James Bond 1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

**A/N: Hello everyone, as I'm going through a Vesper and James stage again (yay!) I was inspired and decided to write this as a multi chapter. I hope you enjoy it. This story is set in the midst of Skyfall. I'm not a (hardcore) James Bond fan but I do like the films so if I get things wrong you'll have to forgive me! TheBitterAftertaste.**

A single bullet.

That was all it took to make Severine drop; the glass that contained the scotch fell from her head as she lurched forward, causing it to smash to the floor in tiny fragments. And more to the point…

_He didn't even blink._

What was done was done, and there was no leaping in front of a bullet for some woman. There was only one he would have ever taken a bullet for, and she had already taken his life with her the day she died.

"What do you think of that Mr Bond?" Raoul asked, a smirk crossing his thin lips as he glanced at the rock where Severine had once leant, now the only trace that could be recovered was the spray of blood that had spattered against the boulder.

James took a deep breath, and to some it may seem like he was distraught, lost for words. This was short lived when he shrugged his shoulders lightly.

"What a waste of good scotch…" he sighed, and in a split second he grabbed hold of the gun held by one of the muscly guards and swung it forward. In sheer instinct the guard pressed the trigger, sending bullets spiralling into the chests and thighs of the remaining men.

Raoul laughed at the triumphant look on Bond's face as the agent reached in his pocket to turn on the signal for the transmitter device. It had been easy, and maybe a woman had been killed in the process but in the long run he had saved hundreds of lives.

"Now Mr Bond…I would not be too hasty…" Raoul murmured, inclining his head as if the two were almost old friends. It was only then James felt his hands yanked behind his back and the transmitter slip from his pocket did he show any sign of worry. Raoul chuckled and stepped forward, circling him like a predator about to devour its' pray. "Now I have your attention properly I wish to give you a gift." He offered, grinning like a Cheshire cat and baring his pearly white teeth to him.

James didn't bother struggling, knowing that the nameless guard behind him had him in a currently unbreakable hold, struggling would only cause further injury to himself.

"I don't think I want your gift," James retorted sharply, his piercing blue eyes narrowing as he kept his focus on the blonde man in front of him. A sharp laugh escaped Raul as he clasped his hands together gently and squeezed them in excitement.

"Trust me Mr Bond, this is something I'm sure you will appreciate," He retorted, directing the guard to walk with hm as James was forced to follow him. He had not entered the courtyard from this area and the abandoned section looked like the turn of an old warehouse. The big empty space was silent aside from the niggling drip of a burst pipe and the footsteps that ensued and there was an unpleasant moistness in the air from the musty machinery and dry heat. James did wonder exactly what Raoul was planning, and more to the point just how big the warehouse was as they continued to walk until he stopped at a solid steel door, one that could only be unfastened from the outside.

"Now… you have the information and resources I need in order to…_visit_ dear Mommy again, and I need that from you. Now…I know you already declined my invitation but I think what I have in here will change your mind." He replied, and though his voice was light and wispy there was a certain darkness to it that made Bond feel uneasy.

"Nothing you have behind that door will change my mind," James told him firmly. His words were not lies; nothing he had would make him give away that information. Raoul sighed and shrugged his shoulders lightly, grasping the wheel of the door and turning it till the clasp made an audible click.

"Well if you're sure…" He trailed off, and with one fierce nudge the door swung open, and Bond fought not to fall to the floor when he saw what was in there.

A body, a frail one at that. The person had clearly been kept in these confinements for weeks as they slumped in the corner. Judging by the clothing she was a woman, and James knew exactly who she was.

"Now…let's not be rude. Release him and let him go see her." Raoul instructed as the guard released James from the hold. Cautiously Bond approached the figure and knelt down to where she was, slowly brushing the dark sheath of hair away from the face he felt his eyes beginning to well with tears. She was battered, bruised, an array of purple and fading bruises littering her face, arms and chest, clearly from a struggle. But she was still here…

_Vesper was still alive. _

James had been so captivated and stunned that he did not feel Raoul's presence beside him as he knelt down beside her, almost perfectly imitating James' movements. Only up until then though before he sharply tapped her cheek.

"Come Ms Lynd, let us not be rude and sleep whilst we have guests." Raoul told her sharply as the deep blue eyes James had been so in love with flickered open, fear immediately striking her as she tried to scramble upright.

