CABINLOCK

THE ONE WHERE DOUGLAS IS KIDNAPPED (BUT ONLY BRIEFLY)

Author's Note:

Pairings: Douglas Richardson/Martin Crieff, others mentioned briefly

Warnings: General weirdness

Disclaimers: Cabin Pressure belongs to John Finnemore and the BBC. Sherlock belongs to the BBC, Mark Gatiss, and Steve Moffat. The original characters are the property or Arthur Conan Doyle. I own nothing but the plot and make no money from this story.

Douglas didn't really know how to explain his current situation. He'd gotten a phone call from a mysterious man who'd told him to "get into the car, Mr Richardson" just before a black car with tinted windows had pulled up in the car-park. Douglas was about to tell him to go to hell when the man said it had something to do with Martin. So he'd gotten into the car.

A short ride through Fitton and Douglas was here; in an empty shop, staring at a tall, well-dressed man with a brolly.

'You said something about Martin?' Douglas asked, trying not to imagine himself being murdered in a dusty, abandoned store. "Don't get into cars with strangers" everyone said, and what had Douglas done?

The man smiled, and said, 'What is your association with Martin Crieff?'

Douglas frowned and folded his arms. 'I asked you a question.'

'Martin's fine,' the man waved a hand. 'I just said that to get you to come along quietly.'

Douglas scowled. 'I'll be going, then,' he said and turned to walk out the front door. He didn't need this; weird men in expensive suits acting all threatening. Douglas knew better than go get mixed up with blokes like him.

'I'm his brother,' the man called, and that stopped Douglas dead in his tracks. He didn't turn as the man added, 'I worry about him.'

'And why's that?' When the man made no comment, Douglas turned. 'Martin's fine. He has a new flat, he's getting more jobs with his van, and Carolyn's finally paying him.'

'I know,' the man nodded. 'I made an... investment, you could call it, in MJN Air.'

Douglas' eyebrows went up. 'That was you?' About three or so months ago, Carolyn had started prattling on about some wealthy businessman investing in the company, meaning more money for repairs to GERTI. It also meant that she could finally pay Martin, because apparently this wealthy investor didn't care about getting his money back.

'Martin's my brother,' the man repeated. 'And I have money; quite a lot of it. Martin loves MJN Air, he loves being a pilot, and he loves the people he works with.' He looked sharply at Douglas, and the older man remembered the stranger's earlier question. 'It seemed only logical to keep the business afloat. It makes Martin happy...' the man trailed off and shrugged one shoulder delicately.

'I've met Simon...' Douglas said slowly and the man quirked an eyebrow, 'and you're not him.'

'Mycroft Holmes,' the man offered.

'Martin's never mentioned you.'

'No, he wouldn't have,' Mycroft nodded. 'He keeps his private life close to his chest.'

Douglas knew that. He and Martin had been working together for over two years before the younger man mentioned he had a brother and sister. It made sense that he wouldn't mention any other siblings... especially ones with a different last name.

'Now,' Mycroft cleared his throat softly, 'what is your association with Martin?'

'We're dating,' Douglas said and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at Mycroft carefully. 'But you already know that, don't you?'

Mycroft chuckled. 'Yes, but it's always nice to hear from the actual person. Martin's talked about you, quite a lot.' Douglas felt his heart swell at the thought of Martin talking about him. 'At first, it was just mentioning you in passing; a man he worked with.' Mycroft titled his head. 'Of course, I already knew who you were.'

Douglas looked at him sharply, and Mycroft laughed again.

'Come now, Mr Richardson,' the man smiled, 'surely you've realised that I hold quite a bit of... ah, power, yes?'

Douglas nodded once, curtly. Anyone who could kidnap someone in a car-park in the middle of the day had to have power. Douglas had always been a good judge of character, and he could tell that Mycroft was from old money. But, he'd clearly forged his own name in the world, and the power he held was in the cut of his expensive three-piece suit; in the stiff posture he had; in the quirk of his eyebrows and the way he leaned against his brolly.

