Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider; it all belongs to Anthony Horowitz

'Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts'

(Sir Winston Churchill)

"I'm going out with Tom, alright?" Alex called to Ben. Ben glanced up from the pile of papers he was pouring over.

"Sure," he said absently, waving a hand as if to say 'go on'. "What time will you be back?"

Alex shrugged, peering at the writing on the paper. Quick as a flash, Ben pulled them away and out of sight. Alex smirked, happy that he'd annoyed the spy a little. "Wouldn't have thought we'd be too long; we're only going to the park," he replied finally.

"Which park?"

"Christ, Ben, I don't know," Alex said exasperatedly. "I'm sixteen; I somehow think I can manage to get to and from the park by myself." He glanced at the time on his phone – a gift from Ben – and saw that Tom would be waiting for him.

Ben chewed his bottom lip, suddenly realising what he had been agreeing to and only just weighing up the risks. "It's not you getting lost I'm worried about, Alex, and you know it." He looked hard at the teenager until Alex dropped his gaze slightly.

"I know," Alex sighed. "But if they know whereabouts I am, surely they would've have attacked by now?" The disturbing threat of Menarc had been hanging over all their heads ever since Alex had been rescued, and was the reason behind the constant soldier presence at the house. At the moment, Eagle was outside keeping watch. Snake was somewhere upstairs.

"Not with all the protections around the house," Ben snapped back. "I know you want to get out, I really do, but I don't think it's safe. For you or your friend."

Alex winced; the remark had hit home just as Ben had known it would.

(-"Jack! Oh God, Jack!"-)

Alex breathed raggedly and turned his head away. Ben gently and slowly placed a hand on his arm. "Sorry," the older man murmured.

Alex shook his head and got himself under control. It had been months, he shouldn't still be acting like this. Get a hold of yourself, a little voice whispered cruelly in his head. "I need this," Alex said quietly, hating that he had to resort to begging. And it was true; he was going mad being stuck indoors all the time. "Besides, you let me out before."

Ben winced, as if he had been hoping that Alex wouldn't bring that up. "Things have changed," he said reluctantly.

"What's changed?" Alex asked immediately, forgetting about Tom for that moment and trying to quell his racing heart. Changes in the Menarc situation were not good, in general.

Ben said nothing for a second, then ran his hand through his hair. "It's nothing, Alex, I promise." Alex raised his eyes sceptically. "I'm just not comfortable with you going out by yourself, when I don't know where you're going."

"Ben-" Alex started, ready to give him hell for keeping things from him, but the spy interrupted.

"You can go out if you take Eagle with you," he said firmly, with a hard glint in his eye which persuaded Alex that now was not the best time to test Ben's patience.

"Fine," Alex huffed, but resolved to pester the man later. Ben smiled slightly to himself; a week or so ago, Alex would never have trusted him enough to not demand answers. He would have been too fearful that people were conspiring against him.

"Go and find Eagle," Ben told him, trusting the boy to actually do it and not sneak out. "I'll see you later, alright? And take your phone."

"Ok," Alex agreed, feeling marginally happier now the prospect of going outside was looming closer. The thought of ignoring Ben's orders occurred to him, but he really wasn't in the mood for a fight. He muttered a goodbye to Ben and wandered out of the kitchen door into the hallway. The door outside was at one end of the corridor and the lounge lay at the opposite end, with the walls lining the distance displaying generic but attractive photos. Alex walked down the corridor and grabbed his shoes from where they were lying on the wooden shoe rack. Slipping them on, he left from the house, absently patting his pocket to ensure he still had his phone. He may be a spy, but he was definitely a teenager too.

The front garden was typical of London suburbs. Only twenty minutes from central London, Ben's house had a small area of grass and a paved driveway, which was copied all down the quiet road. Listening hard, Alex guessed Eagle was around the side of the house, down the small path that ran next to the fence separating the two houses.

"Eagle!" Alex called, deciding that it was far too much effort to go and track him down. He'd known Eagle for the same amount of time as Wolf and Snake, but he already felt that he knew the man better than the rest. The soldier was almost childlike at times, and was the most easygoing of them all. That's not to say Eagle didn't have issues – clearly they all did – and Alex had heard him on occasion, calling out in his sleep. The fact hadn't escaped Alex that there must be a reason all three weren't out on assignment.

"Yeah?" Eagle's face appeared around the corner of the house.

