S had sunk off to sleep briefly after their narrow escape from the labs, being sure to check on Q about a dozen times before allowing herself to shift seats and relax (and being told each one of those that he was more than fine and that, "No, Bond, I am not going to die and for goodness sakes would you please stop whining about the upholstery?"). The city had been long left behind and they were traveling by countryside when she finally began to stir.

The first thing she noticed before she even opened her eyes was the gentle rocking of the vehicle, no longer burning rubber against the asphalt. So, they weren't speeding. In fact, as she blinked sleep from her eyes, she would daresay that Bond was actually driving the speed limit. The second thing she noticed was the unexpected weight on her shoulder and the soft, whispery whimpers echoing from the unconscious man beside her. S stiffened, holding back a gasp and reddening slightly as she realized just what was happening. She and Q had both fallen asleep and the Quartermaster had somehow shifted positions without waking and was currently sound asleep against her.

"Bond!" she hissed, catching the attention of the blond spy, his azure gaze flashing toward her in the rearview mirror. "A little help here please! Don't tell me we've been in this position long!"

The double-o just smirked and turned his attention back to the road, obviously having no intention to assist in any way. "No, not long."

Something about the way he said it really tempted S to chuck a book at his head. That's what she did whenever someone really got on her nerves. She was only slightly relieved to realize there were no books in the vehicle to throw. Oh, well. You got lucky this time, Mr. Bond. She huffed, trying to shift away from the Quartermaster but finding her efforts very futile.

"Where are we going?" she inquired instead, drawing her hair around to one side of her face and focusing on the rubber hair tie in her pocket and not the uneasy, nightmarish jerks coming from Q as he mumbled a bunch of incoherent babble.

"To a safe house," was Bond's snipped answer.

S frowned. "Yes, I know that but where?" She glanced out the window, taking in the rolling countryside and lack of observers. They were clearly very far off the grid, a solid tactical plan when one is being hunted by unknown assailants. Straight of the being-a-spy textbook, she noted. Strange. A little odd when she considered all the stories she'd heard about 007. Following the guidelines seemed far from his typical course of action. She wondered if it had something to do with Q. Was Bond intentionally not reverting to his whole Bruce Wayne technique because of the man? Perhaps he did not wish to drag Q along in his endeavors and believed the safe house would be the best place for them to lie low until he could figure out who was behind this.

"A place I never hoped I would have to go again."

And that was all Bond was willing to say, to S's great displeasure. She sat back with a stiff groan, softening only when Q finally pulled away from her to lean against the window, now muttering something about someone named Sara. It was obvious, by the way he was twitching, that he was deep into a nightmare. The fear etched across his face made him look, if possible, even younger. S felt a strong wave of pity for the man wash over her. He wasn't like Bond. He wasn't made to be out here, running for his life. His job was behind a desk, being super smart and speaking in riddles no one understood. He very clearly hated guns. The field was absolutely the worst place for him to be right now.

Sighing, S rested her head in her hands and stared off across the horizon as the world whistled past. The landscape blurred from hills to grassland and rocky cliffs with earth-shattering waves beating relentlessly against the shore.

Silence filled the vehicle for a short time. Bond steered across the hillside, occasionally shooting his companions cautious glances in the rearview mirror. After a while, he ceased to do even this, allowing the unsaid thoughts to build around them. They didn't know who was after them, or why, or even how. And that was a problem. A big one that S had no idea how to digest. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. It was exciting and yet, exceptionally enthralling all at once.

The two agents in the car with her certainly did not agree.

After about an hour, Q finally began to stir. Both 007 and S glanced up immediately at the action and S was already moving to assist him in sitting up. He grimaced but did not protest her help, which she wasn't sure was a good thing, having already become accustomed to his short I-can-do-it-myself-thank-you personality.

"Enjoy your break, Q?" Bond commented innocently. "Had some pleasant dreams while S and I were busy saving your rear, I suppose?"

The Quartermaster scowled. "007, have I told you recently that I hate you?"

"Not recently, no."

"Well, consider yourself informed."

S stared at the two men in confusion. How could they be bickering like schoolboys at a time like this? She shook her head, deciding it must have just been how they coped with their situation, though how they could even think of anything amusing right now was beyond her comprehension.

