Author: Fayth
Email: [email protected]
Pairing: M/A
Rating: PG13?
Disclaimer: The show has been cancelled. But Cameron and Eglee still have rights�damn them.
Summary: Realisations all around.
A/N: My first Dark Angel fic, so feedback would be appreciated.
A/N: Biggs is still alive in my story because he was such a sweetie. It�s my story and I�ll resurrect if I want to.
Terminal city was, for once, calm and full of everyday living rather than the constant red alert crisis centre it had been of late.
Original Cindy was taking things easy and sitting back, chilling with her new pal Joshua.
�Ya know boo, it�s about damn time this place relaxed enough to catch up on some zees, if you catch my drift?�
�Zee�s.� Joshua repeated gleefully and O.C. smiled.
This was nice. To just sit back and not have to worry about someone who was off on some mission to save their butts or have the place buzzing because some rescue was going on. She sat back against the wall in the room that the transgenic family had named their recreation room, complete with pool table, foosball table and darts board.
�That�s right ma boy, its been all go, all the time and Original Cindy is relieved to let go of the drama- rama for five.�
Joshua nodded �Its pretty whack.�
O.C stretched �Whack is right Josh, why Original Cindy ain�t even had time to scope out some honeys and get with the loving. I�m in need of a squeeze.�
Joshua frowned, his canine features more pronounced as he puzzled over her phrase �Squeeze Cindy?� he cocked his head �Wont that hurt?�
O.C laughed �Not that kinda squeeze,� she paused and added mischievously �At least not all the time.�
�Squeeze how?� Joshua leaned forward always eager to learn and be a part of the world that he knew would never accept someone who looked like him.
O.C was always ready to impart some wisdom to her fellow man- or dog man.
�A squeeze is like a honey. You know someone to keep ya�ll warm at night and to kiss and snuggle up some. You know?�
�Annie.� Joshua said and his face fell.
O.C had heard all about the blind woman that Joshua had fallen for all those months ago and she reached down and patted his hand.
�Chin up boo, your chickie would have wanted ya�ll to move on.�
Joshua raised his head �Joshua chin up.� He gave her a shy grin as she nodded in approval.
�That�s my boy.�
�Cindy have squeeze?� Joshua asked after a moment.
O.C thought about it for a second �Well there was this fine looking blonde sweet thing at Crash but this sista is looking for something a little more than a one nighter. I think its time I got me a soulmate.�
�Soul. Mate?�
�Uh huh.� She ran her fingers through her hair �See Boo, a soulmate is special to ya. Like your Annie girl. its someone who you know you�ll be with even if ya�ll fight it, the heat and chemistry is always there. It could be someone who ya�ll be fighting like cat and dog with but then one day the gaze connects the vibe hits and BAM.� Joshua jumped �Soul mates. Meant to be.�
�Huh huh bam.� Joshua chuckled.
�Right, the start though that�s my favourite time. The soft lingering looks and sly glances, feeling that goes right down to the tickles and all, making up lame excuses to be with each other and then,�
�Bam.!� Joshua filled in, clapping his hands when O.C agreed with him �Like R-Romeo and J-Juliet?�
�Right, how d�ya know about them?�
�Fathers books.� Joshua confessed
�Well yeah Soulmates like Romeo and his Julie, but without the poisoning at the end.� She grinned
�Or Robin and Marion.�
O.C chuckled �How about Fred and Ginger?�
�Max and Alec.� Joshua added in delight at the game they were playing.
Original Cindy closed her gaping mouth and sat back �Say what now?�
�Little fella and Alec?� Joshua�s broad grin faded some �Looks, touches and bam?�
She stared at him �Ain�t no way pretty boy�s getting bam with my boo. She would�ve told me.�
�Not bam yet.� Joshua crept forward conspiratorially �But soon.�
�Boy you tripping.� She shook her head. There was no way that Max and Alec were soulmates, they couldn�t even be in the same room as each other without trying to kill each other. Could they?
�No trip, no trip. Joshua see little fella all sad with Logan but when he went away and Alec comes, Max happy with Alec. Not so sad.� He nodded as if this was all solved.