"Ben wants you to come and spy on me while I meet Tom," Alex replied flippantly, his disdain for Ben's precautions clear on his face. He understood Ben's worry, he really did, but the older spy didn't get that Alex had been fighting for a long time, and he never had back-up. He hadn't been killed yet.

(-"Luck of the devil, you have, Rider,"-)

"What?" Eagle complained, his face twisting in feigned disgust. "He's the spy, not me. I don't do spying."

Alex laughed slightly. "Tough luck, come on."

"Why would I want to spend time with your bloody friends?"

Alex swatted the smirking man around the head and walked out of the driveway. After a moment of consideration, he turned left. Although he knew the general area, as he used to live not too far away, he was unfamiliar with the exact routes from Ben's house.

"What are you doing with Tom, anyway?" Eagle asked after a moment of walking. Alex turned his head towards him marginally and shrugged.

"Football,"

"Ooh, it's been ages since I've played football," Eagle commented enthusiastically. "Can I join in?"

Alex felt his eyebrows lift in surprise. He, Eagle, and Tom playing football. Interesting idea, he thought, but potentially problematic. No matter how relaxed Eagle was, he was still a soldier, and he wasn't sure he wanted the man mixing with Tom any more than he had to. Tom was already too far into his world, and damaged by it just as Alex was. Alex didn't want Tom to fall any deeper.

Luckily, Eagle didn't seem to need an answer. He immediately started regaling Alex with stories of his days playing for a local team, which apparently provided him with the fitness levels he needed to get into the army.

"Football taught me so much," he said in misty voice. "I don't know where I'd be without it. I should go visit my old coach one of these days; he'd be shocked if he saw me now."

Alex let him carry on, keeping his sarcastic remarks about the soldier's sentimentality to himself. Instead he focused on the road in front of him, keeping an eye on the changing scenery and the increase in cars on the roads. Tom lived slightly closer to central London than Ben, and it was therefore busier.

He startled slightly when he felt a buzz in his pocket, but took out his phone. He'd given his new number to Tom the last time he'd seen him, so he presumed the text was from him.

-Hurry up mate.

Alex looked at the time and frowned when he realised he was ten minutes late. Eagle's ramblings cut through his thoughts for a second,

"But then, I thought, do I really want to spend my life doing this? So I-"

but he soon tuned him out. The man was perfectly capable of keeping himself amused.

-Sorry! He texted back. On my way with bird in tow.

He could just picture Tom's face when he received that cryptic text. Sure enough, his phone buzzed again just seconds later.

-Bird? Ur mental.

Alex grinned, and texted:

-Will explain when I get there.

-Alright . . . Meet at the Rec? Probs quicker than waitin get 2 mine.

"Cub?" Eagle asked suddenly. "You listening to me?"

Alex nodded quickly. "Yeah, course I am,"

"Good, 'cause you know, this sort of stuff is really important for you to know when it comes to getting a job later on,"

Alex stared at the man. Getting a job? Did he not realise that his life was mapped out for him from beginning to end? The chances of him even reaching thirty were tiny.

"Right, yeah," he said absently, and turned back to his phone.

-Sure, good idea. See u there.

"By the way," he said suddenly, interrupting Eagle completely. "It's probably better if you call me Alex in public. Cub sounds a bit," he hesitated, "odd."

"Odd?" Eagle proclaimed dramatically. "What's so wrong about having a nickname for my little nephew?" He reached out to ruffle Alex's hair but the spy ducked away quickly.

"You are not my uncle."

"Well, I'm definitely not your brother," Eagle said, gesturing to his face and hair. It was true, there was no way near enough facial resemblance to allow them to pass as blood relatives.

Alex scowled. "Fine. uncle it is."

"Which means I can have a cute nickname for my little Cubby here," Eagle smiled happily.

Alex swatted him, but said, "Well, I can't call you Eagle, can I? Even if you call me Cub."

"But telling you my name ruins my air of mystery," Eagle said in fake misery. "How am I supposed to attract girls if I'm not mysterious?"

Alex stared at him. "Seriously? You, attract girls?"

"Hey!"

"Anyway," Alex continued quickly, "I already know your name." He stuck his tongue out at the man, then realised how childish that was and frowned. What was it about Eagle that brought out all his childlike instincts?

"You- What?" Eagle asked in surprise. His face darkened. "Ben . . ." he muttered to himself. "Oh, you're in trouble."

Alex rolled his eyes. "You're such a child," he told the man, conveniently forgetting his actions a couple of seconds ago. "It wasn't even Ben who told me, it was Alan. He called you Matt."

