Muddled Tears

by Kiamii

Chapter Four "Live To Learn"

Ben had been upset with Alex for shooting his sarcasm off at Lynx. That man was known for his temper. So when the Sergeant released them for Ben to put Alex to bed, this relieved the agent. He quickly pulled Alex up into his arms, adjusted him to sit on his hip, and carried him out of the mess hall while Lynx stomped away to the Assault Course, probably as punishment. K-Unit headed toward the Killing House and Ben sighed, Alex's arms around his neck as the man carried him to the cabin. Alex leaned against him, probably feeling satisfied. Ben wanted to growl but refrained himself. Alex had gone through eight traumatizing missions and Ben knew he should watch what he did. Still...

"Why can't I go with you to see you shoot?" Alex asked him, wriggling in Fox's arms. Ben tightened his hold on him and leveled him with a stern glance, wishing Alex would realize the foolish things he did.

"You just shot your mouth out to a soldier, despite my silent warning," Fox said exasperatedly. That was a dangerous thing to do, make a soldier angry. Alex simply leaned his head against Fox as they entered the cabin. He didn't seem to understand or comprehend.

"He is not my better," Alex stressed out. Fox rolled his eyes and tapped Alex on the nose.

"Alex. You're FIVE right now. He's like in his thirties. Please think before you say anything. Did you do this on missions too?" Fox asked as he sat Alex on the bed in the cabin.

"Yes..." Alex admitted. Fox groaned loudly and just ruffled Alex's blond hair, seeing that he couldn't convince Alex.

"Into your pajamas and in bed with you," Fox ordered and Alex reluctantly nodded before he undressed and changed into the pajamas that was blue with plaid on it. Fox's lips twitched and he lifted Alex back up onto the bed, pulling the covers over him and handing him his stuffed bear from Smithers. Fox then wrapped his arms around Alex and pulled him into a hug, doing his best to ignore the flinch. As he left he couldn't help but think about Alex, even as he took his assessment in shooting. He had improved, he noticed, as he got his results back and met up with K-Unit.

"Your kid sure has a mouth on him," Snake commented, flashing his friend a grin. Ben grumbled something in reply but didn't voice it loudly. It was true he didn't expect Alex to do that, but he should have known Alex wasn't shy and innocent. He had a spark of sarcasm, if Jones' words to him were true and they were. At least Ben hadn't encountered Alex's knack for defiance... yet.

"So whose his mother!?" Eagle suddenly asked, recalling the fact that Alex was too old to be Kaitlyn's child. Ben paused. Should he just tell them Alex was adopted?

"Alex was adopted Eagle." Ben said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey! It wasn't that obvious!" Eagle said defensively. Snake and Wolf looked curious though. It did make sense, considering they knew Ben since he was in his teens, all of them living in London at the time of when they were nineteen, eighteen (Eagle), and Twenty (Snake). They knew each other then and they joined the army together. Probably why they were the most effecient team in the SAS. Ben snorted at Eagles comment and playfully punched him before he saw a short figure next to a lean, taller one. His eyes narrowed. They were people and the only child that size on camp was... damnit.

"Alex is over there," Ben sighed and the unit followed him as he walked over to them. Ben stopped when he got close enough. He grew furious at what he saw. Lynx had his fist next to Alex who was now crying, his hands next to his eyes and a horrific looking bruise growing quickly. Ben nearly saw red. Lynx. Punched. Alex! If Ben were a cartoon, he'd probably have blown up with how angry he was. Someone just hurt Alex and that was the only thing on Ben.

"I can explain!" Lynx shouted, stepping back as Alex paused for a second before he continued to bawl like a child. He was a child, Ben reminded himself. The four men stepped forward menacingly before Snake went over to Alex and knelt down in front of him. Alex slowed his cries and was now only hiccuping as he looked at Snake with wide eyes. The man slowly reached over and gently touched the bruise. When Alex flinched (out of instinct at being touched as usual) Ben saw red at that moment, remembering that his son. HIS SON was just hit.

