2 days later

Alex was ready to leave. They had managed to salvage a few suitcases from the remains of the house and his had been one of them. John was standing a little way away, talking to Yassen. Alex watched them for a while, trying to hear what they were saying. He gave up and walked over to them.

"I'm ready to go." he told John. He hesitated, then turned to Yassen, "Are you sure you're going to stay here?" he asked. The Russian nodded, looking around him.

"For a while at least, it's nice here." He said quietly. Alex nodded, it was true. "I'll probably come back down to London at some point though." Alex smiled.

"You better." He laughed, looking up at Yassen. His arm was in a sling and he had a couple of paper sutures over his right eye. But his eyes gleamed with energy; they weren't tense and empty like they usually were. A real smile lit up his face and he looked genuinely happy for once.

"I will, I promise." He said. John came over to them from the car. He wiped oily hands on a rag and picked up Alex's suitcase.

"Ready to go?" he asked. Alex nodded and said goodbye to Yassen, shaking his hand. John lingered, chewing his lip. "I'm sorry…" he said. Yassen held up a hand.

"It's fine." He said. John held out a hand hesitantly and Yassen took it, smiling. "Goodbye, take care of Alex, he's a good kid." He said quietly. John nodded, glancing over his shoulder at the boy in the car.

"I will, and you take care of yourself. And maybe you could think about joining MI6, they could do with more people like you." He said. Yassen's eyes widened, but he didn't reject the offer. "Just something to think about…" John turned away and got into the car. Yassen raised a hand. Alex leant out of the open window, waving. Yassen watched them go feeling sad, but strangely free.

He turned away and walked back down the street, gazing up at the peak of Skiddaw and wondering vaguely how to get there. He laughed suddenly; he was a proper tourist for once.

He wandered slowly through the crowds, trusting his instincts to warn him of any danger. There was none. The sky was overcast; there was a threat of snow in the air as he walked slowly down the main street. Yassen tucked cold hands into his pockets and turned towards the lake. He walked along to the end of the beach, climbing up the cliff.

Yassen sat down on the lip of the cliff, gazing out at the islands and the humpbacked shape of Catbells along the far side of the lake. He sighed and lay back against a tree.

Alex and John arrived late in the night; they pulled up outside the house. As John turned the engine off, Jack flew out of the door and across the gravel drive.

"Alex! You're ok! Thank God." She pulled him from the car and wrapped her arms around him. John got out slowly, keeping his eyes on Jack. "Who's that?" She asked warily.

Alex turned, he grinned at John and Jack. "This is my Dad, John Rider." He said proudly. "Dad, this is Jack." They two shook hands. John moved around to open the boot of the car, realising as he did so, that that was the first time Alex had called him "Dad". He smiled happily and slammed the boot shut.

He went into the house, and clicked the door shut behind him. John smiled as he saw Alex and Jack in the sitting room and allowed his thoughts to drift back to Yassen. He walked into the room and sat down. He felt at home here. And Alex was safe.

In Keswick, Yassen was still lying against the tree. He felt cold, but didn't mind, he was watching the stars. His thoughts slid back to John and Alex and he smiled. Perhaps MI6 wasn't too bad after all…

There we go, sorry that it's so short, but it sets it up nicely for the sequel... D (Amazing what Business studies does for giving me ideas for stories) should be up soon, but until then, keep reviewing! D