Hello everybody! I'm back for my second Watch Dogs story, as the first one is on hiatus for now because I want to follow the game a bit more and especially now that I know more about how the characters are. Which was not a luxury I had when I wrote my first story last year, story I plan to finish but I have to rethink a lot of ideas for it. So, yeah. Here is this new story's first chapter! This is an Aiden/OC story, so if you don't like this...please don't bash it!

I own nothing except my OC. It all belongs to Ubisoft. I am simply borrowing what they've given us!

Watch_Dogs

BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY_

Chapter 1_

It was always the one thing she never wished would happen to her if she one day became a parent and it still was not happening to her. Shaw never thought she be kneeling on the grass in front of the smallest tomb she'd ever seen, tomb covered with flowers and a picture of the prettiest little girl. She ran her fingers through the humid grass, tugging at it once in a while as she stared at the grey tombstone.

"It's too small for a grave, isn't it?" She spoke out loud, giving a sideway glance as a tree came in view. She looked down, a small smile wanting to tug at her lips as she looked back up. Her gaze was finally resting on the peeking shadow of an all too familiar man.

"How long have you known?" The rasp in his voice sent chills up her spine as she sighed.

"That you were there watching?" She slightly smiled. "A while."

From the corner of her eyes she noted how his shadowed figure finally came out of the darkness, taking a stand a few feet behind her as Shaw stood up and dusted herself off before turning to face him fully.

"Aiden." She said his name loud enough for him to hear. "I didn't think I'd see you this quickly, but then…I'm not surprised."

"Jordi told me."

"Of course he did." She chuckled as she breathed the next words. "And now here you are."

She sadly glanced at the tombstone as she gently glided her hands over the lettering, "How long have you been back?"

"A little over a month." She looked up at him. "Walk me to my car?"

He simply nodded as they began walking in tandem, both with their hands at their sides as they remained silent. They soon reached her car as they slowed down, Shaw leaning against it.

"Does Nicky still live in the area?" Aiden nodded. "I should visit her today…"

"She'd be happy to see you…Jacks too." Aiden noted as Shaw smiled.

She slightly shook her head, "What are you planning to do, Aiden?"

"Nothing," he rasped, "nothing you need to worry about." He insisted as she gave a slight scoff.

"So, there is something you're planning…"

"Shaw…"

"Aiden." He rolled his eyes. "You look good…considering."

He shoved his hands in his pockets, pursing his lips, "You too. You look happy."

Her expression was a mixture of a grimace and smile as she answered, "I do look happy, don't I? Looking happy and being happy are two different things…"

Aiden fought the urge to roll his eyes, "Stop."

She chuckled, "You haven't asked yet."

"I figured I'd wait until our second meeting at least…give you some breathing space." She grinned at his words.

"Hm." She licked her lips as she crossed her arms over her chest. "How nice and thoughtful of you." He suppressed a smirk as she shook her head.

She took this time to take in his appearance. Aiden was fairly simple in his way of dressing. And the last two years hadn't changed much about him. He wore the same sweater, same pants, same boots, but the only difference was the coat and cap he wore. He wore his hair the same length, Shaw coming to the conclusion that he hadn't changed much since the last time she'd seen him.

"Planning to disappear any time soon?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Ouch." She scoffed, chuckling a little. "But no, I'm staying."

He squinted when looking up, his eyes meeting with the bright shine of the sun as he asked, "Temporarily or for good?" She looked up at him, staring into his green eyes as she analyzed his features before closing her eyes for a few seconds.

When she opened them up again she was met with his still piercing gaze, "For good." She breathed. She watched him then smiled softly, her hand rising to rest on his forearm and giving it the lightest of squeezes. "It was nice seeing you…I guess we'll have to talk sooner or later about, well, you know…"

He nodded, "You going to see Nicky now?"

"Yeah," she smiled lightly, "oh, and, uh, I went and saw Leon today…"

"How's the old man?" He asked as she lightly slapped his arm, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He's good…he said he hasn't seen you in a little over a year. He wonders how you've been…" she said, retelling some of what Leon and her spoke of when she visited him. Aiden looked down, obviously aware of his lack of socializing with the people he cared about in the past year since his niece's death. Even his own sister and his nephew. Aiden shook his head before looking at Shaw.

She always knew and she always could tell what he was thinking about. She understood him, of all the people he knew, even his sister, she understood how he worked and what made him tick. But she also knew when to speak and what to tell him, which is why he wasn't surprised she'd spoken of Leon but hadn't pressed the matter more.

