Wild Surmises

Q stared at the tablet screen he was holding in his hands. Medical had run just about every test they could on Alec without physically being able to get near him, as well as a few blood tests from the rather sickeningly large collection of bandages left in the extraction vehicle. The results… weren't good. Elevated temperature, high levels of adrenaline and testosterone, increased heart rate…

They gave him six hours before his organs would start to collapse.

Q had watched him over the office monitors for the previous three.

Unless Alec was somehow calmed down in the next two hours or so, his blood vessels would start to cave in, leading to suffocation, heart attacks, and eventually death. The problem was, medical couldn't find any cure or solution to the hormone drug in any of the files the agent had managed to download. It made sense that General Orumoruv wouldn't want the alphas to survive after their rage - less evidence, that way - but if the man was even half as suspicious and paranoid as 006 had described, then Q was certain that the ex-KGB enforcer would have a back-up plan.

Unfortunately for them, he apparently hadn't seen it fit to write down.

Q followed Alec's pacing on the camera in front of him and considered their options. The first, and by far the least preferable, was to simply wait it out and hope that the hormone drug fully ran through his system in the next two hours and fifty-seven minutes. If it did, then great, but if it didn't, then it would be far too late to try anything else, not to mention the fact that he could easily bleed out from his injuries between now and then as well, so the Quartermaster refused to take that chance.

The second option was to send the rest of the alpha's pack into the holding cell with him and hope that they could pin him in place long enough for medical to stitch him up. It would solve the blood loss problem, but not the drug problem, and there was always a chance that Alec could end up injuring others or himself even further when cornered by five alphas. There was also the tiny little slight other problem of the fact that the double-0s were currently nowhere to be seen. Q wondered if Alec had somehow managed to give them a heads-up or if they could simply sense when one of their own was very firmly in kill mode and wouldn't hesitate to rip the throats out of his packmates.

It also didn't help matters that his mind kept recalling that one article he read way back when he was four when the family's red setter died. Dogs always know when a packmate is dying, and they always, always leave them alone to pass away in peace.

The omega hoped to god that that wasn't the case here.

And then, finally, there was option number three.

Q watched as the man paced back and forth on screen, still growling, still snarling, still limping and bleeding and hurting and-

"Fuck it".

This was the time Alec usually gave his daily check-in anyway, so it wasn't as if he didn't even have the next hour free after all.

"R? You got the comm".

The woman frowned, walking over to him with more than a little bit of concern as he placed the taser he always carried on the desk in front of him.

"What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes as he began emptying out his pockets.

"Something either unbelievably stupid or incredibly genius" he replied honestly, patting himself down to make sure he had no more weapons - or anything that a particularly crafty agent could use as a weapon.

"Quartermaster" R warned, "If you're about to do what I think you are-"

"Then don't think" he interrupted, finally turning to face her, "If I don't do this, then he will die".

"If you do do this, then you will die!"

"And I expect a very extravagant funeral. Lots of flowers. A ton of tears. Maybe even a eulogy from the Queen".

"Q… I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?"

"Nope!" he replied with fake cheeriness, before leaning forward to kiss her cheek, "So take care of my minions, will you?"

His earlier assumption about the two-way mirror had been correct, or at least, half correct, considering that Bill was nowhere in sight. Instead, it was M and Eve who stood on the other side of the interrogation cell, watching through the glass as Alec continued to pace. Letting the door loudly click shut behind him, he wasn't surprised as they both gave him a startled look.

"Quartermaster".

"Sir". He nodded. "I want to go in".

M blinked. "Go… in?"

He gestured at the cell. "To 006. I believe I can calm him down".

"How?!"

Q raised a solitary eyebrow, and the man at least had the decency to blush.

"Your… status doesn't automatically mean-"

"With all due respect, sir" he interrupted smoothly, "My 'status' is about the only thing we have that can help this situation. 006 knows me".

"006 isn't aware of anything right now. He could cause you irreparable damage, omega or not! You're too good an asset to lose, Q".

"And so is 006, an asset that we will lose if you don't let me do this!"

