here's a nice little break away from the major story line!

-5 years ago-

Alex had always found it strange, the Underground. When he was younger and he'd learnt about the horrors of World War II and how, during the Blitz, people had taken shelter here…it had seemed pretty cool. But now, on his first day of work, he had to admit the place had lost its magic. Now longer was he romanced by the ghosts he though lived here; when his father had first taken him to the Natural History Museum he was sure ghosts of children must haunt this place but now that dream was dead. It was busy, hot and the overwhelming smell of perspiration in the added summer heat was a bit too overbearing. He had his briefcase in his right and was sending a text message on his mobile phone to his secretary; he'd forgotten files on his desk that needed clearing away and he knew she'd take care of it. Claire was her name and over time he'd found he was quite taken with her. Of course he'd only ever met her at induction meetings that lasted the whole day but now he was going to work with her and see her everyday. First she'd been cold with him, she was three years older and found it annoying to have such a young man in such a top position. Everyone at the office had thought he'd be arrogant but he proved he was just hard working and eventually the mornings of stony silences turned to long coffee breaks and talks of nothing important. He looked up from his mobile and checked the board in front of him; Bakerloo line, Northbound (A/N: I got my mini tube map out to check that! Everyone be thankful I care! BE THANKFUL DAMNIT!)…yeah, he was on the right track. He'd only come this way three times but his natural knack for direction meant he could just let his feet take him there. He looked back at the text he was writing and debated whether or not he should ask Claire to-

"Oh, sorry!" A voice said and made him look up; he instinctively went to grab the files that dropped out of her arms. They almost hit the floor when he picked them up but already papers had flown out and were scattered about the place. The figure next to him dropped to their knees and began to pick them up, he looked up at her.

"Here you go," he said with a smile as he held up the file. She took a moment to gather papers and when she looked up at him he dropped the file in surprise. She too dropped the papers and many people stared as they walked by; for the two of them were on their knees in the busy underground station at Green Park. He knew it was her; her eyes hadn't changed at all. "Lily." He said rather breathlessly and she looked him up and down before smiling.

"Alex!" She exclaimed before embracing him, it was strange; both had grown taller but she still fit into his embrace the same way she used to. As he held her, over her shoulder he looked to his phone and deleted the text he was about to send.

"Maybe we should get up off the floor." He said and she became flustered as she realised she had hugged him for longer than necessary.

"Oh, yeah." She muttered and stood up. He handed over her file and she slipped the papers inside. "You've…changed." She said with a wry smile; physically he'd changed; more muscular than when they were teenagers after a few years of serving with the SAS and his hair was a bit longer than before. He looked like an adult.

"So have you!" He exclaimed and walked around her, looking at every aspect to see exactly how she'd changed. He was going to be late for work if he didn't hurry up, but now a battle was going on in his head; he hadn't seen Lily for years, they'd lost contact. And he had to admit, she'd only changed in good ways; she'd lost her prettiness but it was replaced with a beauty more elegant than he remembered. She was a woman; that was it, that's how she'd changed!

"Where're you headed?" She asked him and laughed as he continued to look at her with such amazement.

"Oh, to work-"

"You're working already?" She said and they moved to the side to let many people passed and found that they were shoved very close together. At least it's not in a cupboard this time, Alex thought. The privacy would've been better though, Lily smiled at him.

"Yeah, with the SAS." He replied.

"You dress pretty smart for a soldier." She commented on his suit and he blushed.

"You want to get coffee?" He asked suddenly and Lily looked at him with earnest; should she? Was he worth it? In all honesty she wanted to go but she knew she had commitments elsewhere. Screw it.

"Yeah sure!" She said brightly and they walked away together, conversing about anything and everything they liked. They reached a small café outside the train station and went to sit down; both fascinated about how far each other's lives had moved on.

"Physiology?" Alex laughed, "you were always such a geek-"

"No I wasn't!" Lily protested but she knew he was right.

