Archive of Our Own ^beta

Joan

It was such a normal day for her, or really, whatever passed for normal these days (in other words: bloody brilliant) that she had not foreseen any of this at all.

Then again, there were many things she had not foreseen, like the fact that the older brother she had not remember for fifteen years would come back to them, that magic existed and she had once been very aware of that, or that she would come work for the Guard for no other reason than wanting to be as close to him as possible.

Not that she minded. She didn’t mind any of it, and she would have words with anyone who even dared insinuate something like it.

Still, it meant that these days, problems at work consisted of rather more than irate customers and transactions that had not yet been processed.

She was somewhat surprised when she picked up the phone in her and Sam’s shared office (that naturally was somewhat more spacious than one would have expected for two junior members of the Guard, but then, there were rather special circumstances involved) and heard her old manager’s voice.

Well, Mr. Hackel had always been a good boss, so she was far from sorry to hear from him again.

And he was, as opposed to some others, polite enough to ask her how she was doing before coming to the point. “Miss Thursday, I am not entirely sure – that is – but I think – one of our customers just came in and things just seem… wrong.”

“Wrong? What do you mean?”

“Do you remember Mr. Avid, by any chance?”

As if she would ever be able to forget him. Mr. Avid was the kind of old miser usually only found in children’s books – the sort that not only had no money to give to his fellow men, but also denied himself any form of comfort. In short, unpleasant but not that terrible to deal with.

After she had replied in the affirmative, he said, “I – it’s – everybody has the right to do what they want with their money, of course, but – I can’t help it, I – he came in this morning and began talking to the cashier, explaining that he wanted to withdraw all his money – “

It was strange enough for Mr. Avid to be chatting with anyone, but to actually withdraw some of his savings? No, not some, but all of it? That had not happened as long as Joan had worked there.

And then, of course, came the actual reason why he had called her. “It took a while but – well – ogf course they called me. Such a transaction can’t be dealt with without the manager, as you well know, Miss Thursday” her actual title these days was Ensign but she didn’t correct him “and as it turned out – it sounds impossible – I – “

She resisted the Ruge to tell him that impossible had very much become her usual, these days.

Even though she had to admit she had expected to be told that their favourite old miser had been changed by visits from three ghosts.

Dev would love this.

Since she agreed with Mr. Hackel that there was something strange about all of this, there was only one thing to do, however, and so she called Dev’s office.

“He –“

“Yes, Joanie?”

She smiled. “I know it sounds strange, but I just got a call from my old boss. I think you should probably check it out – “ after she had explained, he was quiet for a moment or two and then agreed.

She immanently offered to come with him of course, and since she knew everyone involved, he couldn’t very well say No.

As they drove (naturally, they were using a car of the Guard’s) he shook his head. “A Christmas Carol. Of all the things – “

“Wouldn’t do him any harm, from what I remember. Wasn’t exactly the nicest customer we ever had.”

He struggled not to smile – for a second, then he laughed in that carefree, happy way she remembered from when they had been children. He naturally tried to grow serious again in the next moment but failed when she just giggled some more.

As she had foreseen, her former colleagues had managed to stall Mr. Avid long enough – which was probably a good idea because he was trying to make them understand that he would like to gift each of them one hundred pounds.

“I have occasionally wondered what would happen to Scrooge after such a lesson” Dev said quietly. “Whoever gave it to him must have been a little overzealous.”

“You think?” she asked, watching him trying to stuff cash into Bernard’s pockets.

“Let me just – “

And her brother, who, a very short time ago, when she had known him by another name would have claimed not to be good with people, approached the elderly man and inquired whether he would be interested in a charity set up by the Guard (so far, there was none, but she told herself to remember just in case) and led him to the car.

All under control, Thern.

Mr. Hackel approached her. “Oh, I cannot thank you enough, mi – Ensign Thursday. It was a shock, and none of us knew what to do – “

“I would not worry too much” she said smoothly, rather enjoying to pretend that she knew what was going on. “Dev is taking care of it. Now, concerning the money…”

She had succeeded in collecting everything that poor rich man (she supposed that was what she going to call him) had handed out and was now making sure it found its way back unto his account when Dev came back in. “Locked him in the car to make sure he didn’t start gifting the passer-bys. Everything alright here?”

She nodded. “Just about finished.”