"Don't touch her!" James snapped. He didn't know what to feel then and there. Sadness, anger, fear, regret…and much to his irritation a huge sweep of love overcame him as her eyes cast back over him for the first time in almost three years. The silent surge didn't last however, as with a strong grip Raoul grasped her arms and pulled her up so she had barely any time to find her footing.

"You must be a good girl and entertain our guests now my dear… come." He dragged her out, and James sharply followed, already knowing that despite everything.

_He would not lose her again._

**A/N: Okay, that is the first chapter done! I want to know if you liked it, Hell I want to know if you hated it! Please review and leave me a comment as I really want to know what you thought! Thanks! TheBitterAftertaste.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

**A/N: Greetings everyone! Well after a lot of positive messages in my inbox and some lovely reviews I have decided to write another chapter on this. I would've done it yesterday but I had to research something for this chapter in order to get it right. *Warning* Torture is implemented.**

It didn't take long for James to be restrained once more as he and Vesper were moved through the warehouse to a smaller room. He didn't know what to say, what to think or what to feel. The woman he loved, the _only_ woman he had ever truly loved was believed to be dead, and now he had just found out she was anything but. Half of him wanted her dead; she had betrayed him and everything they had been together. He had grieved and in the privacy of his own apartment shed tears over the only woman he would have given everything up for, but it was _over_ now. Done. He had allowed himself to get over her, and he had done so. Now everything had changed.

Silva stopped in the centre of the room and spun her around so she was facing James fully. She didn't want to. She had intended to die that day in Venice, then she wouldn't have to face him ever again, nor would she have live with what she had done for the rest of her life. She knew it was a cowardice approach to her actions but it was easier than seeing the hurt in his eyes. The hurt that she had caused and was solely responsible for.

Silva observed the silence, and the burning stare that passed through from James to Vesper. It was clear the agent was still irrevocably in love with her, from the way his fists were clenched and his cornflower blue eyes penetrated deep into her own. He was angry, of course he could see that, he knew the background of them both through illegally accessed files he had managed to hack into within MI6's computer systems. But still…the glint in James' eye showed that he was still very much in love, and willing to do anything to protect her. _Exactly what he wanted._

"So angry Mr Bond…" Raoul trailed off, looking threateningly at James, a sinister smirk curved across his lips. "And yet, still so in love with her…why? After all she has done?" he asked, partly curious and partly goading him. Vesper struggled tightly against his hold trying to pull away from his vice like grip, which seemed to slightly irritate him as his one arm moved to her throat, grasping her in a tight lock so every time she moved it choked her.

James immediately went to run towards him, seeing Vesper's eyes bulge slightly as she choked from his hold on her. He couldn't stand the thought of her being hurt, and he wanted to destroy anything that did. Unfortunately he was restrained by the masculine guard that had stepped forward and took hold of him, not hurting him exactly but restraining him so if he moved it would cause pain.

"Now, I am a decent man Mr Bond… and like all decent men I do enjoy a good negotiation." Raoul told him, keeping his grip on Vesper, who was no longer struggling to pull free, but struggling for breath instead. He paused a moment before pressing a firm kiss on her cheek. "How about…you give me the resources and information I need to get to dear Mommy, and I let you and your precious little girlfriend live?" He proposed, stroking back a few tendrils of her dark wavy hair so he could see her clearly.

James pursed his lips as the proposal was made, he knew that was what he would ask for and he couldn't win either way. Though his and M's relationship was strictly professional, she was the closest to a Mother figure he had ever had and this reflected in his work.

"I won't do that, I won't endanger her," James told him; attempting to call his bluff. Of course if pushed he would have to, he couldn't see Vesper die. Not again.

A cruel laugh escaped Silva as he raised his thick blonde eyebrows at him. Clearly James was not aware of the whole story, and he would only be too happy to enlighten him.

"But surely you love this woman don't you?" He asked, releasing his hold around her neck, only to thread his hand in her curls, quickly forming a fist he yanked it, causing her head to snap back as she whimpered. "You are so loyal to the woman who kept your one and only love from you…" He trailed off as James, for the first time broke his gaze with Vesper's to sharply look at her captor.

