Chapter Text
This wasn’t my job, last time I checked I was an analyst, a nerd behind the desk. Just because I technically could have a double O status, and had been asked by M more than once to become a double O didn’t mean I actually enjoyed running through MI6 right now, to deal with an escaped person of interest. Not to mention, just because I had an idea as to where they may had been heading again, doesn’t mean I wanted to be the one to deal with this.
I gave up wanting to be an agent a long time ago, but yet here I was fighting for my life, in a stairwell that frankly needed an upgrade, and a clean, really they needed to figure out what that horrible smell was … wait … never mind the smell was coming from the man I was fighting.
I had to focus, I just needed to bide some time until my reinforcements arrived, I threw my body against the assailant, trying to prevent his escape, unleashing punches again and again to their torso. I aimed for their ribs, maybe if I could inflict enough damage even if they got away from me, it would slow them down enough for my team to get them.
When the alarm sounded, I thought this couldn’t be real, but then when I got the notification, I knew I had to act. I looked the assailant in the eyes, their eyes were cold, dark, menacing, it conveyed one message it was either them or me. I had every reason to fight, to keep London safe, and it had to do with a pair of blue eyes, that when they held mine made the world feel safer, happier, better. For those pair of blue eyes, I would make sure London was kept safe.
“Down here” I heard an echoing voice from above, they were nearly here. My backup. My team.
The assailant rushed me, grabbing my arm, however, while they did that, I tangled my legs with theirs, wrapped my other arm around them, if they wanted my arm, I’d give them both. We were close to the edge of the stairs. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and threw my body and theirs down the steps we tumbled over one another for what felt like an eternity. As we twisted, I felt a bone snap in my arm; I went to scream, only for the assailant to headbutt me as we lay on the landing. My good arm and legs kept a tight hold on the assailant, I could hear footsteps reaching us, I tried to stay awake, tried to keep aware of my surroundings.
“Hold it!” Came someone’s voice through the fog.
I remember seeing outlines of bodies, shapes, hands, and then darkness.
- - - - - - - - - -
“Welcome back”
My head was hurting, I could barely open my eyes, my whole body felt like it was hit by a dump truck. I let out a moan of pain, turning my head slightly to the voice.
“You know” the voice continued, “I believe the call was to apprehend the suspect until backup arrived, not to take them on, until you were battered and bruised.”
“James, I know you think you’re hilarious, but you really need to shut it.” I let out barely awake, just knowing his voice was causing the pain in my head to feel ten times worse.
“Sorry” he whispered, I felt the bed dip beside me, I could barely see an outline of him sitting there. I closed my eyes again, when I felt his hand brush away some of my hair.
“What are you doing?” I mumbled out
“Making sure, your bandaid is holding” was all he said as he pulled his hand back.
“Well, look who’s back from the dead? How is she old dog?”
“Eve, love you, but shhhh” I held up a shaky finger to my mouth.
“She seems okay, was already telling me to shut it” Bond turned his head to look at Eve, “Well look at you, don’t you look absolutely gorgeous. Did we have a date, I was unaware of?”
“You wish we had a date”
“Yes, I do” Bond couldn’t help the smirk that appeared on his lips, as his eyes slowly took in Moneypenny’s form from her toes all the way to the top of her head.
“If you two are going to flirt, can you please take it somewhere else, I’m feeling nauseous enough as it is” Eve, God love her, was a sweetheart, but she also knew about my crush on the certain 007 agent and made a point of reminding me, how much of a coward I was at every opportunity.
“Yeah, that’s called a concussion, sweetheart” Eve let out, “Good news is that you are good to go home. According to the doctor who took care of you, he’s just giving a report to M, right now.”
“What’s the bad news?”
“Well you can’t drive. Obviously” Eve motioned towards me and my insane injuries, “which means someone has to drive you home.”
“Ugh!”
“What’s wrong with driving?” Bond asked, from what he knew of you, you had your license.
“Nothing, it’s the fact I will have to figure out how to bring my bike home later”
“I can bring it back” Bond offered
I opened my eyes at that, “Oh hell no! I’ve seen how you return your vehicles to Q, you stay the hell away from my bike.”
“I do that to Q because I love seeing him get all riled up”
“Touch my bike, and you’ll be in the bed next to me” I glared at him, pointing my good finger at him.
“Okay, I won’t touch your bike” Bond help up his hands in surrender, he glanced over to Eve, who was stifling a laugh.
“Well, then you should have no objection to Bond driving you home then, right?”
I looked over at Eve, James’ back was to me, I narrowed my eyes at Eve and mouthed, I would kill her. James turned his head to look at me just as I finished and pretend to yawn.
“Do you want me to drive you home?”
“Sure. Just promise me, we won’t die on the way.”
“You know just because the vehicle doesn’t survive, doesn’t mean the occupants don’t survive.”
“That’s not reassuring, 007”
“Ohhh” Moneypenny chimed in, “She just double O’d you. You know you’re in trouble when…”
“No kidding”
“Alright, enough of this nonsense, when can I leave?” I asked Eve
“The doctor should be by in a few minutes to explain your injuries and what to do, I’m also here to tell you that M, wants you to be working from home for the two months, while your arm is healing.”
“Well it’s not how I would have loved to stay home, but I’m glad I get spend time there”
“You are?” Bond didn’t understand how someone could be happy to stay home for two months, to be away from MI6, to be bored out of their minds stuck behind a computer.
“Not all of us want to be galavanting throughout the known world, meeting terrorists and femme fatales and what not. Some of us like to find ourselves at the end of the day, finally home.”
Bond couldn’t help the smirk that appeared at his lips, home. Hmmm. The idea of a home, or what a home was suppose to mean, had been something that eluded him ever since he lost his parents. There was no home. No place that truly felt safe. Not since that day.