“Good.” He grinned at her as Morse would never have done, and she happily grinned back. “We’ll take him to headquarters, fix it there. Thank you for calling us” he turned to the manager.

They were soon on the way, Mr. Avid brabbling in the passenger seat how he had seen the light.

Dev shook his head. “Always happens, this time of year. Someone gets annoyed, or feels they could do something good...”

“Could have hit someone worse.”

He glanced at her.

She shrugged.

He once more struggled to keep his expression even. “Yes, well… still, can’t allow this kind of thing to happen on our watch.”

“All in a day’s work” she happily agreed as they returned to work.

Win

There were many, many things they would have to get used to again – but not if you asked Win. She simply did not see it that way. Get used to having her boy back where he belonged? Get used to hearing Dev play the piano, laugh with his siblings, help set the table as if he had never been gone? Get used to watching her son be one of the most respected magic users the town had ever seen?

No, if you asked her, there was no getting used to anything.

Life had changed, naturally. But what would have been the alternative – going on as they had, never knowing they had lost a child? No, that was unthinkable, and if all of this came with magic and madness and mayhem, so be it.

Therefore, she was once more doing the shopping, these days with a special category on her list as to what Dev needed refilled for potions and the like. It was not much of a difference to before – the biggest problem was trying to convince the storekeepers that she did indeed want to pay for her purchases and they couldn’t just hand her everything as a compliment to the captain.

It was shortly before Christmas, always a time she had cherished more than many others, and now that they had so many reasons to celebrate, it felt even more special. She smiled at every shop window, remembering how she had once gone for walks in London with her little boy because he enjoyed the lights so much –

And if a few regrets would arise, she would never tell a living soul.

She became aware of the young woman quite suddenly – she could not even say what had first drawn her to her – maybe it was the way she walked those decisive steps, or the black eyes that told her she was a demon – well – a demon of the sort that actually liked to live their lives and not bother any other creatures or humans; Dev had told her they lived by a strict code of honour, so she was somewhat surprised to see a few tears shimmer in her eyes.

She had not been a mother for three decades for nothing; and even though she might not know how to address her, she would always believe that nothing could go wrong as long as one was kind; and so, just as the young lady passed her, she inquired, “I’m sorry, Miss, are you alright?”

She stopped walking abruptly enough that a woman almost ran into her but didn’t say anything and hurried on – so someone else who could tell she was a demon, Win assumed – and turned around to look at her.

She smiled. “I am sorry, it just – well – it looks like you are in distress, and I am – “

“Mrs. Thursday, Captain Endeavour Thursday’s mother.”

She was not surprised. She never was when someone recognized her, these days. “Yes, indeed, dear” she had done it again, and the poor young girl flinching proved it “And it seems like – well – you need someone to talk to. How about we have a cup of tea?”

She needed a bit of coaxing, but that, she was used to. She had not raised three children for nothing, and Fred could be as stubborn as them all combined on his bad days…

It was after they had sat down – in a café that was friendly towards creatures, she had made sure of that – when she began, “I am very sorry if I have come to the wrong conclusion, but I felt that – well – there was something wrong, and I wanted to make sure you get the help you need, if that is the case…”

“I am not surprised that a member of the Captain’s family would feel that way” she replied calmly even as she was playing around with her spoon in a way that she knew – well, Dev had told her – a demon never would unless they were agitated.

“Is there anything I can do, then?”

“No, I don’t think so. I have made a decision – it’s – it’s best for everyone…”

Better for everyone. Yes, Win knew that kind of reasoning, and she also knew that, if it was wrongly applied, it led to things, things like an eighteen-year-old boy leaving home one day and not being able to –

But that was all in the past, and she could not allow it to cloud the present. “And why would that be?” she asked trusting that she would hear the full story soon enough, and so it proved.

Oh dear. Her best friend was in love with her fiancée, and she, despite feeling quite as strongly for him, had decided that it would be for the best if she disappeared so that they could –

But that was not how it worked, was it. Well – she was sure there were poems about it, and long books, the kind that Dev loved and the other children did not object to when he read to them because it was him who read to them but –

“And how do you think this will work?” she inquired lightly. “Because leaving is one thing but you can hardly force them to fall in love, can you.”

“I – well – I – “

Yes, she had been so focused on trying to do the honourable thing that she had not thought it through – Dev had told her it was a common occurrence with demons, at least those who had been raised in the old-fashioned way; and she felt so very sorry for her she wished she could have pulled her into a hug, but some things weren’t as easy to solve as all that.

