Alright guys, here's the next one. It's super long and the ending is killer so go on and enjoy!!
John awoke the next morning to the blinding sunlight hitting him.
He reluctantly blinked his eyes open and saw Alex throwing the curtains open "Rise and shine, boy. It's good to see you ate something" he gestured to the empty tray on the beside table "But Helen's got breakfast downstairs, you best better eat up and take a shower. You reek of blood." He paused, and then turned to look at Ian, whose hand was in one of John's. Alex suddenly realized that was how John had fallen asleep; with his brother's hand in his.
"How is he?" Alex asked in a much softer voice.
"He's doing better. His temperature has dropped since last night, which is good" John answered looking p at the older man "He should be perfectly fine in no time, save a bit of a limp from that bullet wound in his left leg…"
"You really care about him…don't you?" Alex asked.
"My brother is my life" John smiled bringing Ian's hand up to the place on his chest that housed his heart.
Alex gave a rough chuckle and headed out of the room "Hurry up or you'll miss breakfast" he called back. "Of course knowing Helen who has a soft spot for you, you'll get food if you show up tomorrow night!" John heard the voice of the old man shouting from the stairs.
He smiled to himself and looked to Ian's face-which was thankfully gaining back some color. "I'll be back in a while, buddy. Once you're up I'm shoving food down your throat whether you like it or not" John told the other. "Thank the heavens Helen forced you to eat something before we left or this would be your seventy second hour without any food. Yes I kept track. I always keep track." John blinked back a sudden wave of heat from his eyes. "Take care, kiddo. Keep fighting" he muttered, ruffling his brother's hair fondly and heading out of the room.
As John entered the small kitchen, he saw Alex already at the table, tending to his food, and Helen shoveling an egg sunny side up onto a plate that already contained a piece of toast and a couple of slices of bacon.
"Here you go, dear" Helen said pushing the plate towards John as he pulled up a chair and sat at the table.
"Thank you" John smiled up at her; it'd been a while since he'd had a proper meal or anything of that sort "Aren't you going to eat?"
"She's already eaten. Wakes up at 6 in the morning she does, crazy woman" Alex shook his head.
"Don't worry, it's all women" John chuckled "My wife will wake up at the most ungodly hours of the morning and insist I wake up as well. She claims it helps the soul or something like that. I say the only thing that helps a man's soul that early in the morning is food, sleep and erm…other things we won't mention at the table, right Alex?"
The older man immediately broke into laughter "Right ya are, son-" Alex caught himself as the last word slipped out of his mouth. His laughter died out and a slightly awkward silence came over the kitchen. And for a long time the only sound that could be heard was that of forks scraping against plates.
"So, dear" Helen broke the silence after a while "How is Ian doing?"
"Better, thank god. Considering his condition has gotten better, the drugs have probably cleared his system completely, bringing him out of any potential danger from those" John rambled more to himself than to Helen "Now hopefully his fever will stay down…"
Helen decided to ignore the bit about the drugs, but Alex frowned disapprovingly "Drugs?"
"On the way here I was forced to inject him with several medicated drugs to keep him quiet and relaxed. After a bullet to the shoulder, a bullet to the leg and a fever I imagine he was in quite a bit of pain, but with blood hounds and trained spies after us I really needed him unconscious for us to get to safety" John explained.
"I see. Where are ya headed to anyways?" Alex asked, staring down at the food he was eating.
"MI6 has a chopper waiting for us a few miles out from here. It's supposed to fly us back to base…that is if we can reach it one piece…" John muttered.
"You will" Alex muttered under his breath. "I know you will" John wasn't sure whether Alex had meant to say that out loud, so he didn't bother to comment.
After breakfast, Alex had insisted that John take a shower, then handed him some of James's old clothes, and a towel and lead him to the bathroom. John stepped into the dimly lit bathroom and set James's clothes aside. He then slowly undressed, the cold air uneasily striking his warm skin. He stepped into the bathtub, his feet tingling from the spiking cold of the bathtub floor. He turned the slightly rusted knobs on the wall and turned the show on. At first only cold water splayed onto him, and whereas a normal man would have recoiled, John remained perfectly still, almost as though he had expected it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, droplets of water filling up his nostrils. And in a second's time the warm water joined.
