A/N: And here we have it! The last chapter of our CCC adventure. Thanks to our amazing authors and readers... who, I'm sure, had a fun time trying to guess my updating schedule...

15. ALEX RIDER

AUTHOR: wolfern

Alex knew Tom was crazy. Everybody did. It was a fact of life, like rain being wet, or MI6 being bastards. Although Alex knew to expect the unexpected when it came to his best friend, he'd thought there would be a limit to that. When people said 'anything is possible', they didn't really mean turtles would learn to fly. And similarly, Alex could conceive no possible way that Tom had somehow managed to contact the people Alex had been working with over the past year. Apparently he'd used Facebook, but seeing as Alex had purged his account… Maybe Smithers was in on it. Or, more likely, maybe the universe just warped to fulfil whatever expectations Tom had of it. Yep. That was probably it.

Beyond 'some of your bastard colleagues and other people Tom says you know', Jack kept mum on the topic of the guest list, so it was only mildly surprising to see the scowling face of Wolf, followed by his pack, at the front door. When a soldier rings your doorbell at five in the afternoon, it's probably not good news. When you've kicked him out of a moving plane, it's definitely not good news. Thus it was that Jack answered the door, Alex settled into a shadowed corner. He wasn't hiding. He was merely not needed at the moment.

Of course, shadowed corners were where others also liked to dwell. Alex stiffened as Mrs Jones approached.

"Oh, no. I'm actually just here for the party, Alex."

Yeah, and Blunt was at Ian's funeral because he cared for the man. Besides, did Mrs Jones eat anything not containing peppermint? He struggled to imagine her holding a paper plate, let alone eating Tom's pizza. "Well, Tom made the food. You may want to have one of your goons check it before you take a bite." Maybe the sight would convince her it was an entirely inappropriate act for her to attempt.

Mrs Jones' face, meanwhile, had contorted into a position he was sure he'd never seen on her before. Were the corners of her lips… quirking upwards in a smile? No, surely. It was probably just an expression of extreme disapproval over his joke. She probably didn't know how to respond to one.

Even so, he made a quick escape to Tom before she could attempt to tell one herself. She'd probably self-combust.

The next people to arrive were Fiona, then Sabina. Alex sincerely hoped it had been the universe rearranging for Tom that had led to Fiona being on his Friend list (pun absolutely intended), and not through the actions of the girl herself. Sabina, now –

In what was probably a coordinated attack against his love life, K-Unit decided it was finally time to talk to him. Then, because they wanted to really hurt Alex, Wolf accosted Sabina, leaving Fox behind to ensure Alex didn't interrupt.

Well, okay. It was quite funny watching Wolf try to talk to Sabina, who had met Yassen and therefore was quite unaffected by the soldier's otherwise intimidating presence. And nobody had to know that the gratitude Alex felt towards Tom for organising this event so Alex could meet everyone again on his own turf.

That gratitude, however, didn't last long with Tom's ribbing about the gift James Sprintz had given, and then of course Alex had to tease Tom for thinking James was 'totally cool'.

(Tom left in a huff.)

It really did seem like love was in the air. Alex spotted Mrs Jones and Joe Byrne making weird faces at each other – he supposed that was how old spies showed adoration, but it just made him want to retreat to the corner again… actually, maybe hiding in bright light was a better idea when dealing spies – and then he caught Fiona dancing with… Texas, from Australia. Opposites really did attract.

Later on, after receiving a figure of a white knight from Smithers – Alex still didn't trust that was all it was, but he guessed he'd find out later – the Australian soldiers spoke to Alex.

Remembering his time in Australia was like remembering a whole different life. Did he really go over a waterfall in a kayak made from the float of a seaplane? Did he really meet his Godfather?

Had Ash really killed his parents?

The group of three looked strangely unbalanced without their fourth member. Alex vividly remembered the face of Sparks lit by moonlight, his guitar clutched in a sweaty grip, after they picked him up from the minefield they'd led him to.

They repeated their promise of giving him a proper barbecue.

Back then, Alex had no intention of following through on that promise, wanting only to get on with the mission and never see Australia again. But now, shaking Scooter's hand, he hoped he could.

Something about that conversation must have sparked forgiveness in him, because he sought out Mrs Jones to hold a proper conversation with her. After confronting her about 'international relations' with Byrne, he considered his mission a success.

Smithers also had some measure of success with the glitter bombs, and they were a reminder to Alex to puzzle over his own figurine a bit later. When Fiona came over covered in glitter, with an obvious desire to leave, he had to stifle his laughter.

There was no stifling his grin when Sabina finally came over to talk to him. Every time he saw her, it felt like that was how it was meant to be. He'd only realised this on Christmas, seeing her resplendent in her silver gown, and he'd meant to tell her, but he could never think of the perfect time, and then they'd all almost drowned…

He never felt like he had to be anyone else when he was with her. That was why her disbelief when he confessed the truth about him and MI6 had hurt so much.

