Thanks to Frances for the beta. All remaining errors are mine.


Stephanie Caulder watched CI5 agents Bodie and Doyle playfully argue as they headed for the carpark. "An amazing pair," she murmured aloud, thinking herself alone.

"Quite, Miss Caulder, or should I say, doctor?" CI5 agent Murphy asked as he stopped just behind the lanky female.

"Excuse me?" Caulder inquired as she turned around.

The CI5 man looked directly at the woman, "I have a mate at the Yard."

"I see." Dr. Caulder sighed as she watched Bodie and Doyle pull out of the car park. "Guess it's time to clear out my desk and file my reports." She headed back toward the unostentatious building.

"Hold on, now, "Murphy called out.

"What? Word hasn't spread through the ranks, yet?"

"CI5 doesn't have rank, ma'am and no it hasn't."

A look of disbelief settled on the doctor's face.

"The Superintendent confided that you were a great help. He had a lad that wanted to switch partners but feared the repercussions. Your report allowed for the change without it being personal. Was quite grateful, actually," Murphy admitted honestly.

Caulder accepted the confidence without direct comment. "Are there pairings here that want change?" she queried instead.

Murphy cracked a smile, "We're not such a formal bunch here. They'd already be squawking about it. If they didn't, Cowley would know anyhow."

"Yes, Mr. Cowley does seem to have a firm bead in all things CI5. I have wondered why I am here."

They walked across the car park to the back entrance door of the dilapidated building.

Murphy paused before opening the door. "I would hazard a guess that the Old Man wants an outside source finding to confirm what he already knows."

"For the Ministers?" Caulder may have been an American, but she did understand British politics.

"And the like."

"Well, we shall see. I'll be finished by the week's end." Caulder preceded The CI5 man into the corridor. She silently mused to herself, "I wonder if he knows everything?"

---

George Cowley had the assessment team meet in the corner conference room. They would be far enough away that those in the restroom would not be able to overhear the proceedings.

Cowley believed in the strength of partnerships and the lack of rank within them. Two equal partners working off the strengths and weakness of each other. A Minister or two have questioned the real feasibility of such a practice, especially those who had come up from the military and like organisations.

Cowley was always on the lookout for documentation to back his way of thinking. Today's session should augment his file.

He knew the voice of dissension would be Kate Ross. She believed in individuality and feared the loss of it keenly for each agent. Cowley believed that she was very good at what she did, but that she hadn't yet grasped what this organisation required of its people.

Cowley looked at his core group of Craine, Ross and Hedley but directed his question to their guest. "Dr. Caulder, I was hoping you could answer any questions the others may have about your report."

"Certainly." Her American accent distinctive for its difference.

"I don't believe we can give these findings much merit. She completely ignored the mental health of each individual. Many of the active agents are showing diminished mental capacities and should be removed from standby classification pending an in-depth examination."

Under his breath, Hedley muttered, "The voice patterns again?"

Jack Craine covered his mouth. He didn't want the good doctor's wicked tongue turned on him just yet.

"Why? Because they skydive, race motorcycles, or generally play hard when they aren't risking life and limb for their country?" Caulder asked of Dr. Ross.

"There are perfectly reasonable and mentally healthily ways of countering the stress of their occupation without resorting to jumping from aeroplanes. Many of the agents here employ such methods. It's the ones that don't that concern me," Ross turned her head and directed the statement to the American.

"These aren't high paid execs dealing with stressful financial decisions, these aren't men that can relieve stress with a Stairmaster. These CI5 men are agents that know this could be the very last day they are alive. They put their life on the line with every assignment. Jogging the cemetery is not a stress reliever for them, it just a means of staying in shape for the job.

You, Dr. Ross, expect these men to react like the "others" in high-stress occupations, so your tests are askew from the get-go. They all know their being measured and they react as thus, until yesterday, they took me as an operative, one of their own, not a shrink. That allowed me to assess and view them unhindered."

"And with that unfettered access you came up with this drivel?" Ross' disdain very evident. She looked down and found the pairing that caused her the most concern. "How can you sit there and say Bodie and Doyle are perfectly normal?"

