Hey everyone! So this is my story based off of my one-shot One Strange Day. This would probably make a lot more sense if you read that first. Enjoy and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider

It started out as a quite Sunday with Alex finishing an essay for English while Jack watched some chick flick with a predictable ending. It had been a little over a month since Alex had been told about Cherub and the thought of them still made him a little bitter.

The spy knew he wouldn't wish his experiences on anyone but if these kids had been around all along why was he running off all over the world to get into it with crazed maniacs? Surly someone in the entire Cherub organization could work with MI6 and willingly too.

Alex hadn't heard from MI6 in month nor had he seen any sign of the Cherubs, not that he expected to. He also hadn't seen K-Unit in a while either. They'd come over to drop something off from Mr. Blunt once and had met Jack. She and Eagle had immediately started flirting with each other much to Alex's annoyance. Alex had been rather shocked when he'd opened the box Wolf had handed to him and seen a gun inside. He'd been expecting something from Smithers.

The note inside had said that under no circumstances was he to take it outside the house and that Jack would be the one to actually store it. Jack had proceeded to take the gun and clip and put them in a bucket of water before stuffing the entire thing in the freezer in the garage. The next morning the gun was encased in a solid block of ice, completely useless. Wolf had told her that gun was for protection but Jack refused to thaw the thing. "There's a Louisville slugger in my closet. If anyone breaks in, their head will become my baseball," she'd told K-Unit with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. None of them had felt brave enough to poke any holes in her logic.

Alex finished the last sentence, then saved the file on his laptop, and sighed. He'd gotten caught up on all the schoolwork he'd missed and had even caught up with all his friends. There were still a few rumors but most had died down with his continuous presence over the last month. He hoped it stayed like that, he needed the normalcy. Even after he'd decided he couldn't be a normal kid anymore. It was okay to pretend every now and then.

The doorbell rang cutting into his thoughts.

"Alex, will you get that?" Jack called from the living room. She sounded as if she'd been crying. Alex rolled his eyes at the American's sappiness.

Alex figured it would Tom on the other side of the door or even Jake, another boy he'd gotten to be good friends with. He was in no way ready for the sight that met his eyes. There on his front porch was K-Unit, Mrs. Jones, and two of the Cherubs he'd met a month ago. Alex stood and stared, more than a little shocked at the sudden reappearance of the two spies.

"Hello Alex," Mrs. Jones said. At her voice Alex snapped out of the trance he'd gone into.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked.

"We need to speak with you," Mrs. Jones said. She took a peppermint out of her pocket and popped it in her mouth letting the wrapper fall into the potted plant by the door.

"About what?" Alex asked. Really, they could have just told him to come to the bank. It was hardly necessary to expose his home to the Cherubs.

"We can't speak out here," she told him, all but demanding to be let in. Alex refused to step aside and allow them entrance.

"To bad," he said. "I don't want them in my house." He nodded to the Cherubs who looked rather offended and the blond boy started to look angry.

"It's not like we're gonna destroy the place," the younger girl said. The two were brother and sister and Alex even remember their names: James and Lauren.

"Maybe not," Alex replied. "But just think, if there's a bomb in here you're gonna be pretty useless."

"Cub," Wolf said sternly almost growling at the boy. "Let us in." Alex looked at K-Unit. They'd all been in his home before, they'd all met Jack. He was fine with them as long as they stayed out of his room. He barely even let Jack in there, not that she cared. The Cherubs were a different story completely. He didn't trust them at all and Alex was nothing if not private. He also wasn't going to let K-Unit boss him around in his own home; this wasn't Brecon Beacons and he wasn't really apart of their unit.

"Get lost," he said before slamming the door shut. He didn't lock it however, he'd rather not explain to Jack why they'd busted the door in. K-Unit would get in whether he wanted them to or not. Sure enough he'd barely sat next to a red-eyed Jack when the entire group walked in to the living room.

"Very funny Cub," Snake said sarcastically.

"What's going on?" Jack asked surprised by the sudden appearance of a SAS unit, a head of SO, and two kids she didn't know. She already had a bad feeling about this.

"They came to talk," Alex told her.

"About what?" she asked him still eyeing the unexpected guests. Alex just shrugged in reply.

"We came to speak to Alex about something rather important," Mrs. Jones said.

"Like what?" Jack asked again only this time suspicion colored her tone. Every time MI6 wanted to talk to Alex he'd disappear to God knows where for weeks only to come home with bruises, cuts, broken bones, and in one case, a gunshot wound.

Mrs. Jones took a seat in one of the armchairs. James and Lauren copied her, sharing the other chair. K-Unit remained standing.

"Alex, do you remember the mission Cherub had to bin because you refused to do it?" Mrs. Jones asked. Her voice had no emotion in it so Alex couldn't ell if she was simply reminding him or if she was trying to make him feel guilty.

