The Mission From Hell
Chapter 7
"A Mage Without It's Magic"
By: Deep Shadows and EckoStalker
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Author's Note: Finally Fanfiction has decided to allow me to actually update. You all must have been wondering what is going to happen now that Severus and Alexis almost crossed the line of no return. Well You'll just have to read to find out. And as for a note to Chao -- Your logic has made us go over this story and see that you were right about quite a lot, but Severus hasnt lost all his logic, nor has Alexis, they just acted in a emotional manner.--


Artimis sat in the lounge, her feet propped up as she sung her two year old daughter, Selena, to sleep. The small toddler was just dozing off, her thumb in her mouth as the front doors slammed open. Artimis jumped as Selena raised her head, now wide awake and fearful.

"Mummy, monsters..." Selena whined and Artimis shushed her, grabbing her wand and setting her daughter down in her chair. She crouched and moved to the hallway, hearing voices.

"Should we yell for her?"

"No, you dork, we'll wake the baby."

"The baby?... Oh! The baby..."

"Yeah..."

Artimis quickly recognized the voices as those of her friends, Erica and Vicky. She leapt out and they yelped in shock. Then Artimis noticed the haunted look in Vicky's eyes.

"What?" Artimis asked warily, looking at her and Vicky looked at Erica with foreboding.

"Artimis, we have to tell you something. About Severus and Alexis." Erica spoke solemnly and Artimis quickly grabbed them and pulled them into the lounge. She looked at her frightened daughter and sighed.

"Selena, hunny, go sleep in Mummy's bed with Daddy." She stated and the small girl rushed out of the room in the blink of an eye.

"Spill. Are they hurt? Captured? Dead?" Artimis demanded urgently and Vicky looked ill. Erica, on the other hand, looked angry.

"They are together." Erica stated and Artimis shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"DUH! Big fucking red truck. They are on a mission... Didn't they tell you that?" Artimis questioned, wondering what was going on.

"No, they are together... As in we found them about to do the nasty on the kitchen floor." Vicky stated grimly, looking ill and near retching.

"No... You are joking me... Sev and Lex? Right... He wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole. What are the two of you on?" Artimis asked with a laugh and Erica shook her head, looking at Artimis seriously.

"Artimis... Trust me... Alexis is cheating on Ron with Severus..."

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Severus and Alexis had spent all of the next morning in silence. After Severus had made breakfast, Alexis went and watched cartoons all morning, eerily silent. Severus couldn't even look at Alexis without wanting to jump off of some cliff.

After about three hours of silence, Severus cracked and spoke, and they made a wary agreement that the night before never happened. It was all an elusive nightmare from hell and that they both could not let it get into the way of the Mission, for the time being. Alexis grudgingly agreed, and from that moment on, they both acted as if it never happened, though, both would continue thinking about it. Something like that just doesn't go away...

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Severus lay on his side on the couch, Alexis laying in the crevice his arm made as she yelled at the referee messing up the Red Sox game. Severus had no idea what baseball even was, but he had noticed that their Watchers were being even more nosy and bold. He even saw one of their faces.

He grimaced as Alexis moved nearer him absentmindedly, probably from the cold. She was munching on a bag of popcorn and occasionally throwing some at the television. He still couldn't believe the events the night before had happened. He had stealthily made it a point to dump every ounce of vodka, tequila and any other hard liquor hidden in the apartment down the drain. He would not risk a mishap or a replay of the prior night's events.

He shuddered at the imagery that ran though his mind and that was only reinforced with one glimpse at Alexis's neck. She had darkened bruises when he had taken it upon himself to... violate her. He had, in his mind, assumed full responsibility for the events and was biding his time, knowing Ron would be here soon enough to finish him off, and he wouldn't be surprised if he showed up tonight. That was the only reason he didn't drink the bleach he washed the clothes with, he didn't want to cheat Ron out of the pleasure of killing him.

The final inning, whatever that meant, ended and Alexis got up, shaking her head. "Bloody idiots. He was safe! How can you call that and out and sleep soundly at night?" Alexis yelled frustrated and Severus shook his head, groaning as he got up.

"I don't know, care, or wonder. I am going to take a shower. Then we can watch you bloody Matrix movie, alright?" He told her and she nodded, plopping down on the couch and switching on the cartoons, eyes glued to the screen as she shoved more popcorn in her mouth.

Severus sighed and walked to the bathroom, hoping for a scorching hot shower to somehow make him feel cleaner.

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He stood outside the apartment door, ear to the door as he listened to the muffled noises of the television set on the other side. Presently he heard footsteps and knew that they would have to be split up by now. A good thing. It would be much easier to subdue one than both of them together; he doubted they would be happy about it if they were together when he attacked.

He stepped away from the doorway, leaning down and as silently as possible drawing his wand, silently commanding in his mind. Alohomora!

