinating on. When Aaron and Alec made it back up to Q-Branch Tony was there at his desk.

“Here, the frequency of the new earwigs Q developed. I want you running this mission for us, Tony.”

“I got your files. You feeling the strangeness of this whole thing as well?”

“Yes. The more I ponder this situation, the more I believe that Dr. Reid was subtly manipulated into creating this code. Whoever did it, whoever is behind it, I am almost positive they will try to interfere in us getting to Dr. Donovan. Please, Tony, whatever you do, keep this information to yourself. I don’t want Spencer trying to tip off his friend.”

Tony leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers together.

“There aren’t a lot of people that we know that could pull this off. Or, do you think this is an unknown for us?”

Aaron looked around and caught one of the analysts paying too much attention to him and Tony as they were talking. Aaron thought for a moment and switched from English to Italian.

“Agent Wolstein has been trying to eavesdrop on our conversation.”

Tony’s brows almost disappeared under his bangs as tipped back even more in his chair. He nodded his head like Aaron had said something completely different. Then in perfect Italian Tony smiled and leaned forward before he spoke.

“Oh, I’ve got him on a short leash. He’s been doing something that I can’t figure out yet. I can’t say he definitely is the mole, but my instincts are screaming at me.” Tony laughed, which Aaron followed suit with Alec laughing as well.

“Be careful.”

“Back at ya’ Cos.”

Aaron left but knew Alec was flirting with Tony, keeping up the pretense. He had called ahead and had the plane start their pre-flight check. By the time he and Alec were on the road, Aaron knew the plane would be ready for take-off. Aaron gripped the steering wheel tight and worried. There were just too many unknowns for his liking.

_______________

“Oh! Mr. Hotchner, it’s so good to see you at this year’s competition. We were getting a little worried when no one saw your name pop up. There must have been a glitch. When I saw that you had entered, well I was just beside myself.”

“Cheryl, it is very good to see you again. Please, meet my partner, Alec Westfield.”

“Mr. Westfield. Very good to meet you. Now, I see here that you are only exhibiting this year?”

Aaron smiled his dimple-popping smile, charming the competition coordinator if the blush on her cheeks meant something.

“Well, I have won the Internationals four years in a row now. I thought it might be time to give others a fighting chance.”

Cheryl laughed and Aaron could almost feel that Alec wanted to roll his eyes. Behind the normally stoic and shy demeanor in everyday life, when Aaron got into a role, he could be extremely charming.

“I have your tent all set-up for you. After the first round of demonstrations, there are seats near the judges. You’re cleared to give your opinion to them, but you can’t score any of the contestants.”

“Thank you, Cheryl. I think we'll  just go and get settled in our tent. Take a few moments to...relax.” Cheryl’s eyes widened as she did a quick look between the two men. The innuendo was not lost on her, thank god.

“I will see that no one disturbs you until the opening ceremonies.” Cheryl grinned wickedly and winked at them. Aaron laughed and took Alec’s hand, further cementing the idea that they were partners in life as well as in shooting.

They got to the tent, put out the Do Not Disturb sign, and got to work.

“Tony, you there?” Aaron touched his earwig to connect to Tony.

“I’m here.”

“We’re in. The coordinator is Cheryl Lindstrom. This will be a bit tricky to slip away.”

“If you have any problems I can hack into their computers and cause a diversion.” Aaron heard Tony clacking away, most likely doing other work while running the mission for Aaron.

“I don’t foresee any. We have to be here for the first round of demonstrations, but then it’s a five-hour gap in between. We’re about forty-five minutes from Donovan’s location. As soon as we can, we’ll slip away and connect back with you.”

“Got it. Also, mission W has been started. Q put Dr. Reid on Wolstein. This should be fun.”

Aaron almost choked on the water he was drinking at the glee in his cousin’s voice. Tony could on most days be as bloodthirsty as any 00. He just preferred his computers to being out in the field. Though he did enjoy investigating. Aaron wondered if he should speak with M to see about making Tony a support agent.

Aaron was rearranging his kit, and the weapons in his weapons bag. The sniper rifle could be disconnected from the main case and taken separately. The locks to keep it all together were cleverly hidden and thumbprint controlled. It was a design Q had come up with early on before he became Quartermaster.

Aaron pulled the handle out, set the sniper rifle off to the side, made sure he had two sidearms in there as well. After that was set aside, he worked on getting his exhibition weapons checked over. There was silence between him and Alec while they worked on their two-fold mission parameters.

