In the morning he is nowhere to be found, so Olivia takes the time to spread out across her bed and just relax in the rays of morning light that shine through the window and on to her mattress. Her arm aches, but surprisingly not as badly as she thought it would, and when she looks down she can see some dried brown blood that had seeped out of her bandage during the night.
What she really wanted to do today was take the day off, but considering the events of the day before she knew that wasn't something she could do. She'd much rather be wandering the streets of Hong Kong, stepping into interesting shops and eating anything that looked good – that sounded downright lovely compared to another day of interrogation and bureaucracy at Station H.
Her room was eerily quiet without Tiago, and she strangely found herself missing his company. If there wasn't such a time difference, she would have called Matthew to catch him up on her situation, but she figured it was best not to rouse him from sleep. Instead, she just got to getting herself ready for the day once she grew tired of lying in bed. She had no other bandages to cover her wound so she just washed the ragged stitches and tried to hide them under long sleeves, ignoring the stinging pain when anything touched the area.
The morning drifted on in silence, only the sound of her air conditioner and the traffic from outside filled the room. It felt oddly lonely, even though this was what she had wanted, to just be left in peace. When it was nearly time to head into the office she made her way to Tiago's room, hoping to find him awake at least.
She knocked twice to no answer, but when she turned the knob it opened easily having not been locked. Tiago was nowhere to be found but his coffeepot was still hissing, and his belongings were strewn all across the room.
"Tiago? Are you here?" she called.
"Just a minute, ma'am." he called, and when he came out of the bathroom he was still fussing with his tie but was otherwise fully dressed in a suit.
"You didn't want to share your coffee today?" she jokes, but he just shakes his head.
"There's enough for you too, if you want some. I just thought I'd let you sleep in today. How is your arm?" he asks, finishing with his tie and now fidgeting with his cufflinks.
"I'll be fine. It's already healing, I can tell." she says and makes her way over to pour them both some coffee.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am." he says, rubbing his forehead, "If I had just reacted faster –" he trails off, "I hope you'll consider keeping me employed after that. I would understand if you didn't."
Olivia actually laughs then, sputtering on her coffee, "You think I would terminate you for this? After every other stunt you've pulled lately? Don't concern yourself with it, Mr. Rodriguez, injuries are sometimes inevitable. And as I told you before, you likely saved my life."
Tiago nods, reaching for his cup in silence. Olivia goes and sits on his sofa, it is upholstered in blue velvet as opposed to her green sofa, and she decides she likes his better. In fact his whole room seems a bit more updated than hers, the furniture clearly newer and the pungent smell of carpet cleaner less potent.
"This is quite a nice room." she says as she looks around, "Better than mine. I'm surprised you don't want to stay in here."
He came and sat on the seat next to her, close enough that she could feel the heat of his body emanating off him. He didn't answer her question or even remark about it at all, rather just sighed heavily and sunk back into the cushions.
"Cheer up, Rodriguez." she says, tired of his moping, "If I take you out to dinner tonight will that make you feel better?"
A grin spreads across his face then, "You mean like a date, ma'am?"
Olivia rolls her eyes, at least he's still in there, she thinks.
"You know what I mean - it's purely professional, Tiago. How about it? I'm not sure how else to prove to you that I'm not upset."
"Alright." he says, "The noodle house? I like their food."
"Fine."
They finish their coffee and head out to the office. Once they make it there, they're greeted by Hendricks at the door again.
"Ma'am! How are you feeling?" he says, concern written all over his face.
"I'm fine, perfectly fine. Why is it everyone seems to think I'm some fragile old lady?" she laughs.
"With all due respect, ma'am, you have been shot." Hendricks counters her, letting them both inside, "I've arranged for Mr. Rodriguez to spend the day in the computer lab, helping on the reverse engineering project we've been working on, if that's alright ma'am? You and I can discuss the Macau incident in private."
She turns to Tiago, "Sounds like you're off the hook, Rodriguez."