O.C considered this. A few weeks of being unable to touch each other had taken its toll on Max and Logan and they�d broken up- this time it was for good and Logan fell into the waiting arms of Asha.
Max had shrugged it off and buried herself in getting terminal City ready for attack and habitable for all the genetically engineered refugees. She had been efficient and effective but underneath her brusque exterior there was sadness in her voice and her eyes that had only very recently begun to dissipate. O.C had never attributed it to Alec though.
Since he had first entered their lives Max had nothing but distain and annoyance for the boy. He�d been the bane of her existence and the subject of more than one late night rant. Original Cindy was forever hearing how irresponsible, untrustworthy, infuriating and unreliable he was, and yet now she thought about it Max did trust him, and rely on him and recently had no cross words to say about him.
As she began to rethink Joshua decided she needed more proof
�Come with Joshua.� he grabbed her hand and dragged her to her feet. He pulled her out of the rec room and over the balcony which overlooked most of the warehouse where the transgenics had made their headquarters and led her towards the basement. He led her down the stairs to the store rooms.
He peered around the door to the armoury and gestured that she do the same.
The room was like the rest of the warehouse, grungy, dingy and an off white colour that had probably looked dirty the day they painted it on.
Against the walls were racks of metal shelving with enough weapons to keep a small country armed.
Max was checking over the weapons, making sure that they were in serviceable order and with enough ammunition so that if they were attacked then they would stand a fighting chance. Alec sat across from her running through the checklist. They ran through numbers and series so fast that Original Cindy couldn�t keep up and didn�t even try. What she did was watch them closely.
Although Max was a genetically engineered soldier capable of killing her without breaking a sweat, Max always looked like a delicate beautiful young model with long silky brown hair and a rosebud mouth. The only way that you could tell that she was different was if you looked into her eyes. Eyes which were older and sadder than they had a right to be and eyes that could chill you to the bone.
Alec also held the movie star good looks that ensured that he was never without a date. Girls flocked to him because of his looks and stayed because of the charm, although there must have been something wrong because he never stayed with the same one for more than two dates before a new one was in her place. Even Original Cindy, although preferring the female of the species, had considered Alec as a perfect male specimen. Say what you wanted about the sadistic tendencies of the concentration camp that was Manticore- they knew how to make them pretty.
As she watched she noted the easy familiarity that they exuded, it was something that she hadn�t noticed before..
Max turned to put another gun in its rack and Alec handed it to her. They shared a small smile and it stole O.C�s breath
�Bam.� She whispered and withdrew, stunned.
�Bam.� Joshua agreed �Little fella and medium fella. Soul mates.�
O.C crossed her arms and followed Joshua as he moved across the compound.
�Josh my man, they are as clueless as a newborn. We have to get those two together.�
�Max and Alec, that�s the plan.� He nodded
A slow smile spread across O.C�s face �Aiight boo, I think I know how.�
2
Alec watched as Max checked over the last of the guns, running her fingers over its parts in an efficient manner. She slammed the round in with a click and pulled it, her small hands moving like a blur as she expertly handled the weapon.
�Assault rifle, 10k, 400 rounds.� She reeled off and Alec made a note on the board.
When he looked up again she had her back to him putting the gun back on the rack which meant that she couldn�t see him ogling her ass.
He�d never tell her but watching Max had become his favourite pastime. It wasn�t just that she was beautiful, he�d grown up in Manticore where physical attractiveness was as much a prerequisite as speed; and since he�d been out there had been no shortage of attractive women eager to give him company. No there was something else about Max. Had always been if the truth be told.
Maybe it was her caring spirit and the way she�d put her life on the line if it meant helping someone out, even if she would deny such sentimentality. Maybe it was her love of life and freedom which she had fought for all those years, or maybe it was just the fact that she refused to take his crap.
She�d smack him upside the head and tell him to get over himself and no matter how much it frustrated, grated and downright stung- she was immune to his charms.
Any other girl he could smile and cajole in or out of anything- but not Max. No matter how much he flirted or teased she refused to see him as anything other than a friend.
Although it was a miracle she could even see him as that much after all the things that he had done to her. And Logan.