They talked about her father, and life in America, and countless other trivial things. It didn't matter what they talked about; just being in her presence gave him a fuzzy feeling like a glass of wine. They joked about Tom, and James Sprintz, and Fiona. He only hoped he wouldn't be caught up in any more schemes with MI6 – she wouldn't be able to visit him if he was haring off all over the world.

Sabina had just gone to get them drinks from the table, and Alex retreated to another corner.

But this corner was already taken.

Red and brown hair mingled and Jack and – was that Tamara? – embraced one another. More than embraced.

He must have made a sound, because it hadn't seemed like they would be coming up for air, but then Jack looked up and caught his gaze.

Swallowing hard, he decided to give them a bit of space to… to calm down before he reassured Jack he was happy for her, really. Having a bit of trouble staying calm himself, he left the room to splash some water on his face in the kitchen.

Of course, he couldn't just be left alone here, either. A man knocked on the door, and it took Alex a few moments to recognise him from the meeting in Blunt's office after killing Nile. The man's father, Sir Graham Adair, was the permanent secretary to the Cabinet Office. More importantly, Alex had watched this man crossing a bridge in an old video.

James Adair.

Alex's father had faked his death on that bridge to get out of SCORPIA.

"Got a moment?" James Adair asked.

Alex's father had saved this man.

"Sure," Alex said. "It's good to see you again, Mr Adair."

The conversation they had was… strange. Adair said he just wanted to check in with Alex, and Alex almost brushed him off, but then he remembered this man had also been a 'guest' of Julia Rothman, who had also experienced the horror of SCORPIA – probably even worse than Alex, whom they'd almost welcomed. They talked about Alex's missions, and then somehow Alex found himself telling James about Ash, and then James mentioned Alex's father.

That stopped Alex. Growing up with Ian, he'd occasionally thought about his parents and wished he could have known them, but now he knew the truth about them, and Yassen, and Ash –

His eyes were hot and his throat had a lump and he was breathing rapidly –

To his immense gratitude, James left him in peace.

Staring at the closed door of the kitchen, Alex wondered if he could stay in there forever. He just wanted to forget the past year, forget any of these people even existed. But that would mean giving up Sabina and James Sprintz – Tom would be devastated. Much as he wished it weren't so, his experiences had changed him.

So, summoning up the same courage that had helped him face Dr Grief, and Winston Yu, and Yassen Gregorovich, he went back to the party and studiously avoided retreating to the corners.

As always, Smithers helped him through gadgets, this time by unwittingly providing a deafening distraction that ensured all attention was off Alex.

Alex went to the easiest person first: John, who was James Adair's son. He knelt down so the two of them were in their own bubble, and introduced himself.

They spent a long time together, and by the time Tom pulled him away, Alex had almost stopped the hitch in his breath every time he said John's name.

When the party had died down a bit, Alex found himself standing near James Hale, who had once been one of his good friends, even inviting him to the south of France, but who had grown more distant over the past year. More accurately, it was Alex who had grown more distant. James was still amicable, but more than once Alex had felt the gap growing between them.

He decided to take the leap. "You all right, there?"

And the leap landed him in a mess.

Alex tried to figure out how to answer James about what 'classified' meant to him.

Should he tell or not? Maybe he could have said that someone else at the party spilled the secret – it would even be partly true – but Alex knew Mrs Jones was too perspicacious to fall for that. It was all her fault, anyway, for telling James it was 'classified'. Maybe she'd wanted Alex to have an excuse to tell, but because she was so damn unapproachable Alex had no idea at all.

Eventually James seemed to take pity on Alex. "Is it to do with why you went AWOL on the Greenfields school trip?"

"Yeah."

Alex breathed in, then out, then in again. "The thing is," he said, "my uncle worked for the Government. He wasn't a banker."

James was silent. Alex wondered what he was thinking. So far he'd only ever told Sabina and Tom – one who believed him, and one who didn't. He wondered which one James would be like.

"What sort of Government worker?"

Alex knew James wasn't stupid. Even if he didn't fully realise the truth, he must have been pretty close to figuring it all out, especially after talking to Mrs Jones. Besides, if MI6 really wanted him to keep it secret from his friends, there were plenty of Official Secrets Acts to go around. "He was a spy."

His friend was nodding. "That doesn't explain what's been happening with you, though." He looked at Alex.

He had to tell. "I was recruited by MI6. I've been… helping them."

Unlike Tom, who chatted nonsense to cover up his thinking, or Sabina whose expressions had clearly shown on her face, James was inscrutable.

"And that's why you've been missing school and football training?"

"Pretty much."

James glanced at the party and Alex's guests, and Alex followed his gaze.

Finally, James said, "It's a good a truth as any. Consider me agnostic. Hope you make it back to training, though."

And really, that was the best Alex could ask for.