Chapter 6
…
James made some tea and took it through to the front room, Mallory was sitting on the sofa, his eyes closed briefly. James sat the cups down before taking a seat beside the older man, leaning back before looking at him.
"You okay?"
"Mmmm, long day."
"You have to admit, it went better than expected."
"True, all we have to do now is tell the staff."
"Well, we've sent out the memo and I'll be there with you tomorrow, you won't be alone." Taking his hand.
"Thank you." He smiled, looking back at him.
"What did you show the PM earlier today?"
"Mmmm."
"You passed him something in his office…what was it?"
"Oh…here."
James watched as Mallory went in to his jacket that was now lying on the arm of the sofa and brought out the piece of paper that the Prime Minister had looked at, passing it to James. He took it from Mallory's grasp, smiling as he looked at it closely to see the smallest image of their child in front of him.
"When was this taken?"
"When I first found out, you were away on a short mission and I'd been feeling a little run down, Kate had insisted on giving me the once over. It was Kate who discovered I was pregnant."
"You never said she knew."
"She promised that she'd keep quiet, I explained everything to her."
"She knows about me?"
"Yes."
"She must really hate me then; I know how much she likes and respects you."
"Kate's a good friend."
"Who used to clean up dead bodies?" He muttered.
"You're one to talk, you kill them."
"Touché."
"In all honestly, I knew right away something wasn't right with me. I knew I could only trust her with such information."
"You could have trusted me."
"James…this was a sensitive subject and you…we'd only spent one night together, I didn't know how you were going to take it. I haven't been in charge that long and…oh I don't know, perhaps I was just scared."
"You're allowed to be, but I'm here now and it'll all be alright, I promise."
"James you can't promise something like that, neither of us know what will happen."
"You're going to be alright, I'm going to make sure of that nothing happens to you, to either of you."
James leaned over, his hand finding its way to Mallory's abdomen, pressing his hand closely.
"You never seem to get tired of doing that do you?" Mallory smiled.
"What."
"Touching my stomach."
"Sorry, I just find the whole thing incredible…I sometimes can't believe it's actually happening."
James looked up to see the way Mallory was watching him, James leaned in and covered his lips, feeling the older man moan against his lips.
"I love you so much James."
"I love you too, we're going to be alright, I promise."
…
Mallory had gone to the office early the next morning, not being able to sleep for thinking about the meeting with his colleagues. He made his way down to the basement, knowing Kate would already be there, the woman was always an early riser.
"Kate…"
The older woman, in her sixties turned from her filing cabinet to see Mallory standing in the doorway watching her.
"Hello dearie, what brings you down to my neck of the woods so early? You're alright aren't you, nothing's wrong?"
"I just couldn't sleep."
"Mmmm, take a seat."
Mallory was about to sit on the chair opposite her desk until he felt her hand on his arm.
"Not there dearie, up here."
"Kate I already told you, I'm perfectly fine."
"Well as I'm the one with medical background, why don't you let me judge for myself, satisfy an old woman's curiosity."
"I would never refer to you as old Kate."
"No, you know better…up."
Gareth remover his suit jacket and took a seat on the bed as Kate strapped the blood pressure pump to his arm and squeezed the end. Mallory kept himself focused on Kate's face as she concentrated on the task at hand.
"Mmmmm."
"What is it?"
"Your blood pressure is a little high dearie, what are you stressing about?"
"It's nothing."
"Don't lie…not to me. Out with it Gareth."
"It's just, I'm just feeling a little nervous about the meeting later…you got the memo didn't you."
"I did, I wasn't aware that your pregnancy was the reason for the meeting but…I think you're doing the right thing."
"You do?"
"It's not something you can hide forever, have you told Bond yet?"
"I have."
"And? Let me guess, a baby isn't really the right fit for him right now?"
"Kate don't, as a matter of fact…James has been brilliant about it all. I informed the PM yesterday about the baby and James insisted being there with me. He refuses to let me go through any of it alone, I think he's rather looking forward to the baby."
"Well I have to say I'm surprised, that's not what I was expecting."
"You know, if you got to know him…I think you'd actually like him. I know he has a reputation for drink and sex but, that's not who he is…not really. It's all a front, a front to hide the real James Bond."
"Well, I'll believe that when I see it. I'm sorry, I know you want me to like him. Now…would you like me to do an ultra sound, have a little peek at the baby?"
"Actually, would you mind if I waited, I'd like James to be present for that."
"Of course, you'll probably want your own doctor dealing with you anyway, I'm sorry…I was getting ahead of myself."
"No Kate…actually I'd like you to monitor me for the remainder of the pregnancy, if you'd like too."
"It would be my pleasure dearie."
…
James stepped in to Mallory's office just after lunchtime to find him pacing, as he talked to himself.
"Gareth…why are you talking to yourself?"
"Mmmmm, oh I'm rehearsing what I'm going to say at this damn meeting."
James walked over, his hand going to Mallory's arms, forcing him to face James.
"You need to relax; your blood pressure will be through the roof at this rate."