"Are you sure?" he asks, sounding confused.
"Of course. It will be a little more mental stimulation than normal for you, no? Maybe it will get your mind off things."
Tiago only nods, and they show him to the technical department which is full of rows of computers and servers, the dull hum of air conditioners filling the room. Once he's introduced to the team there Olivia and Hendricks make their way back to his office and discuss Macau at length.
"I was impressed with Rodriguez." she tells him, "He managed to keep his cool when the mission went sideways. He was a little shellshocked afterward, I think he still is, but overall he showed promise."
"That's good to know." Hendricks said, "I was discussing the possibility of him becoming a double-0 with Agent Lau and, well, he expressed some hesitation about Mr. Rodriguez."
"Not surprising." Olivia said, "I would be concerned too if I didn't know better, but I think he's more than capable. He's very eager to please, at least."
Hendricks crossed his arms over his chest, "So you think he's capable of conforming to MI6 standards? You think he'll be compliant with the missions you give him?"
Olivia thinks back to the day before, how easy it had been for him to disregard their directive and follow his own instincts. That could be a problem, she thinks to herself, but doesn't let Hendricks read the uncertainty on her face. He just needs a little more experience, and then he'll understand how to conduct himself in the field, she reassures herself.
"Yes. I think he is willing to do anything that is asked of him."
"Alright then. I'm glad you're both relatively unharmed, it's a good thing we armed you before you were sent over there."
"Very true, Mr. Hendricks." she says, and they conclude their meeting about the unusual mission to Macau. Olivia was glad to put it behind her, now left only with dull ache in her arm to remind her of it.
The day dragged on and she did what she could around the office. More meetings, more paperwork, and even worse, learning more disturbing information about the death of 003. It turned out when his flat was being cleared out there had been a number of unregistered firearms found in a hidden gun rack behind a bookshelf. It was unclear why he had them or where he had obtained them; it was apparent that 003 hadn't just been living a double life considering his career with MI6, but had also been engaging with the black market in his free time. Olivia shuddered to think what he was trying to accomplish by doing that.
By the end of the day she was exhausted and starving, and actually found herself looking forward to a simple dinner with Tiago. When she collected him from his duties he seemed quite bored, claiming he didn't get much done during the day. However, when she talked to some of the other employees they appeared impressed with him, saying the exact opposite – that he'd finished a huge chunk of coding that no one else had been able to achieve in weeks.
"How did your debriefing go?" he asked her as they left the building together.
"Fine. We spoke a lot about you, and don't worry, it was all good things." she reassured him, "There's bigger and better things on the horizon for you, Mr. Rodriguez."
Once they'd stopped at their hotel and changed outfits, they made their way to dinner. Tiago seemed to be in a bit of a better mood, and he even ran inside a corner store and bought a bottle of plum wine to take to dinner. When they got to the restaurant the chef recognized them immediately.
"Ah, brought your mother back?" he said with a smile.
"Of course! She loves the lotus seed buns, so how could she resist?" Tiago says, and they sit down in the same spot they had before. The chef brought them out some cheap crystal glasses for their wine, and Tiago ordered their dinner for them. It was some wontons fried in garlic and beef chow fun, he'd had both when he came alone and claimed they were amazing. Olivia had to admit it was a delicious dinner, and perhaps the flavor was enhanced by the fact that the plum wine was making her a bit tipsy. It seemed things were back to normal between them, bantering back and forth as they finished the bottle of wine and their food.
"I'm glad you two are enjoying your holiday." the chef told them as he rang them up, "Are you liking Hong Kong so far?"
Olivia felt the soreness in her arm and internally scoffed at his question.
"Loving it." Tiago quickly said, "I could get used to it here."
I hope he's being serious, Olivia thinks to herself.