"I'm gonna go now…" she said softly, giving him one last look before getting inside her car as she put the key in the ignition. She stared at the steering wheel for a few seconds before looking up, pressing a button as the window rolled down. "Hey, uh…whenever you wanna talk, uh…"

As she trailed off he finished her sentence, speaking low as he said, "I know where to find you…"

Her lips suddenly parted in a smile as she nodded, "You do."

Seconds of silence later, she closed her window and drove off, watching as Aiden's figure grew smaller the further away she got until he completely disappeared and she was left to herself on her way to his sister's house.

Shaw entered the gated community sneaking her way inside when a car passed through. She quietly walked through the friendly neighborhood, looking from house to house and looking until she spotted the familiar house. She slowed down, coming to an eventual stop before standing still, an overwhelming amount of memories flooding her mind. She shook off whatever it was she was feeling before walking up the few stairs separating her from the door. Lifting her hand up slowly, Shaw giving the door the gentle knocks before letting it fall to her side again.

She kept her head low as the door opened, forcing her to look up at a familiar face. She obviously had not been expecting her visit judging by the look on her face, eyebrows raised and mouth open as she tried to mutter some words.

"Hey Nicky." Shaw said, speaking first as Aiden's sister finally let a smile appear on her face as she pulled Shaw into the tightest hug she had ever been given. "Whoa…hey…"

"This…is not a dream, right?" Nicky mumbled, not letting go of Shaw as the latter chuckled while shaking her head as she herself wrapped her arms around Nicky.

"Uh, no, no. I'm pretty sure this is reality." Shaw said, pinching Nicky's side as she whined. "Does this help?"

"Nope."

Shaw slightly pulled back, giving a shrug of her shoulders as she smiled, "Well, I tried."

Nicky stared at her in amazement before stepping aside, "Well, geez, come inside." This elicited a chuckle out of Shaw as she stepped inside Nicky's house, the feeling of familiarity sinking into her body as she looked around the house she hadn't visited in two years.

Nicky guided her inside the house excitedly while explaining that Jackson was at school and was not going to be back for a couple of hours, and making sure to let Shaw know how excited he would be to learn she was back in town. She could only smile at the image of the young boy she had last seen when he was about to turn eight, having gone weeks before his birthday much to her dismay now.

"Want something to drink?" Nicky excitedly asked, still in disbelief of having her standing in her kitchen after being gone for two years.

Shaw gave a tiny nod, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, "Uh, water sounds good."

She watched her friend go on about in her kitchen as she got a glass and filed it with fresh water. Nicky had changed in the last two years, that's for sure. Physically she was still the young attractive woman she had always been, the only physical change she noted on her being the length of her hair as it now was longer than the short bob she formerly wore the last time they had seen each other.

Nicky turned around, two glasses of water in hand as she headed towards her and sat down, handing Shaw her glass, "Here."

"Thanks." Shaw smiled, quickly taking a sip of it before speaking. "I don't see that husband of yours around…" she grimaced at the image of him, watching Nicky chuckle at her grimace.

"We got a divorce." Shaw nearly choked on her own saliva as she coughed her way through the surprise. "Just after you left actually…"

"Well, well," Shaw took it upon herself to take another sip of water, "that is indeed some…good news I take? I mean, for you at least…how did Jacks take it?"

Nicky chuckled, "I felt great once it was finalized…" she paused, "Jacks was sad but…we tried explaining to him that sometimes people still care but just don't love each other the same way they did before…and he knew his dad was always on the road. He took it better than I thought. Lena did too…"

She trailed off into silence, "I'm guessing you heard…"

"I kept track of the news when I saw the article about the accident…" Shaw explained, "and I wasn't gonna pay it any attention but I recognized the car…" she mumbled, looking down at her glass of water before looking back to Nicky.

"He blames himself, you know," Shaw frowned, "Aiden."

A long, heavy sigh left Shaw's lips as her shoulders slumped in the slightest, "Of course he would do that to himself…"

"I told him that it was about moving on and that I didn't blame him, but he keeps beating himself up about it…he doesn't allow himself to move on." Nicky exclaimed, obviously emotional over her brother destroying himself out of the guilt he felt.

Shaw reached out, a hand grasping Nicky's as she gave it a comforting squeeze, "It's Aiden, you know? He won't allow himself to move on until – until he finds out what happened."

"The cops said he was drunk…" Nicky mumbled, shaking her head. "He wouldn't do that."

Shaw's jaw clenched, "He'd rather be stranded in the middle of nowhere than to drink and put the kids in danger…that's a load of bullshit," she scoffed, "he would never drink at the wheel."

