Chapter 2

"I will help you. But let's get something straight, shall we?"

Olivia narrow her eyes at him wondering what he was going to tell her. In a way she couldn't blame him. After all she had lied to him. She had always claimed that she trusted him, but she hadn't even bothered to tell him her plans.

"Alright, Bond, get it off your chest," she told him.

"Like I said, I will help you. But I'll decide what is to be done after you have told me what all this is about. Do I make myself clear?" Bond said, looking down at her sternly.

She held his gaze for a long moment, then nodded her head. "Alright then, I'm game if you are."

He couldn't help himself and smirked at her remark.

She didn't say anything in return, but he saw a sparkle dance in her eyes, and felt a warm wave rush through his body. He wasn't ready to admit it to her just yet, because he was still hurting from what she had done, but he was happy to see the colour of her beautiful eyes.

"Stay here I'll be right back. I have some phone calls to make."

She nodded again, and watched as he began to walk away. She called after him.

James stopped and turned around, looking at her questioningly.

"Thank you."

He smiled, but didn't say a thing as he walked out of the room. Olivia hadn't told him anything yet about what was going on, but Bond had the sickening feeling that whatever this was about, they would have to be really careful. If they weren't, this thing, whatever it was, would blow up in their faces. Of that he was certain.

For whatever reason, she was asking for his help, and he knew it had to be serious, or she would never have come back from the dead. Not even for him.

But no matter what it was she was asking of him, he would do it. Because it was her asking.

He had fallen in love with her. He'd known it for a long time, but he wasn't certain that she loved him the same way. For now, though it didn't matter. He would wait and talk to her after this mission was over.

No matter the outcome, James decided M would know how he felt about her.

As soon as Bond was out of sight, M let out the breath she wasn't aware she was holding. 007 was quite something in blue jeans; candy for her eyes. She'd always thought James was handsome and good-looking, a woman had to be blind not to see it.

She had always pushed him to use his charm to get what was needed to be able to accomplish a mission, but never before had his charms affected her personally. And yet, here she was, wondering if his body looked as beautiful and well-toned as it promised to be.

Olivia, get a grip, damn it! He's too young for you. A man like him would never be interested in a woman your age… if only…. Wait a minute, since when did she start thinking in such a way about her best agent? There was no time to wonder about that anyway. And I doubt he'd still want to see me after I tell him everything he needs to know about this mission.

James knew exactly where he would take her in case they had to leave London of course it all depended on what she would tell him. He was certain no one knew the place even existed, not even Kincaid. If needed, he could tell him that M was in fact very much alive, but he decided against it. The less people knew about this the better. If the day came, and he needed help, he would tell his old friend, as well as Eve and Bill, but for now they were own their own.

M was alive! Olivia was alive! He still couldn't believe it. He had been angered and disappointed, but now that first rush of emotion was dissipating. He'd hurt for so long and felt so empty and now he was warming up again. She was alive it had all just been a nightmare after all and he was glad for it.

He frowned as he walked down the hall toward the kitchen, James saw that his front door was ajar.

Something's not right here, he thought.

He'd closed the door when he'd entered his flat, of that he was certain.

Grabbing the door, he slowly pulled it open as he made a fist, ready to hit whomever might be there.

Bond poked his head out, glanced around, but saw no one in the immediate surroundings. As he stepped back in, and was closing the door, he heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Slowly, very slowly, he moved past the kitchen toward his bedroom first, where he kept his Beretta,. Grabbing it from under his pillow, he left his bedroom, heading for the kitchen.

As he entered the kitchen, he recognized the familiar silhouette and lowered his gun.

"What are you doing here?"

The woman standing with her back to him, jumped slightly at the sound of his voice.

"You startled me, James," she said, smiling at him.

"What are you doing here, Eve?" he repeated.

"Making myself a cup of coffee."

"I can see that, but why exactly? Has MI6 ran out of it?"

"No, James, the reason why I'm here is to make sure you are doing alright."

"I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Don't be like that, James."

"Like what?"

"Don't be an arsehole," she told him. "It's me you're talking to. Your friend, Eve Moneypenny, remember?"

He walked over to the counter of the kitchen and leaned against it, facing her.

"I'm sorry. I'm fine or at least as fine as I can be."

Eve nodded at his response. "I still can't believe she's gone. I still expect to hear her voice coming through comm, asking me to bring her a file, or mumble something about you being a pain in the arse." Moneypenny smiled, but her eyes were sad.

"I miss her," he said simply.

"Me, too. You loved her, didn't you? Really loved her, I mean. Not like a son loves his mother."

Eve heard him sigh in response. "That obvious, huh?"

"No. You're not a Double-O for nothing, James, it's the small details. Your face was a perfect mask, but your eyes weren't. There was a light in them, I'd never seen before, especially when she entered a room where you were. You were excellent at hiding that part as well from most people, but I happened to see the light shine in your eyes a couple times."

"Yeah, I loved her. I really did. I've never loved a woman like this before not even Vesper. It didn't do me any good though, did it? Now she's dead and she will never know…"

James felt a small twinge of guilt for lying to Eve about M still being alive. She was one of his closest friends, after all. But right now, that didn't matter. The only thing he wanted to focus on now was M, and protecting her at any cost. He wasn't about to lose her a second time.

"She knew; deep down she knew how you felt about her. I'm positive about that."

"Thanks, Eve," he said, pushing himself away from the counter, and took a step toward her, placing a kiss on her cheek, before leaning against the counter once more.

"Anytime."

"Not to be pushy, and please don't take offense, but I would like to be alone."

Eve's heart broke at the sadness in his eyes. Mallory had done the wrong thing by giving him a few days off. James Bond wasn't a man that could be inactive and definitely not when he grieved. The new M was an idiot, she thought, but he would learn eventually that Bond wasn't the kind of agent you put in the corner.

Eve looked at him. "You sure?"

James nodded. "I'm a grown man."

"Yes, and that is exactly what I am afraid of," she said, smiling softly.

"Drink your coffee and get out of here. I don't think Mallory is going to like the fact that you came to check up on me."

"Don't worry about that." Was her answer to him as she picked up her cup of coffee and brought it to her lips.

Bond watched her as she did so, but he wasn't seeing Moneypenny standing in front of him, no… he saw M. Damn it, he really hoped that Eve wouldn't take too long anymore to drink her coffee because he really had some stuff to do before he could join Olivia again.

His hand suddenly itched with the urge to grab her arm, and push her out of his flat. But knowing the woman in front of him as he did, if he did exactly that, she would find a way to come every other day to make sure he wasn't going to do something stupid.

When M saw him reappear finally, she sighed in relief.

"What the bloody hell took you so long, 007!" she snapped.

"Moneypenny," he said, simply.

She looked at him questioningly. The thought that crossed her mind couldn't be helped.

James looked at her annoyed by what she thought of him.

"No, I didn't sleep with her, M. She's my friend, and she came to see how I was doing. I know it might be difficult to believe given my reputation, but my so-called sleeping around is only during missions. Eve is a friend and that's all she is to me. She's afraid I might do something stupid since technically you are dead, and she knows that I care about you a great deal. Satisfactory explanation?"

M simply nodded in response.

"So, where are we going?"

"There is no need for you to know that now, milady."

To be continued…