A loud and quite unexpected knock on the door woke Ben up from his nap on the couch. As his body was healing, his naps were getting fewer and farther between. And shorter. But he still needed one occasionally. It had been about two weeks since he had gotten home which made it about a month since he had been shot. He was still wearing his sling for errands and he was still banned from lifting anything too heavy using that arm, but he was allowed to take it off at home now. Wolf had plans to go back home early next week since Ben didn't really need him anymore, though he was loath to abandon his teammate before he was back to full health.
"'Wus gon' on?" Ben slurred, groggily.
"Nothing. I'll get it," Wolf huffed, walking out of the kitchen. Ben got a vision of 'The Three Pigs' and smirked lazily, debating rolling back over as Wolf answered the door.
"Oh, pardon me, I must have the wrong flat," a woman's voice drifted in.
"Who are you?" Wolf asked gruffly, careful to keep the door half closed. She was a short, squat woman with curly black hair and intelligent blue eyes.
"My name is Angela Daniels. I was looking for my son Ben. I must have the wrong flat number. My mistake." Ben's eyes flew open in surprise. He was wide awake now! Wolf glanced backwards as Ben sat up, a silent question as to what he should do. Ben gave him a quick nod, glancing around for Alex, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. Though, now that he was listening for it, it sounded like maybe the shower was going.
"He's here," Wolf said, opening the door the rest of the way and standing to the side so she could enter.
"Oh." Mrs. Daniels glided in gracefully, shooting Wolf a confused look before catching sight of her son and beaming.
"Mom! What are you doing here?" Ben exclaimed.
"Ben Daniels. Is that any way to greet your mother?" She scolded, pulling him into a tight hug. Ben winced at the irritant to his injury. Over her shoulder, he saw Wolf wince in sympathy before scowling at the woman as he closed the door. Mrs. Daniels glanced up and caught the look on her son's face.
"Oh, sorry dear," she apologized, releasing him. "Lauren told me about your injury. You know, I'm rather upset with you. You couldn't have called and told me yourself?" She shot him a pointed look.
"I didn't want you to worry," Ben mumbled lamely, massaging his shoulder subtly.
"Well, given it's the holidays, I'll forgive you." Ben gave her a blank look.
"The holidays?" His mother rolled her eyes.
"Honestly Ben! Christmas is in three days!" She glanced around the room. "And you two haven't even decorated!" Ben glanced around too.
"It is? Guess I've been a little busy." He rubbed his head sheepishly.
"I figured," Mrs. Daniels intoned. "So we're gonna do Christmas here this year. Nothing big. Just your sisters and I. Well, and Lauren's family. That little Lily is getting so big. Of course, you can invite your friends too." Her gaze slid over to Wolf.
"James," Wolf introduced himself. "I work with F-Ben. I've just been helping out while he recovers."
"Oh! You're from his unit!" She exclaimed, shaking his hand. All confusion seemed to be cleared up.
"Yeah, listen Mom, I'm not so sure that Christmas here is such a good idea. I have some stuff going on right now-"
"Well that's why I came early isn't it. I thought that you might need help cleaning up your place and decorating, considering your injury. I didn't realize you already had help but that just means I can put him to work too. You wouldn't mind, right James?" Wolf shook his head in confirmation. Ben sent him a glare.
"Mom, please. Now's not a great-" There was a loud slamming noise. Everyone jumped, turning toward the source of the noise. Ben groaned internally. Alex had clearly gotten startled by the stranger in the flat and dropped his ever-present sketchbook (though he had finally run out of pages in his last one so this one was new). He was already disappearing back to his room, leaving the book on the floor in his haste.
"Alex, wait!" Ben called after him, but it was too late. Ben heard the soft thump of his door closing.
"I'll go talk to him," Wolf volunteered, scooping up the sketchbook on his way. Ben sighed, turning back to his mom.
"Who was that?" She asked, her eyebrows hidden all the way up behind her bangs in surprise.
"His name is Alex," He explained. "He's been staying with me. He's… been through a lot. I don't know that Christmas here is a good idea mom."