"Um, yeah," he answered simply.

"Well, Special Operations was able to place several bugs inside the house of a member of Help Earth. We were able to gather information concerning several terrorist plots before they moved their meetings to a more secure location," Mrs. Jones started. "There was a very brief mention of a plan to bomb a school here in London." Alex felt his eyebrows raise in shock and his jaw drop open.

"What?" he said.

"That is why the Cherubs are here," she continued, nodding towards the two siblings. "Mr. Blunt contacted them, as promised, with the information we were able to gather."

"Okay," Alex said. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"Alex, the school the bomb is supposed to go off in, is Brookland," Mrs. Jones said. Alex felt his heart drop into his stomach at the name of his school. This couldn't be happening. Alex felt his two worlds collide at the statement; the world he pretended to be in and the world he'd been blackmailed into. Alex leaned forward his elbows resting on his knees and his hands covering his face.

"Oh my god," he heard Jack say. "When?"

"We are not sure," Mrs. Jones replied.

"What do you mean you're not sure? It's your job to know shit like that!" she shouted.

"As I said, there was only a brief mention of the plot. But it was enough and we are taking it seriously. Lauren and James will be posing as students in Brookland. K-Unit will be the SAS team to respond to any situation that may arise. For security reasons, concerning both Alex and the Cherubs they will be staying here." Alex's head snapped up instantly and he surged to his feet.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" he shouted angrily. "They aren't staying here!"

"Cub, we have to," Fox tried to reason. Alex glared at him. "K-Unit is here to make sure nothing happens to you or James and Lauren. It'll be easier if you're all in the same place."

"I'm not the target, Brookland is!" he said.

"True, but if these people get wind that we know what's going on it could get real ugly," Wolf said. Alex snapped his attention to Mrs. Jones his eyes flashing with an anger very few had seen and those who had been on the receiving end wished they'd never seen.

"Of all the times to give me back-up," he said. "Why now?"

"If the Cherubs find anything," Mrs. Jones said unphased by Alex's look. "It will be more believable coming from four soldiers."

"What does credibility issues have to do with them staying here?" Alex asked. Mrs. Jones stood up and looked Alex straight in the eyes.

"They are staying here Alex," she said her tone telling him that the conversation was indeed over. She turned to leave but paused in the doorway long enough to say, "Do try to play nicely."

When they heard the front door close Alex whirled back to K-Unit. "You're not staying here." Wolf sighed in exasperation and Eagle rolled his eyes.

"Why not?" Lauren asked. Alex turned his head to look at her.

"Why not? I'll tell you why not. This isn't a hotel. It's my home and you aren't welcome here," he said bitterness extremely evident in his tone.

"C'mon Alex," James said. "We have to work together if we're gonna find this bomb."

"He's right Cub," Snake said.

"And what am I supposed to tell people?" Alex asked.

"Don't say anything," Wolf said with a shrug. "They may not notice anything anyway."

"You put too much faith in ignorance," Alex replied.

"Then just say it's a family reunion," Eagle said. Alex couldn't tell if the man was serious or not so he just rolled his eyes.

"How dangerous are these people?" Jack asked finally jumping into the conversation. She normally let Alex wheel and deal with these people but she had a few questions of her own.

"Help Earth is pretty bad," James said. "I've dealt with them before and they can get nasty."

"I thought Help Earth was supposed to be amateurs," Alex said ignoring James's icy look.

"Look Cub, we're staying here for safety reasons as well as practicality," Snake said steering the conversation from Help Earth and any potential fight between the two boys. "We can work better if we're all in the same place."

Alex sensing defeat shook his head and started to leave the room. "Where are you going?" Eagle said.

"Bite me!" Alex shot over his shoulder. He heard Jack say there were two extra rooms upstairs before he walked out of earshot and into the kitchen. Less than a minute later the redhead walked in after him. Alex was leaning against the counter staring blankly at the wall.

"They have a point you know," she said.

"I know," he replied tonelessly.

"Just try to remember it's for your school; for your friends."

"It shouldn't have to be, Jack," he said turning to look at her. Anyone else would have said his eyes were blank but Jack knew him far to well and she saw it. The worry, the fear that they wouldn't find it. That the school would be blown up and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. It was times like this that Jack found herself not thinking about Alex as a fourteen-year-old schoolboy but as a soldier or even a hero.

"But it is," she replied laying a hand on his shoulder before scooping him into a tight hug. He hugged her back briefly before pulling away. He didn't really want to be comforted right now. Not with the bomb threat hanging over his head. "It'll only be for a little while."

"Fine," Alex said giving in. "But I reserve the right to kick them out." Jack just rolled her eyes and smiled. She wondered where she was going to put all these people and if any of them didn't like takeout. She certainly wasn't cooking for eight people. She hated cooking and Alex was right this was certainly not a hotel.