From his new place among the bushes and flowers, Alex looked up with a frown of pain marring his face to see just who Wolf had pulled his gun on. All the while he was thinking, that if this was what the rest of his stay would be like, Alex was quite prepared to limp away now.

Wolf's face hadn't looked so severe since he'd come to aid Alex at Point Blanc and managed to get shot in the process. With his gun held steady, he aimed it at someone Alex couldn't see.

"Come here-no, don't put that down, just bring it here too," he instructed firmly.

Slowly, a lady dressed in teal yoga pants and a thin T-shirt appeared in the doorway, an open box in her arms and fear written on her face. She couldn't seem to take her heavily made-up eyes off of the gun Wolf was holding.

"I wasn't conducting business," she said slowly, pronouncing each word carefully, as if Wolf misunderstanding her would mean something quite bad for her.

Wolf frowned, "What? What are you talking about?"

She looked up at him, and her eyes roved over his attire. The button up shirt, the nice loafers, and khaki pants...clothing Alex was sure he had only worn because of his meeting with MI6 before whisking Alex away. The lady's expression changed from fearful to sultry in a matter of seconds. Her body posture changed too, so that the box was now positioned on one hip, the other jutted out to the side with her fingers resting against her hip bone delicately.

"Oh," she said, a sudden pout to her lips. "So, if you're not from the government...I have a few minutes...would you like to come into my house?"

Alex found himself biting his tongue, the sharp reply, "It's our house, you ninny," never coming forth. He'd been knocked into the bushes because of this?

Wolf lowered the gun, but looked like there was a ping pong match going on in his head. Confusion and curiosity, knowing he should put the woman straight, but intrigued by the idea of following her...Alex saw all this, and with a great eye-roll decided to intervene.

"Excuse me," he said, drawing out the word dramatically, as if he was truly sorry for having to interrupt.

The lady looked at him, and narrowed her eyes. "How'd he get there?"

"I seem to have fallen," Alex said, looking around at his bushy trap as if he had no idea how he'd come to be there. "Darling, dearest, would you be so kind to help me up so we can go view our new house?"

Wolf looked terribly confused. The lady's face however was worth all the hell Alex was sure to go through for that comment. She blanched, and then gasped.

"I...have to go. Sorry about-um, I was just moving out!"

As she sped past Wolf, the man's mouth dropped, and Alex saw the edge of some very racy lingerie hanging out of the box.

"What he means is-yes, we are the government-very straight government employees! And-this is our house-but not our house because we are living together. I mean...we are living together-but not in that way!"

The lady had already disappeared beyond the edge of the house, and in a matter of seconds, her car went past theirs and hurtled down the driveway.

Wolf turned to look at Alex, his hands in fists at his side. But Alex was laughing so hard that his tears of mirth blocked him from seeing that.

"I should just leave you there," Wolf said evenly.

Alex grinned up at him, "I'm sorry, next time I'll look the other way when you try to hook up with a prostitute."

"What? She wasn't a prostitute." Wolf made it sound like he was being hasty and mean with this rather quick judgement, which only strengthened Alex's resolve to prove she was.

He gave him a look, one eyebrow raised. "Yeah, she just invited you into her house of horrors because you're hot. The fact that you are dressed up like a banker or a lawyer has nothing to do with it." His tone radiated sarcasm, and Wolf blinked.

"But...I am hot," he said, looking down at himself, then back up at Alex with a wounded face.

Alex groaned, and flopped his head back, regretting he'd ever said anything. He struggled to get himself out of the bush, wondering why none of his training had ever gone into a problem like this.

Wolf came over and bent down, and hand on his knee the other stretched out to help Alex up.

The slight upturn of his mouth let Alex know that he'd been purposely dragging out the conversation. Meanwhile, Alex leaned up against the banister, awkwardly examining the scratches on the backs of both his arms. His gray long-sleeved T-shirt had not done much to protect him from the throes of the evil shrubbery, there was even a small rip in the back, if the cool breeze blowing against his skin was any indication.

When he looked up, he caught Wolf looking away, expression going clean when just a moment before he'd looked-apologetic?

"Sorry about shoving you, I wasn't really thinking about where you'd land."

Alex swallowed down any sarcastic reply, and accepted the apology for what it was.

"No need to apologize...so, anymore questionable women in there, or can I take a look around?"