“The starting bell is going to go off in five minutes. First will be introducing the competitors. Next, those of us exhibiting. Some quick fanfare, then my event is first up. Long-range with a sniper rifle no scope, but allowed a spotter. Here, you will be my spotter. I take four shots, one at 200 meters, 300 meters, 500 meters, and 1,000 meters. You will have to spot me for all four. Then once we are done, we get back here and our stand-ins will already be in place next to the judges. We can get on the road and head to Donovan’s house. We will have approximately three hours to wrap this up and get back here for the second exhibition. Are you ready for this?” Aaron turned to Alec as he got his rifle ready.

“Of course. I am always ready,” Alec smiled that crooked smile of his that didn’t always reflect in his eyes. Aaron knew that what they did for a living took little pieces out of them each time. He was lucky, he had a family to ground him, and Gareth to keep him from falling too far into that darkness. But, Alec didn’t have that. He had James, and Aaron knew they fed off of each other and Aaron wondered if it was good for them or if one day they would self destruct.

The anticipation was ramping up, and when the opening ceremonies started, he cleared his thoughts and let himself go to that place inside that he had learned a long time ago in the military. That place where there were no thoughts, no emotions, just him and the rifle in his hand.

He sat very still and let the introductions of the competitors go right by him. When his name was called, Aaron was ready. He waved to the crowd, as did Alec, then after the bit of fanfare he had mentioned to Alec, it was time for him to put on a show.

______________________

Tony had been listening to what was happening with Aaron, not paying attention to what his boss was doing. Dr. Reid was handling Wolstein very well, and the more Dr. Reid kept the agent distracted the more Tony thought the man was involved. He was getting agitated, but Tony was too focused on what was happening with Aaron and the mission.

“Buggering hell,” Q exclaimed rather loudly. Tony looked to see what was wrong. It took a moment to figure it out. Then it was almost too late as the loud boom sounded, and the very foundations of SIS rocked under him. There were screams and chaos, lights went out, and debris fell everywhere.

“What the fuck happened?” Tony yelled as he tackled Q out of the way of parts of the roof falling. Dr. Reid wrestled something away from Wolstein. Tony couldn’t tell what it was but it looked like some kind of trigger.

“Get to the tunnels. I’ll get Dr. Reid and get us the fuck out of here.”

Tony pulled out his gun and didn’t hesitate to shoot Wolstein. The trigger started to fall to the floor and Dr. Reid grabbed it. There were three more triggers, that meant three more bombs.

“Fuck, what the hell did you do that for?” Spencer yelled at Tony before Tony grabbed him and started to run. The building was still rocking and debris continued to fall all around them. Tony wasn’t gentle as he pulled a stunned and reluctant Dr. Reid along with him.

Getting to the tunnels there were boats at the ready to transport them to the secondary Q-Branch location.

“I did that, Dr. Reid, because that man was a traitor. He had a dead man's switch in his hand and if it had fallen, the rest of this building would have been blown to fucking hell. It’s bad enough as it is. We need to get out of here and regroup.”

Dr. Reid looked shell-shocked, but Tony couldn’t help him. He wasn’t even sure if he could get Aaron on the line when they got to the secondary location. Then, there was M and Mallory to think about. Tony hoped that Bond was watching over them. If anything happened to Gareth in that meeting, Tony wasn’t sure that Aaron wouldn’t go rogue and create a swath of destruction that would rival even the worst of Bond’s actions.

“But, you just killed him.”

“We can debate the efficacy of what happened later. Right now, good agents, my friends are hurt or dead, I don’t know which. And to be honest I’m more worried about Mallory. If anything and I mean anything were to happen to Gareth, you do not want to know what Aaron would do.”

The boat pulled up to the underground bunker and Tony got out, then helped Dr. Reid out as well. They took a twisting path until it opened up to see several agents working to get computer systems up and running.

“Wolstein is dead. He had a dead man switch. There are three more bombs somewhere. I need agents to get out there and find them.” Tony yelled above the din. Everyone stopped and looked towards him. Tony knew every single one of them would want to get out there, but they needed to do this quiet, and fast. The problem was Vauxhall Cross was huge and there were other people in the building.

“Eddie, I need you to coordinate a search party. I’ll work with Q to try to triangulate where these devices could be. We don’t know anything, so everyone, be careful.”

Edward clasped Tony on the shoulder then started to herd the surviving 00’s into search parties. Tony took out his phone and tried to get Gareth on the phone. When that didn’t work, his fear about what was going on during the Parliamentary meeting scared him.

“Dr. Reid, I need you to work with Q to get these systems operational. I’m going to get to a computer and try to reconnect with 009 and 006.”

