Q

[0_0_7]

The mission was based in Paris and Bond had insisted on the finest accommodations. He'd made sure to get a two bedroom suite to keep up appearances as Q was going with him. It wasn't entirely the Quartermaster's job to be in the field but they needed some real time on site hacking done (or whatever wizardry it was that Q did) and so the mission was really his. Bond was his muscle, his guard dog, and his gun. Bond's job was to protect Q at all costs.

The train ride was pleasant, Bond dozing for the majority of the ride. He had a habit of falling dead asleep while travelling- he never knew if he'd get sleep while active on a mission so he stocked up on trains and planes.

And then they were at the hotel, their luggage unloaded onto a cart. Bond told the porter to be careful in flawless French and then escorted Q inside.

Comments

[quartermaster_q]

Q ate a bit more apple sauce, then started on something warm- But Bond's prediction proved to be correct, and it wasn't long at all before he was stumbling towards the bathroom.

He barely had the door shut before he began retching and coughing.

It was a good fifteen minutes later before he returned again, having brushed his teeth once again, and given up on food for the time being.

"What time do we depart tomorrow?" he asked, speaking as though nothing had happened.

[0_0_7]

The train leaves at ten and again at noon," he said, utterly ignoring the reappearance of breakfast. Q couldn't help it, and it wouldn't be a lone occurrence, Bond knew. It would take time to come back from this week.

"Or, if you'd rather, Moneypenny can charter us a small jet and we can leave when you like," he offered. "But I know how you feel about flying. Really, if I were you, I'd put off getting back for the debrief as long as possible."

[quartermaster_q]

"The train will be fine," Q assured him, pushing his hair back and blinking, wishing he could see properly. "Will you be travelling with me, or taking a plane to return faster?" he asked.

[0_0_7]

Bond looked at him for a long moment.

"I'm not leaving your side until they pry me away," he said simply. "Now have a sip of tea to stay hydrated and climb into bed. If you don't feel like sleeping you can watch the telly."

He was quite firm about it, understanding how good it could be to have someone who could put some order to things. In a time of questioning what would come next and, wore, how you'd keep it together, it was good to have some guidance.

[quartermaster_q]

Q didn't argue. Truth be told, between this and the stabbing, he had no interest in being alone.

Taking his tea, he sat down on the bed and sipped it quietly, musing over recent events and attempting to make sense of it all.

Only one name came to mind.

"I fear Terrance may pose an actual threat after all," he said quietly. "The code was elegant, it was beautiful. ...I believe it was his. He knew we were being watched and sent the code to make my abduction easier- I can't prove it, but I'm almost certain of it. I just don't understand what he wants. If he wanted to abduct me, he had ample opportunity to do so himself. ...It's as if he's just pushing buttons to see what happens next. No goal, just chaos."

[0_0_7]

"He was my first thought, too, and I've had R working on the problem," Bond said. "Not one hundred percent, but as one possible lead. I don't care for the idea that i's chaos. Even the most mad have their reasons."

Bond began to undress then and put his dirty suit aside. His brawl with Q's captors hadn't left him entirely unscathed- a bruise was forming on his rib. But Bond being bruised was such a constant state that it hardly seemed out of place.

"I'm going to take a shower as well, then I'll dote on you in bed. When I get back I'll coax you to sleep," he promised, then ducked into the bathroom to take the fastest shower on record.

[quartermaster_q]

Not long after Bond was in the shower, there was a knock on the door, and Q opened it up and accepted the parcels.

One was clearly from MI6, and he smiled as he opened it and slipped his new glasses on. Clearly Eve's work, they were exactly like his old ones and fit like a glove. Anyone else might have ordered him something new or different- but not Eve. She simply understood that Q wasn't fond of change.

The next parcel was unmarked, and Q assumed it was something Bond had requested. It was odd that there was no address or name on it, but he thought little of it as he put it down on the bed and clicked on the television.

[0_0_7]

Bond emerged, towel round his waits and droplets clinging to his shoulders. He smiled at Q when he saw the glasses.

"Good. She's fast," he said, then looked at the box at the foot of the bed. "And what's this?"

He took the box and gently tipped it one way and then the other, but noting inside it shifted. He picked at the tape carefully.