Eve watched as those two nitwits looked at each other . She fought the giggle that wanted to erupt. She instead cleared her throat, and composed herself, “Well, are you ready for the doctor? I believe I hear him outside, also do you need help getting dressed?”
“No I’ll be okay on my own, and yeah I’m ready”
“Great, we’ll…” Eve motioned between her and Bond, “be waiting outside for you, once you’re ready to go,” Eve grabbed Bond’s arm and dragged him outside, of the room, just as they exited the doctor walked in.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I leaned on Bond’s arm, as he helped me walk up to my home.
“You live here?” Bond looked around to the homes in the area, they seemed more kid centric the neighbourhood, there were people with baby strollers on the sidewalks, kids playing in the park near by, it just seemed odd.
“What? Never heard of hiding in plain sight?”
“Yeah, but here?”
“Can we move this along, it may not look it, but my ribs are on fire”
James helped me walk up the steps to my home, his arm was wrapped around my waist, as he guided me to the front door. I passed him the keys, just as he was about to put the key in the door, Richard opened the door, seeing me standing there his eyes went wide.
“Babe! What happened!” He opened the door fast and helped me.
“Hi hun, there was an … incident at work.”
Bond helped you in, and despite the fact that where you lived threw him off, the fact you was MARRIED really threw him off. Especially, since you never wore a ring, although that would explain, why you never tried to flirt with him, yet, how was it that no one mention…
“James, this is Richard, Richard, James.” I introduced the two men standing awkwardly in front of each other.
“Nice to meet you” Richard stuck his hand out, hoping the man holding his best friend was the man, you had told him about.
“Likewise” Bond extended his hand.
Richard looked from James to me, “You know she’s going to be upset,” the uneasy feeling that had started to bubble forth when I left MI6, had grown to an ocean sized queasiness in the pit of my stomach.
“I know” I looked anywhere but at Richard.
“Who’s she?”
Richard look from me to James and back to me, he knew I did my best to keep work and family separate, M had really pulled out all the stops to keep it that way.
“You’ll see” I answered James, and turned back to Richard, “When does she get home?”
“In about an hour and a half”
“Well if I’m in bed, she won’t see the worst of it”
“She’ll still see you arm and face babe”
“Thank you so much hun for pointing that out” I sneered at him, it wasn’t his fault but he was the one in my line of sight.
“Well maybe we should take you towards your room then” Bond suggested hoping to break the tension, so this was what you meant by home. Yup, he definitely wasn’t missing anything.
“James, can you help her upstairs, in the meantime, I’ll make you some tea and bring you up some snacks, sounds good?”
“Thank you, appreciate it hun”
James and I climbed the stairs in silence, he clearly had a lot of questions, I could practically hear the gears in his head working over time, as we reached the top of the stairs, I was finally ready to break.
“Just ask, go on”
“How long have you two been together?”
“Well we’ve been friends since childhood. Actually, best friends. So since we were eight, I guess.”
“Wow, that’s quite the history.”
I shrugged, I wasn’t about to tell him everything, but there was a lot between Richard and I that had solidified our friendship. A lot of ups and downs, but no matter what, when push came to shove we were there for each other, especially once we were 18, somehow we just knew we needed each other.
“It takes work, like anything, history does help, but it can also be a hinderance at times. It’s just a matter of taking things day by day.”
“How does no one at work know about the two of you?”
“It was one of the conditions of me staying on, I told Ma’am, all those years ago before she was killed, she either protect my family and make sure no one knows about them or I’d find employment elsewhere. She agreed, so my family is only known to three people in all of MI6, the current M, Moneypenny and Q.”
“And now me”
I nodded as James lowered me to my bed, “And now you, and it’s only because I trust you completely that I allowed you in my home.”
“So then who’s she?” Bond moved from beside you, grabbing pyjamas from the drawer you directed him to, he did his best to focus on the comfortable pyjamas that were in the drawer and ignore the other lingerie items that were still sealed in their original packaging.
James walked over handing my the shirt and shorts, “She” I began, as I reached for the items, “is my daughter, she’s five.”
Bond nodded, okay so not only were you married but you also had a kid, boy did he know how to pick them.
“Um…” I looked at the pyjamas and then at my arm, it had been absolutely excruciating putting the clothes on, now having to take them off to put other ones on, oh lord.
“You need help, don’t you?” Bond smirked at the look of exhaustion on your face, you were always so stoic, so focused on helping others, you never really asked for help. All the times he’s seen how you analyzed every document, how it was your research that gave him the needed edge in the field, how you always went the extra mile not just for him, but for any double O agent.
“Maybe”
“I’ll close my eyes”
I couldn’t help laugh at that, “It’s okay, I’ll wait for Richard, he can help me.”
Bond bit the inside of his mouth, “Right, of course,” her husband should be the one to help you, even if all those pretty things were still in their original packaging, unused, lying there.
“Someone call my name?” Richard walked in at that moment.
“Well I’ll let you two be …”
“DADDY!” Isabella’s voice ran through the house, I turned to look at Richard.
“I thought you said an hour?”
“Oh I forgot!” Richard facepalmed, letting out a deep sigh, “today was half day, due to some teacher conference” Richard whispered back to me.
“DADDY!” Came her voice as she climbed the stairs
“Richard…” I pleaded with my eyes, for him to get our daughter.
“I’ll go, keep her distracted, and Richard can help you dress?” Bond offered, he had no clue what to do with a kid, he couldn’t show them how to clean a gun, right? No. Of course, not.