She knew Nicky was aware that her brother would never purposely put Jacks and Lena in danger just for a drink. Anyone who knew Aiden well enough knew that as much as the man enjoyed a drink once in a while he was never one to drink if he knew he was going to be driving at all, especially if his nephew and niece were going to be in the car with him. He did not care if he ever was injured, as long as his family never was.

That was Aiden in a nutshell. A caring man who would hurt the world before anything ever happened to his family, no matter how bad of a person that would make him look like. Some people's morals depend on what's considered right and what's considered wrong in todays world. Others morals would change depending on a paycheck. Some wouldn't have any morals. Aiden's depended on the safety of his family.

Whether that made him a good man or not, he could not care less.

What does he have in mind now? Was all Shaw could think of as she gave another squeeze to Nicky's hand, earing a small smile from the woman she had grown to think of as a sister over the years.

Revenge? Maybe.

Whatever it is he was going to try to do, the one thing she hoped was that it would not bring more pain onto his family after they'd suffered more than enough.

"Have you seen him?" Nicky's voice interrupted her thoughts as she shook her head out of them, her eyebrows raised as she added. "Aiden."

Shaw nodded, leaning back into her chair as she let go of Nicky's hand, "I did…actually..," she paused, chewing the inside of her cheek before answering, "just before coming here."

"How'd it go?"

She gave little rapid nods, "It went okay…considering." She said, her nose crinkling a bit. "We're planning to talk soon…"

"Are you ever gonna tell me why you left for so long?" Nicky asked.

Shaw sighed, "I was waiting for you to ask."

Nicky grinned, "I just did…"

This elicited a chuckle out of Shaw, "I had a tough time coming to terms with Brett being gone…I, uh, I had a breakdown." She crossed her arms over her chest, as she swiped her tongue over her lower lip. "Needed to clear my head so, I went home…I shouldn't have just gone the way I did though."

"A call would have been nice," Nicky said before quickly adding, "but I get it. I'm just glad you're okay and that you're back."

Both women smiled, "You are back, right?" Shaw nearly barked a laugh out before nodding, her eyes brightly looking back at her.

"Yeah, I'm back."

Nicky turned around to look at the clock hanging on the wall, turning to glance back at Shaw, "You wanna stay for dinner?"

"I should probably go…" Shaw began.

"Are you sure you don't wanna stay?" Nicky asked, standing up just as Shaw was doing the same.

Shaw smiled, gently grabbing and squeezing Nicky's arm, "I want to...I just have some things to take care of first."

Nicky slowly nodded, "Okay, well...make sure you come and see Jacks! He'll be so happy to see you."

"Of course!" Shaw promised. "Does he come around often? Aiden I mean..."

Nicky slowly shook her head, "Not really..." She looked down before glancing up towards Shaw. "He hasn't been here in a year…he still blames himself."

"Yeah..." Shaw mumbled under her breath. "I'll talk to him...get him to come by when I do."

"Oh! You, you don't have to...!"

"I know...but it's Aiden, and I may be able to convince him." Nicky gives a small smile.

"Thank you." She says as Shaw gives a small shrug. "He always listened to you more."

Shaw frowned, as Nicky was quick to explain further, "You always kept him on his toes."

This caused Shaw to grin, "I didn't give in to him too quickly either." Nicky chuckled. "Take care, yeah?"

"You too and be safe." She was about to close the door before speaking again. "Oh, Jacks' birthday party is tomorrow…you're welcomed to stop by if you want? It would mean the world to him."

"Of course."

Shaw smiled as she exited the house, heading to her car and taking her place in the driver's seat. She sighed, reaching for her phone before shaking her head in a discouraged manner.

"He won't tell me where is even if I asked nicely…" She muttered to herself, her lips pursed as she looked down at the brightly lit screen. She began working away on it, a serious expression etched on her face. "Let's see if I still remember what you taught me."

The Owl Motel. Cozy, I guess. She thought, removing her keys from the ignition as she stepped out and looked at her surroundings. She'd barely ever been on this side of town, analyzing the area just as she did with any place she went to in case of emergency. In case she ever needed a quick escape route. She brought her phone out and looked at the map, the indicator still unmoving inside of the rooms as she scouted the ground floor before heading up to the second floor.

She eventually reached the room where she knew he would be, looking around before a heavy and shaky sigh left her lips. Shaw gently knocked on the wooden door, giving it three light knocks as she slightly stepped back with her hands in the air, her phone visibly placed into one. As soon as she'd done so the door opened, revealing an armed Aiden and his weapon pointed directly at her head as he lowered it when he set his eyes on her.

