Gasping Alex sat up in his gurney much to the terror of a particular SAS unit who proceeded to scream.
"Cub?! Are you okay? Any nausea? Pain?" Badger asked, being the first to recover. Alex narrowed his eyes at the man.
"Who are you?" He asked quietly, pleased his voice wasn't hoarse. Badger stopped moving towards him.
"I'm Badger, remember? I'm from S-Unit. The unit you were assigned to?" Badger explained cautiously. Alex's eyes widened slightly.
"I'm at Brecon Beacons then?" Badger nodded before glancing nervously at Leopard and Hawk. Alex followed his gaze.
"Who are you?" He asked again.
"I'm Hawk and that's Leopard, we're also part of S-Unit. You really don't remember?" Hawk asked, a small amount of concern in his voice. Alex shook his head cautiously.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Badger asked.
"I was at school with-…never mind. I was about to go on a mission later in the day…" Alex let his voice trail off as he noticed the looks of disbelief flash across their faces before being quickly replaced with blank stares. They know something. Alex felt his own face close off. Wait, what day is it? Why am I in a hospital at Brecon Beacons?
"Why am I here?" Alex asked, deciding that would be the safest question.
"You've been assigned to our unit. We are to be your permanent back-up as of now." Leopard said quietly. Alex looked sharply at him, trying to see if he was lying.
Slowly, Alex nodded.
"What's todays date?" He asked.
Leopard exchanged an unreadable look with Hawk and Badger.
"I'll get the doctor." Badger volunteered before walking out.
"How long have I been out?" Alex asked, changing tactics. Hawk looked relieved.
"Three days. You were in a coma."
"Why?" Hawk shifted nervously under Alex's gaze.
"You damaged your cerebral cortex." Alex looked to the door. A man in a white coat walked in with Badger.
"I'm Dr. Shield, and you, Cub, are a very lucky individual. You shouldn't have ever woken up, much less after only three days."
"I'm a fast healer." Alex replied dryly only to pause as he noticed four stares.
"What?" Alex asked defensively, crossing his arms.
"You have a sense of humor." Hawk said, disbelief coloring his voice. Alex raised an eyebrow. Just what had he done to these guys to make them think he didn't have a sense of humor?
"And you have a fly in your mouth. Point?" Hawk snapped his jaw closed in horror. Alex felt a small amount of satisfaction.
"And now it's trapped. Good job." Alex smirked. The other unit members looked equally amused. Badger smiled and even Leopards face lost its blank look in favor of a smirk.
"So, I managed to damage my head. How?" Alex asked, curious. The doctor shrugged.
"I was hoping you could tell me. If I didn't know better, I would say there was a miniature explosion in your head." Alex frowned. An explosion in his head? That'd be a first.
"Could it have been another assassination attempt?" Alex asked seriously. Leopard looked at him sharply.
"'Another'? You've been assassinated before?" Alex shrugged.
"Comes with the territory." He said casually, unconsciously raising a hand to his chest. Badger's eyes narrowed on the movement.
"Something wrong with your chest?" He asked, his voice dangerously quiet. Alex dropped his hand slowly, making the movement look casual.
"Not really, no."
"As the unit medic, I need to know about all injuries." Badger said seriously, eyes narrowing.
"No, you really don't. You said you'd be my permanent back-up? Fine. But that's all." Alex said coldly. They probably didn't deserve the cold shoulder but if there was one thing Alex didn't want to talk about, it was his scars.
"I think you have something mixed up here. We're your permanent back-up, your team-mates. We have to be able work together and trust you with our lives. If you have some injuries that are going to be a problem, we need to know." Leopard stated seriously, staring intently.
"They aren't." Alex replied with force.
"Alright then."
Badger looked like he was about to protest when Leopard shot him a look.
"As you said, we're going to be working together from now on, what do each of you do exactly? I know Badgers the medic, that's pretty obvious, and Leopard, you seem to be the leader…what about you Hawk?" Alex asked, changing the subject. Hawk smiled.
"I'm the communications expert. I assume you want to know what you've been listed as?" Hawk asked. Alex nodded.
"You're apparently our new sniper."
Alex groaned. He was going to kill Mrs. Jones.
"What? Are you not a good shot or something?" Badger asked, curious.
"No, I'm a good shot, it's just- never mind. Just typical MI6 being their bastard like selves." Alex grumbled. Badger cracked a smile at this.
"You know, you weren't this entertaining before, I mean, sure, Hawk is annoying and you pinning him was a nice surprise but-"
"I pinned Hawk?" Alex asked, confused. "Why?"
"He tried to wake you up." Leopard elaborated, cutting of Badger. Alex nodded in understanding.
"So you usually attack people in your sleep then?" Leopard asked.
"It depends…" Alex trailed.
"On what?" Badger asked this time, curious.
Alex hesitated.
"On the mission usually." He said, slightly uncomfortable. Badger gave him a curious look.
"That reminds me. We read your report and know you have a 100% success rate but the missions themselves were classified. Mind telling us the kinds of things you're used to?"
"If it was classified then you don't need to know." Alex replied unapologetically. He knew what Badger said made sense but still. He didn't want to talk about it. MI6 had been driving him hard in the pass two, almost three, years. He didn't need some curious soldiers poking at old wounds.
Badger appeared to be about to reply when the doctor spoke up. Alex decided right then and there he liked the man.
"We should probably run a few more tests on you just to make sure you're not about to kneel over at random moments."
Leopard and Alex looked up sharply at that.
"How much of a possibility is that?" Alex asked, a small note of alarm invading his voice.
"Not that large. Miniscule, in fact." The doctor said, making a calming gesture before glaring at Leopard.
Leopard shrugged. "It could happen."
The glare intensified. Leopard went down.
"Ignore this idiot. He's a special kind of stupid." Hawk said, shaking his head.
"Hey!" Leopard shouted before tackling Hawk. Badger stood at the side grinning. Alex and the doctor shared a look. Smiling slightly, the doctor motioned for Alex to get up.
"I'm going to do a quick examination now. You should be fine, so don't worry, alright?"
Alex nodded.
Laying in his new bunk, Alex took a minute to process all the information. Tom was dead. Jack was dead. He was banished to Brecon Beacons for the rest of his life by the traitor Jones and his team mates thought he was some sort of heartless robot.
Life couldn't get better than this, Alex thought bitterly.
He sighed. Suddenly, he started to cry. Not anything loud or shocking, his face hardly changed. Years living with Ian had taught him to cry as quietly as possible. Ian hadn't been cruel or anything, he just hadn't believed in weakness, and tears were considered such. Besides, the one time Ian had caught him crying…it hadn't been pretty. It was always Jack he went to if ever needed a shoulder. Jack.
Alex sighed.
Might as well try to get some sleep, he thought before drifting off.