Here's another chapter. Again this is my first time writing something for the world of James Bond so bear with me. This was also another late night chapter so if things are all jumbled I apologize yet again. I won't be posting anymore until I get some feed back on the first two but I will be working on more just incase the response is positive.

I own nothing dealing with Casino Royale or Quantom of Solace. Nor any other movies I may mention.

Again this is completely made up so for those die hard Bond fans out there please don't have a heart attack. LOL.

Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Chapter Two

Keeping her eyes on anything but the young Romanian's face the other woman could feel her blue eyes boring into her skull. When it came to having a poker face and a stare that could get a person to spill anything Alleria had the best in the business. Fidgeting with a file on her desk then the computer as she pulled up a program it wasted about five minutes. During which the young woman had remained at her perch; calmly staring as Money Penny found out when she had the nerve to face her again. And that ladies and gentlemen did her in. As if the ex-intelligence officer could sit there all day waiting for a person to crack and not give a second thought to the time wasted.

"She decided that you needed a protection detail until they could find out who's after you." The secretary finally spoke.

Given the nature of the work her Aunt did it wasn't surprising that she'd been able to find out about the three attempts made on her life in the last month or so. Though she was no longer with the Intelligence community she had contacts all over the world; and a list the length of the beloved country she'd once served; that wanted her dead. Of course that combined with the little revelation she'd had about her trip to Langley a little over a month ago was not boding well right now.

The first had been meager. An attempted mugging by men who shouldn't be teaching self defense to seventy year old woman. She'd managed to get out of that one without so much as breaking a sweat. After word had gotten to whoever had sent them that their plan had failed the real fun began. That didn't mean however that her Aunt could take over and decided what was best for her. She was a grown woman for Christ sakes. Had the right to know what ever the older woman did and decide from there what the best course of action was.

Quenching the urge to ram her fist in the desk in order to get more information from the woman; and so as not to jar the cut she'd stitched up herself from her lovely brush with an exploding building; Alleria plastered a smile on her face. "Who is it?"

"James Bond." Money Penny answered. "Appointed to double oh' status about three years ago."

"Has a case that went south about two years ago." Alleria interrupted. "And if I remember my Aunt's description of him correctly he's also brash, impulsive, reckless, and a pig headed stubborn son of a bitch."

"That'd be correct but he's the best we……" Money Penny started.

Standing up she ignored whatever sentence the secretary was going to finish as she snatched up her bag and headed towards her Aunt's office. Keeping her mean in check at this point was becoming so hard she thought her head would explode. Which in turn made her not want to beat around the bush with all the normal formalities.

"Aunt Mawdelyne I love you to pieces but what the hell gives you the right to assign me a bodyguard without consulting me first?" Alleria huffed.

Having been deep in discussion about exactly what his job was going to entail James practically jumped out of his chair when the door to the office slammed against the wall. Hearing the woman speak not to mention combining that with the sour/affectionate look that graced the older woman's face Bond easily came to the conclusion that this happened to be her niece.

"It's nice to see you too Alleria." M greeted. "Now that you've gotten that out of the way do you mind sitting down so we can talk about this rationally?"

Seconds passed where no one moved; the only sound was of Alleria trying to get her breathing under control. Needing the silence to end he turned; ready to say hello and endure any storm he may get at the moment for actually remembering his manners.

It was then for the first time in his career that he was struck speechless.

Long black hair looking wind blown, lavender eyes alive with anger and full lips pulled into a grimace she was the most captivating thing he'd seen. Defined cheekbones and chiseled jaw common among her people the orbs in question were slightly round; fringed with thick lashed the same color as her hair. Romanian's were usually pale skinned but do to the fact that she'd obviously spent quite a bit of time in the sun hers had a healthy bronze glow.

Dark wash wide leg jeans, a long sleeve aqua colored t-shirt and black quilted jacket with three quarter inch sleeves covered her body but it was easy to guess by the way she moved that a lithe runners build was hidden under all those clothes. Shifting in his chair a bit he gave a closer look to her right arm and could tell that even in her frenzied state; when most people wouldn't be wary of any injuries they might have; she was favoring that particular limb; holding it close to her body.

Ignoring the man who was staring at her like a deer in headlights Alleria braced her hands on the back of the chair next to him; one not as strongly as the other. In her rush to get in here she'd put strain on the stitches in her upper as well as lower arm. Coming in here looking as if she was injured wouldn't help her case any so she'd had to act as if nothing were wrong and it had cost her dearly. She just hoped they weren't damaged enough to start bleeding because the shirt she had on was the wrong color to be covering something like that up. Not to mention she didn't feel like explaining herself at the moment.

"How do you expect me to act rationally about this when you went behind my back." She wondered.

"It was for your own protection." M tried. "I just want to make sure your safe. Besides you obviously had no intention of telling me what was going on so I had to figure it out somehow."

Feeling her mean completely evaporate the young woman hung her head; embarrassed at the way she'd acted towards her aunt. And with a stranger in the room no less. Getting all of this piled on her at once. Especially when she'd thought she'd left it behind; was starting to take it's toll. Setting her bag down on the floor Alleria walked around to her aunts side of the desk. Crouching down she placed a hand on the older woman's knee.

