Danny looked up at the intimidating building in front of him. Fate was playing tricks with him, he thought. Of all the places he never wanted to visit, let alone work for, MI6 would have to be at the very top of that list. And yet, here he was, pretending to be someone he wasn't, trying to play his part in a game, he didn't understand half of. And why? Because a man recognised their resemblance? Because Alex had started something, only Danny could help stopping again? Safe Queen and country? Q had tried that line, but James had known right away that it wouldn't work on Danny.

James. Danny remembered him as the steady presence of the past three days. Q had made lists, explained connections, the routines, showed photographs, building layouts. James had made sure, Danny was well cared for. Food and drink within reach and somehow, James had understood Danny's need for physical touch. Danny smiled sadly. James let him curl up in his arms on the sofa, while Danny tried to understand Q's written instructions or commit names and faces to memory. Twice, Danny had fallen asleep in James' lap. When he woke up a few hours later, Q would be curled up on James' other side, listing a new set of instructions or discussing some of the need to know gossip from MI6.

No, it was not Queen and country Danny had in mind when he entered the building. It was the thought, however tacit, that he might come to understand an aspect of Alex' life, he never had been a part of. Never had tried to pry into, because he understood the need to keep it secret. How many times in the past months had he asked himself, what if? What if he had known? What if he could have helped? Yeah, Danny thought, helping a genius. As if. Smiling at his own stupidity, he shrugged the thoughts about the past off, concentrating on the task ahead of him.

Moneypenny happened to be in the lobby right when 'Q' came back from his mandatory leave, which had been could short because some new developments regarding Bond's latest mission needed Q's attention. Coincidentally, this same morning the papers had been reporting the assumed suicide of one Daniel Edward Holt, whose car and a few of his belongings together with an ambiguous note had been found at a solitary beach. Photographs of both Danny and one Alistair Turner were brought inside the paper, other events deemed worthier as front page news.

Danny was all to aware of the cameras following his progress through the building to M's office. Moneypenny talking with a certain kind of gravity about Bond's latest mission, while Danny followed with a worried look on his face. No need to pretend, he was genuinely worried, about the news, about how he would cope during the next hours. He had to pull this through, to help James and Q, to help himself understand what Alex had been working on and why he had been killed.

Moneypenny had repeatedly glanced at him, disbelieving. Danny couldn't blame her. After James had finished shaving him and cutting his hair, and Q had shown him how to use the contacts together with the glasses, Danny looked exactly like Q. Same height, same build, same face. Only one difference was obvious. Q happy and excited; Danny sad and worried. Perfect for what lay ahead of them.

Officially, Q and Moneypenny were being briefed in M's office on the situation regarding 007's latest mission and his subsequent disappearance. Unofficially, Mallory and Moneypenny rehearsed the upcoming events with main incident would be the email, explaining about finding Bond's DNA in the rubble of the building, he blew up before disappearing. Danny would have to fake a breakdown, restrained of course, and would be excused from further duty that day. All in all, Danny would have to keep up appearances for a few hours, before he could leave for Q's flat. That would be his next challenge, though hopefully easier, since he only had to convince a pair of friendly cats about his good intentions. At least that was what Q had tried to make Danny believe. James had looked a lot less certain when the word 'friendly' had been said in connection with especially one of the cats. Nothing, Danny should be worrying about right now.

Tanner arrived a little later to the meeting and was the one to take Danny down into Q-branch. Like Moneypenny, Tanner couldn't help a look of disbelieve when he first saw Danny. With Q's laptop bag slung over his shoulder and a tablet in his hands, Danny was Q. Even the way he walked changed slightly, letting him become the other man.

Danny took a deep breath and entered Q-branch. Q's minions greeted him with sad smiles. They probably knew more about Q's relationship with James than Danny had been able to piece together in the short time, he had known both of them. He had felt the deep affection the two men had for each other. Q a bit apprehensive at times, while James would show a gentle tenderness towards Q. A small peck on the cheek, brushing his fingers through Q's hair. Danny understood far too well, why Q's employees would feel sorry for him.

007's disappearance had been the main concern for the past days and unofficially the cause for Q's mandatory leave. Officially it had been a small breakdown by Q due to sleep deprivation and total exhaustion, because Q had tried to ensure 007's secure retrieval. Failing to do so, M had to order Q to go on a short holiday, away from his everyday life.

Tanner walked with Danny to Q's desk in the middle of the room.

"I'll get you a cup of tea from your office," Tanner said conversationally, making sure Danny knew where Q's office was located. It would be Danny's safe place once its security was engaged and the blinds drawn. Sadly, he would not be able to hide in there for the time being.

When Tanner returned, Danny made sure to prepare himself for the onslaught of sugar with a few drops tea, as he had come to call it. One of the unfortunate deviations of Q, since Danny preferred his tea with a bit of milk and no sugar at all. He thanked Tanner, who fiddled a bit with his papers, before he excused himself, leaving Danny alone and in charge.

Q's laptop opened the relevant programmes automatically, once Danny had applied password and a fingerprint scan. The latter by using a standard issue adhesive tape with Q's fingerprints imprinted on. A bit tedious to wear all day, but compared to the other challenges, it was somehow grounding whenever Danny touched something. Also, it gave him pause in a way which matched Q's controlled and measured movements. Always in control, always deliberate.

