After this there is only two more chapters to go, and I think I am rather sad to see the end of this. Ashleigh is a character I am very proud of, I had no idea what she was like when I started this, but the fact that people (well, most) out there actually want her to be happy, and end up with Alec is something I could never have anticipated. In fact, I rather thought there would be an outcry of rage – how dare she take our Alec and all that.

I don't think I want this to end, but it has to at some point, but I certainly haven't run out of ideas yet. So please enjoy this chapter.

In other news, the drabble I promised is now up on my LJ – you can find it through my profile. If you're reading this in the future, you can find it by searching under ATAK in my memories. Its called 'ATAK: October 28th.' I hope you all enjoy it

Chapter Forty Two

At some point, Ashleigh felt herself being lifted for a second time. She had struggled briefly, trying to fight through the haze that surrounded her, but it had been too strong, and instead she decided it would be simpler just to fall back into her dreams.

She was going away again. But she was tired, and it would just be better to sleep. She was warm and comfortable and there was the sweet smell of cologne in the air.

Alec glanced across the plane at the sleeping form of the woman. The drug hadn't been administrated properly, and only a small amount had entered her blood stream. She hadn't slipped into unconsciousness; instead she was merely sleeping lightly, but experiencing brief moments of lucidity. This had been her longest time asleep; she hadn't woken since they had lifted her from the helicopter to the waiting jet.

Alec knew that M had ordered Ashleigh to drug him if needs be. He had been alarmed by the prospect, until M had assured him that Ashleigh would never do that. She wouldn't want to hurt him in any way. No, Ashleigh had hoped that she might simply smile at him and he would follow obediently.

He might have done, had he not had his own orders.

There had been a possibility that she might, M had admitted, but M had been certain that the Ashleigh Kain she knew would not be able to do it. Ashleigh's sense of honour would restrain her from doing.

Alec's hand had subconsciously stroked his cheekbone where she had hit him last time they had seen each other. He had wondered if Ashleigh's sense of revenge was anywhere as strong as his, and if so, whether her sense of honour might be pushed to one side in favour of the satisfaction of having him completely at her mercy?

Apparently not.

Ashleigh had thought that they would be met by the American contact, and that they would be taken to an airfield before being transferred elsewhere.

She had thought perhaps back to Russia.

M, on the other hand, had had other ideas.

Knowing Alec had no such scruples; she had ordered him to drug Ashleigh. They would follow the same plan, but the final location was known only to him, and to M.

He had protested at first. This was a situation where he knew he had to attempt to be honest about his feelings. He cared about the girl, and had seen her hurt before. He didn't think that he could ever physically harm her himself. He had tried to put these strange and unfamiliar thoughts, these feelings into words, refusing to meet M's eyes as he had done so, but M had been adamant. The drug was nothing more than a sedative. She would feel woozy and disorientated when she woke up, but she would wake up, and she would feel nothing during the effects of the chemical, and none afterwards. Ashleigh was not to know where they where or how they had travelled there. It was the final piece of security.

Alec knew his place and had not questioned why.

M knew that Alec still had enemies in this world, who would relish the opportunity to be the one who could claim to have terminated Janus. And if they knew that MI6 was protecting him? M shuddered to think.

It was more than just security from his enemies. She had left strict instructions to Ashleigh not to tell anyone where she was going. And that included her godfather. Yet M wondered if Ashleigh would tell James. If James knew that she had gone to be with Alec, then M had no doubt that James would track them down. And James could be far more vengeful than any enemy. There was no doubt that James took their relationship to be a direct attack on him. Alec was obviously using Ashleigh to infuriate him, and Ashleigh simply hadn't grown out of her teenage rebellious streak just yet. There could be nothing more between them than that.

She couldn't allow that to happen. She had carefully orchestrated every last detail of this... this liaison, and she would not allow a pig headed 007 to destroy everything in a fit of sudden pseudo-parental outrage.

So she had informed Alec that Ashleigh would be carrying the sedatives, and he was to find the first opportunity he could to get her under control.

Their meeting had ended awkwardly. As the sun began to sink lower in the sky, she had turned to him, and clasped his hand in her own, in something more than the perfunctory handshake they usually shared.