"Goddamnit." Eagle frowned. He looked to Alex as if he might start pouting at any second.

"We're here," Alex announced a second later, and Eagle looked up. 'Here' was a grassy park with a small playground at one end containing squealing toddlers, and a concrete tennis court at the other. A couple of threadbare goals were set up in the area in between. The park wasn't huge – it was in central London after all – but it was a semblance of normality for Alex, and a reminder of his previous life. He'd spent many happy hours at the Rec with Tom, back when his uncle was just an eccentric, absent banker and his main worry was his homework. Seeing Eagle examining the park curiously jolted him back to reality, and forced him to face the fact that his two worlds were about to collide in a teen and soldier shaped explosion.

"So this is where you play," Eagle said in interest, as they walked through the gate and across the field.

"Sometimes," Alex shrugged. "This is the Rec, but it's busy at weekends so we often go to the green a few minutes away. Or there's the field nearer to Tom's house."

At that moment, Alex spotted Tom waving at him from beside a goal. It was frequently necessary to 'bagsie' a goal because so many teenagers used the park. It was rare to get two goals, and sure enough, Tom had had to set up a makeshift goal a short distance away using his rucksack and hoodie, in preparation for their game.

"Alex!" Tom called as soon as they were within hearing distance. "How's it going?"

Alex smiled and waved. "I'm alright thanks," he replied loudly. "You?"

"Never better!"

"Your friend's cheerful," Eagle said quietly to Alex, his forehead creased. No doubt he was comparing Tom to Alex's normal behaviour.

"Why shouldn't he be?" Alex retorted, reminding the man of the differences in Tom's and his recent experiences. Eagle winced, almost unnoticeably.

"Who's this?" Tom asked curiously when they got closer. Eagle stayed a couple of feet away. Alex dumped his bag by the goal post.

"This is Eagle - sorry, Matt," he replied, jerking his head in the soldier's direction. "He's my 'protection' for today." There was subtle bitterness in his voice which Tom immediately picked up on.

"I remember that name," Tom said mildly. "Wasn't he one of the gits from hell?"

Alex snorted whilst Eagle stood by, confused. "Yeah Tom, he's one of those." Just because he got on relatively well with Eagle didn't mean he didn't still resent him for Brecon Beacons. He may have been the only one to show any signs of kindness, having helped him out of the mud once, but he was still a bastard.

"Oh," Tom said, and turned away to grab the football he'd brought. To anyone else, Tom would seem completely normal. Alex however, knew him too well.

He grabbed Tom's arm. "Don't do anything, alright?" he said in a low voice so Eagle couldn't hear. "He's not too bad, and Ben won't let me come out if none of them will come with me."

"Since when do you care what someone says you can or can't do?" Tom asked in a harsh whisper. "Even with Jack, you'd disobey her if she was unreasonable."

(-"You're not going out tonight, Alex, and that's final!"

"But come on! It's Friday!"

"No, no, no!"-)

"Ben has a point, you know?" Alex admitted. "I don't want to see you hurt."

"You've changed," Tom said, looking at him closely. "You're more . . . serious, now."

"I've had to be,"

Tom reached out and placed his hand on his shoulder gently. The display of affection made Alex blink rapidly and turn his head away. What was it about physical contact that stripped him of his defences?

(-"Don't you see, Rider? When you're tied up, you're completely at my mercy," he whispered, trailing a hand over Alex's cheek. "I can do," he continued, "whatever I like." His hand suddenly drew away and slapped Alex hard, making his head whip to the side-)

"We getting started then?" Eagle asked, jogging on the spot slightly to warm up. Alex shakily moved away from Tom and his friend picked up the ball.

"Are you playing?" Tom asked Eagle mildly, and Alex was relieved to see that any immediate forms of revenge seemed to have been put out of Tom's mind.

"Yeah, he is" Alex answered for Eagle with a sigh, and whacked the ball back to Tom when it came towards him. Eagle's brief smile of thanks in his direction went unacknowledged but not unnoticed by the spy. Apparently, Eagle was a bit more perceptive than he'd given him credit for.

They passed the ball around between them for a short while, just warming up on the spot, until Tom offered to go in goal.

"How are we doing this?" Eagle asked, looking at the two goals at either end curiously, probably wondering how they were going to make two teams out of three players.

"Just use one goal to start off with, I guess," Alex shrugged. "One person in goal, the other two compete against each other to score." There was no need to confer with Tom, the boys had been playing football all their lives and making do with few players was second nature.