Q blinked, adjusting his glasses and trying to fix his wrinkled cardigan to look somewhat dignified. He glanced briefly out the window, frowning as though he recognized their location. "Bond..." he said slowly. "Are we going where I think we are?"

"Where?" S asked irritably. "Where do you think we are going? For heaven's sakes, why are the two of you so secretive?"

"It's...a painful subject," Q confessed without looking back. "For both of us. Bond, even more so. M-"

"Q..." Bond warned.

"Right. Of course. Sorry, Bond."

"What? No! No, 'Sorry, Bond's! What happened?" S leaned up, sensing a story coming on.

"Later," both agents said together.

"It's complicated," Q explained. "Perhaps once we get this whole mess sorted, we can explain it to you. But for now-"

"For now it's better left in the past where it belongs," Bond finished.

S didn't agree, but what was she going to do? Force it out of them? Torture them until they told her? Unlikely. And even if she wanted to-and she didn't, for the record-she had nothing to hold over them for blackmail. Bond was-intimidating to say the least. He looked as though he had been through many battles. Hard to kill, she'd been told. It seemed all the stories she'd been told about him were true after all. And Q...Q was-different. He was antisocial, stubborn, and ridiculously intelligent. If anyone could guess who was after them and for what reason, it would be Q. She had half a mind to believe he already did.

"Fine," she said, fully intending to come back to this conversation later. "New topic. Who's Sarah?"

Bond raised a questioning eyebrow while Q visibly flinched.

"No one," he mumbled, purposefully staring down at his sling.

"Oh, come on! You don't actually expect me to believe that, do you? You were mumbling her name in your sleep! So, spill already! Who is she?"

"Just an old acquaintance," Q muttered, uncomfortably tugging his jacket more securely over his shoulders.

"Who has your brain all messed up and in a tizzy?" S countered disbelievingly. "Unlikely. Wife?"

"Ha," Q said darkly.

"Girlfriend?"

"Do I look like I have time to go around dating?" Q snorted. "I'm too busy trying to keep certain double-ohs from dying every five seconds."

"Okay, fair. Relative?"

The car fell eerily silent and S drew the conclusion that she had just hit the nail on the head. But she was not done prying just yet. "Sister?"

Q cursed under his breath.

S took that as a yes.

"So, you have a sister then. What's she like?"

"Had," Q corrected sharply. "I had a sister, S. And I don't know, because I never got to meet her. Parents split up when I was two. Killed in a car crash a week later on the way home from the hospital. Sarah was sent to live with a foster family. I never even got a chance to see her."

Bond jerked the wheel of the car in shock, nearly driving off the road, and S flinched back, pain and remorse for the man crashing over her. "Q...I'm, I'm sorry..."

"Don't be," he huffed. "It was years ago. I've moved on. So has she, no doubt. So let's focus on the task of not getting a bullet through the brain, yes? And Bond?" Said agent raised a questioning eyebrow at the youth in the back seat. "I don't a word of this breathed to anyone else. Understand? The whole of the agency already babies me far too much. This would be the figurative straw that breaks the camel's back."

"Only because it's you, Q," Bond complied grudgingly. "And because I have a feeling I might find the whole of my bank account drained if I told even Moneypenny, you have my word."

"I appreciate it, 007."

"It'll cost you, spots."

"Okay, that was extremely low, even for you, 007. Say goodbye to your pension."

"So, that's how we're going to play it, then Q?"

"You started it, Bond. I'm just finishing it."

S giggled at the sour expression sliding across Bond's face at his Quartermaster's words, and it was clear that he already knew he'd lost. "The two of you bicker like brothers!" she laughed. "You have so much trust between you, it's uncanny! How long have you been working together?"

"Seven months," both men answer abruptly, both beaming childishly.

"Well, technically, two, before Bond did his whole rogue-drive-off-into-the-sunset-for-a-fairytale-ending-stunt," Q corrected, shifting his body to sit up straighter now and present himself more alert than S suspected he really was. "How is that going, by the way?"

"It was going wonderfully until you had to go and get your skinny rear shot," Bond huffed.

"Ah, apologies. I hope the missus understood the pretenses."