"What are you talking about?" He demanded, unsure of whether he was bluffing or not, and from a professional card player's observation, he was telling the absolute truth.

"Oh…didn't you know?" Raoul asked in a mock innocent tone, showing that he knew James wasn't aware, but would take special delight in informing him. He stepped back slowly, keeping Vesper tight in his grip and sitting her down on a chair that had been placed purposefully in the centre of the room. He tilted his head over to a guard who had been lurking in the background, and despite her struggling managed to tie her up. "Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but not only did Mommy know she was alive, but she helped her with a new life…a new identity…" he told him, clearly loving the new authoritative position he held. He laughed in sheer glee when he saw the confusion, hurt and anger that pierced in James' eyes.

"I don't believe you." He muttered, that was a wrong turn of phrase. He did believe him, but he didn't _want_ to. He glanced at Vesper who was clearly looking anywhere but at him. _It was true._

"James, it was for your own good… it was to protect you!" Vesper cried as she tried to pull on the binds that now tied her to the chair. She was tipped back on the floor as frightened tears sparkled in her blue eyes. Silva turned around when she spoke and raised his eyebrow in an exaggerated fashion.

"Ah, so the traitor speaks!" He pushed a hand over his mouth, feigning surprise as he moved over to where she was laid out. The guard that had tied her up previously had left the room and returned with a large jug of water and a damp flannel, handing them to Silva almost reverently.

"Now…my dear." Raoul spoke, softly to Vesper now as if she were a child that needed comforting. "Seeing as you so desperately wished to drown all that time ago, and you clearly did not succeed, we decided to grant your wish!" He exclaimed joyfully, kicking the chair so her back scratched against the cold, hard concrete floor.

James glanced at the instruments that he held in his hand and his eyes widened, quickly piecing the information together. Vesper clearly had not caught on, not used to being on the giving or receiving end of torture; and this one was surely one of the worst.

"Now, when I was taken as a captive I was forced to drink cyanide…and I grant it was painful," Raoul chuckled darkly. "For days I felt the flesh melt away from my innards, and I wanted death…I _deserved _death." He whispered almost to himself.

"But for you, we will make things easier. It is a little method called waterboarding." He explained, as if he was simply giving directions to a location. "Do not worry, I hear that agents who have been trained only last up to fifteen seconds." He offered as a small commiseration, dunking the flannel in the water and wringing it out before placing the cool material over her face. He glanced at James and raised the jug that had been present in his other hand.

"To new beginnings." He raised the jug and began pouring the water over her mouth. The liquid soaked into the flannel as her head thrashed from side to side. It felt like she was drowning, incapable of freeing herself just like she had been submerged three years previous.

James automatically fought against the guards hold, using every break he could think of. The adrenaline pulsing through his veins made each blow that much harder and each struggle that much stronger, until he eventually broke free. He flung himself into Silva, knocking the jug from his hands and wrestling him to the floor. All the anger and pain he had been feeling released from every physical blow he made. Pulling the silencing pistol that he had shot Severine with he spun around and shot both the guards straight between the eyes, causing them to fall to the floor, various tissues and spatters of their skull escaping the back of their heads. Without a second to spare he moved to Vesper, knowing that though Silva was a good agent, he was not invincible and the damage he had caused would prevent him from moving anytime soon.

Vesper looked almost at peace. A trickle of water escaping her mouth as she laid motionless. It was all too much, and immediately James jerked into action, pumping his hands against her chest he was overwhelmed with the familiar sense of déjà vu. They had been there before, but this time he wouldn't give up on her. He pinched her nose and tipped her head back, pressing his lips firmly against hers, pouring everything into that breath. All the love he felt, each memory they had, each touch they shared. He felt a sudden jerk underneath him and the eyes that had once been closed opened up before him. She coughed and spluttered, trying to catch her breath as he quickly tipped the chair to the side, allowing to heave up the trapped water in her lungs.

Whilst she was ridding herself of the excess fluid he untied the knots that held her to the chair and picked her up with ease, cradling her to his chest protectively. They did not have much time as he took her out to the courtyard, finding the transmitter that had been dropped to the ground and pressing it, slumping down to the floor with her in sheer relief. Everything felt numb and he was stunned to silence as he subconsciously rocked her in his arms. All he knew was one thing.