“You don’t mind?” I asked
“Nonsense, it’s not like I’m diffusing a bomb on a train”
Richard and I both looked at each other trying to suppress the laughter that was about to erupt, “Okay, go with my blessings, and the Queen’s patience, Bond.”
“Bond!” Richard looked at me, “as in James Bond?”
“Yes, Richard, our daughter!” I reminded him.
“Right, right, sorry.” Richard moved out of the way for Bond to meet Isabella.
- - - - - - - - - - -
“So you’re mommy’s co-worker?” Isabella asked while she was propped up on the stool in the kitchen, her little legs swinging back and forth, while she and Bond ate ice cream.
“Yup”
“Do you like mommy?”
“I do. She’s a good worker”
“I want to be just like mommy when I grow up”
“Really?”
Isabella nodded her head enthusiastically, “She’s always smiling, and laughing and she makes me pancakes every morning, and …” Isabella paused to take in a spoonful of ice cream, “she lets me read to her every night when we are going to sleep”
“She’s a good mom. What about your dad?”
“Daddy is the best, but him and mommy are sometimes sad”
“Why?”
Isabella shrugged, “All done” she held up her hand showing off the empty bowl of ice cream.
“Good job, kid” Bond held up his hand for a high-five, Bond wanted to find out more about you, about what exactly made you sad? Was it not being home all the time? Bond realized that’s why you look forward to being home, it wasn’t so much that you didn’t enjoy work, it was that there was an adorable five-year-old dying for your attention.
“How was school today?” Richard’s voice cut through the kitchen
“Daddy!” Isabella hoped off the stool and ran to her father, Richard bent down and picked her up, placing a big wet kiss on the side of her messy face. “Did Uncle James, give you ice cream?”
“Yes. Uncle James is the best!”
“Uncle James?” Bond asked
“Want me to get her to call you by your designation number?”
“Whats a destination mumber?” Isabella asked
“Ask Uncle James” Richard quirked his eyebrow at the agent that stood beside him.
“It’s my job title at work”
“Oh!” Isabella grabbed Richard’s cheeks and turned his face towards her, she placed a gentle big kiss on his cheek, similar to the one he left on hers. “Where’s mommy?”
Richard swallowed, “Maybe I should leave?” Bond asked as he motioned towards the exit, he needed to get out of this house, this whole thing was opening up a wound he had thought sealed over a million times in scars, sweat and blood. He didn’t need to feel that ache.
“No, stay. She wanted to talk to you before you left.”
“Daddy!”
“Okay, sweetie.” Richard turned his attention to his daughter, “Mommy was hurt at work today.”
“Mommy has a booboo”
“Yeah sweetie, she does. Do you remember when you broke your leg during the summer, because you jumped off the monkey bars?”
“Yeah, it hurt, and I had a pink cast on, for the whole summer!”
“Well mommy broke her arm, so she has a cast on too. She’s also really sore, so we have to be extra careful with her.”
“Okay, daddy”
“Good girl” Richard held the back of his daughter’s head and brought it forward to his lips, leaving a gentle kiss there, “Come on, Bond, you’re not getting out of talking to her that easily.”
Bond let out a chuckle, “Exactly, how much has she told you about me?”
“Enough” Richard winked.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Mommy!”
“Hey baby” I beamed at my beautiful Isabella, her black curly hair bouncing all over the place as her blue eyes bore into mine.
“Daddy said you have a booboo”
“I do”
“Can I kiss it and make it better?” She leaned up on my side, as Richard helped her climb on the bed.
“Sure, sweetie” Isabella leaned over placing the gentlest of kisses on my cheek, “Thank you, sweetie, I am starting to feel sooo much better”
“I fixed mommy!”
“You did” I chuckled, I turned to the silent man who was leaning against the door post watching Isabella and I, as she grabbed my good arm wrapping it around herself, there was an odd look in his eyes, one I hadn’t seen before. “James…”
“That’s Uncle James” Isabella interrupted, I turned from James to Isabella with a questioning look, “he’s my favourite uncle, he let me have ice cream.” I couldn’t help the laughter that erupted, and even though my ribs felt like they were on fire with each chuckle, I couldn’t help the love I had for my gorgeous girl. I looked up to Richard, smirking. “We need to teach her about stranger danger, or she’ll run off with the next man offering ice cream.”
“Like you wouldn’t?” Richard quirked his eyebrow, “I know I would”
“You would run off with the next man offering you tickets to a fashion show”
“Only if it was Oscar de le Renta, thank you.”
“Mmhmm. Anyway,” I turned my attention back to the agent who looked more lost than when we first drove on to the street, “James, thank you so much for bringing me home.”
“Anytime” Bond nodded towards you, unable to suppress the smile at the scene before him. He always knew you were special, but now he was able to understand how special you really were.
“I’ll show you out” Richard offered.
“Uncle James?” Isabella called out.
“Yes, Izzy?”
“Will you come to play with me, tomorrow?”
James looked from Isabella, to me, to Richard, I shrugged indicating it was up to him, Richard simply nodded.
“I may have to work, but if I can yes”
“And then we can have more ice cream”
I let out a laugh, “I don’t think so sweetie, knowing Uncle James’ big appetite for things, I’m sure you had more than enough ice cream”
Bond gasped, “What’s that suppose to me?”
“Do I really need to answer?” I quirked my eyebrow at him.
Bond chuckled, “I guess not. See you tomorrow, Princess Izzy”
“See you tomorrow, uncle James!”
- - - - - - - - - - -
“I know this must be a shock for you” Richard offered as he and Bond stood beside his Aston Martin.
“A little, but I’m not surprised a wonderful person like her is married.”
“Married? Who she marry?”
“Oh sorry, I guess taken off the market”
“What are you talking about?” Richard was thoroughly confused, were you dating and just failed to mention it?
