When Q received the last text from Bond, he was already at Mercers desk trying to help the man locate his Alpha by hacking into CCTV cameras located in the area that agent was last known to be. The man was completely off the grid. When he read the text, his shoulders sagged a little bit with relief.

"He's on his way back," Q told Mercer, stepping away from the man's desk.

"You found him? How?" the sandy haired beta cried, peering at his computer screen, trying to spot Bonds tracker on the map that Q had been studying; a map that Q certainly wasn't going to admit hacking into a couple of times over the last 10 days.

"He texted me," Q told the man, dead panned, and giving a little wave of his phone.

"Oh." Mercer looked as though he wanted to say something else but held his tongue.

"Well, I'll be going then." Q turned on his heel and headed back to Q-branch. It was silly to feel the way he did, but the Omega couldn't quite help it. He knew before today that Bond was probably going to go in for the kill and would be coming home, but to have the man confirm it himself was something else.

It was business as usual at Q-branch but its Quartermaster couldn't quite concentrate. He was contemplating going to M's office to see if he could catch Bond before his debriefing, but that would be a bit ridiculous; wouldn't it? These Omega thoughts were so very confusing. He'd just spent 10 days without his Alpha... What would an extra half an hour do? He plugged in the latest USB stick he was supposed to be analysing when he heard the door to Q-branch open followed by a collective murmur from the staff. Q looked up from his screen slowly, knowing what he was going to see. Bond. A very battered and bruised James Bond. The man stormed into his office sporting a swollen eye with a small nick underneath probably from a ring that whoever had hit him was wearing. His left sleeve was soaked with blood and his right arm was clutching at his chest.

"What are you doing here, you should be in medical!" Q cried, coming around the desk to meet Bond. He reached out to the man but then thought better of it, as he wasn't sure where his injuries where.

"I wanted to make sure you where alright before M locks me away with paperwork for the rest of the day." Q-branch's doors were flung open again, admitting one of MI6's doctors, two nurses, M, Tanner, and Mercer. "Already? I thought I'd been a bit more inconspicuous than that."

Q stifled a giggle at Bonds dry wit and couldn't hold back a smirk when Bond was pushed down into a chair. "Where are you hurt, Bond?"

Bond batted the doctor away. "There's nothing you can do for me. I've two cracked ribs, a cut on my left arm not deep enough for stitches, and a soon-to-be black eye. Just give me some painkillers and go back to whatever it is you do all day."

"James!" Q admonished.

"007, these people are here to help." Mercer looked as though he was going to continue when Bond cut him off.

"I'm fine!" Bond stood up, pushing the doctor who was trying to take off his shirt to examine where the blood was coming from. He moved towards Q and stupidly the Doctor moved to follow. Q was flung behind a growling Bond's back before he knew it and M was throwing the young Doctor out of his office.

"Are you a complete idiot? They're newly mated and have been separated for 10 days. Did you even go to medical school?" The doctor paled and averted his eyes away from Bond and Q as a sign of surrender. "Get out of here." The doctor didn't need to be told twice but even after he'd left Q-Branch, 007 kept Q held behind him.

M sighed and rubbed his face. "Q, take him home and calm him down; I want you both fit to return to work in four days. You two." M nodded to the nurses. "Get 007 some painkillers." The two girls scampered off, clearly happy to be dismissed from the situation.

"What about the paperwork, Sir?" Mercer asked from where he was stood behind Tanner.

"Email it to Q; he'll make sure Bond has it filled in by 5pm tomorrow." With that, M turned on his heel and stormed through Q-Branch with Tanner and Mercer hot on his heels. "Oh, and Tanner, note this down. If anyone else from MI6 happens to mate then they're let go immediately. I refuse to go through this bollocks again."

"Can he do that?" Q asked Bond when the man finally let him go.

"No. It's against the law."

"Come on then. Can you drive?" Q moved from behind his Alpha.

"Of course."

Moneypenny met the pair at their borrowed MI6 car with a box of painkillers and a small basic first aid box. She smirked at them both. "The nurses were too afraid to come themselves. What did you do to them, Bond? M looked frightful when he came back too."

"I didn't do anything," Bond clarified, climbing into the car, leaving Q to deal with Moneypenny.

"Thanks for this." Q waved the painkillers and first aid box at her.

"Go on. I'll email when he calms down." Q nodded and joined James in the car.

When they arrived back at the flat, Q went straight for the kettle but Bond caught his wrist. "Help me?" Q just nodded and followed Bond into his room. He busied himself by collecting some warm water and a cloth while the man took his shirt off; Q couldn't help but blush a little when he returned to find Bond shirtless and waiting for him.

He washed the blood off Bond's arm and dressed the wound. The cut was probably deep enough for stitches but Q was no doctor, so he settled with the butterfly stitches he had found in the first aid box. He cleaned off the nick under the man eye too with an antiseptic wipe. He felt Bonds hand creep to the back of his neck but chose to ignore it, though when he tried to pull away the hand clamped down, stopping him. Their breaths mingled together as Bond pulled Q towards him so that their foreheads rested against each other.

"James," Q pleaded with the Alpha, confused again, not sure if he was pleading for the man to let him go or asking to be kissed.

"I'm sorry. Would you lie down with me?" Bond pulled away as Q nodded. They both climbed on to the bed, though Q felt terribly awkward, they lay down side by side and Bond took his hand.

"Tell me about your mission." And Bond did; he carried on long after Q had fallen asleep and after he had finished he too fell into the most peaceful sleep that he had had in ages.