_M had a lot of explaining to do._

**A/N: My longest chapter yet *incredibly proud* let me know what you thought and I'll upload as soon as possible!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**A/N: Aloha! Got this chapter up as soon as I possibly could (I've been writing a lot of other stuff lately) and I wanted to break a habit for the first time ever! I want to dedicate this chapter to my friend Sophie. She's new to fanfiction and hunted down mine (exceptional roommate hehe!) and she gives me so much encouragement and it makes me a better writer. Thanks hun! X**

James had been surprised find that Vesper hadn't been as badly injured as first thought. The thing with that method of torture was it was mostly psychological, however with her previous connection with an excess amount of fluid in the lungs she was checked over anyway, and her Doctor decided to keep her overnight just in case there were any issues that presented themselves. He stared at the floor for what seemed like hours, counting the specks on the white tiles whilst his leg incessantly shook, his Italian leather shoe tapping against the floor anxiously. Each time a Doctor passed he glanced up, silently hoping that it would be good news. It was twenty minutes before a figure stopped in front of him, and as his steely blue eyes glanced up he saw M stood there, her already thin lips pursed, she looked half nervous, half irritated.

"Bond." She greeted formally, as he stood up, towering a good foot over her. '_She had a nerve to be here, to be anywhere near Vesper or him right now,' _He thought, but he could not say that, she was his employer after all and he owed a lot of who he was to her, but then again he owed three years of emptiness and misery to her too.

"M." He replied shortly. The greeting was so blunt it confirmed what she assumed Bond would be feeling at that moment in time. When she realized Vesper was indeed alive she had made quick work of removing Vesper's name from anything that provided evidence of her still being alive. The only thing her name was on was a death certificate. Looking back on it now it may not have been the best idea, as upon Vesper's death he had begun to drink excessively, and was very careless with what he was doing. In fact the only mission she saw him focused on was the revenge he got with Yusef, and after that there was nothing.

"How is she?" M asked, trying to clear the air. Whilst keeping up the façade that Vesper was still dead when she clearly was not, she knew that if he knew she was still alive he would have gone ahead and resigned from his post as an agent. The one thing she had never expected James to do was to fall in love, and it had actually come as a shock to her that he was willing to give up so much in order to be with the one woman who captured, and clearly despite his best attempts to hide it, still held his heart firmly in her grasp.

"You ask as if you care Ma'am. " He replied, tensing his fists automatically. He expected to be betrayed by enemies, by people who did not care for his welfare, and whilst he knew she was hard as nails he thought he meant just a little bit more to her than that.

M rolled her eyes slightly, nonchalant as ever. She understood why he was hurting, because he found it difficult to trust people, especially after Vesper. The one person he had counted on had been dishonest, whether they thought it was in his best interests or not.

"I know you are angry, but I did what I thought was best for you in the situation. I see now I may have been wrong seeing as you so clearly love-" she was cut off as his eyes narrowed at her.

"How can I love her after the amount of hurt she has caused? What makes you think could forgive her for one second? I could not trust her nor could I believe a word she has to say to me," He snapped bitterly. M rolled her eyes once more at his sheer stupidity, James was usually able to hold his emotions so easily, and he was trained not to crack under pressure, but what he had just said ensured that he was still irrevocably in love with the woman he thought he had lost all those years ago.

"If you were still so angry at her, and as you insist do not love her, then why did you save her, and more to the point why are you waiting like an anxious partner in the waiting room?" She asked pointedly as James' own lips pursed in defiance. "You have not touched a drop of alcohol in three days, and your hands are shaking, yet it is not through withdrawal, it is because you are worried for her safety." She added. James knew she could read him like a book; and there was only one other person on the planet who could do that and she was currently residing in a hospital bed in another room.

Just as James was about to respond a woman stepped out of the room, a stethoscope rested against her chest and a folder tucked under her arm. She made her way over to the two, oblivious to the heated confrontation going on.

"Are you a relation of Ms Lynd?" The Doctor asked, in the heat of the moment James had given Vesper's real name instead of the false one, not that he knew what that had been anyway. He quickly filtered through his mind and came up with the suitable answer.

"I'm her fiancé." He answered quickly, knowing that only close relations would be able to get in to see her at that moment in time, and thinking on his feet proved to be useful a she smiled and inclined her head.