"There's clearly nothing to explain," Eagle said coldly, slipping an arm around Ben's waist to hold him back from murdering Lynx. The man looked rather pale as he saw Fox. Snake told Alex softly that he was going to pick him up and Alex stiffened but nodded, rubbing his eyes with his fists to clear the tears. This only added to Ben's anger.

"It was an accident," Lynx pleaded as Snake placed his hands under Alex's arms and picked him up, resting him in his arms. Alex burried his face into Snake's thankfully clean shirt. Wolf was glaring at Lynx as well, mainly because everyone knew he had a policy. No one messed with his unit and that included Ben's son. Lynx gulped and backed away again, but Wolf stepped towards him considering Snake was holding Alex and Eagle was restraining a furious Fox. Before anyone could react, Wolf had Lynx pinned against K-Unit's cabin walls, his hands gripped the shirt of the cowering A-Unit leader.

"WHAT is going on here soldiers?" A voice angrily cut in on them and they all turned to see Sergeant Raven looking at them, displeased. They all tried explaining at once while Snake adjusted Alex who still had tears going down his cheeks, taking Raven by surprise. He immediately ordered K-Unit to his office with Lynx while he told Ben to put his charge to bed. Ben took Alex and left the group quietly, still angry. Alex didn't say anything, rubbing his cheek. Ben entered the cabin and sat Alex on the edge of the bed before kneeling down to inspect the bruise in the light.

"I'm okay you know. I was just acting." Alex said quietly, rubbing away the tears against his burning red eyes. He honestly did not know how he managed to cry like that. It had just come... natural. Like a child who was hurt, crying for their parents. Alex felt something clench in a knot and he pushed the thought away.

"Then you're one hell of an actor. Those tears make the bruise look worse kiddo." Ben said with a frown. He brushed his hand against the bruise and watched Alex blanch.

"I take it you hurt more than you would in your old body," Ben observed. Alex nodded, choosing not to say anything. The two were quiet for a moment before Ben noticed Alex's pajamas were streaked with mud. Did he fall over when he got hit? Ben sighed and stood Alex up.

"Lift up your hands," Ben told him and Alex looked at him funny before complying. He was taken aback by Ben tugging at the end of his shirt and Alex immediately threw his hands down to stop him, embarrassed. Ben gave him a look and Alex reluctantly lifted his arms back up. When he pulled the shirt off, Alex crossed his arms over his bare chest. Having never looked at his chest since the shrink, he looked down and looked at it, amazed. Ben let him for a minute, seeing that Alex hadn't done that before.

"It's weird... not seeing the bullet wound... or the thousands of scars all over." Alex admitted with a frown. Ben nodded and lifted Alex up, pulling the pajamas bottoms off Alex before the boy noticed through his distraction. He dug in the backpack and found the other pair of pajamas, the red ones with sport designs. Alex looked at Ben, confused.

"Your other ones were covered in mud, though I'm astounded you didn't notice," Ben said dryly. Alex shrugged and got changed in the pajamas, not letting Ben help him that time. With that done, Ben put the dirty clothes off to the side before lifting Alex up onto the bed and sliding in next to him. He was lucky the bed was large enough to allow him and Alex to sleep in the same bed without falling off. He pulled Alex over to him and covered him up. He was also glad the bed was the one in the corner so he could lean against it to sit up until he decided to sleep. This bed had always been his during his time in SAS. He pulled his bag over to him and found the Who Needs a Bear book. Alex looked at him in surprise before putting a small hand against Ben's to stop him.

"We already read it," Alex said. Ben smiled and pulled Alex to sit up with him, having had the boy lay on his back.

"Thought you'd might like to read it again. I have some other books in my bag if you want me to read you those."

"Why do you want to read to me?" Alex asked, puzzled and embarassed. Ben laughed and kissed the top of Alex's head to the boy's surprise. He put his hand to the spot and looked at Ben with near wide eyes.

