Hey guys! Thank you to all the people that read and reviewed the last chapter! You guys are my motivation! I have to warn you that this chapter is really more like a filler, albeit a long one. To appease you however, let me tell you that there is plenty of fluff! Anyway, here is the new chapter, enjoy!

Chapter Two

After walking for about twenty minutes, Jack stopped suddenly. Alex, not realizing that his caretaker had stopped, continued having a one-sided conversation. When Jack didn't reply, he stopped short and glanced back in surprise to see her about ten yards behind, shuffling her feet guiltily.

"Er- Jack?" he questioned, walking slowly back to her. He couldn't help but inquisitively stare at Jack's immediate direction, to gauge whether she had detected a danger that he hadn't. "What's wrong?" he asked her, as they were now about a foot from each other.

"Well, Alex," she began, wringing her hands in…shame? "About your cake…"

"It was your idea, Jack," said Alex, crumpling his brow in an accusatory stare.

"No, I know!" she said, her eyes widening. "It's just…"

"What, Jack?" asked Alex, losing his patience. He just wanted to go home!

"Well…" she said, looking down at her feet like a child caught eating a cookie before dinner. "It's just that…Ihavenoideahowtomakeacake," she finished in a rush, her words scrunching together and sounding to Alex much like gibberish.

"Are you having a stroke, Jack?" asked Alex, flabbergasted. "What did you just say?"

"I said," Jack took a deep breath, as if about to tell Alex that his room had been turned into a zoo. "I have no idea how to bake a cake…" She shut her eyes, as if waiting for Alex to explode.

"Um…" began the boy, wondering if she was leading him on. "So, what's the problem?"

Jack blinked, as if surprised. "Well, I thought it would be a problem, considering that I promised you that I would make you a cake…" She finished, finally looking at him in the eye. She was apparently surprised to see a small smile form on Alex's face. Then the smile grew, and soon he was laughing, his ribs aching with mirth. "What?" she asked, defensively.

"I thought-" gasped Alex, clutching his ribs. He wiped tears of laughter from his eyes, as he tried to regain his composure. "I thought you had seen like…a walking shark, or something!" His efforts proven futile, he collapsed once more in a pile of mirth and rib-pain.

"Oh haha," said Jack, sticking out her tongue. "Alex, you're going to have a kitten if you don't calm down…" The laughing teen took several shallow breaths, and allowed Jack to help him up. "So, what should I do?" she asked him, as he seemed to now be able to form a coherent thought.

"We could…" he deliberated, biting his lip. "Jack, I don't want a fuss," Alex said, hoping to win this conversation this time. Jack would have none of that, however;

"This is not a fuss, Alex…" she frowned, and ruffled his hair. "I guess it would be, if I burned the house down…" Jack pondered, making Alex whimper as he chuckled.

"That would be rather a problem," said Alex dryly, finally able to respond like a normal, non-asylum-worthy person. "But, if you really, really feel that this is necessary-"

"I do!" Jack said firmly.

"…then we could buy a cake!" finished Alex, pointing to a little store across the street. Jack followed his gaze, and smiled as she saw that Le Pain Quotidiene, one of her favorite French-style bakeries.

"Good idea!" said Jack, and she happily pulled Alex across the street. She ignored his dark mumblings about unnecessary calories and kidnapped for a useless cause. A little bell resonated above the front door, alerting a plump, jolly-looking man to waltz from the counter to where the pair stood.

"Bonjour! Bienvenue a Le Pain Quotidiene!" said the man, with a little bow. Alex had to fight to keep from grinning; he half expected the man to start singing Be Our Guest, from Beauty and the Beast. "How can I help you guys?" the man had obviously reached the extent of his French knowledge.

"We´re looking to buy a cake!" said Jack, enjoying the sweet smell of fresh-baked bread and pastries. Alex breathed in deep, and found comfort in the familiar smell. It's not that Jack often baked, but she went out and bought different cakes and pastries that brought the smell to their quiet home. Somehow, the smell reminded Alex of how his life used to be: Ian, Jack, and him alone; no MI6, no Scorpia, no looking over his shoulder in constant dread of attack. His stomach swooped rather painfully at the thought of his old life, but was saved from further sulking by the jolly fat man from the bakery.

