Authors Note: Hey guys, here is another one shot! YAY! I just had the inspiration to write this at 4:30 am in the morning, so be gentle on me. The first part of the story is in Martin's part which is mostly about him and the second part is M.O.M's area. This is a new approach I tried when writing this so I hope you enjoy it. I wanted to bring out M.O.M's more nurturing side in this story as well.

More Than An Agent

Part 1 - Martin

He woke up feeling groggy and the world around him was fuzzy all over. He tried to sit up but screamed in pain from the action. Falling back onto the soft mattress, as much as a comfort it was, also hurt. Wait…when did he end up on a mattress? He turned his head but found that even that made him feel dizzy and nauseous. He would have put his hand over his mouth if it hadn't been for the fact that he couldn't move and when he tried he didn't have the energy. He felt his eyes closing and all thoughts on this bed and where it might be faded with his consciousness.

He woke again at dawn; the sky had a pink, orange and blue hue to it. He heard before he saw the shuffling of a person walking toward him. He squinted to try and focus his vision but it was nearly impossible and he hadn't felt any better than had when he had woken the first time. Tears of pain leaked out of his eyes again as someone put something, a vial of some sort, to his mouth and tipped it. Warm liquid moved down his throat easing the raw feeling he seemed to have. He tried to form words but all the came out was air. The figure put something on his forehead and before he knew it he once again faded away, sleep taking over.

Waking again, this time during the night, was easier and he found it easier to keep his eyes open. He still couldn't seem to move but his vision seemed better and it only blurred around the edges. He heard a door open and saw that someone helping him earlier walk in.

"How are you feeling?" He looked at her and, with surprise jumped up. He groaned and hunched over, throat still raw for some reason. "You were screaming from a nightmare earlier; give your throat time to adjust." She smiled a rare smile at him and sat down on a chair next to the bed. With gentleness he had never seen her show before she put a wet cloth on his forehead. "You have a high fever."

"M-M-M.O.M," he managed to utter, still in a state of shock.

"Yes Martin, it's me." She frowned for a moment. "This will hurt for a moment, but I need to get you in a sitting position." Carefully the raven haired woman moved him into a sitting position. Martin screamed in pain once more and felt something warm travel down his back and stomach. M.O.M removed white material, what he assumed was a bandage, from his torso. Using a sponge she cleaned his back and chest. It burned as placed ointment on places it hurt most and put a fresh set of dressings on his torso.

"What happened?" Martin asked, cringing at how weak his voice came out.

"It was a standard mission but something went wrong and the harpy escaped and attacked you. She took out the few agents with us. Unfortunately I had to eliminate her. " M.O.M helped him lay back down on the bed as she moved to his leg. She pulled up the left pant leg and undressed the wound. Put on the ointment which caused him to arch in pain from the bed. M.O.M put something else on the wound other than the ointment and redressed that as well.

"Where are the other agents?"

"Dead. "

"Diana…Java…Marvin…" Martin felt like he couldn't breathe and started to hyperventilate. M.O.M worked fast and rubbed the top of his head to get him to calm down and soon enough he did.

"They were sent for help. There is an emergency unit near the bottom of the mountain."

"H-help?" Martin felt out of breath.

"We can't. Your U-Watch was crushed under the harpies' claw and mine was take out when I had to eliminate her." Martin noticed for the first time that she too had a bandage circling her wrist but it only seemed to be minor. "Get some sleep." He tried to fight it but with her petting his head he couldn't resist it and soon he was sleeping, free from the pain.

The next time he woke up, still unable to move by himself, he found the woman who was taking care of him asleep with her head on the bed. With great difficulty he moved to side ways on the bed and got his first good look around the room. Apparently they were in an old castle and the room they were in had a high roof with an arch. He sighed and cringed as surges of pain racked his body. He withered on the bed for some moments. His body calmed down and he was able to relax. Martin moved his arm to touch the dressing on his torso, carefully navigating to see how large the wounds were. Apparently they were long because most of his torso was covered.

Martin felt nauseous again and, very painfully, sat up. He pulled himself up with covers and rolled onto the floor. He suppressed a scream and pulled himself up with the bed, glad that the wall was close and used it as support trying to find the bathroom. He tripped and stumbled, all the time resisting the urge to vomit before he reached a toilet. Unfortunately all he could find was two stone basins. He was there and he proceeded to vomit up anything that was possibly in his stomach. His knees gave out and he fell to the floor leaning head against the cool brick.

He felt unbearably hot and his bandages were already soaked in sweat. He shook from the chills and felt something tear. He tried hard to keep awake, to yell for help but his voice failed him and he was fading fast. The sound of hurried footsteps made him more alert. He looked up, his vision blurry.

