Alison had thought that was it. She thought that there was nothing else as she kept her eyes closed, the darkness enveloping her. But then she felt the pressure leave her temple. Her entire body was shaking as she peeled her eyes open and realised that she was still in the warehouse. Her ears were ringing, but she could just about make out the noise of her name being yelled. She remained where she was on the ground, looking down to her hands and seeing that they were covered in blood. She lifted them up slightly and her eyes moved over to the side, following the trail of blood and she looked on in horror as she felt an arm go around her shoulders.

The touch dragged her out of the trance she was in and she looked to the man next to her. It was her father. He was moving a hand to her cheek, forcing her gaze to remain on him as he said something that she didn't entirely drink in. She continued to look to him as he helped her to her feet and her hearing finally came back to her, the ringing from the gunshot quietening down.

"Did she hurt you? Alison, darling, please answer me. Tell me the truth," James pleaded from his daughter, but she shook her head. She was fine.

"She didn't get a chance to," Alison promised her father as he kept her planted in front of him and his hands stayed on her shoulders as Q entered the room, gasping for breath and tugging his jacket from his shoulders at the sight of his fiancée in nothing but her underwear and tights. James moved his hands to her cheeks, looking her in the eye and trying to stop her from worrying about being covered in Jennifer's blood.

"My God, Alison," Q said, gasping at the sight of her as he came behind her and placed his jacket over her shoulders, covering her up as Bond allowed him to stand in front of him, buttoning it up to at least cover her and give her some warmth. The buttons stopped just on her chest as Madeleine entered the room as well.

"I didn't think you'd get here," Alison said, her voice shaking slightly as Q ignored the blood that covered her and took hold of her shoulders tightly, guiding her away from the warehouse with Bond the other side of her, Madeleine removing the trench coat she was wearing.

"There was a crash minutes behind you on the M62. I had to come off and go the long way round," Bond said to her as Madeleine came up behind her and draped her coat over her shoulders on top of Q's jacket. "I'm so sorry, Alison. I should never have let her take you."

"I'm fine," Alison promised her father. "You got here before she could do anything."

James didn't want to think about what would have happened if he had been any longer. He shook his head and reached for his daughter's hand, holding it tightly as Madeleine walked behind her, hand on her back. The three of them flanked her completely as they came outside and Bond pulled open the door to the backseat of the car.

"I need to sort this out," Bond said to his daughter. "Inform M that Jennifer has been stopped."

"I'll be fine," Alison promised him.

He didn't look entirely convinced by that, but he didn't argue with her, knowing that she would just continue insisting that she was fine. Alison could be stubborn when she wanted to be. He remained silent for a few seconds, but nodded his head as Madeleine went into the trunk of the car, rummaging around in Alison's bag.

"Alright," Bond said and bent down to kiss her on the forehead. "Stay here with Q and we'll be back in minutes."

"I'm fine," Alison promised him and Madeleine came back to stand in front of them, holding onto a clean skirt and a black jumper. She had wet wipes on top of them.

"There's some clean clothes," Madeleine said. They had packed a bag before leaving for Manchester in case their visit ended up going on for longer than they had planned. "I didn't know what you would want…but I can always get your bag for you to pick?"

"These are fine…thanks, Madeleine," Alison said and Q took them to stop Alison from getting more blood on them.

Bond watched as Q bundled her into the backseat and he climbed in next to her, shutting the door as Bond and Madeleine returned to the warehouse, talking amongst themselves.

"I should have stayed with you," Q said firmly as he opened the packet of wet wipes and reached for Alison's hand, wiping the dried blood from them. "I should never have let her take you. Why would you not have simply let me stay?"

"Because she would have shot you," Alison said to him as she ignored the blood on the wet wipe that he tossed into the footwell without a second thought. He plucked another one out the pack and took her other hand. "Q, she would have killed you and I couldn't cope with knowing that."

"Just like she almost killed you in there?"

"But she didn't."

"She had a gun to your head, Alison," Q deadpanned with her. "She was seconds away from-"

"-I know!" Alison interrupted with a snap, looking to Q with a harsh stare as he watched her back with pursed lips. "I know what she was about to do, Q. I remember quite well, but she didn't do it…she's dead now and I don't want to think about what could have happened. Please?"