The lock clicked, and he froze, holding his breath. No running footsteps sounded, so he relaxed, putting his wand away and pushing the door open ever so slowly. Looking in, he saw the familiar head of white hair facing the television, and knew that she was distracted enough.

Looking behind him, he silently gestured and four other men, dressed entirely in black as well as he, ghosted into the doorway, separating along all of the walls, silent as the grave and one with the shadows as they stationed around the living room, eyes locked on the small woman totally oblivious to all but her cartoons.

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Alexis sighed to herself as she munched on her popcorn, trying to immerse herself in the TV show as much as possible and hopefully drown out all other thoughts in her mind. No matter how hard she tried though, the events from the night before continued to pop up in her mind, making her shudder every time on cue. Never again would she speak of that little fiasco, but that didn't mean she couldn't stop thinking abut how utterly revolting it had been. And, in her mind, she had dumped full responsibility for those actions upon Severus.

Damn him... he knows how 'out there' I am when I get drunk... if I didn't know him any better, I would've thought he purposely got drunk just to take advantage of me... but like I said, I know him enough to know that he's probably debating on drowning himself right at the moment... doesn't sound like too bad an idea though... Alexis thought, shaking her head. She just hoped that when Ron found out, he wouldn't yell at her too bad. She knew he would never hurt her, but he could sure make her sleep on the couch. That is, if she couldn't convince him that it had all been a grave misunderstanding. Ha, misunderstanding... what's there to misunderstand? All I can tell them is that it wasn't my fault... beautiful excuse... She thought grimly.

She shook her head again, a nagging feeling in the back of her mind setting off her senses. She just shrugged it off as paranoia. After a few moments though it still didn't let off, and Alexis had the distinct feeling that she was being watched. Setting her popcorn down slowly, she looked behind her, though at first she didn't see anything in the darkness of their small and cold apartment. She sighed, going to turn back to her TV show when a slight movement caught her eye.

There's something else in here... Alexis thought tensely as she spun back around, freezing though this time as five forms detached themselves from the walls and flew towards her. Her instincts took over and she ducked down as two bodies flew over the couch, just missing her. She scrambled off of the couch, backing up towards a corner as the black-clothed people formed a loose semi-circle around her, slowly closing in.

She looked around with wide eyes, feeling like a cornered animal as she looked for some sort of weapon. She knew she couldn't use magic, nor turn to her Animagus form, but there wasn't any weapon she could use in defense either, unless she just threw the TV at them or something.

Damn... guess I'm going to have to go all Kung Fu on their asses or something... there's only about ah... five of them... damn, I'm going to need Severus... Alexis thought to herself grimly as one of the men spoke lowly.

"Let's not make this hard alright? No one will get hurt so long as you come along quietly... we'd just like some answers to a few questions, and we'll move on from there..."

Alexis's breath hitched in her throat as she thought. They're the agents... damn, busted big time... it would bloody figure...

Aloud she growled to them defensively. "Me? Quiet? Ha, you guys don't know what you're getting into..."

They stopped their approach with slight confusion momentarily, and Alexis took that time to run forward and somersault over them, landing behind one lithely. She kicked out into his kidneys and the man fell to his knees with a pained grunt as the others turned with angry looks in their eyes.

Well, this is going to be fun... She thought, ducking as one man lunged at her and sweeping out her leg to trip him. This time though, he jumped over her leg, smirking at Alexis's scowl.

The men quickly formed a circle around her, and Alexis jumped up as several hands grasped at her simultaneously. She struggled violently, biting and punching at every available piece of flesh and squirming out of the mass of bodies as they growled and yelped in angered frustration. She stumbled backwards as they turned and Alexis knew that she'd have to do something quick.

They already know who we are, so our cover's blown... I'm not going to let them take us that easily... Alexis thought as she focused on her anger with finality, searching for the power that called up her magical green flames. But as soon as she found it, it slipped away, leaving her standing there in confusion. Perturbed, she focused harder, holding up her hands and staring at them, willing the jets of flame to appear. All she came away with was a headache, the magic slipping away into the corners of her mind.

She looked up with wide and fearful eyes, whispering aloud, and then yelling with panic. "Uh oh... Sev- HARRY!" Just as three of the men tackled her forcefully to the ground.

She lashed out with fist and foot, but was beaten down under a rain of blows, gasping out and yelping with pain. Her arms were yanked roughly behind her back, and she winced, then growled and kicked at the man in front of her. He fell back, but another took his place, punching her in the stomach and making her double over breathlessly.

She gritted her teeth though; ramming her head back and feeling it connect with a head, all the while desperately willing for her Pyro abilities to work. The arms let her go, and she immediately swung out at the bodies above her. Her arms were grabbed by several pairs of rough hands again, and she fought viciously, never letting up regardless the barrage of blows to her small form.

Breathing was becoming difficult, she was sure a rib or two were broken, and she spit out blood, desperately hoping the injuries weren't too serious. And where the hell was Severus?

