Sixth Gift - Adventures in the Grotto
Dec. 27th, 2008 03:08 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
rochvelleth.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
discoveredinaljOne more fic for you - this one festive. And then I just have one more thing and I'm done!
---
Adventures in the Grotto
“No, you can’t give him that job!” Bodie complained as he smoothed down his elf suit and frowned at his reflection in the mirror. Going undercover in Hamley’s at Christmas wasn’t exactly why he had joined CI5, but he had decided that this particular job was going to have some perks, not least the young lady who was dressing up as Mrs Claus every day for the children’s grotto.
Doyle just laughed, and so did Betty, who was busy arranging Doyle’s fake beard for him.
Bodie rolled his eyes. “Well fine then, let him be Santa, but you’ll regret it when he spends the whole time chatting to the kids.”
“I know you’re just jealous,” Doyle whispered when Betty went out to fetch some pins.
“I told you before, I don’t want to be Santa Claus!”
“Oh no, not jealous of me being Santa – jealous of all those children who get to come along and sit on my knee and tell me their innermost desires...”
Bodie turned and caught the wicked gleam in Doyle’s eye, and for a moment he wished they could forget the op and spend Christmas Eve back at his flat, alone and undisturbed, and with tinsel for bondage.
At that moment, Cowley walked in holding a large file. “When you’ve quite finished,” he said without looking up, “you can both pull up a chair and listen to this. It seems the mystery is deepening. A member of staff at Hamley’s was found dead on the bank of the Thames today.”
---
Two hours later, Bodie was standing next to a large pile of empty boxes (he knew because he had felt them) wrapped and tied with ribbons, his hands on his hips, frowning in towards the grotto.
“Where’s Santa?” asked a little girl, whose hand was being held by her young mother. And the mother’s hand showed no sign of a wedding ring.
Bodie managed to stop frowning for a moment, and he knelt down beside the girl and gave her his biggest smile. “Just go through there, sweetheart, and one of my elf colleagues will show you through to Santa.” He ruffled her hair slightly, and then stood up and gave her mother an even bigger smile. “I get off at six,” he whispered, but the mother just looked a little bit shocked and ushered her daughter through to the grotto.
Bodie sighed. Today really wasn’t going to be much fun at all.
---
“Ho ho ho,” Doyle bellowed, making his voice as low as he could. The little girl came closer, and he indicated that she should sit on his knee.
“Go on, Helen,” her mother said in encouragement, giving the timid child a gentle push forward, and soon Helen was sitting on Doyle’s knee and looking rather miserable.
“Well, Helen,” Doyle said. “Tell me what you would like for Christmas.”
The girl just shrugged.
“Well... how about a doll’s house?”
“I’ve got one.”
“A doll?”
“I’ve got lots.”
“A pony!” Doyle realised he probably shouldn’t make promises like that, and regretted saying it – until the girl made a face and declared that she already had two.
When Helen and her mother were gone, looking distinctly dissatisfied with the complimentary gift they’d got out of him, Doyle sighed and sat back in his chair, wondering how long it would be before the day was over.
---
At 1pm, Bodie and Doyle got a twenty-minute break, and they found themselves sitting next to each other on hard chairs in a cramped little storage room eating CI5 standard issue sandwiches.
“How’s the front line?” Doyle asked as he peered between his slices of bread and wondered just what the filling was.
“Boring.” Bodie rolled his eyes. “How’s HQ?”
“Frustrating. I know it’s not their fault, but the kids who come here are all so spoilt. It’s not fair. Some girl had two ponies! Where I grew up, a kid would be lucky getting one present, never mind all the demands this lot make...”
Bodie leaned towards Doyle with a mischievous grin. “Where I grew up, most of the kids didn’t know what a pony was...”
“Alright, alright,” Doyle said miserably, giving Bodie a little shove. The last thing he felt like was being teased. In fact, what he really felt like was getting away from that damn place and making merry with his partner.
“I don’t even think anything is going to happen,” Bodie sighed, leaning back in his chair.
