hey everybody! so i dont know if this is gonna be read by anyone and im not sure im even uploading this properly or what. antway this is my first ever fangic. i suck at everything that has to do with technology and stuff. so if anyone wants to help me figure out

1) how to make a profile (i told you im hopeless)

2)how to write a summary if i dont have one when i do figure out how to upload this

3)if this story is any good at all or if its too fluffy or too slow paced or too cliche or whatever

4) what a "mary sue" is so i can avoid it (it sounds like a bad thing)

leave me a review or PM me (also if you have any useful ideas on what should happen next. i have ideas if anyone wants to keep reading but most times the readers ideas are better than the authors). i have no idea if i'm accepting anonymous stuff so plz dont be offended if something doesn't work right. oh and being from my part of america some of my vocab is screwed up. just a heads up. and if i get even one person who thinks i should go on with the story then this will not be a one shot. i feel wierd writing this. its like im talking to my self. anyway moving on...

Alex was having a nightmare. It seemed to be a really bad one too, at least to K-Unit. But no matter how much they wanted to, there was nothing they could do for their unit's youngest member.

Last time they had tried, Snake remembered, Alex had been startled out of his nightmare by Eagle shaking his shoulders. Before anyone knew what was happening, Eagle had a broken arm and three fractured ribs. Wolf, who had tried to get between the soldier and the dazed teen, had one hell of a concussion and a broken jaw. And Alex, though not hurt physically, had felt so guilty he didn't eat and barely spoke to anyone for two days.

And the teen, because that's what he was no matter what MI6 said, probably would have starved if it hadn't been for her. Shelley had convinced him that he needed his strength if he was going to keep anyone safe.

Startled out of his reminiscing by soft voices, Snake glanced at the rest of his unit. They seemed to be trying to stop Shelley from doing something.

Probably something everybody could live without having to go through, Snake thought wryly.

"Just let me try," he heard her say. She twisted out of Wolf's grip, much to his embarrassment, and started to make her way over to Alex's thrashing body.

The entire unit watched with bated breath as they watched the young girl make her way over to Alex. And they hoped to God that someone would finally be able to help the unfortunate boy.

They watch as she made her way and stood next to him. They watched as he threw the first punch and as she grabbed his fist before it could land. They watched as he immediately started to panic and then, how seconds later, his entire body relaxed as Shelly leaned over him. He stopped thrashing and lay back on the bed.

K-Unit just stood there shocked. They had tried everything to cure his nightmares. Sleeping pills, therapy, restraints (though that was probably the worst idea they had ever had. Not surprisingly, it came from Eagle.). And yet simply the touch of one person calmed him down in a way that seemed impossible.

Looking up again, they realized that Shelley had smoothed out his clenched fist and now held his hand while sitting on the edge of the bed.

Shelley saw the Unit's hesitation as they stared at Alex. She saw the pain cross his face. Worse pain than she had ever seen on anyone's face before. He was being tortured by his subconscious mind and they couldn't do anything. She knew she had to do something; the tortured expression on his face was tearing her heart apart.

She got up and felt a hand grab at her wrist. She almost flipped him, whoever it was before she realized it was Wolf.

"Just let me try it," she said looking back at him.

She walked over to him and got ready to block his attacks. She stopped his punch and leaned over him, noticing as his body panicked and then relaxed. She watched as his expression changed and emotions passed over his face. She smiled as she saw the joy on his face. And then she heard him say her name quietly and his face was taken over by love and trained or not, she couldn't help the tears that came. It was more emotion than he had ever shown when he was awake. She knew he loved her just as much as she loved him but he had always been too closed off to show how much. She didn't even realize that he had wrapped his arm around her waist and she was being pulled onto the bed. She was too mesmerized by the emotions on his face.

Alex knew he was having a nightmare. But this was probably the worst one he had ever had. He saw the faces of every person that was dead because of him, whether they deserved it or not. He saw their broken families. He heard their last words and saw them take their last breaths. He relived every beating he had ever endured, every accusation ever hurled at him, everything sight, sound, touch, even every smell that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He fought trying, somehow, to save the ones he had doomed. He cried for them and fought for them but they all kept dying! He couldn't save them. Suddenly through his fearful state, he felt a presence near him. He struck out and felt as the presence blocked him. He started to panic. But suddenly he smelled it…

Lilacs and vanilla…..

