I finally did it. Finally got around to the rewrite I've been wanting to do since I finished LAF. I hope you all enjoy this. And a heads up, updates probably won't be as regular as I would like them to be but life gets in the way sadly.

Chapter 1

"Go away," Ben groaned as he groped his dresser for the ringing device. "You told me I'd have the day off." Heaving a centring breath, Ben slid his finger across the accept option, though he longed to decline or let it ring out, but he liked living thank you very much.

"Daniels speaking," He'd like to say he tried to sound like he hadn't just woken up but well, he wasn't particularly one for lying, present occupation excluded.

"Good morning, Agent Daniels. I hope I didn't wake you." Jones' sickly sweet tone filtered through the speaker.

Yes, you did. "No, I was just about to get up anyway." I am now, anyway.

"Very good. I know you aren't due in until tomorrow, but something rather pressing has come up, and I'm afraid it can't wait." Because that's not at all slightly ominous or vague.

Letting himself sink even further into his bed, he sighed. "Of course, I'll be there within the hour."

"Come straight to my office." And the line cut dead.

Ben dropped his phone beside him, not caring when it bounced onto the floor, and dragged a hand over his face. Forgoing the call of sweet dreamless oblivion, he slid from the bed and shuffled to the shower.

A little over thirty minutes later, hair still slightly damp but looking mostly presentable, Ben set off on his way. Thankfully, the roads were mostly empty, it was just the final dregs of morning rush hour scattered across the London roads.

Less than an hour after that goddamned cryptic call, Ben pulled into his parking spot at the 'bank'. Cursing Jones for spoiling his plans of nothing for the millionth time since he picked up the phone, he cut off the engine and slid from the car. Making his way through a nondescript door and practically jogging down the halls, he prayed he wouldn't run into anyone who would keep him further from his non-existent plans. He made his way to Jones' office in record time, knocking lightly on the door, pushing his way in with the muffled affirmative.

"Mrs. Jones," Ben dipped his head in greeting as he stepped further into the office.

"Agent Daniels, have a seat." She gestured a perfectly manicured hand to the seat lurking innocently before her desk. She closed the file before her, and pushed it to the side, giving Ben her full attention. That didn't bode well, in Ben's mind. With his caution renewed tenfold, Ben confidently, but with a very slight hesitation that only few could pick up on, slid into one of the chairs. Neither spoke for several moments. Ben, not really sure as to why he'd been called in, sped through all the possible scenarios, coming up with the most likely option being a development in their current operation. Jones, Ben noticed, seemed to be mulling over something. Now, that was worrying. This woman, the head of MI6, always and without a doubt, had everything planned within an inch of its life. Never once has the woman had to sit and think something over before she spoke.

"As you are aware," Jones started, her gaze fixing straight onto Ben, "Agent Rider has been on an operation with Agents Travis and Simmons, for the last several months." And with that sentence, Ben's heart plummeted straight down, passed the seven layers of hell and into oblivion. "There have been some unforeseen complications," Something has likely gone very wrong. "It seems as though they missed their check-in seventeen hours ago and have yet to do so." They probably won't anytime soon if they ever do. He knew he never should have let Alex go on that damned mission. "As you're aware, Alex, despite his numerous misfortunes, has never missed a check-in," Ben really didn't like where this was going. Clenching his fist, nails leaving half-moon indents and knuckles turning white, he took a deep breath, and urged himself not to scream at his boss. "It's likely that they have been compromised." There it was. Just like Blunt, so ready to write Alex off . Ben swallowed against the lump in his throat, forcing himself to regulate his breathing. He couldn't break down yet. Alex needed him to be clear headed and rational right now. Alex needed someone to fight for him, someone he could depend on and Ben promised he'd be that person. He wasn't going to let him down. Not now. Not when it really mattered.

"Ok, so what's our next move?"

"If they don't make contact in the next seven hours, they'll be listed as 'missing in action'." Which means you'll give up on them. "They'll have a week to make contact. After that, we will have to assume that they've been compromised, and given the nature of their objective, the chances of their return are slim." No, Ben refused to accept the fact that Alex wasn't coming home. He refused to believe that an 'unforeseen complication' had robbed Alex from him. "And I'm afraid we don't have the resources to pull off a search, not right now, at least." Lies. This was it. She was just going to give, just like that. After all her talk of a better agency, of looking after her people, and she was willing to just throw three of her agents to the wayside.

"Let me do it." Ben looked Jones dead in the eye. He was going to do this, one way or another. He was going to bring Alex home. And no one was going to stop him. He took a breath and loosened the vice grip of his fists. "Let me handle the search."

"Agent Daniels, you aren't listening -"

"With all due respect Mrs. Jones," He shook his head a little. His voice was flat, face impassive, but his eyes spoke volumes. "I don't care. I made a promise and I plan on keeping it." Just like you did, remember that?

Something akin to recognition flashed across Jones' normally impassively blank features. She sat back in her chair a little, folding her hands.

"You have seven days. If you aren't back here by this time next week with viable intel." The implications of his failure went unsaid, hanging heavily in the air. "If you come up with a lead I'll give you four weeks and what resources I can spare. If you get nowhere after that, you're back in the field and Alex's file is closed. No arguments." Jones' tone was one of finality.

"Thank you." Ben breathed, his tone dripping with unconcealed relief.

"Your debriefing is tomorrow at twelve, after that you'll have your week. Don't make me regret this, Daniels." Registering the dismissiveness of Jones' tone, Ben stood and with a departing nod, made to leave. As his hand fell on the handle, Jones' voice rang out again.

"Oh, and one more thing, Agent Daniels. This is no place for personal feelings. You're on a limited time frame, remember that."

With Jones' departing words ringing in his ears, he traversed the halls back to his car in a daze of emotions, not even sure what he was feeling anymore.