But Douglas Richardson wasn't easily intimidated. He didn't care who this man was, or what position he held. Admittedly, he was a little bit nervous; on the phone, Mycroft had shown that he was capable of hacking the local CCTV cameras. That would scare anyone a bit. But Douglas had never backed down from a fight if he could help it.

'What is it you want, exactly, Mr Holmes?' he questioned.

Mycroft smiled, like he could read Douglas' thoughts, and that was even more disturbing than the CCTV thing. 'I want to know that my brother is in capable hands, Mr Richardson.'

'Do you make a habit of kidnapping the men involved with your brother?' Douglas asked.

'I do it for all my brothers,' Mycroft said, and tilted his umbrella up, staring at the tip with both eyebrows up. 'I like to protect them in any way I can.'

'You have more than one brother?' Douglas asked, and Mycroft smiled.

'I have three,' he answered, and Douglas almost shivered at the thought of two more Mycrofts running around. Then again, the world was still standing, so maybe they were more like Martin. 'There's a rather large age-gap between myself and them,' Mycroft continued, 'so as you can imagine, I'm rather... over-protective.'

Over-protective was understating it.

'Now, are you going to answer my question?' Mycroft prompted.

'I love Martin,' Douglas said seriously, and Mycroft's blue eyes stared at him. 'I'd do anything, absolutely anything, to keep him safe. I've never met anyone like him and, hopefully, we'll spend many, many years together. I can't promise anything, of course, but I'll try my hardest.'

Mycroft stared at him for at least a minute or two, his blue eyes rather cold and calculating, and Douglas fought off the urge to shiver under the intense gaze. God, he should never have agreed to get in that bloody car. He could be at home right now, enjoying a cold lemonade and watching the telly. Instead, he was standing in a disused store, getting the evil eye from Martin's mystery brother. What had his life become?

'Well,' Mycroft finally said and smiled slightly, 'you've been rather more open than my other brothers' partners.'

'Oh?' Douglas questioned.

'Yes,' Mycroft nodded. 'One of them had to fight himself not to punch me in the face, and the other threatened to throw me in the Thames.'

Douglas snorted at the thought of Mycroft, nose bloody, floating in the Thames.

'Thank you, Mr Richardson,' Mycroft continued and Douglas pulled himself together. 'You've been very, very helpful. Do say hello to Martin for me. And remind him that our monthly lunch is in three days at one pm.'

Douglas wasn't sure he'd remember that, but nodded anyway, and Mycroft turned to walk towards the back door of the shop. 'Is that all?' Douglas couldn't help but ask. Because, seriously, that was it?

'Yes,' Mycroft called over his shoulder. 'Oh, also say hello to Arthur. He's a rather lovely chap, isn't he?' And with that, Mycroft pushed the back door open with his umbrella and disappeared.

{oOo}

Douglas was still wondering if the entire thing was a hallucination brought on by a lack of sleep and too much cheddar from the cheese tray. Even after the black car- and BlackBerry-wielding young woman- had dropped him off back at Fitton airport, he'd still wondered. He'd stood beside his Lexus for a full half-an-hour before pulling himself together and driving home.

He'd just been kidnapped. By Martin's brother. Kidnapped. That kind of thing didn't happen outside of spy movies. But it had... hadn't it? Or maybe Douglas really needed a good rest and a descent meal.

He and Martin often spent their nights together, but Martin had had an Icarus Removals' job scheduled about two hours after they landed, so Douglas was spending the night alone. They had a flight the next day, though, and Douglas decided he'd ask Arthur about this Mycroft chap before bringing it up with Martin.

{oOo}

'Arthur!' Douglas called as soon as Martin disappeared to file the flight plan.

'Yeah?' Arthur asked, turning away from the book on... birds, that he was reading. Birds. Douglas decided not to ask. 'What can I do for you, Douglas?' the steward asked.

'Listen, I need to ask you something,' Douglas said and Arthur nodded, staring at him. 'Have you met anyone called... Mycroft?'

