On Her Majesty's Secret Service ~ H.S.

Chapter 22

When I wake I'm abnormally warm. I try to quickly shut off the obnoxious beeping of my watch, but find my arms have been compromised- somebody's own wrap around mine, rendering them useless. I'm confused for a second as I feel the heat of another persons body against my own.

When I look down and see the ink marks which decorate the unknown person's hands, I remember what happened. Harry and I are sleeping in the same bed right now, and from the looks of it, we're still spooning- or whatever this is.

We migrated closer to each other in the night, apparently. Now our legs are intertwined and I have shifted to face towards him. My head lays against his chest and my arms wrap around his body. This is not good. Not good at all. I try to shut off my watch without waking him and very carefully unwrap myself from around him. Nothing good will come of Harry knowing that we slept like this the entire night. I know he made the first move last night, but just imagining the relentless teasing that I will have to endure this morning if he wakes right now is enough to send me shooting up. Luckily, Harry is a deep sleeper.

Once I've dressed and successfully escaped the bed and its confusing night's sleep, I turn to Harry and nudge his shoulder. In a few seconds he's awake and pushing me away, obviously not keen at the idea of waking. Good. Everything seems to be back to normal.

I don't wait for him to get ready and head for the pool. Today we're going to be holding our breath again under the water. Hopefully I can get him to a minute and a half on his own. Although my real goal is two, it's best to take this process in baby steps.

We meet in the pool and, surprisingly, no awkwardness hangs in the air. Him and I have silently agreed not to talk of what happened last night. Clearly he was just trying to get me to go to sleep and stop disturbing him. That's the only reason he pulled me in. Any ulterior motives would be unthinkable. At least that's the conclusion I come to to make myself feel better. If Harry and I can pretend like nothing has happened, my life will be much easier.

We spend time underwater and Harry improves significantly. I wrap myself around him like always and we manage to get to a minute and 45 seconds. When I let him try on his own, he reaches about a minute and 15. This is better than nothing and I'll take it as a victory. Only one or two more sessions and I think he'll be able to do 2 minutes on his own.

The morning and afternoon passes easily and Sanders is lining us up in the mess hall in no time. I see the familiar manila envelopes in his hands and know that we must have a new mission today. What it will be, I'm not sure.

I wait patiently as always and try not to let my growing suspicions tarnish my opinion of the General. Although I have a million questions and my mind seems to be bursting at the seams, it will do me no good to ask them. I suspect even a hint that I'm uncomfortable and I'll be sent packing if there really is something going on. I will be able to find out more about the missile plans and General Sander's odd behaviour if I remain a recruit than if I'm sent back to London, no trace of my participation ever existing. Besides, if I get kicked out so does Harry. I'm not sure if I could make such a sacrifice anymore.

"We need more files. This time you'll be at the German embassy. This operation is more covert than the others and you will not be sent in as a group, but rather with only your partners. When you get inside, you'll only have about 45 minutes before the building is occupied again and you're discovered. Try to find the files before then, but even if you don't, it's absolutely imperative you get out of the building before 45 minutes is up. We will leave in an hour." The General starts as he approaches only Harry and I, leaving the others out. I open my file and find the same old objectives as our past missions have included. When the General is done addressing us, he approaches the other two groups individually. I can't hear what he says to them.