Five gun shots rang out.

And four people fell down.

Two weeks later

The hospital room was quiet. The only noise that could be heard was foot tapping impatiently. Finally it stopped and the person who the foot belonged too got up and walked to the numbered room which had become familiar over the last weeks. Inside were three people all lying on beds with IV's attached to their arms. One wasn't awake however the other two of them were and at the sight of the person they cheered.

Alex grinned at their cheers but it fell when he saw the unconscious man. He still wasn't awake. The other two men looked at each other then beckoned him to sit down which Alex did with a sad sigh.

"He'll be awake soon Alex. The doctor said that it was good that he was like that. Though he may be unconscious it's sort of like a healing sleep" Aaron, one of the guards who'd helped Alex, said.

"Just keep talking to him like you always do" Hayden said encouragingly.

Alex gave them a weak smile and sat down beside Ben. He'd been the worst injured out of the three men. Like what had happened to Alex, the bullet had come dangerously close to his heart, missing it by about 5 millimetres. This had happened when instead of shooting Alex Blunt had decided to do the unexpected thing and shoot him. He had no time to move out of the way and since then he'd been in a coma. Every day since Ben had been admitted Alex had come in telling him of what'd happened and what he was now doing. K-Unit also came with him frequently, almost hitting the roof after they'd been caught up on everything that had gone on but today they had to visit the Sergeant so Alex came on his own.

Alex had forgiven Hayden, mainly because he was the one who'd killed Blunt after he'd shot Ben. He'd also got a shot at Aaron before the bullet hit his heart and he (unfortunately in Alex's opinion) died instantly. There had been no discussion as to who was going to take over Blunt's position, currently it was Tulip Jones however it was not permanent due to regulations having to be followed and her having to be questioned due to how close she was to Blunt.

Hayden himself had gathered a nasty bullet wound on his shoulder and because of that his shoulder would be constantly stiff therefore limiting movement on his left arm. He had also managed to identify the people he had 'worked' with and they were ready to be put into prison. Charges against Hayden had been cleared after what he had done for the country. Thankfully everyone believed them, partly to the evidence Ben had but there were also files of his plan hidden in his office. What was quite unnerving to Alex was that there were names of possible contenders to be put to the job and the name Tom Harris was written there and by it was 'Alex's comrade'. He supposed Blunt thought that because he had been taught so well then maybe it would have rubbed off on Tom, especially as he knew about his life. Alex had chosen not to tell Tom how close he had come to being recruited. He wasn't really sure why but he knew that if positions were reversed he'd feel quite sick and horrified.

"Hey dad" Yes, after coming so close to losing him Alex took some time to reflect on the past days and with a little help from Hayden realised Ben really had had his best interests in heart and wanted to stay his father. Even if he didn't after this, which was a worry that Alex kept to himself, Alex decided he would stay positive and call him it.

"So, I went back to school today. I didn't manage to tell everyone about Hayden not being my dad but of course I couldn't explain it so nothing's really changed. I'm not sure what I'm going to do as I think if I tell them I have no biological family left they really will think I'm that weird and I'll be even more of an outcast than everyone else. Anyway, K-Unit's gone to the Sergeant. Once he had heard what'd happened to you he let them have even more time off! Personally I think he has a soft spot for you and wanted to make sure you still had your friends with you. If he carries on like this I think he'll lose his 'big bad man' reputation." Alex tried a laugh however at Ben's unresponsive face it choked in his throat.

"Everyone wishes you'd wake up, including me. Though it may not seem it the flat isn't the same. Eagle's barely cracking jokes and Wolf's vocabulary is becoming more and more limited. We're all worried about you. So… I guess I'd better go now. I'll be back tomorrow"

Alex got up from his seat ignoring the sympathetic looks from Hayden and Aaron.

"I'll bring you guys something tomorrow if you want" he said trying to keep up a casual façade.

"Don't worry about us. We're fine but you look like you haven't slept in a while" It was true, Alex had dark circles around his eyes from the sleepless nights he'd been having. He'd fall asleep alright but then he'd have nightmares of a world where Ben died and Blunt lived, able to turn children into ruthless killers. He would often wake up breathless but thankfully he never made any noise, otherwise he'd have the others rushing to him and they'd be worried about him as well as Ben and that was defiantly un-needed.

"I'm fine, just drinking too much coffee, you know?"

Hayden sighed. "I know it may not seem like it but soon this'll just be a memory. Ben will be awake and you won't have to do this sort of thing again. I promise"
Alex's lips curved slightly. "Thanks. Bye"

Alex was about to walk out of the room when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Alex?"

