Chapter 7

In sync, agents from all over the Hall pulled out small data pads and checked in with their commanding officers to see if they were being called up. Predictably, Rex was one of them.

Noah acted on reflex and stood up to follow after Rex when he felt Beverly grab his wrist. "Not you," she said. "Cap. Callan said you're not cleared to go into the field."

"Oh, right. Duh. Sorry. Autopilot," Noah said red-faced.

"It's okay," Rex reassured him. He placed a hand on the blond's shoulder. "You'll be here when I get back?"

"Yeah, I'll be here," Noah promised.

"Cool," the EVO teen said tightening his grip in a short squeeze in thanks before he headed out of the Hall.

Just before Rex got too far Noah called out to him as loudly as he could unfortunately it happened a second after the warning sirens cut off and his voice rang out through the emptying Hall. Rex wasn't the only one to turn to Noah. Several other agents paused to see what was going to happen next. With an amused smirk on his face, Rex called back to him. "What?"

"Think fast!" Noah warned and abandoning any attempt at subtlety he threw a protein bar at him. Rex caught it effortlessly and he looked back to Noah once he realized what it was. They shared a moment. Noah wished he could go with Rex on this mission, but he had to settle for meaningful looks and promises to see each other soon. Noah hoped Rex understood what he didn't have the time to tell him.

Rex grinned. He held the bar up and with a wave, told Noah he had understood Noah's message.

Noah nodded in acknowledgment and shooed him away with a "get a move on" gesture of his hands. Rex rolled his eyes but saluted him before going on his way.

"You guys are so cute," Beverly cooed mockingly.

"Shut up," Noah snapped, but there was no true bite in it. "So, what do we do now? Is there any way we can figure out what's happening?"

"Way ahead of you," Beverly was scrolling through her datapad. "I may not have been called up, but that doesn't mean I find out what's going on." She hummed as she read her screen. "Looks like there's a fire at a lab in New Mexico."

"Huh, a fire? Then why the big show of force?" Noah asked.

"Oh, that lab handles inactive nanites. They requested Providence intervention in case something actives them and they go berserk," Beverly explained.

"Neat. Thanks for looking into it."

"No problem." Beverly tapped a finger on her screen a few times before returning it to the pocket of her uniform.

"Holiday, there you are!" Shawn said jogging to the table. "I've been looking for you."

"You found me. Why? Were you worried I scurried away on the New Mexico mission?" she smirked at her partner.

"Nn-no," he stuttered, but the accompanying blush told a different story.

"You know I don't do that...anymore." Beverly laughed and slapped the tabletop. "You remember our charge?"

"Of course," Shawn insisted. "Hey, Noah."

"Hey," Noah returned half-heartedly. He hadn't meant to be rude, it was just that Noah was starting to enter the all too familiar state of the part he hated the most—the waiting. Being unable to know how a mission was going until it was over was a big part of why Noah had worked so hard to qualify for the field. Going with Rex on his adventures may not have erased the worry he held for Rex, but it sure beat being left behind. But he'd given that privilege up so now he didn't have a choice but to remain at HQ- waiting for Rex to come back to him. He was stunned at how he hadn't even thought about what would happen if Rex was sent on missions during his visit. More and more of his time here was slipping away and he felt like he had barely made any progress with his mission.

The worry and frustration made Noah lose his appetite. Distraction. He needed a distraction. A thought occurred to him, but he needed to make sure there was anything to it.

"Callan's in charge of my visit?"

"Of course he is."

"Is he staying here or is he going to be on the ground?"

"The ground. Why?"

"Well, that means someone has to lead from here, right? Who is that likely to be?"

"Becca," Beverly supplied.

"Right, leaving Six on his own."

"You want to stay with Agent Six?" Shawn asked. His ability to pick up on what Noah was thinking was impressive.

"Yeah," Noah admitted with a shrug. "I mean, what else can we do?"

"Well, what are we waiting on?" Beverly smiled and started gathering her belongings and the remnants of her food tray.

Noah matched her movements and began to collect the leftover food items. He pocketed what he could before the three of them made their way back to the hospital wing.

The room was empty of visitors and staff when they arrived.

"I'll stay here," Shawn informed them before moving out to stand guard just outside the door.

The wisp of breath that fogged the oxygen mask over Six's face and the rhymical beeping of the monitors were the only signs that Six was alive. Noah settled in the chair that Rebecca had occupied earlier. He had a feeling that since Rex was called up to go Rebecca would be needed in the upcoming conflict and so he thought he would be better use watching over Six.

"He looks better," Beverly observed softly, standing at the foot of Six's hospital bed.

"Would it be rude to say that I told you so?" Noah whispered acting triumphantly smug about it. He had to cover his mouth to stifle his chuckle when Beverly flipped him off. He hadn't seen Six during the worst of his injury, and he still hadn't learned what had caused Six's accident, but if his current state was better than how he'd been fore, then it must have been bad bad. The thought to ask Beverly and finally get some answers came and went as he saw the distress in her posture. She was acting similarly to how Rex had been earlier- all awkward and stiff with worry and...guilt.

"You wanna talk about it?" He said instead. He thought offering the chance to fill him in on what happened would be better than demanding to know. It didn't seem to matter how he worded his request Beverly wasn't in the mood to divulge any information.

Her hands clenched into fists and her lips pressed together in an effort to hold back her cry as tears ran down her cheeks. "Sorry, Nixon. I don't...I can't-"

"It's okay, Bev. I'm sorry for asking," Noah said raising his hands to stop her from having to explain herself. He grabbed the box of facial tissue from the side table and handed it to her.