And as the water ran down his body, washing off the stains of Ian's blood littered across his arms and chest, John thought. He was finally allowed time with his thoughts and he decided to take advantage of it. So he closed his eyes and lost himself in his mind.
Helen, he thought about. His mind strayed to the image of his beautiful wife. He thought of the child. He and Helen had talked about how things would work out with the baby. Who to make the godfather, who custody would go to, should anything happen to them. Things like that. John wanted Ash to be the godfather without a second thought. And he could tell by the look in her eyes, that even though Helen had agreed, she wasn't as sure about it as he was. She wanted her child's future to be in Ian's hands should anything happen to them. She didn't need to say that for John to know. She wasn't the only one that trusted Ian that much. But he trusted Ash as well, after all Ash was like a brother to him…
But Ian was his brother.
John wasn't sure how long he'd stood there, just thinking. But after a while his keen ears picked up the sound of a voice. A voice outside in one of the other rooms. A voice he would recognize, even through the pounding of the water around his ears. Ian.
His heart suddenly skipped a beat at the thought of Ian being awake. Though he was sure Helen would assure Ian of where he was and that things were alright, John found the unbearable need to see the younger for himself. Knowing he would no longer be able to keep himself in the shower, he abruptly stopped the water, stepped out of the tub, dried himself and quickly got dressed.
John stepped out of the bathroom, buttoning the shirt that was incidentally the perfect size for him. He quickly strode into the guest room and found Helen seated on the bed next to Ian, the younger smiling broadly. It was a smile John hadn't seen on his brother's face for years. And the second he stepped through the door, Ian's smile widened even more "John…" he whispered.
"Hey kiddo" Just seeing his brother smile like that made a smile appear on his own face "Feeling better?"
Ian nodded.
"Good, let's get that out of your arm then" John's eyes moved towards the needle still in his arm. Ian's eyes followed the needle up to its source. "Y-you did that?"
"Of course he did that!" Helen said as John moved towards his brother. "He came in here with you in his arms, and the first thing he did was put you down and set that up for you!"
John chuckled modestly. He tapped the pipe carefully before removing the needle slowly from his brother's arm.
"And he didn't sleep a wink till he passed out from exhaustion" Helen glared playfully at John.
"How could I?" John muttered so quietly the other two barely caught it.
"Thanks" Ian smiled at his brother.
"Anytime buddy, anytime" John returned the smile as he wrapped a bit of gauze over the spot the needle was mere seconds ago.
At that moment, Alex stepped into the room, but as soon as he set eyes on Ian, he froze. "Good god…" he mumbled, staring at the teen.
"I know" Helen smiled "He looks just like him, doesn't he?"
"Incredibly" Alex agreed.
"Like who?" Ian tilted his head.
Alex opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it.
"Scott" Helen answered. "This by the way is my husband, Ian. Alex Woodson."
"Nice to meet you, Alex" Ian smiled. "Your younger son…" he stated returning to the topic.
"You told him?" Alex asked gruffly.
"We've been talking" Helen said not exactly revealing anything.
"But that's not important now" Alex said quickly "You probably haven't eaten in days…what did he say your name was?" he thought for a minute "Ah yes, Ian. Come Ian, we'll get you something to eat downstairs."
"Think you can walk?" John asked as he drew to his full height and looked down at Ian.
"I might as well. We won't be getting anywhere if I can't walk straight" Ian sighed. He made a slow attempt to stand. He stumbled once or twice (when John jumped forward to catch him) before he got the hang of it and followed Alex (with John trailing 'over protectively' as Ian liked to say, behind) downstairs.
Helen followed as well and as she began fixing something up for the younger, Alex pulled John aside. "Come with me, I want to show you something" he said and began leading John towards the back end of the house. They eventually came to a small door which Alex snapped open. Looking through it, John saw a long staircase leading downward, presumably the basement.
