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Disclaimer: Don't own it, really want to.

Chapter 8- Father and Son

"Good job, you two," Mrs. Jones says when we arrive back at her office. "The men are in interrogation right now. From what we have gathered so far, they were in fact working alone; it was just the five of them. At first they were planning to kidnap you, Alex, but once you proved too difficult to kidnap, they decided it would be better to just kill you. They admitted to putting the bomb on your car, Yassen. They will be put in jail for life; none of the Scorpia men are ever going to bother you again, Alex." she explains to us, sounding very pleased.

"What about me? Did they know who I was?" I ask. I don't really care, I just want to know.

"They didn't recognize you at all, Yassen. We're going to keep it that way. To them, you were just some random guy helping Alex," she says. I smile, glad to hear this.

Alex glances outside; it's dark. I check the time; it's about 9 o'clock.

"What will we do now?" Alex asks.

"Well, you'll be able to go back and live with the Pleasures. I don't know what Yassen will do, but I'm sure he'll figure out something," she says.

"Mrs. Jones?" Alex says hesitantly.

"Yes, Alex?" she says kindly.

"I…I don't want to go back and live with the Pleasures. I want to say here, in England," Alex says.

"Alex! Why would you ever say such a thing?" Mrs. Jones exclaims, shocked.

"It's not them, it's just…I feel like I don't fit in. Sabina and I had a really big fight, and now…it was a while ago, but our relationship has changed. Our lives are just so different; I don't feel like I fit in with their family that well anymore," Alex explains.

"Well, I don't know what to do with you. I don't think you have a choice, anymore. They are the only ones who could take care of you," she says.

"I could do it," I hear myself say before I know what I'm doing.

"What?" both Alex and Mrs. Jones say at the same time.

"I…I could adopt him," I say, clarifying. Am I seriously considering this? I never wanted a kid! I don't want this! But I do, I realize. I want Alex to be my son. John was like a father to me, and now that John's gone and Alex is alone…that seems like the best way to repay the debt I owe him. Take care of Alex.

"Alex? What do you think?" Mrs. Jones asks.

Alex turns to me, his brown eyes searching my face for an answer. He stares at me, thinking.

"Alex, you asked me if I wanted to adopt you a few days ago. You also asked me if I would, if MI6 allowed it. I honestly didn't have an answer to either of those questions then, but now I do. I want to adopt you. I want you to be my son, just like I was a son to John," I say quietly.

"I…I think I would like that," Alex says after hesitating for a long moment.

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Jones says.

"Yes. I'm positive. I want to be with Yassen," Alex says confidently.

"All right. It's settled then. The forms will be passed over to Yassen," she says.

A few days later…

We're in the airport, saying goodbye to Sabina and her family. It's about 6 o'clock here. They flew out a few nights ago to transfer the adoption forms to me and to say goodbye to Alex.

"Goodbye, Sabina," Alex says.

"Goodbye, Alex. It's good that you found someone who can be like a father to you," she says, looking just a little sad.

"Thanks," Alex says, glancing at me. Sabina looks at me also, and I'm surprised when she speaks to me.

"Yassen, thank you for taking care of Alex. And…uh, thank you for saving our lives on the plane," she seems embarrassed to be thanking me; I'm pretty sure she still remembers when I almost cut her finger off.

"I would never have hurt you, Sabina. If Alex hadn't given Cray the flashdrive, I would have dropped the scissors and told both of you to run. I would have died for you, even though I barely know you," I tell her. She seems a bit surprised to hear this, but she recovers quickly and nods her head.

Her parents also say goodbye to Alex, and then they leave, boarding a plane back to America.

A few hours later, we are back in my first safe house. MI6 helped repair it; there were only a few minor things, a broken window and a cracked door. There are two beds, and everything we need to survive, plus more.

I walk into Alex's room to say goodnight to him. I don't know if a real father would do this, but I'm doing what feels natural to me.

"Goodnight, Alex," I say, opening the door slightly.

"Goodnight, Yassen. Are you going to stay up for a while?" Alex says in response.

"Maybe for a little while," I tell him. He smiles, and I smile back.

I start to close his door, when he calls out to me.

"Hey, Yassen?"

"Yes, Alex?"

"I…I…um…I…thank you for being like a father to me. Thank you for caring about me so much," he says. I sense that that's not all he wants to say, though. I nod, and wait to see if he says anymore. He just stares at me. I reach for the light and turn it out.

"I love you, Yassen," he blurts. "Like a father, I mean…" he hurries to say, trying to make it not sound weird. This makes me freeze in surprise. He loves me…

"I love you too, Alex," I whisper, barely loud enough for him to hear me. He nods, turns over, and closes his eyes. I close the door quietly behind me as I leave his room.

I stay up studying Japanese until about midnight. Then I decide to go to bed. I lay down, but I can't fall asleep. I've never gone to bed this early. I find my mind starting to wander. A memory comes to mind.

It was right after the mission where he saved my life. We were staying in a house together; we'd be leaving for Malagosto in the morning. Neither of us could sleep for some reason, so we just sat there in the darkness, waiting for morning. Finally, I spoke.

"Why did you do it?" I asked.

"Because I could," John says. That made me laugh.

"Seriously, though, why did you save my life?" I asked, the smile dropping off my face.

"I care about you, Yassen," he said quietly, breaking one of his rules. He spoke my name…he never spoke my name, not even at Malagosto. He did then, though.

"You could have compromised the mission though? Would you still have done it, even if it meant failing the mission?" I asked.

"Yes, I would have. Yassen, you're like a son to me. You are my son, and I would do anything to protect you," John said compassionately. "I love you, Yassen. You have no idea how much I love you. I would never let anything happen to you,"

"Hunter…John…I love you too. You're…you're like a father to me. I never wanted to tell you before. I thought you would think it was weird," I said, feeling an emotion I hadn't felt in years. I felt a rush of love for him.

"You don't have to feel like that. You can tell me anything you want. I don't mind," he says. And suddenly I stood and walked over to him. He held me in his arms, hugging me. I felt tears of joy streaming down my face, and I could hear him murmuring in my ear, "I love you, Yassen. I love you,"

I remember that moment, the moment where John had told me he loved me like a father and I had told him I loved him like he was my father. I feel that unfamiliar feeling now; that feeling of loving someone like family, and the feeling that they love me in the same way. I lean back onto my pillow, smile and close my eyes. Tomorrow, my son and I will start a new life.

All right, just writing that scene brought tears to my eyes, so…maybe it's just me, but I think it's very emotional. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm thinking about writing a sequel…like five years into the future, when Alex is 20 or something. R&R to let me know how you like this story, and let me know if you want me to write a sequel! Please give me ideas for a sequel if you want one, because I want to write one, but I don't know what it will be on. Oh, BTW, I was going to make you wait until Monday to find out what happened in chapter 8, but I was too excited. You're welcome!