Disclaimer: Not mine, and unfortunately it is unlikely that it ever will be. However, if you feel like changing this sorry state of affairs, send a letter to PO box 301 or email me at IwantAlexRider obsessed. com and I will give you details of how to pay me.

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He awoke to the beeping of a heart monitor. It probably should bother him that the sound was so familiar, but at the moment he really didn't care.

Mrs Jones was sitting beside his bed.

He wondered how she knew when he would wake up, or whether she simple waited there for him to do so. Somehow the latter seemed unlikely.

"Alex, you're awake," she stated.

"Mrs Jones," he said, trying to nod his head, then giving it up as a bad job when he realised he had a neck-brace on.

"What happened?" he asked.

"When we saw the helicopter leaving, we sent a team to follow it. They recovered Miss san Luca and Miss Starbright, unharmed, but there was no sign of you so they kept following. They saw the helicopter spiral out of control and you jump out. By the time they got there, you were already unconscious in the lake. You nearly drowned. They had to perform CPR, then brought you here immediately. You have a broken leg and collarbone as well as multiples fractures in your ribs. Apart from that, and your... older wounds which have apparently already been stitched, if with a large amount of haste, you appear to be fine. A fall from that height... you should be dead!"

Alex smiled grimly. "Luck of the devil, remember?" he said, closing his eyes. "What happened to the helicopter, and any luck with those memory sticks yet?"

"The helicopter crashed. There were no survivors. As for the memory sticks, we haven't managed to get past all the security measures yet, but we have accessed one and if they all prove as useful as that one, we will be able to round up every client and agent for the last five years."

Alex guessed he should feel happy, or excited, or something at least, but instead he just felt a bone-deep weariness flooding his senses.

"When do I get debriefed?" he asked.

"Actually, you don't need to be. Miss Starbright, Lynx and M-Unit – they were the unit that retrieved you, by the way – have, between them, managed to fill in the blanks."

"And the explosion?" asked Alex. Mrs Jones had mentioned a disciplinary hearing at some point on the plane.

"Due to the... unusual circumstances, there will be no hearing. Legally, you do not exist as an agent. Therefore you could not have been there to blow up the building. It would cause unwanted questions to be asked if we attempted to take action against you for it."

Alex nodded; it made sense and, apparently, being unofficial did have its advantages.

"This incident at school," began Mrs Jones. Alex felt himself tense. He had forgotten about that. "We have spoken to the headmaster, and there will be no consequences there either. The boy doesn't blame you, though he is remarkably curious as to why you reacted like that. But we would, however, like you to start seeing a psychiatrist."

Alex tensed even more. If there was one thing he hated even more than MI6, it was the idea of a stranger poking around in his head.

"This is not an option. It is compulsory, and we have been remiss in not sending you before. It is to keep both you and those around you safe, Alex."

Alex slumped. They had a point, and he knew it. "Fine," he muttered, behaving exactly like a normal sulking teenager.

"We are not being unreasonable, Alex," said Mrs Jones, gently, "We honestly just want what is best for you."

Alex bit back his retort. If they wanted what was best for him, they wouldn't have sent him on any missions in the first place.

Just then there was a knock on the door. As if it had been a prearranged signal, Mrs Jones rose from her seat and left. Alex tilted his head towards the doorway. Silvia was standing there.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Course," smiled Alex.

"I just wanted to apologise... for my behaviour at the house. It was uncalled for."

"It's fine, Silvia, honestly. I had expected everyone to react like that, if I'm honest."

"It's not fine. I treated you awfully, and then you go and save my life!"

"Only after I put you in danger in the first place," Alex pointed out.

"Will you be quiet?" she joked. "I'm trying to apologise here and you're not making it any easier!"

Alex laughed. "Apology accepted. Just try not to get kidnapped again!"

Silvia smiled. He would be ok. She could feel it.