"How old is that boy? Where is his family? Why has he been staying with you?" Ben winced.
"He's 16. He doesn't have any family left. Just me."
"Well," his mom said, sensing that she wasn't going to be getting more answers from him. "He can come to Christmas too." With that she marched into the kitchen to inspect their supplies.
Alex wandered into the living room, hair still wet from his shower. He heard voices but was thinking of what he wanted to draw next in his new sketchbook. He should've been paying attention. He dropped his sketchbook in surprise at seeing a stranger in the flat. Everybody whirled towards the noise. Ben and Wolf both had guarded expressions on their faces and the woman was openly staring at him. Alex fled to the relative safety of his room, abandoning the sketchbook. His thoughts became a whirlwind. Who was she? What did she want? Him? Was Ben giving him up? Ben didn't seem happy she was here. Was she here for Ben? Was she going to take him away? He wished he hadn't left his sketchbook. He needed to straighten out his thoughts. A soft knock on the door startled him. He took a few steps back as it opened but it was just Wolf. The soldier closed the door softly behind him again.
"Hey Cub," the man started awkwardly, handing Alex his sketchbook. The blonde clung to it like a life raft. Why was Wolf comforting him and not Ben? She was taking Ben.
"I-I don't want Ben to go," Alex stammered. Wolf looked confused.
"What? He's not going anywhere. Cub, calm down okay? Breathe." Alex took a few deep breaths, sitting down on his bed. "Cub, that's Ben's mom okay? She's here for Christmas. She got a hotel room so she can be here. She's nice." That made Alex pause. He hadn't had a Christmas in so long. Wolf nodded knowingly.
"She's gonna help us get decorations and clean the house and then Ben's family is going to come over for a party in a few days. It'll be fun, okay? And you're safe with Ben and me." Wolf walked to the door and held it open with an expectant look. Alex hesitated, but nodded, ducking under his arm. Wolf followed him out. Alex paused at the end of the hall and peeking around the corner. Ben and his mom were in the kitchen. Ben caught his eye and smiled encouragingly. Mrs. Daniels' back was to him and she was looking through a cupboard. Wolf gave him a gentle shove and he walked forward, clutching his sketchbook. She turned toward him as he stepped into the kitchen and beamed at him.
"Alex, right? I'm Ben's mom. You can call me Mrs. Daniels. Would you like to help make cookies?" Alex hesitated, glancing at Ben and Wolf who both patiently waited for him to make his own decision. The blonde looked back at Mrs. Daniels and nodded slowly. She beckoned him closer and set a large bowl down in front of him as he set his sketchbook to the side.
Over the course of the afternoon, Mrs. Daniels showed the boys how to make three different kinds of cookies. Ben showed Alex how to sneak some of the dough when she wasn't looking, laughing when they got caught and she scolded him. Alex found himself grinning so much his face started to hurt. He couldn't remember being this happy since Jack. The next few days went by much the same. The four of them went to pick out a Christmas tree for the flat and Ben enlisted Wolf's help in digging decorations out of his storage locker on the way back since he wasn't technically supposed to lift much yet. Or rather, Wolf insisted on helping when Ben attempted to stubbornly refuse, claiming that the box wasn't that heavy.
Finally the day came. The flat was decorated, cookies were set out, a ham was in the oven. Alex was wearing a new sweater and slacks that Ben's mom got for him just for the occasion. He was filled with nervous energy. All of K-Unit plus Sadie were coming over as well as Ben's mom, his two sisters, and his sister Lauren's family. It was one thing to have the guys over. It was something entirely different to have so many strangers in the flat. Ben knocked on the door to his room and let himself in.
"You ready?" Alex nodded, already holding his sketchbook like a barrier. Ben smiled gently, sitting next to him on the bed. "You're going to be fine. No one is gonna hurt you or let you get hurt. You can do this. Just stick close to me if you're nervous." Alex nodded again but froze as a loud knock sounded from the front door.
