Ok I lied . One more chapter, not that I really thought anyone would mind an extra chapter :)
As James glanced over at the nightstand the clock read 3:00 am, "Damn" he thought to himself as he rolled back over "It's only been fifteen minutes since the last time I looked". It had not been a particularly restful night thus far, with M continually tossing and turning and James checking the clock every fifteen minutes.
"Hey" she whispered "Are you awake?"
"Yes" he mumbled as he turned to face her "What seems to be on your mind?"
"What makes you think anything is on my mind?" she asked
"The fact that you seem to be flopping around like a fish out of water was my first clue" he said with a weak laugh "What's wrong?"
"How are we ever going to make this work?" she asked, propping herself up on one elbow so that she could see his face
"We're going to take it one day at a time" he replied softly as he reached up to trace her cheekbone
"But once we're married things will change, and there is no use denying it because it's true"
"So things will be a little different...change is good" he said pulling her to him "One thing that will not change is the fact that I love you"
"I love you too" she said as she snuggled closer
"Then how about closing your eyes and getting some sleep. We have an awfully big day ahead of us" he said kissing the top of her head
"I suppose you're right." she replied thru a yawn as she attempted to drift off to sleep
As the sun was just beginning to come up, James rolled over to find M peacefully curled up beside him. She looked so happy, she even had a slight smile on her face. He leaned over and gently placed a soft kiss on her lips.
"Morning" he said quietly
"Already?" she said sleepily
"Yes" he replied kissing her again "I'm going for a shower, then down to start breakfast. Any special requests?"
"Only that you stay in bed" she said teasingly
"There will be plenty of time for that later" he said with a wink
Once he had showered and dressed, James headed downstairs only to find that Paul and Joanna were already up and preparing breakfast.
"What's all this?" he asked
"We thought you two could do with a lay in this morning so we are making breakfast for you" replied Joanna, slightly annoyed that James was up and dressed
"Thank you for the thought. I'm sure your Mother will love breakfast in bed. She didn't seem to sleep very well last night"
"Ewww...thanks for that mental image" said Paul
"That's not what I meant" replied James with a laugh "What time is it?"
"Just past 8:00" Said Joanna as she picked up the tray and headed toward the door
"I'll take it up to her. I have something I want to give her anyway" replied James as he took the tray and headed upstairs.
James found M still curled up in bed so he put the tray on the nightstand and leaned over to kiss her good morning again.
"That was fast" she said as she opened her eyes
"What was?"
"You just went down there so either you cook in your sleep, you have a magic wand or you had help with breakfast"
"Joanna and Paul already had breakfast ready" he said "They thought we could use a lay in today"
"Oh that was sweet of them" she said as she sat up
"I have something for you" he said rather mysteriously as he went and retrieved an envelope from his jacket, handing it to her
M took the envelope, read the contents, and then stared at James with a puzzled look on her face.
"What's this?" she asked
"I've been giving it some thought, and I'm going to say something that you're not going to like much, but please hear me out before you say anything" he said as he sat down beside her and put his arm around her.
"Ok" she replied in a suspicious tone
"You and I both know that eventually you will have to retire. Not because you can't do the job, but let's be honest, Mallory cannot keep you in this position forever. You should have retired a few years ago, but they somehow managed to keep you on, but there comes a point where enough is enough"
James could tell by the way her entire body tensed that she did not like the direction the conversation was heading.
"I've given it some thought, and I was thinking that..."
"You were thinking that I should just retire and get it over with and you would just go back to your job with me sitting at home twiddling my thumbs!" she snapped
"No!... and you said you would hear me out so shush" he said as he attempted to calm her down "I was thinking that I am really getting too old for this crap, and wouldn't it be nice if we sort of retired together?"
"What? and don't ever shush me" she said glaring at him
"I've spoken to Mallory about the possibility of taking a position as an instructor, and so far he seems receptive to the idea, so that leaves you. Hypothetically, how would you feel about me having the equivalent of a desk job?"
