"Ian" a small voice spoke"Ian why don't i have a mum and a dad"
Ian looks down at the little boy. His whispy blonde hair falling in front of his eyes.
Ian does not want to speak about John.
"Ian" the boy speaks up again "the other kids pick on me at school because you never come to pick me up or come to assemblys or concerts. Did i..." the young boy stops. Innocence and hurt shining in his brown eyes. "Did i do something wrong to make my mum and dad go away?"
"No" Ian answers immediently. No hesitation. The lie comes easily. "A plane crash Alex. They died. Gone. Noones fault." the lie grows "it was an accident".
Alex looks up at Ian.
"They did love you" A huge truth mixed with the lie Ian has just created. "They loved you dearly".
Alex nods. His small mind excepting this big shock as if he had been told no dessert.
"I see mum sometimes"
Ian glances at the boy. Wondering wether the boy is mad or just very imaginitive. Alex never lies.
He continues "at night. When i think about them. My mum apears. She has the same hair colour as me but her eyes are blue. Like my blanket" he points to the square of sky blue material on the sofa. "She says she loves me. She's proud of me and not to be mad at them for leaving me"
Ian contemplates what the young boy is saying. His description sounds just like Helen had been. Both looks and personality.
"The adored you Alex" he thinks. What comforted him when he lost family when he was younger? "The brightest star you see Alex. That is your parents. Those people at school that torment you. Just think about your mother and father watching over you"
Ian looks down at Alex, as if taking him in for the first time. His blonde hair reflecting both his parents and the brown eyes. Exact copies of Johns. Even the way he stands torments Ian. The confident stance, so much like Ian's late brother.
The brother that haunts him in his nightmares. Who knows what Ian plans for Alex. Who screams at him in his sleep to keep MI6 away from Alex"
Ian see's them too.
