Author's note: This is a one-shot I wrote to explore the relationship between Alec and James. I am intending to post a longer story featuring the two of them later, and this is partly to explore their different backgrounds first.

There are many similarities in Alec's and James' childhoods, but also many differences, and I wanted to explore what they would come to mean in their relation ship.

Very big thank you to Forever Faramir who once more have turned my spelling errors into correct words.

Disclaimer: I do not own James Bond, Alec Travelyan or any other James Bond related item or person. I have only borrowed the characters and will return them. Not even making any serious attempt at kidnapping Alec, and as I have gotten some special glue form Q, he shall appear utterly unharmed.

Not Alone in the Night

Alec screamed as the nightmare became more and more vivid. He was frightened and he tried to getaway from whatever it was that was hunting him. It wasn't often his nightmares was this real, but it happened.

He had been told that it was normal for men in his profession, and yet he'd never seen James bothered by them. He'd always thought that it meant that James was better than him. James was to good to be bothered by it.

Alec was not that good, he was good enough to keep up with James, but he knew that he still came short.

There were many differences between him and James, even though they were always told how much like each other they were.

Maybe not in looks, for James was a dark as Alec was fair. One with jet black hair and one with blond. Yet it was said that they resembled each other in their physique as well; Both of them fairly tall and lean.

He had been compared to James so many times, and it always felt as if he did not deserve the honour. While James had his heritage Alec had nothing. He was an orphanage brat who had become an agent due to some odd twist of fate. Not many orphans from orphanages ever became something, and he was aware of how many didn't think he could succeed because of it.

The first time they had met James hadn't thought that he would be good enough. In fact, he had protested loudly and had chafed for quite some time before he accepted Alec. The first few missions had only been small things because Alec had been a newbie. He had gotten pummelled for a bit during the first one.

He'd wound up fighting hand to hand with one of the 'bad guys' and he recalled how James had looked at him. Appreciative that he had handled it, but also the look in his eyes that said that he would have handled it better.

Alec had faced him down, grinning and claiming that there was nothing like a light exercise to keep you in shape, and wiped away the trickle of blood that ran down past his eye. It had felt as if he had finally gotten some respect from James then.

"Maybe you will do, I am beginning to think that you might." It had been grudgingly admitted, but James had said it to him. Alec had taken it as the most praise he was likely to get. He had to admit to himself that he was lapping it up like a cat. He had never gotten much praise in his life. Some when he was at the boarding school, and some when he trained to be an agent. Yet there hadn't been a whole lot.

It was just that he often was the one who got the best results, and no one praised him for that. He was to be an agent, and as such was not supposed to be craving praise.

As one orphan amongst many in an orphanage you were often overlooked, even later at the boarding school he was often overlooked. When the families came to visit as they sometimes did, and everyone hurried past the lad who didn't have a family.

No one ever came and introduced their families to him, so he soon learnt to make himself scarce when they had family visits. It was as if they were afraid to mention it in front of him. So Alec still had no idea of how a family worked.

There had never been anyone to turn to after nightmares. No bed to crawl into and be comforted in the dark hours when you felt all alone in the night. He had had never gone to wake anyone up in the orphanage, not just because he was scared. He had been the one that the other children went to.

It had made him feel as if he wasn't allowed to show such a weakness himself. So he'd always striven very hard not to.

That one look of appreciation from James had meant so much to him.

Now with the nightmare that plagued him he screamed and struggled to sit up, to get away from it.

"Easy Alec."

The soft voice allowed him to focus even as he struggled to control his ragged breathing. The restraints around his wrists and ankles didn't allow him to sit up, but he could hear James voice coming from the opposite side of the cell.

He was as calm as always despite being tied up the same way as Alec. With the thin plastic straps cutting into his flesh painfully. They were thin and cut into the flesh, and they were impossible to break. He had tried, and the only result was that the sharp edge broke his skin and blood flowed warm over his hands.

It was the only warm thing for the cell was freezing, and he was numb both with pain and the cold. It was to make them give up their struggle, he knew that.

"Are you okay Alec?" James sounded really worried. It was hard to tell because of the pitch darkness in the cell.

"Yeah." Alec forced the remains of fear out of his voice. "for some reason I had a rather unpleasant dream."

"I can't fathom why." He could hear James chuckle slightly. "I'm actually of a mind to complain about our accommodation here."

"If you can get us a better room, I'll buy you a pint later." Alec promised.

"Deal then." James laughed.

Alec could hear that tone in his voice that meant he had an idea of how it could be accomplished.

"Tell me what you need me to do." Alec told him. It wasn't really necessary, but he wanted to remind James anyway.

There was nothing he wouldn't be prepared to do if James asked it off him. He would do anything at all for James, just because of what James did for him.

Hearing his voice when you woke up in terror in a cold cell felt better than he could have ever imagined. Just to know that no matter how hopeless the situation was, he still had James there with him. Because together they were the best, the ones that could not be defeated.

They were simply the best. As long as they were together he knew they would always get out of whatever mess they were in the middle of.

They would this time as well, he was sure of it, and so a simple nightmare was not enough to frighten him. As long as they were together he would never be all alone.

The End

This was the third one shot. I hope you all enjoyed it, here is also review response for the second one. I want to thank everyone who have read those stories.

/Elenhin

Soniya Bond: Thank you ever so much for those kind words. It meant a lot to me to read it. I shall be getting to you any moment now, sorry for taking so long in responding, I just got so caught up in other things, I hope you are not angry for that.

Silveni: I'm glad to hear you like the one shots, I like them as well. A way to get a look at a few moments of their lives, and it is a very interesting thing to explore. I agree with you, there is a lot of slash about those two, and precious few stories about them as friends. I doubt very much that I will ever write slash, but I will do my best to explore the deep friendship I see between those two.

Iolana Khenemet: I love the friendly banter we see between those two in the movie, how they tease each other, and yet are so loyal. I have been bantering like that with my friends more than once, and it is fun. Throwing in a reference or two to the movie is just fun, and the reference to the end, well, I did intend it that way, but there is more to it than that. Then end in this one shall play a part in my longer Alec story, and I hope that you shall like that one as well. Ah, so that was what happened, I'm not very good at the ratings, so I tend to rate them wrong at times. I shall keep it in mind in the future though, thanks a whole bunch for pointing it out to me.