"My name is Doctor Riley, I am in charge of overlooking Ms Lynd overnight, we are happy that she is stable but as we mentioned before we would like to keep her in for observations," the Doctor informed him, tightening her grip on the file a little more that had slid down a fragment. "But you may stay with her as she is in a private room." She added, inclining her head. James looked at M, and for a moment he felt like a lost child all over again. _Did he want to see her again? After everything that had happened? _He remembered her desperate, and final apology just before she was submerged in the murky water in Venice, and she had seemed remorseful. Plus she had left all that information on her phone, knowing James would have found it afterwards.

M had seen his expression and his momentary silence, knowing that he was not one to be quiet and cleared her throat, using a sharp bony elbow to nudge him forward slightly, moving him to the door just a little bit.

"Go, you both have a lot to talk about it." She urged, losing the hardness that usually encased her tone, and for once James agreed with her completely. They had so much to say to one another, yet he wasn't quite sure where to start. He paced over slowly to the washed white doors and instinctively took a deep breath before pushing them open, losing the only boundary that kept him and Vesper apart.

**A/N: Seems to have been a little while since I updated so I wanted to get this chapter out for you all. Please leave a comment and feel free to tell me what you thought about it, or even what you might like to see happen in the future! Thanks! TheBitterAftertaste. **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**A/N: Aloha! Sorry- I've been so lazy recently I haven't updated, but when you're not inspired what can you do eh? But I'm back now and I feel I'm able to bash out another chapter that many of you have requested. Okay- so this one is dedicated to my flatmate and buddy Catnip (jeez you dedicate a chapter to one of them you've got to dedicate one to each of them!) Anyway, this is for her and I hope you all enjoy it!**

James couldn't really comprehend the fact that Vesper was still here, still alive, and not only that; but in this very room he found himself in right then. She laid on her side, facing him- though she was anything but conscious. Her chest rose and fell slowly as she slept, curled up in the foetal position. She had a red wire tucked underneath her hospital gown that measured her steady heartbeat, parroted by the constant bleeping of the machine. It was a comfort really, knowing that the tone replicated her heart beat, it showed she was very much here, very much _alive._

He slowly walked over, his feet engaging the movements before his brain, causing him to stumble ever so slightly as he sat down on the chair that had been covered with a spongy like foam, and whilst he guessed it was so that the visitors would become more comfortable, he couldn't help but cringing slightly as he sank into the foam, like it was sucking him in entirely.

Whilst he had so many feelings, so many questions left unanswered he couldn't help but be concerned. The woman that laid before him had been so vitally important in his life. She had built him up alive, and then broke him down when supposedly 'dead'. The day he thought that she had drowned in that abandoned ruin was the day she took his heart with her. He sat quietly, not taking his eyes away from her, monitoring her breathing himself as if he didn't trust the machine with such a complex task. Whilst he watched her he couldn't help wondering if this is what she had looked like when she had woken up in the hospital in Venice. A strange place with people who didn't speak English, who gave her medication when she didn't understand what it was. Even for an agent like himself it was an awful concept that he wouldn't particularly like to go through himself.

Before he could comprehend what he was doing his hand had reached up at its own accord and closed the distance between them both. He gently stroked her smooth skin with the pad of his thumb, exploring the familiarity he had gained all those years ago. Studying her features he deducted that she had not changed much, her hair had grown a good few inches and despite looking exhausted, which he felt she was entitled to, she looked like the sae woman he had fallen in love with.

"Do you always watch people sleep?" a voice mumbled through the room, and James jumped a little startled as he looked around the room, finding it empty. It was only when he felt the shift of the bed moving as she changed position, and a slightly cooler hand rest over his that was still currently fitted against her cheek did he realise it was Vesper who had spoken. Though he wanted to remain angry, and devastated and loathing of what she had put him through, of how she had deceived him and betrayed his trust; he simply couldn't find it within him to do so at that point. He knew why she had done what she had done, and though it was foolish of her to assume he could not take care of himself he also realised she had done it for his benefit, creating an ultimate sacrifice. His life for her own.

"Only those who seem to think a suitable hobby is drowning…" he trailed off, and to his amusement he saw her lips crack into a weak, but still gorgeous smile.