Her arms had been pinned at her sides, and she found enough time to yelp. "Damnit Harry, you ass! Where are y-" But was silenced as a foot connected to her side, making her double over in agonized pain as she hissed. She looked up dazedly with a woozy glare, kicking out forcefully at the guy's knee, hearing a satisfied crack and a howl of pain, but he lashed out as well, grabbing her ankle and twisting it, sending lancing pains through her leg. She whimpered, kicking him with her other foot, then feeling one hand let go of her arms.

She squirmed, managing to her knees, and looked up with anger and ignoring the pains from her bruised body. Her breath caught in her throat though, and the last sight she saw was a huge round object rushing towards her. Then it all went painfully black, and she could've sworn she heard cuckoo birds in her mind before she fell into numb senselessness.

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Severus stood under the scorching heat of the hot water rushing over his body. He vigorously scrubbed all over, trying to wash away what he saw as his guilt. But him, Severus Snape, feel guilty? Damn right.

Severus washed as a thought came to mind, making him nearly fall over at the it. Oh gods... I'm the dirty old man... He thought with a shudder as he considered the significant age difference between himself and Alexis. Hell, he dated her kind-of aunt when they were in school together!

"Gross." He hissed to himself, raising his arms to scrub his hair. He heard a bit off a scuffling noise over the water, but disregarded it as Alexis acting out her cartoons, again. A few seconds later though, he swore he heard her yell his 'name'. He couldn't understand what she was going on about, but did he really care?

Is she watching another game or something?... What, do they have Blue Sox too?... Damn American Muggles... What happened to sensible sports, like polo and rugby?... Severus thought as he rinsed his hair out, shaking it under the shower head. After a bit odder scuffling he distinctly heard Alexis yelling.

"Damnit Harry, you ass! Where are y-" And her words were strangely cut off.

What did she do now?... He thought as he stepped out of the shower, not bothering to turn it off, seeing as he was getting back in. He wrapped a towel around his waist and looked out to see what the hell was wrong with Alexis. He did not expect what he saw through the bedroom door. Four or five, he couldn't quite count; black clad men were beating the hell out of Alexis. Severus braced to enter the fray and then thought twice.

Being towel clad does not do well when battling... Severus thought as he dove back into the bathroom and quickly pulled on a pair of pants. The shirt would have to wait till later. He ran out of the bathroom, his wand still in the bedroom.

Alexis was being held on the floor, her hands being pinned at her sides and Severus wondered what the hell was going on. Then seeing the vulnerable position Alexis was in, his mind went into fighter mode. She was his team mate, he had to protect her.

He looked around for a weapon and only saw a frying pan in the sink in the Kitchen. Sighing, he raced around the people immersed in keeping Alexis down and grabbed the pan, moving forward and hitting one of the idiots in the back of the head, making him fall to the floor out cold. Severus had no time to move then as he was slammed full force in the stomach with a fist. The fool who was holding Alexis on the floor had lifted his fist and hit him, losing his hold on Alexis. His mistake.

Severus pushed back the pain and pulled his pan back and began to swing at the moron. But at the instant, Alexis got to her knees and lifted her head, eyes wide in shock. Severus pulled back a bit on the pan but it was already making contact with her skull at that point.

Cursing under his breath, he watched her tumble to the floor and he kicked the man to his left angrily, sending him flying backwards onto the couch. Severus bashed one that had his arm in the elbow, breaking it audibly, him stumbling back with a grimace.

Severus then turned and kicked the man still on his knees near Alexis. Unfazed, he grabbed Severus's leg and Severus tripped over Alexis, trying not to step on her, and fell on his ass, dropping the pan. He quickly lunged forward, latching his hands around the man's throat and choking the idiot until he passed out.

Severus then felt someone kick him in the ribs and he gulped for precious air as he rolled aside, his blood full of adrenaline as he turned with an angered scowl. He glimpsed a fist coming toward his face and he moved, letting his assailant fall forward with a surprised yelp. He then reached for the pan and swung, knocking out the man as he passed by, letting him fall to the floor in an unconscious heap.

Severus looked around for more attackers; body tensed and eyes wide, but found none. He finally relaxed slightly, groaning as he inhaled, realizing gratefully after a quick inspection that he had only bruised his ribs and not broken anything, then made sure all the men were unconscious.

Severus then looked over to Alexis's prone form and cursed colorfully. He ran over to her, looking her over, noticing that he had hit her hard enough to make her bleed.

"Alexis, get up." He spoke quietly as he kneeled down, grabbing her shoulders and jostling her softly a bit. She didn't even groan.

"Oh gods, I've killed her." He thought with a twinge of panic as he leaned his head down, placing his ear to her chest. He heard the steady beat of her heart and could feel her chest rising and falling shallowly. He then noticed that he was way to close to her.