"What's the other goal for then?" Eagle inquired.

"In case anyone else turns up," Tom answered casually, kicking the ball out to Alex as he went and stood in the proper goal they'd managed to save.

Alex grabbed the ball and dribbled it away from Eagle, towards the goal. Eagle immediately gave chase.

"Are we expecting anyone then?" he said, puffing slightly as he chased the younger spy.

"Nope," Alex replied, "but there are no other goals free so someone might want to join up with us." He neared the goal and Tom shifted on his feet in preparation. He kicked it along the ground into the goal, but Eagle intercepted it and dribbled it away.

"Ha!" the soldier cried in jubilation, but Alex was already bearing down on him.

"Come on Alex!" Tom whooped as Alex tackled the older man and gained possession again. The soldier swore and gave chase again as Alex ran towards the goal. He had a split second to aim before he whacked it and scored.

"Yes!" he shouted happily. Tom quickly grabbed the ball and threw it back into play.

"Alex one, Matt, nil," the teen announced and watched the two battle it out again.

Five minutes into play, Alex was beginning to tire. Matt was now in goal and Tom had already scored twice. The long weeks of captivity had sapped him of his original fitness and this was the first proper exercise he had done since.

"Come on slowcoach," Tom goaded as he danced with the ball a few metres away from Alex. Never able to resist a challenge, Alex ran towards him, scarcely noticing the throbbing in his leg from the deep muscle knife wound. It had already healed, but he was still having physio on it. Come to think of it, this was probably the exact type of exercise his physiotherapist told him to avoid. The muscle had been damaged around the wound, due to the deep puncture the knife had originally made in his thigh, before being dragged down his leg at a slightly shallower depth.

"Don't get too cocky," Alex replied as he kicked the ball away from Tom and dribbled it towards the goal. He grinned at his friend, who soon came to his senses and ran after him.

At that moment, two things happened: Alex's leg gave a particularly strong throb and he winced, noticed immediately by Eagle, and three teens around their age came over to them.

"Hey!" One of them called to Tom. "How's it going?"

Tom smiled back while Eagle and Alex stayed in the background, neither of them knowing the new arrivals. "Hey guys," Tom replied warmly. "Wanna join?"

Alex jumped as Eagle, unbeknownst to him, walked up behind him and said quietly in his ear, "Are you alright?"

"Fine," he said softly, trying to ignore the pain in his leg.

"Alex," Tom was saying, "this is Jed, Andy and Josh," Alex nodded absently, paying very little attention to the conversation. "Guys, this is Alex and Matt. Alex goes to Brooklands too."

"You do?" One of the teens – Jed, he thought – asked. "Haven't seen you around." Well, Alex thought, he hadn't seen him either. Probably new.

"I've been away for a few months," Alex replied casually. "You go there?"

"Yeah, I just moved. These guys," he gestured to the two other boys, "go to my old school, King's. We've been playing footie with Tom a few times recently, since we all live round here."

Alex nodded, pushing down the faint feeling of jealousy and telling himself that Tom deserved to have the normal life that he so craved. As Tom chatted with the teens, Eagle placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't think I haven't noticed the winces, Alex," he continued their conversation in a whisper. "What's wrong?"

Alex briefly considered lying, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. "Leg," he answered shortly.

"Your old injury?"

"Yeah,"

"How badly?" Eagle asked in concern. Neither of them paid any attention to Tom's conversation, although both laughed along with the others when it was appropriate.

"I can deal with it," Alex said, shrugging. Eagle opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted.

"So who's the adult, then?" One of the boys asked, catching both Alex and Eagle's attention.

Eagle laughed; only Alex could recognize that it was fake. He supposed acting was a reasonable skill to have in the SAS. "I'm Alex's uncle," Eagle replied, ruffling Alex's hair. Alex pushed him away, glaring playfully.

"I haven't seen him for a while," Alex said, "and he wanted to tag along. I felt mean saying no."

"Hey!" Eagle gently whacked Alex around the head. "You make me sound pathetic!"

"That's because you are," Alex said, smirking slightly. The other teenagers laughed along with him when Eagle pouted.

"So, shall we play three on three?" Tom asked, picking up the ball. Everyone nodded.

"Sure," Jed said, who seemed to have been nominated as spokesperson for the group of boys. "Us lot against you three?"

"Sounds good," replied Tom. Alex and Eagle signalled their agreement "Your turn in goal, Alex."