"Touché." She replied in a low throaty chuckle, presumably from all the water she had taken in once again. She slowly opened her eyes and focused on him till her vision cleared. If it hadn't been such a typical cliché she would have pinched herself to see if she was dreaming. The last time she had been in this situation she had woken up frightened and alone in a foreign country and to see James there had been so much better than that unfortunate time.

"How do you feel?" he asked in a softer tone, he knew that they had a lot to talk about, but it wasn't the right time at that moment. She was in recovery and she needed the support, and he felt he should be there more than ever considering he had not been by her side the first time.

"I feel like I've been swimming with lead on my feet." She retorted, making him laugh. She held the same dry sense of humour. Not many could joke about the fact they had almost died only a few hours previous, however she certainly seemed able to.

"You did quite well actually, trained agents can usually only last up to sixteen seconds," he informed her as she raised her eyebrow.

"And how many seconds did I last?"

"About eight…" he trailed off as she laughed again, coughing as her throat was red raw from the forced water.

"Well that's not too bad," she eventually whispered, remaining silent for a few minutes. He could tell she was thinking, the way her brows furrowed and she chewed ever so slightly on her bottom lip.

"James, I-" she started, but he quickly cut her off, placing a finger upon her lips and silencing her. She needed to save her energy.

"I know," he replied in response to her started speech. "So am I," he replied, and replaced his finger with his lips ever so gently. She felt warm, and she felt like home. He slowly broke away and moved his hand back to her cheek.

"Know, I will not let you go again." He told her. He felt her hand reach up again and it squeezing his own.

"Now that was definitely worth waking up for." She answered softly.

**A/N: Okay- so this was chapter four, not going to lie I'm pretty happy with a bit of Jesper fluff! However will things be smooth sailing for the two? If you want to know kindly leave a comment, I would really appreciate it. TheBitterAftertaste**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**A/N: I know it has been such a long while since I have written last and I do apologise, but I've had a lot on and I've only just got round to updating my stories, hopefully my updates will become a little more frequent now.**

Whilst it would have been ideal to stay in peaceful bliss, and not speak about what had happened all those months ago, both James and Vesper knew that that was unavoidable and that they would have to talk about it at some point. He had remained quiet about it for the first few days as he didn't want to put any pressure on her recovery, yet he was having sleepless nights himself about how the conversation would go.

He had been very reluctant to leave her, but after she had told him that he looked worse than she did, and he had looked in the mirror and realised she was indeed correct. His piercing blue eyes balanced the dark shadows underneath his eyelids, and the stubble on his cheek looked unsightly. He had only intended to leave for an hour or two, but once he had shaved and showered he found the events of the previous week had more than caught up to him, and once his head hit the pillow he was out like a light.

James awoke in darkness as opposed to the bright sunlight that he had fallen into a peaceful sleep with, and he directed a glance at the alarm clock by the side of his bed. _9pm._ An almost silent curse fell out of his mouth as he stood up, changing into a crisp white t-shirt with a pair of jeans- admittedly looking a hell of a lot better than he had earlier that morning. As an apology of keeping away so long he stopped by a late night store and bought the most beautiful flowers they had. He would have liked to get her better but there weren't any florists open at this time of night.

He enjoyed the rest of the drive to the hospital, it was almost silent and he relaxed as his grip on the steering wheel loosened slightly. He still couldn't believe that she was still alive, the shock was still clearly overcoming him as he pulled into the car park and stepped out. The walk to the ward was a quick one and as he nodded at one of the nurses as an acknowledgement of his presence, he stepped through to her private room.

She was sat up in bed, and looked a lot better herself. Shad had gone for a shower and put a brush to her hair so it dried in natural waves, just how he liked it the most. Her complexion had returned to an almost ethereal pale instead of the sickly pale it had been for most of the week, and she looked more alert, like she was picking herself up- it was a very good thing to see.

"Hello," she murmured softly as he walked in, clearly taking a moment to look him over, as if she didn't actually believe that he had been at home. It had crossed his mind that he could just stay outside her room and wait for a suitable time to enter again. She seemed to be happy with the choice he made though as she rest back against the pillow and shifted her glance over to the edge of the bed, implying that she wanted him to sit there.

Once he had sat himself down the two exchanged a long thoughtful silence. Vesper knew this was going nowhere and so she decided she would be the one to speak first.

