Agent Chetiri

Chapter 10

Alas, I emerge from one disaster to fall into another.

-Pierre Corneille

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(December 26, 2012- 8:43 PM)

Alexa hopped onto the morning train at Euston Square Station and headed off to work. In truth, she really did not want to go and only came to show that she was alright, even after what happened on that fateful Christmas Eve. She placed a small and carefully wrapped box in her purse and stepped off the train at precisely 8:53 AM.

She walked into the office, giving a somewhat lackluster greeting to people as she passed by. Alexa went into the Q-Branch and quietly shut the door behind her. "Morning," she said, attempting to sound cheerful.

"Good morning," Q said as he turned around to face her. There was a different aura in the air and it became evident to everyone that something had indeed occurred between the two of them.

"Alexa, I've been calling you since yesterday. Where were you?" Joy said.

"I went to Bristol," she lied. "I spent Christmas Day with an old friend of mine."

"I thought that you didn't have old friends," Q said.

"He has a point," George said. Alexa silently swore and sat down, merely shrugging. There was a period of silence before Alexa suddenly remembered the box she had brought and fished it out of her purse.

"This is for you, by the way. I made it for your Christmas present," Alexa said softly as she walked up to Q. He opened the box curiously and pulled out an object that looked like a pen but it was not quite the same. However, Q recognized its shape and looked at it with interest.

"Is this what I think it is?" he asked.

"It's a functional sonic screwdriver, of sorts. It's not quite as glamorous as Doctor Who paints it to be, but it does indeed operate like the real thing, coming equipped with a signal jammer and field diagnostic software, among other things. I thought you would enjoy it," she said.

"You made this?" he said as he inspected the object. Alexa merely nodded and headed towards her desk.

"I hope you enjoy your present," she said, smiling despite how uncomfortable she felt. It truly felt weird to be around him like this but she felt at least some of it fading away, if only for a moment. He glanced back at her and his eyes softened slightly.

"Well, thank you for the gift. I had one for you as well, but it's at my flat. I never got to give it to you that evening because you, er..." Q said, his voice trailing off. He realized that he had accidentally brought up that night and cut himself short, not knowing what to say.

It was as if a switch had flicked back on in Alexa's mind. Her smile had faded, morphing back into her passive expression. Alexa merely nodded and slipped quietly into her regular routine and began working on the papers on her desk. It was admittedly a quiet and awkward start to the day and she chose not to speak for the majority of it.

Alexa also chose to refrain from looking at Q or even in his general direction. She glanced up only once after sitting for several hours at her desk and happened to lock eyes with him. Alexa looked back down somewhat guiltily and kept herself busy. It was no surprise that when it came down to lunch time, she found herself inexplicably nervous. She set down her pencil and stood up, making every effort to slip out of the room as stealthily as possible. Alexa turned around and began to make her way towards the door when she heard Q call her name.