She was now looking at Win and finally said, “You stayed.”

“I am sorry?”

“Now, with everything – you are here and are working with the magical community.”

“There was nothing else I could have done.”

She actually smiled at her and said, “I suppose not.”

She left soon after, and if Win saw her on the street a few weeks afterwards, beaming as she walked beside a young man, she simply smiled to herself and went about her day.

Sam

Weird stuff happening was no longer – well, weird, not when it came to them and their daily lives, and Sam for one had absolutely nothing against that. Wasn’t everyone who had a big brother who happened to lead the Guard and who had destroyed the Army of Morality. He might as well enjoy all the madness that came with it, especially after everything it had cost them.

He had calmed down somewhat, now that he was home, because he didn’t want Dev to think he blamed him in any way, and seeing his brother every day as opposed to talking to him on the phone while he and Joan were off having fun together helped too. Plus, working at the Guard was fun, even if join was going to drive him insane if she decided to re-file everything one more time.

But all in all, things had been going rather well, so he probably should not have been too surprised when he left Dev’s office after having brought a feel there and saw Peter Jakes storm into his, his face –

Something was clearly wrong. And he knew how close he and Dev were, so he better check it out.

To his surprise, the door was locked when he tried it. He knew both he and Dev subscribed to the whole duty thing very seriously, they would never –

“I am busy.”

Hm. That was the tone of voice he remembered very well from that terrible – when Dev had forgotten – when they had only had –

Point was, he didn’t like it. And so, he knocked again. “Peter, it’s me.” He’d never bothered offering him to call him by his first name, nor had he waited until Peter did so in return, even though Dev would have told him that was how things were supposed to go. “Do you need help?” Dev was busy, as far as he knew, by which he meant the Chairman had wanted to talk to him, but certainly there were others –

“No!”

Alright, that sounded a bit too panicked for his liking, and so he did the only sensible thing and picked the lock, as Joan had taught him when they were children (after Dev had gone from their lives, he recalled with a pang. He would never have allowed them to experiment with that kind of thing).

“Sam!”

“Not very good with the whole being told No thing” he said lightly. “Runs in the family.”

Peter shook his head and mumbled something that sounded like “These Thursdays are going to be –“ but eh decided to overhear it because he was a respectable member of the Guard now, trying to help a colleague who was clearly in distress.

“What is it, then?” he asked.

“Look, kid” how he had come to the conclusion that eh was a child was a little beyond Sam, unless he had gotten so sued to Dev’s way of thinking (his older brother, for all that eh loved and saw up to him as much as ever, seemed to now and then forget that they were adults now, and they had not yet found the heart to correct him) “This is serious. It’s a curse – makes you forget –“

And that should have been enough to send him running, only that he had learned a thing or two since he had come back home, and it was best to keep these things contained, and – well – if Peter had assumed this was really, truly, dangerous, he wouldn’t have run where Dev would find him, he felt certain of that.

“Makes you forget” Peter repeated, gritting his teeth. “All the wrong that’s ever been done to you, all the bad things you have ever been through. It’s a good thing in theory, but – “

“You lose all your compassion for others and even the ability to empathize” he said simply. “Dev read us that story the other day.”

“Of course he did” he mumbled, rubbing his forehead.

Not good – that was the first sign, if Sam remember correctly.

But he remembered something else, too.

Because the solution to all of that in the story? It had been compassion. A woman had been good and kind and friendly, and that had been enough.

He could do that. He was not his mother’s child for nothing. “I know that must be awful” he said quietly, “But your memories of Dev” if he understood those two correctly, and he didn’t say he did because he had more or less missed a decade of history when it came to – well, everything – then this would be the right thing to start with “They are – well – there’s not too much pain, is there?”

He shook his head. “A lot of it comes from pain. When we met, I was contemplating – I had almost decided – even afterwards – “ he shook his head and Sam realized he should deal with this quickly because there were some things he didn’t need to hear.

“Yeah, but – still – I – “ he took a deep breath. “Look, if you need an ear or something, I’m here.”

Peter stared at him. “Are all of you just like this?”

“I had a good teacher” he said, ignoring that he had been so very young when Dev had been taken from them.

Peter actually laughed. “Yes, you did. Not like he would leave you any other option…”

“Of course not. This is Dev we are talking about. He once chased me through the garden because a ball someone had been playing with had fallen there and I wanted to keep it – not a chance, of course, not with him.”