Boy was he glad that that jerk was no longer in the picture. Alec had never thought that Logan was any good for Max, and had wanted to throw an old fashioned tickertape parade the day that Max had finally broken up with the sanctimonious do-gooder. But he had restrained his shouts of glee and wild dances until he was alone in his room. He didn�t want to hurt Max�s feelings because no matter what she said he knew that she had had feelings for the Dumbass.
And he would give anything to keep Max from being hurt. The thought almost caused him to laugh out loud in surprise, imagine that; egotistical, self centred Alec would do anything to keep Max safe because somewhere along the line he had fallen head over heels for the headstrong transgenic.
He could pin point the exact day that he had discovered these disconcerting feelings.
They were at Crash, before the whole thing with White, when Freak Nation hadn�t even been heard of and they still worked at Jam Pony.
He had been sitting at the table with Sketchy just nursing a pitcher of beer and watching Max and O.C hustle some guys at pool.
They were laughing as the guy was losing not only the game but his cool. He had turned to Max and offered something other than money as a forfeit and Max had rebuffed him.
He called her a name that shouldn�t be used in polite society and grabbed her ass. Before he even knew what he was doing, Alec was halfway out of his chair ready to pound the guy for daring to touch his girl.
It was that thought, rather than Max�s fist connecting with the guy�s face that stopped him dead. *His girl*? When had Max ever been his?
She turned to Original Cindy laughing and the sparkle had come back into her eyes and he felt his heart give an uncomfortable lurch as he realised why he had those feelings.
Needless to say, much to Sketchy�s surprise, Alec had fled Crash in a panic, shocked to his core at the feelings that he thought that he would never have. The next day he had tried to avoid Max as much as possible and the day after and every day for a week until she had grabbed him by the front of his collar, slammed him against his locker and told him to stop being such a jerk.
It was then, pinned against the metal locker and seeing her beautiful almond eyes staring up at him that he realised that he could be around her, as long as she never realised the extent of his feelings for her and the reasons why he hung around and helped her out.
Maybe then she�d see how much he had changed and wanted to be worthy of her and not such a screw up. Maybe, in time, she�d come to see him as more than a friend and maybe one day she would possibly see him as someone she could trust and rely on and as something more than an annoyance.
�Earth to Alec?� he glanced up surprised as Max caught him daydreaming. A small smile played across her lips. �Welcome back.�
�Why did ya miss me?� he replied with a smirk �Just couldn�t handle me not talking to you for five seconds, could ya Maxie?�
She rolled her eyes at his playfulness. She could always count on Alec to lighten the mood. She played back.
�Whatever you need to tell yourself. Are we done here?�
He passed her the clipboard and she scanned it seeing the neat rows of information and the easy way that she could incorporate the data. He really was a blessing, he had a flair for organisation and had the ability to make her feel better, it was something that she cherished; even if she never told him so.
�Good job.�
He started and blinked at her �What?�
She looked up at him �What?�
�Did my ears deceive me? Did Commander Max actually say that I had done something right?�
His face showed that although he was teasing he was genuinely surprised by her comment and she frowned. She knew that originally she had been hard on him, she blamed him for looking too much like the brother that she had failed and then she blamed him for the virus and losing her chance with Logan but recently she couldn�t imagine her life without him. She frowned harder as she couldn�t recall the last time that she had praised him for something, or told him how much she appreciated him. She was a soldier and that kind of thing didn�t come naturally.
It should though. She decided as she tried to figure out the best way to tell him that she was sorry for being such a bitch to him all the time and that she actually valued his input, without sounding like a sappy girl.
�Yeah.� she sighed �Alec-� her serious expression made him lean closer but before she could speak she heard her name being called from the warehouse.
�Max?� the light in the doorway dimmed as Mole walked in, holding his ever present rifle and his cigar smoking away in his mouth.
�What�s up Mole?�
�New arrivals.� He inclined his head up the stairs.