If it wasn't the aches and pains that Alex felt with every step, it would have been easy to think of the safe house as a retreat, just as Reed had suggested. The wooden floorboards reflected sunlight from the nearest windows, and suggested of a recent cleaning. There was a smell of disinfectant in the air as well, and it tickled Alex's nose.

The foyer opened up into a huge living room with a light blue carpet and dark leather couches that sat in an L formation. A huge stone fireplace took up half the wall, and a basket full of chopped wood sat nearby. MI6 had even bothered to think of what they were supposed to entertain themselves with. A large flat screen television had been placed directly across from the couches, it was stocked with movies and different game stations.

Alex stared around at the room, and then gazed up at the high ceiling and the rafters-and then at the railing he could see. Which could only mean there was an upstairs, and more rooms to explore.

A grin spread out on Alex's face as his spirit of adventure, (which he was beginning to think had died after the last horrid mission) suddenly raised its head in interest. There was another room on this floor, but a quick glance told Alex that it was just a kitchen and he continued his search for the stairs. He wasn't quick at all, due to that one bloody crutch he was forced to use, but eventually, he found the stairs.

They were practically hidden behind a door that Alex had thought to be a closet.

Alex peeked around the doorway, and found Wolf immersed in examining the XBox games, quietly murmuring and exclaiming over them. Good. It was time to ditch the crutch.

Leaning it up against the wall, Alex grabbed the handrail that went up the length of the stairs, and pulled himself up. To appease the voice of Wolf in his head that scolded him, he was careful to put only the smallest amount of weight on his leg and foot.

At the top of the stairs was a small hallway that was lined with bright, wooden bookshelves. There was a doorway at each end of the hall, and Alex chose to open up the one closest to him.

It was a master bedroom, done in blues and creams with an adjoining bathroom that included a walk in shower. Alex ignored his face in the mirror and went back out to take a look at the other door.

Behind it, Alex found another bedroom, not quite as grand as the first and done in red and blues. For a painful moment, he was reminded of his bedroom back in Chelsea. It looked a lot like this, but the feeling of belonging wasn't there. He couldn't hear Jack talking on the phone to her mother in exasperated tones, or smell her home-made American biscuits, (one thing she had refused to give up when she moved to England). The window did not open up to show him the street, he couldn't hear the sounds of traffic or even the neighbors annoying Yorkie.

The homesickness seemed to wrap around his heart like a cold fist, and instead of just sitting in his chest, it squeezed until it was almost painful to breath. God, he hoped that this would be over with soon.

The last mission had called him away from home, and now the after effects of that same mission was still keeping him away. It wasn't fair. But, since when had fairness ever played a part in his life?

Swallowing against the bitterness in his mouth, Alex turned to leave the room-and heard Wolf call his name.

"Alex? Where'd you go?"

Not wanting to get in any trouble with Wolf, at least not yet, Alex set off at a surprisingly fast pace, even with his half hop, half stride.

He had just reached the bottom of the stairs and managed to grab his crutch when Wolf rounded the corner where the doorway to the stairs were hid. He eyed Alex, and raised an eyebrow when it was clear that Alex was out of breath.

"Hard to climb the stairs with a crutch," Alex said brightly, "but I found the bedrooms! Mine is the blue and red one, I called dibs."

"No doubt it's also the larger of the two," Wolf grumbled, making his way past Alex and up the stairs to see the top floor for himself.

Alex grudgingly used his crutch to get into the kitchen, and then proceeded to hunt down a glass and got some water from the tap. After emptying it, Alex refilled his glass and sat down at the nice, though small, table for four. The table was situated in front of four large glass windows that looked out into the front yard. Two of the windows were flat, and the other two paned windows were at an angle that curved in. White curtains were tied at both ends of the windows, but Alex couldn't think of any reason to ever want to close them. Who was going to spy on them all the way out here?

Unless that creepy lady came back. Alex shivered.

Then, a scarier thought crossed his mind as he dark, hooded eyes gazing in at him. This place was supposed to be a safe haven. A place of solitude...but how safe were he and Wolf really? MI6 had made mistakes before, horrible mistakes that cost people their lives...what if this man Lestat managed to find him and Wolf after all?

What precautions had MI6 really taken to insure that there was no way they would be followed by this man?