“Aren’t you two together, after all you have a daughter together.”
“Oh. OH. Okay, yeah, no.”
“What? But she said …”
Richard rolled his eyes, “Yeah she tends to do that, she’s overly cautious when it comes to men, because of Isabella. Working for the intelligence business tends to put a damper on your love life, when you realize almost 90% of the men out there are untrustworthy.”
“90%?”
“Well that’s what she says. James, we’re not together, we were for like a summer in high school, and then we realized we were better off friends. She’s my best friend, and we both wanted a kid, so we had Isabella, but she lives her life and I live mine, and we both agreed until we find our significant other, we would all live together, to be there for Isabella. She’s our priority. So maybe it’s not conventional but it works for us.”
For the first time in his life, Bond felt the ache that had been in closed off come back but not with pain, with hope. For the first time ever, he realized that dream he had when his parents were killed of a family, of a place to call home, could actually happen with you, here in your home.
“Well then I’ll see you tomorrow, Richard” Bond offered his hand with a smirk.
“Tomorrow, Bond”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“How does it feel to be back at work after nearly three months?” Eve smirked, “I’ve heard you had quite the visitor lately”
“Oh yeah, Isabella met 007 and somehow he became Uncle James, and now she’s like in love with him” I chuckled at Eve
“Just her?”
I quirked my eyebrow at her from my behind my paperwork, “Meaning?”
“You two are the biggest idiots in all of London, and that’s saying something.”
“I don’t get what you are referring to?” I was genuinely confused at this.
“You are not this stupid!”
“Hey!”
“Girl, he likes you, probably loves you.”
“I don’t think the man is interested in me, first off what man would want to attach himself to a single mother, secondly he’s not interested, he always treats me respectably, never flirts or even teases me. He treats me different from everyone else.”
“Exactly! He treats you different from everyone else!”
“Yeah I don’t get where you’re getting this. Just last week, we were all watching Lilo and Stitch, James …”
“Oh it’s James, now?” Eve asked with a quirk of her eyebrow
“Technically, it’s Uncle James, if you must now” I pouted my lips smirking at her, “anyway” I rolled my eyes, “we were sitting there watching TV, when James could have tried wrapping his arm around me, could’ve tried holding my hand, I mean granted Izzy was there, but still he could have tried something or said something, but he didn’t. He even made sure I had my own bowl of popcorn. He’s not interested.”
“What happened at the end of the movie?”
“Izzy fell asleep against him, I went to put her in bed, and he said to let him, so while he did that, I cleaned up. I was washing the dishes when he came beside me, drying them, we talked, joked, laughed, oh he bumped me with his hip at one point. Yeah super hot!” I rolled my eyes at her, “Sorry, babe, but you have to let this go,” I offered.
Moneypenny just rolled her eyes at you, and then facepalmed, “Okay sweetie” she mumbled through her hand, “I got this”
“You got what?” I asked sitting a little straighter in my chair
“Don’t worry about it” she said over her shoulder as she sauntered away.
“About?”
“Like I said don’t worry about it!”
“Don’t saunter away from me!”
“What?” She shouted, “Can’t hear you!”
“Eve!”
“Bye!”
Just like that, she left my office, leaving me there questioning exactly what she meant, I was lost in thought when I heard a knock on the door, I turned to see James standing there.
“Hey” Bond waved at you, trying to get your attention, “you okay?” He was wondering what happened, did you read something that caught you off guard? Was it your arm, did it still hurt?
“Oh, hey …” I shook my head, “Yeah, all good, sorry. Just had a weird convo with Eve”
“About?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. Anyway, what can I do for you?”
“M wants to see us”
“Together?”
“Mmhmm”
I stood from my desk not quite sure what M could have wanted to see me for, especially with a double O agent. I fell into step beside James as we headed to M’s office.
“Izzy, wanted to know if you’d prefer to read her Paddington Bear tonight or if you would prefer to read her something else?” I smirked as we walked in step, “I tried to tell her, that just because you had been doing it for the past few nights, doesn’t mean you’d be able to do it all the time.”
Bond couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his lips, it had been three months that he had spent as often as possible at your house, he had become quite fond of Izzy. They had their own special language, and on more than one occasion, Izzy stated he should ask you out, like ‘grownups do.’ He was surprised to hear that coming from your sweet little five-year-old, but then Izzy had a way to see things most other kids didn’t, he had no doubt, it was all because of you were her mother.
“Oh Paddington Bear all the way, but unfortunately, I don’t either of us are going to be having that option.”
I looked at James as we reached M’s door, “What do you mean?”
“You’ll see” he motioned towards the door, his hand gently guiding you into the office by the small of your back. It hadn’t been the first time he had done it, but it was the first time he took the chance since you came back to MI6. He tried to show you with subtle gestures how he felt, but he had a sneaking suspicion you had missed them all.
“Well, well, well, look what the old dog dragged in” Moneypenny teased.
“Why am I here? Do you know?” I asked
“M will tell you everything” Eve smiled at me, before pressing the button allowing us to enter M’s private office.
“007 and A7 Analyst, please come in”
“You wanted to see us sir?” I asked not quite sure why I had been called in and why everyone was keeping a tight lip on it.
“Yes, please take a seat” he motioned to the two chairs in front of his desk, he grabbed two dossiers and handed one to each of us, “What do you know of Berglim?”
“Wasn’t he some Turkish Engineer, who discovered a way to provide free electricity to his home village?”
“Very good, A7”
“That was when he first started, now he’s become a terrorist, of course that depends on your point of view, as he attacks those of the upper class, wealthy, people of power, some view him as a modern day Robin Hood. Equalizing the power among the people” Bond added.