3
Max sighed. She had said that she wanted to be informed of every new arrival and have them greet her. It was the only way she knew to keep the chain of command running smoothly and let her know exactly what was going on in her post. This way she could keep an eye on who was coming in, how many more mouths they had to feed and anyone with usable talents who cropped up. It was a great idea but with the scores that kept on arriving it was time consuming too, especially since she had something important that she wanted to say to Alec. She looked up into his blue eyes and sighed. It had to wait, as always her job had to come before personal issues.
�Ok Mole. I�m coming.� She walked over to the doorway and glanced back at Alec, she bit her lip wondering whether to just say what was on her mind but decided against it just then. It wasn�t like either of them was going anywhere. She turned and walked away into the heart of Terminal City�s transgenic headquarters.
The huge warehouse had been the only place big enough to house all the machines, the technology and the manpower that was needed to run an operation as big as Terminal City; the security, the supply line, the surveillance system and the commanding headquarters where they made all their decisions.
Luke � a sweet non-human with a baby-like face who had been engineered to build trenches- stood in one corner surrounded by dozens of TV screens each showing a different part of the City, on the look out for any trouble, he was aided by several non-humans whose eyes flickered between newsreels, game shows and the city. The huge table in the centre of the room was filled with maps and schematics for the City and surrounding areas with special emphasis on any government buildings in the area. In a room leading off to one side was the corridor that led to the hospital wing where their med team had an almost fully functional hospital surgery set up.
Rotations of surveillance and perimeter guard duty were tacked up in the office of the chief of security along with plans for expansion into the outer limits of Terminal City and its buildings, supply details and checkpoints and other essential paperwork.
The whole area just bustled with activity of people going about their lives; it was enough to make Max�s heart swell with pride.
Her family was doing aiight.
�Several kids,� Mole was saying around his cigar �X series entered Seattle area this morning and snuck around the back way. They were caught by sentry duty and asked to be led to command.� He smirked �That�s you Princess.�
Max nodded acknowledging his manner and she felt Alec come up behind her.
�Piece of shit!� she heard Dix kick something behind her in frustration and fought back a grin. Dix loved to tinker with stuff, see how it worked and try to put it back together again. The transhuman with the optic eye was great at it, but occasionally he came across something he had trouble with and it looked like this was one of those times.
�They look kinda dirty ta me.� Mole went on almost talking to himself and Max sighed.
�Okay Mole.� She turned away from the lizard man and moved towards the centre of the room. In front of her with their backs to her stood six children standing to attention in a way that only Manticore soldiers knew how.
�At ease.� She smiled and walked around to the front of them.
�Max? Max!� before she knew what was going on she was hit by two small missiles around waist level.
�Back in line!� hissed a tall dark haired lad at them.
�Zero?� Max peered at the kid and then pushed back the two that had a tight hold on her �Ralph and Bugler right?�
Ralph turned a red colour under her pale blonde hair as she pulled Bugler back in line.
�Sorry Ma�am.�
Max heard numerous chuckles from behind her and knew that the whole of command was watching this.
Great now she was going to have mother hen jokes all week.
�Its okay guys. Hey Fixit, Bullet how�s it going?�
�Fine thank you Max, Sir.� Zero saluted with a grin.
She walked over to him and ruffled his hair.
These children had been the first she had rescued from White�s clutches back when she had first destroyed Manticore over three years ago. They really had grown up, looking now to be in their early teens, except Bugler who was much younger.
�Who�s this?� Max nodded towards the small girl who hung shyly back, she had blonde hair that was fine it was almost white.
�X8- 621 ma�am.� She said quickly until Fixit nudged her �Uh Icy.�
�Icy huh?�
�We found her in a snowdrift up north.� Ralph explained �The rest of her unit was missing.�
�Sir!� Zero saluted again as he saw Alec and the rest of them followed suit.
�Hey guys.� Alec gave them a little wave and smirked at Max who rolled her eyes.
�I thought you guys were headed for Canada.�
Bullet shrugged �We were but then we caught a broadcast about this stronghold and we thought we might be able to be of some use.�
�Can we stay?� Bugler looked up at her with hope in his eyes.
�Sure.� She smiled at him. �Everyone works here though so you will be assigned some duties too, might be garbage detail might be med.� She looked at them �Fixit, you excelled at diagnostics and repair right?�
The ginger haired young girl nodded.
