I am sorry for taking so long to get this up (though I should probably quit apologizing since it keeps happening) and that this is a bit of filler - what I had planned just didn't want to cooperate and I don't know if I'm going to post it. There had also been some problems between my boyfriend and I and we've recently broken up so I haven't had the drive to write at all, much less in a romance. That said, I've got another poll up if anyone is interested in giving their opinion.

10

Wolf sighed softly, kicking his boots into a corner as he locked his door again. That had been a difficult mission and he wasn't about to prolong being able to crawl into bed any longer than he had to, especially not by being loud at half past one in the morning and waking his neighbors. His bag hit the floor with a dull fwump seconds before he flopped onto his bed with a similar sound.

The soldier was mostly asleep when his phone began to ring. He half-growled, half-groaned, turning his head just enough to glare at the offending object. After several rings, the phone cut off and he heard the machine start, so he let his eyes fall closed again.

"...Shit..."

The softly breathed curse over the line had Wolf's eyes popping open and him out of bed, scrambling to pick up the handset. He couldn't think of one good reason for this particular person to be calling him of all people at this time of night.

"Cub!" he nearly shouted as soon as the receiver had cleared its cradle. Nearly hitting himself in the face in his haste to get the phone pressed to his ear, he hoped that she hadn't hung up yet.

There was silence on the other end then a sigh. He had never been any good at interpreting those so he didn't bother to try this time.

"Wolf?"

"Cub, why are you calling? What's wrong?"

She laughed slightly. "Sorry for the time, but we kind of need some help."

"We?" Wolf wasn't about to assume that it was something relatively minor until she told him exactly what was going on, and even then he was going to guess it was worse than what she said. Both from what he had heard about her as an agent and what he had experienced himself, she had the habit of understating things.

"It's a bit of a story, but Tom and I need a ride."

Wolf suppressed a yawn, rubbing his face with a hand. "Isn't Tom that psycho kid Ben was telling me about?"

"He isn't psychotic... Just hyper and weird."

"Okay, whatever. Where are you?" He pushed himself up and reached under his bed to fish out a pair of sneakers.

The location she rattled off had his eyebrows climbing toward his hair. "Do I even want to know how you ended up there?"

"Probably not. For once though, it is completely not my fault." Wolf heard a laugh in the background. "Shut up Tom."

"I'm on my way. See if you can find a store or something to wait in."

"The closest place is a strip club. While Tom might not mind that, I don't want to deal with it and I doubt you really want to get us from one."

"No. Find a streetlamp to stand under."

She sighed and, even given his lack of sigh translation abilities, he could tell that she was rolling her eyes too. "We'll be fine."

Wolf grunted then hung up. He took a few seconds to copy the number into his phone before grabbing his keys and wallet and walking out the door.

When he pulled up to where the teens were, he growled softly upon seeing them. He got out and glared at them over the roof.

"You didn't mention that you had been beaten to hell."

Alex gave him a flat look. "That's because we hadn't. This happened after I called."

Wolf glared harder before snapping at the pair. "Get in the damn car." He watched the boy jump and scramble into the back, not even noticing the way he knocked his arm on the door.

Alex got into the front much more slowly and favoring one of her legs. "You don't have to scare him."

Wolf smirked, getting in again himself. He restarted the car and pulled into the street. "So what the hell happened? And why did you call me?"

"Ben's on a business trip - Prague or Portugal or Poland or something like that." At his look, she shrugged. "It started with a P."

Wolf snorted. He knew damn well that she wouldn't forget something like that.

"Why not call Neal?" He frowned as soon as he said it and didn't need to see the look she shot him to know what she had been thinking. "Nevermind."

"Exactly. He'd get paranoid and hover." It was her turn to frown. "Why are you in your fatigues?"

"Just got back."

Alex winced. "Sorry. I didn't know."

Wolf shrugged a shoulder, using the mirror to glance over Tom. "Do I need to take either of you to the hospital?"

"No. Tom just has some bruises and scrapes and a strained shoulder. I'm fine."

The man grunted. "Where am I taking him?"

"We're both staying at my house."

Wolf nodded, glancing back at the boy again. He shook his head when he saw how Tom had fallen asleep already. He looked at Alex. "So what happened?"

Alex sighed, sinking down in her seat. She sighed again before speaking. "Jack, my guardian, is visiting a college friend of hers who lives in Germany. It was supposed to be for a couple days and I'd stay at Tom's since we had a project due on Friday and Ben's on his trip."

"It's Saturday. Sunday." Wolf sighed and grumbled something.

"Yeah." Alex pushed her hair away from her face. "It snowed there just before Jack was supposed to come back and she got snowed in. She's supposed to be able to get back tomorrow now." Alex shrugged. "Anyway, Tom's parents had a particularly bad night so we decided to go out and do something then stay at my house."

"What did you guys do?" Why did he have a bad feeling about this?

Alex shifted - and that did nothing to ease Wolf's unease in the slightest - then answered. "Caught a movie, went out to eat," she mumbled something under her breath, "then called you." She smiled brightly. "Where'd you go on your mission? Was anyone hurt?"

He glowered at her - the concern was genuine enough, but the attempt as misdirection was entirely too obvious. "You know I can't say and no, everyone's fine. Now what the hell did you say?"

Alex blinked at him, smile faltering not a bit as her eyes grew calculating.

"And don't bullshit me, Cub. What did you say after eating and before calling me?"

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the glove box. She muttered something that he just barely heard.