After she blew her nose and wiped her eyes she shook herself as if it were that easy to dispell her emotions. "Enough of that," she said, clearing her throat. "I'm gonna go join Shawnie in the hallway."

"Yeah, okay. Just know the offer stands for whatever, whenever, okay?"

Beverly nodded. "Yep."

Noah looked at Six. There were no apparent changes from when he first came in minutes ago. Noah sighed and checked his phone for the time. Although he wasn't anywhere near his old curfew, Noah wasn't sure how long the mission would last, now would be a good time to text his father to update him on what was going on. Once that was sent he signed into his school app and pulled up the reading assignment. There wouldn't be a better time to start on the new novel than now. Clicking on the school's library link he downloaded the book and began reading.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been at it when he heard his name.

"Noah?" The surprise in Holiday's voice drew him out of the book.

"Ah, Rebecca." He said standing up immediately.

She came to the opposite side of the bed and lovingly touched Six's brow. "Thank you for keeping him company."

"Of course. Uh, you can have your seat back," he replied awkwardly."The mission. How did it go?"

"A resounding success," she informed him. She paused and met Noah's eyes. She must have known that Noah didn't have the clearance to know the details of the mission as she replied vaguely, "It went well. For the teams who witnessed it was a much-needed morale boost. Rex was in top form."

"Is he back?" Noah asked a bit too eagerly.

Rebecca smiled fondly at him. "Yes, everyone is back."

"Cool."

Her eyes narrowed as something came to her. "I'm sure he's looking for you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, he told me you promised that you would still be here when he got back from the mission."

Noah rubbed the back of his neck in hot embarrassment. "Yeah, I did."

"Then you better not keep him waiting."

Noah quietly gathered his things and stepped out of the room, giving the couple the privacy they deserved. Beverly and Shawn were nowhere to be seen. Noah wondered where they went. He dug out his earpiece intending to contact Beverly, when his phone went off. It's Sebastian.

"Bash, hi!" Noah answered immediately his voice animated with excitement.

"Noah, darling, how kind of you to remember my existence. And here I was thinking you had forgotten all about me," his newest friend admonished.

"Yeah, sorry. It's been a crazy day."

"Oh, do tell. Leave absolutely nothing out and maybe -maybe- I'll forgive you for breaking your promise to check in."

"I'm sorry."

"That's a good start."

Noah laughed. "I've missed you, Bash."

"Oh, that's much better."

"You're enjoying this."

"Naturally," Sebastian agreed. Bash's joking put Noah in such a great mood, that he didn't even realize he was on autopilot when he left the hospital wing of Providence.

Sebastian groaned lightly and Noah heard the random sharp creak of bed springs.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, it's all G-rated. It sounds like I'm about to hear the greatest story ever told, so I'm getting comfortable."

"Uh, huh," Noah said. He couldn't stop smiling. His friendship with Sebastian was one of the few easy things in his life and hearing his cheery voice made a pang of longing for his small dorm. "Wait. You better not be in my bed," he warned.

"Or what? What are you going to do if I am?"

Noah continued toward a familiar hallway as he racked his brain for a comeback. "I'll stop cooking for you. You can kiss your precious breakfast burritos goodbye."

"No," Sebastian gasped indignant that Noah would threaten such a thing. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"But your bed is so comfy."

"Get off my bed!" Noah yelled but he couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice.

"Are you authorized to be here?" someone asked behind him.

Noah turned around and came face to face with Rex. When their eyes locked Rex's widened in surprise at the joy that must have been evident in Noah's expression.

"Rex," Noah breathed. The fun he was having talking to his faux roommate mixed with his relief at seeing Rex whole and hale after a mission and he was unable to control the grin that split his face. It took him too long to realize he had managed to end up in the part of HQ that made up Rex's suite.

"What? Have you gotten to a stage of desperation where you just blurt out his name randomly or is he in front of you?"

Heat flooded Noah's cheeks at Bash's question. "He's here," he clarified.

"No shit?"

Noah chuckled at Sebastian's incredulous tone. "No shit."

"Who's that?" Rex asked, his face scrunching up in a mix of distaste and curiosity. Instead of allowing Noah to reply Rex reached out and plucked the phone right out of his hand. The tips of his gloves began to glow a light blue as the nanites in his fingers activated. "Who are you?"

Noah could hear Sebastian's excitement if not the words said. He had no idea how his friend would react to Rex's sudden attention, but judging by the way Rex intently stared at Noah, it was something very Seb-like. Noah just hoped he wasn't being too explicit with his relationship with Noah and what he knew about his and Rex's past before Noah could explain it to him with the proper context.

"I see. So, if you're as close to Noah as you claim to be, you'll know that he'll call you back once he's free, right?" Rex didn't wait for the answer as his nanites swirled to life and turned off Noah's phone, effectively hanging up on Sebastian.

"That was incredibly rude," Noah protested, reaching out for his phone.

"If he's a true friend, he'll understand," Rex answered with a dismissive shrug and pocketed the phone. He grabbed Noah's outstretched wrist with one hand while with the other he activated the nanites in his fingers. He unlocked his suite and pulled Noah inside. He waited for the door to click shut before he pinned Noah against it. "Say yes or say no," he commanded, staring at him with unbridled longing.

Noah was whiplashed, to say the least, but he was very familiar with this Rex. This was the 'we are going to make out until we pass out' side of him. Had seeing Noah in a cheerful mood turned him on this much? Perhaps he was jealous of his friendship with Bash and wanted to claim his stake on Noah like some wild animal. Noah's reason rushed and clashed with the onslaught of lust that coursed through him. It was too soon for them to do this again. They still needed to have a proper conversation. This was going to be an unbelievably huge mistake, but only if Noah said -

"Yes."