Alright guys, so I've received mixed reviews for Chapter 15, and I don't blame you. Yes, I am well aware of the fact that there are quite a number of loose ends in this story, and that I shouldn't have left you guys hanging, so I'd better explain myself. Honestly, I wanted to clear them up in the epilogue (so you'll get some info below) but I'm not going to explain everything here. Where's the fun in that? I'm going to reveal the rest of the things slowly with little one-shots or short stories, because in my opinion, having the big reveal with all my cards laid out on the table in a big fancy epilogue isn't a great idea either, if you get what I mean. It practically gives me no room for further development in the form of related stories. I promise everything will be revealed eventually, but not now. So...please don't kill me? The loose ends, if I've identified properly, are:

-If Alex realises that Smithers had a hand in all this, as well as his reaction to Alex being awake, and figuring out that his contraption wasn't actually a failure.

-The reason for Cheetah's introverted-ness.

-The situation between Tom and Alex.

-Mrs Jones' reaction.

Two of the above will be settled here, but as for the other two...I'm leaving them unresolved for other nefarious-I mean, mysterious- purposes.

It's not that I'm irritated at the negative reviews...I'm glad, actually. It's nice to receive negative feedback once in a while to figuratively give an author a kick in the gut and make them listen. So yeah. I'm sorry; I should've told you this in the previous chapter. I was probably caught up in the post-story bliss...wait what?

With that said, I hope you enjoy the epilogue, and have a nice day! Please review, too, and watch out for one-shots. Thanks!

Alex hesitated, standing outside the door, hand poised to knock. The door was just as he had remembered: a huge oak barrier between him and the room's occupant. A saviour from many a meeting. There was a time when he had conversed with Mrs Jones through the door. Imagining her pressed against the door, straining to hear what he had said used to be amusing to him, but right now he just felt ashamed of himself. Mrs Jones might have had a hand in changing his life for the worst, but she had also gotten out of her way to help him after the Pleasures had died, but yet he always replied her with emotionless and sometimes demeaning witticisms. He was glad that Ben was not with him now, so that he would not see his hesitation. He had initially insisted on accompanying Alex, but his Syria mission report was due (he had to keep his word to Mrs Jones). He had reluctantly left Alex's side and headed to his office, where he was probably too tense and anxious to type anyway. Guilt gnawed away at his heart, and he took a deep breath before he knocked, almost afraid of the reply.

"Come in," Mrs Jones answered. She was still authoritative, but anyone could pick up the underlying fatigue and defeat in her voice. She had been more affected by his actions than he thought. Resisting the urge to turn tail and escape, he turned the doorknob slowly and pushed the door open.

Tired eyes widened as they took the boy in.

"...Alex?"

"Mrs Jones," Alex replied, trying to sound cordial. Mrs Jones looked ready to fling herself at him and deliver a bone-crushing hug, but she managed to rein in her emotions.

"You're...your're awake!"

A few weeks earlier, he would have replied with a 'Thanks for the observation, Captain Obvious', but right now he was just relieved that the initial shock was wearing off.

"Yeah...I'm awake."

"I-I trust that you're feeling better?"

"Yes."

"Look, Alex, I-"

"Mrs Jones," he said firmly, interrupting her. "Hear me out first. I came to apologise."

Her eyes widened a second time. First, Alex miraculously materialised at her door, calling her 'Mrs Jones' instead of the usual 'Jones', and now he was apologising?

"I've been doing some thinking, and I've learnt from my mistakes," he said in a rather clichéd fashion, words rapidly tumbling out in a jumble, "I guess sending me to Beacons wasn't such a bad idea after all."

"So you're saying that you're not suicidal anymore?" She didn't bother to disguise her shock.

"Yes. Now, if you'd excuse me, I'd like to see Smithers," Alex replied, giving her a weak smile. Now, Alex Rider was smiling. She nodded blankly, staring at him in pure disbelief.

"I'll give you a full report and the doctor's letter, if you want. To, you know, explain how I survived," Alex bit his lip in deep thought. He slightly impatiently waited for Mrs Jones to dismiss him. He was desperate to escape. Somehow, the room felt suffocating, and he needed out.

When she was told that Alex shot himself, she was overwhelmed with so much emotion. She remember the time when her children died, and re-experienced the grief she had felt. Alex was like a son to her, both literally and figuratively, since she was in charge of his well-being. When it was reported that Alex had survived, and was in a coma, she'd expressed both relief and worry. She visited him once or twice, and had expressed her regret, albeit more mildly than the soldiers that never left his side. She was rather surprised at their newfound affection for the teenager, but was nonetheless happy that Alex had more people caring for him. She dismissed Alex, still in shock, and could only watch blankly as the boy shot out of the door, relieved that it was over.

