Work Text:
The One Who Holds My Heart
A/N: I wrote this over THREE YEARS AGO!!! Wow! I've debating on whether to post it for a while. I originally wrote it to be a part of my Mick and Ketch subplots in Retribution, but when I stopped writing for that fic it kind of just sat in my Google Docs. I've edited this a little since then so that it makes a bit more sense as a standalone (hopefully), with the ultimate goal being Ketchvies leading the BMoL project and HQ on American soil on their own terms.
Mick couldn’t help the sense of foreboding as he entered HQ, heading to the main conference room like he’d been asked. When he arrived he closed the door swiftly behind him before addressing the other man in the room.
“Ketch, why’d you call me here?” he asked him.
Ketch looked up from the papers in his hands as Mick started towards him, an unreadable look in his eyes.
“Oh, I didn’t.”
That stopped Mick in his tracks. Did that mean…? Ketch placed the papers gently on the table as the click-clack of heels confirmed his fears. Dr. Hess entered the room and Mick couldn’t help the panicked look on his face as he observed her not too happy expression.
“Mr. Davies,” she greeted him professionally.
Ketch made his way across the room, behind Mick, watching, waiting.
“Dr. Hess,” Mick greeted back, voice much less shaky than he thought it would be. “I didn’t think you left London.”
“I don’t,” she informed him coldly, making her way over to him. “But I have been tasked by the other Elders to… fix this rapidly deteriorating situation.”
“M-Ma’am, please. I’m—
“Are you about to tell me that you are doing the best that you can?” He sometimes forgot that she knew him well. She made her way around to his other side. Their eyes met, and while Mick expected disappointment from Hess, he didn’t expect to see the venom and ice in her eyes. She continued pacing. “Two days ago, by your own report, you let a Prince of Hell escape, and the mother of Lucifer’s child, and one of my best men was murdered by an American hunter, whom you allowed to live,” she stated with decreasing patience.
“If I may,” Mick began, but Hess refused to let him speak.
“These hunters are out of control,” she declared from the other end of the table. Mick looked helplessly to Ketch, who looked back indifferently, though Mick could tell there was something else going on in his mind. “The brothers of Winchester in particular, which Lady Bevell had exhaustively documented.”
“Ma’am, i-if you would just listen—
“To what?” she questioned, irked. “More excuses?” Mick closed his mouth, reigning in a sigh. Ketch looked between the two with calculating eyes, a sudden nervousness gripping him. “No, I don’t think I will.” Mick looked beside himself as she continued. “Hunters are dogs, Mr. Davies.” This drew an acidic smirk out of Ketch. “You give them an order and they obey. That’s how it works. So tell me, do they? Do they obey you?” Mick once again looked to Ketch, who looked back at him expectantly with an eyebrow raised. “No. Of course not. So… this Eileen Leahy will be found… and killed, in accordance to the Code. As for the Winchesters, like any rebellious hunter, they will be investigated, and, if found guilty, executed.”
“If,” Mick stated, incredulous. “If they’re found guilty. Aren’t hunters always found guilty?”
“Be careful, Mr. Davies,” Hess warned lowly.
It was in that instance, after those words, that his image of Dr. Hess, the woman who’d saved him from a lifetime on the streets, who’d welcomed him into her home, who had put her faith in him as one of her best and brightest Kendricks students and BMoL members, crumbled, replaced with the cold, unfeeling wretch before him. She didn’t care about what was right or wrong or humane. No, so long as the Code was followed, so long as the old men were happy and everyone was a perfect little soldier listening to her every command, she was content to murder and slaughter and take lives worth saving. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—stand for it.
“No,” Mick told her boldly, not being able to help the emotions he’d long suppressed from welling up from within. Every bit of hurt and anger and guilt and conflict came bursting to the surface, and he refused to stay quiet and appease her any longer. “My entire life with the Men of Letters, I never broke a rule. And yes, at first I was shocked at how Sam and Dean operate, but what Lady Bevell doesn’t mention is all the lives they’ve saved, monsters destroyed, and outcomes made better, not because of the Code,” he stressed, voice rising with every word, “But because of Sam and Dean Winchester’s sense of what’s right!”
“And that’s the crux of the matter,” Hess told him, and Mick marveled at her insistence, leaning on and glaring at the table and attempting to take a deep breath. “The Code is not a suggestion; it is an absolute. The Code is what separates us from the monsters. It is the order by which we all live!”
Mick had heard enough, and he’d made his decision, however foolish and fatal it might be. Shaking his head, he met her angry glare with his determined one.