"Alexis, get up. Please, get up!" He yelled as he sat bolt upright, shaking her shoulders and scanning her worriedly, noticing the extent of her bruising. He then realized that she needed medical attention as soon as possible, and that he couldn't use magic or potions to heal her.

"Oh damn it. I have to take her to a hospital." He thought aloud as he looked her over, making sure she wasn't too injured for him to carry. He quickly walked to the bathroom then and completely dressed. Grabbing a blanket from the bedroom, he ran to Alexis's side and knelt next to where she was laying. He picked her up very carefully and wrapped her in it to avoid the blistering cold outside.

Cursing the powers that be, the ministry, and every one of the Aurors, he carried her down the stairs and put her in the car gently, leaning the seat back all the way. He buckled her in and then went to his side of the car and jumped in.

"Okay, where did she say it was?" He asked himself as he shook his head, pulling the car out of the driveway, slamming on the brakes as a car sped past on the road. He growled and honked the horn loudly, then looked to make sure Alexis was alright. She hadn't moved, and her head and numerous other cuts continued to bleed, and he knew that he had to get her help fast.

He drove around for ten minutes in utter confusion and growing angst until he stopped at a gas station and asked. After that, it took only five minutes to get to the hospital. He pulled into an area next to an entrance to the sprawling complex. Shoving the car in park and pocketing the keys, he ran around and carefully unbuckled Alexis, hoisting her in his arms as he ran into the front lobby, looking around frantically.

Several people looked up at him curiously, yet no one came to his aid. Damn Muggles... so bloody ignorant to everything... He growled to himself as he hollered. "Can one of you bloody doctors actually help here, or do you all get paid to just sit around and stare!"

A few seconds later, a woman in a white outfit bustled up, looking at him and Alexis with confusion. "Yes sir, what might be the problem?"
What the hell do you think? I'm carrying a beat up, unconscious woman! Put two and two together you imbecile! He thought angrily, though calmed himself as spoke. "She's hurt and needs medical attention immediately."

The woman nodded, then ran into a side room, leaving Severus there in confusion. The muggles continued to stare at him, and he fought back every urge to start yelling at them. Then two male doctors came out, steering towards him a bed on wheels. About bloody time... a person could drop dead in here and they wouldn't know until they tried to ask him...

One of the men reached for Alexis, and he stepped back instinctively, holding her close. The nurse spoke in a slow voice. "Sir, we'll need you to cooperate. Please set her on the gurney so we can get her to the emergency room."

"Well you could've said that in the first place..." Severus growled as he stepped forward, gently setting Alexis on the rolling bed. Immediately, the men started wheeling her off at a quick pace, leaving Severus standing there in shock as another nurse ran up to him, attempting to get his name from him. He completely ignored her as his paranoia set off and he started racing after the doctors. He'd be damned if he was going to let these Muggles whisk Alexis away somewhere without him knowing.

He ran behind the doctors, looking over their shoulders at Alexis worriedly, wondering what the hell these people were going to do. They pushed her into a room with another of the uncomfortable looking beds, wheeling theirs beside it and lifting Alexis onto it smoothly.

Severus looked around nervously, seeing the odd machinery and what he guessed were medical supplies and devices around the room. The two doctors crowded about Alexis, joined by two nurses, and Severus stepped forward to watch their actions. I swear, if they make her worse than she already is, I'll curse them all into oblivion... Severus thought as a nurse wheeled in a table of medical supplies and a pole with a bag of water on it, which confused the hell out of him. The doctors scanned the unconscious woman carefully, and then the nurse stepped forward with a syringe.

Severus immediately went into protective/freaked-out mode. "What are you doing?" He growled warningly, looking at the needle warily and shuddering internally. He hated those blasted things...

A nurse walked up to him, placing a hand on his arm and pulling him gently back towards the door of the room. "Sir, let us do our job. She'll be fine under our care..."
"Why do you need the needle? That isn't necessary..." Severus continued, watching as the woman with the needle approached Alexis.

"Sir, we know what we're doing. Please help us by staying out of the way..." The blasted woman continued to speak to him in a low voice, making it seem like she was speaking to a child. The other nurse then stuck the needle in Alexis's arm, and Severus cringed, then shoved the pestering nurse beside him away, stepping forward as he spoke angrily. "What was in that needle?"

For all he knew, they could be drugging her with something that could kill her. Idiotic Muggles... having to use those demonic things... no wonder they're the inferior race...
The doctors turned to look at him, one gesturing to another nurse. They were everywhere...

Now two were on him, pushing him back towards the door as he watched the nurse who first stuck Alexis pull out another longer needle. He growled, shoving the women away from him like gnats and walking towards the other nurse, but was too late as she stuck Alexis again, though this time leaving the bloody thing in her arm.

What kind of people are these! Bad enough sticking her once, that has to be bloody torture! He thought with angered wonder, walking up beside the doctor as he spoke. "I demand to know what was in those needles and why you continue to use them."