Once Alex left, she snatched up two peppermints at once and popped them in her mouth. This surprise visit from him had unveiled many shocking revelations, but they were welcome all the same. Her lips curled into a warm smile as she fully realised that her plan had worked better than she originally hoped. Alex Rider was back.

"Um, Smithers?" Alex called out, staring at the bulbous figure of the gadget-making genius hunched over a few blueprints and tinkering with something that looked suspiciously like a toothpick holder. He had rushed here as quick as he possibly could, determined to put some distance between himself and the office. Besides, he needed to meet up with an old friend. Who might or might not have helped him awaken from his coma.

The figure froze, as the screwdriver dropped from his hands. Alex started to feel anxious as Smithers didn't move for what seemed like a whole minute. Slowly, he turned around, and Alex could see the many different emotions in his eyes, but the most prominent ones were anxiousness, regret and hope. His eyes were still visible behind his goggles, and Alex saw them widen.

"Alex! Alex! Alex m'boy, you're awake!" Smithers cried, dropping the gadget-in-progress and bounding over to the teen to hug him. Alex found himself laughing along with the man, although he was pretty uncomfortable being squashed with the man's fat suit, when he was actually a very fit person.

"Yes, Smithers. I have a sneaking suspicion that you were behind it though," Alex raised an eyebrow. Smithers released him to get a better look, making sure that he was really Alex. "In the hospital...I heard you come in. You have a very unique way of walking, do you know that? Anyway, I heard you, and soon after I felt an electric shock. It ran up my spine, and it was dreadful not being able to react to it."

"You did?" Smithers' eyes were as wide as saucers, "but you didn't wake up! Your body didn't jolt!"

"I know... I woke up two days later, which was yesterday."

Smithers fell into deep thought. "So," he said slowly, "you're saying that my gadget worked, but the effect wasn't immediate. You just needed time to fully regain consciousness?"

"Yeah...maybe the reaction was delayed. I'm not sure either."

Smithers smiled "Thank you, m'boy! That's wonderful news."

"I should be thanking you, Smithers. Anyway, I've got to go find Agent Daniels. See you around?"

"Definitely. Hopefully not when you're going on another mission."

Alex's face darkened. "I should hope not."

Smithers hastily corrected himself. "Of course not...sorry about that slip. Alright Alex, go on."

A huge grin was plastered on Smithers' face when Alex left, his heart considerably lighter as he went to find Ben. Neglecting the toothpick holder, Smithers ran to his office and picked up the contraption that most possibly was the reason why Alex woke up. This was a wonderful breakthrough! Thanking the stars, he set to work methodologically tearing it apart and making some changes, pen furiously scrawling all over his blueprints.

Alex easily found Ben. His swearing could be heard a corridor away. When he popped his head into his cubicle, he could hardly suppress a laugh at the sight of Ben all tangled up in reinforced metal wire, trying to reach for a pair of Smithers' special wire cutters located on the other end of his worktable. Ben turned around in his chair, glaring at the source of the laughter. His glare softened just a little bit when he realised who the laughter belonged to.

"Hello Alex...how did it go?"

"Fine. Mrs Jones freaked out. She's probably still in shock," he grinned.

Ben chuckled as Alex helped him cut through the wires.

"How did you get tangled up in the wire anyway?"

"I was typing my report when I accidentally rested my elbow on the hidden button of Smither's mouse," Ben grumbled, gesturing angrily at the innocent-looking computer mouse lying next to the laptop. Alex burst into laughter again, but this time Ben didn't stop him. After all, he hadn't laughed in a long time, and it was nice to see him happy again. Hopefully it would last longer than the last time.

He was going to make sure of it.

Yup, so The Help's finished. Fin. 完了。Done. Rewrites have been posted (the first three chapters), so check them out if you have the time...not that there's much to see. Major changes come in later.

Also, I'm planning on posting the related one-shot I said I've written soon. This has one of the other loose ends tied up, so please read it when it's up! It's supposed to be posted on my birthday, (which is next week). Yup, I'm a December baby. A very late December baby. I was born after Christmas!

Aaaaaaanyway, I've decided to post on my regular day instead, so you'll just have to wait for a few days more. (It's partly because I'm kinda stuck on what to name the one-shot. Heh.)

So uh, please review, and have a nice day! :D

Love,

Syd

(P.S. After reading this again, it doesn't really seem like an epilogue anymore. More like Chapter Sixteen. Oh well.)