�Hey Dix, recruit for ya.� Max yelled and the fair skinned transgenic nodded and motioned for the girl to come up towards him. Fixit saluted to Max and rushed off.
�Travit can you get these guys bunked in and then you can report for duty to Mole.� She pointed to where Mole was talking to Luke about the screens.
Travit was a white skinned, white haired transgenic that had been especially designed for Antarctic procedures and he was great with the younger transgenics.
�Sure thing boss.� He said and motioned for the kids to follow him.
Max watched as they followed him without question and smiled as Bugler waved merrily.
�Is he an X8?� Alec asked.
�Bugle Corps.� She replied �Hence the name.�
�Was there something you wanted to say to me Max?� he peered at her with sincerity in his face.
She bit her lip, unsure what to say now that she was surrounded by everyone and not alone with him. It was one thing to talk to him but quite another to drop her tough guy fa�ade before the men who respected her.
�It can wait.� She glanced at him softly and walked away.
Alec stared after her with a confused expression.
4
Ames White was not a patient man and if there was one thing that he hated above all else it was inefficiency, and the idiots around him were inefficient. Not only had they been unable to stop the transgenics from inhabiting the city they had neglected to destroy them once they were there and, on top of that, there was a new wave of feeling towards the transgenics and their cause thanks to certain tabloids like that New World weekly and its pro-transgenic approach.
How the hell that new reporter had managed to get interviews and pictures with some of the transgenics when they were supposedly �contained� he wanted so very badly to find out. But like everything else it would have to wait.
There was only thing that he really wanted- that really mattered to him.
�Otto, tell me that you have something?�
The tall Hispanic man looked up at his commanding officer.
�Sir?�
White fought the urge to roll his eyes. Otto wasn�t the sharpest tool in the box but he had been loyal to White which was one of the reasons that he was still alive right now.
�Intel reported that several more transgenics found their way into the compound yesterday.�
White�s already fragile grasp on his temper snapped and he kicked the metal table in front of him. To his credit Otto didn�t even blink as the table that was no longer nailed down shot across the room smacking against the wall with a loud bang.
�How the hell are they getting in?�
�Perhaps they have men stationed on the perimeter of the city that we are unaware of and they have been keeping a watch for new arrivals. Since the media keeps regular updates on the situation and these are reaching further a field those transgenics who were unaware of the stronghold are being informed and are making their way here.�
White had frozen during Otto�s speech and now he turned slowly.
�Once again Otto you�ve earned your pay today.� Despite himself he was impressed with the man�s insight.
�Let�s have two teams do a search of the Seattle perimeter for these watchmen. Use the thermo scanners and eyes open.�
White rubbed his hands together, his mind in a whirl at how he could use this new information to his advantage. Maybe if there were new arrivals he could capture them before the transgenics could take them to the safe house and he could lay a trap for them to be rescued. That way he might be able to get the only thing that he cared about- 452.
Sketchy smiled widely as his editor- Bernie scanned the page he had taken so long to transcribe.
�This is great work Sketchy.� The gruff man admitted his eyes open wide. �Is it all true?�
Sketchy nodded �Yeah, I checked and doubled checked dates and even got a quote from an army official that was there at the time. He doesn�t mind being quoted. Said he�ll do whatever to help the transgenics cause.�
�That right?� Bernie took his cigar from the tray reminding Sketchy of Mole at the headquarters.
When he had first started to work here, back when he had only just heard of transgenics and when he didn�t know that his best friends were transgenic he hadn�t gotten along with Bernie. Bernie thought he was just another loser out looking for prestige but when Sketchy had approached him with full details of the Transgenics and their cause, courtesy of Max, Bernie had done a complete about face.
Sketchy remembered the long conversation he had had when he tried to convince Bernie that making New World Weekly the only Pro- transgenic paper would make damn sure that sales went up and the fact that Sketchy could give the paper exclusive interviews with the transgenics themselves was what had finally tipped the scales. Overnight the paper had turned things around so that they were in full support of those in Terminal City and slowly they were changing people�s minds.
