Sorry guys, but I'm still getting used to the fanfiction system on managing stories, so I accidentally deleted the first chapter and had to re-upload both chapter 1 and 7.

Chapter 8 is brand new, as you can see.

Thanks again to everyone for reviewing, reading, following and favouriting :)

Oh and for having patience with me being a newbie :)

Alex POV:

Alex woke to the smell of cooking, her stomach grumbling. Turning in the bed, she found that Owen wasn't there. He must be the source of the appetising scent. If he wasn't, well, she had a gun and she wasn't afraid to use it.

Alex stretched her sore muscles, thinking about last night.

When she woke to find herself back in her apartment, she had expected Owen to be gone. She wouldn't have held him against him either; he had done more then enough, already. The first thing she'd seen, upon waking, was the glass of water by her bedside, on her locker. It was then she had noticed that her mouth felt extremely dry, her throat was on her fire and her lips were sore and cracked. She had immediately gulped the water down, grateful for the relief it provided her.

Alex knew she needed more water, but she'd have to drink it slower this time, in case she made herself sick. Gingerly scooting to the edge of her bed, she placed her feet on the floor. When she'd seen Owen standing by the window, she was a little bit thrown.

Owen was a ruggedly, handsome man, Alex could admit that much to herself. There was something appealing about him too, something that drew a person in, even if they didn't want to be drawn. She had sat there, watching his profile for at least five minutes, before she'd finally plucked up the courage to speak.

Owen didn't even open his eyes, but by the tone of his voice, she knew he'd been aware of her scrutiny, had felt her stare. His words were slurred though and Alex sprang from the bed when Owen's face contorted in what she would only call severe pain. She had to ask him if he was ok a few times, before he'd finally told her he had a headache.

Alex remembered one of the girls from her past having these types of headaches; migraines. Alina hadn't suffered from them as badly as Owen was, but Alex recalled the steps Alina took to get rid of her migraines and she figured it could also help Owen. Alex had also massaged Alina's head for her, so it had felt like a natural progression for to do the same for Owen. It wasn't until he had asked, why, that she started considering the reasons behind her actions.

It made Alex uncomfortable to acknowledge the level of familiarity that had been forged between both of them over the past few days, but acknowledge it she did, at least to herself.

"You took care of me."

That was all Alex could manage to push past her teeth.

After Owen had fallen asleep, Alex had been in desperate need of the bathroom, toothpaste and a shower. She pulled fresh underwear, a tank top and boxer shorts out of the bottom drawer of her dresser to change into. Alex felt gritty and greasy, and absolutely positive that she looked like crap.

Her bathroom mirror confirmed her suspicions. It was also the first time she noticed the cut on the side of her face beside her eye. Owen had obviously been taking care it, but there was a pretty good chance that she would have a scar.

After taking care of her bladder and teeth, she stripped far more quickly then she ever had before; almost flinging herself into the shower in her eagerness to feel like a human being again. The water felt like an oasis after a long walk in the desert. Using her lemon scented body wash, she scrubbed at her skin until she felt she'd gotten rid of the remnants of her withdrawal. Then, she applied her citrus shampoo and conditioner to her hair. She stayed under the spray of water until she felt clean. She stepped out of the shower, feeling more like herself. She dried herself with one of her towels and donned her clothes, before braiding her wet hair to keep it out of the way.

Alex was still tired, even if all she'd been doing he last few days, was sleeping. Unfortunately, there was no magic cure for what ailed her - not that she thought she'd deserve it if there was such a thing. Her body needed the sleep and she'd have to comply.

Alex was then faced with a dilemma; where would she sleep. Should she go back to her own room or use the spare room next door to it?

In the end there was no dilemma. Owen had looked after her, stayed in the same bed. She could do the same for him.

Alex pushed her bedroom door open as quietly as she could. Owen was still lying on his stomach, but his shirt was missing, as were his shoes and socks. He must have woke while she was in the shower and made himself more comfortable. His breath was deep and even, though, so he had quickly succumbed to the Sandman again. His tattoo's on his back were illuminated by light from her hallway and Alex suppressed a sudden urge to trace them with her fingers. Stepping into the room quickly and closing the door, least the light make her do something stupid, she blindly made her way over to her bed.

Alex kept her hands out in front of her, just in case she fell. She safely made to her bed and crawled into her bed, her back to Owen. He must of sensed her presence - he seemed to be good at doing that, even in his sleep - because Alex felt him shift around and suddenly his body was wrapped around hers. Alex stayed perfectly still, even when his hand found its way under her shirt, so it rested on her stomach just above her belly button, fingers splayed. She didn't move either, when his left leg found its way between her legs and wrapped around her right one. She wasn't even sure how that one happened.

