WARNING: This chapter contains elements that make it NC17- please do not read if you are under this age.

Set: Post Hello, Goodbye.- Sequel to Rude Awakenings

Disclaimer: I am only inspired by the characters of Dark Angel- their ownership belongs to James Cameron and Fox.

Author’s note: Huge hug to Mel for her great beta job, needed the help. Roon, got rid of the member!!

Chapter 7: It all comes correct in the end.

____________________________________________________________________________

Finally White was no longer a threat to them. Alec knew that the relief would be short lived but it gave them time to recover. TC had taken a lot of damage, the number of fatalities had been high, but they had survived as a people. The danger that the familiars had created was not over. The Senator’s bill was only going be the first of many hurdles that would make life even harder for those born in Manticore. Some new head would sprout to replace White, they would just have to be more careful next time. Knowing how close Gabrielle had allowed White get was frightening.

Logan had gone back to his Eyes Only broadcasts while Max had been recuperating. The regularity with which he was transmitting suggested a renewed commitment. The vigour probably had to do with him throwing himself into his work to try and forget the last few weeks. It gave him a way to cope and a way to atone for the risk he opened them all to with his recklessness. Alec had arranged for a group of X5s to help him from now on. For everyone’s sake his contact with Max was to stay minimal.

In headquarters, he took stock of who had survived and counted his blessings that he hadn’t been here. Though things had been hairy for a while with the familiar woman and White, the injuries and total devastation he had returned to with Max cradled limply in his arms had been terrible. They were working to set it all to right, but it would take time. The wounds, both mental and physical, that they had all sustained needed time to heal. He left them to it and went back to his apartment.

_____________________________________________________________________________

As Max lay sleeping restfully for the first time since she was injured, Alec looked down at the face of the woman he loved. He was a coward and he knew it. He had told Asha he would tell a woman if he wanted her, make sure that she knew that he loved her. "But Manticore had done at least one thing right," he thought ruefully. They had imbued him with a strong survival instinct. He had always thought telling Max that he loved her would be akin to emotional suicide. Instead of letting her know, for far too long he’d let her proximity to him slowly torture him to death. This time he had almost been too late to save her. Urgent medical attention and a generous dose of his blood had kept her alive, just. Now he needed to learn to take a leap of faith.

He had always hoped to be the one to save her from her own self-destructive tendencies. She had always been quick to let him know how selfish she thought he was- in truth all he could think of was her. Love could make you do the wacky, maybe that was something psyops should have looked into further. Now here he was guarding her as her body tried to do its thing and recover. As he laid a palm gently against her cheek he realised that she still felt deathly cold. He eased his body down to hold her, to warm her. She fitted so snugly against him. She began to warm up and her breathing became more regular.

As she overwhelmed his senses he nuzzled into her hair. Surely there was nothing wrong with him smelling her. Nothing could be so wrong with getting close to the warmth and inhaling the aroma that was uniquely Max. And a taste, the honey skin of her neck beckoned him. His tongue protruded between his lips and tentatively touched the skin. She was like an illicit substance. She was intoxicating. She was addictive. He was gone and he was terrified to let her know how far.

He groaned as he realised just how far he was in over his head. His head kept telling him, "run while you still have a chance." So why were his feet still here? Sometimes animal instincts were a bitch. She may never accept it, but his body knew her as his mate- instinctively he had to protect her, he needed to be near her, he had to touch her. So in the past they had fought. Maybe he was just a masochist but at least he been given a physical jolt every time they had touched. It grounded him, kept him sane- stopped him from crawling up the walls. He realised that for a long time she has rejected that part of her psyche, that she may never realise what they were. Instead she could end up continuing to play this cat and mouse game with Logan forever. No one ever happy, everyone frustrated. He knew though he had to take the chance that she still wanted him, with his last grain of hope he lowered his lips to hers to find his answers.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Max awoke to a warm feeling of belonging. Before opening her eyes she felt his lips caress hers and her heart leapt inside. Again he brushed his lip tentatively against hers. She opened her chocolate brown eyes into hopeful hazel ones. Moving her hand up into his hair she pulled him back to her and deepened the kiss.

As he moved away breathless for air she tried to express what she needed to tell him. "Alec I have to tell you that…" He put his fingers to her lips to quiet her.

"It’s okay Max, I know, and I’m sorry. I love you." As she nodded her eyes shining up at him he continued. "But when you are up and around let’s not do this not talking crap any more. We just end up chasing our tails. This means too much to let our doubts play havoc." He kissed her forehead gently and went to rise from the bed.

Max wasn’t ready to let him go at the moment. She reached out and clasped his hand before he could move away and pulled him back down against her. Moving her hand to the bottom of his top she tried to lift but he stilled her, concerned for her injuries. "Just be gentle with me." She brushed away his fears of hurting her and he allowed her to progress. Just holding her in his arms was enough for him but she wanted more. He brushed her hair back from her face and brought his lips to meet hers in a soft caress. He was going to take it slow and savour this.

She loved the feel of his skin, her hands slowly caressed his silken chest. He never failed to fascinate with how perfectly he was shaped, muscular but not overly so. Just well toned. Lean and strong, she followed the line of the pectoral muscles. She brought her lips down to place light kisses across his chest.