After dinner they took a small stroll down a few city blocks, and Olivia window shopped as they passed one high end store after another. She stops in front of a storefront with many dresses on display in the window, and muses that her daughters might love some of the designs, most of them too revealing or flamboyant for Olivia herself to get away with wearing.
"I think I'm going to take a look," she tells Tiago, "There might be some things I can pick up my daughters as souvenirs here."
"Daughters?" Tiago asks with interest, "You didn't tell me you have any daughters."
"Yes, a little bit older than you." she says, "And don't get any ideas, my oldest is happily engaged to a very nice young man and my younger isn't interested in men." she nearly glares at him.
"What? I meant no disrespect, ma'am, I was just curious." he tells her, "You really think I'm out to shag everyone, don't you?"
"It certainly seems that way from my point of view!" she says before she heads inside, and is surprised when Tiago follows her, "You can wait outside if you want, I'm sure dress shopping is very boring for a man."
"I'd rather stick with you." he says and follows her through the racks of brightly colored dresses.
She picks out two dresses, one gold and one silver, both shimmery but relatively modest. She tries to guess her daughters' sizes off the top of her head, pulling them off the rack and inspecting them. As she heads to the counter to purchase them Tiago catches her attention, pointing at a mannequin that's showcasing a slim fitting black dress with long sleeves and a short skirt.
"I think that would look good on you, ma'am." he says.
She laughs out loud, "That? It's much to revealing for a woman of my position."
"It's not revealing at all, though?"
"Look how tight it is!"
"It's not that tight. Let me buy it for you. I ruined your other dress, it's the least I can do." he says, going to the rack where they have it hanging in multiple sizes, "Here, pick out your size."
"I'm really not fond of it." she grumbles, "Where in the world would I wear it to?"
"Oh, I figured we would check out that club that's a few blocks from here. You can wear it there."
"Club?" she says incredulously, "I'm not going to any dance club, that sort of thing is for people your age."
"Please?" he says, "You don't have to dance, just have a few drinks with me."
"Not a chance."
"Come on! Don't you want to see what the city has to offer?"
"You can go there alone if you're so keen to see it." she huffs, "Why do I have to be involved in all of your plans?"
"Because I've got no one else to go with!" he says, "Now pick out your size and let me buy you a dress to replace the one I ruined."
"Oh my God." she mutters under her breath, "Alright, but this doesn't mean I'm going to some nightclub with you, understand?"
Tiago lifts his eyebrows and doesn't say anything, but she picks out a dress and lets him buy it. I'll never wear that hideous thing, she thinks, I shouldn't have let him buy it for me.
As they leave the store with many bags in hand, Tiago turns to grin at her, "So I'm guessing we should stop back at your room – you know, so you can change before we head out again?"
"I am not going to a club, Tiago!" she says to him in annoyance, "Get that idea out of your head!"
Forty five minutes later Olivia is looking at herself in the full length mirror on the back of her bathroom door. Tiago actually wasn't wrong, she looks good in the dress, it's just not something she would normally wear in public. She had thrown on opaque black tights in an attempt to make the outfit more proper, and truly looked quite chic. As if she was really ready to be going out for a night on the town, and not filled with dread and embarrassment.
When she emerges from the bathroom Tiago looks her up and down, and if she didn't know any better she would think there was a spark of excitement in his eyes.
"You look lovely, ma'am!" he proclaims, "Even better than the green dress, no?"
"Thank you, Tiago, but I don't think I can get away with wearing this to any formal events."
"Come on, let's get going. It's just a few drinks, that's all. And you know what? I bet everyone will be jealous of how good you look."
"You're more mad than I thought if you think anyone will be looking at a woman in her fifties." she laughs, "You really owe me one, Rodriguez. I can't believe I'm actually doing this."
"You'll enjoy getting out of the hotel at least." he assures her, "It will be fun. You'll see."
I sincerely doubt that, she thought as they left her hotel room once again. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why she'd agreed to his ridiculous idea. She just hoped they wouldn't happen to run into anyone from MI6 there.