Here it is. Thanks to all who review, favourite and follow. They mean a lot. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Still own nothing but the plot.
Alex groaned as he rose to the land of the awakened. He wanted nothing more than to roll over, curl up and sink back into the dark depths of oblivion. Last night had been a particularly rough night. With several nightmares ranging from his time in Yakovich's clutches, to the 'incident' - as he began referring to it as - with Marcel Faure to scenarios concocted by his subconscious. Alex was pulled from his thoughts by the sandpaper like tongue being dragged over his hand.
"Really, Koda?" Alex sighed. Damn dog knew how to get him up, he'd give her that. He knew what she did with that tongue. Grimacing at the thought, Alex pushed back the cover, gave a half-hearted glare to the mass of fur on the bed and shuffled to the en-suite to wash the dog saliva off his skin. When he was finished, he decided he might as well get dressed for the day. Going to wardrobe he pulled a pair of jeans and a hoodie. Several minutes later, Alex was dressed and heading down for breakfast.
Downstairs, Alex was met with Wolf, Cheetah, Ben and Juliette, each with their own steaming cups and bowls of cereal. Going to the main kitchen area, he gathered his own food and tea, before silently joining them. There were several murmured greetings. Alex ate in silence, sipping his tea. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Ben glancing at his watch. He knew what that meant. Finishing the last gulp of his tea, he stood milliseconds after Ben. Silently, he followed the older man. Ben led him to the office.
"Here or upstairs?"
"Here's good." Alex shrugged, sinking into the leather swivel chair behind the desk.
"Alright, we'll be in the games room."
Alex nodded just as the laptop chimed, signalling an incoming video chat. Alex clicked accept and Natalie's face filled the screen.
"Hi Alex." She greeted cheerfully.
"Hey," Alex returned.
"How have you been?" Natalie asked; study her patient with a critical eye. She could see the dark circles shadowing the blonde's eyes, and she could practically feel the tension pouring off him, even if she wasn't anywhere near him. She watched as Alex carefully considered the question and his answer.
"Honestly? I've been better."
"Nightmares?" Natalie jumped right to the point, there was no sense beating around the bush. After last week's less than productive session, Natalie decided a little pushing was necessary. She needed Alex to open up if he ever wanted to heal from the scars of his past. It was just about finding the balance. When to push, when not to.
"Y-yeah. How…?" Alex stumbled over his words.
"It was a pretty easy deduction. The bags under your eyes. The stress you've been under the last week or so. And the events of three months ago. It's not that far of a stretch to assume you've been having nightmares." Natalie stated, matter-of-factly.
"I suppose." Alex agreed. Alex shuddered as flashes of the last night's nightmares tore through his mind. Marcel coming at him, rage burning in his eyes. Yakovich's feral gin. Sultan's harsh laughter at his pain.
"Alex, Alex!" Natalie's semi frantic voice pulled him from the clutches of his reminiscence. As the last image slipped away, Alex became aware of the concern lacing Natalie's tone and expression. He became aware of the cold sweat coating his forehead and palms. The sound of Koda whining anxiously beside him. Her wet nose nuzzling into him. He took a deep, shuddering breath in an attempt to calm himself.
"Alex, talk to me. What did you see?" Natalie surveyed the teen before her. He was a little pale, a sheen of sweat sat upon his skin and his frame had tensed considerably. When he zoned out for those few minutes, she had almost whipped up her phone and called Ben. But, know he was back and at least slightly aware of his surroundings.
"W-what…?" He trailed off uncertainty.
"Alex, listen to me, you had a flashback of sorts." Natalie spoke, his voice soft, as though soothing a frightened animal.
"M-my nightmares," Alex took a shuddering breath, as realization dawned over him.
"What are they about?" Natalie pressed gently.
"Everything." Alex choked out. "Yakovich. Her brother. Sultan. Things that might never happen."
Tears began to fall. "Every time I close my eyes. I see it happen all over again. I feel it. From every slice of the knife to the burning in my lungs. I hear him laughing. And if it's not them, then I see M-Marcel coming towards, accusing me of having something against his sister. Or I see some godforsaken scenario concocted by my brain. S.C.O.R.P.I.A storming the place, killing them one by one. Right in front of me. Just like, just like Travis and, and Simmons."
It all came out in that moment. Maybe not the finite details, but the important bits. The things that had been eating away at Alex the longest. And in that moment, Natalie wanted nothing more than wrap the child up in her arms and protect him from the world. She wanted to hunt down the people that did this to him and make them pay.
