The next few days were a whirlwind of diapers, bottles and sleepless nights for James Bond. He had moved the bed in his guest room off to the side and had the crib set up there and kept a baby monitor strapped to his belt while Monique slept. M had understood enough to give 007 a few days off to stay with her, and Q showed up each day after work to lend a hand so James could get some cleaning up done or a shower in. The younger man often falling asleep on the couch watching TV after the two shared some take out.

After one particularly late evening James decided to leave him there on the couch, covering him with a blanket and gently removing Q's glasses, placing them on the coffee table. James was surprised at himself when he had to stop his hand from running fingers gingerly through Q's soft curls. He was starting to feel loving affection for his quartermaster; this was new territory for him. It's not that James hadn't ever been with a man before. In his line of work that had been almost inevitable. He had never had these types of feelings for another man though, and certainly not one he worked so closely with.

Q had already let it be well-known of his sexual preferences, so James had nothing to worry about on that front. His own reputation as an equal opportunity sexual conqueror was a bit more worrisome. Would Q think less of him for his past indiscretions, would James want them to tarnish the reputation of Q? He didn't like the idea of people looking down on his quartermaster in that way, because of him.

Of course James didn't know whether Q even had those types of feelings for him. And when did Q become his quartermaster instead of the quartermaster?

James stood by the couch, looking down at the gentle man lying there, conflicting thoughts running through his mind. He had no idea how long he had stood there when a small cry came over the speaker on his hip. James quickly grabbed at the monitor to turn it off, but it was too late. Q was already sitting up, groping around for his glasses. James put a hand on his shoulder softly pressing him back down on the couch, "I've got her, and you get some more sleep." Q was about to argue but decided he didn't have the energy for it and drifted off again as James went to the kitchen to fix a bottle.

The call came on Wednesday afternoon; a place had opened up at a well-respected orphanage on the other side of London. They would be ready to take Monique in the morning. James felt a little disappointed that his time with the child was coming to an end. He knew in his heart that this was the best thing for her, but he had grown unexplainable attached to the small girl in his arms. When he dropped her off the next day the woman running the facility gave him ever confidence that Monique would be well cared for till they found her a new family.

That evening Bond was packing up all the baby items he had in his flat, and was beginning to disassemble the crib when there was a knock on the door. When he opened the door he was surprised to see his young quartermaster standing there. "I wasn't expecting you to come by tonight, figured you'd enjoy a nice quiet night finally." James was suddenly feeling angry with the man for coming by. All he was doing was reminding James of all the reasons Q didn't belong there anymore. Monique was gone, and any connection the two men had outside of the MI6 was gone with her.

"I found a nice battered woman's shelter that you can donate the crib and other items to; they are sending a truck by in the morning to collect it all." Q walked past James and into the flat. He stopped when he saw the small pile of boxes in the front hall.

"You could have told me that over the phone." James was starting to sound a bit more aggravated than he meant to. It wasn't Q's fault, deep down he knew that, but he seemed to need to lash out and Q was the only one there.

Q didn't acknowledge the sharp edge in his agent's voice, nor did he move from where he stood, "I thought I'd help you pack it all up."

"I don't need any help."

"I see that now."

"So you can just go home now." James stood by the open door, waiting for Q to leave. When he did turn, James thought he had finally gotten the hint, but instead Q reached out and closed the door.

James was about to blow up at the younger man when Q took his face in his hands and placed his lips gently on James'. "I'm going to miss her too." Q looked into James' eyes with understanding. The kiss took Bond completely by surprise and had extinguished the fires of anger inside him to be replaced by a different fire. He grabbed his quartermaster and firmly pulled the man close, then turning them both around James pressed him up against the door. James began kissing him passionately as Q's arms wrapped around his shoulders. James knew then that Q was truly HIS quartermaster.