"M you know that I'm more then grateful for everything you've done and still do for me." Alleria stated. "But I'm more then capable of taking care of myself. And I didn't tell you because I knew exactly how you'd react."

"I'm well ware of that but you're no longer with American Intelligence. Which means you shouldn't have to do all the dirty work yourself. It's time for you to relax." M explained. "And how exactly were you expecting me to react?"

" Certainly not like a control freak. Besides you should remember that I like doing the dirty work." Alleria grinned to soften her earlier words. "Plus you know I can't just sit back and do nothing when something like this is happening."

Understanding where the young woman was coming from M bit back the argument she'd had on the tip of her tongue. She'd promised that she wouldn't keep such close tabs on the young and here she was breaking that promise. Also seeing no way to get her to agree one hundred percent to having a bodyguard M realized that a compromise was in order. One she wasn't going to like but was going to have to live with.

"I know you have plans to go on holiday tomorrow." M answered. "At least allow him to tag along with you. If we haven't found out who's behind this by the time you come back then he's gone."

"That's it?" Alleria was skeptical. "Nothing more?"

"There's plenty more but I know you won't agree to it so there's no sense it bringing it up." M admitted.

Watching the exchange between the two woman James came to realize that it was the first time the MI6 director had shown any real concern or affection for another human being. Ever since he'd known the woman she'd been brash, ruthless, and unyielding. Then again to be in the position of power she currently held it was probably the only way to be.

Despite his better judgment and the lesson he should've learned with Vesper the young double oh' found his self smiling when she did. Listening to the thick accent her voice held and being transported to the mountains and mysterious landscape of Romania. As quickly as that thought possessed him it was gone. Replaced by the reality that there were some nasty people after her. And that if she wanted to the young woman could easily kill him given half the chance. Getting distracted around her was not an option. Even if it was hard for his body to do what his head was ordering it to.

"I'm only going to be gone for a month. A week or two past that at the most." Alleria reminded. "Do you think that will be enough time?"

"We've done more with a lot less." James spoke up.

Turning her attention from her Aunt to the man she'd rudely ignored since bursting in the room Alleria had to admit that despite her resolve to not be she was impressed.

Though it was hard to guess his exact height because he was seated the young woman estimated that Mr. Bond stood at six two or three. Broad shoulders and toned chest strained against his charcoal gray dress shirt. Given the way his upper body was built and the long legs clad in matching dress pants stretched out in front of him she surmised that his waist was narrow. Like that of a seasoned swimmer or runner.

Expecting the man to be movie star handsome she was both surprised and relieved to find that he wasn't. The charm factor however was still quite high. Maybe it was due to the fact that his looks were that of the ruggedly handsome. Blonde hair cut short and spiky he had a high forehead. Broad square nose, round eyes with ice blue orbs and chiseled cheekbones it was easy to see the laugh and worry lines etching his full lips.

During her time with the American Intelligence community the young Romanian had heard stories about the MI6 agent who'd been denied double oh status several times because he had no registered kills. How he was impulsive and unconventional.

Now don't get her wrong she was all for improvising or flying by the seat of her pants when it was needed. But doing something that would endanger the lives of others and compromise the agencies name was just plain stupid as far as she was concerned.

Plus men who though they could take any woman they wanted to bed without a second thought really pissed her off. It made woman like her who stood up for themselves look like shrews. James Bond was the kind of person who thought he could do anything then charm his way out of it. Would never have to deal with the consequences of his actions due to who he was.

Bottom line was she couldn't stand men like him. But to make her aunt feel better; and she silently told herself for added protection; she would tolerate him for the next month or two. Or so she'd let the other woman think. Why the older woman had even picked him for this particular assignment was beyond the young Romanian's scope at the moment. Obviously there was something in him that she just wasn't seeing.

Personally she didn't give a rats ass what that particular trait might be. If her aunt trusted him then it was safe to say that she could as well. However that didn't mean she had to like him. Or listen to him when the shit hit the fan. If in fact the shit did hit the fan and this didn't just turn out to be some sort of hoax to scare her. Because if it was then who ever was behind it had failed. Scared was so far from where she was right now. She'd gone past that to pissed off the second time she'd been attacked.

"You must be my shadow for the next couple of months." Alleria stood.

"I wouldn't call my presence a shadow." James stood as well. " More like a traveling companion."

"Not by choice as you very well know." She smiled as sweetly as possible. "Alleria Takarov; nice to meet you."

"James Bond; my sentiments exactly." He took the offered hand.

Though the smile they both gave each other looked real they knew it wasn't. And he also knew that the young woman was smart enough to understand that his last remark had everything to do with her not by choice statement and nothing to do with meeting her.

From the way she'd interacted with her Aunt regarding the bodyguard business it was obvious to James that she was use to things going her way when it came to her personal life and protection. That the only reason she was seeming to concede to it was to ease the older woman's mind. Taking help from anyone or having someone protect her was not part of the way she was hard wired. She was use to going at things alone. Relying on herself and no one else to get the job done.

