James woke up slowly. He was lying in a comfortable bed that smelled very clean. His eyes weren't open but he could feel the mattress beneath him and the slight smell of disinfectant wafted into his nostrils. It was pleasant lying there halfway between sleep and consciousness, unwilling to open his eyes and let the world in, he started sinking back into sleep.

It all came back in a rush just as he was drifting off, the squealing of tires on the road, crashing metal, the shouts of his unit. He bolted up right. His face was contorted in a look of pure panic and his pupils were blown wide. James was breathing wildly trying to stop the images of the car hitting them from screeching around his brain.

"Easy soldier."

He whipped his head around and sitting next to him was the sergeant. He looked as calm, composed and stern as ever but there was something else. If Wolf didn't know better he would say the sergeant looked slightly concerned. But he did know better and nothing worried the sergeant, not bombs not terrorists not anything. Yet there was still that look in his eye though, and that scared James.

"We were tracking you, the damn '6 car that Fox got had a very accurate GPS tracking system and Fox gave me the details, he told no one else so that if you went off track we could find you and no one else could. Fox was always smart but MI6 has made him sneaky and I don't like it."

Despite what he had said James got the sense that Sarge was very glad Fox had learned some new skills, skills that might have just saved all their asses.

"Where's K-Unit, is anyone injured, are they all right?"

James was speaking frantically the panicked look was back in his eyes, he really did look like a cornered wolf. The sergeant had been pleased when naming James, he'd seen something in him when they'd first met but as the man had grown he'd become more and more like the soldier the sergeant had hoped he'd be. But now he just wanted to soothe the man.

"K-Unit came away mostly unscathed."

James opened his mouth to ask questions but the sergeant hushed him and continued.

"Eagle and Snake were in the back and came away fine, Eagle didn't react and has a concussion from hitting the head rest in front of him. Snake sprained his wrist stopping him from doing the same thing. Fox was in the front with you, he has some more severe injuries but not as bad as you, he was lucky his air bag went off as it stopped him from hitting the dash, it did almost suffocate him as he was knocked unconscious but Snake got him out. We assumed the bullet wound he sustained was older and he's been in surgery for that, but it was quick and he's recovering. Snake gave me the full report since he's been the only one able."

The Sarge rattled off the list concisely and with precision, there was no unnecessary information but nothing was left out. James appreciated it, it was efficient but it reassured him all the same.

"And what about Cub?"

At this the sergeant let out a long suffering sigh. Wolf had got the impression before that he didn't approve of the government using the minor, and that seeing him injured in the line of duty was probably something that upset him. Not that the Sargent ever got upset.

"He's still in surgery, there was plenty of damage that needed seeing to before he was in a major car crash but it didn't help. He re-tore the temporary stitches that Snake put in. That man is getting a commendation, without his quick thinking you'd all be held hostage and Cub and Fox would be dead. Cub should recover was the last thing I heard from the doctor half an hour ago but it's going to be a long one. That we'll do our upmost to make sure he gets."

By the end of this the Sargent was almost snarling and not for the first time Wolf wondered what his name was when he was training in the SAS. Wolf suited the both of them, and it was probably why they got along so well.

James had one more question,

"How did we get out of there, I don't remember a thing?"

"Well as I said we were tracking you in that car, when you crashed only Snake remained conscious, I don't usually repeat myself but in this case I will, without that man I wouldn't be surprised if you were all dead."

The Sargent was staring straight ahead at Wolf, barely blinking, but he was speaking more softly than Wolf had ever heard him before, almost like he was trying to comfort the man in the hospital bed. But that was impossible, if there was one thing the sergeant never was it was comforting.

"From what he told me, he first saved Fox. Then he managed to take out the only other conscious man. There were two people in the car that crashed into you, one was killed instantly in the collision, the other took out a gun and tried to finish you off. Snake disabled him and from the looks of it, it was a karate kick to the head. He then saw to you and Eagle before checking on the boy. When he realised the extent of the damage to Cub he immediately called for help on the car radio. We were on our way already but he made sure we came prepared. I will reiterate, you all owe that man thanks."