“Yes, and now it seems he has gone dark” M leaned back in his chair, “I know A7 you do not go out in the field, I appreciate that but there was a reason my former predecessor thought you would be an excellent agent, is because you see things others don’t see. I want you to look at the information we have uncovered and tell me what you can discern.”
“Okay” I got up to move.
“No, right here” M motioned to keep my seat, I looked from M to James, all he offered was a shrug. I nodded and began reading the information.
“Are we sure this is accurate?” I asked after five minutes of silence, the information I had didn’t make sense, yes Berglim had become a hero to the people but if what I was reading was correct, he would soon be their end.
“As accurate as possible”
“But this…” I flipped to the next page, how was he able to gather such a large amount of power. He was siphoning power but not just from the rich, no he was taking it from hospitals, child care centres, and redirecting it to some other location.
“Tell us what you see A7?”
“Sir, the power he’s siphoning from all these locations, granted individually it might not seem like a lot of power is lost, but combine them all together, he has been siphoning enough electricity to power a military installation or a missile silo. However it seems as though he’s losing his control over the power distribution. The small abandoned factory that blew was due to an overload of electricity running through the facility. If he’s unable to control the redirection of electricity, it’ll only be a matter of time before rolling power outages affect the region, and possibly all of Europe.”
“007 did you understand that from the dossier you were given?”
“Yes, except for the rolling power outages”
“Sir, this doesn’t make sense Berglim is an idealist, a man of the people, he would never intentionally do anything that would harm his people.”
“Which leads to one conclusion, wouldn’t you agree?”
I nodded, James turned to look at me, “How do you know Berglim?”
“We were at Oxford together, many years ago. He was a well spoken man, intelligent, and often pondered ways to help those less fortunate. He gave a presentation on equalizing power, what exactly was power, he gave an hour long presentation on this very subject, if everyone had free electricity what would that mean for the people across the world.”
“Sounds like you admire him, A7” James mumbled.
“Anyone willing to help those less fortunate, deserves our respect 007”
“I’m sending you both to Turkey” M cut in.
“Pardon?” I asked eyes wide, not quite sure I heard what I heard.
“Sir, I do not mean any disrespect to A7, but she hasn’t been in the field for a number of years. I believe having her there would be a liability.”
“I agree with 007, if you want us both back alive, do not send me.”
“You have no choice but to go, we received this through an encoded message to one of our stations in Berlin”
M handed me a piece of paper, it was written in numerical code, Berglim.
4 28 5 92 57 73 81 53 115 - 6
“One of our people thought it might be mathematical equation, but it didn’t add up, then someone else thought it could be longitude and latitude but that didn’t make sense either”
“It’s neither of those it’s a code, we came up with a code system, when we were in Turkish class. This is a message for me” I offered
“What does it say?” Bond looked at you, he could see you were apprehensive.
“Beni bula tatlim”
“What does it mean?” M asked
“Find me, sweetheart” I didn’t even raise my eyes to look at either of them, Berglim reached out. He didn’t think he was going to make it, he was calling to me for help.
Bond swallowed “I still don’t think you should go”
“Well good thing it’s not up to you” M cut in, pulling me out of my spiral. “You both will be heading to Turkey on the next flight. I suggest you pack what you need.”
- - - - - - - - - -
I stood in my bedroom looking at my bag, how was I going to do this, how could I … this wasn’t my job, this wasn’t me.
“You ready?” I turned to look at Richard, he looked scared, I sat on the edge of the bed, the severity of the situation falling upon me. “Babe?”
“I can’t do this” I whispered out, he came and knelt in front of me.
“Yes, you can. You can do this, not just for Berglim, who you and I both know is the one that got away, but for Izzy. You are going to go, find your friend, come back and finally start dating that gorgeous man, who Izzy so loves.”
“If Berglim finds out …”
“He’s not going to find out. Izzy is safe here, he won’t find out about her. No one will, thankfully, you have a friend who is just as good looking as Berglim” Richard put on his cocky smile, while looking at you, he remembers that night Berglim took off. How you looked sad and heart broken. Then when you found out you were pregnant, Richard stepped up and said it was his kid, that you both decided to do IVF and it took.
“You have to protect her hun, if anything were to happen to me …”
“Shhh” Richard pressed his forehead against yours, “Nothing’s going to happen, you’ll come back, the both of you will.”
“How can you know?”
“Because I’m me”
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
“You going to tell me about your secret code?” James asked as we lay beside each other in our shared room and shared bed. We had been travelling under the guise as husband and wife.
“Do you really want to know, it’s super nerdy?”
Bond turned his head to look at you, all the leads you both had followed had finally led you here to a town bordering Syria and Turkey, in this small little town, in the middle of nowhere. All the villagers weren’t sure about you, no one came to visit them, not tourists, but then you explained how you had come here once a long time ago with your father who was an Aide Worker, and you’ve always wanted to come back. The villagers were overjoyed at that point, and lovingly offered you the best room.
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t”
I let out a deep sigh, turning on my side to look at his face, he turned to face me too, “We were both nerds, and we often would quiz each other when we had nothing better to do on random things, periodic table, mathematical equations, physics, chemical compounds. One night, while we were studying, he handed me a piece of paper, similar to the one M handed me, groupings of numbers, it took me a day to figure out they corresponded to an element on the periodic table. It was the name of a place, and time. That’s how he asked me” I couldn’t help the smile that appeared on my lips, “it was the best way anyone ever asked me out. After that it became our thing, we would write out words in different languages see which languages worked best.”
“Wow, you really were a nerd”
I shoved him slightly, giggling at him, “Shut up, like you’re not a nerd. I’ve heard you talking to Izzy about Star Wars, so please.”
