A/N: If you are considering suicide, please call for help, or ask a loved one. Suicide should not be an option... You are valued. Here's a hotline number:

1-800-273-8255.

Please be advised this story mentions suicide.

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Summary: Alex had been determined to die, but Wolf had been determined to keep him alive. Too bad Alex's will was stronger. WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH. Oneshot.

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He'd tried to protect the kid.

It wasn't like it should have been difficult, either. It should have been simple. After all, it wasn't like he was protecting the kid from Scorpia, he wasn't protecting the kid from some terrorist organization.

No, he had to protect him from something far worse. He'd had to protect him from himself.

It felt like every day was a battle. Wolf, exhausted, had at one point considered putting Alex in an institution. It wasn't because he wanted to get rid of Alex, but because he felt like Alex needed more care than he could provide.

The heads at MI6 had denied him flatly. "We can't trust the care of him to an institution. Do you know how easy it would be for someone to break in there?"

So Wolf had started caring for Alex. It was lucky that the K-Unit could care for him in shifts; they'd each stepped up to help the kid. The kid really needed eyes-on supervision some days. He wasn't afraid to hurt himself.

Wolf had woken up more than once to find long cuts on Alex's arms.

The kid was determined to die, and it was no secret that when Alex was determined to do something, he usually got his way.

Eagle said Alex had been through too much and seen too much; that his guardian's death had been the last straw. He felt like his guardian's death was his fault. Eagle had some experience in psychology – that had been his major at uni – and he'd tried to talk to the kid, but the kid wouldn't come out of his shell. They'd tried to track down Tom Harris, all to find out that the kid had been dead, killed in a drive by shooting.

Alex had never asked and they'd never told him. From the time of the shooting, Eagle thought that he probably knew already.

Wolf sighed as he stretched and got out of bed. He didn't want to go today. He really didn't want to go today. Sure, all of the other K-Unit wanted to go. He understood that. It was perfectly okay for them to go, they weren't the legal guardian of the boy who had committed suicide.

He was.

There had been several suicide attempts by Alex while he was in the home at Wolf. Once when he'd swallowed an entire bottle of pills. Eagle had been there, performed CPR and called 999.

The next suicide attempt had been when Snake was watching him. Snake had been watching him and left to use the bathroom. Alex had swallowed a piece of glass that had led Snake rushing him to the hospital.

After that, all of K-Unit had searched their bags and pulled out anything Alex could use to injure himself and had locked it all up in a room. They'd even made the lock key-card access only, so that he couldn't get to it.

Wolf sighed as he had a major flashback. Damn. Maybe he should hand over the keys to the car and let Eagle drive…

Speaking of Eagle… "You almost done? We need to leave soon!"

Flashback

"Dammit, Cub, what the hell!" Wolf roared as he raced to the living room. "Alex, put the gun down!"

"I can't." With those two words, Wolf was ever closer – but he was still too late.

The bullet had already lodged itself in Alex's brain. Alex had never given Wolf a chance.

"I tried." Eagle found Wolf on the floor, staring at his picture of Cub; a memory caught in one of the rare times he'd been smiling. "He didn't let me help him."

"He didn't want to let you save him, Wolf." Eagle sank down to the floor. He looked and felt uncomfortable in his suit. "He wanted to die."

"That doesn't make me feel better."

"It's not supposed too." Eagle sighed. "It's not your fault, Wolf… he didn't want your hand; he wanted his own help in ending his own life."

"I guess." Wolf sighed as he made towards his dress shirt. He frowned, not having remembered putting it there. He slid his fingers under the tag, removing the note that had been stapled to the dress shirt tag.

Wolf:

Wow… Really hope this is your shirt.

I'm guessing that you're only wearing this because it's my funeral. I mean, let's face it, you don't even dress up for mass, and even Eagle does that.

If you're finding this note, and I've died, I wanted to say thanks. I know you tried your best. Please don't blame yourself.

After all… if you're reading this note…

I'm experiencing the first peace I've experienced in a long time.

"He left me one, too," Eagle said. "Stapled to one of the dress shirts I almost never wear."

"Damn creative kid," Wolf growled as he shrugged on the dress shirt.

"Yeah, he was." Eagle sighed as he watched his partner shrug on his coat. "Ready?"

"No, but let's go anyway."

Together, they left the house, leaving the memories, both good and bad, behind.