Instead of moving away from Owen, like she should have, Alex found herself snuggling back into his chest, her hand moving to rest over his. She was asleep within seconds.

Now, Alex was unsure of how she should act around Owen. Part of her was ashamed of what he had seen, about what he knew about her, that part of her wanted to stay in bed and hide from him. The other part was curious; she wanted to know why he helped her? There was also the sleeping arrangements which could lead to some weirdness on both there parts.

Alex huffed in frustration. She was not going to hide. She would face him, just like she'd faced her addiction. There was that, and her stomach grumbled again. Hunger ended up driving from the coziness of her bed.

Pulling on a cardigan and socks, she padded down her hall and into the kitchen. Owen was moving around the kitchen like a natural. He'd obviously being to the store, because Alex definitely didn't have that much food in her fridge.

"Good, your awake," Owen said, without turning around from the oven, where he was flipping an omelette. Alex would have laughed if she hadn't thought that would make her look a little crazy.

Owen finally turned, a plate in each hand, loaded with food. He set them down on the kitchen island across from each other, gesturing for her to take a seat. Owen busied himself pouring two glasses of orange juice, so it was a moment before he noticed that Alex hadn't taken her seat. "Don't worry, I'm actually a pretty decent cook. Ask Nikita if you don't believe me."

Alex emitted a slightly nervous laugh, before giving Owen a small smile and took her seat at last. It hadn't been Owen's cooking skills that made her hesitate - the food smelled divine - it was just that it had been a very long time since someone had cooked her a proper breakfast.

"Are you trying to tell me I'm too skinny?" Alex asked, her eyes narrowed playfully. "There's enough on my plate alone to feed six people."

Owen's looked like it would feed ten at least. There was French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns and an omelette of course.

"I was just glad you had big plates. One less thing for me to buy," Owen said, smiling at Alex crookedly. "Now eat your food, kid, you're skin and bones."

Alex laughed without thinking, almost spitting her food in Owen's face. The embarrassed look on her face must of been something, because Owen couldn't stop laughing at her expense. She ended up throwing one of her hash browns at him.

"More for me," Owen snickered one last time, before taking pity in her. "Ok, I'll stop laughing if you eat your food. We need to have a talk."

'That was supposed to be my line,' Alex thought, but she started tucking into her food without commenting.

Owen hadn't been lying. He really was a decent cook. Better then decent, in fact. She made a mental note to come up with some excuse - that wasn't date like at all - to have him cook for her again. She ended up eating everything on her plate.

"That was delicious," Alex praised, her hand resting on her full belly. She had a unexpected flashback to Owen's hand resting in the exact same spot and felt herself flush. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and prayed that Owen hadn't noticed.

"Thanks," he said, shooting another smile. He took her plate and empty glass, as well as his own and placed them in the sink. "Now about that talk."

Alex hands started sweating. She was afraid of what he was about to say. Maybe he had changed his mind and was going to tell Nikita? Oh God, she hoped not. She didn't want to face Nikita's disappointment. It would be the worst kind of punishment.

"How's your head this morning?" Alex asked, genuinely concerned and also because it would buy her a minute to compose herself.

"I'm alright, bit tired," Owen answered, his eyes catching Alex's and holding them with an intensity that made her squirm. He knew what she was trying to do. "Thanks for helping me."

"I should be the one thanking you, Owen," Alex deflected. It wasn't that it didn't mean anything, but that she didn't want him thanking her for something he had done for her in the first place. "You don't even know me and you helped me. My problem is self-inflicted, after all; you can't help having a migraine. You could have handed me off to Nikita or Michael and washed your hands of the whole situation. But you didn't and you have no idea how much I appreciate it."

"Your going to need a sponsor, Alex," Owen stated, his gaze never straying from hers. "That was what I wanted to say last night. You need someone to keep you on the straight and narrow for the next few months."

Alex opened her mouth to protest, her mind instantly going on the defensive. She was fully capable of staying on the straight and narrow herself. She didn't need a sponsor. She had made the decision to give up the drugs on her own, she could handle staying off it.

"Alex," Owen started talking before she'd gathered her thoughts to speak. "I'm not saying that you aren't strong enough to stay clean, but that the way your going about it is extremely tough. Quitting the drugs cold turkey, like you are, the likelihood to relapse in the first few weeks goes up. You're going to need someone there to talk too, even if its just a fleeting thought in the back of your mind. You'll need to stay on track."

Alex was overwhelmed. It really sounded like he knew what he was talking about. It made sense too, she couldn't even find a way of arguing her way around it without acting like a complete bitch. Owen wasn't done talking though, there was more thing he had to say.

"As your self-appointed sponsor I'm going to need to move in."