Chapter 2
…
Present day
…
Eve was sitting behind her desk when Mallory finally escaped his office after a very hectic morning; she smiled up at him as he put some files on her desk.
"All signed for you Eve, if you could get them to the PM as soon as I'd appreciate it."
"Absolutely Sir…erm, Sir if you don't mind me asking…are you alright?"
Eve took in his pale appearance, the tiredness in his eyes.
"Fine…just a headache."
"Oh here, I have some paracetamol." She smiled, handing him a pack.
"That's very kind Eve but I can't."
"You have a headache, of course you can."
"I'm allergic."
"Oh, oh my god, I'm so sorry."
"It's quite alright. Is…has Bond arrived yet?"
"Not yet Sir, he's held up in traffic."
"Mmmm, I'll bet he is."
"I'll call him; tell him to get a move on."
"That would be good, thank you Eve."
She watched him retreat back in to his office and close the door gently behind him. He obviously had more than just a headache; Eve estimated…she would just keep an eye on him.
Mallory took a seat at his desk, turning his head to look out of the window, thinking back to the first night with James. He closed his eyes, berating himself for being so foolish and naïve. Mallory's hand came to his mouth as he felt the sudden urge to vomit, quickly getting to his feet to run to his en suite. He knelt down by the toilet as he emptied the contents of his stomach before leaning back against the cool tiles.
"Gareth, you bloody fool." He muttered to himself.
…
James came strolling in to the office an hour later, smiling like he didn't have a care in the world.
"Well it's about time you showed up, where the hell have you been?" Eve asked.
"I told you…traffic."
"Mmmm, I'll bet. Ran in to some young hot woman on your way I'll bet."
James came and took a seat on her desk.
"As a matter of fact, I haven't been with anyone in two months."
"Wow, are you feeling alright…I wouldn't want another sick person on my hands."
"What are you talking about?"
"Huh…oh, sorry. I was talking about M, he doesn't seem himself."
"How come?"
"He looks very pale, I think he might be coming down with something. I'm sure he booked a hospital appointment for the afternoon, it's probably just flu or something. Anyway…are you ready for your next mission?"
"I've only been back a week, anyone would think he was trying to get rid of me." He joked.
"I hope you haven't been upsetting him James."
"Don't be daft."
James got off the desk and straightened his jacket, suddenly worried.
"You can go in."
"Thanks Eve."
…
James walked in to Mallory's office; he looked over at Mallory's desk to see it empty. He was about to walk back out when he saw the older man laying on the couch, his eyes closed. James smiled to himself as he watched the older man before he knelt down by the couch, laying a hand on his arm.
"M…M…Gareth."
Mallory stirred when he heard another voice in the room, opening his eyes to see James watching him, concern in his eyes. He sat up quickly, a little too quickly as dizziness overtook him. James placed his hands on either side of Mallory to steady him.
"Hey, take it easy."
They waited a few minutes until Mallory returned to some normality.
"You feeling better?"
"A little, sorry about that Bond."
"Eve said you're coming down with the flu."
"Did she…well yes, I think I might be."
"Really…you don't seem too sure about that."
Mallory got up slowly and walked to the bathroom to splash some water on his face as James stood in the doorway watching him. James grimaced when he got the strong smell of vomit as he entered.
"Were you sick?"
"What…erm, yes. Something I ate I think."
"You think?"
"Will you please just leave it Bond."
Mallory walked past him and sat down at his desk, James came and stood in front of him, really watching the older man properly for the first time. The dark circles under his eyes, his pale complextion, the nausea.
"Now, your plane departs in 2 hours for Copenhagen…I expect you to be on it and when you get there you will check in with our Head over there, Oliver Garrett. He's fill you in on everything you need to know when you arrive."
"How long will I be away?"
"Well it depends how long you take to complete your mission doesn't it."
James gave a smirk to himself before sitting down across from him.
"Have I pissed you off or something?"
"Excuse me…"
"Well you seem a bit off with me, we haven't really talked properly since…well…"
"You've been away working; there's not been much time."
James got up and came around to lean against the desk beside Mallory as the older man pushed his seat back a little.
"What's going on with you?"
"It's nothing."
"Hey, look at me."
Mallory sighed before looking up in to James eyes.
"Whatever is going on with you, it's not the flu…that much I know, every time I try to ask you something about your health, you change the subject. Eve's worried about you…so am I."
"I said I'm fine…shouldn't you be going."
"Fine, have it your own way."
"Make sure to call in when arrive in Copenhagen."
"Yes Sir."
Mallory closed his eyes briefly as James slammed the door behind him; Eve looked up as James walked past without saying a word. She was about to call after him when Mallory walked out in his coat.
"Sir…."
"I'm off to my hospital appointment, I might not be back afterwards, it will depend."
"Depend on what?"
"I'm just not sure how long it will take, have Tanner take over for the remainder of the day please."
"Of course."
Worry suddenly filled Eve as he walked away, clearly this wasn't the flu.
…
James sat on the plane, staring out the window as they waited for the plane to take off. All he could think about was Mallory and how he'd looked when he'd left, something was defiantly off with him and that just worried James more and more.
"Drink Sir…"
"Sorry, oh no thank you."
"The plane will take off shortly, I'm sorry to keep you all waiting."
"Yeah it's…you know what, I have to get off."
"I'm sorry Sir but the door's closed now and we…"
"I want off the plane."
"Sir we…"
"Open the bloody door…NOW."
