Title: Now, Sleep
Pairing: Fischer/La Cour
Rating: PG
Length: 1321
Summary: In the middle of a case, Fischer has to go searching for his lover and partner.
Authors Note: This has been written for a friend as a (slightly belated) birthday present.

It was the cold that woke Fischer at first. For all that La Cour was a lanky bastard, he was like a bloody space heater in bed, simply radiating warmth. It was great in winter, not so much in the summer. Given that it was December and they were currently in the arse-end of nowhere in some shitty hotel with thin blankets, temperamental heating and Fischer’s usual habit of wrapping himself around La Cour like an octopus, it was hardly surprising that Fischer noticed his bed partners disappearance, even deep in sleep.

A quick glance around the room told him what he needed to know; that La Cour was no longer in the room. He didn’t need to go and check the hotel room down the corridor to know that he wouldn’t find La Cour there either. The two of them didn’t hide their relationship but neither did they advertise it openly. They knew that the team would be okay with it – hell, they undoubtedly knew already – but there was no telling what the reaction would be from the higher-ups and they didn’t want to risk that. So, while away on cases, officially they had separate rooms, but one always ended up being unused, the bed covers ruffled to keep up pretence. Once the team retired for the evening, either Fischer or La Cour would slip down the corridor and into the others room. It was hardly ideal, but they made do. They had to. There were higher-ups in the police who disapproved of Rejseholdet and its very existence who would potentially use the knowledge of a relationship between team members against them. Especially when said team members were Fischer and La Cour.

Knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep while he didn’t know where La Cour was, Fischer threw back the blankets and got out of bed, throwing on a mismatch of clothes and hopping into his shoes. Even though he knew that it was pointless, Fischer checked the other hotel room, finding it as empty as he had expected. Making his way downstairs and outside, he swore when he saw that La Cour’s SUV had disappeared. This made things a hell of a lot fucking harder. La Cour could be anywhere right now.

It was a bitch of a case, one of the worst that they had seen. The local police were even more reluctant to work with the team than usual and, wherever they turned, they found something blocking their way. La Cour’s visions were coming with greater regularity and taking even more of a toll than usual and had Fischer more concerned than ever. He’d passed out several times but, given that the case involved children, he was refusing to heed everyone’s concerns and admonishments that he take a break and rest. Fischer could understand why La Cour was insistent on seeing this case through, but he couldn’t help but worry. Climbing into his car, Fischer lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, prepared to drive around all night if he had to.

An hour later, that was looking more and more likely. Knowing La Cour’s penchant for visiting crime scenes, he made that his first stop, but it was empty except for one local officer standing guard and a whole load of crime tape. From there, he tried various other locations that seemed to be of significance to the case, but each place was empty with no sign of La Cour. Finally, as the clock on the dashboard ticked over to three am, Fischer decided to try the only place that he hadn’t looked yet; the mobile office.

There were no lights on when he pulled up, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Fischer took one final, long drag of his cigarette before he turned off the engine, flicking the butt across the pavement as he got out. Everything was silent except for the steps creaking as he made his way up them, and it was no different once he was in the office, everything silent and dark. And then he heard the faint squeak of the hammock rocking from side to side. Moving softly, just in case La Cour was asleep, Fischer headed in that direction, eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light. As he drew closer, he could see that La Cour wasn’t asleep but was instead staring into mid-air, absentmindedly taking a swig from his beer bottle every now and then.

“Drinking alone? That’s not like you, Thomas. And in the dark too.”

“Shit, Allan! What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”

“I’m well aware of that. Funny thing though, not really sure how you expect me to stay asleep when you leave our bed – and hotel room – in the middle of the night without saying anything.”

“I….”

“You know what, budge over.”

“I’m sorry, what? Budge over?”

“Have I suddenly started talking bollocks? Yes. It’s fucking cold, you’re clearly not coming back to bed so budge over.”

Fischer getting into the hammock without depositing La Cour on the floor took a fair amount of manoeuvring, but they managed it, although it was cramped, and Fischer was more lying on top of La Cour than next to him. As settled as he was going to be, Fischer stole the bottle of beer and drained it, dropping it on the floor when it was empty.

“So, you going to tell me why you’re here at arse o’clock in the morning instead of keeping me warm in bed?”

“I thought of something and wanted to check on it. I think I may have cracked it, but I can’t be certain until the morning.”

“Of course you have. Right, if you can’t check then you need to sleep.” Fischer fumbled around until he managed to snag one corner of La Cour’s overcoat, tugging it so that it mostly covered them.

“Here? With you?”

“That’s what I said.” Fischer craned his neck and pressed a quick kiss to La Cour’s lips. “Now, sleep.”

(~*~)

It was Ingrid who found them four hours later when she came into the office early, intent on pursuing something that she’d thought of whilst out jogging with Gaby. She had gone straight to her desk, only realising that she wasn’t alone when she heard several sleepy snuffles. Looking around the office, she saw that - to all intents and appearances - she was alone, before she heard a soft, familiar rustle and glanced in the direction of the hammock. A smile spread across her face when she saw the two men crammed together in the tiny space, La Cour’s overcoat spread over them as a makeshift blanket.

Feet thudding up the steps heralded Gaby’s arrival and, as her smiling face appeared in the doorway, Ingrid held a finger up to her lips as she gestured furiously in the direction of the two men. Gaby looked over and her eyes widened at the sight, her grin widening if that was actually possible. Tiptoeing across the office, she held up the bag of pastries that she’d stopped to get on her way in, placing them on Ingrid’s desk as she leaned in to whisper.

“Should we wake them up?”

“No, let them sleep. La Cour hasn’t been sleeping enough and Fischer’s undoubtedly been staying awake with him. Besides, the smell of coffee will wake them soon enough. Speaking of which…”

The two women moved to the kitchen nook, both turning to watch their colleagues in the corner.

“Do you think they’ll ever come out and tell us? Officially, I mean. They have to know that we know they’re together.”

Ingrid smiled at Gaby. “Of course, they do. I have a feeling that they have their own reasons, probably noble at heart, but completely unnecessary. They’ll learn soon enough they don’t have to. We’ll stick by them, regardless of what is thrown at us.”