“And Cowley didn’t even mention overtime. After dragging us in on our day off!”
“I reckon we should just walk out, you know!” Bodie declared. Then his voice broke into a giggle. “Whether we’re wearing out standard issue Christmas costumes or not!”
Doyle laughed, enjoying the warmth he always got from Bodie – both physical and metaphorical. “Yeah, and Cowley knows where he can stick his Christmas tree!”
They leaned in together, sighing lightly in unison. And before they went back to their duties, there was time for a tender kiss, despite the lack of mistletoe.
---
At 2.30pm Bodie, back on his grotto-guarding duties, was surprised to see Murphy walking towards him in an elf suit.
“Cowley’s roped you in too, has he Murph?”
“It seems there’s been a development,” Murphy said secretively, coming closer so that he could whisper conspiratorially. The children waiting to see Santa, of whom there was now a sizeable queue, probably thought they were discussing terribly important, secret elf things. “It’s in the toys.”
“What?”
“You know how Father Christmas gives everyone a wrapped toy when they’ve finished telling him what they want for Christmas? Well, outside the shop there’s this giant bin, and some men showing the children where to put the wrapping paper they’ve just taken off their toy. So the child throws in the wrapping paper, complete with the strange little padded tag that’s attached to it...”
Bodie raised an eyebrow. “Drugs? In the tags?”
“Exactly. And the men with the bin outside are collecting it all and nobody’s noticing!”
“Well let’s get them and get home then!”
At that, Murphy burst out laughing. “You idiot, Bodie, I made it up!”
Bodie was just about to elbow Murphy in the ribs as painfully as he could without alarming any nearby children, when a scream sounded out. The two of them sprang into action, running past the children and into the grotto. Inside the fake tunnels, the light was low and everywhere was lined with figures of snowmen and elves and fairies, and hung with stars and tinsel and icicles. It took them a few moments to realise that a man dressed as an elf – one of the Hamley’s staff – was lying in a pool of blood on the floor. A nearby mother was screaming, and her children were wailing.
While Murphy knelt down to check the man’s pulse, Bodie raced through to the grotto’s inner sanctum, fearing for Doyle. It sounded as though a scuffle was going on...
And there was Doyle, kneeling over an unconscious criminal whose hands he was binding with an unravelled bow from a nearby present. He tossed his head to prevent his fake beard becoming entangled in the knot, and then stood when he had finished and put his hands on his hips. Bodie wished that he had a camera, because he never wanted to forget the sight of grumpy Doyle looking fed up in a Santa suit.
“Right,” Doyle said. “That’s it. I’m never going undercover again. And I don’t care who he is-“ He kicked the man on the floor lightly –“or why he did what he did or whether there’s any follow-up. Take me home, Bodie.”
Bodie smiled, and, since they were still alone for a moment, he put his arm around his partner. “Home it is. And I’ve got something for you to unwrap when we get there...”
“Do you reckon Cowley will let you keep the elf suit on expenses? I’m getting to like it.”
With that, they left Murphy and a couple of other agents who had turned up with him to clear up after everything. Cowley had had all the work he was going to get out of them this Christmas, and now it was time for them to spend what was left of it together.
Title: Adventures in the Grotto
Author: Rochvelleth
Pairings: B/D
Notes: This was always intended to be anti-climactic, but I think it just comes across as if I rushed it towards the end. Never mind! It’s only a bit of festive fun with a blatant disregard for plot anyway *g*
Disclaimer: Oh, OK, Cowley does own them.
---
Adventures in the Grotto
“No, you can’t give him that job!” Bodie complained as he smoothed down his elf suit and frowned at his reflection in the mirror. Going undercover in Hamley’s at Christmas wasn’t exactly why he had joined CI5, but he had decided that this particular job was going to have some perks, not least the young lady who was dressing up as Mrs Claus every day for the children’s grotto.
Doyle just laughed, and so did Betty, who was busy arranging Doyle’s fake beard for him.
