AN: 2/5 exams down! Now I've only got infectious diseases and parasitology exam and lab exam, and anatomy lab exam. One of our lecturers is obsessed with Aliens and is dead convinced they got the idea for the facehuggers from helminth copulatory bursa - WHICH I TOTALLY AGREE THOSE THINGS ARE TERRIFYING MINIATURE FACEHUGGERY THINGS.

Seriously, if you ever want to lose your ability to eat pasta of any kind, study parasites. (I say as I scarf down spaghetti)

There may be another 2 week break in updating - next week I'm in and out of internet connections, and then the week after I'm totally out of internet connection. Then December I'm out of internet for a whole month! And while I'm out of internets, I'm going to be living on kajun smoked kahawai, smoked tuna, and garlic mussels. OMNOMNOM!

Disclaimer:

I own nothing you recognise. This is all completely un-beta'd and totally fresh off the top of my brain!It takes Alice a few minutes to get ready. Alec and James spend those minutes facing off against one another: James glaring balefully, Alec trying hard not to burst out laughing.

005 hands the package to Q. "Scan it, make sure it's safe," he says. Q nods and puts it on his desk beside him, pulling what looks like a bastardisation between an ultrasound scanner and a karaoke microphone. 005 turns to Alice, who is safely ensconced in Q's sofa with her headphones on and one of those new Game Boy – no, Nintendo … what were they again? DS! - things in her hands.

005 suspects he's going to need to do a bit of a gaming technology update. It's been a long time since he's used technology for much other than cooking, cleaning, spying or killing. 005 taps the top of the screen and grins when she looks up and almost at him.

"Hello, Finn," she says, pulling off her headphones.

"You ready to go home? I've got some kahawai to make for dinner," he says, and she immediately perks up. "You like kahawai?" She nods vigorously.

"It's yum. Frank used to give us kahawai when we went on holiday when I was younger." She shrinks back in on herself. 005's eyes widen and he flaps his hands in distress.

"Well this is a bit of a speciality of mine, it's lemon and orange and parsley baked on a fantastic risotto," he burbles. "And for desert I have the most divine dark chocolate mousse." He's not entirely sure if 'chocolate' or 'mousse' is the magic work, but it does the trick and Alice beams again, shoulders slowly dropping to a somewhat more normal level.

Q hands him the package. Alice's eyes alight on it with some level of curiosity.

"And this came in from Nicky," he says quickly, offering it up to her. "Another colleague of James and I. It's probably knitting of some sort. She's become a bit obsessed these last few years." Alice peels the seal apart and sticks her fingers inside. 005 stops himself from cringing – but only just. Q wouldn't have given the package back if it wasn't totally safe for Alice.

She pulls out a scarf. Only it's not the Ugly Scarf the rest of the double-ohs have been so blessed with from 002 (some kind of hideously lumpy, awfully scratchy monstrosity in varying spastic colours – 005 hid his in the back of his closet a long time ago. 006 burned his. He's fairly sure 007 actually blew his up) but rather a sleek and elegant lace design in iridescent blues and greens and purples and they all breathe a quiet 'oh'. She wraps it around her neck. It makes her eyes pop out. She smiles at the corner of the scarf in her hands. "I don't even know her. Can you tell her thank you? It's beautiful," she says, rubbing the knitting against her cheek. "And it's so soft."

Q and 005 stand, stunned, while she gets off the couch and goes out into the open plan Minion Den to retrieve her bear dog.

"I don't think double-oh-two likes me very much, then," Q eventually says.

"I don't think double-oh-two likes anyone very much," 005 replies. "All us double-ohs received the most hideous coloured scratchy lumpy scarves you could ever want."

"She sent me a lumpy sweatshirt. I gave it to my cats."

"I hid the scarf in the back of my closet. Say, would your cats like a scarf?" 005 asks.

"They seem to love the jumper, so I don't see why not," Q replies.

"I'll bring it in next time I remember."

"Appreciated."

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