It happened one day a month after Scorpia had shot him and only a few days after his run in with Snakehead. It would have come as a shock but somehow it just didn't. Alex had always known it would happen, ever since that look had crept into her eyes every time she looked at him. But it didn't make it any less painful for him to hear.

"Alex, I have something i need to tell you, " Jack looked across the counter at him, she almost flinched at the lack of emotion in his cold blue eyes, it was like looking into the eyes of the dead, "I'm going back to America". She announced quietly before she paused; waiting for him to digest the news, before continuing on at breakneck speed, "I'm sorry but I can't stay here and keep watching you get hurt! You lose a little bit of yourself whenever you go on these adventures of yours, and I miss having someone here, I want to go back to my family and enjoy being young while I can, it's just too much to watch you die before my eyes Alex, please tell me you can understand that."

Jack looked up at him. There was a pleading edge to her normally calm and happy gaze, she needed him to understand, not for him but for herself, she wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if Alex didn't answer the affirmative.

"Sure" Alex murmured casually, "don't worry, I understand" , no matter how calm and collected he looked on the surface, he was working to keep his voice under control and not allow his feelings to seep through; it wasn't as difficult as it used to be. After all of his missions he had learnt how to shut down emotions so they didn't show on his face and truth be told Alex was rather proud of himself for mastering that particular skill, it reminded him of Yassen, who had barely shown any emotion ever, not even happiness. Alex gave it a few minutes before he turned and walked back to his room.

So here he was sitting on his bed and thinking about just how rubbish is life was. He was beyond caring about whether or not this made him stupid or childish he felt he deserved, just this once, to stew in his own feelings. Everyone he had ever known had abandoned him, his parents (unintentionally), his uncle (intentionally left, unintentionally never came back), MI6, and now Jack. Even Yassen had abandoned him and although they never spoke fully he had trusted the silent Russian. Sabina hadn't wanted to wait around for a guy she couldn't depend on, especially not after her father's death. It was, he supposed the inevitable life of a spy. To end up alone. Alex spent a good hour moping about his life before he pulled himself together; he'd never been one for sitting and thinking, he was more the acting type. Alex stood and paused for a second he wondering if it was this quality that made him such a good spy.

Jack left before the week was out, apparently she had had everything planned and had left telling him to the last minute. Alex couldn't help the feeling of slight betrayal but brushed it off. Her parents had even paid for a private jet to get her home in. Alex considered just how lucky he was when she told him this, it meant that MI6 would have no idea she was gone, he had at least some protection when they thought she was around, otherwise he was theirs to control.

After a not so tearful goodbye he shut the front door to the house and leant back against the cool wooden beams. It was eerily silent now without Jack's presence, he could see how she wouldn't want to stay, given how much he was away, everything was now reminding him of the two people who used to reside here. His resentment towards her lessened slightly, Alex even managed a smile as he wandered past the cooking books, there were so many different types with pictures that looked disgusting. Alex was slightly thankful she hadn't tried to make any of those. He walked back to his room and sat on the bed, contemplating what to do next.

Mr Blunt looked to his second; they were standing in the middle of his office staring out across the vast grey landscape that was London. He knew she wouldn't like what he was about to say,

"We need Alex"

He was right. She didn't like it.

Her face twisted, then exploded

"What!? He was only just shot! And he needs time to recover! You know that" she sounded indignant, as she had right to; Mrs. Jones had the moral high ground on this one.

"I know but this isn't some mission where we could send in someone else but have chosen the better agent, he is the only one who can get in! They monitor all staff and there are no openings. It's impossible to get someone in there who hasn't been with them for at least five years! You know this as well as I. We cannot not use him." He rarely spoke so much but he needed to get his point across. They had to have Alex!

"No we have to leave it for a little bit longer, let's see if any of the other routes first and then maybe we will bring him in"

Alan Blunt sighed; he knew that tone, she would not allow him Alex, not yet.

Alex was checking the fridge for in date milk, he had a feeling his food stocks were down, he muttered under his breath to himself that he'd have to go shopping and started to make a mental list of what he was low on. Alex was doing pretty well at fending for himself in the real world, but then he had a lot of practice. Paying the bills wasn't difficult, he had a lot of money left to him by Ian Rider and MI6 seemed to have failed to remember to not allow him access. But just in case he was withdrawing the maximum amount possible each day, he couldn't afford not to. If they shut off his access he wanted to have some reserves.

It occurred to him three days after Jack left that he couldn't continue his life like this. He needed a proper plan. He started to pace as he thought deeply about the matter, it had been bugging him for days and now, he decided, was the time to address the issue properly. He could escape MI6 but with little to no qualifications he had no real prospects when it came to jobs and money, he couldn't sponge off Ian's account forever; it wouldn't last and more importantly he'd get bored. He didn't even have friends to entertain himself with anymore; Tom had left to be with his brother in Naples. Although, now he came to think about it, Alex did know a lot of influential people even if they weren't what you would call friends. A plan started to form in his mind. If he wanted to avoid both Scorpia, which he sure as hell did, and MI6, which he really wanted, and any other organisation that decided to take an interest in him he needed training, and where better to go than the elite grounds. Brecon Beacons. He stopped in his relentless movement, they weren't going to just allow him in, he was too young. Far too young. And he didn't in any way fit their brief for applying, a small smile appeared on Alex's face, he just had to impress them enough for them to let him in, secretly, and that was going to take serious some work. Alex's smile turned into a self satisfied smirk, he enjoyed having a goal.

A/n Please review; worth continuing? Ok? Awful? K-unit next I think, if you like it.