A heavy hand descended on Alex's shoulder. Within half a seconds time, Alex had sprung up from the chair and turned, arms ready to block any blows. His ankle cried out at the harsh movement, and Alex's breath caught in his throat at the pain that vibrated up his leg.

Wolf reared back, his expression a cross between amused and shocked.

"Whoa! Hang on a minute, Cub...it's just me."

A flush rose in Alex's face, and he sunk back into his chair muttering his apologies.

He could feel Wolf's eyes studying him from behind. "What were you thinking about right before I touched your shoulder?"

Alex looked at him over his shoulder, and then shrugged and turned back around to face the window. "I was wondering if MI6 would actually protect me this time."

Wolf was quiet, and Alex waited for him say something and walk away...but when the words came, it wasn't what Alex expected to hear.

"Cub...you shouldn't be worried about what they're doing to protect you. And, even if they haven't done everything in their power to keep you safe..well, that's why I'm here."

Surprise made Alex turn to look at him. Now it was Wolf that looked a bit red, but he seemed to swallow any embarrassment and his head came up a little bit higher.

"I won't let you get hurt."

Alex didn't know how to reply, and so he gave a hesitant little nod, a small smile appearing on his face. Wolf returned it with a grin, and added, "After all, I'm not getting paid to just be your nurse maid."

Refusing the childish urge to roll his eyes, Alex stood up and took his now empty glass to the sink. He really must have been thirsty! But, the doctor had said the pain pills might make him a bit dehydrated when they started to wear off. From the familiar aches Alex had been feeling for the past hour or so, they definitely had worn off.

"I'm going to unload the car. I want my stuff inside before it gets dark," Wolf said, and turned to leave.

"I'm coming," Alex said after his retreating back, but Wolf turned around again, and amused look on his face.

"What do you think you're going to carry with one arm? No, you just go sit down or something. There's not a lot of stuff, it'll all be inside in a few minutes-and then we can get some pain medication in you."

At Alex's surprised face, Wolf just nodded. "The doctor told me you'd need to take some about every five hours...and it's been five hours, don't think I'm shirking my babysitting duties."

Before Alex could scowl at him, or reply sharply because even though this was glorified babysitting, he still hated to hear it being called that, Wolf had turned and left the room. With a deep sigh, Alex decided he might as well try out the new sofa, it seemed he might be spending a lot of time on it.

Fifteen minutes later, Wolf peered at Alex over the top of the last box as he carefully set it down on the living room floor.

"See? No problem, now which box has your meds in it?"

Alex pointed at his bag, that lay on top of another box he was sure held all his school books and homework. "It should be in that one-but, Wolf, I can get it. I'm not bloody bed ridden..."

Wolf looked amusedly at Alex and unzipped the bag and began rifling through it with a small smirk on his face.

"If you don't take care of yourself you will be. And anyway, why is it so hard for you to just accept help from someone?" He held up the small plastic bottle and gave it a shake in Alex's direction, and then headed toward the kitchen with an upbeat whistle on his lips.

His words had caused Alex to pause and think. They'd struck at some hidden truth Alex hadn't realized was there...why was he so unwilling to accept the help Wolf was so valiantly trying to offer. One could even argue it was Wolf's job here to help Alex in any way he could, even with small things such as carrying in the luggage, or fetching medicine when it was obvious Alex felt ill.

It had been so long since anyone had done that for him though. Unless he was in a hospital, Alex had always been the one to dose out cough syrup when he felt a cold coming on, or gave up and fetched the aspirin when a headache became so fierce he couldn't think over the pain. It had been that way since he was eight. He knew how to read, Ian had taught him what to take and like with everything else, Alex knew how to follow directions and was quick to learn.

Or maybe it was something deeper than just his self sufficiency...maybe, and Alex winced at the thought...maybe he didn't want to accept help, because anytime he had dared to depend on others, something always seemed to happen to them.

Alex mentally shook himself. These damn thoughts could leave more scarring than anything else, and the last thing he needed was more scars.

The new ones he'd acquired at his latest mission were sure to add ripples in the gossip pool at school.

Stop, Alex chided himself, don't think about that place.

"Here," Wolf had come back into the room, he held out the bottle in one hand, and a full glass of water in the other. At least he was letting him pour out the necessary number of pills.

While Alex was taking care of the pain relievers, Wolf had started to dig through one of his own boxes.