The doctor looked up at him with confusion, then turned and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please sir, why don't you wait outside...?"

"I don't need to bloody wait outside! I need to make sure what you're doing is humane and actually helping her! No one should be subjected to such horrible devices..." Severus yelled angrily as he was shoved towards the door. The doctor succeeded in pushing him out of them, and Severus ran up to them once more, pulling on the handles but finding the doors locked.

"Damnit!" He growled, kicking the door hard before gazing anxiously into the round window. Alexis was hidden from view by the several bodies, and he sighed, turning away from the door and pacing in front of it, cursing himself for bringing her here in the first place. Maybe I should've just used magic instead...

About fifteen minutes passed, Severus growing dizzy with all his pacing, but still worrying over the actions of these people Muggles affectionately called their 'doctors'. "If they're so bloody smart, how come they still haven't found a cure for cancer? Idiots, the lot of them..." He grumbled darkly.

The doors swung open then, and Severus turned to it with a hopeful gaze. A doctor was walking out of it, pulling slightly bloodied gloves off his hands.

Severus looked at him warily, asking quickly. "Well? Is she alright?"

The man smiled gently, speaking in a calm voice. "Yes, she's going to be fine. She's being moved to a room right now."
"What is wrong with her?" Severus commanded relentlessly, wanting to know every detail of their actions in that room.

"Well, she has a major concussion, which accounts for her unconsciousness. We also found three broken ribs, none of which gratefully punctured any organs, and her ankle is strained. There is an extensive amount of bruising and smaller lacerations; the ones that we needn't have patched up will heal themselves perfectly in time. I suggest she stay here for about two to three days for observation."

"Two or three days! In this bloody place?" Severus exclaimed with amazement. Stuck here, amongst a ton of these wacky doctors and their needles? They had to be joking. Though the doctor didn't quite look like a joking kind of man.

He continued on, ignoring Severus's remarks. "Yes. And we'll need you to fill out some paperwork during your stay here. The girl is in room 316."

Severus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose at the headache throbbing in his mind. He decided arguing would be futile with these ignorant humans and nodded, asking directions to the room and nothing else, heading there quickly.

I believe life hates me... that's got to be the only reason for these things... it's chosen me to hate with all it's essence, and is bent on making me as miserable as bloody possible before killing me... no, killing me would be a mercy... Severus thought grimly to himself as he found the room, entering it warily, hating the eerie silence of it. He saw Alexis lying in one of the beds, still out cold with a light blanket strewn over her. Her head had been bandaged tightly, along with her ankle, and there was this plastic tube around her head and partly in her nose, while a larger tube traveled to her arm from the pole with the water bag. He noticed it was attached to the very needle that they had stuck her with earlier.

He shuddered and grimaced at it, wondering aloud. "Maybe I should just take it out, it looks painful... no, they five more of those bloody nurses would probably be in here..." He grumbled, sighing as he shook his head while watching Alexis lay there for a moment.

"This whole bloody mission should've been thrown to the dogs, America isn't that important... I will never do anything for the Ministry again, no matter how much they bribe or threaten me..." He growled, pulling up a chair beside Alexis's bed and sitting in it, promising himself that no other doctor would stick her with any more of those blasted devices while he was there.

He looked around, grabbing a broom leaning against a wall after a thought, holding it close. No harm in being prepared... a frying pan worked last time, why wouldn't a broom? He thought, and then was suddenly overcome with a bout of sleepiness.

He yawned, leaning back in the chair, distractedly gazing at Alexis as he smirked, speaking to himself. "I beat off all five of them, by myself; with a frying pan... damn am I good... hitting her didn't count though..." He mumbled as he dozed off into a light sleep, still clutching the broom.

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Alexis groaned painfully, head aching something fierce as she swallowed, her throat parched. She was surprised that she was actually in a bed and warm, something she didn't expect. A wave of weariness descended on her once more, but a sense of urgency pushed it back, and Alexis knew there was something she had to say. She opened her eyes a crack, the dim lighting still stinging her vision, which was blurry. She squinted though, thinking that she saw Severus leaning over her, actually looking worried.

"Dude... this is like, one whacked out dream... all we need is dancing unicorns... you know, I knew someone once who was trying to train them to dance..."She mumbled aloud sluggishly, looking past him as a nurse walked into the room, Severus turning to her instead.

Alexis suddenly remembered that there were some type of agents and they had found out something. Details were pretty fuzzy to her, but she knew that Severus had to know, that was all that mattered.

Her eyes widened with shock and sat bolt upright, making Severus and the nurse jump as she choked out. "Severus! They know... the agents..." She then groaned, growing painfully dizzy from the sudden movement.

Severus was suddenly beside her, pushing her gently back onto the bed and looking at her with confusion. She shook away her pain as she spoke with a scratchy voice, gazing up at him. "That's why, they were there... They know... about us Severus..."

