Hey everyone, just wanted to say thanks for the reviews and sorry that I am taking longer to update.

ALEX POV

It did indeed, start raining. I had gone about 90 metres and I was really hurting. I knew at the rate he was going, and the rain speeding up their progress, that K-unit would probably end up back at the bunks before him, and he would not allow that as it was yet another way for them to think of him as weak.

I sped up the pace as much as I could and arrived some minutes later panting before collapsing on my bunk. I lay there for a while, my face in the pillow thinking and catching my breath.

Why here, why now. Why did this all happen. And then I started thinking what the cause of all this was.

First there was that MI6 made his father become a double spy for them.

Then they insulted Ash and ruined his life, forcing him to turn to SCORPIA and kill his parents leaving him to his uncle who was also a spy.

Then when Jack came, Ian went on a mission and never returned, leaving him and Jack at the mercy of MI6, using jack and his orphaned state against him to make him work for them.

Then doing all his missions, meeting Yassen, going to SCORPIA, being captured by MI6 killing Julia Rothman and getting shot. More missions, a revenge seeking agency and being shot again.

Being all too much for Jack and giving MI6 free reign over him, sending him here for their own private use and training.

I fell asleep to these sad thoughts.

And woke when there was the sound of shouting in my ear.

BEN POV

I was worried. When I found Cub I had been terrified for him. But now, now I was slightly terrified of him. Of what he had become. What MI6 made him. I could see he was in pain, I could see he was hurt but he shoved those emotions to a place none could reach and went off on his own.

As we walked back to the bunks I was thinking, what if he didn't make it back? Then we would have to search for him all over again, he would insist on going by himself and the whole thing could repeat itself once more.

That was why when we arrived, and I saw Cub asleep that I felt relief flood through me. Which was strange. I know we have been on a mission together and stuff but I feel really close to the kid.

Almost as soon as I felt the relief Snake swore.

"Shit, shit… Cub, wake up right now," Snake said.

When Cub didn't move Snake got frantic and went right up to Cub and yelled in his ear.

"Cub! Cub! I need you to wake up RIGHT Now," Snake yelled then jumped back when Alex sat up out of bed in a flash. Even when he knew he was safe, he still is as alert as ever even sleeping, Snake thought wearily as Cub shot a venomous look at Snake and the rest of the unit.

"What the fuck, could not see that I was sleeping. I mean you are soldiers aren't you, aren't you trained to notice things so figuring out I was sleeping shouldn't have been much of a challenge to you. Now unless there is something important you want to say to me I am going back to sleep," he said angrily and lay back down closing his eyes.

"Oh, no you don't," Snake said an pulled the boy upright. He hissed whether from pain or in annoyance don't know. Snake ignored him and began pulling up his shirt.

"It is FINE! There is nothing wrong with it. If you want to check something I have a headache from you yelling in my ear, so go AWAY!!!"

I was alarmed, he was such a bad patient. Even though he knew he was hurt he was refusing treatment. This could make life a LOT harder for us in future.

"Fine, I will look at your head," Snake said roughly then began inspecting his head. After a few minutes I got bored of watching and wandered over to my bed and began reading a book. I hadn't gotten far when I heard someone walk past my bunk. I looked up to see Snake shuffle along head bowed where he dumped himself onto his bunk in a neatly executed face-dive.

I then looked over to where Cub was sitting, legs pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. I could see he was deep in thought. I eventually forgot about him as I went back to my book, which to my surprise, was quite interesting.

At 2200 hours we all turned the lights off and fell asleep.

I woke up just as the morning sun was rising. I stopped and lay still for a moment trying to figure out what had woken me. I quickly realised that I could hear thrashing and low moaning, almost crying. I looked around at my fellow unit and saw nothing out of the ordinary with them.

Slowly I got up and stretched my legs, looking around. It was then I located the source of the noise. Cub was lying on his bed, the sheets twisted around his body. One hand was lying off the side of the bed and dangling loosely to the floor. The other was on his bullet wound. His face was sweaty and tense and his eyes were moist as if he were crying with his eyes closed. He had stopped thrashing but was now making small, pitiful whimpering noises.

Another nightmare. With a sigh I went and sat on the edge of his bed. I slowly rolled the boy onto his back and then pulled him close to me, so that he was in a sitting position, leaning against me. He was still asleep and his head lolled to the side resting on my shoulder.

We sat like this for another 10 minutes or so until I felt him calm down completely then slowly wake up. Instead of jumping up like he had earlier, he merely turned his head around to look at me in the eyes, smiled sheepishly at me then ducked his head in embarrassment. He removed my hands from around him and moved to the opposite side of the bed, resuming the position I saw him sitting in last night- knees pulled up to his chest, arms wrapped around them, head resting oh his knees staring out into space.

When I moved closer to him, he shuffled back slightly. I guess he was kind of embarrassed about what happened. So I leaned over and whispered as quietly as I could, "do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head without looking at me so I tried again.

"Do you feel up for a walk?" I asked him.

He took his time answering, and still didn't look at me. Finally and somewhat reluctantly, he nodded and moved to get up, there was no point getting into his uniform but he di put a shirt on, we may have known about the bullet wound but no-one else did and it looked like Cub wanted it to stay like that.

As I walked out the door following him I felt as though-

As though I was making progress.

ALEX POV

I woke up to find I was in a sitting position. Weird. Next I noticed the warmth around my torso and the shoulder I was leaning on, the, the breath right next to my ear had me realising where I was. I looked up to see Ben looking down at me. I smiled before I realised what I was doing and instantly looked back to the floor. Embarrassed I slowly entangled myself from Ben and moved to the opposite side of the room and curling into a position that was all-too-familiar now.

I, for once, hadn't had a nightmare about one of my missions. It didn't involve, Cray, or Sarov, or Major Yu. It wasn't even about SCORPIA. It was Jack. She had been yelling at me. That was it. She wasn't even leaving me, we were just having an argument, which was so rare.

She was yelling about MI6 and what they had turned me into. She told me I should have let them send me off to an orphanage. Sure, she said, it would have been horrible but at least I'd still be a kid, and not the monster I had become. Yes, she had called me a monster. Then she went on saying how she would have missed him at first but that it would have been for the best, for she had changed this past year too, and it frightened her.

That was when I woke up.

From in front of me I heard Ben ask if I wanted to talk about it. I didn't. So I shook my head without looking him ,still too ashamed to do so. God, after everything he has seen he must think I'm a little weak kid, who goes on missions and breaks down at the end of each one. Every time I get injured. Even though he had seen me in action the last day would have wiped any good opinions of me out of his head.

Then I heard him ask if I felt up to going for a walk. Persistent guy. Did I feel like going for a walk? I did want to get away but I wasn't sure I wanted his company. After thinking for a few more moments I decided that, yes I'd go. I trusted Ben more than anyone else here. I nodded, still not looking at him and got up getting ready to go. I put a shirt on and left my pyjama bottoms on. No-one was about but I didn't want anyone outside of K-unit seeing my bullet wound so it was just an extra precaution. I slowly and quietly tip-toed to the door with Ben on my heels.

Hey I am sooo sorry for not updating sooner I have been so busy. Please review and it may help the speed of my writing.