"After you" Alex gestured.
John took the invite and began heading down the stairs. Once he reached the bottom, he took a moment to look around the small basement. It was dimly lit, the overhead lamp casting a golden glow over the entire area. The grey walls could barely be seen as most of them were covered with overstuffed bookshelves. In the center of the room was a rectangular wooden table. There was a dusty coffee mug on the table that read #1 DAD. John smiled. He vaguely remembered buying one of those for his own father in his youth. Next to the mug were a few fancy looking stationary items, all with the same initials carved into them: J.W.
"Come, look here" Alex said as he stepped ahead of John and walked in front of the table. John joined him and looked up to where the older man was looking. It was the one spot that wasn't covered by a bookshelf. On the wall hung a portrait picture of a young man. He had short hair that was so dirty blond it was almost brown, dark grey eyes, light skin and a well sculpted jaw. John assumed this was James Woodson. What stood out the most about the picture though was not the man's bold features, but his camouflage uniform. The uniform of a soldier, with dozens of accommodations pinned to the right side of his chest. It was a true military uniform; the uniform John remembered wearing several times himself during MI6 training. He was lucky he was able to pull Ian out of military training for MI6 almost two years earlier than his training sentence. John knew the horrors of the field and there was no way in hell he was going to let his 16 year old brother experience all that like his parents were foolish to let him. John knew better than anyone, it really messed up a man. Sure he'd ended up training Ian on his own but hell was it worth saving his brother from witnessing things that plagued his nightmares to this day. He guessed it softened Ian a bit, but still…
John looked beneath the framed picture and hanging from the wall was a gun. A beautifully carved and customized handgun. The sleek black metal was practically sparkling; the small wolf carved onto the side of the gun glittered even under the dim lighting. John stared hard at the weapon. It was truly a work of art.
He tore his eyes from the gun and looked to the picture beneath it. It was of James and a much younger looking Alex. James had his arm around his father's shoulder and Alex was smiling with his heart. It was something that looked unrealistic even as John looked at it. But at the same time it was an amazing thing. A beautiful moment caught in a picture. Between a father and…and only one of his sons.
"I don't suppose you have anything like this for Scott in the attic?" John's sarcastic remark was counteracted by his serious tone.
"Helen told you about the boys didn't she?" Alex asked rhetorically.
Nevertheless John nodded.
"Scott didn't leave me anything to honor him with" Alex answered the previous question.
"The fact that he left you is something itself" John replied.
"He didn't care about me nearly as much as I cared about him" Alex said coldly, but with the next sentence his voice shook the slightest bit "Else he wouldn't have run off, the blasted boy…"
"If your son was nearly as much like my brother as Helen told me, then I can safely tell you that Scott did love you…very much. He knew you loved him as well. And even though everyone around him told him you did, he went far too long without hearing it himself. Until he got tired of waiting…" John spoke in a low voice.
"That gun over there" Alex steered the conversation back towards James; he tried hard to make his faltering voice sound normal. "It was James's favorite gun. He carried it with him everywhere he went, whether he was on the field or eating at home. It was a designer item. He spent loads on it, and in the end it was his best friend that dropped by and gave it to me. Said he'd like someone worth the respect and bravery to carry it on." Alex stepped forward and carefully un-mounted the weapon from the wall. He stared at it in his hands for a moment before he turned back to John and held it out to him. "Here, I want you to have it."
"I-me? Why me?" John's eyes widened a great deal "I am honored, Alex but you've only met me a few hours ago, you don't even know what kind of person I am, whether I'll handle such a prized possession with care or not-you have no idea!"
