i'm baccckk! : D

and i once again have more confidence in myself. thanks marisje!

anyway i just need to tell you: i dont know how to make applesauce. yea i know, random, but you'll get it.

anyway please review! oh and is there a way to see if anyone has read a chapter or something? like a number somewhere? please tell me if you know! it would be a big boost to my confidence if i could see that at least a person or two was reading all these chapters!

DISCLAIMER: *squeezes eyes shut really tightly and concentrates really hard...*

did it work? did i finally figure out how to turn into a middle aged british man named Anthony Horowitz?

mierda. nope. didnt work. great. now i have to try again.

*repeats whole process.*

The Unit left the room shortly after Shelley had. Snake was furious.

"He said he got that three years ago! He was only fourteen! He got shot, almost in his heart, when he was fourteen! And he didn't think it was necessary to tell any of us? What are we, cardboard? This could have been a major issue during any of the missions we had with him!"

"Snake, shut up for a second!" Wolf finally broke in. "yea, he didn't tell us before but we know now. There's nothing we can do! Stop obsessing!"

"I know." Snake sighed. "It's just…he reminds me of Scotty."

Wolf started to feel a little guilty. Scotty was Snake's younger brother, who had died a year before in Iraq.

"It's fine Snake. Just…he's a teenager in an adult's world. He grew up fast. And after having been through what he has, the fact that he's alive makes it obvious that he can take care of himself."

"Yea. Okay. I'll stop obsessing."

"Good. I think someone should stay here tonight just in case something happens to Cub."\

Eagle watched the two spies talking as Snake and Wolf discussed something. He remembered the first time he had seen Alex, when he was fourteen. Immediately he had known that his unit was wrong about him. He knew that the kid wasn't what he looked like; he never complained about anything! Even the best soldier complained about something. He looked like someone who would take what he got and do what he needed to move on with his life. He looked like the type who would live wholeheartedly to the life lesson: when life gives you lemons, lick them, pucker your lips, and move on.

He thought about the difference between that boy and the man who had come back the week before. The man he had met a week ago was cold. He was hardened. He had been through multiple levels of hell and he had survived all the hurdles life had thrown at him; hurdles no normal teenager would have been able to live through. He had been closed off and secretive. Every six minutes, like clockwork, he would scan the area around him, looking and listening hard with his heightened senses, for any sign of danger. His voice held no hint of emotion. And if anyone got too near him he would stiffen and ready himself for a fight. The only time that person would lose his mask was when an even more mysterious girl was near him. Shelley was that girl and in the past week, she had worked with the unit to loosen Alex up a bit.

"He's been like this ever since Joseph showed up!" she had said, frustrated. Confused, Eagle had asked who Joe was. His unit had just looked at him and groaned.

Now, the boy was more normal. He made jokes and laughed a lot more often.

Especially when he's around her, Eagle thought, watching Alex and Shelley laughing together.

Eagle looked away for a minute as Wolf addressed him

"Eagle, you'll take the first shift, cause I doubt you'll accept being woken up in the middle of the night to change shifts."

"Huh?"

"You'll take the first shift outside the room to make sure nothing happens."

He turned back and smiled as he saw Alex throw Shelley onto the bed.

"Maybe one of us should stay with Shelley in her room too," he heard Cat suggest to the unit. Being the only girl on camp, she had been given a separate room that was annexed to the main dorm of K-Unit.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Eagle interrupted and pointed out the teens, who had fallen asleep in each other's arms.

"Ahh, young love. So sweet." Wolf said. Eagle looked at him, surprised. "I can't wait to wake them up in the morning." Wolf continued a mischievous smile on his face.

Ohh…maybe I should warn them. Eagle thought.

Then he smiled. No, it'll be much funnier to watch Wolf get his ass kicked when he tries his tricks with these two.

Eagle watched the men leave and snickered. Then he sat down and got settled in for his shift.

Alex woke up. He didn't know why until he realized that there was someone in the room. All of a sudden he felt freezing cold water being thrown on him and Shelley.

"I see you're up, lovebirds."

That was all the intruder, who Alex and Shelley had realized was Wolf by the sound of his voice, had time to say. Suddenly, he was on the floor after being knocked off of his feet by Shelley. He realized Alex was sitting on top of him, smiling in a way that immediately made Wolf suspicious. It was too innocent.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"Me? I'm not going to do anything. Shelley on the other hand…"

Alex trailed off as the person in question walked into the room.

"I'm gonna make you sorry you ever decided to try that on us." She said holding up her bag of toiletries and smiling evilly.

Wolf was suddenly really scared. He whimpered.

"Mierda…"

The rest of the unit walked into the room an hour later to see what had happened to Wolf. They all cracked up, laughing. Eagle laughed so hard, he was crying and couldn't catch his breath. Cat was rolling on the floor. Snake was using the doorframe for support.

Wolf was sitting, strapped to a chair with one of Alex's belts. He was wearing a pink dress that looked like something a six year old would wear if she was the size of a grown, buff man. It had lace and bows all over it. He was wearing blue eye shadow, bright pink blush, and rose red lipstick. His nails were painted hot pink and his normally dark brown hair was dyed blond with pink streaks. And he looked absolutely furious as Alex stood back and took a picture of Shelley's expert handy work.

"You know… if you ever…get tired of being a spy…, you could… open a salon Shelley!" Snake gasped out.

"Yea…and where…did…you get…that dress? It looks…like…something my niece…would wear! And it's…definitely not something…you would even go near…usually." Eagle asked, looking up from his position on the floor.