"Ah!" Wolf exclaimed after a moment, and started pulling numerous packages of junk food out and pilling them on the living room coffee table with reverence. "I didn't know what kind of food they'd stick us with-so, I wasn't about to come down here without a hefty supplies of Coconut Yum Yum's."

He looked down at his pile with admiration, and Alex grinned widely.

"Coconut Yum Yum's? Really?"

"Cub! Don't knock them until you try them-which of course you are not allowed to do. I don't care what Reed says, touch them and I'll knock you upside your blond skull with that crutch."

With that declaration, Wolf swept up his snacks and sweets and moved to put them away. Alex was sure the hiding spot Wolf chose would probably be locked up like a high security volt at Gringotts.

Looking around the room, which could have easily belonged to any wealthy bachelor, or a well off retired couple, Alex found himself wishing he could call Jack. She would have loved to hear all about the house, and she would have cracked up laughing about the lady they'd met earlier.

Alex smiled. Yeah, he really wished he could talk to her...or Tom...or, well, they were the only people he had that he could talk to. Any other friends had moved on, they might have attempted for a brief moment to remain friends...but, no one had really been persistent. It was kind of sad.

"You okay?"

Raising his eyes, Alex found Wolf watching him with barely concealed concern. "Meds are working, right?"

"Oh, yeah. It's fine." Alex sat up straighter, and Wolf went to close up the box that he'd fetched all his sugary foods from-and stopped half-way, a strange look crossing his face as he reached in the box.

It took a moment for Alex to realize what Wolf had slowly pulled out of the box. He looked on curiously as a slightly sad smile appeared on Wolf's normally smug, or uncaring face.

As if remembering he wasn't alone, Wolf looked up and Alex's eyes shot away to look out the living room window. Walking close, Wolf held out his hand, and carefully Alex met his eyes before taking the picture frame he held.

Wolf's family looked so happy. Frozen in time, their faces could have belonged to people that had just won enough money to live comfortably for life...but they were just standing on a dock in T-shirts and jeans, arms wrapped around each other as them smiled into the camera.

The sight of them so happy hurt, a physical pain deep in Alex's chest that he was mad at himself for feeling. He had no right to be jealous.

"Do you have a picture of your family?"

Alex loosened his hands where they gripped both sides of the frame, he was careful to clear his expression before looking up at Wolf.

"My family?"

Wolf gave him an odd look, "Yeah. You know, the weird people you grow up with. Sometimes you love them, sometimes you're sure you were adopted-those people."

Alex remembered the picture he had of his mum and dad, it was in his bedroom. In it, John, Alex's father, was standing happily beside his wife, their faces were so peaceful...then, only hours later, their plane had exploded. They'd been taken from Alex's life just like that.

He suddenly wished he had thought to bring pictures. He had a couple of Jack on his phone, where she had turned a somersault in the street, and one of her making her 'My-name-is-pudgy' face that always made Alex crack up. But MI6 didn't trust him enough to let him bring his phone, they'd said the temptation of contacting his friends could lead to his phone being tracked and their location identified. Alex had come close to yelling at them that he knew the circumstances didn't allow for calls to his best mates...all one of them.

Alex shook himself and answered Wolf's earlier question.

"I...I didn't even think to bring pictures. I wish I had," Alex said with a truthful intensity, as he glanced up at Wolf who was putting the picture back in his box carefully.

"Oh, well," Wolf said with a shrug, "you'll see them soon. I'll have to see my parents as soon as we can leave; my mum doesn't worry, but my dad sure as hell does." Wolf grinned then, smiling as he perched on the edge of the coffee table across from Alex.

"Yeah, that man worries way too damn much," he said, "he would go on the missions with me if he could, but he's got a bad knee. Got it while he was doing pretty much the same stuff I do. I guess that's why he gets all concerned..." Wolf's eyes were kind of glassy, staring at something over Alex's shoulder. "For him, it just meant a bad limp. For me, it could be nothing, or it could be something a whole lot worse."

Alex had forgotten to breathe. He personally knew what 'a whole lot worse' meant. It meant small Christmases, and a lot of wondering what might have been, and regrets that he hadn't said 'I love you' one last time.

"Who's the worry wort in your family, your mum or dad?"

Alex blinked.

His mind was racing, and Wolf was looking at him expectantly.