'Take care of her,' she had said before she could bite the words back.

He had looked surprised, but suddenly, brilliantly, a rare smile had appeared on his dark features. 'Always.'

Always.

As the plane began its descent, Alec thought back to the word. Always, forever... until the end of time.

He stared at her, the ruffled crop of her hair, tousled and falling over her sleeping face, lips parted slightly to let her breathe in soft sighs, one bare arm thrown out from beneath the blanket he had covered her with. A pale, shoeless foot streaked with dirt that had slipped out to point at the floor. On her bare arm he could see a scar, the healing skin still tinged with pink, two inches long. Knife wound he guessed, by the clean edges of the cut, or glass, something sharp plunged quickly into the skin and dragged down by the force of the thrust.

Her foot twitched, she muttered something in her sleep, a frown creasing her face, and he held his breath, waiting to see if she woke. Not this time, the frown smoothed away and she slept once more.

She had given up everything for him.

The thought unsettled him.

When Ashleigh woke, she had no idea where she was. Her throat was dry, her head pounded, and she felt distinctly groggy. She was lying in a large, comfortable bed, the covers pulled up over her, but otherwise undisturbed. The room was simple, obviously a bedroom, and she lifted her head slowly up to see her surroundings better.

She wished she hadn't. Her head threatened to implode, and she gingerly traced the outline of her eye. Her fingers met tender, swollen skin, and she winced, and then regretted the gesture as the bruise began to throb. She didn't want to think what her eye looked like.

She slumped back into the pillow and fought back sleep. The temptation was still there, the light headedness was just waiting to overwhelm her, but with immense self control she finally managed to sit up.

It was a mistake. There was something in the air that combined with the grogginess made her stomach turn. Salt, sea salt, carried in on a light breeze through the French doors. They were near the coast, she decided, but where?

One side of the room was lined with glass doors. Through the thin layer of muslin that covered them she could see a darkening sky, and a thin crescent moon rising.

She had been out longer than she thought, almost an entire twenty four hours, it had been 1am when they had run onto the roof...

The helicopter had been coming for them. To take them away. She had been confused. Ashleigh struggled to recall exactly what had happened, there had been a fight, they had escaped, she had felt a pain in her arm and realised...

Alec.

Alec had drugged her.

A knot of anger began to form deep within her and she clenched her fists. She fought to stand, found her legs would just about support her, and tentatively made her way to the doors.

He had been standing on a small terrace, the lower level of which she had just stepped out onto. He had been watching the sun set, watching the last rays as they danced across the sea, watching, and waiting, adjusting to his new life.

'Why?' she asked simply.

He turned. 'I was ordered to.'

She wanted to snap at him, to shout her fury, and make her angry feeling perfectly clear, but her tired mind wasn't working yet, and so she settled for seething quietly.

She padded up the steps, away from the house. It appeared to have been built on the edge of a sheer cliff, overlooking the sea.

'Where are we?'

'Sicily.'

She glanced up at him. In this dim light he looked crueller than ever. 'And this is yours?'

She stared at the low, sprawling villa, painted white, but tinged pink with the dust from the mountains. She felt a sudden longing for her tall, pristine cream townhouse, with the sycamore tree outside.

'Yes.'

She was cold. She was still distinctly under dressed, and she had left her shoes in the hotel. Her feet were filthy, and now were slowly being coated in the pink dust that covered everything. There was complete silence, only the crash of waves below them and Ashleigh got the impression that they were in the hills.

'Does it hurt?' he asked, gesturing at her face.

'Yes.' She wrapped her arms around herself and let her hair fall over her face, trying to hide the bruising. It felt swollen, even talking hurt.

'Would you like some painkillers? I could find some for you.'

'I don't think that's a good idea,' she said coldly. 'After all, I wouldn't want them to react with what you drugged me with.'

The night suddenly seemed to get even colder. He paused, gave a tiny almost imperceptible shrug, and looked away.

Her heart pounded in her chest, as if it was struggling to break free from its bodily restraints. She refused to accept it was his mere presence having this effect on her. No, it was some after effect of the drug, minor heart palpitations or something. As was the dryness in her mouth, and the strange shortness of breath.

