[Milliways] OOM: James' Flat, London, 2006

[his_sarah_jane]

It was nearly seven in the evening now and James still hasn't returned from the office. Hmmph. James Bond in an office; now there is something the films never stopped to consider. Sarah rolls her eyes, walking to the fridge for the umpteenth time since returning from her trip around London an hour ago.

She's bored and impatient, and perhaps more than anything: curious as to what James has been up to all day.

When she walks by the table with the note, she stops, noticing a number scrawled on the page. Well, it's not like she's never braved strange, futuristic technology before. Grabbing the paper, Sarah walks over to the phone in the living room, picks it up, and dials.

It takes her three tries, but at last there's a ringtone.

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[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

An ocean away, a certain someone’s Sony Ericsson K800 cell phone goes off. Bond extracts the cell from one of his pockets and furrows his brows slightly when he sees the number on the screen. It takes him a second to realize who it is.

He answers the call: “Sarah?”

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

Ha! She did figure out this flipping phone after all. Sarah grins slightly, walking over to the couch and taking a seat, holding the phone up to her ear.

"Do you have any idea what time you're going to be home?"

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

“I think Monday. Perhaps sooner. Depends on how things go.”

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"Monday? James, they can't be keeping you at the office over the weekend!"

Sarah shakes her head, a gesture useless with a phone conversation. There are things in the background of the call, things that sound a lot like cars and certainly not anything like a London office.

"Oh, where are you? You're not here, eh?"

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

James peers out the back window of the cab he’s riding in. It’s a sunny day, unsurprisingly, and hot. Outside, the exodus from José Martí International Airport clogs up the road, much like the road from any airport is clogged. The difference is in the setting, in the cluster of houses and the spattering of palm trees outside of it, and the density of buses that surround the cab.

All of this bustle reflects off of Bond’s sunglasses as he stares out the window.

“I’m in Havana.”

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"Havana, Cuba?" There's a definate strain of annoyance in her voice. Sarah leans further back in the couch, taking a deep breath. "What on earth are you doing there?"

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

“Business.”

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"That wasn't included in the note you left this morning," Sarah replies tersely, glaring at a small pink shopping bag she had left lying in the hallway.

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

James purses his lips and turns towards the windshield, head slightly tilted. “It wasn’t included in the call I received this morning.”

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I even went and bought you something today," Sarah continues, still glaring at the bag. Well, maybe it's more like she bought herself something - but something she thought James would very well appreciate seeing on her.

"And now you're telling me that you're in flipping Havana and you won't be back till Monday? James!"

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

James stares at the windshield for a long, long moment. The sunglasses conceal the rather remarkable glare he’s shooting at no one in particular. At least no one who’s in Havana.

“Sarah,” he says after a moment, voice harsh and hissing. He pauses again, considering. “Don’t call this number—”

Unless it’s an emergency? And what if that emergency happened right around the time when silence was the only thing keeping him alive?

“—ever. Don’t call until I call you or until I get back to London. Understand?”

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"James," Sarah repeats, coming close to yelling in the phone. She's never really be fond of having to take orders from anyone.







But then his words hit her and she realises just why he told her that. Softly, "Are you even coming back?"

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

This conversation would have been so much easier if she hadn’t asked that question. His facial expression doesn’t change in the rear-view window, but behind the sunglasses the spectacular glare of his eyes have gone away.

With any other woman he would play the confident, cocky, indifferent man of mystery and lie, saying he’d be right back when he didn’t even know if he’d walk out in one piece. With Sarah Jane, the woman who knew exactly who he was both professionally and personally, he couldn’t play that role. She’d see straight through that lie and give him hell for it.

He looks down and answers honestly, “I’ll try to, Sarah.”

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"Please," she whispers, all exasperation suddenly gone from her voice. "Be as careful as you possibly can, will you?"

Sarah Jane knows those words probably don't mean as much at all. It's like the Doctor telling her not to wander off or not to touch something. Things never exactly happen like you hope.

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

“I will.”

But he doesn’t know how it will all go, really. It’s always a gamble on these missions, and no matter how meticulously he can play this game, he still can’t erase the possibility that there’s someone or something a few steps ahead of him, or behind him, with a move that will end him.

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

Sarah nods, closing her eyes as she leans back further into the couch. "Do you...do you want me to wait here for you?"

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

He leans back in the backseat, staring out the back window again. “If you want.”

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"I want to know what you want, James."

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

He’s quiet for a moment.

“I’d like for you to stay, if that’s all right. But if you get bored…”

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"I think I can entertain myself," Sarah interrupts. "There's still more of London to see, and I do have that article to write."

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

He allows a very small grin. “Will it be finished when I return?”

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"If I don't get too distracted by all there is to see around here," she answers with a small laugh. "I'll leave it up to you to decide; incentive for you to come back in one piece."

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

He laughs. “Darling, I don’t think even that incentive will speed up the writing process. I know enough about writing to know that a muse is a cruel and inconsistent mistress.”

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

Sarah snorts, shaking her head. "Well you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

“Guess I will.” He is silent for a few moments more, wondering what she’s doing now, what she did today—but knowing he doesn’t have time for that sort of conversation. He sighs. Havana’s just a tapestry now and Sarah Jane isn’t in it.

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"I suppose I should let you go now. Get on with your mission or whatever it is you MI-6 agents do in Havana," Sarah says, filling in the silence with her own voice.

"Good luck, James."

[callitavesper.livejournal.com]

He grins softly. “Take care, Sarah.”

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"You too."

And then she takes the phone away from her ear, trying to find the button to disconnect the call.