Thankfully Dr. Reid didn’t argue with Tony and did as asked. There was going to be chaos for the next few hours, but this was why Tony was their in-house coordinator and tactical expert. He plopped down at a workstation and started to try to figure out just what the fucking hell happened.

_____________________

Aaron was positioned on the roof opposite where Dr. Maeve Donovan was being held hostage by a young dark-haired woman. Alec tied to be as quiet as possible climbing the outer stairs to the roof. Aaron was too far away to read the lips of the brunette in his sights. There was no intelligence on her, but Aaron’s gut told him this woman was Donovan’s stalker, and he and Alec had stumbled on a  volatile situation.

Alec worked on getting himself up the roof and behind the woman, but if she made any type of threatening move toward Donovan, Aaron would not hesitate to shoot.

Aaron had to stop worrying about why communication with Tony had been cut off all of a sudden. He wasn’t sure what was going on and at the moment he couldn’t worry, he and Alec had a mission to finish. Aaron knew that for now, they were on their own.

Aaron watched through his scope as Alec crested the stairs then crouched into a drop position. Alec was being as quiet as possible.

“Alec, be careful she has a gun and has it trained on the Doctor. I need you to get her away and I’ll take the shot.”

Alec nodded once that he understood. Aaron’s plan was one in the shoulder, wound her but not kill her. Aaron was surprised at how calm the Doctor was, and didn’t alert the woman as Alec made his way across to her. A deliberate crunching on the ground had the woman turning and shooting wild towards Alec. Aaron saw his opportunity and took the shot. As soon as she was down, he broke down his weapon and was down the building and across making his way up to Alec and the Doctor.

When he climbed over he ran towards Alec and the woman. Taking his phone out, Aaron called for an ambulance. Quickly they field dressed the wound, tied the screaming, deranged woman up, then grabbed the Doctor’s hands, and ran. It wasn’t until they were in a safe place that the Doctor finally spoke.

“Who the hell are you two and what the fuck just happened.”

“Dr. Donovan, we are here for the code that you helped Dr. Spencer Reid to create. We would like you to come with us voluntarily bringing your laptop and the code with you. I would rather not take it from you.” Aaron stood with his arms across his chest looking as intimidating as possible.

“How do you know about that?”

“Dr. Spencer Reid is currently a guest of MI6.”

The Doctor’s eyes went comically wide as she backed up to her sofa and fell back against it.

“You’re spies?” The woman whispered and Aaron could see the panic set in. This was the part that Alec was very good at. He sat down next to the woman and took her hands in his.

“Yes, we are. Now, we need to get you out of here because some very bad people are going to be coming after you trying to get your part of this code. I promise you that we can and will keep you safe.”

Dr. Donovan looked between the two men and nodded.

“Alright, lets quickly pack you some things, then we need to get out of here. We are going to lay a false trail so that whoever is out there waiting in the wings will be confused and hopefully it gives us time to get to our plane and get in the air. This may take a few days at the most.”

“I understand. What’s going to happen to Diane?”

“Is that the woman who was holding you hostage?” Alec asked.

“Yes. She’s very sick. I feel bad that it’s come to this.”

“I’m sure the authorities will take care of her. An ambulance was already dispatched. Now, come on, Dr. we need to get a move on.”

“Please, call me Maeve.” The woman stood and started to throw clothes and other things into a bag. She then grabbed her laptop and several external hard drives and threw those in a separate bag. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Alec stood up next to her and grabbed one of the bags.

“You are taking this rather well, Dr.”

“Spencer had told me once that what we were doing might make people uncomfortable. He just didn’t think anyone would come after us for it, but knowing what we created, the potential for disaster, I’m not surprised you’re here.”

Aaron could admit that he was impressed with the woman. Her calmness didn’t trip anything for Aaron, he felt she was being sincere. It didn’t mean that he, nor Alec were going to trust her right away, but for now, Aaron kept an open mind.

He went first out the door to make sure that no one was there, then Maeve came next with Alec at her back. It wasn’t long before they were in their vehicle and speeding back to the shooting competition. Aaron needed to maintain the cover, and then they would leave that night. He had a three-day plan to try to throw off anyone that would try to follow their trail.

Once back at the competition he tried to get a hold of Tony and nothing was coming over his comms. He had Alec try and he too had nothing. Next Aaron took his phone out and tried calling M on the secure line, but nothing.

“What the hell is going on?” Aaron said under his breath. He then tried Gareth, Edward, and Tony in that order. When he couldn’t get ahold of anyone, his last resort was to call Spencer. That too went unanswered.