Q sighed, but nodded his head. He suspected his taut tone and words perhaps hadn't helped his fiancée to feel at ease. He didn't mean to be annoyed or so angry, but he thought that he had lost her. Bond had picked him up at the service station and all he could think about was if they lost her.

"I'm just…I was scared, Alison," Q confessed in a whisper, satisfied that she had no blood on her hands as he took another wipe and brushed her hair from her neck, dabbing at the specks of blood on her neck, his fingers soft against her skin. "I never want to entertain the idea of losing you. Truth be told, I've seen you in these types of predicaments too many times before…and ever since what happened at Skyfall…I've done nothing but worry."

"Since Skyfall?" Alison checked with him.

Q's lips quirked up at hearing her question that. "When you were with me in Q Division I was thinking of different ways to get up the courage to ask you on a date," he admitted. "I'd known you for two days and already knew that I wanted to go on a date with you."

"You're being serious?"

"Well, I didn't think that the date would turn into anything like what we have now…a wedding on the horizon and a mortgage together," Q said.

"Worried I'd not be the right fit?"

"No, worried that your father would kill me," Q said and he made Alison chuckle at that. Despite everything, he could still make her laugh. He went to unbutton the jacket she was wearing and shrugged it from her shoulders as he wiped the blood from her chest.

"Well, you've made it this long so I think you might be safe from him killing you," Alison promised him and Q remained smirking at that. "And I'm sorry for snapping at you. I know that you worry…I mean, I worry about you too…but she's gone now. She's gone now and I don't want to let her have any hold over our lives."

"She won't," Q assured her, moving a hand to her cheek and holding it gently as he leant forwards, his forehead brushing hers. "I promise you, Alison."

Alison nodded and brushed her lips against his, the motion soft and gentle.

…

It had been three weeks since the incident with Jennifer and in that time, Alison and Q had moved into their new apartment. Alison had gone back to work, claiming that she didn't need any time off. The apartment was still not entirely decorated or the boxes completely unpacked. They had done as much as they could in between things being delivered for them, but it was proving difficult as there weren't enough hours in the day.

It was Saturday morning and Alison had intended on going for a run, but Q had other ideas. He had kept her in bed, his arm around her waist before he peeled her pyjama shirt from her and made his way down her body, kissing her gently and making her wriggle between him and the mattress. He pulled down her bottoms and Alison swore that he was going to kill her as he asked her if she still wanted to go for a run as he kissed her inner thigh. She would have had some sassy remark for him if he hadn't decided to make her moan instead, her hand weaving into his hair as he remained in between her legs. She continued groaning loudly, her fingers clinging onto his hair as he let his hands hold her hips to keep her still.

"I'll ask again," Q whispered, peering up at her with a smirk, "are you sure you want to go for that run?"

"Q, I swear that I'll not reciprocate the favour if you don't shut up," she warned him.

"Such a good threat," he mumbled before going back to making Alison moan. She was almost on the edge of release when she heard a knock on the door.

"Oh God," she groaned, but not in a tone Q was expecting. "Ignore it, they'll go away."

Q mumbled his affirmation as the knocking on the door continued and Alison's hands left Q's hair as she grabbed the bed sheet. She was so close and Q had sped up his movements, knowing exactly how to take Alison over the edge. But the knocking continued and then Bond's voice shouted through the door.

"Alison! I know you're in there!"

Alison yelled out not in pleasure, but in frustration. She moved her hand to Q's hair and shook her head, moving to sit up as he knelt on the bed, the duvet flung over his shoulders and his face red with an exasperated expression.

"Your father really does have the worst timing," Q complained and Alison grabbed hold of her shirt, tugging it onto her body and pulling her bottoms back up, ignoring the coil in her stomach that was wound so tightly and the aching of her thighs. "Can't you just get rid of him?"

"That's what I'm going to try and do," Alison said to Q and she left him to flop onto his front on the bed.

Heading through to the open spaced living and kitchen area, Alison saw her father's reflection through the glass door. She made sure she had her pyjamas on her body correctly and opened the door to reveal him stood there with Madeleine behind him.

