Q was where Bond had expected him: in a lab space assigned to K-sciences. Newton was somewhere in Hong Kong, probably pestering Chau into giving him whatever organs he wanted for his research – or whatever else he wanted out of the man – and Gottlieb had holed up in his personal lab, muttering about blessedly Newton-free zones.

James had brought along tea for Q. It wasn't exactly Earl Grey, Q's favorite, but it was better than anything the mess offered right now.

Q gave him a smile and James chose an uncluttered desk, hoisted himself on it, and watched Q work.

Whatever it was he was doing anyway. It looked like strings of code or something, projected into a 3-D hologram, making it almost a piece of art.

"New Jaegers?" he asked after a moment.

"Just a few ideas," was the vague reply.

Usually Q's ideas ended up being ready-to-build models.

"How was your late night excursion?"

He chuckled. Nothing really went by his partner. "Ran into Raleigh. And I thought I was messed up."

Dark eyebrows quirked and the eyes behind the oversized glasses sparked a little. "You are messed up, 007, but there are some pilots out there who can truly top that."

"Well, thank you, Q," he replied neutrally.

"You are very welcome."

Bond relayed what Becket had told him, as well as his retreat from the conversation when Chuck had arrived, looking ready to kill the other man.

"Emotionally stunted," Q muttered, flexing his right hand. "Both of them."

James slid off the table and caught the hand. He started to run gentle pressure over the visible electrical burns. He had retained full function of his fingers and flexibility in his arm. Muscles had been rebuilt and there was no nerve damage to speak of. The red lines were the only reminders of what had happened to Skyfall Prime, to Q.

"Thankfully Hansen is the more outspoken of them."

"Yes, well, match made."

Bond chuckled, continuing the massage, as always checking each digit, each joint.

"Not like you were any better, 007," Q added, mock-frowning at him. "Same lot."

"Different lot," he argued. "Earlier model, way more flaws, but with better endurance and compatibility, and easier to teach."

Q pulled him close, kissing the dry lips. "You got the last part right, Double-Oh. You can still learn."

Bond grinned against those lips kissing him and abandoned the hand in exchange for the slender form so close to him.

"I'm very, very quick on the uptake."

x X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx X

Whatever Chuck had said, it must have hit more than just a nerve. It had probably cleared something inside Raleigh's head. The next time James ran into him, the other man looked more relaxed.

He actually gave Bond a smile. Open. Without the darkness that had hovered over him like a thundercloud.

They went for a run, mostly silent, barely exchanging more than a few words. But it was enough. It felt comfortable, friendly, without pressure.

"Are you going back to Vancouver?" Raleigh asked, slightly out of breath, as they stood atop the Shatterdome, enjoying the brisk, morning air, the sun on their exposed skin.

Bond shrugged. "I actually don't have any plans. Aside from taking some vacation time to see England again."

"Family?"

He shook his head. "None left."

Raleigh nodded slowly.

"Anchorage won't be operational for a while," Bond remarked since they were already on that topic.

"I'm not going back," was the soft reply.

Too many bad memories, the British pilot mused.

"Anchorage was Yance and me. It was home. It was where I died."

Okay, those had been very clear words.

"Herc might move on to Sydney," James said conversationally. "Might be a good place to start anew. No bad memories."

It got him a huff of laughter. "Not sure Herc wants Sydney."

"And Chuck?"

Australia was his home country. The Shatterdome in Sydney was where he had spent most of his teenage years.

"I think every place is chock-full of memories," Raleigh muttered. "Good and bad, things you can't forget even if you want to. Anchorage is a nightmare. Sydney is where Chuck lost his mother. Not sure he wants back to that place."

"If his father goes, he will, too."

Because the relationship between the two Hansen men had changed in the past six or seven months. For the better. Bond had seen it in the set of Herc's shoulders, his eyes, his expression. He had heard it in his voice when they talked about private matters.

"You know Herc wants to keep you as his second," Raleigh grinned.

"Yes, I'm quite aware of it." Bond shrugged. "It isn't really that bad."

Raleigh grinned more. "So Hong Kong it is for all of us?"

Bond snorted. "It seems to be the nexus of all activity. We are the most active Shatterdome at the moment and from the mass of scientists coming in, I think we'll have our hands full."

"Newt's happy with so many accolades listening to his words. Hermann is close to killing him at least five times a day."

"So no change there."

"Not really, no. But I know those two are closer."

Bond shot him a look and Raleigh shrugged. "Drifting does that. Even with a Kaiju."

The sun was warming the roof structure, bathing everything in the warm glow of morning. The harsh glare of midday would come soon enough. Before them, the ocean looked peaceful.

Things were changing around them. Maybe not as quickly as some wanted it, maybe not perfectly, maybe not in a way that made sense at the moment, but there was change. The Jaeger program wasn't scrapped, the Breach and the war forgotten. The world had come together, nations had bonded over the fear of an apocalypse that was far from biblical, and maybe, just maybe, the future would be brighter now.

James didn't really give a damn about that. Like many who had been there, had seen the end of the world at their doorstep, he was just lucky and happy to be alive. To have someone in his life he had never dared dream of. And he wanted the rest of his life with that person.

For Raleigh, the future was somewhere he could be with Chuck, be it as his co-pilot in a Drift or simply as a partner. If that was in Hong Kong, he would stay here. If Chuck wanted back to Sydney, Bond was convinced Raleigh would simply move there, too.

Because Chuck still had a little bit of family left. Raleigh had become part of that and he wouldn't let go.

x X XX xx X

News came in a week later that the United Nations had signed off on a full protection detail for the Pacific Rim, consisting of three Jaegers for each Shatterdome, as well as one Jaeger for scientific research purposes.