“No,” he told her quietly, voice threatening to crack and tears threatening to spill. “The Code is what makes a young boy kill his best friend.”
Mick didn’t expect the shock to show on her face, but he paid it no mind.
In that moment, Hess seemed to feel a bit of remorse, remembering painfully how broken and lifeless Mick had become afterwards, how she’d found him more than once sitting up in his bed, clutching his knees to his chest with tears and silent sobs. Before it could cloud her judgment, she quickly banished the memories from her mind. However close she had once been to Mick, he was no longer a scared, defenseless boy: Michael Davies was a hunter, and a damn good one at that, who had broken the Code; he was a rogue, and now he needed to be dealt with.
“When I was a young boy, I had nothing. I owed you everything, and I obeyed. But I’m a man now, Dr. Hess, and I can see the choices.” Ketch caught the minute nod from her as she glanced to him and nodded back, pulling his silenced pistol from his jacket. So this was it then. This is how Mick’s story ended. Why, then, did he feel so… conflicted? What was it that was making him regret his agreement to set up this meeting? “And I choose to do the right thing!” Ketch had the gun to Mick’s head, not quite touching him, and while he imagined himself pulling the trigger as soon as Mick had finished speaking… something stopped him. Something made him hesitate, and that fraction of a second was all Mick needed. “Arthur,” Mick whispered sadly, looking away and closing his eyes in despair, not missing the nod Hess had given Ketch just moments before.
Ketch knew as soon as he’d heard his name, he was lost.
“Mr. Ketch,” Hess murmured in disbelief.
The two ignored her presence, not aware of anyone else in the vicinity but the other.
“I knew that one day it might come to this, but before you decide to blow my brains out in this room, there’s something I need to say.” Mick turned around slowly, and Ketch couldn’t help the way his breath caught in his throat at the pained look on his face, the utter defeat and resignation in his eyes. “There was a time when the two of us were inseparable, when there was nothing that could break us, nothing that could stand in our way when we were together. I never wanted for anything and I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for you. I trusted you then and I trust you now. We’ve had our differences; we’ve had our triumphs. Our relationship may have changed, but the way I feel about you hasn’t, not once .” Mick took a deep breath, unable to help the sob that escaped him before he composed himself. “There’s no one I’d rather have by my side, no one I’d rather spend the rest of my shortly ending life with, than you… So, if I can look you in the eyes and confess myself to you, I figured you’d be able to end me like a man, face to face, instead of like the coward this place has made you into.” Ketch, all the while, had never looked away from Mick’s eyes, those burning, intense, soulful emerald eyes that had stolen his heart long ago. His eyes widened when Mick took a small step forward, the barrel of the gun now pressing firmly into the middle of his head. “Kill me,” he pleaded hopelessly, the two words enough to break his heart in two.
Dr. Hess watched, astonished, as Ketch stood frozen, a look of agony on his face at Mick’s words that had cut deep into his soul. All this time, all the years, even after everything he’d said and done… Mick still… He lo—He love—Ketch couldn’t even finish the thought, couldn’t believe the fact that he still held Mick’s heart after everything that had happened. The one thing he never thought he’d be able to have and he’d had it all along. If he pulled the trigger, he knew he’d never forgive himself no matter how many times his mind told him that he was just following orders, following the Code. He gulped, knowing what he was about to do went against everything he’d been taught, everything his mind was telling him, screaming at him: to shoot the traitor. His heart, however, was begging him not to do it, and for once, he listened.
“Forgive me,” he whispered forlornly.
Mick gave him a small reassuring smile, bracing for the inevitable…
A single shot rang out in the room, but Mick didn’t drop dead on his feet. With wide, disbelieving eyes, Mick turned to see Dr. Hess’ betrayed face, a bullet in her chest, blood quickly seeping through her shirt as she fell to her knees with a strained gasp. Mick whirled back around to see Ketch shakily holding his gun, looking for all the world like he’d just condemned himself. Mick was beside him in an instant, holding him up as he swayed on his feet and tried to get himself together, though Mick wasn’t fairing much better.
“What… Why?” Mick questioned, at a loss. “Why did you do that?!”
He swore he felt his heart stop as Ketch met his gaze and, for the first time in a long time, Mick found the boy who’d changed his life for the better from all those years ago staring back at him. A single tear rolled down Ketch’s cheek, and Mick gently wiped it away, his hand lingering. Ketch held that hand in place with his own as he spoke.