How could he not know. Maybe it was vain of him, but Alex had been under the impression that most everyone knew his family had died...and his uncle...and that he lived with a woman that had once only been his babysitter.

It was weird, Alex decided. Wolf thought of him as a normal kid, with a normal family-who somehow worked for MI6. Yeah, weird was a good word for it.

He treated him like he would a normal person, no pity in his eyes, no awkward silences when family came up in a conversation.

And now Wolf was asking for an answer to a question that didn't exist. Alex had no idea who would have worried about him more, he'd never gotten to know his parents. It had been a painful thing for Ian to talk about, and Alex had asked questions rarely. Now, the only one left to worry about him was Jack, and while she was amazing...she was no mother.

This...this peace offering Wolf was holding out deserved an answer, a truthful one. Yet, Alex just couldn't do it when he thought about Wolf's eyes taking on that shaded look of sadness. So many others had looked at Alex that way, seen him as a poor orphan in a bad situation. Alex wouldn't be able to handle Wolf looking at him that way. He just couldn't. Not now.

"My mum worries about me. Wears holes in the carpet with her pacing," Alex said jokingly, almost choking on the lie.

"Yeah?" Wolf said, smiling slowly. "Should have known you'd be a mummy's boy," he teased.

Alex ignored him, his mind warming to the mental image of a mother he hadn't known, that waited in the kitchen with the lights on, pacing or biting her nails like he sometimes did when he was worried.

"I mean, she knows I'll be fine, I only do small things, but it does not stop her from staying up late."

Wolf's look darkened a bit. "No offense..but you didn't look fine when I found you."

Alex looked away. "That situation was...different."

Giving a little huff, Wolf stood up and grabbed the box closest to him. "Every situation is different. They told me not to ask you any questions about what you do, but sometimes you really make me want to ask. I don't understand how your parents could just let you-"

"Don't bring my parents into it. Just...don't."

Wolf's expression closed so quickly that Alex immediately wished he had kept his mouth shut. They were making progress, Wolf-the same Wolf that he had once thought hated him,had talked about his caring family. He'd expressed how much they cared for him, and that they worried over his safety.

Back in Brecon Beacons, the officer had warned Alex that the units residing there might resent his presence, had mentioned that some might be a bit difficult to deal with, might even be a bit aggressive towards him. K Unit had been no exception-until now. Wolf had offered him a glance at his life. It was something he probably did not do often.

Alex hadn't realized that until he'd seen the shuttered look come upon Wolf's face.

"I'm sorry-" he started to say.

"Naw, never mind."

Wolf hitched the box up higher, and went to carry it up the stairs. As soon as he was out of sight, Alex buried his head in his hands. Why had he lied? It seemed that even without MI6 around he was determined to make some sort of drama. Was the idea of being treated normal really worth lying over when Wolf was probably one of the few people on earth that would understand. But now...now it was too late, those words had damned Alex to living with the lie-or going through a very painful conversation.

He got the feeling that Wolf was not one to confide in people so readily as he just had with Alex. At least, Alex had never witnessed him conversing about family with any other member of K Unit before, mainly he had snarled insults at Alex and dismantled and reassembled his gun.

Wincing, Alex knew he couldn't tell Wolf the truth now. To admit that he hadn't been honest, would ruin any progress they had made. Worse, Wolf might go back to his old behavior. Alex was far from eager to pick up his old nickname Double O Nothing, no matter how true it felt.

It was only a couple of weeks. Alex had spent the better part of the last year pretending to be people he wasn't, he could do this too. He had to.

Author's Note: Alex, honey, don't you know that lying, no matter how harmless the intention, normally creates a lot of headaches later? Sigh. You will just have to learn the hard way.
Sorry again, I'm sure you are tired of the weird updates that seem to only appear once a year...but one of my New Year's Resolutions was to finish this story! So...hurrah! Did anyone have a really funny resolution? I also resolved to lose weight, I lost 2 and a half pounds in one week-and gained it all back plus two extra pounds the next week. I can not begin to describe the amount of self-loathing that brought on, ^_^ I also resolved to read more, I've knocked out 7 books so far. If you want some recomendations...I have many, bwhaha! Please take a moment to review! They are sugar to my coffee, fuel to my fire, I adore them and the inspiration they bring. :D Thank you so much for your amazing support!