A day had passed since the unfortunate meet up with 007 in the file room. Bond had walked out before her, looking a bit disturbed by the consequences of his actions without saying another word to anyone. If Q noticed anything he didn't show it. Margot had returned to her desk, which had been moved to a spot in front of Q's office after her promotion, feeling a bit proud of her sudden self-control in the face of, well Bond's face. God, that man could charm the panties off a nun if he wanted to.

She had expected Bond to stay as far away from her as possible after her little outburst, either from anger at her turning down his advances, or from embarrassment at his obvious missteps. What actually happened was something she never saw coming, although thinking about it later she probably should have.

It was nearly lunch time when Margot's phone rang. Most of the time her phone was silent, unless Tanner or Eve called down to speak with Q. M's office staff were the only people in MI6 that showed any respect to her or her new position, so she was a bit surprised by who was on the other end of the line. "Q Branch, Phillips speaking. How may I be of service?"

"Phillips, it's Bond. Don't hang up." Bond was calling her, he never called, he always just showed up. Even after getting shot, the minute medical could no longer keep him in bed he was back in Q Branch.

"Did you want me to transfer you to Q?" Not that Q would answer if she told him who was on the line.

"No, I am calling to speak to you. I just wanted to avoid the slap in the face, that I so rightly deserve, by begging for forgiveness from afar."

"Damn right you'd deserve it." She was trying really hard not to smile at the big, bad, secret agent who was begging for her forgiveness. "I'm not the one who needs to hear your begging agent." She was careful not to say his name aloud, in case Q was listening.

"I know, I tried. He won't see me, won't take my calls, and I have a sneaking suspicion he's been deleting my emails before reading them."

"Actually he left that last one up to me, sorry." Margot was starting to feel bad for Bond. Yeah, he screwed up, big time, but he wanted so bad to make amends.

"I need your help, your advice. Please, meet me for lunch. There is a nice little café a couple of blocks from HQ that's quiet enough for us to talk." Margot could hear a hint of desperation in his voice, how could she say no.

"Fine, give me the address; I'll meet you there in ten minutes." As she jotted down the information Margot wondered when 'Couples Counseling' had been added to her job description.

"I never meant to leave the comms open, I just wanted to shut her up. Saying the woman was vapid would be kind. Kissing her seemed the fastest way to stop the sound of her voice; I thought I had turned it off already. I should have made sure." A miserable Bond sat across from her at a small table near the back of the café, looking like he hadn't slept.

"He took it as you showing how little you think of him and his affections towards you. Like you were laughing at him for thinking there was ever a chance for anything more between you and him." Margot stated calmly while picking at her salad.

"His affections for me?" Bond glanced up, looking a little surprised by this, yet pleased. "He has affections for me?"

Margot was getting exasperated by these men and their apparent lack of understanding of their own feelings, "Yes, he has feelings for you, and you have feelings for him. We all love each other, what a beautiful day it is."

"Wait, what makes you think I have feelings for Q?" Bond was now leaning forwards on the table. From his statement one might think he was offended by the suggestion, but the smirk on his lips told Margot otherwise.

"Oh please, everyone else in the office might be blind, but I have seen enough to know better. Including how you stare at his pert little ass while he's walking away from you." Bond's eye widened ever so slightly as he smiled across the table at her, "What, just because the item is out of my price range doesn't mean I can't appreciate the packaging."

"Perhaps we can appreciate it together sometime, in a more hands-on way." This was more like the Bond she knew.

"Let's see if we can't get him to talk to you again before we start planning a ménage à trios, besides I don't like to share."

The next morning Margot arrived a little later than usual to find Bond sitting on the edge of Q's desk as if the last few days had never happened. The two men were actually smiling, even if Q's seemed to be more from nerves than anything else. As she watched silently from her desk she saw Bond lean forward and place a chaste kiss on Q's cheek, bring a rush of blood to the younger man's cheeks, and then walking out of the office. As he passed Margot's desk she saw him shoot her a quick wink as he straightened his tie. That man could certainly work a tailored suit.

"Phillips please come to my office." Q called to her, his voice sounded a bit stern and worried her. Perhaps it didn't go as well as she thought it had. She quickly got up and made her to stand before Q. "Close the door." Margot's trepidation rose as she did ask she was asked, but when she turned back towards her boss she found herself enclosed in a fierce hug. All she could do was hug him back and hold on as Q began bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Well, someone's in a good mood. Should I ask why?" Margot said with a giggle.

Q released her, holding her at arm's length, "Like you don't know." It was then that he motioned towards his desk where Margot spotted the remains of gift-wrap and ribbon strewn around a medium-sized box that was open in the center of the desk. "My favorite loose Earl Grey and a TARDIS shaped tea infuser, like he would ever figure that out on his own. Thank you."

"He just needed you to listen to his apology. I figured a well thought out gift might lower your defenses long enough for him to get it out." She smiled up at Q. He might be her boss while they were at the office, but they were friends all the time and seeing him happy like this made her happy as well.

"I'm going to have to cancel our Doctor Who marathon plans for tonight. It would seem I have a date with one of the most dangerous men in Britain. He's taking me out to dinner and drinks." Q smiled down at her.

"Perfectly understandable, we can reschedule."

When Margot got to work the next morning she knew things had gone well for her boys on their date as she stared at the rather large bouquet of tulips that was sitting on her desk. She pulled the little envelope from between the blooms and read the card enclosed and smiled.

"I'm not sure I'd want to share him with you either. As a thank you, remind me to introduce you to Alec someday. –JB"

Well that sounded fine with her.