Arthur blinked. 'Do you mean Mycroft Holmes?' Douglas nodded. 'Yeah, he's Martin's brother,' Arthur said.

'He is?' Arthur nodded. 'I see...' Douglas hummed.

'Why, did you meet him?' Arthur asked. When Douglas nodded again, the younger man said, 'Isn't he brilliant?'

'If you say so,' Douglas murmured. 'When did you meet him?'

'Oh, he used to fly with us loads,' Arthur told him. 'But soon after Martin became captain, Mycroft stopped flying with us. Martin said it was 'cause Mycroft didn't want to over-step and get too involved in Martin's life. They were estranged, you see,' Arthur explained, and Douglas listened carefully. 'Mycroft's Skip's half-brother, their dad had an affair or something, so Martin wasn't raised with Mycroft and his brothers. They only recently started getting to know each other, which is why Skip lives in a better flat; Mycroft said he wouldn't let any sibling of his live in shared housing.'

Well, that was one point in Mycroft's favour. Martin's new flat was small, but it was better than where he'd been living before. And he'd been eating better; Douglas would bet his Lexus that Mycroft was responsible for that, too.

'I see...' Douglas repeated. 'Do you know what Mycroft does for a living?'

'No idea,' Arthur said, rather cheerfully. 'I know he's rich, 'cause he always dresses in those fancy suits and had a personal assistant with him whenever he flew with us. I heard him mention the Prime Minister, once, if that helps. Called him Tony.'

A politician, then, Douglas thought. Though what kind of politician Douglas had no idea.

'And he's...' Douglas tried, only to trail off.

'He's... what?' Arthur prompted.

'He's not dangerous?' Douglas asked.

'Well... maybe, I dunno,' Arthur shrugged. 'People like him are always a bit dangerous, aren't they?'

'I mean for Martin,' Douglas elaborated.

'Oh, no,' Arthur shook his head. 'Of course not. They're brothers, why would Mycroft put Skip in danger?'

The first officer just nodded. He got the feeling that Mycroft would never harm Martin, but it always helped to be sure. 'Thank you, Arthur,' he said, and Arthur beamed.

'No worries, Douglas.'

Douglas nodded and turned to go, before remembering Mycroft's parting words. 'Oh, Mycroft said hello.'

'Did he?' the younger man grinned. 'Aw, that's brilliant. Can you tell him to say hi to Sherlock and Q for me?'

'Who?' Douglas asked with a frown.

'Skip's other brothers,' Arthur said. 'I've met them, too. Sherlock and Q. And then there's John, and I heard a mention of a James and a Gregory, but I never met them. They're not brothers, just partners. John, James and Greg, I mean. At least, I think they are, 'cause like I said, I never met them, but I heard Mycroft and his brothers talking about them, and they seemed fond of them, so-'

'Yes, Arthur,' Douglas interrupted. 'If I see Mycroft again I'll say hello, okay?'

'Okay,' Arthur grinned.

Douglas smiled in return and headed out of the port-a-cabin. Sherlock and Q? Honestly, it was times like this Douglas wished he still drank.

{oOo}

'So...' Douglas hummed when Martin finally finished the flight checks. 'I ran into someone the other day.

'Oh?' Martin hummed distractedly.

Douglas watched him for about a minute before saying, 'Mycroft.'

The change was quite funny; Martin jumped, almost setting off the Ground Proximity Warning, and turned so fast Douglas was sure he'd snap his neck. His eyes bulged and his hat fell right off his head, landing on the floor of the cockpit, and Martin made no move to pick it up.

'What?' he asked in a slightly high, strangled voice. 'When? How? Did he kidnap you? Douglas, why aren't you answering!'

Douglas raised an eyebrow as the captain finally paused. 'Did Sir give me a chance to answer?' he queried. 'Because I certainly didn't hear a pause.'

Martin flushed and scowled at him, and Douglas smiled. 'When?' Martin demanded.

'The other day, when you left for a Man With A Van job, and I drove home alone. Mycroft picked me up and took me to some deserted store.'