"Just having heard you say that, I know you're worth it" Alex sighed "You are more like my James than you know. Never in my life have I seen someone so utterly devoted to their sibling since James. And having seen you like that-having seen the way your brother reacts to you, the worship and respect in his eyes when he looks at you is unbelievable. It was like looking at my very own two boys again. And the way you instantly refused to take this item in fear of being unable to take care of what I cared deeply about-it just goes to show that you are nothing but an utterly respectable, brave, kind and modest man. Just the kind of person James would want to have this ever prized possession of his" Alex nodded "Just because he's gone doesn't mean his legacy should be."
"I-thank you, Alex" John swallowed "You don't know how honored I am to be holding the weapon of a comrade."
Alex took the hint, realizing John too was once a soldier. "You deserve it."
"Thank you, I promise I will treat it well, and keep his legacy alive. I swear it" John said adamantly, brining four fingers to his forehead as he spoke the last few words. A soldier's promise.
Alex nodded with a smile.
Suddenly a distant howl sounded from outside.
John immediately froze. "Shit…"
"What is it?" Alex asked.
The howling sounded once more, this time more than one at the same time. "They've tracked us, they've got Ian's scent dead on" John rambled, tucking James's gun safely into his pocket. "Shit! And I don't even have my protective gear on!" he growled. "We've got to get out of here" he said turning back to Alex, then making a dash for the stairs. "Come on!"
Startled, Alex followed John; he knew better.
As soon as John was out of the basement, he shot into the living room, where he almost collided with his younger brother.
"The dogs-"
"I know, I heard them too" Ian cut the older off. "They've got my scent, I'm the one they're after-"
"No!" John shouted at his brother "You will do no such thing. I told you once, either we get out of this together or we don't get out at all but I absolutely refuse to drag Alex and Helen into this."
"We have to go…" Ian muttered their last option.
"Exactly, we have to run for it. As far from here as possible, understand?" John said quickly.
Ian nodded "And your gear?"
"No time" John shook his head.
"Ian, what's wrong?" Helen asked as she stepped in front of the two brothers. Alex walked up next to his wife, looking in the same direction.
"The men that were after me and Ian, they're here" John said quickly "Those are scent dogs, and they've got the smell of Ian's blood all over."
"Oh, dear…that's not good" Helen frowned.
"We're not getting you two involved in our blood war, you've helped us far too much, so John and I are going to have to make a run for it as fast as we can, hopefully they'll leave you two alone" Ian explained.
"You are barely in any condition to be walking, far from running, young man" Alex said sternly.
"Christ, I wish you were my father" Ian said quickly "My dad would have said something like, what won't kill you will make you stronger, don't drag your brother down boy." He frowned at the bitter memory.
Something in Alex's expression changed, but before he could say anything, John spoke "You picked a beautiful time to tell the tales of dad, Ian."
"Didn't I?" Ian muttered.
"Anyway, no time to waste on that, come on, let's go" John said putting a hand on Ian's shoulder.
"How are you going to leave?" Alex raised a brow.
"Out back" John answered quickly. "Listen Alex, thank you so much for everything, I really appreciate it so much. You too Helen."
"Not a problem dear" Helen smiled.
John returned the smile before he began to take off towards the back, however he stopped as the front door was suddenly kicked in and two agents burst into the room, four dogs at hand.
And as soon as they did, John's thoughts naturally went to his brother; more specifically his brother's well being. So he immediately turned to Ian, missing completely the sight of one of the agents pulling out a gun and aiming it straight for him.
And it was only when the sound of the bullet being fired, did John turn and notice. But instead of seeing a bullet heading straight for his skull, he saw the one thing that made his breath stop, his head pound and his heart skip about a dozen beats.
John saw Alex throw himself right between him and the bullet.
CLIFF HANGERRRR!!! Oh noes! XD
Not to worry I'm practically done with the next chapter =] As you've probably noticed, I'm uploading this much faster than Quondum Iterum, and that's because Quondum Iterum has a much more...how to say...elaborate and drawn out story plot. So it takes a bit longer to write. But hopefully I'll have the next one done in a bit =]
Oh and for Padawan-Bubbly, who I know will end up reading this little memo eventually, I'm almost done with Carry On My Wayward Son Chapter 2! Yay!! XD
Review!!