Once again James nodded. He had always been closest to Snake in the unit, and had always trusted him the most, this wasn't the first time that he was more than glad that Snake was in his unit and that he'd made the decision to be a medic. Before he talked to Snake though, he wanted to ask another question.

"Sir, what do you know about the boy?"

"Soldier you are fully aware that that question is classified."

"Yes Sir", Wolf barked back.

"Well in this rare occasion I will tell you anyway. But I fear you will be disappointed because it isn't a lot. I'll skip the physical description, im sure you know what he looks like. The boy is not 19 years old. I am aware that made him 14 when he joined us for training, I didn't know that at the time or I would have never let it happen. He's officially done 3 missions for '6 but I know Joe Burn, head of the CIA and he's done one for them and he's sure there have been more for '6 as well that aren't on record. He also reckons he's worked for ASIS but I do not know if that is true. Cub has just lost his guardian, we don't know how it happened but I suspect Fox might. He also has a long medical history that I won't go through now but Snake has been made aware of what our doctors know. The boy has been through a lot so we must be careful how we tread. There are mentions of torture in his file, we must treat him as much as a soldier as we do a teenage boy."

James was staring open mouthed at the Sargent. Cub was only 19. Only 19 when he'd trained and been bullied by 4 adult members of the SAS. Only 14 or 15 when he'd descended a mountain in the alps on an ironing board. It made James feel sick and scared. Poor kid was probably all messed up. Well James had already decided that Cub would not be used by MI6 again if he could help it and he would do his best to keep the kid out of harm's way.

He was about to ask the Sargent about that group that were following them and if they had stopped, but at that moment the door to his infirmary room slowly opened and Snake walked in, he looked exhausted and in need of a long hot shower but otherwise okay. For the first time in days James cracked a small smile. Snake returned it.

"Evening, Sir", he said to Sarge.

"The boy's out of surgery, they're just taking 'im to recover now."

The Sargent nodded and stood up.

"Then I'll leave and let you talk, you've managed to conjure me up an ungodly amount of paperwork."

They saluted the Sargent as he walked out, Snake was standing straight and tall, his shoulders a perfect horizontal line. As soon as the door clicked softly shut he melted. A weariness sunk into him that even James had rarely seen in the other man. His shoulders slumped and a small grimace twisted his usually calm face slightly. It was clear that he hadn't slept since before Fox had turned up with Cub. But for now they were safe and Snake was using this opportunity to let his guard down slightly. Despite looking completely exhausted Snake gave James another warm smile, this time James sighed,

"Come and sit down Snake you look like shit."

Snake let out a small huff and walked over to the chair by the infirmary bed, he more or less fell into it and gave a sigh of pleasure, barely loud enough to hear but James caught it instantly.

"It's been a long couple of days aye?"

James snorted,

"You can say that again, I know I wasn't that pleased about forced leave but this wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted to get back to work. Why haven't you got some rest yet?"

"Just because you had to get concussed to take a break for more than two minutes doesn't mean you can have a go at me, I just did the rounds. Fox is just waking up from his surgery, he's worried about the kid but he'll be fine. Eagle is also fine he's just getting a last check up and then he's gonna meet us in here. If you're lucky you'll be released to and then we can move back into the barracks, and I can have a really long nap."

"I need to say thanks Snake, I heard you saved all our necks back there."

He had started to sounds a little gruff as he always did when talking about such things as emotions or thank yours or apologies, but Snake knew James better than anyone and knew he was sincere.

"It was a close one James, I really thought we were gonna loose the kid. I know we don't really know him, but I still feel totally responsible for him. I mean if what Fox is saying is true then the kid really doesn't have anyone left."