"You slept last night without any nightmares for once, did you not?" Ben inquired. Alex thought about it and sheepishly nodded. He in fact had dreams about the book. This made Alex pause. He looked at Ben who smiled at him softly.

"Why do you care so much?" Alex couldn't help but ask, turning to face Ben who looked at him sadly.

"You've been through a lot Alex. Even though I was horrible to you during the first two weeks I met you, I shouldn't have. When I met you again at Snakehead, I realized that you were more than that. You're like a little brother to me and now you're my son." Ben told him, ruffling Alex's hair. This time, to his happiness, Alex didn't flinch. Alex stared at him for a moment before he scooted back over to Ben's side and leaned against him.

"What other books do you have?" Alex couldn't help but ask. Ben chuckled and he dug in his bag. He smiled as he found one of the books he had loved as a kid as well.

"If you Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff." Ben began. Alex sat next to him, his head against Ben's stomach, as he read. The two were soon lost again in the words of the story together, Alex once more adding his own questions and comments, having never read these sort of books growing up. K-Unit walked into the cabin disgruntled but entered quietly the minute they noticed the distracted two on Ben's bed. Snake smirked as he heard Ben's reading before the three crept over to their beds and relaxed against it, simply listening to the two for some reason. They honestly found they couldn't connect Alex's personality together. Right now he was very intelligent and quiet while in the Mess Hall he was bold and sarcastic. How odd...

Ben finished the story and looked at Alex who yawned before deciding to give his response to the book, "I liked it but, why would the boy give a mouse of all things and animals, a cookie!?" Ben chuckled and simply maneuvored Alex to lay down on his back. Alex rolled over on his stomach and Ben rubbed his back like always. Ben looked up when he heard other laughter and he saw his unit staring at him in amusement. Smiling sheepishly, he made sure Alex was asleep before he spoke.

"You can talk now. He's a mild sleeper." Ben told them, running his hand through his charge's hair. Alex leaned into the touch, perfectly unconscious.

"So oh wise oh Fox, why would you give a mouse a cookie?" Snake mocked and barely missed the book flying at his head. Ben glared and heard a whimper. Noticing Alex's hands empty, he looked around and picked the bear up from the floor, moving it to rest in Alex's hands. The boy clutched it to him and was peacefully sleeping again. Ben smiled before glaring again at Snake who put the book on the floor.

"Is he alright from the hit?" Wolf asked. Ben nodded, his hand cupping the bruised cheek. Alex winced even in his sleep.

"What happened after I left?" Ben inquired.

"Sergeant got both our sides and Lynx is on punishment duty for a week and tomorrow has to apologize to Alex in front of everyone at the Mess Hall." Wolf said with a smirk while looking at Eagle incredulously when the man took the childrens book and opened it up to read.

"I've never heard of it!" Eagle defended himself before he got hit on the head. They rough housed for awhile before all four men dropped off to sleep. Ben laid down and threw an arm around Alex's waist, pulling him to his chest protectively. He fell asleep with in minutes...

The next day the sun opted to hide behind the gray clouds as rain poured from them with a dark splat against the brown ground. Soldiers were up that morning and groaning at a rainy day ahead of them. They grudgingly trudged over to the Mess Hall for a normal day of training... or so they thought. K-Unit were waking up right about now and it started with Snake who in turned woke up Wolf who shoved Eagle to the floor who yelped and therefore startled both Ben and Alex awake at the same time. Seeing that Eagle woke up the little boy, Wolf and Snake glared at him while Eagle pouted. They stood up and went to the showers first, entering the room when they were suited in their uniforms. Ben opted to carry Alex to the showers where he helped Alex reach the knobs and took his own shower before he made sure Alex was fully dressed in his dark green shorts and black T-shirt with his shoes and socks. Alex didn't mind being carried at this time, considered he was drowsy and there was mud everywhere. With how small Alex was, he'd be covered in mud in less than ten steps. When he got back to the cabin, Ben fetched Alex's green jacket from the bag and put it on the boy.