"I suppose you have some questions that you'd like to ask me," she said, keeping her tone soft. She wanted this to go well. If they ever stood a chance together in the future she needed to keep him on side right now, and it seemed she would do that by telling him the honest truth.

James stayed silent for a few moments longer, his stare penetrating straight into her own as he considered what he was about to say.  
"I have pictured this so many times over two years, and each time I have pictured it differently." He started, almost hesitating. "But sat with you now I…I have no idea what to say." He admitted. It was hard for him to show emotion, especially seeing as the person he was showing a weakened state to was the same person who had destroyed his ability to show it to anyone else.

Vesper could feel her heart sink as she watched his eyes drown in sorrow, that was the same look he had given her when she had sunk to the bottom of the water in the elevator. She never wanted to feel like that again, like she had destroyed him, broken him.

"I want you to yell….I want you to scream at me, to make me feel like how I deserve to feel. But…you're not going to do that are you?" she asked him defeatedly, as he shook his head almost immediately.

"Did you ever love me?" he asked finally, getting straight to the point. He felt shameful for asking such an intimate and personal question. He also felt embarrassed, here he was, acting like a lovesick teenager.

Vesper looked like she wanted to burst into tears at that point. She remembered when she had wanted him to lower his shield for her, so she could see who he really was, and how he really felt. Then what had she done? Wounded him when he was vulnerable.

"James… You need to know that I loved you from the bottom of my heart…But I-" she trailed off as he cut in before she could continue.

"But you were already so in love with Yusef." He snapped, the very word triggering his gag reflex as his fists clenched at the thought of what he had caused. Vesper sighed, she knew she deserved that, but she owed it to James to explain the best she possibly could.

"James, I never planned to return to Yusef. I hoped that if we travelled to Venice we could escape the mess together…until I found another plan," she told him sadly. She knew it sounded pathetic, that she knew she was on borrowed time but she had been in such a mess that she wasn't thinking straight. "But I couldn't let him die…" she whispered, surely he could understand that. "I didn't know what he had done…I didn't know that he was doing the exact same thing to hundreds of other women."

James tried to calm himself down, and remembered just how naïve she had been kept throughout the whole incident. It was true, he knew that she hadn't been aware what Yusef had done was create an elaborate plan.

"James…I went into this job thinking that I could give an agents information, and a large amount of money to a company who were holding the man I thought I loved ransom." She summarised. "But I fell in love…and I was stuck. I didn't want either of you hurt, I didn't want to cause that. The only way out I saw was if I disappeared altogether." Her voice cracked as tears sparkled in her eyes. James had entered the room wary of her, knowing that she could manipulate very well. Yet now, he saw a woman, who had been through such trauma and devastation…and betrayal. _Just like him._ He couldn't help it, and shifted over the bed slightly, wrapping his arms round her waist and pulling her close into a loving embrace. He rocked her like an upset child, running his fingers through her hair. He kept her there for a few minutes before he sat back, gazing deeply into her watery eyes.

"I have one more question I need to ask," he told her, as she nodded willingly, knowing that she would answer whatever she could to the best of her ability.

"Why didn't you try and contact me?" he finally asked.

Vesper composed herself before she spoke, reaching up and cupping his now smooth cheek in her hand.

"M had to pull a lot of strings to keep me from being prosecuted for treason. What I did, right intentions or not was a betrayal to the country and I would have been arrested. She kept me from that." Vesper explained. She could see that even with this, James was seething at the fact that someone he thought he could actually trust; had kept something so important from him.

"The only condition was that I couldn't contact you, and to be honest I didn't think that you would want to see me again." She added a little sadly. The worst thing that could have happened would have been if he had rejected her.

"Well, that condition seems to have been lifted," he joked a little, a small smirk curving on his lips, and in reaction to this she chuckled herself, inclining her head.

"You would be right, and whilst being taken hostage was not the plan, I'm really glad I could see you again," she spoke truthfully, resting her palm over his, hoping that he would not find it an imposition of her to do so.

"Well you never did things by halves Ms. Lynd," He told her, and much to her surprise he laced his fingers through hers, squeezing her fingers gently.

And at that moment it opened a new door. Maybe…just maybe they had something salvageable after all.


End file.

James Bond, Hurt-Comfort, Romance