Alison had said nothing ever since her father had shown the recording to Q. Both of them had been discussing what it could mean and what it was that M truly wanted from them. Alison had curled herself onto the sofa, her chin on the top of her kneecaps as she pulled at the skirt she wore down her thighs. James would often look over to his daughter as he spoke with Q, wondering if she was still upset with what Q had said to her earlier.

James didn't particularly want to discuss what Q had said, but it seemed Alison did. Q must know that Alison would never intentionally lie to him. She adored him more than James cared to admit. In fact, James hated admitting that his only daughter had someone else in her life.

It was only when there was a knock on the door did James move to answer it, leaving Alison and Q alone in the open spaced living room. Q turned his gaze to Alison, pushing his glasses further onto his nose before he watched her stand up and leave. She headed down the small corridor towards her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Sighing, Q wondered if his words had upset her that much. He was upset, in some sense. He had thought that they were close; that Alison would trust him to know everything happening in her life. Of course, this wasn't happening in her life, but in her father's life. Q could appreciate that, but it still hurt him more than he cared to admit.

Standing up, Q adjusted the shirt he wore in his trousers before looking to the door where Bond was speaking with someone who sounded distinctly like Moneypenny. Q ignored them and followed after Alison, daring to tap gently on her door before entering without a response. The room was dark, only a small light on her bedside table illuminated the room.

Q took a moment to glance around, noting the large boxes in the corner of her bedroom. A double bed occupied the room along with a white antique dresser and drawers. A matching wardrobe stood on the wall by the door. The curtains were drawn and bunting hung from the ceiling above her. Clothes were strewn all around and the floral duvet on her bed was messily made.

"Alison," Q spoke her name as he noted her picking clothes up from the floor and folding them. "What I said-"

"-I know," Alison said, refusing to look him in the eye for a few moments. "I know what I did. I lied to M. I lied to you. I didn't know what else to do…dad had gone off…and he told me to say nothing."

"I know," Q said, softly closing the door and standing awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. "I know, Alison…but…I thought…well…you can trust me. You know that you can trust me. I wouldn't have told anyone about it, but I understand. You didn't wish to betray your father's confidence."

Alison scoffed then, shaking her head as she did so. "I don't know, Q. You work with dad too. I guess I thought it was safer for you to remain ignorant, besides, everyone there knows we're dating. I don't want you to get into trouble."

Q chuckled then, moving around her bedroom and looking at the photographs sat on top of her dresser. Her mother featured in a couple, whilst Bond featured in one. He looked reluctant, but it had been Christmas and Alison had made him cook with her whist wearing a ridiculous snowman apron. Q was with her in a few, stood in the park underneath a tree as it rained heavily. Everything had been quiet after Skyfall. And now it was al change. The happy memories on Alison's dresser seemed a distant memory somehow.

"Let's just forget this happened," Q said. "I have no intention of fighting with you over this. I believe our first proper argument should be over something much more substantial."

Alison looked over to him with a raised brow then. "We have argued before, Q."

Q shook his head then, "I don't think arguing over taking the wrong tube line counts as an argument."

Alison laughed then and Q was grateful to see a resemblance of a smile enter her face. She shook her head slowly before placing the clothes away in the dresser by Q. He moved his hand to the small of her back and she turned her head to look up to him, offering him that smile he had grown to love. She remained still as the quartermaster bent down to quickly press his lips against hers.

"Everything will work out," he assured her and she sighed lowly.

"I don't know," she said. "I never knew about my dad's job until…until Silva, but now? Now I don't know what will happen, neither does my dad. He's not indestructible, Q. Bullets don't bounce off him."

"Ali," Q whispered lowly and she shrugged.

"What? It's true," she counteracted to him. "You know as well as I that he can't defy everything."

"Then speak with him," Q urged. "Talk to him."

"Why?" Alison scoffed. "You know as well as I do that he will just go out and do what M asked of him."

"And if he doesn't?" Q wondered back.

"I just can't see him getting a desk job, can you?"

….

James almost found it a thrill when it came to taunting Q. Standing in the kitchen and watching as Alison said her goodbyes for the evening caused James to arch his brow. He could see Q looking at him from over Alison's shoulder, almost pushing him not to do anything he might regret. Unfortunately for Bond, Q had almost grown immune to Bond's threatening mannerisms. If anything, it entertained him more than anything.

Besides, Alison would barely let Bond shoot him.

Closing the door, Alison leant against the wood before glancing to her father as he sipped at the bottle of beer he held in his hands. She looked at him with a questioning glance.

"And what do you do now?"

The question hung in the air and Bond awkwardly shrugged his shoulders to her. He placed the bottle down on the side, his hands holding the kitchen worktop as Alison began to place the uneaten stir fry into a box to save for later. She doubted anyone would eat it considering the late hour.

"Sciarra." Alison spoke his name. "Who was he really?"

"I don't know," James admitted to his daughter before moving his hand into the pocket of his trousers.

