Title: Metamorphosis

Parings: James Bond & Q

Warnings: Canon typical violence

Disclaimer: All characters, situations and concepts borrowed belong to their respective owners. If you recognize it its not mine. I claim no rights. I make no profit.


Chapter 3 – Werewolf Physiology 101

James woke up still in wolf form. That was highly unusual. He rarely slept when he was in wolf form and never before when he was inside a building. He momentarily wondered why but then realized that the reason was curled up next to him snoring slightly with his head on James' flank. Newly changed wolves needed lots of physical contact. Being in wolf form just made that easier. Thinking about it a little more he decided there was also something about Q that made him feel comfortable and safe. James supposed it was a carryover from all the missions they'd run together where it was Q's calm voice on the coms providing information, direction, aid and assistance all with the intent of completing the mission and bringing him home safe and sound.

James had been impressed by Q from their very first meeting in the National Gallery. Very few people had the mental agility and intestinal fortitude to deal with him when he was in as black a mood as he'd been in that day. His subsequent interactions with the Quartermaster had only increased his regard. The man was an absolute genius with computers, a competent engineer, inveterate tinkerer, loyal, and willing to bend or even break rules when necessary to get the job done.

He had never thought of Q as physically strong but the last three days had surprised him. Underneath those hideous jumpers and patterned trousers James now knew lay a wiry strength. He had at times been hard pressed to keep Q from injuring himself as the virus rearranged his entire body. What had impressed him most, however, was Q's mental reaction to the entire situation. He'd expected Q to be upset but other than a short period of surprise Q had seemed to skip the anger and depression stages that most people went through when infected and gone straight to acceptance and coping. The bit of conversation about eliminating Q if he became a threat has also been an eye opener. James knew that the Quartermaster was, along with M, one of the positions in MI6 where protocol was kill if compromised. He just hadn't expected that Q would apply that reasoning in this particular situation.

James wondered if that mental flexibility and acceptance had also helped Q's first shift go so smoothly. Normally the initial change was a haphazard affair with some parts of the form going from human to wolf faster than others. Q's shift had started that way but about half way through something had changed and the shift had evened out becoming something more akin to his own metamorphosis into wolf-form. Another bit of strangeness was Q's fur. Most werewolf fur was short and bristly like that of a wild wolf. Q, on the other hand, had ended up with something akin to a long haired retriever with 4 to 5 inch slightly curling chocolate brown fur all over his body.

That hadn't been the end of the surprises. Once changed new werewolves would most often need at least some help from an alpha or other dominant wolf to gain control and not become feral immediately. Avoiding being completely dominated by the instinctual wolf side when on four feet was a trick that often required months and some outside help to develop. It had taken James himself three months to feel completely in comfortable in his wolf form. When Q opened his eyes after the shift it had come as quite a shock to Bond that Q was almost completely integrated with his wolf.

It had also taken less time than James had expected before Q was up and moving. He had adapted to eating and appeared to have had no trouble with the additional sensory input. James made a mental note to ask about that when Q got back on two feet. In fact, given how well everything went James had felt it was safe enough to change himself a full two hours before he absolutely needed to shift. That particular decision had resulted in the last surprise of the evening. Once James had announced his intent Q had followed him into the bedroom and placed himself in the optimum position to attack anyone who came through the door. This was despite the fact that he knew that Q had registered both sets of deadbolts engaging. Q, it seemed, was still determined to be the Quartermaster and protect his agent regardless of the form he happened to be in at the time.

Q snorted and shifted in his sleep moving his head from James' flank to the bed. Q rooted around a bit until his nose was firmly under James' fore leg with his back pressed against James' belly. Spooning werewolves James thought to himself as he imagined the picture they made laying on the bed. With Q's dark brown long slightly curling fur and his own dark black on black coat it would not doubt look seriously cute. Moneypenny would kill for such a picture. Thank heavens these rooms had absolutely no video surveillance. Thinking of Moneypenny made James sigh. It was a little after 06:00 so he really should get up, shift and let M know that he'd not had to kill the Quartermaster overnight.

Extracting himself from the bed proved to be a bit more difficult than he had expected. Every time he moved Q had snuggled up to him again. He finally ended up pulling the duvet over both of them. Once that was done he found that he could manage to escape the bed leaving Q in full possession with only the tip of his nose and his tail sticking out from under the blanket. Back in human form as the first order of business he called Eve with the news. She answered before the phone even registered a ring.

"Good morning James." Her tone was a question masquerading as a statement. That meant someone was in her office. "Go on in sir," she said to someone confirming his suspicions.

"Just reporting last night's success," he continued in a lower tone "No casualties."