M still looked unconvinced, but thankfully Eve came to his rescue.

"Sir, Q has had success with calming down post-mission double-0s in the past. Yes, the agents in question were never quite this… agitated, but Q's the only omega 006 trusts. Sending an alpha in will only exacerbate the situation, and a beta won't be able to help at all".

"Quartermaster…"

"He won't hurt me" Q said, only slightly faking the confidence in voice, "And you're not telling me to do this, sir, I'm offering. If anything does go wrong, then it's all on me".

Mallory studied him closely for a moment before giving a sharp, albeit reluctant, nod. The man had quite literally broken every single rule in the book within the first day of his appointment to M, after all, just to keep James bloody Bond alive, so Q wasn't exactly surprised that the alpha was willing to bend a few other guidelines too.

Although to be fair, he very seriously doubted that there were guidelines for what he was about to do.

Giving Eve a small smile, Q quickly tugged off his tie and removed his shoes. It was as much for Alec's sake as his own, as he distinctly remembered the last time an alpha had gotten hold of his tie and-

Mallory blinked, confused. "What are you doing?"

"Trust me" he said simply, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt as he walked in sock-clad feet towards the holding cell door. Taking a deep breath, he ruffled his hair, made sure his neck was on show, and then hit the keypad and stepped in.

Alec immediately spun around and growled at him, even more so when Q let the door seal shut behind him, trapping them both in the bare concrete room. The omega forced himself to remain calm, knowing that the very second the alpha smelled fear, he was done for.

"Well then. You really have gotten yourself into trouble this time, 006, now, haven't you?"

There was no reply aside from a flash of sharp teeth and an even louder growl.

He tilted his head to the side, somewhat curiously. "What? No clever remark? At all?"

The man didn't move an inch.

"... You really have lost all sense of recognition, haven't you?"

Again, no response. After another few moments of staring at the growling alpha, Q decided that more extreme measures were, perhaps, necessary. The fact that Alec hadn't tried to attack him yet was only a good sign, so he was more than slightly optimistic about his chances of surviving this encounter. As long as he didn't panic himself, that was.

Q sighed and straightened up. "Alright then. Do try to show at least some restraint, would you?"

He took a single step forward.

Alec's growling amplified.

Another step.

The alpha's entire body tensed, lips pulled back in a vicious snarl that was actually kind of somewhat a little bit attractive. As much as Q tried to ignore his omegian instincts, he was rather hardwired into finding anyone that could protect him attractive, and right now, his biology and his own personal tastes were starting to line up.

Although… perhaps it was time to let his biology take control for a while.

Ducking his head, he tilted it so that his bare neck was clearly visible, before slowly, carefully, shuffling closer. Without his shoes, his footsteps were silent, but Alec tracked his every single move anyway as he continued to snarl, but thankfully made no move to attack.

"I'm trying to help you, 006". He spoke quietly, voice soft and calm. "As shocking as it may seem, I've actually grown quite fond of you and it would be rather… irking to see you die".

He was less than three feet away when Alec froze, gaze intense and growling abruptly silent - a predator getting ready to pounce. There was a loud knock on the two-way mirror next to them, but Q quickly yet obviously held up a hand to tell M not to do anything. Despite the sudden noise, Alec's eyes hadn't left him for a split second, wholly and completely dedicated to catching his prey.

Taking a deep calming breath, Q squeezed his eyes shut tight, not wanting to risk infuriating the raging alpha by accidentally meeting his gaze. Instead, he kept his neck bared, his movements unhurried and predictable, and then slowly, ever so slowly, closed the short distance between him.

As soon as he made physical contact with Alec, the man snarled, his entire body tense and ready to strike, but Q forced himself to continue, to not stop or pause or hesitate because if he tried to back away now, then he would most certainly be killed.

Cautiously moving even closer, he very purposefully buried his face in the alpha's chest rather than his neck, and then, feeling rather ridiculous for doing so, he let out a pitiful whine.

Alec immediately snapped out of it.

