The one part of the day, Alex had been really not looking forward to turned out to be OK. The shrink turned out not to be some nameless bureaucrat with no fucking idea but in fact the doctor Alex had been talking to since his return to England. Michael Graves was OK, ex Army shrink and very no nonsense. Alex had visited the man's Harley Street clinic and had spent most of his sessions in the past few weeks complaining about the previous therapist Alex had been forced to see in Los Angeles.

Alex had initially seen Marika Constanopolos at the insistence of a very worried Tony and the bastards at the CIA. The bitch had after two session's, where Alex had been very open and forthcoming about his dealings with Yassen, concluded that he was a classic case of Stockhom Syndrome. At that point Alex had spat out his dummy and ranted that she did not understand him or his relationship with Yassen at all. The whole episode had made Alex extremely introverted after he'd had a monumental shouting match with Tony, who had agreed with Marika's assessment whole heartedly. Alex had withdrawn into his shell, signing only and not interacting with anyone else. Poor Tony had been driven up the wall by Alex's unreasonable and quite childish behaviour. Christmas day had seen Tony invite around a few friends and Alex had spent most of the day in his room. It had been the horrific events of Boxing Day that had got Alex out of his sulk. The news that Mother nature in all her glory could destroy on biblical proportions in Thailand and across south-east Asia had meant Alex had gone to the consulate in Downtown LA and had undertaken a frantic week of volunteer work. It kind of made Alex's problems seen a bit trivial.

"Hi Doc. Did not expect to see you here today. So, is this question and answer or do I get to vent about my stockholm syndrome."

"We ask questions. Short answers prefered. I will answer any queries of your own at the end."

"Right I'll just talk about Yassen at my usual appointment tomorrow." quipped Alex.

"Thats the idea." said the doc, glad that Alex seemed relaxed and unphased at the recorded assessment.

The word association was standardised and showed several surprising answers on Alex's part. Alex was definitely an individual and very, very clever. He was enjoying this as a game, and was not the first to view his psychological exam as such.

Alex was still upbeat and in a good mood for his physical. He knew his physical fitness was A1 with exception of his allergies and disability. Everything was fine as long as he had no contact with dairy products or if he needed to run, dance or hop. Alex's allergy was a serious condition and even here he was carrying his two EpiPens. The evaluation by the specialist in LA had found his allergy had not lessened with full adulthood but had become life threatening. Alex shook his head at his navel gazing but then again psyche evaluations tended to have that affect.

Three rings and Tony picked up his phone. "Papa.. I've had a long and stressful day. I just want to hear your voice."

"What have you been up to trouble?"

"I had a very intensive interview for an internship with Derek Smithers."

Tony closed his eyes "Them?"

"Yeah, its just a glorified tea boy. I don't think I passed. I was a bit emotional. A lot emotional. I wanted some closure I think. God help me if they give me the internship. Then, again I always thought Smithers was super cool. Not as cool as Dad. Dad was the sub-zero."

"Yes Jon was amazing and sneaky. In spite of everything, Jon loved his job. Especially the field work. Do not try to be Jon, Alex. You are your own person. Just remember that."

"So how's the filming going?" Alex changed the subject to something less emotionally charged. Avoidance was his specialist subject.

"Slow, intense and thrilling. You read the script. My character is disgusting, gauche and lewd. I spend my days being disgustingly filthy in body and mind. I can't wait to see you in September." Tony let Alex's abrupt change of subject slide. "So this is your third try at an internship."

Alex let out at dry half laugh. "At least I got an interview with the Paralympic committee, my details are on file.. Blahh. Blahh. The Royal Society did not even acknowledge my letter. I know I don't have to work, not with my state benefits and all, but my CV is top notch. I have all the voluntary work I did in LA, two Paralympic medals. I represented Team GB. I aced my interview for Cambridge. I think I'm loosing my touch."

"I think this summer's internships were probably fixed well before you applied. Maybe you should just relax and enjoy yourself. If you need to just come to visit me in Oz. The studios here are really superb."

"No.. I don't want to come to Sydney." Alex chewed the inside of his lip. He'd never told Tony about the secrets Yassen had told Alex about his godfather. Facts Alex had relayed to ASIS. Oh by the way Ash was a deep cover Scorpia agent. That fact had gone down like a lead ballon especially the details of how Alex had come by the information. Alex wondered just how long Yassen had been threatening Ash before he killed himself. Mind you, Yassen would not have wanted Ash to have a quick death. One of Ash's contacts must have warned him an assassin hell bent on revenge was after him.

"What aren't you telling me, baby boy? You've gone very quiet."

"I was just thinking about stuff. Stuff that got Stockholm syndrome stamped on my file. I ... I have a session tomorrow. I might timetable an extra hour or so this week. Raking over stuff has made me a bit fragile, I guess. Papa... I feel a bit lost. I wish I was with you. Stupid huhh. I'm an adult but I still want to be a child."

"Alex, you will always be my number one son."

"Miss you, Papa. The film would be better with zombies you know."

"Yes Alex you say that about all my films. Talk to me tomorrow after your session. I'm not on set tomorrow so as they say here, no worries, Sport."