“Alec, anything?”

Alec shook his head, worry started to settle in Aaron’s gut. Something was terribly wrong. When the sound for the next exhibition came up, which was one of Aaron’s he put aside his worries and hoped that Alec got through, or found out what was going on. Maeve was tucked up on the cot in the corner of the tent with a blanket around her. The high of the adrenaline she had been riding was fading and Aaron knew that this was the time that panic was going to set in. He left her in Alec’s hands and went out to keep his cover intact.

Thirty minutes later he was done and knew they could leave. He wasn’t needed for the second day.

“You need to see this.” Alec shoved his phone at Aaron. There was rough video footage of Vauxhall Cross, an explosion, and people on the street panicking. Aaron’s knees gave out as he lowered himself onto the bench just under him.

“When?”

“When we were getting her out of the hands of her stalker. A few moments ago, I got this from Bond.”

Don’t come home right away. Traitor found and killed. G and M are okay. Will update soon.

“That was an encrypted message he sent me about an hour ago. What do you want to do?”

“I already had a three-day plan in place. This changes things. But, I have a place we can hole up for a few days that no one knows about. We’ll get going once I’m cleared by Cheryl to leave. I need to keep this cover pristine.”

“Understood.” Alec laid a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Bond said he’s fine and I believe him. You’ll get back to him, Aaron.”

Aaron took a deep shaky breath and nodded. It was going to be a long few days.

___________________

It took a few hours for the confusion to die down, but when it did, six agents, a couple of office staff, and one 00 were dead. Q finally got communications back online and M, Bond, and Mallory were walking into the bunker.

“Oh, thank God you all are okay.”

“What do we know?” Mallory asked as he moved towards Q, Bond was keeping a possessive stance with M, not letting her out of his sight.

“Not very much. But, I’m sure it has to do with the hard drive. I have a secure laptop over here that isn’t connected to the main systems. I’ve already got it decoding.”

“Does this have anything to do with Silva?” M asked as she stepped forward.

Q looked between Bond, M, and Mallory thoroughly confused.

“Okay someone better explain what the hell is going on.”

“When Bond brought in the hard drive, he also brought in Raoul Silva. He was the one that was selling the information on our agents.”

“He was also a former 00. One of M’s orphans as she so fondly calls them.” Mallory looked right pissed and Q didn’t blame him. This part of Bond’s mission to retrieve the hard drives had been kept from him. The decoding was going fairly quickly and Q worried about what was on that hard drive.

“Wolstein was most likely working for Silva. They wanted the hard drive, and I believe they were going to go after the code. If someone like Silva had gotten their hands on that code...” M didn’t say anymore as she pressed her lips together and Q wondered what it was she was clamming up about.

“Where is he now.”

“Probably dead. That explosion did a lot of damage.”

“Not necessarily.” Tony walked over and stood next to Q. “The cell that he was housed in was insular from most of SIS. There is a good possibility that he survived.”

“Well fuck.” Mallory spun around and glared at M. “You need to get your fucking house in order, Olivia, or this will be your retirement.” Mallory stormed off and Q watched him go. When Edward appeared, Mallory engaged him in conversation and Q could tell he looked worried.

“What agents do we have in the field, Q?”

Swallowing, because he was now worried himself. If this was all connected, Aaron and Alec were in serious danger.

“009 and 006 are in Virginia retrieving the last of the code. 003 and 002 are in Tunisia trying to quell an uprising. 001 and 008 are in Pakistan running interference with some intelligence. The rest of the agents, all except 005 who was killed in the explosion, are here.”

M closed her eyes and marched away for a moment, Q knew she needed some time.

“Bond, get a message to 006 to tell them to lay low while we get this figured out. If it is Silva, what are we going to do?”

Bond didn’t say anything he just typed out a message and sent it through the secure line that was on all 00’s phones. The computer behind Q, the one hooked up to the hard drive finally was decoded. Only one word scrolled across, Skyfall.

“Shit.” Bond growled as he looked at the word that scrolled by, then a complicated series of computer code flashed on the screen.

“Well, I’m glad I didn’t hook that up to anything important.”

“Why, what is it?” Bond asked as he watched the code scrolling by. A whistle to his right had him looking over at Tony who had come to see what was happening.

“That is a serious worm. That could have caused a lot of damage. You were smart to hook it to something that isn’t connected to these secondary systems. If we had lost these, we would be completely fucking screwed.”

“Bond, what is Skyfall?”