"Alex," She called softly, getting the teen's attention. Tear filled eyes whip up to meet her gaze. "I want you to listen carefully, okay?" A minute nod. "There's no denying you've been through a lot. You've endured so much in the few years, and especially in the last few months. It's rough, I know that, god knows you do too. But Alex, they didn't win. It might seem like they have, but you're here. You're alive. And, you are going to get through this. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, because it not. It's probably the hardest thing you'll ever do. But, if there's one person I think can do it. It's you. Because, damn it, Alex, you have more strength and courage than you'll ever need. There might be times where you feel alone and times where you might want to give up, but remember, if you're going through hell, keep going, because in all the dark, there is light. You just need to keep looking until you find it. And never forget, you have your family. Blood, they may not be, but, they are, without a shadow of a doubt, family. They've stood by you this long; they'll be there until the end. Do you understand?"
Alex nodded, not trusting his voice. There was a storm of emotion coursing through him. His anger at MI6. His fear of Yakovich and the things he was capable of, and S.C.O.R.P.I.A. and everything they could do. His displeasure of the whole situation. But, Natalie's words rang true, because in all that gloom, he realised the lights that shone bright. The love of Ben and K-Unit. The endless hope and perseverance they had when he went missing. Their constant reminders of their perpetual presence. The support of them and all those soldiers on base.
"Thank you." Alex choked out, around the surge of emotion threatening to spill out.
The last half of their session was spent with Natalie helping work through the most recent trauma and trigger for his inward migration the previous week. By the end of the thirty minutes, Alex felt a bit better. He realised that though he may have told her he didn't blame her for what happened, his manner around her spoke differently. With a promise of next week's session, they said goodbye and ended the chat. Alex sat there a little while after the home screen appeared, he collected himself, absentmindedly running his hand through Koda's soft coat.
In the days following Alex's session, he thought how best to approach Juliette. After a lot of inner debating, he decided to wing it. He'd done that in much more dire situations and gotten out it. How hard could this be? Of course, Alex knew how hard it was going to be, he was just simply trying to fool himself into believing it would be like breathing or speaking French.
It was Thursday evening when it finally happened. Neither Ben nor K-Unit were anywhere to be seen. Ben was showering. Wolf and Cheetah where on one of the sporadic perimeter checks. Snake and Eagle had called in an early night, seeing as they had to be up for patrol in several hours. That left Alex and Juliette to their own devices.
Alex took a breath and steeled himself. Koda circled his legs, before nudging him forward from behind. He swore, sometimes, it was as she actually understood the thing said around her. With that final push, Alex steeped into the sunroom.
"Eh, can we, can we talk?" He suddenly found himself unsure and wanting to tuck tail and run. He swallowed nervously. Juliette looked up, startled by his sudden appearance.
"Oh, eh, yes."
Alex walked with uncertain steps to the chair beside her. He sank into the cushions.
"I, I wanted to apologise for how I've been acting towards you. I realise that I haven't been the nicest. I know this isn't easy for you, and the funny thing is I've been in a similar situation before. You see, my uncle was MI6. I never knew he was SIS, not until he died anyway. One minute I was completely oblivious to this world and the next thing I know I'm thrust into and left to fend for myself. My point is I've been where you are and I should have realised that sooner and-" Juliette cut into Alex's ramblings.
"Alex, you needn't apologise. I understand completely. This can't have been easy for you either. After what you went through, only to have me forced upon you and your family. And then for my brother to act the way he did. I should be the one to apologise."
"You can't blame yourself for what others did."
"Neither can you. I can say, with quite a bit of certainty, had it not been for the actions of those who put you in this position, you would not have acted the way you did."
Alex stuttered. This was not how he was expecting this conversation to go. "I-I…"
"How about we both accept the other's apology and move on?" She suggested. Alex nodded, at a loss for words. "Perfect, how about some cocoa?"
Both were oblivious to the brown haired agent smiling behind the door frame of the office.
It had been a month since their arrival at the safe house. Alex had made steady progress with Natalie, working through the worst of the nightmares. They were now down to one or two a week. Alex and Juliette's friendship had grown. Each leaning on the other for support through the difficult circumstances. Bonding over the fact they both grew up without parents, raised by other familial members, both oblivious to the dangers the jobs of their family posed until it was too late. But with the good came the bad. S.C.O.R.P.I.A. had yet to make a move. Although that seemed like a cause for celebration, it was anything but. In Ben's brief encounters with them and other such groups over the last several years, he had learned the longer they stayed quiet and under the radar, the worse the fallout would be. It was the proverbial calm before the storm. And the storm was about to arrive.