"We're no longer just a military operation," Herc translated it for the pilots present. "That means we get more guys like Newton and Dr. Gottlieb, as well as the Jaegers we need to keep an eye on the ocean. The Breach will get guards. In shifts. The Shatterdomes will coordinate the shifts, make sure there will always be two to three Jaegers on the ocean floor. Whoever is down there won't have time to just sit on their butts. We're going to collect data, whatever we can, haul anything alien out of there, and make damn sure we won't get caught with our pants down again."

Bond and Q were first in line to get a Mark-VI, though it felt a little melancholy to give up their grand old warship, as Q called her.

"Hauling her off to the scrap yard. It's a shame."

They stood on a gallery in the hangar bay, looking at their Jaeger. Skyfall had been repaired, though her armor still looked a bit worse for wear. The teams were swarming around her, taking off the dented and scorched pieces to finish them.

"She won't be scrapped." Herc joined them. "I talked to Mallory. She's a hero. A war icon."

"A museum piece," Bond rumbled.

"She still has some fight left in her."

Q smiled. "Yes. And until we get the Mark-VI for testing, she is still ours."

"The boys are eager for their new ride, too," Herc remarked, grinning widely. "I'm kinda jealous."

"You could still Drift with Chuck."

The older man laughed. "And watch him and Raleigh? Nah. There are some things an old man like me doesn't have to see. I've been in that kid's head for too long anyway."

Bond couldn't contain his laughter. "Don't tell me he never had a girl."

"Oh, he had. Hanging off his arms, swooning over his pretty face and hard-ass attitude. Thing is, he never wanted more. He loved the adoration, the hero-worship. Had no idea where to go from there, really. And you have no idea how awkward he was when he had to watch me and his mother."

Q chuckled. Oh, yes, awkward. Chuck had been fifteen when he had first Drifted, sixteen in his first Kaiju fight.

"I'm glad the kid found someone. Him and Raleigh, fire and water, a lit match and a barrel of gas. They sometimes get along like a house on fire, but they work. It's amazing to watch them. I don't need to know more." Herc smirked.

"You could always test-drive a new Mark-VI with Mako," Q suggested.

It got him a shrug. "She's a good pilot. She'll make someone else a heck of a good co-pilot if she wants to get back into a Conn-Pod. Let's just wait and see. Got news from home?"

Home being Vancouver. Bond had no idea when he had last seen England. It might be time for a vacation soon.

"Mallory is looking at one more week, then the Shatterdome will be fully operational again," Bond told him.

There was a rumor that Moneypenny had a possible co-pilot in Felix Leiter for the first new Vancouver Jaeger designated Diamond Omega.

"Too bad," Herc only said. "You know you're welcome here. I could use someone with a steady head on his shoulders and who knows what he's doing and talking about."

"M would fight you over that."

"He can try." The Australian grinned cheekily. "Jaegers will be needed to study the closed Breach, remove carcasses, and so on. Hong Kong's going to be busy."

"You can always request our assistance," Q said politely.

"You bet your British arse I will."

Bond laughed. Oh, yes, he would.

x X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx Xx X XX xx X

As a matter of fact, M agreed that Skyfall Prime was currently of much better use at the Hong Kong Shatterdome. Vancouver would be training their new recruits, new Jaegers would be commissioned, and bureaucratic nightmares would be fought. Eon Gold had been pulled out of Oblivion Bay to serve as an emergency defense together with the equally resurrected Quantum Solace until the new Jaegers were ready.

No one believed the Breach was closed for good. Even if the peace might hold for a a while, the danger was still there, on the other side of a collapsed portal.

Raleigh's smile was easy, open, happy. "Good to have you here. I know it makes Herc's work easier."

Chuck was there, almost like glued to Raleigh's side, and Q could tell that the two men had come out of the latest fight stronger. There were still fading scars on Hansen's face, but the other injuries had healed completely.

"Or his life hell," Bond chuckled.

x X XX xx X

A week later they were back in the Conn-Pod of their faithful Mark-III, ready to deploy and dive to the ocean floor to gather the first set of data.

James had never felt better. It was amazing how much he had missed this sensation of vastness, of the Jaeger, of Q that close to him through the Pons mechanism. The Ghost-Drifts were still there and aside from four of their closest friends, all of them Jaeger pilots, too, no one knew.

"Concentrate, 007," Q admonished with a little mental nudge.

He grinned cheekily at him.

Epic North was dropped from the cables beside them, moving smoothly through the ocean. For Raleigh and Chuck it was their first live test run and they were doing marvelously so far. Epic wasn't as tall as Skyfall, a good ten feet shorter, but she had Striker Eureka's built and speed. She was sleek, armed to the teeth, with a few experimental weapons that wouldn't be tested today. Her colors were primarily white and icy blue, with a few red stripes to emphasize the sleek built, and a dark gray mid-section.

The helicopters veered off, back to base, and the two Jaegers dove under the churning waves, surrounded by the familiar darkness of the ocean. The HUD showed them their position and they immediately headed for their destination.

Q turned his head, smiling that knowing smile at Bond, who returned it with a smirk of his own.

"Let's do this," Tendo called over the comm. "Skyfall Prime, everything reads good. You are ready to dive. Epic North, follow Skyfall, go through the motions, no stunts."

There were brief acknowledgements from Epic North.

Bond chuckled. "Let's go, Q."

"Right behind you," his partner replied.

fin!

Yes, it's done! I didn't think this would turn into such a long fic when I started writing down the scenes in my head. I also didn't figure that a second story would come out of my unplanned monster fic. As I already mentioned in a note a few chapters back, Newton and Hermann will get their own little fic. Uhm, well, not so little anymore...

I hope you enjoyed my foray into the world of Pacific Rim fusion fics and will come back for part 2. :)