Bodie rolled his eyes. “Well fine then, let him be Santa, but you’ll regret it when he spends the whole time chatting to the kids.”
“I know you’re just jealous,” Doyle whispered when Betty went out to fetch some pins.
“I told you before, I don’t want to be Santa Claus!”
“Oh no, not jealous of me being Santa – jealous of all those children who get to come along and sit on my knee and tell me their innermost desires...”
Bodie turned and caught the wicked gleam in Doyle’s eye, and for a moment he wished they could forget the op and spend Christmas Eve back at his flat, alone and undisturbed, and with tinsel for bondage.
At that moment, Cowley walked in holding a large file. “When you’ve quite finished,” he said without looking up, “you can both pull up a chair and listen to this. It seems the mystery is deepening. A member of staff at Hamley’s was found dead on the bank of the Thames today.”
---
Two hours later, Bodie was standing next to a large pile of empty boxes (he knew because he had felt them) wrapped and tied with ribbons, his hands on his hips, frowning in towards the grotto.
“Where’s Santa?” asked a little girl, whose hand was being held by her young mother. And the mother’s hand showed no sign of a wedding ring.
Bodie managed to stop frowning for a moment, and he knelt down beside the girl and gave her his biggest smile. “Just go through there, sweetheart, and one of my elf colleagues will show you through to Santa.” He ruffled her hair slightly, and then stood up and gave her mother an even bigger smile. “I get off at six,” he whispered, but the mother just looked a little bit shocked and ushered her daughter through to the grotto.
Bodie sighed. Today really wasn’t going to be much fun at all.
---
“Ho ho ho,” Doyle bellowed, making his voice as low as he could. The little girl came closer, and he indicated that she should sit on his knee.
“Go on, Helen,” her mother said in encouragement, giving the timid child a gentle push forward, and soon Helen was sitting on Doyle’s knee and looking rather miserable.
“Well, Helen,” Doyle said. “Tell me what you would like for Christmas.”
The girl just shrugged.
“Well... how about a doll’s house?”
“I’ve got one.”
“A doll?”
“I’ve got lots.”
“A pony!” Doyle realised he probably shouldn’t make promises like that, and regretted saying it – until the girl made a face and declared that she already had two.
When Helen and her mother were gone, looking distinctly dissatisfied with the complimentary gift they’d got out of him, Doyle sighed and sat back in his chair, wondering how long it would be before the day was over.
---
At 1pm, Bodie and Doyle got a twenty-minute break, and they found themselves sitting next to each other on hard chairs in a cramped little storage room eating CI5 standard issue sandwiches.
“How’s the front line?” Doyle asked as he peered between his slices of bread and wondered just what the filling was.
“Boring.” Bodie rolled his eyes. “How’s HQ?”
“Frustrating. I know it’s not their fault, but the kids who come here are all so spoilt. It’s not fair. Some girl had two ponies! Where I grew up, a kid would be lucky getting one present, never mind all the demands this lot make...”
Bodie leaned towards Doyle with a mischievous grin. “Where I grew up, most of the kids didn’t know what a pony was...”
“Alright, alright,” Doyle said miserably, giving Bodie a little shove. The last thing he felt like was being teased. In fact, what he really felt like was getting away from that damn place and making merry with his partner.
“I don’t even think anything is going to happen,” Bodie sighed, leaning back in his chair.
“And Cowley didn’t even mention overtime. After dragging us in on our day off!”
“I reckon we should just walk out, you know!” Bodie declared. Then his voice broke into a giggle. “Whether we’re wearing out standard issue Christmas costumes or not!”
Doyle laughed, enjoying the warmth he always got from Bodie – both physical and metaphorical. “Yeah, and Cowley knows where he can stick his Christmas tree!”
They leaned in together, sighing lightly in unison. And before they went back to their duties, there was time for a tender kiss, despite the lack of mistletoe.
---
At 2.30pm Bodie, back on his grotto-guarding duties, was surprised to see Murphy walking towards him in an elf suit.