“That’s just being in touch with what’s cool”
“Uh huh”
Bond reached his hand up brushing some hair out of your face, “You’re so beautiful”
I stilled at that, “James…”
“I have always thought that” Bond moved closer, he wanted to press his lips against yours, he had been wanting to do it for a while now, but with Izzy and Richard around all the time, there never was an opportunity.
“James, stop” I held out my hand against his chest.
“I thought …”
“James, I … I can’t, I’m sorry”
“Because of Berglim?”
“Because of Izzy” Bond was confused, the hope that had been building since that day he helped you home, had started to fall apart. He thought all those nights, all those conversations, the looks, the shyness at times, he knew well enough to know how to read women, and you were interested, so what changed. “James, I can’t do a one night thing”
“Alright, so this could be a two or three night thing” he chuckled.
“James” I closed my eyes, my hand resting against his bare chest, tracing the skin that lay under my fingers, “you misunderstand what I’m trying to say. I can’t do a one night thing. Izzy loves you, she looks forward to your moments together. She admires you. I can’t break my little girls heart for a one night stand. I’m sorry.” I opened my eyes, tears had welled up there and were finding there way down to the pillow underneath my head.
Bond reached his hand out wiping the tears, “I understand, I’m sorry for trying to kiss you.”
“Hey, I understand, I would try and kiss me too” I giggled. I bit my bottom lip looking anywhere but his face, “are we going to be okay?”
Bond wrapped his arms around you, pulling you in, till your head was resting on his chest, “Yeah, we’re fine. I just have horrible timing I guess”
“Maybe we can revisit things when you want to actually settle down”
“Yeah, maybe” he ran his hands through your hair, he had thought about a moment like this countless number of times, you in his arms, him kissing your lips, your neck, anywhere and everywhere. Never once, did he ever expect you to reject him. The idea of settling down, had in the past made him sick to his stomach, however, the idea of settling down with you and Izzy had always given him the strength he needed to make sure to make it back to the two of you.
He wanted to tell you, he wasn’t interested in a one night stand, he wanted to tell you he wanted it all, but if you still thought of him as a man who didn’t want the complete package, then that meant he needed to work harder in proving to you, he was that man.
“You know Izzy, wants me to take her for a Knight and Princess day” Bond offered, hoping the change of subject would show nothing had changed.
“A knight and princess day?” I tilted my head to look at him
“Yeah, she wants me to rent a carriage, and go all over London, while she’s dressed as a princess and I’m her knight in shining armour”
I couldn’t help laugh against his chest, it felt so nice to be in his arms, to feel his heartbeat, to feel his voice completely encompass me, I didn’t want to be anywhere else but in his arms. “I am so sorry” I offered, I couldn’t believe Izzy, “You know, you can say no to her.”
“I don’t think I could ever say no to her” Bond tightened his arms around you, tilting his head to look at you, “or you.”
I offered a smile at him, “Well I will make sure never to take advantage of that …” I stilled for a second when I realized my hand was still tracing patterns on his chest, “James,” he hummed in response, “there’s something you should know about Izzy.”
I propped myself up to look him in his eyes, “What is it?”
“Richard isn’t her father, not her biological father”
“Who then?” Almost like a switch had turned on in his head, “Berglim” you nodded to his unasked question. “Does he know?”
“No.”
“That’s why Ma’am went along with concealing your family, and making sure they were protected.” I nodded again, his hand reached up caressing my face, “Darlin’ I don’t care, she’s your daughter. Not his. She captured my heart, since that first day we had ice cream. Regardless, of her lineage she’s the most amazing girl I’ve ever met, aside from her mother.”
I couldn’t help the smile that appeared on my lips, I lay back down in his arms, “Richard has instructions on what to do, if something happened to me. Q knows as well, if I don’t make it back …”
“Shut up” Bond’s voice was stern and unyielding.
“James”
“No. Shut up. You don’t get to do that, you don’t get to say stuff like that” he rolled me over, now it was his turn to hover over me, “You have no choice but to make it back and I’ll make sure that you do. Understand.” There was no smirk on his face, there was no twinkle in his eyes, like he usually held when he looked at me, there was just 007 a man licensed to kill and protect.
“Okay James” I reached up to cup his cheek, he leaned in to my touch, “I won’t say any more.”
Bond pressed his lips against your forehead, resting his forehead against yours. Nothing more was said, eventually you both fell asleep arms wrapped around each other.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
M sat there looking at A7, “Are you sure, he’s not KIA?”
“I’m positive, sir. After we arrived at the tiny village, he left me in the room by myself, leaving a note saying he was going after Berglim himself, and that my job was done. He sent me home, M.” When I woke up that day, and I saw that handwritten note against the glass of water, it took all my strength not to follow him into Syria and beat the living daylights out of him. He however had taken the rest of our money, and had left instructions that my ticket home was waiting at the airport, if I was not on the plane, he would know and he would find me, tie me up, knock me out and ship me home in a container if that’s what it took.
He promised he’d see me in a week, and to tell Izzy they were going to do their Knight and Princess day when he got back, however that was four months ago, and no one had heard from 007.
“All right, A7, will keep his status MIA, but you and I both know, he could have very well been captured and the chances of him coming home …”
“I understand, sir”
“That will be all, I believe you have some work to get back to”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
I exited his office as quickly as my feet would carry me, I glanced over to Eve, she nodded at me, indicating she would be at my office later. My first stop on my way to my office however was Q.
“Q?”
He popped his head up from behind a laptop, “A7, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Shut it, Q. Have you heard from him?”