"For all your degrees and education, you don't understand these men at all." Stephanie watched Ross try to hide her ire.

"I disagree with most of her findings, sir. It's possible that she doesn't understand the inner workings of a foreign agency." Ross turned and faced Cowley, her only hope within this group of muttonheads. He must be convinced.

Cowley opened his mouth to comment but was beaten by the American.

"What you fail to comprehend, Dr. Ross, is that I am not evaluating individuals. I evaluate partners. Partners are not two individuals working together, but a separate and distinct unit."

"Oh, pish. There is no such thing. Every person is a separate entity." Dr. Ross was very scathing in her reply.

"There, you are very wrong, Doctor, a working partnership is a unique form unto its own. The effective teams think and work as one. One doesn't treat them as individuals and therein are our differences. As you will see, my evaluations greatly differ from yours."

"Many of these men had questionable behaviour in their past, possible trust issues and you have ignored it completely in your report." Ross pointed out another flaw.

"Everything up until they were teamed together is irrelevant. If you want to study the past to figure out the why they are the men they are today, more power to you. I study teams, the partnership that exists today. The past is not relevant to that. I evaluate to see if the pairing has or can develop the trust that is essential to form a successful and safe teaming."

"It's their past that will show you how very caviller they have been about death and continue to be." Ross warmed to her argument.

Hedley spoke up, irritated at Kate's rigid view of acceptable behaviour. "I know that I have said this before but these men are called on every day to face death. Being flippant is a perfectly acceptable male way of dealing with that eventuality."

Caulder smiled at the older man and backed up his observation. "And these men and women of CI5, in particular, are not just the typical law enforcement agents. This is an elite group, called upon to perform the most difficult of duties.

These partnerships within are more intense than Yard partnerships, more the FBI. These partnerships are more than a marriage. CI5 partners pursue the worst into some of the worst situations. They have only their partner to depend on. These agents have to completely rely on one another. They face situations when backup may not get there. At times like those, they must trust their partner without question.

That's the difference. That level of trust. These last three months, I have been witness to several situations that could have had a very negative outcome but for the intuitive quality these partnerships relied on. In the field, time and time again, I saw first hand this very difference keep the agents and their charges alive. Possibly, Doctor, you should see them in action before you postulate diminished capacities."

Crane had butted heads with Dr. Ross on many occasions and enjoyed watching another battle her, but he felt the need to interject. "Well, it's obvious that you've never had a partner. That dependence is what keeps you alive. It means you lay your life on the line and he's the one guarding your back. It means in a gun battle he's calling for back up. You put you life in his hands each and every day."

"And you don't think that is an unhealthily way to live? You proved my point for me." She turned triumphantly to Cowley to further drive home her victory only to recognise the look on the controller's face. He agreed with Crane.

Caulder knew she had the others backing her viewpoint. "That makes the partnerships here the most crucial of all. Not all people are suited to having a partner, and that limits what that person can do. Undercover mostly, where they rely on an outside contact, but in this and like organisations, partners see the most dangerous of work. That makes their need to cut lose all the more important. Not your standard fare but outlets that let them fully enjoy all they have been fighting for."

"Excuse me, they are not fighting a war..."

Cowley interrupted, "Oh, but they are. They are fighting a war on crime and the hardened criminals that reside within our society. It's a daily war we all fight. That's what CI5 is all about."

"With Bodie and Doyle, you have the most efficient team within your organisation. Quite frankly, they are possibly in the top five worldwide. Why? That partnership trust between them. That intuitive ability to communicate without words."

Frustrated, Ross sat straighter in her seat. They all had lost sight of what they were here for. The mental health of the very organisation they were fussing over. "Mr. Cowley, I must protest..."

"We're finished here. After lunch, the B Squad." His tone dismissed the entire group.

Dr. Ross waited for the office to clear. "Sir, a word?"

Cowley took off his glasses biting back a sigh, "Yes, Doctor."

"Mr. Cowley, do you really want men that look at life like a game? Operate without rules, dare death on their off time?"