"It's probably Mom," Ben soothed. "Let's go." Alex took one last deep breath and followed him out into the living room. Wolf was already answering the door. Surprisingly, it wasn't Ben's mom who was the first to show up. It was Sadie. She had a pan of cheesy looking mashed potatoes. She gave Wolf a quick peck as she walked past him to set them on the counter and winked at Alex who shyly smiled back. Mrs. Daniels was second to arrive, delighted that someone else brought a dish and charmed by Sadie.
"James you hold onto that woman," She advised.
Eagle and Snake showed up together. They brought Cranberry Sauce and Trifle respectively. At Mrs. Daniels' raised eyebrows, Ben introduced them and explained the long standing tradition that events at his flat meant someone else brought the food. Snake hastily added that they were happy to do it, especially for the holidays. Next to show up was Ben's sister Isabella (Izzy as she was introduced), and finally Lauren and her husband David, with Ben's niece Lily, a precocious four year old. Izzy had curly black hair like their mother and she was short. Lauren on the other hand, was a leggy blonde with sick straight hair not unlike Ben's darker straight hair. As people started showing up, Alex took up his usual station on his stool at the counter. Given that it was where most of the food was being put, he knew he'd have to move eventually, but for right now it gave him an out of the way spot to observe the proceedings. Ben dutifully introduced K-unit to his family. Lily, of course, had endless questions for them. Ben distracted her by scooping her up and whirling her around and despite his nerves, Alex felt a faint smile grace him at her peeling laughter.
"Who's this?" Lauren asked, smiling towards Alex. He felt the smile slip off his face as attention turned toward him. "Yours?" She asked Wolf and Sadie. Sadie shook her head, a coy smile on her face.
"Ben's," she informed. Lauren's eyebrows rose in shock as her and Izzy's attention swiveled back to Ben for an explanation.
"Not biologically!" Ben assured them quickly. "Not that I wouldn't love it," he added awkwardly. "I'm taking care of him indefinitely. It's… complicated?" Wolf was smirking.
"Oh," Izzy said, clearly not understanding at all.
"His name's Alex," Snake supplied, also obviously suppressing a smile. Lauren smiled warmly at him.
"Well complicated or not, we're glad to have you," she welcomed. He nodded timidly, subtly trying to avoid eye contact.
"Alex is shy," Ben explained.
"I can understand that," Lauren conceded kindly. "There are a lot of strangers in your flat. Who wouldn't be a little nervous."
The afternoon turned into evening. Alex stuck close to K-unit but he found himself enjoying the festivities, even if he was more of an observer than a participant. Izzy, who was in her second year at uni, was flirting shamelessly with Eagle, much to the delight of Eagle and the chagrin of Ben.
"So what's your codename?" she was asking him. "Ben never tells me anything fun."
"Eagle," he replied.
"Oh? You must be the unit's sharpshooter with a name like that!" She surmised.
"Actually that's Ben. I'm the unit's weapons tech. Waay more fun. I get all the toys." Izzy giggled. "And Ben's codename is Fox. Too bad it doesn't translate to his luck with the ladies." Eagle wiggled his eyebrows.
"Hey!" Ben exclaimed.
"So what does everyone else on the team do?" Izzy asked, clearly enraptured.
"Logan's the team's medic. Can't get better than him. And James is our fearless leader. He may look fierce but he's just a big old teddy bear," Eagle teased. Wolf glowered at him but Izzy and Sadie both laughed.
"He's got a point," Sadie giggled.
"I'll show you later!" Wolf vowed, growling playfully at her. Sadie swatted him, still laughing. When it came time for presents, everyone gathered in the living room. Alex, chose to sit on his stool by the counter instead of with the rest of the group but nobody seemed to mind. At least, nobody commented. Lily got presents from everyone. And of course, K-unit all had presents for each other. Ben had gifts for his sisters and his mom too. Alex smiled at everyone's excitement. And then Ben walked over with a present for him.
"Didn't want you to feel left out," Ben murmured, grinning. "This is from K-unit."
"B-but… I-I…" Alex stammered, taken aback. Ben shook his head.
