New, much longer chapter! Thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites!

Disclaimer: My blackmailing attempt has been unsucessful so far, so no, I don't own anything and I'm still not making any money.

When the plane finally touched down and the passengers were shuffled off, Alex felt a distinct feeling of longing in his stomach. When he finally got a look out a giant bay window at Heathrow he realized he was home.

Crawley and Alex hurried through the airport, stopping once for Crawley to rent a car. When the pair finally made it outside it had begun to rain. Alex smiled to himself.

The car Crawley rented was a black Mercedes. Typical.

The ride to Liverpool Street was way too short in Alex's opinion. The Royal and General looked like it always had, and Alex wasn't sure if the felt good about that or not.

Crawley pulled into the parking garage and Alex was quickly ushered into the elevator, all the while the sick feeling in he had since arriving was getting more intense. When the elevator stopped Crawley led the way down the familiar hallway and stopped in front of the same nondescript door on room 1605.

Crawley turned to Alex, "Wait here until I come for you." Alex nodded and stepped out of the way, leaning against the wall. Crawley knocked twice and entered, shutting the door behind him. Alex immediately tried to eavesdrop but found it impossible. The room was soundproof.

After what seemed like hours, but in reality was only about fifteen minutes, the door opened and Crawley stepped out.

"Mrs. Jones will see you now." he announced. Alex nodded and took a deep breath before pushing open the door.

The first thing Alex thought was that Mrs. Jones looked almost exactly the same as she did when he left. Same hair and same type of suit. The only difference was her expression which was frozen in shock, however she quickly recovered and jumped to her feet.

"Alex!" she cried "Crawley said he ran into someone but…" She stopped speaking.

"Sit, please." she asked, awkwardly gesturing to the chairs in front of her desk. Alex sat and prepared to speak.

"Mrs. Jones," he began nervously, "I ran into Crawley, and, well, he told me you had a situation that I might, ya know, be good for…" he finished quickly, looking at his hands. Why was he acting like this? He should be demanding to be assigned.

"Alex," began Mrs. Jones gently "After everything you've been through, are you sure you want to come back?"

Alex sighed, he had been expecting this, and there was no point in lying.

"Listen, I've tried, I really have, but I don't belong to that world. I really don't. I know what this world can do, what it can take from someone, and honestly, I have nothing left to lose. I have a hell of a lot to gain though. I want to be an agent, I know I can't technically work for you until after university, but I want to do missions like I did, well maybe not as frequently. I want to stay here in London. Get an apartment, go to school, and now that I'm 16 you can make it so I don't need a guardian…*" Alex was babbling and Mrs. Jones was torn between amusement and surprise. "All I need is what Ian left me to pay for bills and stuff…"

Mrs. Jones regarded the boy, who incidentally didn't look like much of a boy anymore. The boy who saved so many lives and had everyone he loved ripped from his grasp, practically begging for the job that caused it all.

Honestly, she was half tempted to deny him. To tell him to go home, but that got her thinking. What home? Alex wouldn't be here if the Pleasures had been a home for him.

Mrs. Jones sighed and closed her eyes a moment before responding.

"Alex, If you honestly want to do this I won't stop you. I will arrange for you to be paid for your time in Ian's name, with you having access to the money he left behind. However, as soon as you return from this latest mission I insist you begin standard therapy sessions like all other full time agents."

She gazed at the boy to gauge his reaction. He looked, well not happy, Mrs. Jones knew that he hasn't been happy in a very long time. No, the look on his face was satisfaction that he succeeded. It reminded the woman of herself.

Mrs. Jones ordered that Alex be put up at a hotel not far from headquarters, with him being fully briefed the next morning. Alex gratefully accepted the offer for a ride to his hotel. He didn't want to carry his possessions all that way.

Crawley drove him. Alex could tell that he was happy. He had gotten one of the most successful agents MI6 ever had back and he still had his job. Alex leaned his head against the cool glass of the passenger side window and looked at London crawling by. He missed this place. The sights, the weather, and the people.

Around 15 minutes later Alex was checked into the hotel, lounging and thinking of going for a walk when it occurred to him what he really wanted to do.

One ecstatic phone call and half an hour later Alex was in Hyde Park. When Alex got to the designated meeting spot it took him a minute to spot his best friend, and was shocked at what he saw.

Tom Harris had grown at least half a foot and looked like he spent a lot of time in the gym. His hair was black and shaggy as always, framing a more defined face, and his eyes were still as bright as Alex remembered.

Alex had no idea how much Tom missed him, how much Tom looked up to his friend, and how crushed he ws when Alex left with barely a goodbye. That's why he decided to bulk up and step up. His friend was a hero to the world but Tom made himself the hero of Brookland. He stood up to the bullies and gossips who had once taunted both Alex, himself, and he rest of the school. He fast became the most popular kid and even the teachers went out of their way to give him slack on his schoolwork because of all the good he had done at the school.

When Alex finally reached Tom he found himself unable to say anything but "Hey."

"Hey." Tom replied with a smile. Before the boys knew what they were doing they were locked in a tight embrace**. When they finally broke the hug the boys seemed slightly embarrassed at the display of affection, but quickly burst into laughter.

Alex and Tom spent the next few hours catching up, with Tom doing most of the talking, mainly about girls. Alex couldn't help but feel a little bit lighter, laughing at his best friends stories and anitcs.

After making a promise to call Tom as soon as he came back from Germany, Alex parted with his friend and headed back to the hotel. That night, after Alex ate and showered and was laying in the hotel bed, he realized that he hadn't been this happy in a while. He missed the feeling.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated! I just have a couple of story notes:

* Where I come from a child can be emancipated at 16, but I'm not sure if its the same in England

**Not Tom and Alex slash! Just two guys who love each other in the friend way. Like a bromance.