Suddenly his entire body relaxed. His muscles loosened and he felt budding warmth in his chest. Confused for a moment, he pondered the feeling. Safe… Alex felt safe! He felt safer than he remembered ever having felt before. In his mind, he saw that piercing gaze that saw through every lie or mistruth he ever told. Those emerald green jewels that could detect every secret and weakness he had. He felt the soft, curly black hair that he could wrap around his fingers and reached just past her tanned shoulders. He saw her determined gaze when staring into the gaze of the enemy….he stiffened. But then he felt her smoothen out his hand and he remembered the way her gaze softened when she looked at him. He remembered her musical laughter after she had him pinned during a wrestling match. He remembered her dancing around the room when she won the tickets to a concert during a radio call-in contest for his birthday. He remembered her witty humor and biting sarcasm so much like his own. He smiled as he remembered how no matter how much they fought; too alike as Jack had said, neither could sleep when they were mad at each other. He remembered listening to her sing in the shower or as she was cooking when she didn't realize he was listening. And he remembered the day he had realized how for once, he had found someone that would love him no matter how many times he did something unforgiveable even by himself. He thought of how they never actually had to say the words to know they loved each other. She wouldn't be scared off by MI6 or by any other shit that happened to him. And now she was the only person he had left since Jack had been deported and was refused contact with Alex.

Needing comfort, he subconsciously wrapped his arm around Shelley's waist and pulled her close to him.

The Unit saw the emotions pass over the young super spy's face. They saw him smile as he relaxed. They saw his face turn grave as he thought of something that bothered him. His features smoothed out and he smiled widely. Then they saw a look they couldn't identify. For a long time they couldn't figure it out. They just knew it made them happy to look at him like this. Suddenly Cat, Fox's replacement and the most empathetic of them realized: it was pure joy. He looked happier than anyone had ever seen him. Then he saddened a bit but soon, his joyful expression came back. They watched as he wrapped his arm around her waist. And a look of the purest emotion in the world, love, came over his face. They knew she was the only person in the world who could make him like this and they knew that for him and for his happiness, they would give their lives for her. They also knew that this was a very private moment. He would hate to know that they had witnessed this. So they turned away out of respect for the man who they trusted with their lives.

Everyone went back to their business. Wolf was lost in thoughts of the boy. He couldn't imagine everything that had to have happened to him for him to have such a torturous dream. Seventeen years old and twenty four missions? It was insane! Wolf thought of the six missions he had been on with him. If every mission was like that, Wolf thought, I'd be messed up too .Ever since Cub had gotten to Brecon Beacons a week ago, he'd had these nightmares everyday and every morning everyone would pretend nothing had happened. They would tease each other and he would smile though it was never completely to his eyes.

His thoughts turned to Shelley. He remembered how they had met on the last mission they had been on with Alex. Their mission had been to bring down the last of Scorpia by any means necessary. All he really knew though, was that Alex had ran into her on his way to get into position and that somehow the two of them had blown up the main meeting room, killing the board of directors of Scorpia and creating a distraction that helped MI6 pick up every single remaining Scorpian. The girl was almost as much of an enigma as Alex was to the SAS. He wished he knew more about her, but he also knew that she had helped them bring down one of the most feared terrorist organizations in the world and that he trusted her, partly at least. He knew she had a personal vendetta against Scorpia but he didn't feel like he had to know. He knew she was an amazing fighter and MI6's newest recruit after the fall of Scorpia. He also knew that she was willing to give her life for the unitand he knew that any one of them would give their lives for her.

Shelley was sitting with Alex's head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his amazingly soft light brown hair. She thought of the first time they had met….

She had been about to enter the door of the main meeting room of the Scorpia board. She had to finish wiring up the explosives before the directors got there. Suddenly she heard something in the vents. Knowing from her past experience as a Scorpian that the vents were often used in training exercises, she hid in the shadows. A vent opened overhead. She heard a pair of footsteps make their way over to her. As quick as a snake, she had the person in a headlock and her Beretta handgun jabbed into his temple.

"Say a word, and I blow your brains through the wall, Scorpian" she growled.

