For Davrin, thank you for being so patient. Hope you like this one.

It had been an unusually quiet week for M. With 007 away on his first voluntary holiday in ages, M was finally able to catch up on some much neglected and rather tedious paperwork, interview a number of MI6 hopefuls, none of which had the slightest chance of ever becoming a crossing guard, let alone an agent, and still managed to make it home before the stroke of midnight for five whole days in a row. "This has to be some kind of record," she muttered to herself as she unlocked her front door and entered her flat, dumping her bag and coat in the hall, before continuing into her sitting room. She poured herself a drink and then headed on into the kitchen where she picked at the remains of her dinner from the previous night before going up for a nice long soak in the tub and then off to bed. It seemed odd to her to be going to bed before midnight. "How do ordinary people do this day in and day out?" she thought as she pulled the blankets up around her "This is about as exciting as watching paint dry". Not that she would ever admit it to another living soul, but M was beginning to miss 007 and his endless antics, not that she approved of them, but truth be told, some of them were rather entertaining.

It was just after 2:00 am when a loud thump woke her. As near as she could tell the sound came from the sitting room. Had this been an ordinary week, she would have assumed that it was James returning from a mission. Ever since her husband had died, James made it a point to come to her flat after a mission to be "debriefed" as he called it. M knew it was a lie. He came to check up on her, but she never let on that she knew his real reason for being there. M quietly opened the drawer to her bedside table and pulled out her service weapon, a taser. She refused to carry a gun because, as she put it, "I would have a better chance of hitting my target with a rock!" Therefore, at her insistence, she was issued a multi-pronged taser, which gave her a greater deployment range. Taser in hand, she crept down the stairs where she could hear glasses rattling in the kitchen. She slowly made her way to the doorway, stepping in slightly and was about to take aim, when suddenly, a hand reached out, disarming her within seconds. M backed away in a panic before the intruder switched on the light and she found herself face to face with 007.

"James! What are you doing here at this hour? For that matter, what are you doing here at all? "She snapped

"Sorry M, did I wake you?" he replied handing her back her taser "By the way, you really should have a proper gun!"

"Sorry? Is that all you have to say? You are supposed to be on holiday"

"I was, or rather I am...I need your help," he said as he stepped back into the kitchen and began making a pot of coffee

"I don't suppose this could have waited until morning?' she said as she followed him into the kitchen

"Well, no, not exactly" he replied as he reached above her and took down tree coffee cups

"What do you mean not exactly? And why do you have three cups?" she asked suspiciously

"Come with me" he said as he put the cups down and ushered her down the hall to the sitting room

When she entered the darkened room, M could just make out the figure of a person lying on her sofa.

"James! This is my flat, not a bed and breakfast! Who the hell is that and why are they sleeping on my sofa?" she snapped

M gasped slightly when James switched on the light. It only took her a second to realize that the figure on the sofa was one rather unconscious Jack Ward, Head field agent for the American CIA.

"Jack?" she half whispered, half yelled as she immediately crossed the room and knelt beside him and began checking for a pulse "What the HELL did you do to him?" she demanded angrily

"I...What did I do to him? I rescued him," replied James in an equally angry tone

"Rescued him? It looks more like you took him out, got him pissed and then brought him here so that I can take care of him!"

"He isn't drunk," snapped James "He's been drugged. If you get close enough, you can still smell a hint of licorice on his breath"

"Thanks, I'll take your word for it" she replied as she turned her attention back to Jack "Who would do this to him and why?" she asked with an obvious note of concern in her voice

"I have no idea, but I intend to find out"

"Why did you bring him here of all places?"

"What did you want me to do with him? I can't very well take him to the hospital now can I? I mean what would I say? "Excuse me doctor but I think my friend here has been drugged, and oh by the way he's the head field agent for the American CIA!" How the hell would we explain that to the Americans?"

"I see your point, but why here?"

"Look, Jack called me and asked me to meet him. He said he was working on something WE might find very interesting. It stands to reason that whoever did this knows that he called me, so my flat would be the first place whoever it is would look for us..."

"Alright, alright, but why not take him to our own medical facility?"

"Do YOU really want to explain that to Mr. Mallory? The same Mr. Mallory who has been watching you like a hawk since Jack's last visit?" he replied with a bit of a crooked grin

M began to blush slightly as she leaned over and adjusted the pillow beneath Jack's head, and covered him with the blanket on the back of the sofa.

"I just don't understand how Jack could be so careless as to let himself be drugged, I mean what agent with an ounce of intelligence LETS themselves be drugged?"

James shot her a rather awkward glance as he began smiling and shaking his head.

"I guess you have forgotten about Sidney, 1982..."

"Of course I haven't forgotten, but that was entirely different, I was on a mission, and..."

"And you let yourself be drugged, end of story!"

"Fine!" she snapped, "So what do we do now Einstein?"

"We wait till the drugs wear off then find out what happened" he said rather nonchalantly

"That's easy for you to say, he isn't out cold on your sofa"

"I could take him upstairs if you prefer," replied James with a wink

"No I think it's best we leave him where he is. No need to totally confuse him by having him wake up in a strange bedroom..."

"Are you saying your bedroom is strange?" he asked with a grin

"I MEANT the spare room, honestly James sometimes..."

"Alright. Well then see you in the morning," he said as he started toward the door

"And just where do you think you're going?" she asked in her usual no-nonsense tone

"I'm going out to see if I can find out who did this before the trail runs dry," he said as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek

"And just what am I supposed to do with him in the meantime?" she asked motioning to Jack

"That, Ma'am is entirely up to you" he replied with a grin as he slipped quickly out the door before she could swat his arm.

"Oh that's just brilliant!" she said sarcastically as she stood beside the sofa "Instead of going back up to my nice, comfortable bed, I'm stuck here waiting for sleeping beauty to wake up!"

Jack mumbled some unintelligible gibberish before he rolled over and began to snore slightly.

"Sleep well my prince," she said as she leaned over and gently placed a gentle kiss to his forehead. "We have a lot to talk about in the morning"

TO BE CONTINUED...