"Thanks, Snake. I got the dress from a thrift store before I got here. I was gonna give it to the sergeant right before we left as payback for calling me 'sweetie' when I talked to him last. After I repeatedly told him that my name is Shelley and I would flay anyone who called me by sweetie."

The unit just looked at her disbelievingly.

"It's true. He did make the stupid mistake of calling her sweetie. And she did tell him she would flay him after she got tired of him calling her that. The last time I called her sweetie was when she decided to act like my annoying bratty classmates for an entire week. She went truly apeshit. It was scary." Alex said laughing. He sounded happier than he had the entire week. He also seemed more rested.

"No nightmares Alex?" Snake asked, completely ignoring the fact that the team leader was still tied to a chair.

"No actually." Alex said looking slightly amazed. "Shelley you are awesome! I love you!" he said, throwing his arms around her from the side.

Everyone, even Shelley, was kind of shocked to hear him say the words so casually and publically but Alex didn't seem to have even noticed he'd said them.

"You're the reason I didn't have nightmares! You were with me the entire night! Thank you!" he said kissing her on the cheek and then letting go.

"I'm hungry. Let's go to the mess." He ran out of the room.

Everyone just stared after him.

"Did he hit his head on the way down? How hard did you hit him, Shelley?" Wolf asked, still tied to the chair.

"I have no idea." Shelley answered; hand on her cheek, where Alex had kissed her. "But I'm kinda glad I did. He's much more…relaxed now. I like it."

"Personally, I think he might just be schizo." Cat said, still dazed.

"Whatever," said Eagle, who wasn't really shocked? He had the kid pegged better than anyone, including himself, had thought.

"I'm hungry too. Let's go."

"Wait! Get me out of this stuff!" Wolf shouted desperately. "What if Eva sees me?"

"Who's Eva?" Shelley asked, looking at Snake conspiratorially.

"Wolf's not so secret crush. She's one of the nurses here. Actually her shift should be starting-"

A pretty brown haired woman walked in.

"Oh my- What the hell?" she said and then burst into laughter. She walked out of the room without another word, still laughing.

"Eva?" Shelley asked looking at Wolf's tomato red face.

"Eva." Snake answered.

She laughed softly.

"Okay. Time to get Wolf out of the torture chair. Alex already has the pictures. You never know when they could come in handy."

"Just get me out of the damn chair." Wolf growled.

"Aw, no need to get feisty Wolfy dahling. You look GOHGEOUS!" Cat said with a preppy accent.

Wolf lunged at him, chair and all.

The rest of the unit walked into the mess hall about ten minutes after Alex.

"Where did he go?" Eagle wondered.

"Where did everybody go?" Wolf said looking almost completely normal, other than his hair, which, he had been dismayed to learn, wouldn't fade from its blond-and-pink state for at least a month.

Snake replied.

"Well we were all so much in a hurry to see what would happen when you pranked them, at five a.m. might I add, that we got up before all the other units. Breakfast isn't supposed to be served for another half hour."

"Shit."

"Well I'll go find Alex then. I think I might have a couple ideas of where he might have gone." Shelley said. The rest of the unit nodded absentmindedly. She got up and left the table.

Shelley walked into the kitchen. She smelled something weird. It smelled like…it smelled like…food?

But the chef's cooking never smells like food! Shelley thought.

She walked farther into the kitchen.

There, lecturing the cook as he made breakfast was Alex! He had already made bacon, eggs and French toast by the looks of it. He had made enough to feed the entire camp of twenty four hungry men who hadn't had real food for a couple months.

"Shelley! I should've known you would figure it out. Damn. Well get back out there and don't tell anyone what's happening, ok? I want it to be a surprise."

"Don't worry Alex. I won't tell. Now what are you making?"

"Come over here and see."

"Ok…" she said, making her way over to where Alex was standing.

It looked like he was making…

Applesauce? That's my favorite! How many surprises am I going to have today?

"I thought, if I'm going to make breakfast anyway, why not make something special? So I made applesauce. Cause it's your favorite." He said sweetly.

"But that takes forever to make! And it's a lot of work!" she said, looking at him with wonder and love on her face.

"Whatever." He said shyly, looking down at the pot he was stirring.

I missed that…Shelley thought as she looked at the slight blush that appeared on his cheeks.

"It's worth it."

"Thank you," she whispered going on her tiptoes to reach his ear. Then she kissed him on the cheek in the exact spot he had kissed her earlier. She turned on her heel and walked away.

Alex stared after her.

Cat watched as Shelley walked back to the table, smiling.

"So? Where is he?" he asked.

"You'll see," she replied.

A half hour later, the first group of SAS men other than K-Unit, walked into the Mess hall. They got their trays of food and did double takes. On their trays was actual, honest-to-goodness, FOOD!

K-Unit, scrambling after Shelley, who had gotten up right after the other men had arrived, looked at the passing men and their FOOD with amazement. All of them sped up and got their plates.

They brought them back to the table and devoured it as the rest of the camp arrived and got their breakfasts. It was the quietest meal time in the history of the military training base.

The sergeant walked in and saw the food.

What the hell?

"Who cooked the breakfast today?" he asked the server, his booming voice echoing through the now silent hall.

"That would be me." Alex said walking into the dining area.

The soldiers' jaws dropped. Was there anything this kid couldn't do?

"I got tired of eating the slop you call food. So I decided to teach the staff some new tricks."

The sergeant just shook his head and got himself the biggest tray he could find as the cafeteria broke into cries of amazement, agreement and laughter.