Alex woke to gentle breathing across one shoulder, an arm around his waist, and two voices off to his other side. As he became more awake he recognized Owen and Tosh talking quietly.
"How much longer do you think we have before Jack gets impatient and shows up," Alex asked quietly as to not wake Ianto.
"He's been calling every twenty minutes for an update," Owen snorted, "so I'd guess not much longer."
As if on cue they could hear the sound of tires on the dirt path.
"Speak of the devil," Owen huffed.
Alex flexed his wings contemplating whether to hide them a soft murmur against his shoulder soothed him and instead he curled his one wing closer around Ianto's peaceful form and waited, feathers twitching anxiously.
They could hear an angry grumble and the sound of car doors on the other side of the SUV, Alex reluctantly turned to Ianto and gently nudged him awake, giving his friend an apologetic smile when he blinked unhappily into consciousness.
Ianto's eyes widened as they focused and caught sight of the huge silvery wings arching above him and on the blonde they attached to, "Beautiful," he breathed.
Alex smiled gently and nodded nervously behind him, "Jack's here."
The four watched as Jack and Gwen made their way on foot around the SUV into the clearing. Gwen froze in her tracks as soon as she caught sight of Alex, even Jack paused for a moment to take in the sight.
The sun glinted off silvery feathers making them seem to glow, as the blonde sat up to face him the light seemed to turn his hair to molten gold and eyes matched and out shone his wings, his entire being radiated light and warmth. Ianto sat up beside him, shirt messy and partially untucked and his hair mused pleasingly, putting a protective hand on Alex's side and Jack felt a spark of something intense and instinctive, a possessive pleased heat that struck like lightning and burned through him.
He shook his head forcing the feeling away making his mind focus on the matter at hand, "We need to have a long talk about keeping secrets," Jack said voice grave as he looked around at each of them, "Between cyberwomen in the basement, alien lovers giving out strange pendants, hallucinations telling us to do bad things, and secretly being an angel it's a miracle we haven't crashed and burned yet."
Alex's lips twitched uncertainly, "Well in our defense Jack you have enough secrets to fill the archives and we're not needling you to share," Jack scowled, "but, point taken we'll have weekly reveal all's. This week my contribution is that I have wings," he fluttered his feathers making Ianto's snort with suppressed laughter as they tickles his neck.
"This isn't a joke," Jack clenched his jaw.
"I know," Alex sighed, wings drooping, "I should have told you or better yet I should have refused your job offer and taken the damn Retcon."
Ianto's grip tightened instinctively and he looked pleadingly at Jack.
"He had every reason to keep his secret," Tosh argued defiantly, "you never would have accepted him, he would have ended up just another alien in the cell block."
Alex wings stiffened a shiver of suppressed fear ruffling his feathers but he tried his best to push it away and defuse the tension, "Tosh," he croaked voice breaking as the anxiety started getting the better of him.
"I already said you're not getting locked back up, calm down," Owen ordered kneeling next to him starting the scanner again.
Alex realized he was hyperventilating and struggled to try and regain control. Ianto stroked his arm and shivering feathers soothingly while Tosh mumbled profuse apologies into his hair arms around his neck, he wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her and sunk his free hand into the grass to steady himself.
Jack was suddenly kneeling in front of him between Owen and Ianto, he gently reached out and griped the side of Alex's neck rubbing gentle circles with his thumb, "I'm not going to lock you in a cell," Jack murmured soothingly trying to force every ounce of sincerity he had into his voice and touch.
Alex took a ragged breath nodding trying desperately to believe him and to calm himself. He closed his eyes leaning into the hand on his neck and against Tosh's comforting warmth, focusing on the tender tug of gentle fingers in his feathers, when he opened his eyes again his breathing was even if a little shaky sounding.
"Your going to make me come back to the Hub for more scans," Alex said resigned, Jack nodded authoritative if a little reluctant, "ok, can we get food though? Deadly bullet wounds to the heart really leave a guy feeling empty."
"We'll order in," Ianto assured him immediately not even glancing at Jack for approval.
Alex smiled and pulled himself up and away from the others until he was standing straight and far enough away from them to fully extend his wings. He flexed them until every joint was loose and relaxed then leisurely pulled them in so his back was once again smooth and wingless.
"Is it safe to do that," Ianto asked concern written all over his face.
"For now," Alex shrugged, "I'll have to come back out in a few days."
"Why not just do it now," Gwen asked looking at his back, apparently amazed at the lack of any indication of his wings.
"Because Owen wants his scans and Jack wants me back at the Hub," Alex answered swaying a bit, "and I might actually pass out if I don't get some food."
Everyone piled into their vehicles; Jack, Tosh, Ianto, and Alex took the SUV while Owen joined Gwen in her car still consumed in his readings. It took them a great deal longer getting back to the Hub than it did leaving it, by the time they got there Alex was pale from hunger leaning miserably on Tosh's shoulder in the backseat. He shakily slid out of the SUV once they parked in the garage and was promptly saved from falling by Jack when one leg surrendered and buckled.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Ianto said gripping his other arm to steady him.
"Yeah fine,"Alex replied, "just really hungry."
They hurried up to the main floor, Ianto and Jack not letting go of him until he was sitting on the couch and even then Ianto only let go long enough to order food, Alex butting in to add a few things and double the order. They all looked at him a little shocked after Ianto hung up, Alex just shrugged and sighed ignoring their questions in favor of melting back into the couch and dozing off.