“Should have known that.”

“I should” he agreed because it was true, but also because he could see that Peter was starting to relax, which meant that the spell or whatever had been played on him must be growing weaker.

To prove it, he shook his head, then raised his hand and made a glowing sphere appear. He studied it for a moment or two, then dropped it. “I have no idea how you Thursdays do it, but I’m fine.”

He shrugged. “Did you really expect anything else? Lunch?”

Fred

If there was one thing Fred loved, apart from his family, then it was the city he had spent so long protecting. It might not have been a normal thing to say, but really, what was normal these days? Just yesterday Dev had brought a dwarf family home because they had been waiting for a ride to Cornwall, and they had had quite a fun evening, as Sam had declared, so…

Really, there was little he could find at fault with this world and his place in it as he strolled through the streets, breathing in the brisk December air. Some people might have found it uncomfortable, but he had always thought it cleared the mind like little else (here was the point where Win would have said something about his pipes, but really…)

Nd then he heard them.

The chimes.

There were many things he had learned over the course of his life here in Oxford, and to distinguish between the chimes of the different churches was one of them. Now, normally he barely paid attention to them anymore, but this –

That was St. Michael’s. No doubt about it. Oxford’s oldest church, which in itself was enough to immediately alert him that something might be wrong, these days, because he had quickly realized that when it came to magic, older normally meant more powerful than he could ever imagine. To this day, he had not yet inquired about the age of the Chairman, and he never would.

But still – why were the bells ringing at this time of the day? And more than that – Fred became very quickly aware that no one, and he meant no one else, was even paying attention to them, so he must be the only one who could hear them, which told him that for some reason, he had been chosen to deal with this. It might not have made much sense, buzz hat was how magic worked, and who was he to question that.

(he would admit that before he had ended the truth, he might have been the firs to do so, but Dev trusted magic, so he had to do so as well. For, if he did not believe in his boy, who else was he supposed to believe in?)

And so, he quickly made his way over to the church, where the bells were still going strong as he arrived, and no, there was no one else in sight, not even a priest.

He would have to deal with this on his own, then – God knew what would happen if eh waited.

And, as strange as it sounded, there was no danger here for him – he could feel it. Dev had been right; one picked up a few things, be it out of instinct or out of necessity. He would never have magic, like their eldest or Constance had, God bless her, but he could do what needed to be done.

He walked right into the place, and now, he could finally see him – yes – Trotty Vech, one of his informants, so called because that was how he moved, just trotting up and down the pavement; but for some reason he was heading for the tower. Fred decided it was best to follow him.

He had no idea what he had expected, but it had most definitely not been several – what were they called? What was he allowed toc all them? There were creatures who easily got offended, but he could worry about that later – goblins jumping around the bell tower, and one of them in the process of giving good old Trotty of all people a lecture on how he should be happy for the things he had been given –

As if that man did not love his only daughter as much as Fred loved every single one of his own children, and that was saying quite enough.

And oh, he was swaying now, and they were high up –

With a few decisive steps, Fred had grabbed him by the collar and spoken up. “Listen, I am sorry if I am interrupting, or not doing things the right way, or whatever you want Tio call it. But whatever you’re trying to do – this is not the right way. He’s as white as a sheet, for God’s sake. I – well – my name’s Fred Thursday, so I think you can guess who I am, and I am taking Trotty here home. Whatever he’s supposed to have done, I am certain he’s scared enough now, so… goodbye.”

And they let them go.

He had learned to take the victories he could get.

“Dad? What is this?”

“A report. Don’t you go in for this sort of thing at the Guard?”

“You know we do, but… Dad, you – did you – “

“I followed the chimes and trusted the magic – and my instinct. Has not let me astray so far, when it comes to you.”

“I –“ Dev look at him and then, to his dismay, shook his head. “I am –“

“None of that, son” he said firmly. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. Yes, those – what am I supposed to call them? Goblins?”

“Don’t let real goblins hear you say that.”

“Whatever, they were a little insistent and I had to drag someone from the edge, but they didn’t mean to, and he’s fine, so all is well.”

He might have had a different reaction if he had not been trying to make Dev comfortable, but he knew deep down that he was right – if this had really been a very bad situation, it would have attracted the attention of someone with magic, but it had been enough that he was there to deal with it.