He braked hard and stared at her, peripherally aware of and grateful for how empty the street was. "What? Please tell me I didn't hear you correctly." At the dark glare she aimed at him, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You realize that you need to report the fact that your friend was kidnapped, even if you were able to rescue him."

Alex shook her head. "I got him out just before the cops came down on the building. There were drugs all over the place and a few other kids. Yes, they were fine and yes, I knew the cops were coming, that's why I left them there. And before you decide to lecture, I do not want MI6 to know about it and decide to rope me into something again, even if they said they wouldn't."

Wolf sighed before starting to drive again. "You're sure that he's okay?"

Alex nodded. "It was just chloroform. It's mostly out of his system if not completely."

Wolf glanced at her. "Do I want to know how you know that?"

She shrugged. "Probably not."

He nodded, pulling into her driveway as it started to snow.

Alex reached back to shake Tom awake when Wolf stopped her.

"Go open the door. I'll carry him in."

She blinked in surprise before smiling and nodding.

Wolf watched her walk up the drive, her stride somewhat better than earlier, before gently maneuvering Tom out of the car and following her. He carried the boy up the stairs and set him on the bed Alex led him to. His lips twisted slightly as he watched the ex-spy remove her friend's shoes and spread a blanket over him.

She turned and blinked in surprise. "What?" she asked, somewhat defensive at the half-smile on Wolf's face, before pushing him out into the hall and closing the door behind them.

Wolf shook his head. "Does he know you do that?"

"No. And you're not going to tell him or anyone else."

Wolf raised his hands to placate her. "Got it. Can't let anyone know that Cub's a softie."

Alex shot him a different look halfway down the stairs. "Look who's talking."

Wolf huffed, following her into the kitchen. "You, the team, and my family are the exceptions." He watched her limp from one of the cabinets to the fridge before he rolled his eyes and walked over to her.

She turned, jumping in surprise at his proximity, and actually yelped when he picked her up and plunked her onto the counter. "What are you doing?"

This time it was Alex who received the flat look. "I'm going to check your leg then your ribs. You've been favoring both."

As Alex opened her mouth to argue, he gently pressed his fingertips against her side, the same side as the leg she had been favoring. She cut herself off with a hiss of pain, biting her lip. After several moments, she spoke, "You're a sadistic fuck, you know that?"

"So I've been told."

Alex huffed, scowling and crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine. But I can take care of my ribs myself."

Wolf glanced up from her ankle. "You might have broken ribs."

"They aren't broken. I've dealt with that before. They're just bruised."

"Cub, they should be looked at."

"You aren't going to do it."

It was Wolf's turn to scowl. He dropped her foot as he straightened to glare at her. "Why not? Are you going to tell me you're shy?"

Alex glared back at him. "You aren't my doctor, my boyfriend, or related to me so I am not going to let you look at my chest."

"Neal better not have."

"He hasn't. And it isn't any of your business anyway."

Wolf opened his mouth to snap back at her before cutting himself off and growling. "Your ribs need to be looked at. I've already seen you naked so there really isn't any reason to be shy."

Alex gaped at him. "I am so glad there isn't anyone here to hear that," she hissed, eyes narrowing. "And if I had known you were there, do you realize how much I would have freaked?" Of course, that was a large part of why she wouldn't let him look. She did not want to attempt to explain the scars from her missions, and she was going to do her best to avoid any one of the soldiers from finding out about the bullet scar.

Wolf made a vague motion with his hand, conceding her the point. "You still need -"

"Look," Alex cut him off. "If it makes you feel better, I'll wrap my ribs, okay?"

He sighed. "Cub-"

"You saw what happened in France. This isn't much different, injury wise."

Wolf stopped, blinking. What could he say to that? She did have a point. He sighed again. "Alright. Just make sure you go to the hospital if you start to feel worse, okay?"

Alex nodded. She slid off the counter when he had finished looking at her leg. "Thanks... James. I really appreciate the help."

He nodded, helping himself to a glass of water. "...Thanks for trusting me."

She smiled slightly, half-frowning at the glass. "What are you doing?"

The look the man shot her made Alex pause, something in her chest tightening uncomfortably. It was something she had seen on Ian's face several times when she was younger. Apparently Ben was right and that meant that she would have to hit him or something the next time she saw him.

"I'm not leaving the two of you here alone," Wolf said, leaning back against the counter. "You have blood on your head, he was drugged, and if either of you need to get to the hospital, you'll need a way to get there. Either I stay or you come home with me, and I don't have the room."

Alex blinked in surprise before looking away. "You don't need to. We'll be fine."

"I know I don't need to. I want to." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I thought we covered this last month. You're a member of my team, the girlfriend of one of my best friends, and hopefully you'll be one of them sometime soon. I'm going to do what I can to help and if sleeping on the couch might help, then I don't mind doing it. Just so long as I actually can sleep."

Alex swallowed. "Thanks," she whispered. She never cried so why had that brought tears to her eyes? She was going to blame the adrenaline and stress from earlier and admit to nothing.

Wolf eyed her before sighing. He pushed off the counter and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a gruff hug. "You did good," he muttered.

Alex wrapped her arms around him, clenching her eyes shut against the moisture.

The soldier patted her hair before pulling away. "Go clean up and get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake."

Alex smiled and went up the stairs. When she had finished, she pulled out a spare quilt and crept down to the living room. She bit her lip at the way Wolf was sprawled over the couch, one arm hanging off and the other over his head, and gently spread the blanket over him before returning upstairs to rest.

Her last thought before falling asleep was that maybe, just maybe, things would continue to get better.