Severus's gaze darted to look at the nurse, who was watching them curiously, and then he spoke in a low, calm voice.

"It's okay Lindsey... you're just delirious... everything's going to be okay now..."

Alexis looked at him in confusion, having forgotten that they were still under cover in her fevered semiconciousness. Though she couldn't go back to sleep now, they were in trouble, that's all she knew.

"Who's Lindsey? Oh, who cares... No Severus... the agents... something about the agents..." She mumbled, trying to remember through her ferocious headache the reason she had to tell him about these agents. But for the life of her, she couldn't remember. Severus looked at her with continued confusion, irritating Alexis further. The nurse walked forward, grabbing some tube that was oddly connected to her arm. Watching her wonderingly, she stuck a needle into it, and some liquid flowed into the tube, leaking into her arm. Severus followed her gaze, looking at the nurse and standing up with a look of slight anger.

Alexis's vision swirled as the sedative took effect, and the pain floated away from her body. Dude... never knew they could make light bulbs look like kaleidoscopes... Alexis thought with a small drugged smile as her vision faded, and the last thing she heard before passing out was Severus's voice. "What was in that needle?..."

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Alexis came to awareness once more, though this time her head was much clearer and only throbbing dully behind her temples. She shifted slightly, then hissing in pain as her ribs sent lances of agony through her side, as she deemed it not yet wise to move. She opened her eyes, her vision still pretty fuzzy, and saw a form slumped in a chair next to her. She tried to speak out, but her throat was too dry to speak. She coughed spasmodically, and then closed her eyes as she winced in pain at the movement, lying there stiffly. She suddenly felt arms under her shoulders, slowly lifting her up, and a glass held up to her lips. She gratefully took a long drink of the water, and then sighed, the arms leaning her back onto the bed.

She opened her eyes once more wearily, her vision clearer, and saw Severus leaning next to her, a drinking glass in his hand as he watched her carefully.

Okay... that was just weird... maybe I'm delusional... oh well... She thought as Severus asked lowly. "Are you alright?"

"Why don't you tell me..." Alexis mumbled, unintentionally sounding snape-ish. Well, he would too if he got his ass kicked and then bashed in the head... what they hell did they use anyway, a frying pan?

"Yes, you're fine..." Severus spoke with a raised eyebrow, leaning back in his chair.

"Sorry... still not awake I guess..." Alexis mumbled, feeling the bandage around her sore head.

"You would be if those bloody nurses hadn't drugged you again..." Severus growled lowly, and Alexis looked at him in confusion.

He shook his head, asking quietly as he leaned forward once more, looking serious. "You said something earlier about the agents, what was that?"

"I did? When?" Alexis asked, not remembering waking up earlier.

"You woke up once a couple of hours ago. You said the agents knew. What do they know Alexis?" Severus questioned urgently and Alexis sighed.

"Oh yeah... they said something about taking us to go get questioned... now, if it were just some dudes trying to break in, I doubt there'd be five of them and would want to question us. I mean, question us about what? Our secret stash of money? Which is like, a grand total of fifty bucks..."

"Okay okay, I get the point." Severus hushed her as he leaned back in his seat, looking thoughtful. Alexis shook her head, not realizing that she was rambling. Some pretty good drugs I guess... too bad they don't actually fix anything... Alexis thought grimly, looking down and seeing her ankle bandaged as well.

"Well that sucks..." She grumbled darkly, yawning tiredly as Severus watched her, actually kind of weirding her out. She asked him curiously to break the silence. "So, how long have we been here?"

Severus was quiet for a moment, and then spoke calmly. "It's five in the afternoon. I brought you here at about nine last night."

Alexis's eyes widened in surprise. "I've been sleeping that bloody long! Jeesh... What did they knock me out with? Did they get a hold of our baseball bat or something?"
Severus looked away at that question, and Alexis imagined that he almost looked guilty. Watching him curiously, she questioned. "Sev?"

"It's Harry. We're still under cover." Severus hissed quietly, looking back at her with a half hearted glare. Ooh, touchy... go back to bed... hey, not to bad an idea... Alexis thought as she shrugged, yawning once again.

She sighed; leaning into the soft pillow as she quietly asked him something that she just remembered. "Harry? Last night when I was fighting them... I tried to use my fla- my powers-", she said in a low voice, "-but I couldn't. I think something's wrong, but I've never been able to not use them before. You have any clue as to what might be the issue?"
Severus didn't answer her as he studied his hands with a distracted gaze. She frowned, growing annoyed at his continued knack for ignoring her questions. "Harry, I asked if you-"

"I'm starving. I'm going to go see if the cafeteria is open or something. Do you want anything?" Severus cut her off abruptly, standing suddenly and still not meeting her gaze.