"Might want to leave Button here," Ben commented as Alex went over to grab it. Alex looked at Ben with startled eyes, and silently asking him why. Ben looked torn at explaining why he thought so.

"He might get covered in mud and you wouldn't want that," Snake offered to Ben who nodded, relieved. Alex bit his lip, silently hating himself for being so attached to the bear, but nodded. He raised his arms up and Ben took that surprisingly as the correct signal to pick him up. Wrapping his arms around Ben's neck, Alex rested his head against the man's shoulder. Ben mentally guessed he did this because the bear was slowly becoming a dependency for calming him and naturally, he'd want to be carried if he couldn't hold the bear, so that his hands can wrap around something. Adjusting Alex on his hip, the unit headed over to the mess hall where the soldiers managed to at least continue acting normal as Ben walked in with his son. Though many did stare when they saw the dark bruise on Alex's exposed cheek. It would have been red if Alex had been slapped but it was near purple, meaning he'd been punched. This boiled some of the soldiers' anger as kids meant a lot to most of them. Some of them were especially upset considering kids were the reason they fought. They fought for their women and children and their country. Seeing a little boy with a bruise was not something that pleased anyone. Alex shied away from the stares for once and hid in Ben's shirt. Ben rubbed his back to calm him as he grabbed their tray and sat at the table.

"I'll hold him so you can eat," Snake suggested and Ben shot him a grateful look before passing Alex to Snake. Alex reluctantly undid his wrap around and simply clutched Snake's shirt with his small fists. The mess hall grew quiet as Lynx slowly walked over to them, his unit behind him. Alex frowned at Lynx, and turned his head purposely towards the man to show off the bruise. Lynx blanched as he saw the bruise before he stood reluctantly in front of K-Unit.

"Fox, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for last night." Lynx grumbled and Fox frowned at him.

"Apology denied." Fox replied formally, "I'm not the one you punched last night."

"Right," Lynx grunted before turning to Alex and wincing again at the sight of the bruise. At least Alex's tears weren't there anymore, "Kid. I'm sorry I hurt you. Can you forgive me?" He waited for a sarcastic reply from the brat but was taken aback (as well as the unit with him) by the shy nod from Alex. What happened to the kid's attitude yesterday? This made Lynx turn red as he realized the punch to the kid must have scared him. He immediately felt guilty.

"See Lynx! I told you that the kid isn't the sort to do what you were telling me about," The man next to Lynx grumbled and Lynx glared before they left. Ben turned to Alex.

"Why'd you forgive him, Al?" Ben questioned. Alex shrugged.

"I didn't want to get him angry at me again." Alex admitted. Ben smiled a little and ruffled Alex's hair up a bit. He finished up his food before taking Alex into his arms. He suddenly frowned when Alex denied being hungry and he felt the boy's forehead as Alex leaned against him. He cursed silently drawing Snake's attention who felt Alex's forehead too. Alex leaned against him, closing his eyes drowsily. The two men looked at each other.

"What's wrong?" Wolf asked.

"Alex is sick."

Author's Note; For the record. Sergeant Raven (My OC) doesn't really know how to react around Cub who he thought belonged to some rich guy. He read Alex's mission files and Raven also had a kid who was five when he was killed by Scorpia. To see Alex that age and know when he was 14 he defeated Scorpia twice, he's more inclined to respect Cub. Notice that I pointed out there were four beds only in the cabin. So I just naturally made it that Ben sleeps with Alex next to him. He's a kid. It works. The book in this chapter was my favorite one of all time. So Day 2 to Day 3 will be Chapter Five... or I might add in Day 4 with it. Dunno. Taking this in pieces. I felt that Alex should get sick and would make it more believable why he accepted the apology. He wants sleep and that's all that mattered to him. Thus Alex is quiet at the moment because he's not feeling well. That's how I react when I'm sick. I'm talkative but if I get sick, I don't talk all that much and I do whatever I need to get someone to get away so I can try and sleep.