Authors Note: I would like to dedicate this chapter to a certain Ella. I've made a new friend and if this story was going to result in anything (aside from some shameless ego-stroking and the faint chance of a phone call from Sam Mendes) then I'm glad it was her.

And thank you. If it wasn't for your reading and reviewing, this thing probably wouldn't get written because the weight of self-doubt on my hands would be too much.

Woffles92 x

It took a little longer than I expected to come down from my post kiss high. He hadn't exactly made the earth move under my feet. However, the euphoria of feeling wanted, regardless in a platonic or romantic relationship was slow to fade. By Monday morning my cheeks were sore from smiling all day Sunday. It was moments like that, when a 23 year old couldn't sleep because every time she closed her eyes all she could do was giggle and think of a peck on the cheek that I remembered what my mother had once told me about growing up. She had said, "You know that bolt of lightening you expect to hit on one of your birthdays when you're a teenager? That magical jolt that suddenly makes you an adult? Yeah, that never happens. You never feel 'older' except maybe that people younger than you become progressively more annoying." Maybe every new crush would make me feel like this. Would I still get butterflies when I was in my thirties, forties, fifties?

There was, however, still the small matter of our first encounter, post one night stand with my best friend. I tried not to think about this as much as I could. It made me a little uncomfortable.

We exchanged our morning greetings as usual on Monday as I made my way across campus, following the tracks left in the snow from the early risers. It was coming up to 11am, just as I was about to make my way to the kitchen for a cup of tea when the server went down and the simulation I had been running crashed.

"Damnit," I groaned, pushing my hair back angrily from my face.

"What's wrong?" Q asked, concerned.

"Server is down," I replied automatically, forgetting that he only existed in my ear.

"I know." Georg's head popped over the top of the desk divide. "I was going to reset it. Would you like to come and see? It would be useful for when I am not here to save you!"

I agreed. We descended the stairs outside the computer room.

"The code is 1234," he explained as he punched the numbers, the added with a laugh, "They should really change it someday." The hallway was undecorated with exposed piping along the roof. Boxes waiting to find a proper home were stacked against the wall. The server room was hot from the constantly running computer towers. Georg showed me how to reset them safely. Even though I knew exactly what he was talking about, I saved his ego and let him explain. Even if they knew how good I was with computer programming, it always surprised people how much I knew about the actual electrical workings of a computer. Mostly I assumed their surprise originated from my gender. Whatever their reasons, it just suited me to keep the extent of my knowledge to myself.

As we walked back up the corridor, Dr Gardiner stepped out of one of the other doors. When he saw us, he closed it quickly behind him. "Georg, Anna, what are you doing down here?" He seemed very concerned about our presence despite the fact that I hadn't seen any signs to show that this part of the building was restricted.

"Server went down," Georg explained.

"And you've fixed it," his expression was harsh, like he was trying to find some reason to reprimand us.

"It should be, we're just going to check now."

"Fine." He turned on his heel and disappeared down the hall.

After we were out of earshot, I asked Georg, "Is he always so…angry?"

"He is the age to retire," he said, "But he doesn't want to go and he is always worried. At least, that is what we think upstairs." I gave a nod of understanding. "Anna, can I ask you for some help? I don't have an sisters and I don't want to tell Mama yet, but it's Carrie's birthday soon and I'm not sure what to get her."

All thoughts of Dr. Gardiner evaporated from my mind. "Of course!" I paused to think. Carrie seemed more of a 'typical' girl than I was. Whatever typical was. "It's a good place to start with something that she already has a lot of."

"She has a lot of make-up. Maybe too much for me but it is her face, she can put on whatever she likes."

I gave a dismissive shake of my head. "Makeup is very personal. Does she like any TV shows or Movies?"

"She has a lot of books." I'd never held books in as high regard as I did their visual counterparts. On print, all the characters seemed to blend together but each to their own.

"What type of books?" He shrugged. "Why don't you just ask if there is an author or a genre that she likes? She'll appreciate you asking and getting her something she really wants better than a surprise."

Georg smiled and gave a nod of his head, "You are right, of course."

I was wiping down the crumbs from my desk after lunch when I noticed a familiar warning notice had flashed up onto my screen. The server was down again. Across the room Georg said something very loud in German. Although I didn't speak two words of the language, it was clear he wasn't complimenting the computer.

"It's okay, I'll get it," I said across the room. He called back thanks. I retraced my footsteps and entered the basement. In the noisy, clammy server room, I repeated the resetting procedure. There were several switches that were 'OFF' that I was almost sure I had watched Georg switch 'ON' ealier. Out in the hallway, I caught sight of the door that Dr. Gardiner had exited hastily earlier in the day. If anyone was going to hide something, a secret operation that involved the disappearing of MI6 prodigies, this would be the place to do it. Intrigued, I crossed and tried the door. It was locked of course.

"You don't happen to know anything about how to pick a lock?" I asked Q.

"Is it electronic?"

"No."