'Oh God,' Martin groaned and scrubbed at his face. He didn't remove his hands as he spoke, and his voice came out muffled. 'Is he still doing that?'

'Apparently,' Douglas mused.

'He kidnapped John, too,' Martin muttered. 'And Greg... and James.' He sighed, and Douglas wondered just who the hell all these people were. And why he wasn't hearing about them until now. Martin looked up at him, his face still flushed, and Douglas lifted both eyebrows.

'Is there a reason you didn't tell me you had more siblings?'

'We're not... we didn't... um...' Martin stuttered and twisted his fingers together nervously. Douglas just waited, knowing his partner would get himself together sooner or later. 'We didn't grow up together,' Martin finally spoke. 'I was twelve when Mum told me she'd had an affair and slept with someone called Siger Holmes. She never told him, and that was... that.'

He paused and wet his lips, his eyes on the floor.

'Well, I thought that was that, until a few years ago when Mycroft just showed up. He said he'd found my picture on some government programme, and he put two and two together. A quick blood test later and we discovered the truth; half-brothers.' He chuckled slightly. 'But it was obvious, really. I look a lot like Sherlock, one of my older brothers. Spitting image, really, except he's all tall and dark, whereas I'm... small and ginger.'

'So how many siblings do you have?' Douglas questioned.

'Well... five,' Martin said. 'You've met Simon and Caitlin from the Crieff side. On the Holmes side there's Mycroft, who's forty-one. Then there's Sherlock, who's thirty-one, and finally Quillan- though he prefers Q- who's twenty-eight. And I'm the youngest at twenty-seven.'

'Well,' Douglas murmured, 'Mr Holmes certainly was busy, wasn't he?'

Martin snorted. 'According to Mycroft, Sherlock and Q, he was never around much. He was too busy with his various business ventures. And, it was discovered rather quickly that Mycroft was... well, a genius,' Martin explained. 'And Sherlock and Q are, too. Suppose that didn't rub off on me,' he murmured.

Douglas sighed. Really, Martin didn't give himself enough credit. But the younger man continued before Douglas could say anything.

'Siger didn't really like the fact that his sons were so much smarter than him. Their mother was around, but she had her issues, too. Mycroft practically raised Sherlock and Q himself.'

Douglas nodded, letting all that information sink in. He was rather impressed that Martin had hidden all of this from him; the younger man wasn't the best liar, and Douglas was rather good at reading people. He couldn't imagine what Martin had gone through when he'd found all of this out. Well, at least he'd had three new brothers to help him through it.

Douglas only had two himself, and he wasn't particularly close with either of them. From what Mycroft had said, Martin met up with the eldest Holmes on a regular basis. It was good, Douglas decided, that Martin had family who actually cared.

The Crieffs were nice and all, but from what Douglas had learned, they weren't exactly the most accepting bunch. Simon still treated Martin like he was four, Caitlin found an insult in everything Martin said, and his mother never actually spoke about anything. Mycroft Holmes might have been insanely over-protective, but Douglas thought it'd be impossible for Martin to hide something from him.

And, Mycroft had clearly helped Martin a lot already; a new flat, finally a paycheck, and people he could count on.

'I... are you mad?' Martin asked. Douglas snapped out of his thoughts to look at him. Martin was practically vibrating in his seat, and staring at Douglas with wide eyes. His fingers were twisting in his lap again and he was jiggling one leg. 'I mean, I was going to tell you,' Martin continued, 'but I- uh, that is, I... well, um.. I didn't really know where-where to begin, you know?'

'Martin,' Douglas tried, but Martin kept right on talking.

'I mean, how does someone even go about saying something like that? "Oh, Douglas, by the way, I have three older brothers I didn't know about until a few years ago. One's the British Government, one's a consulting detective, and the other works for the secret service". That sounds like a lie, right? Or the plot for a bloody spy movie. Well, with James, it wouldn't be surprising; he's probably faced weirder situations.'

