Q

[0_0_7]

His first leg of China had been warm. He'd landed in Hong Kong and had enjoyed the warm air, but soon enough he got to work and the weather wa the last thing on his mind. He'd broken into the facility without incident but before he could complete the mission half the Chinese army, it seemed, came down on him. Caught red-handed all Britain could do was disavow knowledge and leave Bond to his fate.

Bu M was a better man than that and three days later Bond was being covertly traded. The double o was in much worse shape than the man he was traded for. They did try to clean the blood off on the plane and by the time he landed in medical Bond had been triaged and was being examined.

M made the call to not tell Q right away even though he knew the boffin was going out of his mind waiting. Bond needed to be examined and debriefed and when they had some answers it was Moneypenny who came to Q to break the news.

"You've got to understand, Q...this may be the end of him. He may not come back from this. It's his mind, you see..."

Comments

[quartermaster_q]

Q hadn't gone down right away. He'd told himself he simply had too much work to do, but the truth was- He wasn't ready to see Bond so broken. His walls were up high, and it was late when he finally made his way down to medical.

"Double-o seven," he greeted quietly, lingering in the doorway. "Glad to see you're back."

[0_0_7]

He was a physical wreck. Lip split, eye swollen and bruised. His arms were bruised with scratches and burns and one could only imagine what the body beneath the covers so carefully wrapped in a cotton gown looked like. But the eye that was open looked at Q with a twinkle and he smiled as best he could.

"I was wondering when you were going to get your skinny ass down here," he said warmly.

[quartermaster_q]

Q looked uneasy, but that smile- weak though it was- was enough to bring Q's walls down a little as he made his way over.

"You're an absolute bastard, you know that? You go off to China, and have a merry time getting yourself beat up. No consideration for me at all," he quipped quietly, sitting down beside Bond's bed, and reaching to gently hold his hand.

"...I thought you weren't coming back this time," he admitted quietly.

[0_0_7]

Bond pulled Q's fingers to his lips and kissed them softly.

"Takes more than the People's Army to keep me from you," he said softly. "Do you know if any of the information transferred? Or was this a complete failure?"

[quartermaster_q]

"Some came through, but- It's going to take some time to make sense of it. It was damaged quite badly. I've been combing through it since it came through, but I've not made much progress," he said, trying not to stare at the burns and bruises as he held Bond's hand slightly tighter.

His smile faded, and that calm he wore with pride faded, betraying his fear and worry.

"Jesus, look at you."

[0_0_7]

"It's all cosmetic, Q," Bond promised softly. "Not shot, just worked over. According to my file...there's been worse."

An odd turn of phrase but Bond wasn't particularly keen on breaking to Q what was really wrong with him.

[quartermaster_q]

"I know about the memory loss," Q said quietly. "You don't have to tiptoe around it- I'm going to do all I can to bring it back though. I've got some tech I might be able to modify to aid your recovery. Untested, but- Worth a shot, don't you think?"

[0_0_7]

He was quiet for a long moment.

"Worth a shot," he agreed, immediately follow in his words with, "Or...it could be an opportunity. A chance to get out and live a few more years. With you."

[quartermaster_q]

"Run away, you mean?" Q asked. "Don't offer me things like that, James- I'm likely to say yes."

[0_0_7]

Bond swallowed hard.

"It might be best if you distanced yourself, to be honest, Q. Six has never had a liability quite like I am right now," Bond said. In fact, Q had to be aware of what Bond was sure of- they couldn't let him live like this. Not for long.

[quartermaster_q]

"That wont happen, ever."

He glanced around the room, quietly assessing how many cameras there were and where bugs were likely planted- Then leaned over and pressed a kiss to Bond's cheek, before whispering in his ear.

"I'm going to get you out of here. Tonight. I have a place we can go- Do you trust me, James?"

[0_0_7]

Bond nodded, one subtle bob of his head, then he closed his eyes.

"I can't get far, Q. Not on my own," he whispered back. Then he smiled. "I wish you'd bring me a milkshake. A vanilla one- nothing fancy..."

[quartermaster_q]

Q nodded, forcing a smile for the watching cameras.

"Of course. I'll go fetch you one, alright?" he said softly, stroking Bond's cheek, then moving away.

"I need to stop off and feed Oberon, Then I'll fetch you a shake. Get some rest in the meantime, Bond."

[0_0_7]

Bond nodded and gave up a softer, more tender smile.

"I do love you," he said softly, then let his eyes slip closed. Even that much had exhausted him. He was asleep before Q left the room and then time passed in a blur of sleep and nurses taking vitals and a regimen of medications and then he was wheeled away for some sort of scan. All he wanted to do was sleep, though...and yet he knew at every moment things could go sideways. He tried, truly tried, to be ready for any threat.

[quartermaster_q]

Time was limited, and the plan had to be flawless.

The first thing Q had done was call the one man he trusted more than anyone else in all of London- The most honest man he'd ever met. Hex. Honestly, he was somewhat surprised by how little it took to convince the man to 'borrow an ambulance, and in an effort to ensure Hex wasn't caught, sent along an old friend of his to help.

Gavin Teller was not the sort of man one remembered. He was plain looking and painfully average in every way- But remarkably clever, and one of the finest crooks Q had ever had the pleasure of working with. They hadn't spoken in some time, but one sizeable deposit in the man's account, and the promise of some not-yet-on-the-market tech had him happy to do the driving- So Hex could work in the back.

Because the only way to get Bond out of medical was a medical emergency.

The formula was his own design, it stopped the heart slowly, but suddenly, in a way that wouldn't damage it- That would be enough to convince whoever was on duty to call for an ambulance, which would be Hex and Gavin's cue to come in.

