Forget Them Not VII
Summary: Alex does and doesn't remember. Something happened, something that left him without any memories. Was it a mission that left him like this? Or was it something else? Alex remembers. A collection of connected oneshots.
"Jack, you aren't serious?"
Alex looked down at the glass of water in his hands and immediately swallowed the water down with the pain meds so that he could set it down onto the night table.
He felt rather shocked at the moment. It just sounded so foreign to him. Alex certainly didn't feel like a child any longer. He didn't need it.
"Yes," she looked thoughtful for a moment, "I rather think I am."
"But, but...," he stuttered, "I'm not seven anymore, Jack. I'm much too old for that. I was too old for that the first time I met you."
"I'll have you know that I remember tucking you in when you were ten, so take that, Alex Rider."
She had a wicked grin and the glint in her eye told of danger; it usually showed up just before Alex did something embarrassing or stupid. Or alternatively before she was going to do something that he would feel was embarrassing and, even knowing he wouldn't like it, went on with doing it without caring. Jack liked teasing him.
Alex pushed himself up against the pillows and glared. He was not going to subject himself to that. Not now.
"Come on, kiddo," she said in a cheery tone, "Time to go to sleep."
"Do you have to tuck me in?"
"Do you have to be ill?"
He knew that this could drag on all night and he'd really rather just go to sleep. Even if it was fun to argue with Jack about things of little importance. Alex yawned. Sometimes it was better to just give in.
"Fine," he stated wearily, "Just this once."
Alex lay down and suffered the indignity of his housekeeper tucking him in late at night. She wished him sweet dreams and kissed him on his forehead, just like she used to do when he was a child.
"Night, Alex."
"Night, Jack."
As she switched off the light, he thought it wasn't all that bad.
It felt good to be able to just joke around with little care for anything else. He felt like a child at those times and that felt brilliant.
"Alex?"
His fourteen year old mind wandered aimlessly.
Alex gazed out of the window.
The window cleaners should have cleaned the window better than this. There was a smudge of black dirt in the middle of the glass pane, annoyingly obstructing his view of the clear blue sky. He frowned in annoyance.
If Ian hadn't been away at the moment Alex would have been planning a trip for the weekend with his uncle. Perhaps they could have gone biking or hiking somewhere. Just like in the old days.
But Ian was away.
As usual. As always.
It had been months since the last time they'd just vanished for one weekend into the woods or on some kind of spontaneous trip. Alex missed it.
Perhaps Jack and he could go do something instead. He was sure she would love to go out and do something special with him. They could go to the cinema or catch a train to-
But Jack wasn't Ian.
And Ian wasn't around.
"Alex, can you hear me or are you just ignoring me?"
Alex had forgotten for a moment, but he was in school and it was a weekday. They weren't even halfway through the school day yet. The teacher wasn't in the room; a boy had gotten a nosebleed and the teacher had accompanied him to the nurse. Alex privately thought that his classmate could have gotten there on his own.
"What, Tom?" He slouched in his seat and put his head onto the desk before him.
"You've been spacing out for a minute, Alex. And we need to finish the exercises before class ends! There's only fifteen minutes left."
"I'm done." He turned back to the view of the blue sky and wondered if he should buy ice cream on the way home.
"Alex, come on, help a friend out here. I don't get the third one."
He looked back at his friend. It was math and he knew Tom wasn't doing that well with the current topic.
"Have you even tried it yet?"
"Yes. I tried and whatever I've written doesn't sound right. Help me?"
"Fine. I'll help you out this once, but if Miss Harper finds out…"
"I take the blame. Got it!"
Perhaps he could share the ice cream with Tom.
"So, the third one..."