"Can I come in?"

He moved aside as she slowly stepped inside the room, "How'd you find me?"

Shaw only raised her hand, her phone securely in it, "I still remember the few tricks you taught me."

"What are you doing here?" Aiden snapped his eyes shut as the words left his mouth, the tone of his voice not being what he'd expected or wanted. "I'm sorry."

She gave a light smile, "I just came from Nicky's place." He nodded as she continued. "You haven't been there often, have you?"

He sighed, "I'm just asking, Aiden...I'm not reprimanding."

"I've been busy." Shaw rolled her eyes but only sighed, her shoulders slumping a bit as she then gave a shrug.

"Okay...what have you been busy with? Oh, this, huh?"

She'd stepped around him and walked to the board where a map, pictures, files and notes were hung, but Aiden stopped her, "I'm just looking..." She said as he let go of her arm.

Aiden watched as she walked around the room, looking over the board slowly as she sometimes lingered on a picture or a file, "Who's this?" She asked as she pointed at the picture of the man Aiden had captured not long ago.

"Maurice."

"Why is he on there?" She wondered, gently touching the picture before giving it a flick of her finger as she turned to look at Aiden.

"He caused the crash." There was a raise of her eyebrows. "I assume Nicky told you…"

"We spoke of it. I learned most of it through the news…but you and I know that's complete bullshit." She explained, glancing back at the board. "What are you trying to find out?"

He looked away for a few seconds before meeting her fixed gaze, "Who ordered the hit and the real reason why."

She swiped her tongue over her lower lip, then pressing her lips together as she contemplated her next words, "What happened to Damien?" Aiden's nostrils flared as he turned his back to her.

"Remember how I told you we wanted to hit something bigger?" Shaw looked down to her right as she tried remembering. "Well, we did."

Her whole body snapped around to hurry towards him, "You did?" Aiden had wanted to chuckle at her surprised tone but was able to remain passive at her reaction. "How big?"

"The Merlaut." Her wide-eyed expression as well as the surprised scoff had him smirk in the slightest as she stepped closer to him.

"But?"

"There was another hacker…Damien was too damn curious and wanted to find out who the other hacker was …" he trailed off.

"Stubborn as a mule," she paused, "and a greedy son of a bitch."

Aiden only nodded.

"The freaking Merlaut, huh?" She asked, allowing a small smile to appear on her lips. "That's bigger alright."

"He was ambitious."

"Too ambitious I bet."

She shook her head, looking back at the wall before frowning as she took a few closer steps while squinting to get a better look of what was written, "Jordi Chin helping you, huh? Surprised you two haven't killed each other yet…how'd you hear about him anyways?" She didn't remember telling Aiden of Jordi. She had learned from the lead Fixer that Aiden had gotten in contact with him a few months back, but that was a far as she knew.

It was Aiden's turn to scoff, "You mentioned him a few times, not to me but I remembered. I needed some help."

She couldn't help the look of disbelief from plastering on her face as she spoke, "And…you thought of Jordi?"

"I didn't know." He added as she threw her head back with a sigh.

"Obviously not. I probably should have warned you." She said, Aiden crossing his arms as he looked down at the petite woman.

"You weren't here." He answered, his words leaving too quickly yet again for his liking as he closed his eyes and clenched his jaw.

"Ouch. Twice in one day." She said, sighing as she pursed her lips. "I do deserve it though."

"Shaw…"

She raised a hand, stopping him, "No, I do…" she paused, "uh, I should probably go…" She made a move to head for the door but Aiden stepped forward, just slightly blocking her way in no forceful manner but enough to have her stop dead in her tracks.

"Shaw, I…" He trailed off when she looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to not make it more difficult as his shoulders slumped. She knew she basically did not deserve for him to make it easy for her but he could not help himself, not when it came to her. She always made things harder for him. She gave him what she hoped was a smile enough to make him believe she was alright, that there were no hard feelings. And there were no hard feelings, but it did not mean it was not going to hurt any less. "Where are you going now?"

She looked down, from left to right, "Uh, home…well," her nose crinkled and lips pursed, "I'm gonna make a small detour and I'm gonna try to find where Jordi is, I haven't seen him since being back…"

"He's in the Loop…it's where he stays I guess." Aiden informed her as she nodded, thanking him in the process of walking past him and out the door before stopping to face him one more time.