Hex was a good nurse, Q had faith that Bond would be alright. ...He had to be alright.

It would be best if Bond was none the wiser though, so when Q returned with the man's shake, he offered no hint as to what he had planned as he handed it over.

"Drink up, double-o seven. A bit of sugar will do you some good."

[0_0_7]

Hex and Gavin were down the block a bit, the two of them having a lively conversation about Liverpool's FC. Hex had strong feelings, gavin was amiable enough to press him about it.

Bond took the shake and gladly began to drink it. It was cold and soft and perfect. He sipped it slow enough that he didn't get a headache but quickly enough to fill his empty belly. He made light conversation, asking Q if he'd looked into vacation homes, asked about the bloody cat, given little details about what had happened in China.

And then he flushed with heat and nausea and tried to sit up. Pressure crushedhis chest and Bond never once paniked. He simply pressed the call button...and then he passed out.

Or died, more like. Medical raced in and tried in vain to revive him. Then they called an ambulance to take him to major medical. Not yet ready to be done with Double-O-Seven, it semed.

Hex heard the call and raced to the scene, leaving Gavin to drive once they'd gotten Bond in the ambulance. The trick wasn't just defbrulators...Bond needed the antidote, too. Hex shot him up and then applied the paddles.

The ambulance was screaming through the streets as Hx shocked Bond and the agent opened his one unblemished eye.

"And he's back. That's a good man, James. You look like hell, mate..." Hex aid.

[quartermaster_q]

Q had insisted on riding along, despite some protests from six, and he had his laptop on his knees, watching the CCTV- and the cars following them.

"Gavin, I need you to lose our friends before we leave the city- Do you think you can manage?" Q asked.

Gavin smirked, glancing back. "You take care of the lights, and I'll loose your mates. ...Even took the liberty of stashin' a car for you, mate. No extra charge. I'll lose 'em and drop you off, then me and Hex here will get this ambulance back to the hospital before they even know it's gone. ...Though I'd suggest wiping the cctv footage..." he noted.

"Already taken care of," Q assured them. "Hex, as far as the hospital is concerned, you never left A&E, all you have to do is slip back in- If you need anything, if anything goes wrong, contact me and I will take care of it. I owe you so much for this. Truly."

[0_0_7]

Bond was disoriented but he saw Q and he saw Hex and he took comfort in knowing whatever was going on, he could trust these men. He closed his eyes and breathed in the oxygen as Hex fussed over him a little more.

"You let me know where you wind up if he needs some care, yeah? He's in bad shape, Q," Hex said softly, then that was the end of that. He worked on Bond while Gavin drove and soon enough they were transferring Bond from the ambulance to the back of a wagon with tinted windows. Q could drive from there on. Gavin and Hex bid the spies good bye and good luck.

"On our own?" Bond asked, pulling the oxygen mask off his face so he could talk to Q.

[quartermaster_q]

"For now," Q replied, pulling out slowly and heading out of London. "Hex has offered to come out and meet us if you need medical treatment, but I believe I have enough supplies to take care of you for a while- Until we figure things out. Once you're well enough, we can return to London and set about getting your memory back- But for now I just want you to be able to recover somewhere safe."

There was a soft meow, and Q smiled as Oberon emerged from his hiding place under the back-seat, stretching lazily and then carefully climbing up to settle in beside Bond.

"Gavin always was a fan of surprises... Though do remind me later to change all the locks at my flat."

[0_0_7]

"Mm, yes. Alright," Bond drawled, snuggling with the cat and drifting in and out as Q drove along. Th antidote had also had a mild sedative in it, which Bond would have gladly trid to fight through if he'd been under some kind of threat, but he was safe with Q and would go wherever the young man lead him.

[quartermaster_q]

It was a long drive- Longer still since Q was being careful to ensure they weren't followed, but eventually they pulled up outside what looked like a long forgotten cottage in the middle of the woods- In truth, it was one of Q's many hiding spots. Though this one he hadn't been to in quite some time, and though he was still able to secure himself a wireless connection, the tech here was somewhat older.

It was very clean though, thanks to the farmer down the road who Q paid to come down and tidy up the place every few weeks, and bring in the mail when Q had things sent along this way.

As a result it was terribly tidy, but there was quite a high stack of boxes just inside the door as he carried Oberon inside, and helped Bond through the door.

"Here, let me get you straight into bed," he said softly.

[0_0_7]

"The toilet first, I think," Bond said softly, then changed track. He left Q out of the room but as he vanished the gown opened down the back and revealed the severe abuse Bond's kidneys had endured. His legs were bruised, everything was bruised. And he moved slow, feeling the trauma in his bones.

But when he came out he looked happy enough and he let Q take him directly to bed to where he laid down and settled in.

"Is this because you thought they'd do away with me? A tidy medical emergency I wouldn't recover from?" he asked.

[quartermaster_q]

"Yes," Q replied, quietly but honestly. "I don't trust them not to get rid of a problem rather than solve it."

He was quiet for a moment, then forced a smile.

"I've packed your pyjamas. Do you want me to help you get changed? Some of your bandages likely need changing, we could kill two birds with one stone, as they say."

[0_0_7]

"Are you sure you want to do this, Q?" Bond asked quietly. "I made light but...it isn't pretty. The Chinese were...unforgiving," he said. Q had to know the extent of the damage. It was good Six had gotten him out when they did. Bond had been sure that he'd meet his end in that prison.

[quartermaster_q]

"You never shied away from me after Paris," Q said softly. "I'll not shy away from this."