"Ok," Alex walked to the goal, secretly happy that he wasn't going to have to run around and strain his leg wound further. By Eagle's look of relief, he liked the arrangement too.

They played for a few minutes before swapping goal keepers to try and keep it fair. So far, the other boys were winning, but it was a close game. Eagle wasn't the best at football, but he had the strength and stamina.

"Pass, Alex!" Tom called across the field to him. Alex dribbled away from Josh who was marking him and kicked the ball to his friend. It got there without being intercepted and Alex started running towards their goal, ready for Tom to pass it in to him so he could shoot. He was nearly there when his injured leg screamed in pain and buckled beneath him. It was like watching himself in slow motion as he fell to the floor, landing awkwardly on his leg. He cried out slightly, breathing heavily. Evidently, his torn muscles had had enough of the rigorous exercise.

"Alex!" he heard Tom cry, abandoning the football and running towards him. He knew that Eagle was probably doing the same behind him. He shifted slowly, painfully, drawing his leg out in front of his body and trying to breathe through the throbbing pain. Ben was going to murder him. He'd told Ben the physio had said it was fine to play football, thinking that Ben would never find out about the small white lie.

"What happened?" he heard one of the other boys asking. He was ignored.

"Alex?" Tom asked in concern when he reached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You alright?"

"Yeah," he rasped. "Old injury." He ran his hand along his thigh, wincing when he felt the heat there. Damn. Nevertheless, he gathered his other leg under him and tried to heave himself to his feet. Tom, catching on to what he was trying to do, put an arm around his waist, and took some of his weight. By the time Eagle arrived next to them, Alex was standing, albeit without putting his injured leg on the ground.

"Alex," he said, his voice concerned but harsh. "You shouldn't have kept playing." The soldier placed one of Alex's arms around his shoulder, helping Tom out.

"What's going on?" Jed asked again.

"I aggravated an old injury," Alex said dismissively, confident now that his voice was even. "Sorry, I think we're going to have to go home."

"No worries," the boy said, compassion in his eyes. "Hope it all heals, yeah?"

"Thanks," Alex nodded, and Tom also said his goodbyes. One of the boys – Andy – handed Tom their bags and hoodies, before all three headed off in another direction.

"Can you walk home?" Eagle asked, his eyes running up and down Alex's body, evaluating the extent of his pain.

"I think so," Alex answered. The red hot throbbing that originated in his thigh was spreading to the rest of his leg, but he was damned if he was going to admit that. He'd had worse; he could make it home. He took a step forwards, still leaning on Eagle and Tom, and cried out when he put his injured leg down. He started to fall again, but was caught by the two either side of him.

"Jesus, Alex," Tom said, frustration mixing with concern. "Admit when you need help, will you?"

"I don't think putting weight on that leg is a good idea, Cub," Eagle said seriously, pulling out his phone.

"No shit, Sherlock," Alex muttered, shifting so that he was resting on Tom and Eagle could use his phone.

"If you can manage to somehow hop over to the road, I'll get Ben to come and pick us up." Eagle said thoughtfully. He pulled away from the two teenagers slightly to talk to Ben. Tom and Alex stood in silence.

Minutes later, he was back. "Ben's on his way," he announced, helping support Alex again. "We'll take most of your weight, Alex, so just try not to put that leg on the ground, ok?"

Alex nodded, taking a deep breath. Between the three of them, he made it over to the bench by the gate of the fence and collapsed on it, his face ashen. Football had been a really, really, bad idea. He groaned to himself. Ben was never going to let him out again.

"Ben will be here soon," Eagle tried to comfort him, standing as if on guard next to the bench. Tom was slouching in a very similar fashion to Alex on the other end of the bench, worn out from helping Alex. The teen was not cut out for weight-lifting.

"You're a heavy lump, Alex," Tom was complaining, shaking out his arm muscles. Alex smiled exhaustedly, not being able to think coherently through the pain attacking his leg. God, he just wanted some painkillers. He'd left them behind on his desk because he'd been weaning himself off them for the last few weeks. He hated being dependent on anything, even if it meant he could function better. He'd finished the course of antibiotics he'd been given by the hospital, so Ben really couldn't force him to take the painkillers. They weren't necessary, just helpful.

"He's underweight," Eagle pointed out to Tom, smirking with amusement at the teen's distress.

"He's very heavily underweight then," Tom retorted, laughing at his joke. Eagle groaned.

"Awful", he said, "completely awful."