Before Q could so much as blink, the agent had wrapped himself around the omega completely, a hint of teeth against his neck, and a low rumbling emerging from deep within his chest. His body hadn't relaxed, not even by a fraction, but that tension and strength were now directed at the world outside of Q, rather than at Q himself.

006 was no doubt smearing blood and sweat and gunpowder all over the Quartermaster's clothes, but a new shirt and a pair of trousers were a small price to pay for his agent's life. Also, Alec smelled… good. Like, seriously good. Sure, he smelled of copper and violence and probably death, but his underlying scent, the scent that was unique to him and him only was…

Well.

It was probably the best thing that Q had ever smelled before, and he was equal parts annoyed and relieved to find himself relaxing as well. Annoyed because, really?! The man just had to smell like home as well as being drop dead gorgeous? In what universe was that fair?! But also relieved because the more relaxed that he got, as a "frightened" omega, then the more relaxed that Alec would get too, as the "protecting" alpha.

It was a calculated risk, the first outcome being Q's death, which… yeah. He could understand why R had been worried. But the second outcome was shortcircuiting Alec's brain into thinking that he was in a full-on rage because someone had upset his omega, rather than because he'd been drugged. And yes, the Quartermaster knew and understood that he wasn't the man's omega by any means - no matter how much the thought made his heart race - and yes, he knew and understood that Alec would very likely be furious with him for using his own pheromones against him, but quite frankly, Q didn't give a damn.

As long as the man survived, he could be as angry with him as he liked.

Q gave another whine, purposefully less panicked than before to show that Alec was helping, but still just about panicked enough that the man would still refuse to let him go for the foreseeable future. He was as much of a double-0 as he was an alpha considering how often both of those things mixed and overlapped, so Q knew that he had no chance in hell of gaining the agent's entire attention, simply because it was ingrained into him to constantly be aware of his surroundings. But since he was also equal parts alpha, his primary focus right now was currently on calming down this strange distressed omega, and Q felt himself melt into the man's embrace as the rumbling in his chest softened and became more reassuring than aggressive.

It was a biological characteristic of alphas to allow them to calm down frantic omega's, but what 006 didn't know - or at least, didn't currently recognise - was that by settling the "frightened" Quartermaster, he was calming himself down too.

Q nuzzled the side of his face against Alec's warm chest and tried not to hate himself for finding comfort in the gesture. He wasn't doing this for his own benefit, he was doing this to save his agent's life...

But if he got some semblance of peace while doing so… well, that wasn't his fault, now was it?

Having removed his watch before entering the empty room, Q had no idea how much time had passed before the heartbeat he felt against his cheek started to slow. Alec's body had relaxed considerably in the last few minutes? hours? that they had been standing there, and although his protective embrace holding the omega against him hadn't lessened at all, Q could just tell that he was far less stressed and tense than before.

The Quartermaster had even been lulled into a light sleep by the continuous pleasant rumbling. Alec was supporting at least eighty percent of his admittedly light weight, and he hadn't felt this safe or calm in… forever. And besides, it wasn't as if he could do anything except wait anyway, so he might as well get in a quick nap. A siesta, of sorts. A doze, if you will. Nothing to be embarrassed about. Of course not.

Eve was never going to let him live this down.

Either way, Q was almost positive that more than three hours had passed which meant that they were out of the danger zone. If Alec was still alive, and not just alive but also reasonably calm, then surely the hormone drug had to have run through his system, right? Which meant that Q's scent had not only helped settle him, but had actually even sped up the process of the drug's effects, as well.

He didn't know whether to be proud or slightly scared.

The end goal had always been to calm the alpha down, after all, but Q had expected to simply talk to him and yeah, maybe use his pheromones and cute-innocent-I'm-harmless appearance to get there faster, but for his scent to fast track the drug this quickly? For his scent to act as a cure for a death-causing hormone? For his scent to be the only possible thing capable of bringing a double-0 killing machine out of a fully-induced rage?

His omega side was preening at his compatibility with Alec, while the much more cynical side decided that any omega could have done the same. The rest of him was just happy that his agent was still alive.