"Wonderful." He could hear Eve typing on her computer and moments later the door bolts retracted. Eve continued, "You'll still need to report the results to Dr. Neilson though." Moneypenny was still being evasive. That meant whomever was in M's office was high ranking enough to have a bodyguard or two cooling their heels in the outer office.

James thought quickly about how to phrase this just in case someone was close enough to overhear. "She is welcome to come down and retrieve the report herself. Let her know, however, that as expected the sample is a bit fuzzy."

"I'll relay the message." Eve concluded then rang off.

Normally James wouldn't let a human in with the newly changed in wolf form for at least a few months. Something about a full human's smell tended to make the wolf persona uneasy at best. Probably a vestigial left over from when humans and wolves were competitors for prey. However, Q was going to need to interact with humans almost immediately. A trial run with Dr. Neilson would be just enough to determine exactly how much they would need to accommodate Q's new status. He punched the code into the phone that retracted the silver coated steel bars from the doors. They slid back into their housings with a thunk that was only audible to a werewolf's sensitive hearing. No doubt Dr. Neilson would be down as fast as she could reasonably get here without arousing suspicion.

It only took twenty minutes before there was a polite tap on the outer door to the secure suite. James let Dr. Neilson in. She looked and smelled relatively well rested with an overtone of excitement.

"How did it go?" was the first question out of her mouth.

"Very well," James replied. "I assume you'll want to see him in both forms?"

"Yes please if possible. I can wait on the four footed one if you think it wiser. I know newbies can be a bit volatile."

"Not necessary. I'll go see if I can roust him out. He seems to be having a bit of a lie in," James said with a grin.

"I'll leave you to it," she replied as James turned and headed for the bedroom. He was just at the door way when he heard her murmur half to herself "I wonder if he's as grumpy as a wolf as he is as a human when he hasn't had his normal morning caffeine input."

Q had moved a bit since James had left. Only the tip of his tail was sticking out from under the pile of bedding in the middle of the bed.

"Time to get up Q, you've got a visitor."

The response was a low whine that James had no problem interpreting as something like go away and give me another half-hour at least.

James put a bit dominance growl in his voice and tried again, "Come on. You don't want to keep Dr. Neilson waiting."

The amount of force he put into that should have had Q, depending on where exactly he fell in the dominance hierarchy, off the bed and trembling in a submissive posture or at his throat. What actually happened was not what James had expected. The lump on the bed which was Q simply lay there. He didn't even twitch or otherwise acknowledge the growl. Bond stared at the lump then, not knowing quite what else to do, he reached out and grabbed the tip of Q's tail and tweaked it. That got a reaction as Q tucked his tail under the covers and let out a heavy sigh. That sigh was quickly followed by another then by squirming and Q emerged from under the covers. James had to stifle a laugh. Q's fur looked like the worst bed head he'd ever seen all over his body. Q seemed to be oblivious to the mussed fur. He just stretched then gave James a questioning look.

"Yes she wants to see you this way too."

Q made a slight motion that suggested a shrug then padded to the door and nudged it open. He trotted down the hall toward the kitchenette and Dr. Neilson freezing on the threshold. Something had startled Q and James moved quickly to see what the matter was.

Dr. Neilson was sitting on the floor, eyes down and neck bent. It was a wise position for a human dealing with a new wolf. Her posture and demeanor was picture perfect and James fleetingly wondered how and where she'd learned it. Her scent was concerned but not fearful. It was clear that she trusted both James and Q not to hurt her. So what the heck had caused Q to freeze like that? Finally Q started to move. He walked slowly and carefully up to the seated doctor. His body language was overtly friendly. It was almost as if he was afraid of scaring her. Oh. It suddenly clicked. Q was mistaking the scent of her concern for fear.

She let him get a good sniff at her before she looked directly at him. She glanced up at Bond then addressed them both, "May I touch?"

Q gave a huff just as James said "Yes."

That earned him a sideways look from Q and a nod from Dr. Neilson.

Dr. Neilson got up on her knees then started running her hands over Q's body. It was clear that she was watching him carefully to see when her exploration caused pain. When she finished she sat back on her heels and said, "About what I expected."

In another bit of werewolf etiquette she remained on the floor until James gave a short nod and asked, "Tea?"

A short while later they were seated in the sitting room, Bond and Q on the sofa and Dr. Neilson in one of the armchairs. If she found it disconcerting to be talking to a man and an oversized wolf she hid it admirably. In fact if James had to guess she'd been in a similar situation at least once or twice before. That in and of itself raised a whole new set of questions.

