A/N: Sorry I had to put the summary in here, but I didn't want to spoil the books for people who hadn't read them yet.
Summary: After Alex is shot at the end of Scorpia, Jack finds herself doing something she always scorned.
Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider or the song "Dare You to Move"
Jack had never considered herself a religious person. In fact, she often made fun of people who were, saying that they "put their faith in nothing but imagination." But when she got the fateful call from M16, she found herself praying the second she hung up.
Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next?
What happens next?
God, she prayed, I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know if you're even there. I do know that I haven't been the best of people, and neither has Alex. But please, don't let him die. Please.
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before
She got into the car, feeling the prickling that signaled the onset of tears. Be with him, please, God, she pleaded. Don't let the shooter have hit a fatal spot. Please, keep my Alex safe.
Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
The tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be
Yeah
She moved from pleading to begging. I know that we haven't lived the best lives, but hey, we could have been worse. I can think of about a million things I've done that I shouldn't have. But right now...People have told me that you always forgive everything. So please, just...be with my Alex. Let him live.
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
As she pulled into the hospital parking lot, her cheeks were wet with tears. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she was a mess, but she didn't care. She ran into the hospital, literally running into a nurse who was on her way into the OR. "How is he? Do you know?" Jack asked the nurse, her voice hoarse.
The nurse hesitated before saying, "He's pretty bad. But with a whole lot of luck, he just might pull through."
At that, Jack collapsed on the floor, sobbing. She didn't notice the nurse nod for someone else to assist the surgeon. Jack did, however, notice the small cross on a chain around the nurse's neck as she bent down.
Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here
She stared at the cross, and the nurse followed her gaze. "Miss Starbright, isn't it?" the nurse asked Jack gently.
Jack nodded, not even questioning how the nurse knew her name. "Please," she whispered, "would you...would you pray for my Alex?"
"We'll pray for Alex," the nurse replied.
And they did.
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself
To lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened
In the operating room, the doctors were on the verge of giving up. The patient was virtually unresponsive, and fading fast. Suddenly, though, his formerly weak heartbeat strengthened, his blood pressure stabilized, and the chief surgeon realized exactly what she needed to do.
No one would ever openly acknowledge what happened in that room as a miracle. But everyone – doctors, nurses, Jack, and Alex – knew that the young spy should not have survived.
Today never happened before
A/N: So whadja think? Well?
I debated doing this as a second chapter of "Homesick," but it wouldn't quite fit. So then I thought of the ending of Scorpia and the beginning of Ark Angel, and BAM! This was born. :)