It wasn't until several moments after the fact, that Ben realised he was sitting in his car. Fisting the steering wheel, the material squeaking in protest, he rested his head on his knuckles and squeezed his eyes shut against the burn. He stayed there for several minutes, trying to measure his breathing and slow his thundering heart. He felt the blood rushing in his ears and fought to calm himself. Heaving one last shaky yet measured breath, he lifted his head and let it tip back against the headrest.

"Damn it, Alex. Why is it always you?" His voice cracked and his eyes stung. A solemn tear fell, followed quickly by several more. He pressed a fist to his mouth in an attempt to muffle the sobs that soon joined the tears. He wasn't sure how long he'd sat there and cried, but by the time he managed to pull himself together, his eyes were raw and itchy, and his throat hoarse. He caught his lower lip between his teeth and gnawed, hoping the biting pain would keep him together long enough to get home, where he could break down the security and privacy of his own home.

When he arrived home, he didn't shed his jacket or shoes. He didn't drop his keys into their little dish on the side table. He simply sank to the ground, back against the door, pulled his knees to his chest and sobbed into them. He sobbed hard and gasping, his mind and heart fighting with one another. His mind, and the agent in him, knew that what Jones had said was likely true. The likelihood of Alex's return was slim. But, his heart, and the big brother in him, refused to accept even the slightest possibility that Alex wasn't coming home. That he wouldn't get to listen to Alex rant about the junior agents thinking he was some higher up's kid. That he wouldn't be able to tag team with Alex at Eagle's expense. That he wouldn't see him again.

Ben stayed there until his limbs became stiff and protested at the slightest movement. He dragged his hands down his face, and scrubbed with the end of his sleeve, ridding himself of the majority of the evidence of his breakdown. He stood, balancing against the edge of the side table. His fingers brushed the edge of a frame, drawing his gaze to the photo. He lifted the frame, and let out a shaky choked laugh at the memory.

It had been taken a little less than a year ago. He and Alex had been shipped to Brecon Beacons, him to run a seminar on interrogation tactics, Alex for so-called recovery and retraining. It had been pure luck, or complete coincidence, that K-Unit were back at the camp, training with their newest member. They had all finished their respective tasks and had taken the opportunity to relax by the lake just after lunch before they were on their way. K-Unit were being shipped out on tour. Alex was about to go under deep cover, and Ben was going to be running near back to back missions trying to gather much needed intel. Long story short, they wouldn't be seeing each other, or keeping in touch, for a while, so Cheetah - Ben's replacement - had offered to take the picture that resided in the frame. Alex had been lumped in the middle, being the youngest and smallest. Ben and Snake stood to his left with Wolf and Eagle on his right. They all had their arms slung over the other, silly grins plastered across their faces, a light in their eyes they didn't have very often.

Placing the frame back in its resting place, Ben fished his phone from his pocket and made his way upstairs, dialing a number he hadn't thought about in a while.

"Hey Sarge, it's Ben." He sank onto the edge of his bed, elbows on his thighs.

"Fox, it's been a while. What can I do for you?" The familiar voice of his old commander, Sergeant Derek Lynch, bled through the speaker.

"It's Cub," he took a breath, "he's, eh, he's gotten into a bit of trouble."

"Why do I have a feeling this is more than the time he and Eagle got into the officer's quarters?" Lynch asked, a hint of amusement coloured his tone at the memory.

Ben let a short laugh at the memory, but quickly became serious. "He's seventeen hours past check in. Jones wants to declare him 'compromised and MIA' in less than seven hours, and label him 'MIA, presumed KIA' in a week. She won't authorise a search for him unless I can come up with something actionable. I can't do this on my own, I need help. Alex needs help."

"What do you need?" Lynch didn't hesitate.

"Manpower. Resources, if you can." Ben allowed himself to feel the first dregs of relief.

"Done. Cub is one of us, we don't leave our own behind." A moment of silence fell over them. "Have you told K yet?"

"No, I only found out. You were my first call." Ben dreaded having to break the news that their little brother was missing. Although their relationship had a rocky start, initial thoughts and feelings had been pushed to the wayside and forgotten when Alex had shown up on his and Snake's door sopping wet and defeated. They'd rallied around their youngest member and stood with him. Made a promise, and fought to keep it.

"Come down tomorrow, we'll work out the details then."

"Thank you sir. I owe you one."

"We'll call it even for you keeping this place standing in the wake of Cub and Eagle's teamwork." Lynch responded, a smile in his tone.

Ben couldn't help the chuckle that followed. "Deal. I have a debrief tomorrow, so I won't get there before evening."

"See you then. And Ben," The use of his real name made Ben sit up straight. "look after yourself, you're no use to the kid run into the ground." The line cut dead. Ben dropped the phone beside him and let out a sigh, before heaving himself up. He had work to do before tomorrow.

Digging around the back of his wardrobe, he finally unearthed his duffel. It had been awhile since he'd had to use this. It was normally something he'd used for deployments. Shaking away the old memories, he began stuffing the bag; clothes, toiletries, laptop, chargers. With his bag packed and sitting by the door, Ben found himself staring at the number that had woken him this morning and hit dial before he could think on it anymore.

"Mrs. Jones,"

"It's Daniels, I need any reports Alex has sent in since he left. Where he's been, who he's been tailing, all of it." He was unwavering in his demand.

Jones was silent for several moments, as if contemplating giving into Ben's demand, and perhaps she was. That was fine, Ben would get those files one way or another. "Very well, I'll have them put together and ready for you after the debrief tomorrow." And she hung up. Well that was easier than he thought.

If Ben spent the rest of the day in Alex's room looking over pictures of the last two years, wondering how his life had changed so much, but for the better, he wasn't going to tell anyone.