“Somewhere I need to go.” Bond walked off and didn’t say anything else. The others were wondering what it meant. Q turned to M who just watched Bond leave, she knew more than she was saying and Q had a terrible feeling that things were going to get very, very bad.

_____________________

Aaron laid back on the bed in the cabin that had been his father’s. When his father died he had left everything to Aaron, which Aaron never really knew why. He hated the man who had made the first nine years of his life a living hell. The cabin wasn’t really a cabin, it was a house in a secluded area of woods in a secluded area of the mountains about three hours outside of where Aaron had grown up until his mother got them away from there. A vacation house Malcolm had called it, but what it really was, was a place to bring whatever woman he was fucking to impress and woo her.

“Are you alright?” Maeve asked him as she brought in a cup of tea for him. He took the thick mug and held it for a moment before he sipped. A tiny smile creased his lips showing his approval. “I do know how to make a proper cup of tea.”

“Thank you. You didn’t have to.”

“You saved my life.”

“We haven’t saved it yet. Something is happening and I have no idea what is going on. All of these things are connected, but I’m not sure how. All I know is we need to stay here for a couple more days, then we’ll move on. We should get to the airport in two days from then.”

“You really don’t think this is over?”

“No. No, I don’t.”

Maeve looked scared and Aaron didn’t know how to comfort her. He was trying his best not to have a freakout. He felt like he should be at headquarters, but here he was babysitting one of Dr. Reid’s colleagues.

“I found some things in the freezer. And there was pasta and some sauce that is still good. I think I can get something decent for us to eat.”

“It should be fully stocked. Gareth and I come here every so often just to getaway. We will have to make do with what we have. We can’t go to the market or have anything delivered. If I remember correctly we have some powdered milk stashed away and some things for emergencies. The weather can change rather drastically up here.”

“Alright. Then we’ll make do.” Maeve smiled but it was a hollow smile. Aaron just felt tired. He hadn’t asked where Alec went, the man was most likely in the basement being nosy and playing with something he probably shouldn’t. Aaron wasn’t going to go find him as of yet. Closing his eyes he worked on trying to center himself. He needed to not worry about his family, or about Gareth unitl he heard more. They had a mission to finish and Aaron was determined to get Maeve to England safely.

Just when Aaron had started to drift, his secure phone started to buzz. Picking it up he saw that it was Gareth calling. Aaron was cautious though.

“Hello,” he answered with no little suspicion in his voice.

“It’s me. I’m sure you’ve seen the footage and heard the news by now. We just got back the security systems. I wanted to call before but I haven’t left the bunker.”

“Bunker?”

Gareth softly chuckled and it put Aaron at ease.

“Yes, the emergency bunker for MI6.”

“Right. I’m just glad to hear your voice. I was trying not to worry. Bond had told us you were okay, but I just couldn’t...” Aaron choked up a little as he gripped the phone in his hand. “I can’t lose you Gareth.”

“Aaron, I’m fine. Not a scratch on me, I promise. And for the record, I cannot lose you either.”

“Can you tell me at all what is happening?”

“An ex-agent who has gone rogue is on a vendetta against M and the agency. One of M’s Orphans. Raoul Silva, was the one that stole the hard drive with the information on our operatives. When Bond came back from his mission to retrieve it, he had brought Silva into custody. Seems M kept that information close to her chest. Bond was ordered not to say anything. Silva had someone on the inside.”

“Wolstein.”

“Yes. DiNozzo shot and killed him before he could do more damage. There were four bombs altogether. Thankfully only one went off. Though we did lose 005 and a few regular agents and staff.”

“Shit.”

“Yes, and Wolstein, after Q found his digital trail, was going to go after Sherlock for the rest of the codes. Mycroft is dealing with getting him and his houseguest into a secure location.”

“So it is all connected.”

“Yes. Dr. Reid recognized something in the worm that Silva had implanted in the hard drive. Silva has been manipulating this whole affair from the beginning.”

“If he got control of the internet...”

“Yes. None of us want to think about that. Where are you now?” Gareth sounded tired and Aaron didn’t blame him.

“Father’s cabin.”

“What are your plans.”

“Stay another day, then doing some backtracking before we head to the airport. We have Dr. Donovan secured and she has her laptop along with all of her own external drives. She said her part of the code is on one of those drives. She’s cooperating, for now.”

“Get home and stay safe.”

“I will. I promise.”

“Aaron...”

“Gareth, this is a promise I intend to keep.”