"What is so urgent?" Alison asked, not opening the door fully to let them in.

"We're flying out to Matera in a few hours, remember?" Bond checked with his daughter. "And why are you still in bed? It's gone eleven in the morning."

"It's Saturday," Alison retorted. "And I'm an adult, dad. I can stay in bed if I want to."

"You look flushed," Bond said. "Are you ill?"

"I'm fine," Alison said. "Anyway…did you just pop by to say goodbye?"

"Yes, but we can have a drink before we go, can't we?" Bond checked with Madeleine who noted Alison's expression on her face as she nodded her head and said they had time. She soon got rid of her frown and smiled, heading back into the apartment and letting her father and Madeleine in behind her.

"Q, my dad's here," Alison called out.

She went to the kitchen as her father sat on the sofa and Madeleine sat next to him. Alison flicked the switch to the kettle, hearing it come to life and begin to boil as she dropped teabags into mugs. Q came out of the bedroom, having put on his own pyjamas, the bottoms hanging loose around his hips and his top too baggy on him. He pushed his glasses further onto his nose with his finger.

"Ah, Bond, Madeleine," Q greeted them.

"Q," Bond said. "You're still in your pyjamas too."

"Well, we had been having a lazy morning," Q declared as he moved to the kitchen and stood behind Alison at the fridge, Bond's and Madeleine's back to them as he moved a hand to her waist. "I thought that you were getting rid of them?" he mumbled into her ear.

"Have you ever tried to get rid of my dad?" she asked back from him as she closed the fridge and placed the milk on the worktop, Q still loitering behind her. "And a lazy morning?"

"Well, I'm hardly about to tell him that I was on the edge of giving his daughter an orgasm, am I?" Q retorted into her ear and she almost choked as he squeezed her thigh and she longed to push back into him as he chuckled and turned to the sink, picking up a glass up and filling it with water.

"I take it your flight to Matera is still on time?" Q asked as he drained the water before moving to take two cups of tea to the coffee table for Madeleine and Bond. Alison carried their own over and settled down on the sofa across from her father, Q sitting next to her.

"It is," Madeleine said. "We might be gone for a few weeks, but I will be back in time to help you pick out a wedding dress."

"She's insisted on that," Bond said, giving a sly glance over to Madeleine. "Anyway, we thought that it would be nice if we had time to go for brunch, but I know how long it takes you to get ready in the morning."

"Very funny," Alison drawled as she tucked her legs beneath her body and Q moved an arm over the sofa behind her, his fingers discreetly playing with the hairs at the nape of her neck, feeling her stiffen as he teased her with soft touches.

"Anyway, we'll have this and then we'll get off…leave you to it," Bond said and he sipped his tea. "Any plans for the day?"

"Not really," Alison said, moving a hand to pretend to scratch the back of her neck, pushing Q's fingers from her as she wondered if he knew what he was doing. But a look at his smug face as he picked his mug up and placed it to his lips told her that he knew exactly.

She said nothing as they lapsed into polite conversation for half an hour, talking about the flight and plans for the week. When Bond and Madeleine insisted on going, Alison saw them out, pecking her father on the cheek and embracing Madeleine warmly. Locking the door behind them, she turned to Q and folded her arms over her chest as he stood up, tidying away the mugs.

"Did you have a death wish? You know that my dad still carries a gun, right?"

"I did nothing untoward. It is not my fault if you are still so highly strung that the slightest touch causes you to squirm," he defended himself, placing the mugs into the dishwasher and closing it up as Alison continued to pout. He stood up straight and dropped his hands to his hips. "Now, are you going to stand there and sulk or do I have to come over there and drag you back to bed?"

Alison remained where she was, teasing him as he sighed and nodded. "Right then," he said to himself and moved towards her. He grabbed hold of her by the waist, pushing her forwards and tickling her sides as she laughed loudly and he dragged her back to the bedroom, both of them completely unaware that their seemingly perfect life would be disrupted when they next heard from James Bond.

…

A/N: Moving into No Time To Die slowly now, do let me know what you think in the meantime and anything you want to see!