Alexis glared at him. "Hold on a moment-"

"I'll bring you something anyway. I'll be right back..." He cut her off again, hurriedly leaving the room as Alexis called after him. "Hey you dork, I'm not done yet!... Gosh, men... you can't live with them, you can't kill them..."

She grumbled to herself, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. Now I know he's hiding something from me... otherwise he would've come up with some smart ass remark that I'd have to counter with a better one... so predictable... She thought to herself with another cavernous yawn. "I'll just pester him when he gets back... maybe he'll bring back a cheeseburger..." She wondered aloud, but within minutes she was once again fast asleep before he could return.

--------------------------

Severus awoke when he heard a nurse walking toward the room, his hands loosening their grip on the broom. He noticed that Alexis was showing signs of a pained awakening. Severus stood up, groaning as he had to move his sore ribs. He stood at the side of the bed, looking over Alexis in worry. Alexis's eyes squinted opened and she mumbled near incoherently.

"Dude... this is like, one whacked out dream... all we need is dancing unicorns... you know, I knew someone once who was trying to train them to dance..."She mumbled and Severus looked as the nurse walked in. Severus looked at nurse, hoping that Alexis would not decide to forget that they were still undercover. Alexis sat bolt right up and Severus jumped in surprise. She began to rant frantically and Severus knew he had hoped too much of her.

"Severus! They know... the agents..." She stated and then she groaned. Severus moved to right beside her and pushed her down, wanting to hear what she had to say, but wanting to keep her quiet. He looked at her with confusion and she looked up at him, her voice scratchy.

"That's why, they were there... They know... about us Severus..." She told him and he frantically thought of how to silence Alexis and get the boring eyes out of the back of his head. He looked at the nurse, who was watching them curiously, and then he spoke in a low, calm voice to her.

"It's okay Lindsey... you're just delirious... everything's going to be okay now..." He cooed to her, hoping to get the point across. All Alexis did was look at him in confusion.

Great... She has forgotten we are undercover... He thought, trying to calm Alexis.

"Who's Lindsey? Oh, who cares... No Severus... the agents... something about the agents..." Alexis mumbled and Severus looked at her with confusion still.

What about the agents... Do they know our identity?... He thought as he watched her face as she tried to think.

The nurse walked forward, grabbing some tube that was connected to Alexis's arm through the needle. Severus followed Alexis's gaze and stood, anger etched on his face.

How dare she drug her without my express permission... I am supposed to be her significant other to the damned people... What, does that mean nothing to them in America... Bloody muggles... Severus thought as he glared at the nurse, who looked at him indifferently.

"What was in that needle?..." He demanded and the nurse shook her head at him.

"Morphine. For her pain." She replied shortly and then she walked out, shaking her head, muttering.

"Damn foreigners."

If Severus had been himself and not undercover and not worried for Alexis's safety, he would have hexed that woman so bad her ancestors would have felt it. At the present moment though, he was more concerned with Alexis and what she meant by the agents. He had not quite thought the agents would have blatantly attacked them, but then again, he never thought the ministry would make him 'date' Alexis. He shook his head as he looked Alexis over, seeing that she was alive and he then sat in the chair, grabbing his broom once again as he dwelled on Alexis's words.

"They know... about us Severus...the agents... something about the agents..."

---------

A few hours later Severus had dozed off in his chair, sleeping uncomfortably. He awoke as he heard Alexis coughing dryly. He stood quickly, moving to her side to see what her ailment was. The way he had figured it, if he let those bloody nurses and doctors continue to drug her they would end up killing her, so he would have to keep a constant eye on her. She closed her eyes as she coughed; wincing in the pain and Severus lifted her up, grabbing the cup of water from the bedside table and held it to her lips. He watched as Alexis took a long grateful drink of the water and he then removed the glass from her lips, not wanting her to drown in it. He laid her back down on the bed gently as to not further injure her sides. He would need her to heal as fast as possible so they could get on with this mission and so they could get back home.

She opened her eyes and looked at him and he set the glass back down, watching her movements carefully. Gods knew how much of that 'morphine' they had given her.

"Are you alright?" He asked her lowly and she looked at him.

"Why don't you tell me..." Alexis snapped at him and he knew she was back to her old self, whiney, bitchy, and annoying.

"Yes, you're fine..." He told her with a raised eyebrow, leaning back in his chair in relief.

"Sorry... still not awake I guess..." Alexis apologized as she rubbed her head over the bandage they placed there.

"You would be if those bloody nurses hadn't drugged you again..." Severus growled lowly in anger, shaking his head. The last nurse that came in got quite a tongue-lashing from him. Alexis looked at him in confusion and he shook his head, leaning forward, looking seriously at her. He needed an answer to his questions. He needed to know how much trouble they were in.

"You said something earlier about the agents, what was that?" He asked her and she looked at him in confusion.