"Aiden," he looked up, "whatever it is you're doing, or…planning to do, I know you'll do anything to get some answers, I know you enough to know that. Just…be careful, yeah?"

His lips parted, blinking rapidly as he shifted from one foot to the other, "I will."

"Okay." It came out as a whisper loud enough for him to hear as she made to leave but stopped yet again, catching his attention. "Oh, and it's Jacks' birthday party tomorrow…I'm sure they'd want you there too, just thought I'd remind you…"

"Hm." He nodded.

"Stay safe, Aiden." She said, leaving the motel room and leaving the area to head towards the Loop district in the hopes of finding the lead Fixer she had not seen in a long time and the only person she remained in touch with while gone.

I'm gonna regret this.

Shaw had been standing in the dark familiar alley for almost half an hour now, still waiting on the lead Fixer to arrive if he ever would do so. His usually punctual self was not aware of her paying a visit to him, so she would not blame him for not having arrived quite yet, but she was not going to deny hating to wait for someone.

She stopped pacing around when a car's headlights came into view, driving down the alley in her direction as she squinted in an attempt to make out the driver, but without success. The car slowed down as it came to a stop a few meters from where she stood, the door opening as the car still ran to reveal the man she'd been waiting for.

With raised arms, he spoke, "As I live and breathe!"

"Took you long enough." She said, a small smile on her lips. "The hell have you been?"

He approached her, waving a hand around, "Oh, here and there, you know. Keeping myself busy. A man's gotta work to keep my kind of reputation alive."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she smiled, "Of course."

He made a gesture for her to follow him inside as she shook her head, following him as they entered his 'office' area. Nothing had changed from the last time she had been in this room, it was still very Jordi-like…over the top. Eccentric. Some things don't change. She glanced to her right where some monitors were hanging on the wall. She stepped closer to take a better look, her eyes jumping from split screen footage to the other before her eyebrows furrowed in recognition of one particular piece of footage.

It was a beaten man locked in a room by himself, sitting in the corner of the room and shaking, looking around and seemingly speaking to himself as he did so.

"Is that…?" She pointed to the screen as Jordi lazily glanced to the image.

He shrugged, taking his gun out to clean it, "Oh that? It's Pearce's plant, Maurice…he needs him for something and I'm the one, uh, kindly keeping an eye on him…"

She cocked an eyebrow, "He's paying you, Jordi."

"So what? A friendly favor is a friendly favor, even if one pays for said favor." He said.

"Your meaning of friendship is-"

"Touching?"

"Twisted…"

He squinted before shrugging his shoulders, "Oh well," he said, plopping himself on his chair, "there are no real friendships anymore, everything is all so twisted…one minute you're singing their praises and the next you're stabbing them in the back. Why not make some profit off of it?"

She shook her head, "Always working for a paycheck, huh?"

"Eh, you know me…where the money goes, I follow." Jordi casually said, looking up at her with a sly smile.

"You haven't changed one bit. And that's a compliment…by the way." She said, unsure if he'd take it as a compliment, but when he gave her a smile she knew he'd taken it the way she had hoped he would.

"I take it Pearce went and paid you a, uh, visit." He stated more than he asked, glancing at her as she began pacing around. "Oh, don't start this pacing thing you do, it gives me a headache and I have a gun in my hands, so I get a headache and I might be tempted…"

She crossed her arms, facing him as she cocked a hip out and glared at him, "Fine." She huffed, annoyed. "And yes, he 'paid' me a visit."

"How'd it go?"

Shaw pursed her lips, "Do you care?"

"Eh, not…really." He bluntly said, looking at her with as innocent a look she would ever see on this man.

"Then don't ask." He gave a small shrug, eliciting a sigh out of Shaw's lips. She approached Jordi's desk and leaned on it, catching the fixer's attention as he glanced up the young woman with raised eyebrows. "How fucked is he?"

"Oh, if he continues? Beyond fucked."

Shit.

So there it was! First chapter! Whew. It's always nerve wracking putting a new story out like this, especially when I first posted my other one when there was only 6 or 8 Watch Dogs stories on here and now I know the characters more since I've played through the game twice now. At least I'd like to think I know them better now. I know you don't know much about my OC but I just don't want to throw all of her back story at you because...now, that would be boring wouldn't it? But you will learn more about her.

This story IS going to follow the game closely enough but I'm still going to try to make it as interesting and original as possible while keeping the plot present.

Constructive comments are well appreciated. Please do not bash. If you don't like, don't read.

Do not be afraid to message me if you wish to speak to me about the story, I'm very open about this =D

R&R!

Hope you liked it! =)