This is my first ever fanfiction, so critical reviews are welcome! Sorry if this first chapter is a bit slow, I was going to make a prologue explaining it all, but I figured this way was the easiest and most understandable.

Sadly, I don't own Alex Rider, or Wolf, or any of K-Unit. Nada.

"I hate the obstacle course."

"I'll race you there!" Eagle yelled over his shoulder to one 18-year-old boy standing behind him.

"Eagle…" he replied but nevertheless, he joined in the race to the nightmarish obstacle course.

This is all still so… different, he thought. After Jack died at the merciless hands of Scorpia, MI6 finally gave him a small amount of time by himself to grieve and recover for her until another psychotic murderer felt like destroying the world. He never did get over her death and he was sure that he never would, after all, you don't just get over someone who gave up everything to stay by your side, but was then forcibly dragged away from your life to the depths of hell and beyond…

Jack.

He mentally hit himself for going all emotional about this now. It's been 3 years. It's a fact. She's gone. Nothing can be done for her now.

Three seconds to recover.

1…

2…

3.

Back on track. After he had successfully completed 5 more missions for them, he became more and more shut off, lifeless…Dead. They finally realised what they had done to him when Tulip Jones was appointed head after Blunt retired, claiming he was going to spend the rest of his life peacefully with his wife and 2 children. That fact had hit this boy in a very painful place. Blunt gets to live his happy life with all those he loves, while he gets re-assigned to his old unit and sent to SAS training camp because he 'hasn't got anyone else'? Life isn't fair, if anyone learnt that it was him, but that felt like the world suddenly turned and was mocking him. After all I did for you.

The process of fitting in the camp was surprisingly easy. Most soldiers remembered him but they had learnt the basic facts about him now, that he was MI6's top ranking agent and that his guardian had died in one of his missions, and therefore, he was sent here until he turned 21. Those facts apparently earned you the respect from all the soldiers, even the sergeant, although he knew all the facts.

Unfortunately, the process of fitting in to K-Unit was painstakingly slow. It wasn't that they resented him like last time, the opposite if anything. No. The problem was that they were always so persistent for more information than the basics. They were like a star-fish. If you knock one off your trail, another quickly replaces it. Eventually, they stopped when they saw it wasn't getting them anywhere and instead, to the boy's relief, let him tell them when he trusted them enough. This, in contrast to the other approach, worked very effectively. He slowly let them in on his missions, injuries – much to their horror- and even mental state. Not that there was much to be said there now, because they, in return had helped him… accept Jack's death, along with getting over the nastier missions and even stop his nightmares. He did get them, more or less, every time he slept but now it was about once every month or two.

They boy was extremely grateful for everything they had done for him. They had turned his life around from 3 years ago, now when he looks back on it, they basically breathed new life into his lungs and saved him from the horror that is MI6. Mrs Jones promised that they wouldn't use him ever again, that it was wrong to ever start with and she hope he would forgive her. To which the boy responded with a simple lift-of-the-middle-finger to her, much to her relief that he still had some of his old wit and the new deputy head's, Mr Bane, shock.

The more he thought about it, the more he realised that Fox, or Ben Daniels, had helped him an insurmountable amount. When Ben and the boy were reunited on the way to the camp, he saw the boy in a new light. An even brighter light than the one he saw in the Snakehead mission. He promised the boy that he would be there for him, that he would take care of him and that he would stay with him. But, he still worked for MI6 so he couldn't be there all the time, only for occasional 'refresher courses' that were authorised by Mrs Jones. But he did keep that promise as best he could.

That, of course, left an empty space that a recruit was to fill for Ben. Said recruits name was Bear. The moment the boy met Bear, his senses kept stabbing at him saying that Bear wasn't to be trusted and that he was bad news. But, the boy wanted to leave his 'spy-senses' behind and, so, he ignored them and Bear was now as close to him as the rest of the unit was. After a while, nearly all his old senses built up from a year and a half of spying were gone, they never disappeared completely, after all, isn't that what they say? Old habits die hard. Of course. But they quietened down enough for him to not pay attention. Although…Bear… he was still ever so slightly wary about him. He couldn't shake it off, but nor could be place the thing wrong, that annoyed him, yet he still just ignored it. If Bear wanted to hurt him, he'd had 3 years to do so by now. Nothing was wrong.

Really, you could say that, in its own little messed up way, life for one Alex Rider was good.

OOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXX OOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXX OOXXOOXXOO

The unit had been playing some relaxing poker filled with cheating and death wishes for an hour or so in the limited downtime in the evening, well, at least they were until Wolf called it in and commanded them to bed. Really. It was very enjoyable.

Alex tried pleading. "Come on Wolfy, just one more game?"

Alex knew very rightly that he was the only one who could get away with calling Wolf that, as, even if Wolf would scamper away at the mere thought of proclaiming this fact, he had a weak spot for the poor, little Cub, that and he still felt bad for insulting him last time about his parents…

"Well, if you put it that way Cubby, I guess… No. Go to bed you lot." At this Wolf stalked off muttering incoherent things about disobedient teenagers.

Even Wolf knew it was a risk calling Cub…Cubby, the last person to do so was actually Eagle, who had been trying to get a rise out of Cub. Oh he did. Too bad Eagle bit off a bit more than he could chew. He may or may not have ended up in the infirmary for being shot with a BB gun in the balls.

"Spoilsport." Surprisingly, that was all Cub said. Wolf shrugged, secretly astounded at his luck. That could have been worse. Much worse. Something might be wrong with Cub, Wolf thought worriedly. Wow. This kid turned me into a real softie. Damn.

Too bad Wolf didn't know that the real reason Cub was so quiet was because he couldn't get the look the sergeant gave him earlier out of his stupid head. It was…a mixture of emotions he couldn't work out. Anger, quite usual but it was massively amplified, and what about the secret apology in his eyes? Or the sadness mixed in? Annoyance? Exhaustion? Something was going on here… but he, again, couldn't place it! And Alex Rider knows when he can't place something; it means that something is very bad.