A/N: so here is Chapter 3. I'm sorry that all of those wonderful reviews are going unanswered, but I am trying to revise at the moment and it's not going so well. The only reason I am able to post this is because of insomnia a few nights ago. I hope you enjoy the imaginings of my sleep-deprived brain!

Disclaimer: Alex Rider is (still) not mine. As much as I would wish otherwise, Anthony Horrowitz is refusing to share!

***

James watched as Cub looked at him blankly.

"Wolf?" he asked, incredulity colouring his voice.

Cub stood, leaning heavily on the tree behind him. James noted with concern that his breathing was shallow and uneven.

"Wh-What are you... No... I-" he paused, obviously confused. "N-No. I have to... to go."

He started to limp out of the clearing. He swayed on his feet and James lunged to catch him.

"No..." mumbled Cub, pushing futilely at James' chest. James ignored him and picked him up effortlessly.

Cub couldn't stay out here. James had been on enough missions to recognise symptoms of blood loss and exposure and even in this dim light it was unmistakable.

James started to move back towards Sebastian. Neil had joined him by now and both of their faces formed expressions of absolute shock when they saw the now-unconscious boy in his arms.

"I'll take him back to the house. I suggest you leave off looking for Missy until the morning. Emma will have gone to bed by now anyway."

Sebastian nodded, but Neil shook his head and said, "I'll just search a bit longer, I don't want Emma to wake up tomorrow with the cat still missing."

James shrugged and turned back towards the house.

***

Maria tried to insist on putting Alex immediately to bed, but Wolf overruled her. He had to change Alex's clothes first, which even Maria agreed to since they were damp with what must have been rain. He didn't tell Maria that he wanted to check out the boy's injuries first too. He was pretty certain that however Cub had got them, his sister wasn't allowed to know.

He carried the unresponsive boy into the bathroom and pulled off the T-shirt. He blinked. The boy had what appeared to be a school tie around his shoulder. It didn't take long for him to find the reason – a two inch cut in a completely straight line across his upper arm. Apparently the kid knew a bit about first aid – enough to fashion a semi-effective tourniquet anyway.

Wolf fumbled with the knot and slowly unwound the tie, wincing at the vicious purple bruise that it revealed. Slowly he cleaned the wound and tied a bandage around it, thankful that he had made sure that the house carried a well stocked first aid kit.

His eyes flittered over the teenager and he scowled at the maze of scars that littered his chest. What the hell had the kid been doing for the last six months?

He shook his head. He couldn't focus on that yet. The kid was still freezing cold. He hastily pulled one of Seb's tops over Cub's head. It was a little big for him, but a better fit than his or Neil's shirts would be.

He sighed as he pulled off the kids trousers. Cub would probably kill him for this later, he thought wryly. Teenagers were incredibly bashful.

His train of thought was immediately cut off by the sight of the blood soaked remains of what appeared to be a school shirt. He swore. Blood was oozing out from underneath the makeshift bandage.

Quickly he ripped it off and began to clean the wound. Again, it was perfectly straight. Wolf frowned; it looked as if some madman had gone after him with a knife.

"Shit. Shit. Shit," he muttered, trying to stop the bleeding. "SEB!" he yelled.

"WHAT?!" came the reply.

"GET YOUR ARSE IN HERE! I NEED YOUR HELP!"

Seb appeared at the door and Wolf motioned him over.

"You better know something about healing wounds after that fancy university course," growled Wolf.

The doctor-in-training paled as he looked at the wound and quickly crossed to the first aid kit. He unwrapped a sterilised needle and a reel of thread. Wolf blinked. Apparently he wasn't the only one adding to the kit.

Wolf looked away as his brother began to sew up the wound.

When he was done and had wrapped a bandage firmly around the wound, they dressed him in a pair of loose tracksuit bottoms and carried him into Wolf's bed. Wolf would share a room with Sebastian tonight, when he wasn't watching over Cub.

Somewhere between Cub kicking him out of a plane and finding him in the woods, Wolf had accepted Cub as a member of the team and Wolf was very protective of his team. Wolfs thought drifted back to the kid's scars... and the one that had been conspicuous in its absence. There was no way that the kid had had appendicitis.

He groaned and massaged his forehead with one large hand. He hated mysteries.

***

The first thing Alex noticed when he woke up was the smooth feeling of sheets against his skin. He couldn't remember why, but something told him he should not be waking up to this. Instantly alert, he lifted his head and looked around. It was dark outside, though the room itself was brightly lit.

"You're finally awake then?" said an unfamiliar voice.

Alex's head whipped around. "Who are you and how did I get here?" he said, hoarsely.

"Here," said the man, handing him a glass of water. "You must be thirsty."

Alex eyed the water suspiciously and didn't drink.

"What?" asked the man, obviously amused. "You think I poisoned it or something?"

Alex stayed silent.

The man quirked an eyebrow. "Please don't tell me you do. You're worse than James!"

"Who's James and who are you?" reiterated Alex.