[quartermaster_q]

"I don't know, it arrived with the glasses. I assumed it was yours," q replied, frowning thoughtfully.

[0_0_7]

That made bond pause. He peeled away the tape but then bent low, barely opening the box. He smelled it first, checking for the scent of chemicals or explosives. When he didn't detect any he carefully opened the box.

Inside it was an envelope taped to the bottom. Inside it were photographs of Q being tortured. Bond looked through them and then slipped them back in the envelope and took it away before Q could see.

[quartermaster_q]

"What? What is it?" Q asked, rising to try and see. "Don't hide things from me double-o seven."

[0_0_7]

"It's photos of you that you're better off not seeing," Bond said firmly. "You'll see them some other day. You don't need this now."

He didn't get rid of them, though. They'd need them to analyze for evidence. Maybe, if they were lucky, whoever had sent them had been sloppy and had left a print on the glossies or a hair in the box. Bond doubted it very much, but it was possible.

[quartermaster_q]

"What sort of photos?" Q asked- Though he had a feeling he knew exactly what they were photos of. Bond was right, he had no interest in viewing them.

[0_0_7]

"Photos from the last five days. Someone's baiting us and I'll not rise to it. Now put it out of your mind, finish your tea, and lay back," he said. Bond put the package well away from them then came back o the bed. He dug into the meager luggage he had and pulled out pyjama bottoms and slipped into them. Then he climbed between the sheets with Q.

"I don't mean to be hard with you," he said. "I'm not scolding. I'm trying to do what I know is in your best interests right now."

[quartermaster_q]

"It's fine. I'm fine. I don't need to be coddled," Q replied defensively, finishing his tea and placing the empty cup and his glasses on the bedside table as he slipped under the bedsheets.

[0_0_7]

"No. Of course you don't," he replied evenly. Bond settled in as well, the bright light of the afternoon sun streaming through the crack in the closed draperies. Soon enough it would be dark, soon enough Q would be asleep. hen Bond could get on the laptop in his luggage and see what progress the home office had made.

He was close, but not too close. Just enough to make his presence known and offer Q the opportunity at what comfort he needed to take.

[quartermaster_q]

Q didn't move at first, but eventually he moved closer, slipping an arm around Bond and embracing him as tightly as his weakened arms would allow.

[0_0_7]

Bond held him in return, mindful of how tender his body must be.

"You're safe now," he said softly. "I brought you back and you're safe. And I'll keep you that way."

There was no doubting that, not with his hold so strong and his gun just there on the bedside table.

[quartermaster_q]

"I wasn't sure you'd come," Q confessed, knowing it was an unkind thing to say, but wanting to be honest.

"I was standing there, the rope around my neck, and I was wondering what would happen to Oberon and my flat. ...Oh, god, that bloody cat," he realized, sitting up and looking stricken, wondering if the poor beast had starved to death. He had a feeder that dispensed dry food daily, but it needed filling. It had only had a few days of food left in it. More than enough for their planed trip to Paris, but no more than that.

[0_0_7]

"Moneypenny saw to him. He's been boarded," Bond said quietly. "Your bills have all been paid, your flat professionally cleaned. All your laundry sent to the cleaners and brought back for you. I saw to it that there were clean sheets put on your bed not two days ago. You needn't worry about anything like that, Q. It's all sorted."

[quartermaster_q]

Q relaxed slowly, then lay back down.

"Thank you," he said softly. "If something had happened to him- I think... I think I would have been devastated."

[0_0_7]

"We can't have the head of Q Branch devastated, now can we?" Bond replied, stroking Q's back with slow, long motions. "You've been awake for so long, Q. Sleep. Anything else can wait until morning."

[quartermaster_q]

Q was sure that he was so tired he might never sleep again, but he was asleep before he knew it.

No dreams, not even nightmares, just sleep.

[0_0_7]

Bond held him tenderly until he was sure Q was dead to the world. Then he slowly, carefully let go of the man and slipped out of the bed so he could open the laptop. He was hungry so he ate the eggs and cheese that had gone cold and congealed. He didn't particularly care. He was more focused on opening the laptop, patching in, and seeing what R had come up with since he'd cut off communication earlier to extract Q.

There was, of course, the mystery of the elegant code. And the names of the dead and injured. Their known accomplices. There was a line on the money and Bond followed that trail until it played out.