Soldiers and generals who recalled fighting alongside the Manticore soldiers were eager to add support to comrades and those who had known those who had escaped supported them by writing in with experiences of how this transgenic had saved their life or helped them out in this way and that way.
NWW was no longer a small tabloid because somewhere along the line, someone high up had agreed with them and handed them funding to keep the paper in high circulation. Apparently his son had been saved by a transgenic in some foreign war or other.
And Sketchy felt like he was finally making up for all the times that he had let Max down, the other day she had actually crept out of Terminal City to come and see him to tell him what a great job he was doing. It meant a lot to him that she would do that and he really thought that she would be pleased with the latest story.
Mole had spilled more details about the missions he went on and he had people transfixed by photos of his lizard like appearance and tales of desert heats and jungle warfare. It was a gripping read and had secured them subscriptions galore.
�Print it.� Bernie smiled broadly and Sketchy grinned, grabbing the papers to run the presses.
Max was looking over papers in the great hall when the X7�s came back with Travit.
�You get bunked down?� she asked pleasantly.
�Uh huh.� Ralph smiled at her �Reporting for duty now.�
Max looked around for Mole who was supposed to be dealing with rotations this week and would be able to tell the kids where they would be best suited but the gruff transgenic had wandered off. He had a habit of doing that- not wanting to get too predictable and tied down. Still he�d feel undermined if she randomly assigned these guys tasks.
�Well I guess that the duty will have to wait until tomorrow,� she paused �I�ll just remember not to put you in med.� She grinned at a blushing Ralph remembering that the first time she�d seen Ralph was when she was throwing up whilst Max was fixing a bullet wound.
�I�m better now.� she said defensively and the rest of the X-7�s laughed.
�Take the afternoon off, go check out the rest of Terminal City but just remember to avoid the perimeter in case there are squads outside.�
�Yes Ma�am.� They saluted and walked away chattering, Max turned back to her map until she registered that one of them hadn�t left.
�What�s up Bullet?�
The young guy had sandy blonde hair and big brown eyes which were fixed on her face. He had been named Bullet because the first time she had seen him he had been shot by an extermination squad. She had cauterised the wound and helped him and his friends escape.
�Can I help?� He gestured to the maps �I excelled in strategy and recon.� His eager look wasn�t lost on her.
Max shrugged �Help yourself.�
The kid beamed and moved closer.
Alec had been all over Terminal City just watching to make sure that everything was running smoothly- or as Max would say, to go and brood. He knew that there was something that Max had wanted to say to him this morning but they had been interrupted before she could say anything. He could tell that whatever it was, was bothering her because she hadn�t been her usual acid self to him, although to give her her dues she had been much nicer to him recently- it was almost enough to make a guy hope that�
He shook his head trying not to get his hopes up.
As he entered the base of operations he saw her with her head bent over the table in animated discussion with one of those kids that they had rescued that night all those months ago. What was his name? Bullet or something. He laughed at Max�s names for them, he�d obviously gotten off lightly as when it came to names she appeared to have a lack of imagination. She seemed to take whatever came to her head first and reshape it, probably a good idea that she had thought he was a smart- Alec; after she had hit him he could have been named Concussion.
He stood back in the shadows and watched as she laughed at something the kid had said and reached out to ruffle his hair. The boy smiled up at her with plain adoration on his face and it was obvious that he was hanging on her every word and Alec couldn�t help the grin that spread across his face. Someone had a crush! Not that he could blame the kid, having the biggest crush of all for over two years before admitting that he was, in fact, head over heels in love with the girl.
Even if she did take every opportunity to smack him around. The thought made him grin harder.
He pushed himself away from the wall and crossed the bay.
�Hey Maxie.� The little kid scowled at him as if he was deliberately taking away her attention.
�Alec.� She smiled and he almost looked around to see who she was smiling at because he was sure that it wasn�t at him.
�Picked you up a paper.� He tossed the New World Weekly on the desk in front of her.
�Isn�t that Mole?� Bullet asked with a confused look at the picture on the cover.
�We have a friend on the inside.� She grinned at the thought of Sketchy �Plus I think Mole wants to be a celebrity.�
�Everyone�s after their 15 minutes of fame.� Alec added as she flipped through the pages.