Although that did remind him…

Giving a gentler, quieter whine, Q slowly started to pull back. Alec tightened his grip automatically before reluctantly loosening his arms, just enough to be able to see the omega's face without actually letting him go.

Q was surprised he'd even been given that much freedom, if he was being honest.

On the plus side, Alec's gaze was a lot less violent and a lot more lucid than before, even if still wasn't all the way back to civility.

"You're not going to want to hear this" he started quietly, "but you really do need to go to medical".

The alpha immediately snarled, and being so close, Q saw every sharp edge of his rather unfairly white teeth.

"I know. I know you hate it, but you're injured, and you need help" he continued, keeping his voice soothing and non-confrontational, "I don't have enough first aid knowledge to stitch you up, Alec, and you probably need a blood transfusion anyway".

He continued to snarl despite his lax, warm hold on the omega, and Q was suddenly struck by yet another either unbelievably stupid or incredibly genius idea.

Tilting his head to his side and widening his eyes, he kept his gaze just below the alpha's own as he leaned even further into his personal space.

"It would make me really happy if you went to medical, Alec" he murmured, just on the right side of coy and demuring, "I'm worried that… that you won't be able to protect me when you're this injured. I'm worried that I'll get hurt and you won't be there to save me because you refused to see a doctor".

The growling increased in volume before suddenly, abruptly, cutting off. Q risked a glance upwards and found the alpha staring down at him with a confused, slightly bewildered look.

"Will you let the doctors fix you up?" he asked, "For me? Please? It would make me really happy, you know".

And the number one objective of any raging alpha was always to keep their omega happy.

Alec slowly stepped back, letting him go completely, but then frowned, seemingly puzzled by his own actions. Q wasn't to risk him changing his mind though, so he made a subtle gesture at the two-way glass, hoping that either M or Eve was still waiting on the other side with medical on standby.

"Thank you" he said to 006, staying exactly where he was left, "Thank you for making me happy, Alec, it really means a lot to me… The door is going to open in a minute, okay? And then a few doctors will take you down to the medical where they'll make you better again".

The man's frown deepened as he shook his head as if to try and clear his thoughts. There was a knock on the mirror and Q knew that he only had a few seconds left.

Reaching out with one hand, he held it palm up, a clear invitation, and after a brief moment of hesitation, Alec took it in his own. His skin was rough and blood-stained and the Quartermaster was fairly certain that he'd broken a few knuckles, but it was also strong and warm and safe.

"Thank you" he repeated with a small smile, hearing the door open behind him, "The doctors are going to help you now, okay? And make it easier to protect me. But you have to behave for them to let that happen".

There was movement directly behind him, but Alec's gaze didn't leave his face for a split second.

"Will you let them do their job? For me?"

There was a flash of indecision in his tea green eyes before he slowly, ever so slowly, nodded. Q smiled again, brighter this time, before stepping to the side and allowing the group of doctors to pass him. Alec automatically snarled at the strange alphas and betas, but after an admonishing look from the omega, he quickly quietened down again and even allowed the doctors to usher him towards the door.

Q didn't miss the look of longing in the man's eyes, however, or the pure devastation on his face once he realised that the omega wasn't following them. He also couldn't ignore the pang of yearning in his own heart, having spent the last who knows how many hours wrapped up in the alpha's hold.

And-

Well.

He did have a ton of work to be doing, but… It surely could wait, couldn't it? R dealt with the comings and goings of the ordinary agents, and the only double-0s still on missions for him to oversee had yet to make contact at all, so it wasn't as if there were any immediate concerns anyway.

Maybe he could delay his return to the office for a bit. Just for a little bit. A tiny insignificant inconsequential bit where he went down to medical instead. And besides, it wasn't just for him, it was for Alec too. He was the Quartermaster, of course, and the health and wellbeing of his agents would always come first.

Taking a deep breath, he returned to the other side of the interrogation room, fixed his shirt, put on his shoes, and took his tie back from a rather shocked M, before walking towards the door.

He had a rather grumpy double-0 to deal with, after all.