“Michael Davies…” he told Mick, the first time he’d used his real first name since Kendricks, “If you thought that I was going to foolishly let you go, for the last time, you’re not nearly as clever as I thought you were.” Mick let out a harsh breath and a relieved laugh as he threw his arms around the man he thought he’d lost to the BMoL for good. Ketch returned the embrace without hesitation, overwhelmed by the situations and the myriad of feelings he’d fought hard to repress all these years. “ Mick… ”
“ Arthur… ”
It felt like an eternity as the two stood in each other’s arms, wrapped in a calming presence. It wasn’t until weak coughing was heard from across the room that they reluctantly pulled back from one another. Ketch looked down at the gun in his hand, Mick’s gaze following his.
“Would you do the honors?” he asked seriously.
Mick nodded.
“Gladly.” Taking the gun firmly in his hand, he made his way over to Dr. Hess, her weak scowl no longer a cause of fear within him.
“You will burn , the both of you, just like the Winchesters and the rest of this country’s useless hunters. And the world will follow you, mark my words, you disgusting traitor!”
Her voice was weak, and her words came out as a hiss. Mick leveled her with a sharp glare.
“The only one who’ll be burning is you.” He raised the gun to her head with ease. “Go to Hell.”
He pulled the trigger, and as the bullet found its mark Mick watched the life finally fade from her eyes. For a moment he couldn’t quite believe he had done that, and the gun clattered to the ground from his hand. As Ketch wrapped his arms around him from behind, however, it was then that the reality of their situation began to set in. Dr. Hess, an Elder , was dead, by their hands. They could run, but someone would find them eventually, even if they were both more than capable of protecting themselves. Hiding the body would do no good as someone would be bound to discover it and her disappearance would not be taken lightly. They needed to come up with something before someone barged into the room and saw them.
“We’ve got to do something about her,” he told Ketch, “Before someone sees and assumes the worst.”
“And just what do you suggest we do? How do we justify shooting her? Better yet, why would anyone believe us?” Mick sighed in frustration, breaking from Ketch’s grip, hands thrust in his pockets as he paced for a minute, thoughts moving faster than he could comprehend them. Suddenly, he stopped and looked to Ketch with that gleam in his eye, the gleam that Ketch knew meant that Mick had a plan. “Hess was never morally straight. She’s bound to have something incriminating against her, something we could use. How long has she been here?”
“While you’ve been out with the Winchesters, she arrived three nights ago. Why?”
“Did she have an office?” Ketch indicated the door they’d seen her enter through, which led to a sparsely furnished room, not much more than a chair, desk, and a few filing cabinets surrounded by monitors. Walking briskly over to her desk, he rummaged through the piles upon piles of folders and papers strewn unusually across, becoming more frustrated the more he found. He was about to give up hope when a classified file caught his eye at the bottom of the haphazard mess. Opening it, he and Ketch were shocked to find pictures of Lucifer himself, old vessel and all, out and about, out of Hell and the Cage. “How is that possible?”
Ketch lifted up the pictures to find several pages of what looked to be notes and journal entries, picking one dated three days ago and reading it.
“As much as I despise demons, that Crowley might be of some use to us after all. He has much information on angels and Lucifer that we would never have expected. We shall have to meet again to discuss the details.”
“Dealings with demons,” Mick murmured with a shake of his head.
“The meeting was quite a success, and it won’t be long until we have the wretched thing’s location, and quite the supply of demons at our command. In the meantime, perhaps this Asmodeus that Crowley mentioned may provide further assistance with the matter. I shall call on him at a later date.”
He and Mick exchanged shocked looks as Mick picked another entry.
“It’s escaped and is going after the nephilim. Those idiot Winchesters have once again put all of our lives at risk and now another of our promising hunters is dead, no thanks to Michael Davies. He has gone too far, and if there’s no chance of reinstilling the ideals that made him such an important member of this organization, then I shall call for Mr. Ketch to tie up an unfortunate loose end of this failed project.”
“The rest of the Elders have insisted that I go and fix the mess that others have created, with quite a few threats, might I add, and I am sick of it. Should they make any more demands of me, I will not hesitate to eliminate them one by one, and I shall enjoy the look in their eyes as they realize just who is responsible for their demise.”
Mick slowly lowered the folder when they finished the last entry.
“I’d say that’s incriminating evidence, wouldn’t you?”
Ketch hummed in agreement.
“Shall we contact the Elders in London?”
“Now?”
“Why not? Besides, I’d rather not cause mass panic if anyone should enter the conference room and discover her there.”