�Is that kind of exposure a good idea?� Bullet frowned
�It�s great.� Max smiled at him and Alec could have sworn the kid melted.
�What�s happening?� he gestured to the maps.
�We got info that a truck load of transgenics are on their way here, we were trying to come up with a route that takes fewest sector checkpoints to get them to TC.�
Alec moved closer inhaling her sweet scent �Where are they hailing from?�
�South.� She pointed at the bottom of the map as he moved even closer and looked over her shoulder, fully expecting her to elbow him in the ribs and tell him about personal space.
To his surprise she didn�t say a word.
�So when do we do this?�
�They are coming in tonight, and I will be taking a team, you�ll be staying here.�
His jaw dropped �Max!�
Why would she make him stay here? He was the best choice for the mission, he had been on rescue and evade missions with her before so why was she suddenly wanting him away from the field� unless she didn�t trust him. He swallowed hard at the thought.
�It would make more sense if I-� he began his voice tight with hurt and confusion searching desperately for a reason why she wouldn�t want him out there with her.
Max searched his eyes at his strained tone.
�Bullet would you excuse us for a second?� she glanced down at the boy receiving a grin in return.
She motioned for Alec to follow her up to her office and shut the door behind them.
�Alec?�
�Just don�t.� he bit out, his hands grasping the back of the chair so hard his knuckles were turning white.
�Just tell me why huh Max, I haven�t screwed up any missions, I haven�t shirked your orders or proved a liability so why keep me on the fence huh?� he choked past his hurt �Why don�t you trust me?�
Max stared shocked for a minute.
�You think I don�t trust you?�
�Why else would I have to stay behind?� he closed his eyes in disbelief. He had tried to prove himself to her time and time again and she still couldn�t think of him as useful or as anything more than a screw up. It hurt so badly that she still didn�t trust him.
�Alec,� she paused �I have to go on this mission to show that I am prepared to do whatever I would have everyone else do. To show that I am not scared, not still a run-away oh-niner. But if something happens to me, I want to know that I have left TC and all the transgenics in the most capable hands that I have.�
He looked up slowly
�That�s you Alec. There is no one that I trust more. I know that I can rely on you to keep everyone safe and to keep them going if anything happens to me. Its not that I don�t want you out in the field cause God knows we could use you. You have more tactical sense that most and you can follow orders.� She started to pace �You can contribute and I always value your input.� She abruptly turned to face him ignoring the shock that she saw on his face. �But I need you here.�
Alec couldn�t think. He couldn�t believe that that had come from Max. She trusted him? She valued him? She thought he was capable of taking care of TC? He felt as if his world had just turned on its head.
Max�s lips twitched at the dumbfounded look on his face and she moved forward and placed her hands over his.
�This is something I should have said a long time ago.� She took a deep breath
�I�m sorry Alec.�
His eyes shot to hers.
�I�m sorry for all the times I called you a screw up, I have never believed that. You were never a screw up.� She paused �Occasionally a Dumbass but not a screw up.�
He laughed despite himself.
�There is no way that I would have gotten through these last few months without your help and I never told you exactly how much I value you. I do.�
She smiled and to Alec it was the sweetest thing he had ever seen in his entire life.
�Although you tell anyone I said that and I�ll put the smack down on your ass.� She said with her usual aggressive nature.
Suddenly Alec felt much less off kilter and he sighed �Oh thank God, for a moment there I thought I was talking to the nice twin.�
Max slapped his arm. �Jerk I don�t know why I bother!� but she couldn�t stop her lips from curving.
�Hey, just because you have this fixation on my ass-�
�Don�t finish that if you value your manhood.� She raised an eyebrow and headed for the door.
�I�ll call a meeting for the mission in two hours, be here.�
�Sure thing boss.� He watched as her ass sashayed away �Oh hey Max.�
She half turned and glanced over her shoulder. He tried to come up with some witty rejoinder about how she valued him but he couldn�t cheapen the gesture, not when it meant so much to him.
�Thanks.� He said simply, sincerely and she nodded as she walked away.