Her mouth and hands moving over his skin were distracting. Slowly he removed her shirt; it was her gradually exposed skin that had his focus. His lips moved to the swanlike column of her neck and tasted her. His hands worshipped her soft satiny flesh. The sensation of her naked skin against his was heaven. Looking into her eyes he could see his love reflected back at him. His hand moved to her bandages and he looked questioningly at her to make sure she was fine. He didn’t want to hurt her, never had, but especially now that he only wanted to cherish her.

As she reassured him with a smile, he moved carefully down the bed to worship her body. His mouth claimed her exposed peaks and gently he savoured the salty tang of her skin. His hands moved lower and cautiously divested her of her remaining clothes. She winched and he stopped, but she indicated again that she was fine so he continued. This time with even more reverence. He moved away and removed the rest of his. Slowly he moved his hands up her thighs, caressing the creamy smooth skin. Moving down to between her thighs his fingers met with liquid heat and she whimpered. Lowering himself he breathed sensuously on her but she wanted more from him, fingers in his hair she showed him what she needed. With one hand steadying her hips his tongue explored her, lavished her with its attention. Gradually he built her up, making her moan with the sensations he was creating. Feeling her body tensing he concentrated on the small bud of nerves till with a groan of ecstasy she shattered. She pulled him up to meet her lips, the need to feel him inside her to be joined as one, overwhelming.

He moved his body over her carefully, positioning himself so he would put no pressure onto her wound. She moved her hip feeling him hard against her, she rubbed sensuously against him, tantalising him, inviting him to join with her. He moved back and entered her slowly, savouring the feeling as she enveloped him. The rhythm was unhurried but incredibly erotic as he built the desire in them both leisurely but surely. The feel of her skin as he grazed against it hot and moist. His lips nibbled on her neck at the point where it met the shoulder, sampling her, fighting down the urge to bite her, mark her as his. Her breathing started quicken and he felt her body’s muscles starting to contract. Tenderly his lips met hers as he felt her reaching her climax, he trembled as carefully as he could as he followed her, as always never far behind, into a blissful torpor.

 As their heartbeats gradually slowed, Max finally gave away her heart to him. " Alec, I love you." She whispered emotionally looking him straight in the eyes. The relief that washed over her was a surprise. Fear was nowhere to be seen. She watched as he took it in and accepted her gift, the look of pure joy on his face was worth it all. She felt his arms relax around her as sleep claimed him. Revelling in the feeling of utter contentment, Max stayed cocooned within his arms for a little while.

 ________________________________________________________________________________________________

Her body insisted that she get up for sustenance. She had eaten and drunk little since White had attacked. Easing out of bed she padded though to the kitchen. She shook her head in wonder as she stood going over the past few weeks in her mind. Why had she always fought it? Of course part of it was that she had always felt a little uncomfortable being close to someone who resembled Ben; his face had always been a constant reminder of one of those devastatingly hard decisions. Now she only saw Alec, the resemblance had only been skin deep. But it had been more than that which had been in the way. Logan had always been safe. Never any real pressure- or maybe any real passion- it had been nice, simple and controlled. Now she felt anything but in control.

This with Alec could be ugly and rough and dirty but, by Ben’s Blue Lady or whatever, it was real. How could she have lived such a half-life out of fear for so long? She had told Logan so long ago that she had been searching, reaching out for someone like her. That was what had driven her to find Zack and the others. Rather ironical really, that when she found what she had looking for in Alec, she had rejected it for so long. Maybe all the lessons about conquering fear that Manticore had drilled into them weren’t as ingrained as she thought. Or maybe they had never been equipped to deal with their fears of the unknown or fears of the heart.

Alec. She looked across the room at his sleeping profile. He was beautiful: she had always known he was physically possibly the most perfect specimen she had seen. Actually she had thought the same of Ben; heartbreakingly beautiful. But now she was letting herself perceive the inner beauty. Somewhere she’d heard that a person’s attractiveness could change as you got to know them; as your perception of them changed. Logan had lost his beauty as he had been confronted by the virus, forcing him to step back from her, to release his hold on her. One minute he was possessive the next he was dismissive, he had played her emotionally for the last six months. He no longer blinded her by his overwhelming sense of justice, like Don Quixote he would always be tilting at windmills for other people. He was too self-absorbed to share himself with those that were near him. His causes would always be the first priority issue. He had always been trying so very hard to be the hero that he didn’t seem to know how to just be a man. Through it all Alec had been there: quite and unassuming with his support and never demanding her adulation or praise. He had always appreciated her for just being herself, not for her attempts to be more human.

A smile curved her lips as she remembered all the times that Alec had been there to watch her back. She realised now that her constant irritation had been because her physical need for him was being thwarted by her mind’s game to keep him at arms length. Talk about conflicted. She had been carrying the battle around inside her so long: no wonder she had been such a bitch this last year.

She stilled, the room had become charged. From the bed a pair of intense hazel green eyes watched her. "Like a predator studying its prey" a voice in her mind whispered, only to be contradicted by a more primal voice. "Or appraising its mate." Instinctively the animal in her began to respond. Alec let out a hybrid sound, a cross between a purr and a growl, as he called her name.

With one word he had conveyed his want, need, desire and ownership.

"Am I Ok with this?" her mind inquired. And as she blurred to the bed the answer came.

"Yes, because here it was equal and went two ways." Her mind gave her the reason for her acceptance, " because you possess him too- body mind and soul."

 Fine

Please Review by following any of the following links.

To DA Index--->