Danny had tried to catch some of Q's mannerisms, small oddities, James pointed out to him during the past three days. Sometimes, Q would protest mildly, most of the times he would just get a faint rosy flush on his cheeks. Danny would excuse himself in those situations, since James typically started a small snogging session right away, which only would help increase Q's embarrassment.

A small nudge brought Danny back to the present. One of Q's minions, R Danny recalled, had taken the empty mug and returned with a fresh brew. Danny smiled shyly and muttered a 'thank you', apparently engrossed in the numbers and codes rolling over the screen in front of him. Keeping his voice low, Danny would have no problems in sounding like Q. It had been one of the problems, Q hadn't found an easy solution for. Comparing their voices, even if they were close, there were differences. Since Q would be grief stricken and had had a couple of rough days before he resurfaced at Q-branch, any anomalies could be blamed on the circumstances and his physical exhaustion, which despite M's best efforts still was all too visible.

Danny was left alone, once R had reported some of her new findings on the layout and structure of the building 007 had blown up. Scrolling through different programmes, reading some of Q's notes on various projects, making fake notes and amendments, Danny began to relax. He went for a third cup of tea, this time making one himself, since Q was known for his excessive tea consumption, dutifully filling sugar upon sugar into the cup while cringing inside at the prospect of having to drink it.

Danny went through the motions, waiting for the small ping of a new email, eventually announcing the results of the DNA analysis. By the time he had managed to drink the third cup, the email alert sounded twice. He almost dropped the cup, tried to open the email as fast as possible, hitting several keys simultaneously, managing to open two different messages at the same time. The first message showing that the DNA results were a match with 007; the second message obscured by the first one, just the last few lines visible on the screen.

And then he dropped the cup.

And cried out, eyes wide as he stared at the screen in front of him.

He covered his mouth with his left hand, grabbling for his mobile and the laptop with the other, almost shattering both to the floor. Somehow Danny managed to enter Q's office, get the security engaged and the blinds closed. Then he scrambled to the far end of the office and slid down the wall, facing the office door, now closed and locked.

It took several minutes before Danny got his breathing under control. Tears were streaming down his face and his whole body was shaking. The room was quiet and any commotion outside of the door was muted. He couldn't care less about what went on outside right now. Slowly, fearfully, he reopened the laptop, entered the password, scanned the fingerprint. He closed his eyes just before the emails became visible on the screen once again. He sat with closed eyes, laptop on the floor in front of him, mobile close by. Afraid. Afraid that he had dreamt the whole thing. That it had been an illusion, because he missed Alex so much. Even now, after all these months. He missed him with every fibre of this being.

Danny dared himself to open his eyes. He looked away from the laptop at first, having to adjust the contacts, the glasses as well. The tears were drying up, and he cleaned his nose before he closed his eyes, turned his head and opened his eyes to look directly at the screen gleaming in front of him.

It wasn't a dream. The signature on the second mail, the one Danny had opened by accident, stood out clearcut on the screen.

0000001

Danny blinked several times, wanting to be absolutely certain. He reached for the small cylinder, the one thing he couldn't leave behind when he had walked into the water. And the one thing, he would not concede, no matter how much of a risk it posed if discovered by the wrong person. Q and James had been told its story. They didn't even try to convince him otherwise.

Now he held the cylinder in his trembling fingers. Turned the small wheels. One by one.

0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 1.

With a small click the cylinder opened, and Danny clutched the two parts in his hands. He wanted to tear the adhesive tape off his fingers, wanted to feel the edges and curves on his skin. Not now. Not yet. Instead, he put the cylinder together again, turned the small wheels and let it disappear once again under his clothes.

His initial panic had been replaced by an almost eerie feeling of calm. He took up the laptop and read slowly through the message.

Telecommunications Relay Services

E.R.T. CEPS

London, United Kingdom

Dear Friend,

I am Mr Joe Shaw, director of Telecommunications Relay Services, United Retail London:

during our investigation, i discovered The abandoned shipment from a diplomat Muller from united kingdom. Net.

It was kept under our facility in New York. and when scanned it revealed an undisclosed sum of money in a Trunk Box weighing approximately 51 kg.

The Consignments are one box with weight of about 52kg

(Internal dimension: W57 x H66 -D0.155(cm).

Effective capacity: 129 L.)Approximately.

I wish to present your name and information as the recipient of the consignment if you agree to cooperate with me and both of us will benefit from this deal.

You will need to provide your full name,Phone Numbers and the nearest Airport around your location.

All communication must be held extremely confidential. I can get everything concluded upon your acceptance and proceed to your address for delivery.

I look forward to your response.

Mr Joe Shaw

director

0000001

This didn't make sense. Danny reread the mail several times, getting more and more frustrated. This was obviously a spam message, something, he would have thought Q had put some kind of filter up to avoid. Wouldn't he? Danny looked at the name once more. 'Joe Shaw'. 'Joe' like the name, Alex used the second time they met. And 'Shaw' like the professor, Alex' mentor. This was no coincidence. This message had to be from Alex. It just had to be. And Q would be able to decode it. To tell him, what it meant. Where Alex was. How they would get him back.