~****~
Alex woke again to the smell of Chinese food and let Tosh help him off the couch and up to the conference/lunch room where he immediately started inhaling whatever was pushed infront of him.
"Christ is your stomach a bloody black hole or something?" Owen snarked pushed away his own only half empty carton.
Alex took a moment to answer then he reached over to Owen's scanner and flipped it on as he spoke, "When I get hurt really bad my digestive system goes crazy, it breaks down and uses everything in my system already to replace nutrients and energy used to heal me. Nothing goes to waste my body completely absorbs everything to the point I could probably drink acconite and my body would break it into something usable."
Owen snatched up the scanner and starts mumbling to himself as he verifies what Alex said.
"I once ate a salt rock when I broke my leg on vacation, nearly broke my teeth too but it got the job done 'till I could hobble back to the house we were staying in. Cleaned out half the kitchen before my stomach went back to normal, Ethan was pissed wouldn't leave me alone for a month!"
"How bad was the break?" Owen asked tapping at the screen closest to him to bring the results up on the big screen to get a better look at them
"Shattered it," Alex said around an egg roll.
"What happened that you shattered your leg?" Ianto marveled watching him slurp down a huge clump of noodles.
"Fell down a cliff," Alex explained bluntly, at everyone's surprised looks he continued, "It wasn't a huge cliff, just a little one, forty or fifty feet at most and there was a bit of an incline so it wasn't like it was a straight drop. It was the rocks at the bottom that screwed me over, slammed into them pretty hard and all the jutting pieces hit me at weird angles, so yeah... shattered leg."
"And all you got was a shattered leg?" Owen snorted incredulously.
Alex paused thinking about it, "Well at least that's all that was left by the time I woke up. Don't know how long I was passed out though, might have been worse... there was a lot of blood... think I might have hit my head, my hair was all crusty with blood. Probably why Ethan freaked out so bad."
Everyone just stared at him for a moment before Tosh looking very concerned asked, "How old were you?"
"Um," Alex scratched his head thinking hard, "Well let me see that was the summer we went to Scotland with Marry's family," he blew out a harsh breath, "Damn that was twenty-nine years ago, so I was about eight or nine I think."
Jack, Ianto, Gwen, and Owen gaped at him in shock.
"How bloody old are you?!" Owen snapped roughly rubbing his head in frustration.
"Thirty-seven," Alex answered innocently, silently enjoying annoying the hell out of the man without even trying, "Maybe," he tacked on, at Owen's irritated growl he explained, "We're not really sure Da estimated my age when they found me at about four months old and I aged pretty normally until I was about twenty. Then I just kinda stopped."
"So you haven't aged in nearly two decades?" Gwen clarifies.
"Nope," Alex answered popping the 'p'.
"Will you ever age again," Ianto asked tentatively.
Alex looked at him expression sobering, "I don't know, I know about as much about what I am as you do," he visibly pulled himself together and forced himself to relax, "but that's alright, a bit of mystery keeps things interesting!"
None of them looked convinced but Alex wasn't really trying anyway.
Tosh took mercy on them all and changed the subject, "So is it safe to come off red alert?" She glanced between Jack and Alex, unsure which to really direct the question at.
Alex rolled his neck to look at Jack critically and asked, "Am I gonna be dissected?"
"What?! No," Jack sputtered frowning, confused and more than a little irritated at the question.
"Are you planning to interrogate or torture anyone for information about me?" Alex continued not even pausing to acknowledge Jack offended expression.
"No," Jack snapped fists clenching.
"No intention, not even a fleeting thought, to cause harm to myself or my family?"
"No," Jack growled staring deep into Alex's eyes.
Alex diverted his eyes and plastered a carefree smile on his face, "May I barrow your phone Tosh?"
"Of course," Tosh said and hurriedly handed over her mobile.
Alex swiftly typed in Sam's number, he answered on the second ring.
"Tosh is Alex ok," Sam asked anxiety clear in his voice.
"Do you and Tosh talk a lot?" Alex teased raising an eyebrow at Tosh's flushed cheeks, "I didn't even know you two had exchanged numbers."
"Alex!" Sam hissed in relief, "Are you ok?"
"Fine, healing just fine," the blonde responded scratching at the table, "It wasn't even as bad as London, wound was sealed within the hour."
Sam sighed over the line, "So should I call Ethan and give him the all clear?"
"No, not yet," Alex said loftily not look directly at anyone, "I'm probably going to be here for awhile."
Sam was quiet for a moment, "They're right there aren't they?"
"Yep," Alex chirped.
"And you don't want them to know you don't trust them," Sam sighed, "So don't give Ethan the clear. What about the others? Should I tell them it's fine to go about their business?"
"Yeah that would be great," Alex faked a happy smile, "You know I hate when my flowers wilt."
"Ok, call me again as soon as you can," Sam said voice showing his displeasure, "I love you Al."
"You too," Alex replied, "Thanks for doing this for me, swear I'll make it up to you. Bye"
With that Alex hung up and glanced around the table at all the confused faces.
"What?" he huffed handing Tosh her phone back, "Someone has to take care of my garden while you poke at me."
"No one's poking at you," Ianto said quickly.
Alex smiled gently, "Your reassurance is appreciated but I'm pretty sure Owen wants blood samples so there probably will be some poking."
Owen looked guilty (as much as a scowl could look guilty) but nodded.
"Well best to get it over with, you get your pokey stuff I'm gonna finish eating," with that Alex snatched another box of food and continued eating, ignoring all of their strange looks and
Tosh's worried one.
~**To Be Continued**~