"Help…" She was picking him up and carrying him to the bed. How strong was she! She placed him on it in a sitting position and changed all the dressing. Some time in between the dressing being change and something being poured down his throat he fell asleep.

Part 2 – M.O.M

The raven haired woman watched nervously over Martin. He was drifting in and out. It would take a least another seven days to hike to the bottom of the mountain and two days had already passed. Martin was getting worse, not better, and the harpies poison was taking its toll on Martin's body. He would either be too cold with no fever or soaking wet with chills and a fever. More than once she had to change the dressings and the first aid kit wasn't infinite. The dressings, at this rate, would last another three days before she ran out and the ointment and antidote had three days left.

She had to be careful when she changed the dressing. He would usually scream as she did this and by now his voice was raw and sore from being used so often. She sat down in the chair and ran her hand across his forehead. Every now and then she would fix the blanket or check to see if he was bleeding more than earlier. She was extremely worried about him. She wanted to take him down the mountain but the injuries were too severe for him to make the trek. Her hand had been forced and there was nothing she could do but trust the other agents to make the journey instead.

Martin moaned and twisted in the sheets and blankets she had been lucky enough to find. He was having another nightmare. She ran her hand through his hair and calmed down another set of horrible images. He settled down and she glad for that. She hated to see her agents in pain but there was just something about the youngest members of the centre that made her feel more connected. It made her feel, in a way, what her code name meant. M.O.M never liked to see her agents injured and in this case, the injury was terrible.

She had a horrible knot in her stomach and was starting to worry about the time. There was only so much left and if the agents didn't hurry Martin's timer would run out. She ran her fingers through his hair unconsciously, something she seemed to do recently. He moaned again in his sleep and leaned into the hand. She blushed and removed her hand looking at it and wondering why she had become so accustomed to doing so. M.O.M felt the call of her stomach and heard Martin's own stomach wanting food.

Taking a chance she ventured out of the old castle to look for nutrients in the plants and herbs around the palace. She found a decent supply, enough for two, and cooked it up. She returned with hot herb soup and set it down on another chair. Martin was thrashing around again. She got him to calm down and fed the unconscious teen some soup very carefully. Even asleep his body accepted the source of food. She ate after he finished and she fell asleep as well.

Waking up to the morning sun wasn't pleasant. She tried very hard not feel grumpy but she couldn't help it. She glanced at Martin and noticed him staring at her.

"Why are…you…helping…" he didn't finish his sentence because of a coughing fit.

"I care because you my agents." She smiled at him and without knowing it ran her hands through his hair again. He turned away and she assumed, like her, he was blushing behind the fever. His dressing looked different and she saw it as his handiwork. "I'm going to change your dressings again." He nodded as she slipped him two pain killers. He waited for relief to come as she changed them.

"You didn't …answer my question."

"Not the way you want, no."

"If I don't make….tell me…the other…reason, please." He smiled at her.

M.O.M felt very reluctant to answer. He was staring at her with glassy eyes. "You're…" the doors to the room opened and centre agents rushed in. Two of them had a stretcher ready as Java gently put Martin on it. He looked at her, pleading for an answer before he fell unconscious. Another agent dealt with M.O.M's injury. Diana, Marvin and Java crowed around Martin all very worried. Marvin was the first to back off and come to check on M.O.M.

"How was he?"

"Sick and injured," M.O.M replied while sitting on the bed.

"Is he going to be okay?" Marvin seemed honestly worried. M.O.M smiled in her mind when she heard the emotion in Marvin's voice but felt her hope waver.

"He should, if we made it in time." M.O.M stood up and followed the other agents out of the castle where a portal was waiting. When she entered her office in the centre she immediately went to her room, doctors' orders, to get some rest. She slept for the better part of two days with the doctor reporting in with Martin's condition every few hours. He was still asleep but the harpies poison had been removed. Diana, Java and Marvin were forced to return to the school for classes and work. This gave M.O.M some time to speak to Martin alone.

She entered the room and sat next to his bed. He had an IV in his arm and blood transfusion going. She ran her hands through his hair since no one was around and was smiling, glad to know he would be okay. She leaned in and very quietly whispered to him, "You're like family to me. Diana, you and Marvin are the children I've never had." She stood up and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead and left the room.

Part 3 – Conclusion

It was one week later when Martin finally woke up. He had many visitors, M.O.M being one of the least. Diana, Marvin and Java thought this was very cold of her but Martin, in his tired and weak state, insisted it was alright. He didn't know why he just did. He told them, "I ask her a question and even though I only heard the first part of her answer I think I already know the second part of it." This was the last thing he said before falling. The other three agents had no idea what that meant but they took what they could, after all this was Martin talking.

End