She followed his gaze to where it was focused on the horizon. She saw everything and nothing all at once, the ink like waters, the glimmer of light dancing on the waves, and yet none of this registered.

She finally found her voice. 'I – its just...'

She faltered and watched as an early rising gull corkscrewed down towards the water.

'I would have followed you anywhere.'

The words were said, she could never take them back. Her brain screamed at her to shut up, her heart wanted to say more.

And as usual, calm sensible logic won out. She had already let her heart get too involved recently, it was the reason she was standing barefoot in the night, staring at a man who might or might not want her, waiting to see what he would say, and ready to forgive him anything.

Even drugging her against her will.

It was perhaps a bad moment for Ashleigh to discover her inner romantic.

Her fists were clenched so tightly her nails were cutting into her palms. She could feel the little half moon crescents of pressure begin to sting. It was a distraction, a distraction from the urge to sprint over and wrap herself around him, to press herself into the material of his suit, to breathe in his unmistakable scent, to tug his head down to hers, and crush her mouth to his.

The gap between them had closed somehow. If she stretched out, her fingertips would brush his arm.

Her anger had vanished to be replaced by desperate need.

He was her weakness, and she was his.

She was terrified.

But somehow, she reached for him, her hand tracing the line of his shoulders, the groove between his shoulder blades, following the curve of his spine, the spine that had shattered, but had been reformed. He didn't move, didn't react, merely let her fingers trail over his back, feeling, learning. She pressed her hand flat against his back, sliding it round his side, moving forward to wrap her arms around him.

She froze.

He felt her hesitate.

The bulge under the jacket was unmistakable, she traced the outline of the holster, following the line of the straps up and over his shoulder.

She flinched away from him.

'Scared?' he mocked her.

She shook her head defiantly. 'Of you? Hardly.'

He moved so quickly she barely had time to gasp as his hand snaked out and caught her chin, yanking her face up.

'You should be.'

His thumb was caressing the line of her jaw, his eyes unreadable in the dim light. Despite her fear, she felt the urge to press up against him, but he seemed to sense it, he held her away from him.

'Alec?'

His mouth came roughly down on hers in a sudden, fierce kiss. His lips ground against hers, bruising her, their teeth clashed as he forced her lips apart. The fear that had been threatening her gave her strength and she fought against him, struggling, this was no kiss of welcome, there was no tenderness in it, he was staking his claim on her. Roughly he caught her lip between his teeth, and with a yelp of pain she jerked back, tasting blood.

'What the hell are you doing?' she cried, running her fingers over her lip.

He pulled her back towards him. 'Isn't it obvious? Isn't this what you wanted? Isn't this why you came to find me?'

'No!' she protested, taken aback by the venom in his voice, 'I mean, yes, but... for Christ's sake, you hurt me!'

He reached up and ran his thumb over her lower lip, seeing the bright red blood well up against the plump pink flesh. 'So I did.'

'What the hell are you playing at?'

'You still don't understand. After everything you still don't understand. There is more than us here...'

'Explain it to me then! If I don't understand, then explain, because I can't understand if I don't know!'

'No.'

'Why not?'

'Because there isn't time.'

'For what? Until what? Why isn't there time?'

'Get out of my way.'

'No!'

She didn't know why she had to stop him, but she threw her arms out, blocking his way.

With almost no effort at all he practically threw her aside. She stumbled, and reached out a hand to the wall to catch her balance. With a nervous glance, she realised how high they were above the sea.

Suddenly she realised.

'You can't go.'

'I have to.'

'No! I won't let you!'

'You have no choice.' He ran a shaking hand over his hair. 'You'll be safe here.'

'Don't go...'

Her voice trailed off; there was no point in arguing.

She turned away. The water crashed against the cliffs far below them.

There was a pause, and then she heard him walk away.

A minute or two later, there was the sound of an engine and the squeal of tires as a car pulled away at some speed.

'Alec?' she whispered into the dawn, some desperate hope still within her that he might be standing there.

But when she turned she was alone.