His son looked at him. Then shook his head. “This time of the year – I’m just glad it all worked out…”

“That it did” he said, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder, “And that’s what it’s all about.”

His son smiled at him, and all was well.

Dev

He should have known. With magic and Christmas and everything that entailed, how could he possibly have ignored the fact that there was a mean toy maker in town? But Tackleton (even the name, good God) had been living and working here for treats now and nothing so far had happened that would indicate he would be targeted by magic, didn’t matter that he made his toys especially ugly so small children would be scared of them.

Which, of course, was never what happened because children, as Dev knew from experience, liked to be scared. A little bit, at least.

Still – he should have known, especially since he and Joanie and Sammy had just been going through the Christmas books, as his sister had insisted on because it was the season and they could and apparently he owed them for not having read to them for so long. Mum had protested, of course, when she had heard that last bit, but he knew Joanie too well to think that she meant it.

One of the things he had noticed very early on, when the Guard had consisted of – well, Dev himself and the small room the Chairman had given him – was that certain things tended to happen only at certain times of the year, whether the date had been chosen by someone arbitrarily a long time ago or not, and Christmas time was certainly proof of that. It must have to do with the belief people imbued this time of the year with, although he had never had little enough to do ti make an actual study if the phenomenon.

And, really, again, a toy maker named Tackleton was probably always going to have to deal with this kind of thing, the question had only been when.

As was often the case, magic led him where he needed to be by itself, so that he did not get a call or was asked for help; rather, he was walking down the street window-shopping, rather enjoying that he would actually get to pick out presents for his family again after fifteen long years, when he came across the old man and who was quite clearly his daughter.

“Ah” the man said, nodding at him. “Captain.”

It was nothing new that members of their community recognized him, so he simply nodded back, then realized when the young woman did not focus on him what was going on and quickly greeted them back.

As was often the case when one came to the guard for help for the first time – and he could very quickly tell that this was what this was, he had too much experience not to – he didn’t quite know where to start, so he simply asked questions.

Alright. A rather mean (he would have used a different word, but well, his mother would not have liked that) man had suddenly trend nice, and it seemed that there was an old man that he wanted to introduce him and his daughter too, and he didn’t quite understand –

Well, at least this time around it was not A Christmas Carol. There was something to be said for the lesser known books.

He therefore asked if he had a son, by any chance, and was rewarded with a baffled exclamation and the daughter, blushing. Asking how he could possibly know, if there was magic involved –

The answer to that of course being yes and no. Yes because, again, this time of the year – October through to January, if he was being honest – anything might happen, and no because this did not feel like anything malicious was going on. And he should know.

Still, it was best to check it out, if only so that there would be no open questions. So he offered his arm to the daughter, who was called Bertha, naturally, and made small talk until they reached the toymaker’s shop.

And yes, it said Tackleton right above the door. He suppressed a smile because some things were apparently just meant to be.

He opened the door for them, of course, since it never hurt to be courteous, then entered, looking around.

He had to admit that it was the dreariest toy shop he had ever seen – Koan would have liked it just for the fun of it, he was sure, and made a note to tell her about it later, not that he really needed it, she and Sam would start quizzing him about his day anyway when he got home – but the owner greeted them with the biggest smile on his face.

“I was waiting for you! And… oh, Captain Thursday, I was not expecting you – “

Again, people knowing who he was hardly a cause for concern so he simply returned his greeting.

“Here, old friend” the man had clearly not expected to be addressed such by his boss “Look who is here!”

And Dev was treated to a family reunion with a lost son and Bertha’s brother that quite frankly perhaps reminded him a little too closely of another one that had taken place not that long ago.

While they were thus occupied he made sure there was no malignant magic around, then decided it must just be the season and the old city of Oxford itself, as was now and then the case, so he bid them goodbye.

“Everything alright, son?”

He could hardly blame Dad for being worried. There were still some days where he barely allowed him out of his sight, especially if he was working at the police station. “Yes, don’t worry – I handled it. No problem at all.”

He did not look very impressed, do Dev just grinned. “As a matter of fact, it reminded me rather a lot of Charles Dickens and –“

Since Dad had never been fond of Dickens and his “one hundred words when one would have sufficed” as he had once put it when Dev had been reading David Copperfield to the others, he quickly returned to his office after that.

Dev grinned at Peter, who shook his head but grinned back.

Christmas was upon them.