At that moment, a car horn sounded just outside the gate of the park and a car pulled up on the pavement.

"That'll be Ben," Eagle commented, and Tom got to his feet. Alex mentally prepared himself for the movement he knew was coming.

Sure enough, Ben got out from the driver's seat of the car and ran over to them. His face was pale and worried. "Are you alright, Alex?" he asked quickly.

Alex nodded, knowing that Ben wouldn't believe it.

"Come on then, time to go," Eagle declared, putting his arm around Alex's waist and gently hoisting him off the bench. Alex wobbled slightly, his injured leg carefully off the ground to prevent any pressure on it. Ben went to the other side of Alex and grabbed his arm, taking Tom's place. The teen stood in the background, watching in concern.

"Can you make your way home from here alright?" Ben asked Tom. Tom nodded.

"Yeah," he replied, "text me, ok, Alex?"

Alex agreed, though he knew he was likely to forget. At that moment, all he wanted to do was go home, take a painkiller (or two), and sleep.

Eagle and Ben managed to help him hop to the car and carefully positioned him on the back seat of the car, so that his injured leg was resting on the adjacent seat. Dimly, Alex was aware of Ben leaning over him to do up his seatbelt, and of Tom saying goodbye, but he was no longer concentrating. His mind was drifting away to escape the pain and he welcomed the relief.

It felt like only seconds later when he was drawn back to reality by Ben saying his name again and again, in an attempt to rouse him.

"Kay, Ben, I can hear you," he mumbled in exhaustion.

"Good," Ben said briskly, undoing his seatbelt and gently tugging him out of the car. Alex nearly fell over but was swiftly caught by Eagle on the other side.

"Drugs, then bed, I think," he heard Ben say to Eagle. The soldier nodded and they half carried Alex into the house.

"Shall we get Snake?"

"He's already waiting for us with painkillers," Ben replied, shaking his head. "I told him where I was going before I left."

Distantly, Alex felt stirrings of annoyance at all the fuss they were making. His leg would heal, he knew that, he'd just strained the already damaged muscle - though if he'd torn open the wound again, Ben would kill him. That would take a while to knit together again, and would probably mean more stitches. Lovely.

He woke up a bit more when Ben shifted his weight onto Eagle completely to open the door, and managed to mumble, "m'allright"

"Course you are," Eagle muttered. "Think you can manage the stairs?"

But he'd already started drifting off again; the pain had almost completely wiped him out.

"C'mon, Alex, in we go," Ben was saying, somehow back at his side. They hauled him into the hallway and he went along compliantly. He was somewhat aware of them pausing at the foot of the stairs.

"We can't get him out without putting weight on that leg or knocking it," Eagle said.

Ben hummed in agreement, and there was silence for a couple of seconds.

"I can carry him," Eagle offered.

"You sure?" Ben asked.

"Yeah," Eagle replied, and Ben shifted his weight completely onto Eagle. Alex's head spun as he was picked up by the soldier.

"Hey," he complained quietly, absently. He was ignored.

He was just about aware of voices around him as he was carried up the stairs and laid gently on a bed. He sniffed, recognizing the familiar smell and realised he was in his own room. Somehow, Snake was next to him suddenly with a glass of water and two small tablets which he pressed into his hand.

He turned his head away, unwilling to take them, whatever they were.

"Painkillers, Alex," Ben's gentle voice reassured him. "Swallow them."

He followed the instructions, registering in the back of his mind that this level of trust in someone was dangerous (and not good, not good at all), but too tired to care.

Within minutes (or seconds, or hours, or anything really, he didn't know) the fire in his leg became manageable, and his eyes drifted shut.

"Examine him in the morning," Ben was saying to someone – Snake, probably.

Yes, Alex wanted to say, don't disturb me now. He was aware of the duvet being pulled up over him, and the voices quietening. Then there was just one voice, Ben, and it was peaceful at last.

"Go to sleep, Alex," Ben was whispering (or was that in his head?) and a soft hand was smoothing his hair on his forehead (such a lovely dream).

He slept.

A/N: As requested, Tom and Eagle interaction. Little bit of angst/hurt/comfort in there for you too :) I am so, so, so sorry this is so late - I haven't been able to even breathe lately. It's been exams after exams after exams, and then I've had other commitments, and I have not had the chance to try and write this. I'm hoping for more regular updates over the summer.

Thanks so much for your patience, and I'd really love some feedback on this chapter. It helps me out so much.

Dreams x