"It's the nature of the job." Cowley reminded her. "The people here are loyal to their country, willing to give their life for it if need be. That is what brought them here and made them suitable for the job. And most here are incorruptible, especially Bodie and Doyle. You seem to have the most misgivings about that pairing."

"I maintain that they have an unhealthy attachment." Ross was anxious to convey her concern.

"Yes, I know, Dr. Ross, you have made your views quite clear. I value your opinion, but on this matter I am in agreement with Dr. Caulder."

"Sir, I believe that you have lost sight of her assignment, to evaluate the health of the existing pairings. Many of them have been together too long, grown far to dependent on one another."

"Do you not understand the nature of the job? They are at the beck and call of the job 100% of the time; there is no other way. That dependence is essential to optimise performance."

Not one to give up, "But..."

"No buts, Dr. Ross, CI5 is unlike any other job, and my agents are unique. The interpretation of your results don't apply here."

"I don't agree and my objection will be in my report."

"Fine, Doctor, that's all." Alone he reread Dr. Caulder's findings...humm, one flat. It would save CI5 money ... and ever since...well, maybe Bodie would relax more.

Cowley thought back to Doyle's near brush with death. Bodie had been odd, wanting to be at the hospital where he could do nothing over being in the field, catching who'd done the shooting. Bodie had been more concerned and needed more information on Doyle's recovery than he had ever required about Claire Woolfe's. Now, Bodie continued to worry over the locks, or he should say, Doyle's locks.

The controller of CI5 stood, in the mind to seek further information, stepped into the corridor and located their guest. "Doctor, I would like a few moments," Cowley asked.

"Yes, sir?"

They walked along to the Controller's office.

Cowley indicated that she sit. "Dr. Caulder, I want to thank you for your work. I can see why you came highly recommended."

"Thank you, sir."

"Your reports remained on topic, just the working relationship between the partners. You confirmed what I had already believed."

"Yes, I figured as much." She smiled at the controller.

"About Bodie and Doyle..."

"Yes, sir?" Polite interest was all one could read on her face.

`She's almost as good as Bodie,' George Cowley mused as he read nothing from her demeanour. "Your recommendation regarding Bodie and Doyle..."

"Yes, they should live together."

"Share a flat?" Cowley could admit to himself that he was surprised, "Don't they spend too much time together already?"

"The home should be the one place an agent can truly relax. Since Doyle's shooting within his own flat, Bodie worries. I know, most would say that Bodie doesn't worry about anything except the assignment, but we both know that's not true. Bodie is a lot deeper than he ever lets on."

Cowley nodded his head in agreement to that.

"Well, that worry is always there, preventing him from completely relaxing, even in his down time. Together, that unacknowledged worry would be abated." Stephanie paused, she knew she needed to remain completely professional.

Cowley took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Dr. Ross will say that the amount of time they already spend together is ...unhealthy. How would you refute that?"

"For you, or me, or most even, but not Bodie and Doyle. It's that trust issue again. The home should be the one place they feel totally safe, with Bodie and Doyle safe means that their partner is safe. They know now that their homes are not impenetrable, so their back is left unguarded."

"Dr. Ross would say that is the very reason they should be separated."

"Because she sees individuals. Mr. Cowley, Bodie and Doyle are the perfect example of a partnership at its best. Together they are more effective that ten solo agents. They work almost flawlessly; they have absolute trust in one another. May I be perfectly candid?"

"Yes, of course."

"This... this won't affect them?"

"No. My word on it."

"Everything with those two comes down to trust. Doyle trusts no one, save Bodie. Bodie trusts you to a degree, but the only one he trusts completely is Ray Doyle. No one else. Quite a departure for Bodie, giving his trust to another.

Doyle is quite cynical about people, but he does believe in the ideals that people hold, that's why CI5 works. You are CI5 to him, he trusts that you will do what's right for England and the world. But the only person he trusts absolutely is Bodie.

By sharing a flat, they know their back is covered and they know that their partner is covered. Mr. Cowley, I'll stake my reputation that in one month of their sharing a flat, you will see a marked calmness within both and an even more effective working team."