"Well, I have some that may interest you!" he showed them to the counter, where a handful of delectable-looking cakes sat. "What occasion is this for, if I may?" he asked, pulling the lids of the boxes of each of the cakes, so that Jack and Alex could get a closer look.

"His birthday," offered Jack, snaking an arm around her ward's neck. To Alex's dismay and utter embarrassment, Jack continued; "he's turning fourteen! Can you believe it? I can still remember him in diapers! What a cute little bottom you had, Alex," she finished, pinching his cheek. Alex was mortified, but the onslaught continued.

"That's right," said the fat man knowingly. "My own kids seemed to pop out of my wife one day, and the next, they were graduating from Cambridge and Oxford!" He and Jack gushed more about how fast kids grew up, Jack continuously using the embarrassed teen as an example. Finally, Alex had had enough.

"You know what, Jack," he said, a little bit of acid in his tone. "I think I like that cake," he pointed to a random cake. Jack took the hint, and they left after she paid for the cake. "I cannot believe you just did that!" Alex blurted out, as they neared their house.

"Did what?" said Jack, playing innocence. Alex was infuriated; she was not getting out of this.

"You embarrassed me in front of that guy!" he said, his face still a deep shade of red. "You pinched my bloody cheek!"

"Language, Alex!" she admonished, pinching his arm. "Besides…it's true. You had the cutest bottom, and you were so hard to catch so I could change your diaper…" she broke off, confused by Alex's smug grin. She had fallen into his trap.

"Jack," he began, pointedly speaking slowly. "When did you first intrude on Ian and me?" Jack was quiet for a moment, then smiled brightly and provided the answer. She was still clueless about the trap she had fallen into.

"2004," she offered. "Why?"

"Because," Alex said, still speaking pointedly slowly. "How old was I in 2004?" Again, Jack eagerly provided the answer.

"You were four," she said. "Weren't you?" Alex nodded, and decided to take pity on her.

"Jack, you never changed my diaper," he said, his grin finally revealing his evil intentions to Jack. "You just made up a complete lie to a random man in a bakery about my childhood antics!" he finished, as they reached their doorstep.

"Hey!" she said defensively. "I didn't totally lie! You did have a cute little butt!" Alex rolled his eyes, and then he crashed onto his couch, slightly exhausted. Jack laughed at that, and Alex stuck his tongue out at her. She responded by smacking him with a pillow, and he was left breathless.

"Cheater," he accused Jack. She had aimed low; much, much too low. As Alex writhed in discomfort and pain, Jack went to the kitchen to put the cake into the fridge.

"What do you want for dinner?" she called out to the pained teen.

"Your head on a platter," was the muffled reply. She chuckled and brought out a couple of plates. Sandwiches seemed like a good idea, since there was very little risk of injury when making them. She got a four pieces of bread, and filled the pairs with turkey breast, Swiss cheese, tomato, lettuce, and mayonnaise.

"Come on, you cannibal!" she yelled out to Alex. "Dinner's ready!" She sat down and filled a couple of cups with water and cherry Kool-Aid, a childhood favorite of Alex. The boy in question filled in the seat in front of her, glaring and wincing as he sat down. "Wimp," said Jack, chuckling as Alex stuck his tongue out at her again.

"Shut up Jack," Alex said as he took a bite from his sandwich. "You found my Achilles…heel," he finished sheepishly. Jack laughed, and took a long swig from her unnaturally red drink.

"So…movie tonight?" she asked her ward, and smiled when his eyes lit up at the idea.

"Sure!" he said, finishing his last bite of sandwich. "What do you want to watch?"

"Well," she began, excitement evident in her eyes. "I just rented Paranormal Activity Two, so that might be fun!"

"Sure," said Alex, but his hesitation was not lost on Jack.

"Or, you know…" she said quickly. "We could watch something else…"

Alex waved her off; "Nah, that's fine. I'll get the popcorn ready. See you in five?"

