Bond was having none of it. "Keep trying!"
"Bond…"
"Do it! She can't die Q! I lost her once, I'm not losing her again!"
It was one thing he had never heard from Bond, desperation. Campbell not waiting charged the paddles again, placing them back on her chest and gave her another shock.
"James." The use of his Christian name caused him to look at Q, he could feel a lump at the back of his throat as he saw the sadness mirrored in the older man that he himself felt.
"You have to let her go."
He looked back towards M as Campbell gave her another shock.
"I can't." He watched as her body gave another jerk.
Campbell knew he would have to stop, charging one last time he pressed on the paddles feeling the palms of his hands sweat.
A familiar beep filled the room, slowly followed by another. Bond and Q looked at the heart monitor as the beeps became more regular. Campbell placed the paddles back on the cart and looked towards the heart monitor satisfied at what he was seeing.
"Pulse is nearly back to normal. Well it seems that seven is her lucky number. I wonder why that would be?" Q raised an eyebrow.
"Coincidence. I'm just glad she's alive."
He reached out and took her hand giving it a gentle squeeze. His eyes widened when he felt a weak squeeze back.
"M, it's time to wake up." He gently told her running his fingers through her hair.
"007, maybe you should try something else."
Bond looked at him confused, "What do you suggest?"
"Think about it." Q asked him knowingly and had to stop a smile breaking free when he saw his eyes widen in realisation.
Campbell shook his head, "I'll wait outside, give me a shout when she is awake I need to give her a check up."
He motioned Q to follow him to give them some privacy. Once Bond had heard the door close he gave a smile.
"You always have to be so stubborn don't you M." He gave her a fond smile.
It was now or never. Tracing her lips with his thumb, he soothed over the bite mark caused by Ellis. Removing his thumb, he placed his hand on the pillow next to M's head. Ignoring the pain in his chest, he bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Her lips were soft just as he imagined they would be. He felt her respond causing him to pull away. Her eyes fluttered opened, blinking a few times before her blue eyes finally caught his.
"Nice to have you back with us." He gave her a fond smile.
She gave him a small smile as she started to maneuver herself into a sitting position. The feeling of Bond arms around her shoulders caused her movements to still as he propped up a pillow so she could lean back.
"What the hell happened? The dryness in her mouth caused her words to come out as a rasp when she saw his face.
"I'll explain later, but first the Doctor needs to check you over."
"Fine. You may want to let go of my hand first though Bond."
His eyes lit up in amusement, "I'll be back in a moment."
M watched him go, she wasn't stupid. She knew a kiss when she felt it, she just wanted to know what possessed him to do it. Then there was the look he gave her, it wasn't just fondness, there was something else there as well. If she didn't know any better she would have said it was love. The idea alone sounded ridiculous to her own ears. What could he possibly see in her? She bit her lip and let out a wince. She needed answers, and those answers lay with Bond.
She watched as the doctor enter followed by Q who gave her a smile which she returned.
"How are you feeling Ma'am?"
"Tired, and badly need a drink."
She heard Bond snicker to her right and gave him a cold look.
"Bond could you fetch M a cup of water and make yourself useful." Campbell told him calmly.
Once he had left, Campbell turned his attention back to M. "Do you have any other symptoms at all?"
"No, I feel fine just what exactly happened here?"
Q stepped forward and perched himself at the foot of her bed.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
She pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "I was in my office, debriefing Bond. He gave me a coffee,I drank some of it, then I was at my office window everything after that is a blank. I think I suspended Ellis too."
Bond returned water in hand and handed it over to her, watching as she took it from his hands briefly brushing his as she did so. She felt a tingling sensation go through her and if Bond's face was anything to go by he had felt it too. Ignoring it she gave him a grateful look before taking a few sips.
"So you can't recall anything after that?"
"Just that when I woke up I was here with Bond standing over me." She left out the kiss part.
She swore she saw a look of disappointment flash over his face at not mentioning the kiss, but the next second it was gone. She probably had just imagined it.
"Is someone going to tell me what happened, or am I to play twenty questions?"
Bond looked to Q and gave a nod for him to continue.
"After your debriefing, Ellis came down to Q branch. He found the pills I was creating and you know how Double 0's are they're a curious bunch. The pill in question was what I had nicknamed sleeping beauty."
"Wait, are you're telling me that you had started to create a new form of drug without informing me in the process?"
Q gulped, "Yes, but it would have it benefits once I had it all tested and confirmed it was safe for use."
"I suppose that makes it all right then." She told him sarcastically.
"But what has this got to do… You have got to be bloody kidding me?" Everyone in the room knew that tone, she was starting to lose patience.
"I wish I was. You see Ellis, took three of the pills and from what I was told later he planned to use them on Bond In the hopes you would reinstate him once Bond was under the pills effects."
"That man is deranged, he can kiss his double O status goodbye."
M saw the three men look at each other uncomfortably, she assumed she would be hearing all about this.
Q ignored the comment and continued from where he left off.
"Ellis met Bond who was on his way to your office. Bond giving him one of the cups when his phone rang gave him the opportunity to slip the pills into the drink."
"Let me guess, the cup with the pills was given to me instead."
"I'm sorry M."
M gave him a confused look, "Why? It wasn't your fault, you didn't know."
"But it was me that handed you the cup in the first place." Bond told her regretfully.