Aaron hung up, if he had stayed talking to Gareth any longer his worry for his lover would have ramped up, but for now, he knew the man was safe, along with the rest of his family. He wondered how Tony was doing, this was now his second kill. The first had been several months back when someone had come after Aaron when they were, ironically, just out to dinner. The operative had a small grudge against Aaron and wanted him dead. Tony, thankfully, figured it out before Aaron could reach his own gun to take the man out. Aaron knew his cousin was fearless, but it never got easy to take a life, even when it was for the safety of the world at large.

Aaron decided he needed a good nap. After dinner plans would be made and hopefully this whole huge mess would be done by the time they got back to England.

_______________

Mycroft Holmes strode into the Bunker with purpose. Reports for the last three days since the attack had been coming into his office fast and furious about the fuck up going on at MI6. A rogue agent. One of M’s pets no less was causing no small amount of havoc. He was not happy, and when he wasn’t happy, the Queen Mum was furious.

“What the hell is going on around here?” Mycroft strode into the middle of the Bunker and everyone stopped what they were doing. Everyone was scared shitless to approach. All but Tony and Q that was.

“My, you’ve been getting all of our reports as we are figuring all of this out.”

“Tony, thank god you’re all right.” Mycroft let his guard down for but a moment and Tony saw the flash of affection.

“I’m fine. Are John and Sherlock secure?”

Mycroft let out a long-suffering sigh and sat down in the nearest chair.

“As secure as my brother will allow. If he doesn’t stay put, I threatened to make him have tea with the Queen. He will cooperate, at least for now.”

Tony snorted out a laugh despite the situation.

“That is mean, My. I don’t know who would have it worse, Sherlock or the Queen.”

“Oh, I can assure you it would be much worse for my brother.” Mycroft’s smirk at that continued to have Tony laughing.

“I would pay very good money to see that.”

“I’m sure you would, Anthony, but as I said he is being good for now.” Mycroft crossed his legs and leaned back looking at the controlled chaos around him. “Now, where is M so I can find out what the bloody hell is actually going on. And where is her pet neanderthal.”

“I’ll go find M.” Q patted Tony on the arm and left to go see where M had hidden herself.

“Bond left about five hours ago when the word Skyfall scrolled across the computer screen. Q was smart enough not to hook up the hard drive to the main systems. He had a quarantined system set aside. The hard drive had a worm on it. My, you have been given everything we have.” Tony cocked a hip to the side and crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know what else she can tell you.”

“She can explain her actions when it comes to agents like Silva and even Bond. Things are changing, Anthony, and I do not want you or your cousins caught in her crossfire.”

Tony was looking at Mycroft about to say something more when Mycroft saw Q flying through the Bunker. He stopped in front of Tony and Mycroft, out of breath.

“She’s gone. Her phone is here and the tracker we had on her is gone as well.”

“You lost your boss?” Mycroft stood and slipped his hands in his pockets.

“My, you know very well something could have happened in the confusion. We are still getting things settled and getting Agents back here from the field. M could have left on her own. We don’t actually keep her on a leash you know.”

Mycroft rocked back on his feet and regarded Tony and Q for a moment.

“Find her and the moment you do, tell her she is wanted at Home Office. No excuses. I will leave Mallory with all of you, he will be your temporary M till you lot can find Olivia Mansfield.”

“Yes, sir.” Q watched as Mycroft walked out of the Bunker, his two guards on his heels.

________________

“That could have gone better.” Tony sighed as he turned to Q. “Now, we need to coordinate a search.”

“I’ll gather the 00’s and get them started. I have a terrible feeling.”

“Before we jump to conclusions, let’s get the search going.”

Q got the remaining 00’s together and gave them search parameters. M had to be somewhere they just needed time to find her while they finished doing damage control elsewhere. He was not looking forward to telling Aaron and Alec.

This whole affair was turning into a terrible mess and too many disparate avenues were happening all at once. Q was trying to keep it all together, but he didn’t know how.

“Is there anything I can do?” Spencer appeared at Q’s side wanting to do something.

“Yes, here take this phone, call this number and update 009 on what is going on. Tell him M is missing and Bond has gone off half-cocked. Tell him the message from the worm was Skyfall, see if either he or 006 knows what the fuck that means.”

Spencer took the phone and the phone number found a quiet place, and dialed.