Cowley studied the American doctor, he knew her work with the FBI and Scotland Yard. He found her outlook mirroring some of his own beliefs.

"What about dating? They seem to hardly go out. Do things together instead." Cowley knew this would be another point brought to his attention.

"Do you see any signs of sexual frustration. They get what they need. The last month I spent with them and others on the A Squad, I found that many spent time together when on stand-by. Seemed to save money on apology flowers and candy." Caulder smiled at concerned man across from her. "Bodie and Doyle have decided independently of each other to stay away from committed relationships such as marriage. As Bodie told me, he's married to the job. Doyle has come to realise that he puts the job first and he can't do that to a loved one."

"Thank you, Doctor. Because Bodie and Doyle are the best team, they come under the most scrutiny. They are also the most unorthodox team, this again keeps the eyes upon them. I just like to have as much documentation to back them up." He put the report inside the appropriate folder. "We'll finish up with the B Squad this afternoon. Go get lunch."

Dismissed, the guest evaluator left the office.

Cowley could not help being impressed. Not by deed or expression did she convey any but the professional reading on his best team. But he knew without a doubt that she knew, just as he did, that the depth of caring between those two was much more than reported.

What her report did allow was a reasonable explanation for the closeness that could not be ignored. He now had outside confirmation on his own reasoning.

Dr. Ross must be apoplectic by now. Cowley smiled as started on the B Squad evaluations from Ross.

---

Ross waited for Caulder to leave the controller's office and stopped her outside interrogation room number two.

"You know that they're in love with one another," Ross was actually hoping for surprise.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes, "Then splitting them would destroy them same as death."

"Splitting them would allow them to get into a healthier lifestyle," Ross argued.

"All they need to do for that is to leave CI5. This world is dangerous on a slow day."

"That's not what I mean."

"I know. You think love is unhealthy. You obviously have never been there. Or is it just them? Two males? Love is love. You're born, you live, you die. If you can find real love between birth and death, run with it."

"You are not very professional." Ross' voice was at the height of haughtiness.

"By whose measure? Yours? I would retire if I ever reached yours." Dr. Caulder turned away and exited the CI5 building.

---

Stephanie Caulder collected her belongings and sought out Murphy before she left for the last time. She could already feel the stares. Ross couldn't wait to reveal the interloper, so word of her true purpose was out and the feelings of betrayal were palatable.

Bodie's stare was off putting enough, but Doyle's comment, "To think we treated you as a compatriot and it was all lies." This was worse coming from a man that trusted so few. Caulder left knowing that the ends justified the means in this case. Those two may never know, but she had been loyal to them and all the agents in the CI 5 family.

---

Doyle dropped his car at the motor pool garage for a tune and left with Bodie. After a few pints at Bodie's local they picked up some chicken takeaway and headed for Bodie' flat. They arrived to find a special courier awaiting them.

"Mr. Bodie? Mr. Doyle?" The courier waited for a reply.

"I'm Bodie."

"I've a delivery. You need to sign for it." The courier presented the envelope and the signature disk for his mark.

Bodie ripped open the envelope as Doyle set the locks.

"It's from Caulder."

"Toss it." Ray' tone left little room for interpreting his feelings about the good doctor.

"Now, Ray, we wouldn't want to miss a good apology." Bodie smiled with his mouth but his eyes were hard.

Ray shrugged then motioned with his eyes for his partner to go ahead and open it.

Bodie pulled out a single sheet a paper. Ray read over Bodie's shoulder.

Dear Bodie and Ray,

I know you feel betrayed and I am sorry about that.

My job was to evaluate the effectiveness of the working partnership within CI5. Whatever I may have observed of a personal nature did not make its way into my report. It was not revenant to my job. I did officially recommend that you two share a flat. Cowley did seem well disposed to the idea.

Beware of Dr. Ross, she is not your friend.

It was a privilege to work you both. What you have is special, treasure it.

Sincerely, Dr. Stephanie Caulder

A full body relief swept through Ray, but he merely squeezed Bodie's shoulder tightly.

"Not half bad as apologies go," Bodie returned Ray's squeeze. This time the smile reached his eyes.

-- THE END --

October 2003