"I did? When?" Alexis asked him and he knew she didn't remember a damned thing. Just his bloody luck. Could something go right for once? This whole bloody hospital ordeal was enough to drive him mad. First, he was almost arrested because they thought he had beat the hell out of her, then after clearing all that up they continued to drug her so now she had no idea what was so important that it had her in hysterics earlier. Bloody muggles... He thought, that becoming his new mantra.

"You woke up once a couple of hours ago. You said the agents knew. What do they know Alexis?" Severus questioned her again urgently and she had the look of one with a light-bulb over their head.

"Oh yeah... they said something about taking us to go get questioned... now, if it were just some dudes trying to break in, I doubt there'd be five of them and would want to question us. I mean, question us about what? Our secret stash of money? Which is like, a grand total of fifty bucks..." She ranted and Severus silenced her, dwelling on this information.

"Okay, Okay, I get the point." He said as he leaned back in his seat, wondering what they were going to do now and how safe it was for them here. Alexis shook her head and Severus watched her carefully, seeing that she was not as injured as they made her out to be. She looked at her bandaged ankle and grimaced in frustration.

"Well that sucks..." She mused darkly, yawning tiredly and Severus wondered if the medication was still in her system. The room was eerily silent and then Alexis spoke, much to Severus's pleasure, because the silence only added to his troubled mind.

"So, how long have we been here?" She asked and Severus thought before he answered her. How long had they been there? Glancing at the clock, he answered.

"It's five in the afternoon. I brought you here at about nine last night." He told her calmly and her eyes widened in surprise.

"I've been sleeping that bloody long! Jeesh... What did they knock me out with? Did they get a hold of our baseball bat or something?" She asked and Severus looked away in his shame.

No, more like I hit you with a frying pan... He thought and he knew she was watching him.

"Sev?" She spoke and he thought it high time she remembered what the hell was going on.

"It's Harry. We're still under cover." Severus hissed at her quietly, giving her a glare that he just wasn't feeling. She shrugged at him, yawning once again as she sighed, lying into the pillow. She was silent for a moment, too silent. He knew she was about to ask him something before she even inhaled the breath.

"Harry? Last night when I was fighting them... I tried to use my fla- my powers-", She paused as she spoke in a low voice, "-but I couldn't. I think something's wrong, but I've never been able to not use them before. You have any clue as to what might be the issue?" Alexis directly questioned him and he looked at his hands, not answering her while he studied his hands distractedly. He hoped she would let that question go. He didn't think he could deal with the wrath from that answer, bad enough he had given her a concussion, but he took away her defenses when she needed them most. Damn the ministry to hell... He thought as she inhaled again.

"Harry, I asked if you-" She asked him again and he went into diversion tactics. He needed to get out of here to think and while she was awake he could be sure she would be safe on her own.

"I'm starving. I'm going to go see if the cafeteria is open or something. Do you want anything?" Severus cut her off abruptly, standing quickly, looking at the door away from her.

"Hold on a moment-" She began and he cut her off again.

"I'll bring you something anyway. I'll be right back..." He told her as he hurried out of the room. He could hear her yelling after him, but he just kept walking.

"Hey you dork, I'm not done yet!... Gosh, men... you can't live with them, you can't kill them..."

Severus walked to cafeteria, absentmindedly grabbing some Jell-O for Alexis as he pondered on their predicament. They didn't have enough evidence to finish the mission, they couldn't call in another team, and they most certainly were not safe anymore. He began to head back Alexis's room, watching his feet as he walked. He was suddenly rammed into by a very big man and Severus looked up at the man's face. He inhaled in shock as he recognized the face. The man was the agent he had seen in the window, on of the men who had done this to Alexis. Severus quickly looked back at the floor and marched off to Alexis's room. They were no longer safe here. He walked into Alexis's room to see her lying asleep in the bed.

"Damnit, I'm too late." He hissed in panic as he quickly moved toward the bed, dropping the Jell-O to the side as he checked her vitals worriedly. He sighed in relief upon finding that she had a pulse and was breathing.

"Get up, NOW!" Severus told her and she jumped, startled.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Alexis demanded and Severus had no time for idle chitchat. He took Alexis's arm, looking at the needle in her arm. He slowly took of the tape, ignoring Alexis's curious looks. He grasped the needle in his fingers and slowly slid the needle out of her skin, her wincing in minor pain. He quickly covered the wound and looked at Alexis.

"We are going now." He told her and Alexis looked at him curiously.

"What? Why?" She asked and he shook his head at her, standing as he scooped her in his arms.

"We are going because the agents are here, and if you are healed enough to yell at me, you are healed enough to go home." He told her and with that Severus stealthily marched out of the hospital, narrowly missing both the doctors and the agent as he sneaked her out of the building.


So now Severus has to deal with Alexis and her pains... How is this going to go over...
Does Deep Shadows have yet another scene up her sleeve,
Or has EckoStalker put the muzzle back on?
Wait and see...

Toodles,
The Misfits
Deep Shadows & EckoStalker