_____________________

Aaron’s phone woke him up in the middle of the night. They were staying at some seedy motel after almost getting run off the road by two of Silva’s men. They had found Aaron, Alec, and Maeve. That night they found the out-of-the way place that creeped out even Aaron. Taking out his pocket knife Aaron dug out Alec’s subdermal tracker under the explicit directions of Maeve. She then quickly sewed him up, then it was Aaron’s turn. After they crushed the trackers hoping that was going to be the last of Silva’s men. Aaron really didn’t want any more bodies piling up. The two times they had been found, Alec and Aaron had been able to hide the bodies, strip them of any identification as well as the vehicles then called Felix to let him know the coordinates of the dead men. He knew the CIA would take care of them.

“Hopefully we can make it to the airstrip in the early morning. With these trackers destroyed they shouldn’t follow us anymore. That is if there are any of Silva’s men left.” Aaron had said before they left that hotel and found another one soon after. After food and a meager shower, all three of them were exhausted and Aaron collapsed from fatigue. He had been running on pure adrenaline for far too long.

Cursing out the phone for waking him he knew he sounded surly when he answered.

“Paddington.”

“Aaron?” Aaron sat up at that voice and scrubbed his face to try to wake up.

“Spencer, what the hell are you calling me at this ungodly hour for? I just got to sleep.”

“M is missing.”

“What?!” Aaron bolted up in bed disturbing his companion. Alec sat up looking very confused.

Spencer went through what had happened over the last couple of days since Aaron had contact with headquarters. Spencer told Aaron about the Skyfall message, which had Aaron cursing, then the fact that M was missing.

“Tell Q that Skyfall is James’ childhood home. Silva sent a message that they were going to meet there. Look, I’m hanging up in a moment. Tell Q and Mallory that we are leaving right now and getting to the plane. We’ll fly directly to Scotland and get to Skyfall as quickly as we can.”

“But, what about Maeve?”

“She’ll just have to stick with us and keep her head down. Don’t worry, we’ve kept her alive so far, we’ll make sure she gets to England. We had to take out our trackers because we think that is how Silva kept finding us. When I hang up you won’t hear from myself or Alec until we get back to the UK.” Aaron hung up abruptly and scrambled out of bed. He turned to Alec and said, “We have to leave now. Get her up and make sure she’s all packed. Silva led James to Skyfall. We have got to get in the air as soon as we can.”

Alec got up and got Maeve up and helped her dress. Both Aaron and Alec were still in their regular clothes just in case. The three of them scrambled to the car, Aaron had left money and the keys in the room, and in moments he was speeding down the road toward the airstrip which was, thankfully only about thirty minutes away. The plane had been refueled and ready to go whenever they arrived.

Getting there was no problem, no one came after them. Aaron ushered Maeve into the plane and in less than twenty minutes they were in the air. The flight was going to take a little over seven hours, Aaron hoped that the pilots could push it and get there sooner. Maeve was tucked up in a corner and quickly fell asleep again.

“Why would Silva go to Skyfall?” Alec asked as he stretched out across several seats making himself comfortable.

“I don’t know. Neither of us knows the whole story. Something happened between Silva and James when James went after that hard drive. But, he kept all of that to himself because M ordered him to. There is a lot about all of this that I don’t know and I don’t fucking like it.”

“You’re cursing, get some sleep Aaron, there isn’t much we can do until we get to where we are going. Do you think we’ll be too late?”

“I don’t know. James has a head start. If we know him as well as we think we do he is going to drive there, not fly. But, he has about six, seven hours on us so no telling what we’ll be walking into.”

“Do you think Silva’s men took M?”

Aaron turned his head and looked out the window for a moment to think. It was the most plausible scenario to his mind, but at this point anything was possible.

“It’s the most plausible.”

“What do you think is Silva’s game?”

“He wants revenge. For what, I’m not sure. Maybe one of M’s orphans that got tired of her games.”

“She’s a good woman, Aaronska.”

“I know, but you must admit she takes chances with our lives. She doesn’t reign in Bond, or you for that matter. We all feel the fallout, Alec.”

“Hmmm, Da.” Alec looked away from Aaron and got lost in his own thoughts as they flew towards Scotland and the unknown.

Aaron, despite his fear and anxiety finally did fall asleep about two hours into the flight. He was only woken up by the Captain announcing that they were landing soon. The private airstrip would have a car waiting for them, Aaron had called ahead once they were in the air.

The landing was quick and when Aaron, Alec, and Maeve disembarked, the airstrip was deserted except for the vehicle waiting for them. Getting into the car, Aaron took off while Alec set the GPS for Skyfall.

The car ride was silent as Aaron gripped the steering wheel and sped along the back roads towards their destination. Everyone was tense and Aaron didn’t blame them. The drive was about an hour-long when finally the house, or what was left of it, came into view. Gunfire sounded in close proximity to the house, Aaron didn’t care how he parked as he stopped the car and jumped out.