Mick opened then closed his mouth.
“Good point,” he finally said, and they re-entered the conference room, Mick going up to one of the touchscreen monitors and pulling up a keyboard as Ketch continued to review the files in the folder.
A few minutes later, after bypassing far too many security measures, four figures, faces cloaked in shadow, appeared across the monitors, staring down at the two of them.
“Michael Davies and Arthur Ketch. Judging by the state of Dr. Hess I assume you’ve established this call to send us a message. A final parting gift perhaps,” a deep voice spoke.
“We have, but it isn’t the message you think it is,” Mick began, going to Ketch’s side.
Ketch held up the file folder, displaying the pictures and entries.
“Dr. Hess has been conspiring with demons against not only the American hunters, but the four of you,” he told them matter-of-factly. “After ridding America of its hunters she planned on securing a few permanent bases of operation across the country before heading back to London.” He smirked then, unable to keep the amusement off his face. “Where she would ‘eliminate you one by one, and enjoy the look in your eyes when you realize just who is responsible for your demise.’ Her words, not mine.”
“The nerve of that woman!” one of the Elders exclaimed. “I’ve never trusted her.”
“What’s more,” Ketch continued, “Is that she has broken the Code numerous times, threatened your positions to seek power, allied with an enemy, and has done it all under your noses.” Ketch tsked at them, now thoroughly enjoying himself. “My my, how the mighty have fallen.”
“Arthur!” Mick hissed at him. “You’re speaking before the Elders. Show a bit of respect!”
“You have just vowed to never again follow the Men of Letters Code, and yet you’ll show respect for the group of individuals who force us to live by it?”
“I have a proposition to make,” Mick announced, frowning pointedly at Ketch as he did so.
“Now see here, Mr. Davies—
“We’ve just prevented your inevitable demises at the hands of a power hungry madwoman and discovered the beginnings of a plot involving working with demons. I think you owe it to us to listen.” He heard a grumble from the Elder he’d just cut off and continued when nothing else was said. “I’m currently the head of the American Hunters Project and I have a way of getting them to work with us. It’s clear that most of us here, myself included, have little to no field experience. Outside of Mr. Ketch and the occasional Winchester, we’ve barely had a handful of our hunters out on cases. The Winchesters can show us how to hunt with their ways and their methods and we can share our weapons and intel with them. Both parties benefit, no one gets left out, and who knows? Maybe they’ll eventually learn from us as well.”
The Elders were silent for a few moments after.
“This is a ridiculous notion,” one of them, a softer spoken member than the others, commented, “But it just might work. What else would be involved?”
“We would establish this current headquarters as our permanent base, and of course we’d still need connections in London for weapons, materials, and funds. I would be able to run our operations by my rules: no Code, no unnecessary losses, no blind loyalty… There’s also the matter of an opening in your ranks…”
The last of the members to speak scoffed, “And you think you’re fit to fill Hess’ position?”
“It’s either him or me,” Ketch declared, receiving glares in response. He smiled in amusement. “Having an Elder based in another part of the world who’s free to travel wherever he’s needed and whenever he’s needed would be a great advantage. Besides…” He looked to Mick fondly. “If I’m not the one who’s sent to kill you should an attempt be made on Mr. Davies’ life, I’m sure the Winchesters and their angels would be more than happy to carry out the job.”
The four Elders looked to each other uncertainly, not completely sold on the idea, but also not wanting to get on the wrong side of Ketch.
“We accept,” the first Elder answered, shocking both Mick and Ketch by how quickly and easily they’d agreed to it all. “ However … Should your efforts fail, there will be consequences. We expect you to keep communicating to London any major developments or setbacks.”
“Of course,” Mick assured them.
The Elder sighed, shaking his head.
“Do not make us come to regret our decision, Mr. Davies.”
With that the connection cut and the monitors returned to their normal screens, the two of them were left stunned at what had just happened.
“I can’t believe that worked,” Mick stated.
“Neither can I,” Ketch replied. They looked to each other bewildered yet excited. “Shall we break the news?”
He held out a hand and Mick took it, intertwining their fingers with a warm smile.
“Lead the way.”
Closing A/N: The way I wrote the Elders was inspired by the first appearance of the World Security Council in the MCU in The Avengers . Also, as cool as it would have been to have Mick and Ketch run and torch the place, I want to see where things could go if they still had access to BMoL stuff going forward, without the restrictions by the Code and Hess. I think Mick and Ketch would make interesting leaders, especially as a couple. I'm so glad I found this work again.