The flight attendant stood back as the other woman quickly opened the door to the plane, as James got up and stormed off the plane. He rushed out of the airport and quickly called Eve.
"James…missing me already are we." She laughed.
"Eve…put M on the phone."
"M…well he's not here."
"Where is he?"
"At the hospital…I told, he had an appointment."
"When will he be back?"
"Well that's the strange thing, he said he didn't know how long he'd be at the hospital for and not to expect him back today. James I'm worried, I'm beginning to think it's something more than the flu."
"I thought the same…which hospital is he at?"
"St Margaret's, but what can you do from the plane?"
"I'm not on the plane, I'm in a taxi coming back."
"You're what…James…M will kill you, you can't abandon a mission."
"Right now, I don't care. I need to see him."
"James what's going on?"
"I can't explain right now, I'll call you later."
James hung up just as Eve was about to speak, Eve sat the phone down…now more confused than ever.
…
James gave the instructions to the taxi driver and waited patiently before pulling up in front of the hospital. He paid the driver before making his way inside to reception.
"Excuse me...hi, a friend of mine has an appointment here, I said I'd come for moral support but he forgot to tell me which part of the hospital he'd be in."
"What's the name?"
"Erm, Mallory…Gareth Mallory."
The receptionist scrolled though the computer before finding Mallory's name.
"Ahh yes here he is, he's on the fourth floor, Doctor Adams, his appointment for…oh."
"Yes."
"His termination isn't scheduled for another half hour, he should still be in the waiting room." She said quietly.
"His what…his…"
"Termination."
"No, there must be some mistake…he…he's a man, I think you've got him mixed up with another patient."
"No Sir, we have the right patient. Doctor Adams deals in rare conditions like Mr Mallory's."
"Rare…are you telling me…he's pre…"
"Pregnant…that's right."
"I don't, which floor did you say."
"Fourth Sir…"
…
James gave a quick nod before walking as quickly as he could, he got on the elevator and pressed the button for the fourth floor, his stomach churning as he digested everything the receptionist had told him. The doors opened and James stepped out, walking along the corridor and stopping at the swing doors when he saw Mallory sitting on his own in the waiting room, his face full of fear. James took a deep breath before walking through the doors, coming to sit beside Mallory who hadn't even noticed who is was.
"Sir…"
Mallory froze when he heard the voice beside him, before slowly looking up to see James watching him.
"How the hell did you find out where I was Bond?"
"I'm a spy, kind of my job."
Mallory got up, giving a quick look at the young nurse on the desk before walking through the doors, James following behind him. Mallory was leaning against the wall when James approached him.
"You have no right to be here, you should be on a bloody plane to Copenhagen for god sake. You have a job to do; I am still your boss."
"Really, I think that's the least of our problems right now, don't you."
Mallory ran a hand over his face as James closed the space between them, not giving Mallory the opportunity to walk.
"Is it true…you're…pregnant?"
"Don't look at me like that."
"Like what…"
"Disgusted."
"I'm not, I'm asking you a question."
"It's a very rare condition, they discovered I had it when I went for a physical in my teens. I've always been able to manage it and I've always been in relationships with women so it was never really an issue."
"Until we slept together?"
"Yes."
"That's why you were so unsure that night."
"I didn't know if it was still possible, given my age…it would be no different if it were a woman in her late forties…I thought it wouldn't be an issue."
"We used protection, and it still happened."
"Nothing's a hundred percent effective."
They lapsed in to silence, Mallory keeping his head down. James could see it was hard on the older man, what he was going through, causing a small pang of guilt from James.
"So what…you were just going to come here, get rid of it and never tell me?"
"Something like that."
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Bond I…"
"It's a baby Gareth…a baby, our baby."
"Are you seriously telling me that if I'd told you earlier back in the office that you wouldn't have reacted badly?"
"Considering the situation, I think I'm handling it pretty damn well right now, don't you."
"Gareth…"
Both men looked up to see Doctor Adams standing at the doors, watching them with concern.
"We're ready when you are." She smiled, sympathetically.
"Thank you Sharon."
"Could you give us a minute please?" James asked.
"Of course."
She left them alone as James turned back to Mallory, taking hold of his hands.
"Please, I know this is…insane but, please…can we at least think about this before you make a rash decision."
"James I…"
"If you do this now, you can't take it back. This is a baby we're talking about, and not just any baby but ours. I don't want you to regret this."
"This shouldn't be happening, it shouldn't be possible."
"But it has happened, I know you're scared but I want you to know that…I'll be there with you, please…take some time to think about this."
"James, it was one night between us."
"Only because you sent me away on mission after mission after that, if I'd had it my way…there would have been more nights."
"James…"
"You helped me get over Olivia, I've seen the real you and honestly…I like you, a lot."
"I don't know."
"Please come home with me, we'll talk. I'm begging you; don't get termination, at least not today."
"Gentlemen, I'm really sorry but we really need to go ahead if you're ready." Sharon said, appearing again.
Mallory released his hands from James grasp before turning to Sharon.
"Actually Sharon, I need more time."
"Are you sure?"
He looked to James and back at Sharon before smiling briefly.
"I am, I'm sorry."
"Okay, you know where am I when you need to talk."
"Thank you."
"Take care gentlemen."
James breathed a sigh of relief as Mallory turned back to him.
"Gareth thank you."
"I'm still not sure about this."
"Let's just get you home okay…we'll talk."
"Sure."
James smiled before leaning in and placing a kiss to Mallory's lips, a reminder of their night together.
…
To Be Continued…