“Stay here, keep your head down and all the doors locked. These windows are bulletproof. Do not open the doors for anyone but Alec or myself, do you understand?”

“Yes.” Maeve slid down onto the floor of the car and covered her head.

Aaron turned to Alec and the two ran around debris as they made their way towards th sound of gunfire. Aaron saw two men and started to run that way. He took one out, while Alec descended on the other.

“Bond!” Aaron called out as he continued to run. Alec was nowhere to be seen. When Aaron saw the church he ran towards it. Checking for anyone around, there was no one. When he stepped inside he saw Bond there with M. She had been shot.

“What the bloody hell were you thinking Bond?”

James looked up and Aaron could see how tired the man looked.

“That this needed to end. Everything is connected, Aaron. Silva was behind the code, blowing up Vauxhall Cross, obtaining the original hard drive with the names and personal information of all British operatives. It’s all part of something bigger, I just don’t know what.”

Aaron moved closer, then crouched down.

“She isn’t going to make it. Silva is still out there.”

“We took out two of his men. And I saw the bodies of three more. If all they had was the one helicopter there can’t really be anymore.”

“No. You got the two that had me pinned down.”

“M, can you move?”

M blinked her eyes a few times and looked at Aaron. She let out a moan and a laugh. “No, I can’t bloody move. There isn’t anything you can do, Paddington. I’m going to die, and I know it.”

“We can get you out of this church. Alec and I can get you to our car and to the hospital. No arguments.” Aaron looked at Bond who looked a bloody mess. “Are you okay if we get her out of here?” Bond nodded, grabbed his gun, checked it, and ran out of the church without a word. Alec came in and together the two of them were able to get M to the car. The sounds of more gunfire had them walking as fast as they could.

After pounding on the door, Maeve opened up and helped to settle M on the back seat. Aaron watched as she went right into Doctor mode. Aaron backed out after Alec jumped in, neither one saying anything about leaving Bond to take care of Silva.

Aaron just wanted to get home and finally put this mess behind him. Alec once again got navigation going and Aaron sped to the hospital as fast as he could. Both he and Alec were realistic and knew the possibility of M surviving was slim. It didn’t stop Aaron from driving as fast as he could. As long as M was breathing there was hope.

___________

Several long hours later a Doctor walked out of surgery and towards Aaron and Bond who had found out where M had been taken. Silva had been dealt with. Most of this bloody affair was almost over. Aaron stood and knew immediately the outcome.

“I’m sorry. She  lost too much blood by the time we got her to surgery. We did what we could, but we just didn’t have enough time. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you, Doctor. You did the best you could.” Aaron walked outside, took his phone out, and called Gareth telling him M was dead. He told Aaron of what was happening at the Bunker. Right at that moment, Aaron just wanted to go home.

“I’ll stay, Aaron you and Alec get back. I’ll make sure M is properly taken care of.” James looked straight ahead, never meeting Aaron’s eyes. He knew how much James admired and respected M and Aaron wasn’t sure that James was going to come back from this whole.

The trip to England was uneventful. Getting the last of the code together with the other pieces as well as all of the research that was with each person who had created his or her parts, everything was destroyed. Aaron was glad to see it happen, but when he looked up and saw Spencer the man looked gutted. He was taking on some of the blame for M’s death upon himself, but before Aaron could think to comfort him, Q was there steering him out of Q-Branch and Aaron suspected they were headed home.

“It appears to be done,” Gareth said from Aaron’s left.

“Yes, it does. But at what cost. Revenge for M abandoning an agent? For turning an orphan into said agent? For what was all this destruction?”

“One man’s need to face a past he tried to blame on others. He could have said no at any time, Aaron. He didn’t want to take responsibility for his own life and for letting himself be used by Mansfield.” Gareth wrapped an arm around Aaron’s shoulder and pulled him close. “Come on, let’s go home.”

Home, that word had never sounded better than it did right at that moment. They would head towards the Manor, Aaron could see Jack, spend time with family, and try to put behind him everything that had happened since his mission to find and destroy a code that could have brought the very modern civilization to its knees. Aaron took a look back and again wondered just at what the cost had been and could he keep doing what he did?

Turning his head to look at his lover, who smiled at him as they approached their car, yes. Yes, he could keep going. There were far greater things in the world to fight for and as long as he was able, Aaron would keep on fighting. As long as he had his lover by his side, the fight to keep Queen and Country safe would always be his calling.