Just love it when James is being parental.
James alarm on his mobile went off about an hour and a half after he closed his eyes. "Right on schedule" he grumbled getting up to check on M. His face was a mere inches from hers when she opened her eyes to see him staring back at her.
"James! what do you think you are doing?" she said somewhat startled by him
"Just checking on you. Doctors orders" he said with a slight grin as he pulled back a bit to look at her
"How are you feeling?" he asked, the concern clearly showing in his tone
"To tell you the truth like I've been run over by a team of bloody horses. Everything hurts" she said wincing as she tried to sit up.
"Well that's to be expected I suppose" he replied leaning in closer to look into her eyes
"Now what are you doing?" She asked clearly annoyed
"Just checking your pupils" he said as he continued to stare at her
"For what may I ask?"
"Any unusual dilation, or at least that is what the instructions say" he said holding up the instructions Tanner had left with him.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked hesitantly
"Of course I do... You're the chap who broke into my flat, took me to the hospital that isn't really a hospital, brought me home and carried me up the stairs against my will last night." she said looking at him as if it were a stupid question.
"Yes, but do you remember anything else?" he asked
M thought about it for a minute before answering.
"No...Nothing before waking up to find you staring at me" she said sounding rather disappointed
"Well it's just going to take a little time I guess" he replied trying to sound optimistic
Just as he was about to continue the conversation he heard a phone ring. After working out that it wasn't his phone He quickly ran out of the room shouting "Stay put!" over his shoulder as he ran down the stairs to find the ringing phone. M, being M got up and, as quickly as one on crutches can, followed James as far as the top of the stairs.
"Who is it?" she yelled down to him
"Blocked call" he said sounding a bit out of breath
"What does that mean" she asked giving him a rather confused look
"It means that you should be in bed resting!" he said sounding a bit parental
"Well I decided that as long as I am up I might as well come downstairs" she said almost as an act of defiance
"And just how were you planning to do that without my help, were you planning to slide down the banister?" he answered rather flippantly
"I'll manage... I managed to get this far without your help didn't I." she said sounding almost insulted.
"Well you're not coming down here dressed like that!" he retorted as he quickly averted his gaze.
It was only then that M realized that in her rush to see who was on the phone, she had neglected to put on her dressing gown and was now standing at the top of the stairs in her rather short night dress.
"I see what you mean" she said blushing slightly "If I promise to dress properly then may I come down?" She asked almost sounding as if she were playing a game of Mother May I.
"If that's what you really want, but you WILL wait for me to help you down so we do not have a repeat of last night agreed."
"Fine" she said as she hobbled back to her bedroom to retrieve her dressing gown.
James was just getting M settled on the sofa when her phone began to ring again. James quickly picked it up, frowned when he looked at the screen and then deposited it in the first available drawer he could find.
"Why didn't you answer it?" she asked sounding rather puzzled
"I can't answer it , it's your private phone and you are obviously in no state to answer it, so I just let it ring" he said as he dialed his own phone
"Tanner...Bond here...No she's fine...Really she's fine all things considered...No she doesn't remember anything past last night...Yes every hour or so...listen I need you to contact Q and have him do something about her private phone. It keeps ringing...No I didn't answer it, do you think I'm a complete idiot. Look just take care of the phone will you? Thanks"
As James hung up he turned to find M staring at him with an expression he couldn't quite pin down.
"What's a Q?" she asked curiously
"Q is not a what, he's a who" he answered flatly
"Alright then Who is Q?" she asked again
"Q is the computer genius who works for you" he answered trying to be as vague as possible
"Oh, I see" she said shaking her head
"So let me get this straight, You are Bond/James/007 or at least that's what the doctor called you last night, I am M as in the letter M not the Name Emilie, He's Q, Does anyone have an actual name other than Mr. Tanner?" she asked "The next thing you will be telling me is that there is a Mr. X,Y and Z" she finished sounding a bit perplexed.
"No...At present there is only an M and a Q" he said trying not to laugh.
"As long as we are on the subject of names" she started "Would you please tell me my real name?" she asked quietly
"What's in a name" he answered trying to avoid the subject
"Well it may not seem like a lot but it's all I have and I would really like to know what it is if you don't mind" she said bluntly
"I would love to tell you but I can't you see because you once threatened to have me shot if I ever said it aloud" he said honestly
"Can I do that?" she asked sounding a bit surprised
"You can do that and a lot more" he said with a smile
"Now how about some breakfast?"
To be continued...