As Snake spoke a frown settled on James face and he shuffled his hands. Snake calling him by his real name, it spoke measures of what the other man had gone through in the past two days, there was no doubt that after this whole mess was over they'd all get thrown back into counselling. At least now they'd made it back to Brecon's at least they were safe. No terrorist organisation was ballsy enough to storm a base of the most elite soldiers in the world. It would be insanity. They might be able to get to know the kid and see what they can do for him. No doubt the sergeant was currently talking to '6 trying to neutralize the threat and do what he could for the boy. But there's nothing quite like a team of SAS veterans set on trying to keep someone alive. Despite not actually knowing the kid he was part of K-Unit and they wouldn't let anything happen to one of their own.

At that moment the door swung open again and Eagle walked in. Just like Snake he looked exhausted. There was still something behind his eyes that stirred a deep feeling of worry inside James but this was not the time.

"I'm all clear, Doc just discharged me. Though I'm meant to be doing some R&R, I'm not sure how likely that is, I suppose it depends on what's happening with the kid."

"Eagle what on Earth are you talking about?"

James was confused. Why wouldn't they be able to get rest and recovery here? Surely they wont be training.

A grin spread across Eagles face.

"You guys don't know yet?"

"Know what?" Both Snake and Wolf said in unison.

"I just bumped into the Serge, he says that '6 won't let the kid stay here. Something about not wanting him under SAS control, but Sarge won't let him back to '6 on his own. So we get to look after him as soon as he's released. They're sending us to some kind of safe house in London I think. Serge isn't happy about it but at least the kid won't be allowed on any more missions for a while."

"Or forever."

Wolf growled under his breath.

"We aren't exactly equip to look after a sick kid. I've seen 'is chart and he's gonna need some serious rehab. The kind of stuff that requires a hospital not 4 first aid trained SAS. And some of us…"

He looked pointedly at Eagle.

"… can barely look after ourselves let alone a teenager with actual teenager problems."

"Hey!"

Eagle cried indignantly .

"I'm actually the only one of us with any child experience, you know I have that nephew."

"And what's the wee lads name then?"

"Ahh…"

"Yeah that's what I thought."

Snake was grinning. It was nice to see K-Unit relaxing slightly James thought. They were serious when they needed to be, but at the end of the day they were friends and that would always come first. Although, he would never say that out loud of course.

"You're both forgetting, I'm half Spanish so I have a massive family, there are kids everywhere. I try to avoid them though."

James hadn't actually seen much of his family since he had joined the SAS. He emailed his Grandmother but apart from the odd family gathering he had mostly lost contact. He didn't mind though, there was nothing wrong with his family but K-Unit was closer to him than any one he was blood related to. He was married to his work and he was okay with that.

"Right, if we're being shipped back to London I want some sleep before we go, and for that I need a proper bed. Or as close as the bunks get so I'm off."

Snake left with a quick nod at the other two. Eagle turned to Wolf.

"I'm going to have a nap too, need anything before I go?"

James thought about asking the man why he had looked so distraught at the sight of an injured Cub, but he decided against it. For now they all needed some rest if there were going to be taking care of a kid.

"Just send in the doctor if you see him I want to be discharged as soon as possible so I can go and talk to the Sargent about our orders."

"Okay Wolfie."

And with that, Eagle was gone to and James was left in silence. He started to fiddle with the stark white hospital sheets again. He was known for not being able to sit still. This wasn't something that had developed in the army, he had always been like that. He was a doer not a watcher, and from the small amount he had seen of Cub at Mont Blanc he knew he was too. This would make looking after him tricky. Wolf would know he hadn't exactly been an easy kid himself. Although at 19 Cub was hardly a child any more.

They were in for a rough time of it. James usually lived alone when he was on leave. He lived with K-Unit during time on of course but it was very different being with them in a domestic environment. Though the thought of Eagle in an apron cleaning the house did make him chuckle slightly. Snake should be able to handle him, they lived together but James secretly thought Eagles girlfriend probably had more to do with any good domestic behaviour than Snake did.

Thinking was hurting James' still sore head and there was nothing to do until he was discharged any way so he closed his eyes and was immediately asleep.