"Then I'm afraid not."

"Well, would Bond?"

A short, sharp laugh erupted in my ear. "There is nothing so subtle as lock picking in 007's repertoire. He'd sooner blow the whole door off with semtex."

"That's a no then." I tried the door again, twisting the handle and pushing harder than I had before in case it had been jammed.

"Miss Winterman?" I spun around. Dr Gardiner was standing several feet down the hallway. In the sparse lighting, I could see the thunder clouding his face. "What are you doing?"

I faltered for only a moment. "Oh, thank goodness you're here. You don't know how to get into the server room do you?"

He pointed at the door level with him. "This is the server room."

"Oh! Silly me. Everything down here looks exactly the same," I said, feigning innocence. Turning, I walked towards both him and the server room. As I passed him, he hooked his hand into the inside of my elbow and grabbed me tightly.

"Just because you're Professor Reinhard's wonder girl doesn't mean you can prance around like you own the place. Take care Miss Winterman."

He walked down to the room that I'd been attempting to break into. From his pocket he took a key, inserted it into the door and turned. With a final glare, he opened it and slammed it shut behind him. In the silence I could hear the click, indicating that he had locked it from the other side. The only other sound that could be heard was the distant hum of the fans from the server room. The earpiece crackled into life.

"Just in case you were looking for an indication of suspicious activity… that was it."

When I got home, there was an email waiting for me. The email address and subject heading was just a load of jumbled letters and numbers. It was a wonder it had gotten past my spam filter. I decided to read it anyway.

It read:

Anna, sorry for the strange address, it is protocol to have them untraceable. I've spoken to a few people and they assure me that the document I have attached is helpful. –Q

The PDF was a how-to on lock picking. It explained the various different household appliances you could use; including a hair pin. I thought that one was just something people in the movie business made up. It would appear not. Just then, there was a knock at my door. I opened it to see Georg, Lindsay and Mei-Lein standing there.

"It's Carrie's 21st birthday on Monday, we're going to have a skip day and take her to the ice rink" Lindsay explained.

"It's not really a skip day," Georg retorted, "Dr Gardiner is away at a conference in Zurich, and Carrie and Lindsay only have class in the morning."

"I'm the only one actually skipping anything important," Mei laughed.

"Sure, I'm in!" I agreed with a smile. Just as the door clicked back into its frame, there was a short sharp pain in my ear. I gave a yelp of surprise. Confused, I looked around, to see if there was a rogue wasp or something that I had failed to notice. I checked in the mirror, but there was no mark. Then it happened again. Another startled cry leapt from my mouth. Frantically I took out my earrings, trying to see if there was anything behind the studs that I was missing, like a cut or something. Then, the sharp pain came again, this time it shot through my fingers causing me to drop the earrings. Whatever was happening, it was my earrings that were causing it. My eyebrows were raised so far into my hairline with confusion that it almost hurt my face. Suddenly, the realisation punched me in the gut. I stormed across the room, grabbed the earpiece off my desk. Then I got down onto the floor where I'd dropped my earrings and yelled into them.

"Did you just electrocute me you little fucker?"

"Anna, my apologies but-"

"No, no, you don't get to get out of this by saying you're sorry."

"If you will just let me explain. I needed to get your attention and it was the only way that I could think of at short notice."

"This better be good Q." I fumed.

"I know you would quite like to enjoy celebrating the anniversary of your friend's birth, however, I think it would be a great oversight of you not to take the opportunity of Dr Gardiners absence to explore that room of his."

I heaved out a frustrated sigh. Not just because he had a point, but that it would mean having to miss out of the ice skating fun. "Yeah. Alright. I better learn how to pick a lock then."

"It would be helpful. I'll make a note for next time to turn down the voltage on the-"

"Oh no. There won't be a next time. If you so much as think about electrocuting me again I will knock you out, and bury you in the snow and leave you there until you're a Q-sickle. I could do it you know, you're skinny and I can't imaging you'd put up much of a fight."

There was a pregnant pause. "But, how do I contact you when you're not wearing your earpiece?"

"Like. A. Normal. Person. Here's an idea, you could call my phone!"

"But, I don't have your number." He protested.

I was so close to ripping out a chunk of hair. "You hacked my bank account and made the a Union Jack dance across the screen of an ATM. Of course you know my number."

"You said that I should stop hacking you to get your information."

I wanted to scream. "There is a time and a place. If you really need to call me then it is okay to break into my government file and get-" I broke off having heard what could only be a poorly concealed snigger. I took in a deep breath. "You're just messing with me aren't you?"

"Perhaps."

I wanted to strangle him. "You're such an asshole," I yelled. Then, as I reached to pull out the earpiece, he had his defiant last say. He electrocuted me again. Using a discarded T-shirt, I bundled up the earpiece and earrings and stuffed them under the bed. The most annoying thing of all was that, he could zap me as much as he liked with his gadgets, and it wouldn't come close to the buzz I'd felt with his lips against my cheek.