Sam flies to London on SHIELD business. Will he find a solution he and Pansy can live with while he is there?
Baby Girl: I'm in London
FlyBoy: You okay?
Baby Girl: Don't ask that
FlyBoy: How was the flight?
Baby Girl: No worse than the one three weeks ago
FlyBoy: Are you home yet?
Baby Girl: Never home if you aren't here
FlyBoy: Sweetness … baby, please don't
Baby Girl: Bloody hell, I hate this
FlyBoy: Not so fond of it myself. Gotta go, boss is calling
Sam sent his last text as Nick Fury's name popped up on the screen.
"Yes, sir."
"Are you serious about working in London? MI-6 can be worse than anything we have here."
"Yes. sir. I have already talked to several people at RAF command about continuing the work I was doing with the VA while I am in England."
"You will still be working for SHIELD."
"I understand. I'm sure SHIELD has an agenda for me to follow."
"No nest building, Falcon."
"No promises, sir."
"Don't fuck this up, son. Siberia is not a good place for birds."
"Yes, sir."
Sam sighed as he ended the call. Now all he had to do was find a place to live, figure out what stuff he needed to take with him, and pack.
"Wonder how long he'll give me to pack." Sam muttered as he walked into his closet. "Probably should have asked him before I hung up."
"Item number one, a place to live. It's too soon to invade her flat, so I guess I'm calling Tony." Sam continued to mumble as he scrolled through the messages on his phone. "The man has places around the world. I just hope the rent isn't too steep. Better ask Pepper first."
Sam: I have a question for you
Pepper: Hi Sam.
Sam: Hi Pepper. Now for that question
Pepper: No, Tony is not here
Sam: Not the question
Pepper: What other reason do any of you have for messaging me?
Sam: I need your help?!
Pepper: With what?
Sam: A place to live for the next few months
Pepper: Something wrong with your place in DC?
Sam: No, just taking a temporary duty assignment out of country
Pepper: Where?
Sam: London
Pepper: Tony has a flat in Brixton and flat in Notting Hill
Sam: He never has just a flat
Pepper: Pick
Sam: If you had to choose, where would you go?
Pepper: Notting Hill, top floor, roof garden, great view and easy to take off from
Sam: Okay - how much
Pepper: Nothing - just figure it out with Pansy while you are there.
Sam: Pepper - when did you become my mom?
Pepper: Sam - it will just sit empty if you don't use it
Sam: I can't accept it for nothing
Pepper: Yes, you can. Go save England and get the girl
Sam watched the glow dim from his phone. Pepper was a good match for Tony and a blessing for himself. "Now onto item two, figuring out what to take."
Sam spent the next few days pulling together the basics of what to take with him to London. Staying at Tony's flat meant he would not have to pack much beyond clothes, but there were a few personal items he could not live without. He figured he would need to travel light, enough to keep him covered in most situations. A few more business than casual outfits but he was determined to mix business with pleasure when he was there. If he got stuck, he did know someone in London that could help him fill in any missing pieces.
Sam had to dig his phone out from under a pile of discarded clothes when it started to ring.
"Yes, sir."
"Your flight leaves in an hour. Your suit is on the plane already. You are headed there for business."
"Do I need to fly to the pad? It will take half that time to get there normal traffic."
"Your ride will be there shortly. I hope you have your arrangements made."
"I will be ready. Arrangements have been made for most things in London."
"No distractions, Falcon. You are there as an agent of SHIELD."
"And, MI-6 can be worse than any agency here… I understand, sir."
"And, your work with the RAF?"
"Will not interfere with the mission. It will work much like my VA work here."
"Just get it done. We need a strong base and a better relationship with the UK. For some reason they don't want me to go."
"Not all negotiations work with a pistol and a well placed motherfucker, sir. I will do my best."
"You are down to ten minutes. I hope you have finished packing."
"I have. Anything I don 't have, Pansy can help me get."
"Falcon, you will not have time for a personal life. You are there to get this done and get back to the States."