The teenager swivelled around and shot back to Ben's bed where the man was blinking dazedly against the bright hospital lights.

Alex was so shocked he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Hi"

He never thought that this would be the day Ben woke up but now that he had Alex couldn't wait to tell K-Unit. As he answered Ben's questions he finally realised everything would be ok, especially when Ben beamed when he was referred to as dad.

A week later

The apartment was quiet, too quiet. [1] That was Ben's first thought as he opened the door to the desolate home. The lights were off and Ben, realising what was about to happen let out a low moan.

"SURPRISE!"
The lights were switched on and everyone was revealed. Eagle bounded up to him.

"You were surprised right? Alex said you wouldn't be but you were, weren't you?"

Alex sent an amused side-long glance to his adopted son who just shrugged helplessly.

"Yes Eagle, I was very surprised" He smiled at the over-excited man.

"That's good" Eagle went off again and some low music began playing.

Ben walked over to Alex and ruffled his hair which caused said teenager to groan then grin.

"Bet you wish you hadn't come back now, don't you"

"Well I do admit the company is a bit prettier,' Alex whacked him gently, 'I couldn't be happier than I am now"

Alex gave a small smile and Ben just ruffled his hair again. "Now, where's the cake. I can never pass up one of Snakes famous chocolate cakes…who knew the man could be such a good bakery chef"

Half way through the party the clang of a glass being hit echoed through the room.

"Now, though this party is about everyone coming home from the hospital there is another bit of good news" Wolf announced.

A bit stiffly, Hayden stepped into the centre. "Hi, well you know we were wondering who would get Blunt's job. I got a phone call while everyone was asleep by them so I went there this morning and… they offered me a job"

There was a moment of stunned silence, no one expected Hayden, who had almost blown the place up, to be offered the job as the head of the whole organisation. Alex was the first to start clapping and soon everyone else joined in, a couple of people even gave a cheer and whistle.

"Wait, I just said they offered me a job, I didn't say that I accepted!" Hayden called out.

The cheers stopped and everyone looked at him expectedly. Hayden took a while to answer before smirking.

"Well obviously I said yes"

And just like that the applauds began again. Hayden looked a bit flustered under all the attention but everyone could tell he was enjoying it. Once everything had died down Alex asked the question that quite a few people had been curious about.

"Why did they choose you after what you did?"
Hayden smiled. "They said my cause was just and that they needed someone like me to lead them. Most of them realised Blunt had abandoned the idea of what was good for the country and it's people but new ways of gaining the information they wanted. Trust me, I was surprised as well but hey, I now get to make sure you or any other children don't get caught up in any of this business ever again"
That was probably the best news Alex had received since Ben woke up.

So Hayden went on to become one of the most successful heads of MI6 the organisation had had in a long time. He was resourceful, cunning and clever but never at the unavoidable expense of any of his workers. Nearly all of them said they preferred him rather than Blunt and a few even congratulated him on getting rid of 'that heartless robot'. Well some of them replaced robot with more colourful vocabulary but I'll leave that to your imaginations.

Ben recovered quickly and Alex had decided to start a new school. To much had gone on in his old one and it was time he had a fresh start where he hopefully wouldn't get caught up in any spy business again. He was now officially Alex Rider Daniels and nothing would change that.

K-Unit had back to training and would leave in the coming month. Things would defiantly change after that happened but right now they were living in the moment and to be honest they could truthfully say there was no better moment that there was right then.

So they all lived happily ever after…almost.

"Hey, where'd my toast go, I have to leave for school in a minute!"

"I don't know. Gimme my coffee"
"Hey…what's that mess on the floor"

"Where did my first aid kit go?"

... "EAGLE"

And so that it is. To be a son if officially done! I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed, added it to their favourites and alerted it. I am quite sad to see it gone...eh no I'm not. I did enjoy writing it but now I just want to focus on other things and now before I upload everything I am going to have finished the whole thing or have written a lot so I don't have to panic about writing and updating. Once again, thank you, I would type out all your names but I don't really know how appreciated that would be XD especially as it would make the chapter seem longer than it already was.

So, may you read my AN's again if I ever write something new that you would enjoy!

^-^ me is getting idea's for Kingdom Hearts AkuRoku or Merlin's Merthur…but neither of them will be up for a long time! So bye faithful readers, I really do hope you liked the story! :D 3

[1] Couldn't help myself :3