He pulled out the ring he had confiscated before handing it to Alison as she came to stand by his side. James looked down to his daughter as she studied it with intrigue, her brow furrowing and her forehead creasing. She twirled it around in her hands, examining it before glancing to her father.

"What is it?"

"A ring."

"I can see that," Alison said, not taking too kindly to his dry words. "But what does the inscription mean?"

"That's why I'm going to Rome," James informed her. "I'm going to find out."

"Rome?" Alison checked with him, nodding her head slowly as she placed the ring on the shiny black worktop, moving to wrap her arms around her as she wandered from the kitchen and towards the sofa in the living room.

James sighed as he watched her move. He knew his daughter than any other woman in his life. Women were mainly a mystery to him, yet he could read Alison. He suspected that was because she was a part of him. She was his own flesh and blood. She was the only thing he had worth caring for.

He could remember the first time he had been told that he had a daughter. He remembered standing there in disbelief when her mother had told him. How was it even possible? He was young back then, much younger than he was now. He had worried about being able to care for her, and for a long time he had been a distant part of her life. Marie thought that he never cared for her. She couldn't have been more wrong if she had tried. He kept away because he cared, not because he didn't. Being close to Alison brought nothing but pain.

Yet he had no option now. She was as alone as he had been. James remembered growing up alone, and he knew that he could never make Alison endure the same pain.

"Ali," James said lowly.

"What?" she wondered back, folding her legs underneath her as James moved to sit next to her on the sofa. "Am I supposed to be okay with this? Like…am I supposed to be understanding? Sit here and pretend that I'm not scared you won't walk back through that door? I can't do that…I'm not…"

"Sh," James soothed her, moving to take her into his embrace. He allowed her to rest her chin on his shoulder, the feeling of her hair tickling his face not deterring him as he cupped the back of her head tenderly in his large palm. "I know, Ali."

"Do you?" Alison asked of him, sniffing. "Do you have any idea what it is like, dad? To know that the only family you have left might walk through that door and never come back?"

"I will come back."

"How can you sit there and promise that?" Alison asked of him.

"Because I have something to come back to," James responded, sitting back and moving his hands to her cheeks, his thumbs wiping away the tears stained on her pale skin. "I won't leave you."

"But you won't give this up," she replied. "And that scares me. I can't leave you, but I don't want to wake up every morning and worry about identifying your body in a morgue."

James squinted his eyes closed for a moment. "Are you asking me to give this up?"

"Would you give this up?" Alison quickly retorted.

They both knew the answers to the questions. Neither of them were willing to do that. It destroyed Alison more than she cared to admit at the moment in time. Her father would never give this up, not for her and not for anyone else. And that was all there was to it. He had to discover the importance of Sciarra. His intrigue outweighed anything else he felt. But also his fear of what would happen if he didn't find out.

"After I go to Rome, we shall discuss this," James promised her. "Until then, you need to understand that I have to discover what this ring means."

"And that is that then," Alison said, not entirely comfortable with the idea. She suspected it was the most of a compromise she would get from her father. "I don't know what to say anymore."

"You don't need to say anything," James assured her, daring to kiss the top of her head. "I would be comfortable if you did stay with Q whilst I am gone, as useless as he is, I have no doubt that he would do anything to protect you…well…I suspect you protect him more than anything."

Alison barely managed a smile at hearing that. Shaking her head back and forth, she understood that he was trying to make her feel better about the situation, but she doubted anything would make her feel that much better.

"You must think I'm ridiculous," Alison mumbled. "I'm sat here crying and you're the one who is actually going out there."

James shook his head seriously, "I think nothing of the sort, Ali. I understand that this is difficult for you, honestly, I do. We will discuss this when I return, but you need to trust me when I say that I will return as soon as possible. I don't intend to drag this mission out."

Alison looked confused then. "Is this even a mission?" she wondered. "M didn't know about Mexico. Does he know about this?"

James shifted in his seat uncomfortably at that one. He didn't particularly wish to tell her that he intended to drag her boyfriend into this mess. No doubt she wouldn't enjoy hearing that. Alison didn't particularly mind Q working where he did, but she didn't like the fact that he worked alongside her father when he spent his entire time trying to taunt the computer genius.

"No," James said. "And I have no idea what he would say if he found out, but I suspect he wouldn't be too happy."

"No," Alison agreed. "He wasn't best pleased when I went to see him today. He's very intimidating, and not in a nice way."

"Is there a nice way to be intimidating?" James asked from her, wondering what she was speaking of.

"No, I guess not, anyway, that's not really the point," Alison backtracked. "The point is that he is going to be pissed off when he finds out you've gone rogue."

James smirked. "No doubt," he agreed. "Anyway, you should get some rest. I'll wake you before I leave tomorrow. I need to head to Q Branch before I can leave anyway."

Alison nodded, untangling herself from her father's arms. "What time is your flight?"

"About one," James said. "Do you not have work tomorrow?"

"Yes," Alison complained. "But I'll see you before you leave anyway."

Alison bent down to kiss him on the cheek before managing a soft smile and moving down to her bedroom, knowing full well that things were very different this time.