"But..."
"Look, I've given it a lot of thought, and to be honest, I don't really want to be half way around the world all the time..."
"But you love your job" she said quietly
"Yes, but I love you more, and if it means that we will both be safe, and we can be together, then I'll give it up right now"
"You've really given this a lot of thought haven't you?"
"I was thinking about it before all of this happened, but now, after nearly losing you for a second time, my mind is made up"
"Do you really think you could be happy with a desk job? Hypothetically speaking"
"I could be happy being a janitor if it means I get to come home to you every night" he replied as he gently kissed her forehead
"And just what do you plan for us to do with all of our free time?" she asked curiously
"We could always run that retirement home for spies" he said with a grin
"One retired spy in my life is quite enough thank you very much"
"Well whatever we do, we'll do it together"
"So you really want me to retire"
"It is entirely your decision, but as for me, my mind is made up. That envelope contains my official resignation. Now that doesn't mean that I couldn't be called back into active duty, but only as a consultant"
"Can you honestly see yourself as just a consultant?" she asked eyeing him suspiciously
"I think so" he replied confidently
"You've thought of everything haven't you?" she snapped
"Think of it as my wedding gift to you" he said as he leaned down and kissed her deeply
"Some wedding gift" she said breathlessly as she broke the kiss "You want to resign your post and you want me to retire"
"What I want is to spend the rest of my life with you and in my current position, that may or may not be a long time, so I'm changing the rules a bit...what's wrong with that?"
"You would honestly do that?"
"Yes"
"Can we at least discuss it?"
"We just did"
"No, you said you were speaking hypothetically"
"Hypothetically that you would accept it, not hypothetically that I wouldn't do it" he said in a somewhat serious tone
"Oh I see" she replied angrily as she pulled away from him "So it really didn't matter what I thought as you were going to do it anyway regardless of how I feel about the situation. This was just a courtesy discussion"
"M" he started as he gently pushed her back against the pillows and leaned over her "In less than five hours, you are going to be my wife..."
"Are we still speaking hypothetically?" she asked sarcastically
Seeing no end in sight to their current disagreement, James released her and headed toward the door.
"Where are you going?" she asked
"It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding" he said as he walked out the door
M remained in bed pouting until she heard the front door close, and then tears began to stream down her cheeks. Joanna had heard the door as well and went to check on her mother.
"Mum...everything alright?"
"Its fine dear, just a spat" she replied, wiping the tears from her eyes
Joanna could tell by M's tone that things were definitely NOT fine and climbed into bed with her mother, wrapping her arms around her, pulling her close
"What was the spat about this time?"
"He wants us to retire" she said through her sniffles "And what do you mean this time?"
"Would it really be so bad to retire together?"
"I know it has to happen eventually, but I just didn't think we would be discussing it on our wedding day" she sniffed
"Where do you suppose he's gone?"
"I have no idea. Probably his flat" she said quietly
"Stay here Mum" she said as she climbed out of bed
"Now where are you going" asked M with a look of annoyance on her face
"To knock some sense into that errant bridegroom of yours" she said with a wink
Joanna didn't have far to go because as soon as she opened the door, she found James sitting on the steps.
"Fancy meeting you here" she said smugly
"Where are you off to?" he asked
"To find you"
"So she told you"
"She did"
"And you don't approve"
"I didn't say that. It's just that retirement is a big step, and she knows it will eventually happen, but why now?"
"Jo, I almost lost her...I can't go through that again..."
"You two are the most stubborn people on the planet you know that" she said sounding a bit irritated.
"So we've been told"
"Tell you what. Why don't you take Paul and go to your flat and get ready, and I'll stay with her and make sure she's at the registrar's office this afternoon" replied Joanna
"That's assuming she still wants to marry me"
"She loves you James. She'll be there, I promise" replied Joanna with a wink
TO BE CONTINUED...