“Cowley’s roped you in too, has he Murph?”
“It seems there’s been a development,” Murphy said secretively, coming closer so that he could whisper conspiratorially. The children waiting to see Santa, of whom there was now a sizeable queue, probably thought they were discussing terribly important, secret elf things. “It’s in the toys.”
“What?”
“You know how Father Christmas gives everyone a wrapped toy when they’ve finished telling him what they want for Christmas? Well, outside the shop there’s this giant bin, and some men showing the children where to put the wrapping paper they’ve just taken off their toy. So the child throws in the wrapping paper, complete with the strange little padded tag that’s attached to it...”
Bodie raised an eyebrow. “Drugs? In the tags?”
“Exactly. And the men with the bin outside are collecting it all and nobody’s noticing!”
“Well let’s get them and get home then!”
At that, Murphy burst out laughing. “You idiot, Bodie, I made it up!”
Bodie was just about to elbow Murphy in the ribs as painfully as he could without alarming any nearby children, when a scream sounded out. The two of them sprang into action, running past the children and into the grotto. Inside the fake tunnels, the light was low and everywhere was lined with figures of snowmen and elves and fairies, and hung with stars and tinsel and icicles. It took them a few moments to realise that a man dressed as an elf – one of the Hamley’s staff – was lying in a pool of blood on the floor. A nearby mother was screaming, and her children were wailing.
While Murphy knelt down to check the man’s pulse, Bodie raced through to the grotto’s inner sanctum, fearing for Doyle. It sounded as though a scuffle was going on...
And there was Doyle, kneeling over an unconscious criminal whose hands he was binding with an unravelled bow from a nearby present. He tossed his head to prevent his fake beard becoming entangled in the knot, and then stood when he had finished and put his hands on his hips. Bodie wished that he had a camera, because he never wanted to forget the sight of grumpy Doyle looking fed up in a Santa suit.
“Right,” Doyle said. “That’s it. I’m never going undercover again. And I don’t care who he is-“ He kicked the man on the floor lightly –“or why he did what he did or whether there’s any follow-up. Take me home, Bodie.”
Bodie smiled, and, since they were still alone for a moment, he put his arm around his partner. “Home it is. And I’ve got something for you to unwrap when we get there...”
“Do you reckon Cowley will let you keep the elf suit on expenses? I’m getting to like it.”
With that, they left Murphy and a couple of other agents who had turned up with him to clear up after everything. Cowley had had all the work he was going to get out of them this Christmas, and now it was time for them to spend what was left of it together.
Title: Adventures in the Grotto
Author: Rochvelleth
Pairings: B/D
Notes: This was always intended to be anti-climactic, but I think it just comes across as if I rushed it towards the end. Never mind! It’s only a bit of festive fun with a blatant disregard for plot anyway *g*
Disclaimer: Oh, OK, Cowley does own them.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-12-27 04:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-28 01:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-27 05:51 pm (UTC)The thought of a grumpy Doyle in a Santa suit is just wonderful *g*
Thank you for another lovely pressie.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-28 01:59 pm (UTC)And don't be alarmed, but I'm a bit in love with your icon *g*
no subject
Date: 2008-12-28 02:03 pm (UTC)And don't be alarmed, but I'm a bit in love with your icon
LOL - Father J in warm water makes me happy too *g*
no subject
Date: 2008-12-27 08:47 pm (UTC)Much better than I’ve feared!
But Murphy in an elf suit... I really don’t know... :-)
no subject
Date: 2008-12-28 02:33 pm (UTC)Yes, I wasn't quite sure about Murph either, but he does have such a cute face...
Thanks :)
no subject
Date: 2008-12-27 11:32 pm (UTC)Thanks for the fun story.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-28 02:34 pm (UTC)Thank you very much!
no subject
Date: 2008-12-28 03:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-28 04:34 pm (UTC)P.S. Oh dear, I didn't realise that elf stories are often AU - what on earth are people thinking?? *bg*
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Date: 2009-01-01 05:39 pm (UTC)