Which in turn meant that shadowing her was going to like living with a grizzly bear. Albeit an extremely attractive one; but it was still going to be a pain in the ass. Hell a real grizzly would probably be a lot friendlier. Especially when he had a funny feeling she wasn't going to play nice.

In cases like this he'd just turn up the charm he was so well known for and everything would be right with the world. Unfortunately Alleria was proving to him that charm wasn't going to cut it this time. It was going to be a challenge; going to take some hard work to get her to trust him. Then again he was never one to back down from a fight.

"I hate to interrupt these extremely cordial introductions but there's one more matter that I've decided to bring up against my better judgment before you two leave." M spoke.

Though they knew her cordial remark was an attempt at humor neither one cracked a smile. Every time M said there was something more it was never good. Reluctantly they both sat; the pretense of trying to be nice to each other forgotten.

"Aunt Mawdeyln I love you to pieces but I'm really beginning to not like you at the moment." Alleria informed.

"Then sufficed to say me suggesting that you pose as a married couple on their honeymoon will fully push you over the edge." M dropped the bomb.

Schooling their faces to show no emotion was something the older woman knew they were both extremely good at. Even during their worst times they'd never let the turmoil going on inside of them spill to the outside. This time however they both looked like fish out of water. Eyes and mouths both wide open. Silence stretched in the room so thick you cut it with a knife and place it on a cracker.

"You what?!" Alleria finally spoke.

She'd been expecting this kind of reaction from her niece. Track record with men less than perfect she was highly opposed to anything resembling marriage. Once was enough for her; even if the second happened to be completely fictional.

James had recovered quickly as was per usual with him and now looked rather amused at the look of anger and shock that marred Alleria's pretty face. His sense of humor had always seemed strange. Sarcasm more then she could handle from time to time. Both surfacing at the worst possible moments. If she agreed to this hopefully the young double oh' wouldn't' use every opportunity to rub it in her face.

"I realize that this is a surprise for you but I believe it would be the best way to go about things." M tried to reason.

"You realize that this is a surprise?" Alleria was back to being pissed off again. "Wanna try a little harder? Maybe something along the lines of one big cluster fuck."

Grabbing her bag off the floor she slung it over her shoulder as she headed for the door. Unfortunately she'd forgotten about her bad arm and was barely able to hide the pain she felt reverberating through her limb. There was no way in the fiery plains of hell that she was going to agree to this. It was absurd and not needed. As is she was going to agree to let a man she already knew she didn't like shadow her in order to make her aunt feel better. However she was not going to go along with something that she'd already been through once in real life and been left to dealt with the consequences of that person's betrayal.

"Please Alleria; just hear me out." M strode forward to try to stop her from leaving. "It's just temporary. And the only way I could think of for why he'd be sticking so close to you."

"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard." The young Romanian whirled on her aunt. "You could've said he was my brother; that we were having a family reunion of sorts."

"Do you really think that would've held for very long?" M wondered.

"Long enough for me to go on my much needed vacation and satisfy your over protective nature." Alleria informed. "After the month is up I don't really give a damn whether or not I have a protection detail."

"But I do." M reminded. "And I'm not thinking about just you anymore. This is about the safety of the United States as well as Britain. You were privy to quite a bit of sensitive information during you time with American Intelligence. If someone was to get a hold of it……."

"They won't." Alleria cut her off. "Nor will they get a hold of me. As your well aware; but I believe I should tell you again; I'm more then capable of taking care of myself. I thought you had more faith in me then that."

Cringing as the door to her office slammed shut M wasn't sure what to do anymore. She'd known that telling her niece that particular part of her plan wasn't going to go well. However she hadn't expected that kind of a reaction. There were certain things about the attacks on her that she wasn't aware of. Like there were some people in some very high up places in her government as well as Britain's that were trading her life for that of theirs and their family. Being a huge asset to both parties during her ten years with Intelligence was now coming back to bite the young Romanian in the ass.

"Would you like me to speak to her?" James asked.

Having watched the exchange between the two he'd seen pure and honest defeat in the set of the woman's shoulders; the tone of her voice. Something that was highly unusual for the head of MI6. Normally he wouldn't bother to get involved and consider his self lucky to not have to be stuck with a woman who thought he was Satan's spawn. But the whole Greene fiasco in Brazil; what she'd done for him; had made him realize that she cared about him like a son despite her bravado to the contrary. Their relationship had become closer over the year and half since it had happened and he'd been looking for a way to repay her. Getting the young woman to agree to the cover; keeping her out of harms way; would be payment enough.

"Considering the fact that she probably likes you more then me right about now your welcome to try." M sat back down behind her desk.

"Give me ten minutes." James stood.

"I'm sure you're well aware of this but it's going to take more then your usual charms to win her over." M reminded. " You're going to have to pull out all the stops and then that might not even be enough."

"Will do mum." With a small salute he was out the door.

"God speed Bond. And good luck." M whispered. "You're going to need it."