Epilogue

It was the middle of November when he was finally released, and he was desperate to get back to school. Officially, the story was that he had been in a car crash, and apparently it was somewhat believable as, for once, no one had called him on it. He had had a surprising number of visitors while in hospital, though, especially considering that, officially, no one was supposed to know why exactly he was there.

James Miller had been one of the first, arriving with Tom almost as soon as Jack left. It had been awkward, but as soon as Alex had been persuaded not to keep apologising to the boy constantly, they had gotten on well, and both boys had insisted on playing football with him as soon as he was able, though he pointed out that, with a broken leg, it wouldn't be for a while.

Wolf and his entire family had come to visit him as well though, thank the gods, not all at once. Sebastian and Maria had appeared just a few days after Silvia, with Emma and Jaime, and Wolf had been a frequent visitor too, being situated just down the hall from Alex.

Alex had felt incredibly guilty when he found out that Wolf had been shot, but Wolf had brushed it aside, saying he would make a full recovery and had been shot before. Alex winced, commenting that he seemed to get shot every time they were together. Wolf just laughed.

And now he was, finally, out and returning to school. James and Tom were waiting at the school gates and Alex grinned to see them. As he was walking up, his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Alex. It's Sebastian."

"Oh, hi Seb, how are you?"

"I'm good, I hear you got out of hospital today?"

"Finally! I can't stand hospitals!"

Sebastian laughed. "Actually, I'm phoning to extend an invitation."

"For what?" asked Alex curiously.

"Christmas, to you and Jack. Would you like to come over?"

"Isn't it a little early for that?" he asked, dubiously. Sebastian was probably trying to play some kind of practical joke.

"Not at all!" exclaimed Seb. "Christmas is a big deal in our family. Everyone comes over!"

"As in everyone who was there last time, everyone?" asked Alex

"Yeah... they'll be there... along with our cousins and their children and Eleanor's brothers and sisters..."

"You have got to be kidding me..." said Alex, turning pale.

"Come on, you know you'll love it!"

A voice could be heard in the background. "Is he trying to say no? Tell him that if he doesn't, I'll have to come and drag him down there myself!"

"Erm... who was that?" asked Alex, slightly scared.

"Oh, you heard? It's just Silvia."

"What is Silvia doing in Oxford?" he asked, confused.

"Oh, she quit her job and decided to start up her own law firm here."

Alex smiled; apparently Silvia had decided that success wasn't everything then.

Seb continued. "And she'll kill me if you don't say yes, so you better!"

Alex laughed. "Ok! Ok! I'll come!"

"Great! Now I've got to go, I'm going to be late! Ciao!"

Alex hung up the phone and rolled his eyes, walking over to his friends, still waiting –rather impatiently now – at the gates.

"Who was that?" asked Tom curiously.

"Sebastian," replied Alex.

"Oh," said Tom. "As in from that family that has pretty much adopted you?"

Alex winced. What had he got himself into?

THE END

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A/N: Ok, so I'm not completely happy with this Chapter, so I'll probably go back and edit it at some point. Yes I do plan to write about Christmas... but I think I'll do it around Christmas time, so you've got a bit of a wait... On the plus side I had a fantastic idea for a sequel... probably not the best time for it to occur to me seeing as how I was in the middle of a French exam but hey, apparently my imagination was bored. Actually I'm pretty sure I was just bored in general. But anyway. I'm starting to wonder if I'm ever going to be able to finish with the stories I start though, the Duty series just seems to be getting bigger and bigger, and this has just spouted a one-shot and a sequel at me... grr Stupid muse!

Anyway. Please Review, and tell me if you think I should write a sequel. (it will be featuring Sebastian, and probably Wolf, but I'm not sure exactly how much yet. I think the problem is that I fall in love with my OC's and can't bear the thought of letting them go! I mean, I have a character profile on every member of Wolf's family and you barely saw some of them! Ah well. You'll get to know them at Christmas. Plus those cousins... should be interesting...

Oh god, I am going to drive myself crazy trying to write this aren't I?

Oh well. I was way over halfway there anyway.

So yeah, REVIEW!