"I understand, sir. But, how are we going to keep it going if someone isn't stationed there?"
"You looking to transfer, son?"
"Don't know sir. A lot depends on a girl…"
"Get it done and get home. We can talk about the girl later."
"Sir, my ride is here."
"Don't fuck this up, son."
"Yes, sir."
Sam hung up on Nick Fury as he shoved the last of his clothes into his duffle. "At least I have a place to lay my head," he muttered as he heard the knock at his door. "I wonder who he sent to take me to the transport. Hold your horses, I'm coming"
"Nice of you to join me, Falcon." Agent Coulson greeted Sam as he opened the door. "Director Fury asked me to remind you that you are going to London for business, not pleasure."
"He has mentioned that a time or two." Sam scooped up his phone and keys from the table beside the door. "Lead the way, Coulson. Might as well get this trip started."
"Doesn't your girl live in London?" Coulson asked as they walked together to the elevator. "Are you going to have time to see her? Based on what the director told me, you'll be there for about six months."
"Why do you think Fury has mentioned this is a business trip and not a pleasure cruise about fifty times since I agreed to the mission?" Sam shrugged and pushed open the front door. "It is nice to know how long I will be in London. At least I have a place to stay."
"With your girl?" Coslson asked as he closed the door of their ride. "That is not exactly not mixing business and pleasure."
"No, Pepper has arranged for me to stay in one of Tony's places." Sam pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened the texting app. "You mind if I send a few messages while you drive?"
"Go ahead." Coulson pulled away from the curb and into traffic. "We should be at the airfield in about twenty minutes. Taking care of last minute arrangements?"
"You could say that." Sam opened up his text stream with Steve. "Now that I know I will be gone for at least six months, I have to arrange a few more things."
FlyBoy: Do you mind keeping an eye on my place for a while?
Old man: How long is a while?
FlyBoy: Six months?
Old Man: You doing Fury's dirty work for him?
FlyBoy: He thinks I am.
Old Man: What are you up to?
FlyBoy: Figuring out a way to be in two places at once
Old Man: You know that's not possible, unless you are a certain god
FlyBoy: If I do this right, I will have a reason to be in London for parts of the year
Old Man: Any reason why you are trying to build two nests?
FlyBoy: Her trip to NYC made me think about some things.
Old Man: Did she spend some time in DC too?
FlyBoy: She did. We looked at some places in Old Towne
Old Man: Is she moving here?
FlyBoy: Don't know
Old Man: So why are you helping get a London site set up?
FlyBoy: Working on an idea.
Old Man: Fury knows you have other plans besides his?
FlyBoy: Maybe
Old Man: Be careful
FlyBoy: No guarantees
Old Man: I'll tell Hermione to keep an eye out for fly curses
FlyBoy: Have a little more faith
Old Man: I've meet Pansy a time or two
FlyBoy: Nothing but sweetness
Old Man: If you say so
Sam rubbed the bridge of his nose as he sat on the couch in Tony's London flat. He had expected to have time to settle in before he was summoned to his first meeting. He should have known better.
Sam was met at Heathrow by a representative on MI-6 and swept off to meetings as soon as his plane taxied into the gate. He had felt his phone buzz in his pocket but had not even had a chance to check it to see what was going one. He needed to check his messages and let Pansy know he was in town, but that would require him to move.
"If I don't get up now, I may never move again," Sam grumbled as he pulled at his tie. "I need to check my phone and get something to eat before I collapse."
Sam pushed himself off of the sofa and shuffled down the hall to try to find his bedroom. "I have no idea what a house elf is, but I sure hope Potter was right about them getting my stuff here and organized while we suffered through those meetings. I do not want to have to chase down my clothes and charger after the day I have had."
Sam was pleasantly surprised to see his luggage tucked into the closet of the large bedroom and his clothes in drawers. Even better was his phone charger set up on the bedside table. Sam slipped off his shoe as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Wonderful. The battery is dead. I guess I can wait to check messages until after I am comfortable. Just another surprise I did not want today."