"See you in five!" she agreed, rising from the kitchen table, her arms laden with both of their plates and cups. She was a little worried, because she had never known Alex to hesitate to watch a horror movie. Oh well…she thought. If it gets too bad, we can always turn it off.

Meanwhile, Alex was busy with a couple of bags of popcorn that were merrily popping in the microwave. He had to admit, he felt slightly ashamed. As a kid, he had always loved the adrenaline rush that came with horror movies. Now, though, after having been through so much, he didn't know if he could handle that much stress.

"Idiot," he told himself. "Suck it up and watch the damn movie…" Bracing himself for what could be a very long night, he walked out of the kitchen with the popcorn in a large bowl, and a couple of glasses of water. He met Jack on their couch in the den, and shivered slightly at the cold air of the house.

"Here," Jack gave him a thick blanket, in which he gratefully curled up under. The movie began, and they both settled down for a fright night. Throughout the movie, especially during the terrifying moments, Jack noticed Alex shutting his eyes and covering his ears, like a child in a thunderstorm.

During one scene, where even Jack's ruthless American blood froze in fear, she heard Alex whimper, the sound muffled by the blanket he was hiding under. He looked so unbelievably cute at that moment, that Jack couldn't help herself when she hugged him to her side, hoping to remind the frightened boy that it was just a movie.

"Hey Al," she whispered, rubbing his back. "It's just a movie, this isn't real."

"I- I know," he said shakily, looking up slowly. "It's just…that was a bit scary." Jack comforted Alex by telling him that she was sure she had just grown twenty gray hairs from that scene alone. Truth was, she was worried. Alex was never one to show discomfort, or fear, the latter especially. That's it…I'm sleeping with my door open tonight. And so is Alex, she thought to herself.

While Jack was half-hugging him, Alex was berating himself. He had shown weakness…he had shown that he was afraid of the Hollywood fiction. He had never, ever done that before. For some reason, he felt like the lines between evil and his home had blurred. He didn't think to attribute this thought to his harrowing missions with MI6, rather he thought that he was becoming soft and childish.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Alex, the movie ended. Jack told him that she would handle the cleanup of what used to be a clean carpet, but was now covered with popcorn and spilled water. It turns out that the movie had been a terrifying ordeal for both of them, maybe in different ways. Jack ordered her ward upstairs to brush his teeth and to go to sleep, and Alex complied.

After going about his usual, nightly hygiene, Alex settled into bed. He was still a little shaken from the movie, so he grabbed one of his favorite books of all times: The Essential Calvin and Hobbes. He had always found that that book relaxed him, as he imagined all of the crazy stunts the crazy six-year-old with spiky hair and sarcastic tiger pulled. He devoured the comics hungrily, too absorbed in the book to realize that he was dog-tired. Finally, he passed out, the book still in his hands, and the light still on. He hadn´t even gotten a chance to get under the covers.

That's how Jack found him, his head slumped on the book, on top of the baby-blue duvet. She smiled, as she was reminded of the many times she had tucked him in after he fell asleep to one of her own adventure stories. Still smiling from the nostalgic memory, she silently walked to his side. She gently removed the book from his limp hold, and placed it on his bedside table. She slowly pulled out the covers from under him, and then covered him tightly in them. She sat, staring at the sleeping boy, for a long while.

He looks so much more vulnerable when he sleeps,she thought. She ran her hand through his thick, golden hair for a while. She noticed how his face relaxed as she did this, and she didn't stop until all of the tightness in his face had disappeared. Finally, she decided it was time for her to go to bed as well. She got up off the bed, and leaned down to place a gently kiss on the sleeping's boy's forehead. Jack left his room, leaving the door ajar, just in case.

There was no need, because Alex Rider had no bad dreams of evil men, torture, rabid crocodiles, or betrayal. Instead, he dreamed of home. He dreamed of fresh baked bread. But most of all, he dreamed of the comfort of being cared for. Finally, things were looking up.

Hey! You made it to the end! I really hope you liked it, I know I enjoyed writing it! I'll probably have another chapter for you guys tomorrow, because your reviews have really inspired me. Again, drop me a line! And also again, constructive criticism makes for the best reviews, in my humble opinion.

Have a great 4th of July!