"Have you been talking to Kate?"
"Kate…no, why would I be talking with her."
"Oh, I went down to see her this morning."
"What, why what's wrong, the baby okay?"
"James the baby's fine, I just wanted to talk to someone."
"You know you can talk to me."
"I know that, it's just Kate…I've known her a long time and she's a good listener."
"Well I hope you weren't talking about me, she'll only have bad things to say about…"
"James stop…she doesn't hate you, she just…she cares about me and she just worries that…"
"That what, I won't stick around?"
"Something like that, given your reputation…you can't blame her."
"Just so long as you don't think the way she does."
"James I would never…."
"I'm with you every step of the way here, I'm not leaving you…I love you."
"James I love you too and I know you're here for me. Get to know Kate, I think you two will end up quite good friends. Take her down to the shooting range one day, get to know her."
"The shooting range, really?"
"Don't joke, Kate can handle a gun…trust me."
"Well now I'm intrigued."
"Just give her a chance; it's exactly the same thing I said to her."
"Fine, for you I'll try."
"Thank you." He smiled.
"So, are you ready?"
"I feel sick."
"I'm right here, hold my hand if you need too."
"Really hand holding, give them extra ammunition."
"Screw them all, if they can't get on board with all of this then they're not worth it. Come on, let's get this over with."
…
The entire room was packed as James and Mallory walked in, everyone talking amongst themselves. Eve stopped talking with Tanner when Mallory cleared his throat.
"Could I have everyone's attention please?" Mallory spoke up.
"QUIET."
"Yes, thank you Bond."
"Sorry." He whispered to him.
"Right, well as you already know I sent out a memo yesterday to request this meeting today. You're probably all wondering what it's in aid off."
"Is everything alright M?" Q asked.
"Well I suppose that might depend on how you all take what I have to say."
"M, is this about MI6?" Tanner asked.
"Not exactly, it concerns myself and Bond here."
"What's he done this time then?"
They looked up to see some cocky agent trying to get arise from James which thankfully he chose to ignore. James turned when he heard the door to see Kate walking in and over to Eve's side.
"Sorry I'm late M."
"That's quite alright Kate, thank you for being here."
Kate and James knew that the thank you meant a lot more than Mallory would even admit.
"As I was saying, the reason for this meeting is because I thought it was only fair to inform you all, as I'm sure the gossip has already begun.
"What that Bond is sleeping with the boss."
"Watch that mouth of yours Price." Kate warned as she turned to face the young man.
One look from Kate was always enough to silence even the hardest of men.
"So you have heard the rumours then, well yes…James and I are in a relationship."
Mallory glanced to James who didn't seem affected by all the immediate whispers or snide remarks from juvenile agents. James could feel his eyes on him, turning to smile at him without a care in the world. He reached over and took tight hold of Mallory's hand, watching the small smile on Eve's face as he did so.
"We're not finished yet." James spoke up.
"It's more than just a case of James and I being together, I have a small condition."
"You're ill Sir?" Q asked, suddenly concerned for his boss.
"No I'm not ill, it's more…."
Kate could see Mallory was struggling with words and James didn't know what to do, looking over at Kate for some help.
"Alright I need everyone's attention and I need you all to focus on me for a moment. Now M's condition, it's not serious…providing he takes things easy and gets help from the people who care about him. He has a small condition that was discovered during childhood, there's never been a real known name for his state but simply put…he is able to have children."
Mallory could swear the whispering got louder by the second, his hand shaking as James moved closer to him.
"You mean he's pregnant?" One of the young women asked, looking at him.
"That's correct dearie, now I understand it's a lot to take in, especially in such a short space of time but it is happening and what both M and James need from you is your support and I know most of you very well and I think it's safe to say you'd respect them both."
Mallory looked up when Kate turned to face him, squeezing his hand in friendship before returning to the group.
"Well, yes as Kate said. Your support will be gratefully appreciate. I know it's not something you expected to hear but…"
"What M is trying to say is that we appreciate your understanding, thank you." James smiled as he escorted Mallory from the room.
As soon as they left, everyone began whispering to one another and Eve turned to Kate.
"Well it went better than I thought it would."
"Hang on Eve, you knew?" Tanner asked.
"Well…yes, oh look what does it matter?"
"He's having a baby Eve, it's a bit out there."
"But it out there as you say Mr Tanner so if I were you, I'd get on board with it, for their sake. Eve, coffee later."
"Sure Kate, I'll come down."
"See you soon dearie."
"She likes you…you do know that."
"Bill."
"I'm just saying, you do know she's a lesbian right."
"Yes I do and I don't care, I'm not that way myself but I do enjoy her company…and if it ever did come up, I would simply explain okay."
Bill watched Eve walk off as Q went to follow.
"Q…are you okay with all this."
"Well it is a little out of the realm of possibility but it's happened so, I suppose we just have to make the best of it."
Bill shook his head as he watched his colleagues, his friends walk away, clearly unaffected by the big announcement.
…
To Be Continued…