Sam plugged his phone into the charger and continued to grumble as he picked out his favorite pair of jeans and an old Air Force t-shirt. "Shower first, then a conversation with my sweetness. She will never believe who I got to sit through meetings with today. Then, sleep. Tomorrow is going to be just as long a day as today."
Sam used his time in the shower to think through all the information that had been thrown at him during his meetings. Fury had said nothing about working with the Ministry and MI-6, but the British had other ideas. He had expected M, the head of MI-6, to be in these meeting. He had not expected to see Harry Potter at the meeting.
"Potter, what are you doing here? Do you work for MI-6?" Sam had asked when they had their first break. "Pansy said you were in enforcement for the Magical side of things."
"Not quite." Harry had pushed his glasses up his nose. "I'm Head Auror for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We do something similar to what you do. I think MACUSA has something similar on your side of the pond."
He was going to have to learn about the structure of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as well as the Aurors if he was going to get all this figured out to Fury's satisfaction. Nothing like adding pieces to the puzzle at the last minute.
Sam turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He rubbed the towel over himself quickly to dry off and started to dress. "Enough of work for tonight. Time to find some food and relax."
Once he finished in the bathroom, Sam walked into the bedroom and picked up his phone. He pushed the power button and waited for the phone to come to life. He was not surprised by the strings of messages waiting for him.
Old Man: Let me know when you land
Old Man: You okay?
Old Man: I'm guessing that Fury had you in meeting as soon as you landed
Old Man: Your place is fine. I gave Pansy a key.
Sam had to read the last message a couple of times before it made sense. He needed to check his other messages.
BabyGirl: Got an SOS from a DC client
BabyGirl: Catching a portkey in an hour
BabyGirl: Where are you?
BabyGirl: I'll see you in a few hours
BabyGirl: FlyBoy, why is your place empty?
FlyBoy: Hey sweetness, I'm in London
FlyBoy: And you are not
BabyGirl: I'm in your bed
FlyBoy: And I'm not
BabyGirl: Wish you were
FlyBoy: Me too
BabyGirl: I didn't think you were going to be in London so soon
FlyBoy: Fury changed the timetable
BabyGirl: I'm not surprised
FlyBoy: What are you doing in DC?
BabyGirl: Emergency wardrobe disaster for an American client
FlyBoy: And you could not work your magic form here?
BabyGirl: When the American Minister's wife calls … I catch a portkey
FlyBoy: When will you be back?
BabyGirl: A week or two
FlyBoy: Maybe I'll still be here when you get back
BabyGirl: But, work?
FlyBoy; I will make time
BabyGirl: I'm looking at a few ideas while I am here
FlyBoy: If I can get away from MI-6 and the Ministry, I will be too
BabyGirl: There has to be something better than this
FlyBoy: I'm working on it
Sam laid back on the bed and watched the light fade on his phone. A perfect ending to an incredibly long day. "There has got to be a way to make this work. One problem at a time is how it will get done. We need a way to be in the same city at the same time. I can't keep doing this."
Sam rolled off the bed and walked over to the closet. He pulled the larger of his suitcases off the top shelf and laid it on the floor. Tapping the secret compartment in the lining, Sam waited for it to open and reveal it's treasure. He pulled the small, black velvet box out of the compartment and smiled. "One plan at a time…"
Unknown: Are you settling in?
FlyBoy: Who is this?
Unknown: I'm sorry … It's Harry
FlyBoy: How did you get my number, Potter?
Unknow: I think you know my wife
FlyBoy: This is true
Unknown: Did you survive the meetings today?
FlyBoy: Barely, I had hoped to have time to breathe before the first meeting
Unknown: M has never been one to waste time
FlyBoy: I noticed
UnKnown: I have an idea for you
FlyBoy: About what?
Unknown: You and Pansy
FlyBoy: I'm working on it
Unknown: M wants a SHIELD agent in residence year round
FlyBoy: That is not going to happen
Unknown: I can help you talk M into a rotation
FlyBoy: I could do six months
Unknown: See you tomorrow