"She knew it was for you," Bond said. "I left out the part about you getting mugged in your own house-which we should really discuss sometime because I could have sworn you boasted having the best security protocols in the world-but I suspect she figured that much out for herself."

"Bright woman, that one."

"Indeed."

"Are we talking about Ms. 007?" S inquired.

"Swann," Q confirmed. "Madaline Swann. The love of Bond's life. The only one who managed to stay alive, that is."

"Now who's playing dirty, Q?" Bond grumped, turning the vehicle sharply onto a side dirt road, causing the entire thing to jolt with the sudden drop in the pavement.

"Touchy, are we, 007?"

"I despise you."

"The feeling's mutual, you know."

S just shook her head, still grinning. Yes, these two were definitely paired up perfectly. M-the former M-had made the right call when Q had been reassigned from behind a dreary old desk and drug out into the field, first as R-which was when she'd first heard of MI6 and the man's unusually rapid rise through the ranking-and then, later, as Quartermaster. She'd seen their extremely clashing personalities as a chance to bring something more powerful to the surface. A dynamic duo, unlike anything the world had ever seen. The CIA did not do things this way, and perhaps this was something they could learn from. S looked forward to reporting this back to her agency.

But first, they had to survive just whoever it was who was out to get them.

The roaring of the ocean grew louder and S reserved herself to peeking out the window once more as they drove up to an older, less secure looking building and Bond parked on the side on the lot. S hesitated and glanced toward the men as both carefully began to get out.

"Uh...where are we?"

"This is the safehouse," Bond answered shortly, already hurrying toward the door, gun drawn. S stiffened slightly. Was the double-o expecting trouble?

"Come on, S. No point loitering around," Q called, breaking her concentration. He smiled gently and she returned it, hurrying to catch up.

"Okay, but seriously, what is this place? Some kind of mystical castle? The Fowl Mansion?"

"Not quite," Q answered. "But close enough, I suppose." He glanced ahead. "Bond, is he here?"

The double-o, who had reached the door by this point, glanced back and nodded, sheathing his gun and rapping sharply on the door twice.

S frowned, hurrying up the stairs behind Q, hovering close behind the young man as the door creaked open cautiously and a glock poked its way out of the frame. "Who's there?" came the gruff, but recognizable tone of the head of MI6.

"Three weary travelers seeking shelter from the storm," Bond answered flatly. "For goodness sake's, M! You know it's us! Open the bloody door!"

"Apologies, 007," M responded, pulling back the door and permitting them all access. "Q," he added as Bond strode inside and Q hurried after him, taking S's arm and pulling her after him. "S."

"M," Q and Bond said together.

"You got here fast!" S commented, staring at the director in awe as she followed close behind Q. "Though I am still confused as to where we are exactly."

"After our last...meeting...with SPECTRE, we decided we needed to create a failsafe, a place to lay low should any of our agents-or techs-become compromised. Naturally, the first place selected to host anyone would be this...place." He frowned, seemingly put off by something in the atmosphere. "Come inside. All of you. Some things have come up that we really should discuss."

"What kinds of things?" Q asked grimly as he uncomfortably peeled his coat from his shoulders and draped it over the railing

"The kind that should not be discussed while standing around in the doorway in perfect range of being shot," M sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically. "I know you are new to this whole leaving-your-dungeon thing, but do try to keep up, man."

Q winced. S saw the flicker of emotion cross his face before vanishing back into the mass stoicness that was his typical demeanor and her interest was peaked. She'd never seen any sign of emotional concern from the man until now, and it was an aberrant look that she very much did not like.

"And S," M went on as Q pushed past him to disappear further down the hall toward the main room. "As this is your first time here, allow me to welcome you to the end of the world." He gestured with a hand to everything behind him.

"Welcome...to Skyfall."


*peeks in the door*

Um...hello. After almost a year of radio silence, I'm back!

*trips and falls flat on face*

I'm am so sorry it's been so long! Life got hectic out of nowhere and, even though I am not sure it's going to slow down anytime soon, I decided it was time to try and get back to writing some more. So, if you've stuck with me for all this time, thank you for all of your patience. I hope you like this chapter and I will see you next time!