“Who?” He looked quizzical, not quite understanding your meaning, “After all I speak with a lot of people”
“Q, so help me” I grabbed a pen that was lying on the table apart from all the others, “I don’t know what this does, but I will use it”
“It’s a pen, A7, you click it and out flows ink, with which you can write letters, draw pictures, make notes, it’s fairly simple stylus that has been around for decades”
“Q!” I was exasperated, I chucked the pen at him, he caught it quickly enough, letting out a breath.
“If you pressed this button however,” he pointed along the side, “you would have tased me”
“Good to know, can I see the pen again?” I held out my hand, my tone in no way giving any leeway.
“I think it’s best I hold on to it, and no, I haven’t heard from him.”
“Do you think he’s dead?”
“No”
“How can you be sure?”
“Call it a hunch, he’s survived worse, and been through worse. He’ll show up, when he’s ready, he’ll show up.”
“What does that mean?”
“Once he’s got all the information he needs regarding Berglim”
“Berglim is dead, his body turned up on the Syrian-Turkish border three days after I left Turkey.”
“Yes, but his ideals live on, and someone is carrying on these atrocities in Berglim’s name” Q motioned with his hand to the TV screen behind him, numerous new articles popped up, all about siphoning electricity, power outages, excessive power build up causing explosions.
“I know. I’ve been following the news”
“Give him some time, he’ll be here”
“You coming by later, Richard wanted to know”
“Of course, Richard and I are taking Izzy to the carousel. Want me to bring dinner?”
“Sure, just none of that weird age stuff you eat”
“You mean quinoa”
“Whatever, it’s gross”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I sat on the couch of our living room, looking over the last book James brought over for Izzy, it was the new Paddington Bear series, she had said she didn’t want to read it without Uncle James. He was the only one that could do the voices. It lay on the coffee table for the past four months. I kept thinking back to that night. Maybe I should’ve kissed him, maybe I should have told him how I really felt.
I picked up my glass of water, taking a sip, Richard and Izzy just got back from their outing with Q. Izzy was tuckered out and Richard promptly put her to bed. I held the book close to my chest, when I heard a knock at the door. I looked at the time, it was ten-thirty at night. I reached for my gun, that I had tucked in the back of my pants.
After Berglim’s death, and James disappearance, I wasn’t sure who would’ve learned about Izzy’s true parentage. When I told Richard, I had told James, he was angry, not because I trusted James, but because I hadn’t told Richard I was going to tell him before time. I moved closer to the door.
“Who is it?”
No one said anything, except another knock, I rested my gun against my leg, I opened the door slightly to see auburn hair glistening under the light of the porch door way. I opened the door fully to see those damn blue eyes staring back at me.
“Did you miss me, darlin’?” Bond offered the best smile he could, but his strength finally gave way at seeing your beautiful face, his energy evaporated.
I couldn’t believe my eyes, and then James was falling forward, I caught him in my arms, “James!”
“Babe, what’s wrong?” I heard Richard’s voice behind me.
“Richard, help!”
Richard’s steps came quicker, when he saw me dragging the limp body in my arms. Richard grabbed James helping me carry him to the guest bedroom, thank the lord that it was on the main floor.
James face was all bloody, he had a split lip, a bruise was forming on his cheekbone.
“What’s wrong with Uncle James?” Izzy’s voice filtered through the room, Richard and I looked over to see her standing there, scared and concerned. I flicked my eyes up at Richard, he nodded.
“I don’t know sweetie, just go with daddy for a second okay”
“But Uncle James…” she began crying, Richard stepped over holding her as her tears filled the hallway and got quieter.
I slowly took off his sneakers, when did he wear sneakers? When I pulled off his socks, there was bruises forming on his toes, I had to fight the tears seeing what he went through with reach removal of clothing more and more bruises appeared, cuts, scrapes, dried, blood. I picked up my phone calling Q, telling him everything. He said he would take care of it. Before long a doctor came by, checking over James, Richard and Q waited outside of the room, until the doctor was done.
“He’s been tortured that much is certain” the doctor informed us, when he and I left the room to join Richard and Q, “most of his bruises will heal, the dark bruising around his liver, is concerning. I gave him some pain meds, for now. Make sure to clean his wounds gently and throughly, he’ll need new bandages every day. Only light meals, liquids, soups, broths. He has one broken rib, from what I could see on my device” he held up his handheld X-ray that apparently Q developed, who knew. “He also has two broken toes. There’s no internal bleeding. One of his forefingers was dislocated, and I’m assuming he put it back. All in all he’s been through hell and back, but he should make a speedy recovery, but his trigger fingers may never be able to pull another trigger.”
“What about his liver, you said you were concerned about the bruising?” I asked
“Long term, his liver may never fully heal, I’ll have to keep monitoring it over the course of the next two weeks. If his liver never fully heals, he’ll never be able to drink alcohol ever again.”
“Might as well issue the man a death sentence” Richard let out. I glared my eyes at him, “Sorry” he offered, “but it’s James” he motioned towards the bedroom.
“He only drinks because of the job, if he can’t pull another trigger, he’s out of a job” Q clarified.
“Let’s just focus on him getting better first, and knowing James, he’ll be back to normal.”
“I put his fingers in a splint to help the healing, I wrapped up his ribs, to prevent them from moving. If he is unable to swallow, let me know and I’ll bring some IV drips to provide what he needs.”
“Thank you so much, Dr. Goldburg” I offered my hand.
“Of course, miss, Q” he motioned for Q to follow him.
“Where’s Izzy?” I turned to look at Richard.
“She fell asleep on the couch” I nodded, “Should I wake her?”
“No, let her sleep. I’m going to sleep on the chair in James’ room, in case he needs anything.”
“Want me to move the chair to be closer to the bed?”
