Prologue: One Night

Disclaimer: MI-5 is not mine, however, the character of Fiona, the sixteen year old entrusted to Tom's care, is my creation. Please don't get mad if I seem a bit insensitive, being a male after all, I know very little about growing up female aside from the little Disney channel shows my cousin watches. Any discrepancies are due to my not having seen anything of the sereis beyond Episode 6 and having to rely on the summaries from AEtv.com for intelligence. This takes place after 2x9 and does not go into the episode 2x10. Aimee 5's fanfic Getting to know you inspired this Tom/Zoe fic.

Summary: Tom asks for Zoe's help while guarding a sixteen year old. Tom/Zoe romance to follow.

"Are you sure you want this?" Zoe asked. About two tenths of a second prior, Tom had just kissed her. Out of the blue and completely unexpectedly, he'd kissed her.

'Damn it Zoe, you're a grown woman and an MI-5 agent, not a hormone crazed teenager...' She thought, trying to rein in the emotions coursing through her brain.

"Zoe, regrets are for the next day..." Tom replied, pulling her close.

'Damn, I wish Danny were home, at least I could make an excuse.' Zoe thought to herself. The reasons she didn't just shove him away were twofold. First, she always had what she liked to call a 'schoolgirl's crush' on Tom. Second, the fact that the bourbon had killed a few of the professional barriers that both of them threw up between themselves.

'She looks especially fetching tonight.' Tom thought, 'Damn it Tom, you're a bloody MI-5 agent, start acting like one instead of a horny young buck.'

"And when the next day dawns?" Zoe asked.

"I'll worry when I get there." Tom replied.

It had been rather easy to surrender to the attraction the two felt for each other that night. Zoe, Tom and Danny had gone off to a nearby pub shortly after Mariella had been killed. They'd had a few drinks, but not enough to completely intoxicate them. Danny had found himself in pursuit of a rather exotic young lady at the pub and had promptly excused himself. Not half an hour later he was with his newfound ladyfriend for the night.

Tom rather nonchalantly said, "I wonder what his secret is?"

"Me too." Zoe remarked, absently.

"Zoe, is there something you need to tell me...?" Tom began.

Abruptly realizing what she'd just implied Zoe said, "No...I...I mean..."

Tom cracked a smile, the first he'd cracked all night, that indicated to Zoe that he had just been kidding, despite the concerned supervisor voice he'd just put on. He just loved seeing the normally composed, serious, and unflappable Zoe look surprised.

"You're not funny Tom." Zoe remarked.

"Then why are you smiling." Tom replied, his grin growing wider.

"I...I'm...not...smiling..." Zoe replied.

'Twice in one night, damn, I'm good.' Tom thought.

One thing lead to another, and now they were in the living room that Zoe and Danny shared. They were standing, in each others arms after Tom had just kissed her.

'What the hell am I doing, I work with this woman?' Tom thought. Professional standards, even the very high ones he held himself to, were starting to assert themselves as fast as another section of Tom's mind began to say to hell with them.

'He's wearing that cologne again.' Zoe thought, 'Damn I love that smell. Damn I work with him every day.'

'That scent is very becoming of her.' Tom thought, as the pair shuffled awkwardly toward Zoe's bedroom.

"What is that exotic scent you're wearing?" Tom asked as he kissed her neck.

"Come now," Zoe said, coyly, "You don't expect me to give away secrets so easily, do you Tom."

"I could always set up surveillance and find out. Or root through your bureau..." Tom replied.

"It's called Passion..." Zoe remarked, "I would think you'd know at least one sort of woman's perfume, after all you lived with Ellie for a long time."

"To be perfectly honest, Maisie did a lot of surveillance work as to what sort of fragrance Ellie liked and simply told me." Tom replied.

As they made their way into the bedroom, pieces of clothing began to disappear from their bodies, only to reappear strewn about the floor. The night contained many surprises for both parties concerned. For Tom he realized what a spitfire Zoe was, she hadn't held back, and had denied him nothing. She was passionate, far removed from the professional side of her he saw in the office every day. There was a vulnerability in her eyes, one he never saw before, or at least one that he never let himelf see. Of course, Zoe was a beautiful woman either way, with or without clothing. Although at the moment Tom preferred her without clothes.

For her part, Zoe was surprised Tom enjoyed cuddling. He wasn't like her prior boyfriend, who always rolled over and went to sleep after sex. For some odd reason she'd expected Tom to act the same way, but was pleasantly surprised when he held her close afterward, saying that he enjoyed cuddling as much as the act itself.

The pair made a bit of small talk on many things. Hometowns, university, their early years at MI-5 all entered into the conversation. Eventually they drifted off to sleep.

It was Tom who awoke first, with the fuzzy feeling in his head that one feels after waking up in a strange place. It was a few seconds before he realized he was in Zoe's bedroom, minus his clothes, in Zoe's bed. Zoe was curled up beside him, fast asleep, a contented smile playing across her lips.

'My God...' Tom thought. His own words from the night before, 'Regrets are for the next day' returned to haunt him. Any minute now Danny was due to return and he wasn't about to be caught, quite literally with his trousers down. He silently moved himself out of the bed, careful not to wake Zoe. The blanket had slid down, revealing her body to him once more. Zoe had a dancer's build, long and slim, yet muscular in that fashion. He slid it back up to her neck and was rewarded with a sleepy smile.

He felt like a right bastard as he slid his trousers back on and buttoned up his shirt. He stole a final glance at Zoe, peacefully asleep and blissfully unaware that he was leaving, as he walked out the door. The low, rotten feeling he felt didn't evaporate as he walked out into the street back to his own flat to change his clothes and get ready for work.

By the time Zoe woke that morning, Tom was long gone and she had the sinking feeling she had been both used and abandoned...

TBC