A/N: An alternative ending to satisfy someone's need that I bribed. xD
"I'm not ready to do this," Wolf said as he anxiously paced the house. Eagle, for once, was the only one sitting still. Wolf was waiting for a phone call from Snake from the hospital, the one that would confirm whether or not Alex Rider was alive or dead.
After Alex's fifth suicide attempt, all of the K-Unit members had been allowed to be Alex's medical proxy for the time of an emergency. It was one of the rare times that Cub had smiled.
"So it's like you're all my guardians," he'd said with a sleepy smile.
Then he had gone and closed himself in his room for a few hours, falling asleep.
Wolf wasn't surprised by Alex's suicide attempts, although he was surprised by the increasing number that there had been lately. He knew why the kid wanted to die. He didn't necessarily blame him; after all, he'd been through hell and back and was bearing the weight of Jack's death. Eagle thought that he also probably thought that Tom's death was your fault.
"You can't blame yourself for this, Wolf," Eagle said as he stood up.
"I didn't say I blamed myself." Wolf sank back into the chair and glared at the picture of Cub that sat across from him on the table.
"You didn't have too," Eagle replied, "you've got it written all over your face."
"I thought I was going to die when he pointed that gun at his head, you know that?" Wolf said as he glanced at Eagle. Eagle sank back down to his seat. "I thought that I was going to die. I mean, I don't understand that. I've seen shit-scarier things, so why did I think I was going to die then? I wasn't even in any danger."
Eagle didn't respond.
"I mean… I've seen someone hold a gun to your head before, Eagle. Remember that? He just kinda pointed the gun to your head and demanded that we followed him. I thought I'd have died then. Actually," Wolf said, voicing his fears out loud for the first time, "I thought we were all going to die then."
"Do you think that Alex pointing the gun to his head triggered your memories?" Eagle asked quietly as he sat his soda down on the table. It was a common joke among the K-Unit about Eagle being the psychologist of the group. The joke often went something about how Eagle could be happy because he could fix everyone's problems.
The truth was, though, he was damn good at his job as a therapist. He worked well and listened well, and spent most of his time apart from his job being joyful.
Or pranking Wolf… and trying to get Alex to smile.
"I don't know that, Eagle. You're the psychologist, not me," Wolf snapped. He took a deep breath and looked down at the ground. "I think it brought all my fears to light. I've had this fear ever since taking custody of Alex that MI6 is going to shoot me if I let him die. I know that's an irrational fear, but…" his voice trailed off.
"Wolf," Eagle said, "That's hardly an unjustified fear. Okay, sure, the part about MI6 is a little extreme, but Alex has made several suicide attempts within the last seventeen weeks. I'd be paranoid, too. I mean, that's why we all moved in one apartment, isn't it?"
"I guess." Wolf still looked unconvinced as he stood up. "I'm just not ready to go yet because I'm wondering if it's me."
"What do you mean?" Eagle questioned.
"I'm wondering if I'm a trigger for Alex."
Eagle shook his head. "Wolf, I'm sure there are hidden triggers for Alex we don't know about. I've been working with him ever since he's been here, you know that. Actually, you know MI6 made that my full-time job."
"I heard you got a lot of choice in the matter, too," Wolf said with a roll of his eyes. He had heard that, and he'd asked, well hell,why don't you just give Eagle the damn custody of Alex?
He hadn't been in the best mood then.
"It hardly matters." Eagle stretched back in his chair. "Alex has been through Hell and back, and I'm not talking about Breacon Beacons. That's liveable hell. He's been through the Hell no kid should have to go through, and he's told me some things I don't think I ever want anyone else to know."
"You know you have to break confidentiality if he says he's going to hurt himself," Wolf said, glancing at Eagle.
"Of course." Eagle rolled his eyes. "Anyway, look; let's just remember that Cub's alive, and move on from there. There's nothing else we can do right now until we see about how he is."
Wolf nodded and stretched as he got up. "Fox should call us from the hospital soon. What say we go over there and visit?"
"Yeah, you've probably gotten about all the sleep you'll get," Eagle said. Fox had taken Alex to the hospital this time so Wolf didn't have too.
"Between you and Alex, I'm surprised I get any sleep at all," Wolf muttered with a dark look, thinking about the prank that Eagle had pulled.
"Hey! It was Alex's idea, not mine, and it sounded good. I mean, come on! You would never think to look for a stimulant in your decaffeinated coffee!" Eagle burst out into a grin.
"Yeah, the coffee wasn't decaffeinated, either. And before you think I need to focusonmydrivingbetter, remember the lecture you got from Snake about mixing Adderall and caffeine, alright?" Wolf said, now smiling at the memory.
"You know," Eagle said, reflecting as the two made their way out the door, "Alex really smiled that time. Maybe I should do pranks with him more often."
"Eagle, do you want to live?" Wolf growled.
"Oh, sure," he said. "That's why it will be a good thing for Alex to start learning how to play pranks. So that I can live a little longer, you know?"
"That's assuming I let either of you live a little longer," Wolf said with a growl, but he had a smile on his face as he walked out to the car.
We're going to keep you alive, Alex.
Somehow, some way.