Good Lord. The British Government? The secret service? And what the hell was a consulting detective?'Martin-'

'And I didn't even know how to start that, you know?' Martin talked over him. 'And suddenly we were together for months and months, and I-'

'Martin!' Douglas half-shouted, and the captain finally snapped his mouth shut. 'It's fine,' Douglas said.

Martin frowned. 'It... it is?' he questioned slowly.

'Yes,' Douglas nodded. 'I understand why you didn't tell me. Frankly, I don't really care.'

'You don't?'

The first officer shook his head. 'All I care about is that you have people out there who care about you.'

'They do,' Martin said quickly. 'Mycroft's a bit... well, um, frightening. But he really does care. And Sherlock, too. And Q. I'm just sorry that Mycroft, um, kidnapped you. He does that a lot, like I said. It's a bit of a problem, apparently. He does it to everyone his brothers see.'

'Yes, he mentioned that,' Douglas commented.

Martin smiled slightly. 'So... we're okay?' he asked.

'Why wouldn't we be?'

'Um, well... Mycroft and... you know, all of that.'

'Martin, really, it's fine,' Douglas insisted. 'I'm just glad that you told me now.'

'Okay,' Martin nodded, 'that's, erm... good?'

'It is,' Douglas said.

Martin smiled. 'Good.'

Douglas chuckled and stood. Martin blushed a bit, but leaned up so Douglas could press a soft kiss to his lips. 'How about we head straight back to mine, hmm? We can order a pizza.'

It was going to take a while for Douglas to properly wrap his head around all of it, but for now he was fine. Martin had people who cared about him; at the end of the day, that was all that really mattered to Douglas.

'Okay,' Martin readily agreed, and he stood too. 'Oh,' he said when they were leaving GERTI, 'just, um... if a tall, lanky bloke breaks into your flat, ignore him, okay? And don't call the police.'

'What?' Douglas asked in confusion.

'Well, Mycroft has a habit of kidnapping the people his brothers are dating,' Martin told him. 'And Sherlock has the habit of breaking into their flats.'

Douglas stared at him, but quickly realised that Martin was serious. 'Tall, lanky bloke, did you said?' he finally asked.

Martin nodded. 'With curly brown hair. He wears a big coat and a blue scarf, and will probably insult you within three seconds of you meeting.'

'Right,' Douglas chuckled softly. 'I'll keep an eye out.'

Martin smiled and they continued their walk towards the port-a-cabin.

'What about Q?' Douglas questioned.

'Hmm?'

'Mycroft kidnaps people, Sherlock breaks into their flats... what's the other one- Q- do?'

'Oh,' Martin blinked. 'Well, he hacks into your records; anything that's been computerised, Q will find.' He shrugged one shoulder. 'But it's too late for that. As soon as Mycroft discovered that they had another brother, Q found out all he could. It's how Mycroft knew where I lived and what I did for a living. Actually, Q was the one who found MJN Air,' Martin explained.

'Right,' Douglas murmured as he tried to absorb the information.

'And then, after Mycroft heard Carolyn was looking, he suggested I apply here. So...' Martin shrugged again. 'This was back when we didn't really know each other that well. It's only lately, after the whole Moriarty business, that we've properly gotten to know each other. They didn't want me in danger, you see. But that's all over and done with, and Sherlock helped me find a better flat, and Mycroft invested in MJN, and Q made sure I was safe.'

Douglas could do nothing but laugh as they continued walking. Dear God, what had he walked into?

Still, he mused as his eyes slid down Martin's body, the younger pilot was thoroughly worth it; insane family included.

{THE END}

Author's Note: No. Freaking. Idea. I just really love it when Mycroft kidnaps people. And suddenly I imagined him kidnapping Douglas, and it kind of snow-balled from there. It's a bit like my Bondlock story, so... yeah. I (or my muse, really) decided to write random Cabinlock on my birthday. I'm writing absolute weird crap lately, I think my muse has finally snapped and gone insane (or insaner).

Hate it or love it, it's up to you. Cheers,

{IBegToDreamAndDiffer}