"I'm sorry, who was it that got straight A's in her GCSEs and went to that science summer camp thing at Imperial Uni-"

"Woah, woah, woah." Lily put up a warning finger. "I didn't want to go to that; I won the place in a competition." She said smugly and put her hands around her coffee mug. Alex laughed again.

"And what kind of competition was it?" He asked; he remembered the moment she'd won, he was there and so were Alpha, they teased her for weeks about it. Lily looked to her shoes and said something quietly. "Sorry what?" Alex said as he couldn't hear her.

"Science competition," she muttered feebly and then began laughing too. After a minute their laughter subsided and they merely looked at each other from across the table. Alex reached forwards and put a hand on hers.

"I've missed you." Was all he said and she smiled.

"I've missed you." She replied quietly.

"I'm also late for work." He said suddenly as he caught a glimpse of his watch and jumped up from the table. Lily shrugged.

"I was on my way home anyway." She said and stood up. They exchanged numbers and then stood, unsure of how to say goodbye. Lily moved forwards and kissed Alex's cheek, "bye, it was good to see you again." Alex stood for a moment, slightly paralysed by her action but then cursed him immaturity as she laughed at him. "Well, get going!" She said and he smiled; it's what she used to say whenever he was called away by Alpha, it was strange that even though they'd split up last year their traditions stayed with him. "You're going to be really late!" She urged him and he smiled before moving away.

"I'll call you later!" She smiled; he always used to say that. Lily sat back down and watched him walk away. She leant against the wall behind her and sighed; was he always that good looking? Somehow she doubted it, or she would've stayed with him longer. Her thoughts were interrupted as the person sat on the table next to her put down the newspaper he was reading. He looked across to her and lit a cigarette as she appraised him out of the corner of her eye.

"So...what's he like?" His voice was harsh and as he exhaled all the cigarette smoke was blown into Lily's face and she began to cough.

"Jesus, Brad." She said as she put a hand on her mouth. "Do that somewhere else." The man laughed and anyone watching wouldn't be able to tell they were having a conversation; they'd become so skilled at this recently.

"So what's he like?" The man repeated and Lily sighed.

"This is the guy taking over Special ops?" She laughed, "We're in trouble." She drank the rest of her coffee. It was cold. Brad smiled.

"Why's that?"

"Because, he's so naive- just like he was a few years ago-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Amnias said in defence of his friend, "Alex is wicked-smart! And his experiences with me and the SAS have really toughened him up." He man said and smirked as Lily shook her head. "You're just saying that to hide how you feel." Lily was shocked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked quickly.

"You still," he held up a hand and put his index finger and thumb close together, "a teeny, weeny, ickle bit love him don't you?" Lily shook her head but he could tell she was doing it as a gesture to show how irrelevant the question was. "Well then you think he's hot-"

"Oh, come on, let's be adults-"

"I'm just saying!" He said and put his hands up to signal surrender. "If a girl looked at me like that I sure as hell wouldn't walk away from her." He muttered and leant over to her, "you can tell me Lily, we're buddies!" Lily glance at him and rolled her eyes.

"I'm telling you to shut the hell up; we're here for work, let's just do that!" She said and turned away. Amnias got up and walked round the table; he came and sat next to her. He took her hand and again Lily rolled her eyes.

"It's alright Lily; you can like whoever the hell you want, just don't let it jeopardise your work. Sometimes it can be an advantage." He said sternly and Lily knew that whenever Amnias used this voice he was being completely serious for once.

"I won't." She said adamantly. "Now, let's talk Alex's first mission, what's it gonna be?" She leant back in her chair in her usual lazy way and waited for Brad to bring out the documents.

"You reckon, he'll ever find out?" Brad asked as he put the files in front of him and Lily.

"Find out about what...me?" He nodded at her and she shook her head. "He can't...he just can't."

Well I guess no one really saw that coming did they? But I didn't explain much- i like to keep you in suspense! All you know is that they used to work together!

Reviews appreciated! As are muffins...damn, I'm hungry!