Alex came into awareness slowly. The first thing he registered was the soft surface underneath him. It was a stark contrast the floor he last remembered lying on. He didn't know if the change of scenery was a good thing yet. The light was no longer bright enough to sear through his eyelids and he could hear a steady beeping in the background. If he had to take a guess, he was in a hospital.

The last thing were small fingers intertwined with his.

Jessie.

Alex opened his eyes slowly, a small part of him was just a trick. But if he craned his head just right, he could make out a head of red hair pillowed on an arm as she leaned on his bed. Alex smiled slightly and squeezed her hand.

Jessie's reaction was instantaneous. Her head jerked up, gaze slightly wild, before she locked eyes with him and she broke into a brilliant smile. Her hair looked slightly damp and it was a little tangled. She was wearing white pajamas under a light blue robe. She had pronounced bags under her eyes.

She looked lovely.

"You're awake," she breathed. She made sure to keep her voice pitched low. He didn't have a headache, but he appreciated the thought.

"Where -" He started, before he started coughing. Jessie immediately stood to go and fetch a cup of ice. He missed the warmth of her hand. When she came back, she helped him sit up and handed him the cup. Alex gratefully sucked some of the chips into his mouth.

"We're in London," she told him. "MI6 found us and staged a rescue."

"How is everyone?" He asked.

"Yassen and K-Unit are in the worst shape," Jessie answered. "But they're going to be okay and make full recoveries. Apart from you, Wes got the worst of - of -"She faltered, voice trembling, before pressing on. "He and you got the worst of it out of the kids. He's got a broken leg and bruised ribs. It would have been worse but his father apparently afforded some protection." Jessie smiled bitterly. "According to Wes, his father didn't want him too damaged."

"Sounds like a stand-up guy," Alex scoffed. "How are you?" Jessie shrugged.

"Exhaustion, dehydration," she said. "Nothing to be too worried about." Alex eyed her critically.

"Aren't you supposed to have an IV for dehydration?" He asked pointedly.

"I've been drinking lots of water," Jessie said defensively. "And nobody has said anything yet."

"Does anyone know you're in here?" Alex couldn't quite keep the amusement out of his voice. Jessie had changed quite a bit from her first day at Brecon Beacons. She'd never would have gone against authority before this.

"The guards do," Jessie said dismissively. "If the nurses don't then maybe they should make their rounds more often." There was a muffled cough from the doorway. Jessie grinned.

"Making friends with the soldiers, have you?" Alex asked teasingly.

"Boar is very nice," Jessie said primly. "Much better than some...some of the ones we've run into." Alex went quiet. Jessie frowned.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I got you involved," Alex said quietly, pulling his hand out of Jessie's. She made a noise of discontent and grabbed it again. His fingers curled around hers automatically, thumb stroking the back of her hand. "Everything that happened - ow!"

"Don't be stupid," she told him, taking her thumbnail out of his skin. "None of what happened is your fault." Alex shot her a look of disbelief. Jessie met his gaze head-on. Alex's lips quirked upward in a smile and Jessie frowned in confusion.

"What?" She asked and Alex tightened his grip on her hand.

"Nothing," he said. "I just remember when you used to barely be able to make eye contact for very long." Jessie's face turned bright red and she ducked her head.

"Oh, shut it," she muttered, fiddling with his blanket with her free hand. There was silence for a long moment, only broken by the beeping of the monitors. Jessie finally stirred herself. "It's not, though. I mean it. You clearly don't remember this, but when we stood up that day in the classroom, we did it on our own. Nobody made us." She was speaking to his hands again. "And even though we had no idea what we were in for and what we were going to go through, I don't think there's a single one of us who take back what we did."

Alex's eyes were suspiciously bright and Jessie tactfully diverted her gaze. When she looked back, Alex had gotten himself back under control and he gave her a small smile. Jessie smiled back and brought his hand up so she could press her lips to the back of her hand.

"Ugh, I think we interrupted a moment."

Jessie jumped back, though she tellingly didn't let go of Alex's hand. Alex gave everyone in the doorway an unimpressed look. Wes's face was flaming and he looked as though he'd caught them in the middle of something indecent instead of a chaste kiss to the hand, leaning heavily on his crutch. Luke looked resigned and longsuffering and James had a shit eating grin on his face.

"Hi, guys," Alex said flatly. "Thanks for knocking." He raised his voice. "Thanks for the warning, Boar!"

"No problem, Cub." Boar was completely unrepentant.

"The door was open, mate," James said, herding Wes past Luke and settling him into the other free chair in the room. "No knocking required."