"OK, I don't know how much Bond has told you about the medical side of things," she started in briskly. "You are now immune to most bacteria and viruses and heal quicker than normal with a few exceptions. The biggest one is silver. Treat it like a severe allergy and you'll be alright. Second exception is your bones. They are denser and will set fast if broken but they won't get back to full strength until six weeks or so after breaking. The best thing to remember is if you break something get it set fast so you don't have to rebreak it to set it correctly. You'll be able to use it in a day or two but it will still give you twinges until it's fully healed." Avoid getting shot. While lead and copper won't kill you outright absent a very lucky shot they do hurt like heck as they fester out of your body.

She paused to assess how much Q was taking in. Judging from his body language James would bet that he could repeat the information back word for word.

Reassured that Q was paying attention Dr. Neilson continued, "All that extra healing capacity, denser body mass and extra fine senses also means that your metabolism is now completely different. You'll need to up your caloric intake by at least four times your current rate. At least half of that should be protein. You'll most likely have help with that." she suddenly smiled at Q, "Your minions hacked your medical file this morning. Not the real one," she reassured him, "just the one I had stored electronically. I put something in there about you needing more protein. Your real file is now Protocol Delta, top secret eyes only and stored in a safe in medical."

"Welcome to the club Q," James chimed in.

That earned him a dirty look from the doctor. "Not that you'll need medical attention as often as this oaf," she waived her hand in his direction. She paused again and looked as if she was ticking off items on a mental checklist. "I'm planning to officially release you from medical tomorrow afternoon with a recommendation that you have a bodyguard for anything outside the building for a few weeks. I suspect M will assign James for that particular job." She stood at that. "Come on up to medical once you are on two feet again so we can go over the electronic file and come up with some," she paused for a moment thinking, "compensating behaviors to attribute to your injuries." She moved to exit but paused again at the door, "Feel free to come and bug me about any questions you might have on the medical side of things. I may not know the answer immediately but I do have some contacts that I can ask discretely."

"Contacts?" James was curious. This was the first he'd ever heard that there were people other than werewolves which knew something more than just the basics about werewolf medical issues.

"Yes James, contacts. Most of the larger packs have at least someone with paramedic training and some have full-fledged doctors. Despite that there are a few normal folks like me who have experience with wolf medical issues. Given the uniqueness of the practice area we tend to keep in touch." She hesitated a moment hand on the door, "There are three of us in greater London, one in Cardiff and another in Glasgow. Their names and contact information are in the same place as your medical files just in case." With that parting comment she left.

James was feeling a little stunned at this new information and she was gone before he could continue to question her. All in all, the whole interaction this morning had confirmed that Dr. Neilson had a very strange background indeed. Where the heck had she learned about werewolves in general and from who? It was clear to James that he needed to do some investigation. He looked over at Q then. He too was looking thoughtful. Well it looked like he'd have an ally in digging up the good Doctor's background, however, any discussion about that would need to wait until Q was back in human form.

That thought lead to another. Given how well the initial transformation had went and Q's obvious high level of adjustment it might be worth a try to see if Q could revert back to human on his own initiative.

"Do you want to try and change back?"

Q's ears went up and his tail thumped once on the sofa. James interpreted that as a yes.

"OK we can try then. First thing you need to know is not to panic if it doesn't work. New wolves revert back to human form naturally 24 to 36 hours after the initial change. You are not going to be stuck."

Q's body language indicated a bit of relief at that.

James continued, "One of the ways to initiate the shift back is to concentrate on physical sensations or actions that you can't do as a wolf. For me its guns. Shooting, breaking down, assembling, cleaning, things like that."

Q nodded. James was a little surprised at what he'd said. He'd never before told anyone what his triggers were for shifting. Triggers were intensely personal thing for most werewolves and rarely shared with anyone else. Telling Q, however, seemed to be the right thing to do.

"You can try here but I suggest that the bedroom might be better. You are going to be a bit sensitive in the skin department again for a few minutes after you change."

Q hopped off the sofa and went back into the bedroom, James following. He looked at the bed, thought for a minute then lay down on the floor. He closed his eyes and went still. James sat down in the chair. This might take a while.

It was some 20 minutes later, just as James was just about ready to have Q call a halt and try again in the afternoon, when it started. Q had been twitching every so often since he had closed his eyes but this was more of a total body shudder. Once again Q's transformation was smooth and steady, unlike that of most new wolves. It only took ten minutes and there was a naked, panting Q lying on the floor where the wolf had been. James stood, grabbed the duvet and gently covered Q. It wouldn't do for him to get cold before he had recovered from the change. James knew from experience that was a good way to have muscle aches for the rest of the day. It wasn't too long thereafter that Q sat up.

"Coding with a keyboard," was the first thing he said and James knew what Q's trigger was.


Author's Note: Gentle readers: Happy, Merry, Blessed whatever you happen to be celebrating this time of year (even if its only an extra day off) and may the new year bring all the best for you and yours.

K2N2