"I'm Sebastian. James is my brother, he found you bleeding to death in the woods out back the day before yesterday. Care to tell me how you got those wounds?"

Alex took in details about the man. He wasn't with Scorpia, or he wouldn't have tried to heal the wounds from the bullets and he wouldn't have had to ask. But just because he wasn't with Scorpia, didn't mean he was on Alex's side. Alex guessed he was about 20, or just under and was wearing an Oxford University hoody, the deep blood red showed off a perfect olive complexion and a head of chocolate brown curls. With his Hispanic good looks, he reminded Alex of someone he couldn't place, though the carefree smile and laughing eyes seemed alien to Alex. The accent was familiar too, though Alex could not say why.

"I guess that's a no then?" said Sebastian wryly. "How about telling me why you were in the woods in the first place? Or how you got there?"

Alex frowned. He didn't remember any woods. The last thing he remembered was the conductor saying he had to get off the train. After that... Nothing.

Sebastian must have seen the confusion in his eyes because he said "Guess you can't remember, huh? Don't worry- apparently it's a common side effect of exposure and blood loss."

Alex growled angrily. He didn't like being out of control and that's exactly what this felt like. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"Oh no you don't!" exclaimed Sebastian. "You're not going anywhere just yet!"

"And you think you're going to stop me?" asked Alex threateningly.

It didn't quite have the effect he was hoping for though - Sebastian merely laughed. "God, you really are as bad as James! And no, I'm not going to stop you. That is." He pointed to something behind Alex.

Alex turned around to see an IV drip, with a tube running into his arm.

"By rights you should have been in hospital, but James put his foot down. Something about how it could be more dangerous for you there than here. So I called in a favour with a friend. Being in medical school does have its advantages I suppose."

Alex sank back into the pillows and groaned. Did this guy ever shut up?

A voice called from outside the room, echoing his thoughts. "For Gods' sake Seb! Shut up already. You're giving me a migraine!"

The door opened and Alex gaped.

"Wolf?" he asked incredulously.

Wolf frowned. "Who else did you think it was going to be after I found you almost unconscious last night?"

"He doesn't remember that, bro," said Sebastian.

Wolf paused and turned to look at Sebastian. "Bro?" he asked. "God, Seb you're getting worse, I swear."

Seb grinned, unrepentant.

Alex was getting slightly scared. This was Wolf. This was Wolf's brother. They were being, and his brain cringed at the word, nice. What on earth was going on?

He didn't bother trying to work it out. He had to get out of here.

"Well this is all very nice, but I have to go, so if you could please disconnect this," he gestured to the tube, "and return my clothes, I'll get out of your hair."

Both brothers turned to him, surprised.

"You're not going anywhere," replied Wolf firmly.

"You can't stop me," pointed out Alex.

"Like hell I can't" growled Wolf.

"Actually..." began Sebastian, nervously. "I don't think you can James. He is just like you and you could definitely get out when you were his age."

Wolf scowled. "Keep an eye on him. I'm going to make a call about this."

Alex sat straight up in bed. "Who are you calling?" he asked, suspiciously.

"Your bosses," said Wolf shortly.

"No!" shouted Alex, leaping out of bed, ignoring the uncomfortable tug of the IV. "You can't!"

"Why not?" asked Sebastian, curiously. Alex flicked his eyes to him then looked pleadingly at Wolf.

Wolf looked back. They stared at each other for a long moment then Wolf turned to his brother.

"Seb?" he said quietly. "Could you give us a moment? Me and C- look kid, what is your real name? I can't keep calling you Cub all the time, and I sure as Hell can't remember."

"Alex," he muttered. "It's Alex."

"Could you give me and Alex a moment?"

Seb nodded and left the room. Alex was momentarily surprised by the lack of comment. Apparently there was more to Sebastian than he had originally thought.

Wolf crossed to Sebastian's recently vacated seat as the door closed. "Why don't you want me to call them?" he asked.

Alex sighed. "I just don't ok?"

Wolf looked at him piercingly, but didn't question further. "I'll make you a deal. You stay here until Sebastian and I agree that you are better, and I won't call either of our bosses without your say so."

Alex looked at Wolf. It was the best offer he would get and he was smart enough to realise that.

"Ok."

Wolf actually smiled, scaring Alex more than ever. "Good. Now go back to sleep. Seb will kill me if I harm his patient. He's almost worse than Snake already; I dread what he's going to be like when he finishes his course!"

Alex gave him a weak smile and lay back on the pillows as Wolf walked out of the door. It was completely humiliating being condemned to bed rest and even more so being condemned to bed rest by Wolf, but at the moment it looked like he didn't have a choice. Not unless he wanted MI6 to find out where he was. And Alex knew that that wasn't an option. That would never be an option.

***

A/N: Ok so yeah... there isn't much explosion/enemy related action in this chapter, and I don't think there will be for a few chapters more, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway! If you did – and even if you didn't – leave a review to tell me so!