"No one expected you to. Just open it. Be a kid." Bewildered, Alex ran his hands over the fancy wrapping paper, hesitant to destroy it. Everyone's eyes were on him but for once he didn't notice. He unwrapped the present carefully so as not to rip it, and pulled out a tin box. Examining it, he discovered it was a set of art pencils for sketching. He looked up at Ben in wonder. The man was beaming at him. Then he glanced around and finally noticed everyone staring at him. His gaze immediately fell to the floor.
"Thanks," the blonde mumbled, feeling his cheeks getting pink.
"You're welcome," Ben responded.
"Now you have to draw pictures for us!" Eagle teased. Alex nodded, a warm feeling spreading throughout him.
The night dissolved further after presents into hot chocolate and desserts. Lily was playing with her new doll and her favorite teddy bear she brought from home while the adults talked. Alex took the opportunity to slip away to his room, bringing his new pencils with him.
The teen settled on his bed to sketch, pausing only a moment to decide what he wanted to draw. Feeling festive, he decided on a Christmas tree by the fire. He was halfway through the sketch when his door creaked open. He looked up, expecting Ben, but Lily was framed in the doorway, her doll in one hand and her bear in the other. She smiled sweetly at him. She was blonde like her mother with soft beach curls somewhere between her mother's straight hair and her grandmother's curls.
"What are you doing?" She inquired, her blue eyes piercing into him. Alex just stared, unsure what to do. Should he call Ben? She clearly wasn't a threat but what if someone came looking for her. He didn't know the other people in the flat or what he might expect from them. They seemed nice but people always did until they got alone with him.
"Can you talk?" Lily asked. "It's okay if you can't yet. I have a friend at school who talks with his hands." She crawled onto the bed and sat next to him. Alex glanced between her and the door uneasily.
"Are you coloring? Is it a Christmas tree?" Alex nodded. "Can I watch?" He nodded again but froze as she crawled into his lap, presumably for a better vantage point. She waited patiently for him to start drawing again. He gently moved his sketchbook to her lap so he could still draw without moving her and began again. Lily was enthralled. After finishing the tree and the fire Alex added ornaments and presents. He lost himself in adding all the miniscule details and when he was finally done, he was surprised to find Lily asleep, her head on his shoulder. He smiled at her innocence and trust in him. However, his smile vanished when he heard footsteps down the hall.
"Alex, have you seen-" Ben stopped at the threshold, taking in the scene. "Oh." His expression of surprise turned into one of amusement.
"What do I do?" Alex murmured, unwilling to wake the girl.
"Hold still." Ben took out his phone and snapped a picture.
"Ben!" Alex hissed as Ben shook with laughter.
"Did you find Lily?" A woman's voice floated down the hall. "What's so… oh." Lauren came into view, standing just behind Ben. She put her hand over her mouth to smother her smile at Alex's distressed expression.
"Don't worry, I'll send you the picture," Ben assured, still chuckling.
"Benjamin, help that poor boy," Lauren scolded, unable to keep from giggling herself.
"All right, all right," Ben grinned, walking into Alex's room and gently picking Lily up.
"Don't wake her!" Alex fretted. Ben smirked.
"Grown attached, have you?" As Ben handed the girl off to Lauren, despite his best efforts, Lily stirred.
"Wait," She murmured sleepily, struggling in her mother's arms. Lauren set her down and she stumbled back over to Alex. "Here," she said, handing him her bear.
"What's this for?" Alex asked.
"You didn't get a lot of presents and that's not fair. You can have Mr. Bear if you promise to take really good care of him."
"Lily, are you sure?" Lauren asked, her eyes shining. "Mr. Bear is your favorite." The four year old nodded.
"I think Alex needs him," she announced. "And he didn't get a lot of presents. Only one." Her mother smiled at Alex with tears in her eyes.
"Sweetheart, we have to go home now. Did you want to say goodbye to Alex?"
"Goodbye Alex!" Lily parroted, jumping back on the bed to give him a hug. Alex gave her a long one. It was the first hug he'd given to anyone but Ben since Jack died and it felt good. Really good.
"Thanks," he whispered.
A/N: I LIIIVVEE! Sorry for the long wait. I got kidnapped by Scorpia? No, not even that would be a good excuse. Well regardless, here it is. Please review! I love you all!