"It should've been shut," Alex muttered. Jessie rolled her eyes and stood to accept a hug from her cousin. Luke murmured something in her ear, too quietly for them to hear, and Jessie responded just as softly. They pulled back and Jessie settled back into the chair.

"Mum and Dad are on their way," Luke told them, leaning against the wall by the door. "Apparently MI6 has gone around and notified everyone's guardians that we can go home." Alex darted a quick look at James. His face was tight but he gave Alex something that was probably supposed to be a smile but came out more like a grimace. Wes was slumped in his chair, but it didn't take a genius to know he was eager to see his mother again.

"Where are Kae and Tom?" Alex asked.

"They stopped by earlier when you were still sleeping," Luke told him. "I think Tom is bugging Wolf and Kae is bugging Yassen."

"She does know he's an international assassin, right?" Alex asked. "You don't just bug him and get away with it."

"He's confined to a hospital bed," Jessie pointed out. "And she gave him a football. I don't think she cares."

"Only your girlfriend would think that an American football is an appropriate gift for a Russian," Wes muttered to James. James flicked his ear, but he was grinning. Before he could say anything, Tom bounded into the room, barely giving the armed guard at the door a second glance.

"I've just been by the front desk and they said as soon as Jack gets here, you can get discharged," Tom told him. He had a wide grin on his face as he bumped up against the bed. "How does it feel, knowing you actually get to be discharged from a hospital and you don't have to break out of one?"

"I don't know," Alex said drily. "It hasn't happened yet. There's still time for things to go wrong."

"Geez, lighten up, Alex," Luke said. "It's only going to be an hour, tops."

"An hour is a long time," Alex protested. James threw an empty straw wrapper at him. "Where is -"

" - And I am just saying socializing is known to aid the recovery process. Isolating him is just going to make things worse -"

She was interrupted by someone much quieter.

"Well, you didn't need to throw me out -"

"There she is," Alex muttered just as Boar said, "Oi, shorties, the loud one is here." Kae squawked indignantly and Alex could her the breath she took in preparation to give Boar a scolding. James stood quickly and yanked Kae in from the hall. She went willingly, but James wasn't quite quick enough to completely head it off.

"Excuse you, I am not loud, this is perfectly acceptable indoor voice -"

"It's really not," Tom interrupted and Kae gave him a look of betrayal. He ignored her and looked at Alex. "She's been in and out of here at least twice. How did you sleep through it?"

"Probably the same way I've slept through you growing up," Alex snarked. Tom laughed.

"Jessie asked me to keep quiet," Kae interrupted cheerfully, either not noticing or ignoring the fact she'd just admitted she was loud. Alex was never quite sure with her.

"...So what happens now?" James asked. Everyone, unsurprisingly, looked at Alex. Alex shrugged.

"Go home," he said. "Mi6 will give us some details on what we can and can't talk about. You lot will have to have sign non-disclosure agreements and they'll keep an eye on things hopefully stop something like this from happening again." He didn't sound convinced MI6 was up to the task.

"Just...go home," Jessie repeated softly. She shared a look with Luke. "We just...pretend this never happened?"

"Basically," Alex said. "Everyone will have questions. What happened wasn't exactly subtle."

"It's been over a year, though," James objected. "Sure we won't just come back the same way you did? No one actually says anything to us, but we've got all the gossip about us?"

"Maybe. I don't actually know," Alex shrugged. "I got turned into a druggie and unless MI6 continues with that line of cover, I don't know what they're saying." Everyone was quiet as they contemplated this.

"Well," Kae finally said. "It doesn't matter. Because we're gonna face it together."

"Right," Luke said. He looked at Alex. "You don't have to face this by yourself anymore."

"Oi," Tom protested. "What have I been doing?"

"You and Tom don't have to deal with this alone," Luke amended, rolling his eyes. "For what it's worth, you've got us." He glanced at Wes. "You too, even if you don't wind up with the rest of us."

"Thanks," Wes said, a genuine smile breaking out on his face. "That means a lot." Luke smiled at him.

"Together then?" Jessie said, looking around at everyone gathered in the small room. Kae grabbed Wes and James's hands.

"Together," she confirmed. James and Wes nodded.

"Together," Luke promised, gripping Jessie's hand in his.

"Together," Tom said. He grabbed Alex and Luke's hands. James grabbed Luke's hand.

"Together," Alex said firmly.

And that is it! This story is finally done!

You guys, thanks for staying with me for so long if you have. I know I haven't been a faithful updater and those of you who came back, thanks so much! If there are any new readers, welcome!

I hope you all enjoyed going on this ride with me. I truly did enjoy writing in this universe and it'll always hold a special place in my heart.