“Thank you, hun, that would be awesome”
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
I don’t remember at what point I fell asleep, I remember I propped up my feet against James bed, I grabbed a blanket draping it over me, and the next thing I knew, I felt a hand squeeze my toes.
I opened my eyes to see James’ blue eyes staring back at me, “Couldn’t wait to get me into bed, I see” James chuckled looking down at his naked body, covered by the bed sheet. The doctor had removed his underwear when he came and I promptly made sure he was covered.
“Relax, there wasn’t much to see, if you know what I mean” I chuckled against my hand.
“Look who thinks their funny”
“Someone seems to be feeling well”
“Better than yesterday”
I shifted closer to Bond, “You scared the hell out of me James. What happened?”
“What always happens, I won.”
“That’s not an answer, James. You left me, with a stupid note, and no way to contact you.”
“I sent you home, to keep you safe”
I got up and sat beside him on the bed, my hand resting on the other side of his body, “And tell me oh wise 007, who kept you safe? I could’ve helped you.”
His hand rested against my thigh, “No, you couldn’t have darlin’. Berglim was dead by the time I reached him. The good news is the organization behind it all is gone.”
“Are they the ones that did this to you?”
Bond just shrugs, he didn’t particularly want to relive it, all he wanted right now was to wipe the worry from your brow, to tell you what he’s been dying to tell you.
“You know that’s not an answer, James”
Bond moved his hand to intertwine it with the hand resting by his body, “I know, darlin’” he squeezed your hand, “I just … the entire time, I was going through all of it” he looked into your eyes, “all I could think about was getting back to you and Izzy. About going home.”
“Home?” Bond nodded, I stroked the back of his hand with my thumb, “You’re safe now” I leaned forward placing a kiss on his forehead, “I’m gonna get you something to drink” I moved to get up, but his hand on my thigh, squeezed tightly, preventing me from moving.
“Don’t go. I’m serious, sweetheart. You said before I don’t do long term, but since the moment I met you and Izzy, even Richard, all I could think about was belonging to this family, belonging to you. For you, I’d commit. For you, I’d give it all up, the job, the women, the drinking, all of it. For you and Izzy.”
“James” I rested my forehead against his, I closed my eyes, “you don’t have to … I’m not asking for …”
“I want to. Sweetheart, that night in Turkey, I wanted to tell you the truth, but I was a coward. I haven’t slept with anyone since the day I brought you home.”
“James that’s seven months almost eight months ago”
“I wanted to prove to you, I want only you. Moneypenny, told me about how you felt before we left for Istanbul. I was going to do this grand gesture, but then I screwed up and tried to kiss you before telling you what I was thinking.” Bond opened his eyes, you hadn’t said anything, you were still resting against his forehead, was Moneypenny wrong, had he been wrong? “Was Moneypenny wrong?”
“No, Eve wasn’t wrong”
“I would lean up and close the distance between us, but right now my ribs feel like they’re on fire”
I giggled, pressing my lips against his, I tilted my head kissing him with all the strength I had, I trailed my hands up to his neck, gently holding them there, while his arms wrapped around me, pulling me in tighter. The kiss becoming desperate and passionate, with each passing second, when a small knock rasped against the door, I pulled back looking at James.
There was a grin on both Bond’s and your face, he reached up wiping the tears away, when the door knob turned, he watched your face beam at him, “Next time” Bond started, “we should lock the door”
I chuckled, “Or next time, how about you don’t take on an entire army, and come back to me with less injuries”
“I meant what I said” I looked at him, not quite sure what he was talking about, “I’m giving the job up. I only need you and Izzy.”
I didn’t answer him just radiated the same smile he was giving me, as his hand caressed my cheek.
“Uncle James?” Izzy’s voice rang through the room, I turned to look at my daughter, motioning for her to come up on the bed, she crawled up beside us sitting beside James arm, “Mommy said you have a bad booboo”
Bond turned to his future daughter, “Yeah little one, unfortunately.”
“You know what helped mommy, when she had a booboo?”
“What?”
“Me kissing it to make it better”
“I’ll take that”
I watched as Izzy leaned over gently, placing a kiss on his cheek, “Feel better?”
“Soo much better” Bond smiled at the little girl who had captivated his heart, almost as much as her mother had.
“Uncle James”
“You know Izzy, you don’t have to keep calling him Uncle James, if you don’t want” I offered, glancing over at James, a smile on my lips.
Bond nodded, a smile radiating from ear to ear, “That’s right little one, you can just call me James, if you want?”
“Okay” Izzy shrugged, “Want to read me Padding Bear, you promised”
“Izzy, sweetie, James is in pain”
“No, it’s alright sweetheart,” James reached up and cupped my cheek, “I’d be happy to read Paddington Bear, but” he turned to look at Izzy, “my throat hurts so I’m not going to be able to do the voices, can you do them?”
“I’ll try” Izzy grabbed his arm, lifting it so she could lie against his side.
“Sweetie, please be careful, you don’t want to break him.”
“Did I hurt you?” Izzy looked at James.
“No, love, you didn’t” I reached over grabbing the blanket from my chair and placing it over James, to give him a little bit of added protection, I winked at him, when he caught my eye, a smile gracing his lips, as Izzy rested against him, and his arm wrapped around her while they both held the book together.
“I’m going to get your something to eat”
“Oh no” he squeezed my thigh, patting the other space beside him, “You’re going to help us with the voices too”
“I’m not good with voices, my love”
“You’ll do great”
“Yeah, mommy, you’ll do great”
I stood positioning myself beside James as his other hand wrapped around me, resting on my waist, I held the book open with one hand, while I used my other arm as a pillow.
Bond let out a sigh, as he felt your hand running through his hair, while all three of you struggled to stay awake. He was finally home.