"WHOA, hey hey hey I am NOT a Scorpian."

She knew from his voice that this was a boy about her age.

"I'm in here, so obviously I'm not stupid. Scorpia trains their recruits to save their own asses. How do I know you're not lying?"

"How do I know YOU'RE not a Scorpian?"

Starting to get pissed off, she tightened her hold on him.

"And now you've pissed me off. If I was a Scorpian, I wouldn't have threatened to kill you."

"But you might be a Scorpian who knows who I am, in which case it makes perfect sense that you threatened to kill me."

Shelley was running out of time. She couldn't afford to lose any more time. She had to wire up the explosives before the directors and their guards showed up. And she was NOT going to miss the chance to get back at the sick bastards who blew up her life along with millions of others'.

"If you can show me you're not with Scorpia right now, I'll let you help me with this," she said holding up the explosives. "If you can't, I'm going to tie you up and leave you here to get blown up by this."

"What makes you think you have the power to keep me here?"

"You're the one in the headlock."

Quicker than she thought possible, he twisted out of the headlock, disarmed her, and held up a MI6 I.D. as well as a SAS badge.

She gasped. "Alex Rider." Her last assignment. The boy she was supposed to have killed when she was working with Scorpia….

He let her out of the headlock and handed her weapon and the explosives back to her.

"Now, let's go blow up some damn scorpians."

That day she finally accomplished the only goal she had ever had. Ever since she was seven and Shelley found out her parents and brothers were killed, she had vowed to bring them justice. She had gotten herself noticed by Scorpia and trained with them for nine years. She had never killed anyone in all her time there, making excuses of being too weak. Finally she was ready and she had used Scorpia's own training against them.

Less than two weeks later, she had become the second youngest MI6 recruit ever at the age of 16.

Shelley remembered the day Alex was told he would have a partner.

Alex was sitting in front of Blunt's desk. He was told he was getting a partner. He was shown her file; he knew her entire past. But he didn't realize that she was younger than him. The file had failed to mention that. And being the teenage boy that he was, he hadn't ever asked Shelley for her name in the Scorpia headquarters. He had no idea what was about to happen.

Shelley walked in and Alex's face went from mild amusement, to shock, anger, and then it went completely blank. Even more so than most of the assassin's faces at Scorpia. His cold voice addressed Blunt.

"Don't do this again. Isn't one stolen innocence enough? She doesn't want to lose her life to MI6. She doesn't deserve it! "

Shelley bristled.

"I'm more than capable of making my own decisions, Alex. I don't need you to tell me what I want and don't want to do. And I will work for MI6 if I choose to. I'm no more innocent than you are. You have read the file; I've seen death and destruction to. Scorpia made sure of that. And I'm going to make sure no sick bastards can ever do what they did again," she said, her musical voice, low and deadly.

Alex was surprised and angry. He knew that what she said was true, but this was his idea of Hell! He was trying to help her get out of it dammit! Why couldn't she see that?

"You have no idea what you're getting into! These people are monsters! They won't ever leave you alone if you decide to work for them now! They will destroy you and your loved ones and y-"

"My loved ones are DEAD! I have nothing to lose! And if I don't do this, then I have nothing to gain but a sucky life at an orphanage getting into trouble at school because this is who I am! I am already a part of this! I always was!" she said, voice steadily gaining volume so that she was yelling at the end.

Blunt and Mrs. Jones observed in silence until then.

"Seeing as your house is currently empty other than you, Shelley will be staying with you from now on. You will be expected to help keep each other safe should any threat get past our security measures."

"But-, "Alex started to protest.

"Here are your new Glock 27 handguns. There are extra magazines in this bag. Please try not to hurt anyone who isn't a threat. Unfortunate injuries lead to so much paperwork."

They both recognized the dismissal. They stood up and left the room Alex leading the way to the elevators.

plz plz plz no flames...i dont think i can handle it yet. just tell me bluntly that its too cliche or whatever and leave out the name calling and stuff. my fragile ego cant take it. if you dont like it than dont read on please. unless you think there is hope for me. AHHHHHH! IM GOING TO GO CRAZY...

plz tell me how it is. my first reviewer will always hold a special place in my heart. and maybe on my profile if i ever figure out how this works.