Chapter 1
Bond walked down the corridor purposefully in the direction of R+D, she would have really liked to just go home and sleep, it’d been a long mission- But M had expressly told her to report to Q before she left, something about malfunctioning tech in her watch during the mission. Pushing through the door of R+D, she glanced into Q’s office, but she wasn’t in there, but the door was ajar so it was likely she wasn’t far away. Spotting one of the junior technicians she beckoned them over,
“Have you seen Q anywhere?”
Looking down at their feet, they just pointed towards the indoor range, a murmured reply was given but it was hardly audible. Bond replied with a quick thank you, before heading in the direction of the range, slipping through the door and walking in the direction of the gunshot sounds.
Spotting a slight figure at the very end of the range, she made her way over, noting as she got closer that the younger woman had her hair tied back with some sort of red ribbon, and that she had headphones in, the very slight sound of the music reaching Bond’s ears as she drew closer. Not wanting to startle Q, given that she had a gun in her hands, she approached slowly, making sure Q had seen her and would not be startled before she came properly closer.
Headphones out and gun carefully laid down, Q turned to Bond with a mild smile, pulling a small roll of tools from her pocket,
“I need your watch, M said the electromagnet wasn’t working whilst you were on mission.” She said, holding a hand out, glancing up at the slightly taller woman expectantly. The sound of slightly jingling jewellery followed and the watch was placed in her hand, Q retreating back to sit down at the seat just behind her for a moment.
“I can sort it now, It’ll only take me 10 minutes, or if you prefer you can call by for it tomorrow when you come in for debrief.” She said, glancing up from her roll of tools as she took the screwdriver and levered off the back of the watch with ease.
Bond considered the options momentarily, she really did want to go home and sleep but it would only be 10 minutes, she could at least wait that.
“I’ll wait,” she replied, taking her hair down and sighing slightly as the tension relieved, running hand through slightly to release the last of tightness in her scalp, before tying it back loosely in a ponytail, before glancing back over to Q who was focusing on the task in hand. She smiled slightly, she could think of ways to occupy 10 minutes, especially with the supposedly unflappable Q. Many an agent had tried to flirt with or fluster her, but so far, the pretty brunette had been immune.
“I should imagine its almost your home time too, “Bond commented, keeping her tone casual, “Being as it’s almost 7, I’m surprised you’re still here. Someone’ll be waiting for you to be coming back.” She added, injecting just a touch of flirtation into the second statement.
Continuing to focus on the watch, Q didn’t even look up.
“Indeed. Was there any other issues with the watch or was it just the electromagnet that was faulty?” she asked, taking the old magnet out and replacing it with a new one, carefully screwing it back into the mechanism.
“No, that was all, “was the reply, “An impeccable piece of work that watch.” She added, genuinely. It was always a source of some impressiveness that Q and R+D could come up with what they did.
Slotting the back of the watch back on and making sure it was in place, Q handed it back, going to stand up and brushing off her skirt as she stood up.
“Well 007, I’m sure I’ll see you soon enough.” She said, picking up the gun and slipping it back into a carry case that had been sitting on the ground, before starting down the range to the exit to the main R+D department. Bond followed behind, on her way out too, watching as Q handed the carry case off to someone to be put away, pulling her phone from her pocket as she did.
“Ringing the boyfriend?” Bond asked as she caught up with Q, who just glanced over at her with a touch of scorn and a slight eye roll.
“I’ll see you soon, Bond.” She just added, before heading off in the opposite direction to Bond’s own path, the phone up against her ear by the time she was halfway down the corridor.
_ _ _
Violet let herself into the house, her keys sticking in the lock yet again, she’d have to have a look at it over the weekend before it got worse, didn’t want one of the girls getting locked out because their keys wouldn’t work. Once inside, she relaxed, the familiar sounds of home surrounding her. Classical music from the library, the sound of Violin from upstairs- Bea was obviously practising, and in the background, Taylor Swift playing in the kitchen, undoubtedly Sunny was doing a bit of baking.
Dumping her bag by the door, she headed through to the kitchen, food being her first priority and knowing there’d be some dinner saved in the oven for her. All the surfaces were coated with flour, including Sunny. Violet just about managed to hold back a laugh at her ghost of a sister, who just shrugged,
“Lemon and poppy seed cupcakes.” She said by way of explanation, “Spaghetti bolognaise in the top oven.” She added, taking the dishtowel Violet held out to her and wiping the flour from her face, “I’m going to go have a shower, can you keep an eye on the cupcakes?” she asked, taking off the apron and hanging it up, the green and blue of jumper and jeans underneath a stark contrast from the white of the flour coating.
Taking her dinner from the oven carefully Violet perched on the edge of one of the counters, the only bit of the kitchen without a snowy sprinkling of flour. She ate quickly, hungry after a long day of work, before rinsing the plate, and heading into the library, spotting Klaus curled into an armchair with a book. She made her way over, clearing her throat to get his attention when he didn’t look up, too absorbed in his book. He looked up, and put the book aside, standing up to greet his older sister with a hug,
“All good at work today?” he asked, “Bea had a scuffle at school, but the other girl started it, so school are letting it go. You’re late back this evening. “he added, with a touch of Concern.
“Work was fine, busy but good, you know what it’s like there,” Violet replied, collapsing into a nearby chair, glancing over at her brother,
“How is the training department? Garett still being an arse?” she asked wryly, “Well she wouldn’t be Bea without a bit of fight in her, did they say what it was about? Yeah, a few last minute things came up, wanted to get the testing done on the new GC62. Having a little trouble getting the sights right on it”
“Training is training, lots of Egos and immaturity. Garett is always an arse.” Klaus replied with a small laugh, “But he’s one I can deal with. Oh, the usual, teenage girls can be pretty cruel. I’m sure you’ll manage to fine-tune it, have you double-checked the glass is the right sort?”
Violet relaxed as the conversation carried on, as much as she loved her job, it was always a relief to come home and be able to let the stress of her day go. It hadn’t been easy, settling to a more normal family life, but they had done it, her and Klaus. They had made a home for themselves and Sunny and Beatrice. Little Sunny, who barely remembered what had happened to them, and Bea, precious Bea who had no clue about her past, and who hopefully would never need to know, luckily so much more like her mother than her father.
Hearing the beep of the oven, Violet jumped up, rushing through to the kitchen and turning off the oven, and taking the cakes out to cool.
Cakes on the worktop, radio playing, yes. They really had managed to make a family home, she mused glancing around the room, against all the odds.