She reached out and took his hand, "Bond, look at me."
She waited until his eyes found hers, "This wasn't your fault. Our roles could have been reversed. If anything it was probably better this way."
"What do you mean?"
She looked at both Campbell and Q, "If what I'm about to say leaves this room, I'll have you both shot."
"Ma'am."
Bond had to bite back a grin at seeing the two men agree, she knew how to put fear into people with one look that was for sure. He should know, he had been on the receiving end of that look for years.
"You're the best agent this agency has, I will admit your way of carrying out missions is somewhat unethical to say the least, but you do get the job done. With you out of commission chances are half the missions wouldn't be completed. Me on the other hand. I'm easily replaceable."
"No, you aren't, not to me anyway. This agency needs you, you know everything inside out. You're respected by staff, if anyone new was brought in chances are the building wouldn't be standing."
M heard the sincerity in his voice, there was no denying that he cared for but how deep did that caring go.
"Well, now you two have got that out In the open, can I continue?"
Q didn't miss the looks they were giving each other and if the sigh Doctor Campbell gave he didn't either. M reluctantly looked away from Bond and back to Q giving him a nod.
"I'm not sure what happened in your office perhaps 007 can explain that part later. The first I heard about what happened was when 007 came to me giving me the cup of coffee and asked me to test it. The results showed traces of the ingredients that were in the pills. One pill is remotely safe, but the results showed triple the amount. If you had drank the full contents, you wouldn't be here now."
"What you're telling me, is that Ellis tried to kill Bond, but got me instead?"
"He didn't know that three of the pills would be lethal, however it does not excuse his actions."
"To bloody right it doesn't!"
She felt Bond squeeze her hand, and visibly relaxed at the small comfort.
"The next part well let's say it gave Tanner quite a shock."
M raised an eyebrow, "Where is Tanner?"
"He's currently recovering from a bullet graze to the arm and blow to the head Ma'am." Campbell told her nervously.
"Is he alright?"
"He'll be fine M, don't worry." Bond told her soothingly.
""Are his wounds part of the reason on how you got your own?" She stared at him taking the various cuts and bruises that covered his face.
"Mostly." He shrugged his shoulders.
M rolled her eyes, "That means yes then."
"As I was saying, I needed to make a drug that would reverse the effects, but needed a test subject. Using your blood, I made a cloned version of you as our genetic makeup would practically be the same."
M's eyes widened in shock, "You never mentioned a clone machine. You and I will be having words on protocol Q."
"Ma'am. Oh shut up 007." He gave Bond an annoyed look, when he saw the smug look on his face.
"Tanner at the moment decided to make his presence known, when a clone is created they are essentially naked." Q gave her a sheepish smile.
"Are you telling me that Tanner saw her naked?" Bond's smugness faded and was replaced with disbelief and jealously.
"In a sense yes, so did I, but as I keep telling you 007, it wasn't M."
M felt uncomfortable that both her Chief of Staff and Q saw her naked, even though she knew in her mind it wasn't her, but it didn't make the matter any less disturbing.
"I tried various sample drugs, only two which had an effect. Mixing the two, we tried again. It caused the clone to go into cardiac arrest as I thought it might, but the drug was a success."
"Where was Ellis during this mess?" M was curious to know.
"Once I found out what he had done, Tanner called him in for questioning. He said some things, and I lost it, but I don't regret my actions it put the bastard in medical. We were heading back to your room, when we noticed the two agents guarding your room were dead. When I entered, both Tanner and Doctor Phillips were unconscious and Ellis was trying to smother you. He also tore the IV from your hand."
M sat there stunned, she didn't know what to say. The man wasn't deranged he was psychotic.
"We got into a fight, and the bastard knocked me to the floor. I reached for Tanner's gun, but he pulled the trigger before I could reach it. Your clone took a bullet that was meant for me."
She saw the sadness in his eyes, trying to give him what comfort she could.
"Seeing you fall, I didn't think twice, I gave Ellis a bullet between the eyes. I went over to your clone and held her as she died in my arms. I couldn't save her M."
She couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Bond to hold a carbon copy of herself as she died.
"She did what she thought was right Bond, and you taught her that."
M had known Bond long enough to know he didn't believe a word she was saying. He would have to learn to accept it and move on even if she had to help him along the way.
"We lost seven people M, five agents, a nurse and your clone. Even though Ellis doesn't deserve to be called an agent."
The full scenario was crazy to say the least, she would have to inform their families. It was one part of the job she hated.
"We eventually gave you the drug, but it took an extra three shocks to get your heart started not four like it did your clone." Q told her gravely.
"It seems that seven is your lucky number M."
Campbell faked cough to hide his smile at the double meaning behind Q's words.
"So it would seem." She narrowed her eyes, having a good idea of what they were thinking, Campbell's smile didn't go unnoticed by her no matter how much the man tried to hide it.
"I think that's mostly everything, I had best head back to Q branch and lock away those pills."
"We're still having that talk Q."
Q gave a nod, he knew there would be no way of getting out of it.
"I'll be back to check on you later Ma'am. If all goes well we can let you leave in a few hours."
"Thank God for that." M told them in relief, she hated being confined in the one place too long.
Both Q and Campbell left leaving the both of them alone.
"I think you and I need to talk Bond."
Bond didn't miss the seriousness in her voice. He knew this conversation was due, he only hoped that she felt the same way.
