Simple

Summary: StandAlone. 5 days into FreakNation, Max's and Alec's relationship deepens.

Disclamer: The characters of Dark Angel do not belong to me. They belong to a guy named James and I think the other's one name is something like Eglee.

Author´s Note: First of, I would like to thank the person who made this possible: Miss Flaymzofice, because she was my Beta for this story, and thanks to her there are now phrases like "how long was I out for?" or "to have your ass handed to you for what you did?" (which, btw, I had to Google, 'cause I had no idea what it actually meant! Lol!) replacing mindless sentences of things I couldn't express the way I wanted.

I really like this story, and I hope you guys will like it too. This story will remain a Stand Alone, but I think I will write a few more Stand Alones following these events, though I still have to finish TRTYIL, and its sequel… yes! There's a sequel... I think…

Enjoy!

Max woke up with a start as the last remains of a dream faded from her mind. She looked around to find practically no one at the Head Quarters of their new home. Their own city.

Terminal City had become transgenic property only five days ago, and taking over the place had been the easy part. The city was a mess, security was a joke, and the supplies were lacking tremendously. She never thought it would be easy, but she had not thought it would be this hard.

Max was lying on a very comfortable couch and a very warm blanket covered her body, a blanket she did not remember wrapping herself with.

"Sorry," she heard a familiar voice say from above.

"Huh?" she managed to utter, as she fought to wake up.

"The damn can fell. Sorry for waking you up," he tried again.

She still did not understand what he was talking about. How long had she been sleeping? Max sat on the couch, never leaving the comforting warmth of the blanket. She yawned, and then looked up to find Alec opening a beer can. She frowned, and got up to make her way up to where the blonde X5 sat in silence.

When she reached the top with sleepy eyes and a messy long mane, he stared at her in amusement. She arched one of eyebrows as she always did whenever Alec talked, moved or breathed. He smirked at her, as he nodded at a chair right across his. She sat there, still swathed in the blanket, and she lifted her legs, wrapping her arms around them, so her entire body would be warm.

"Where is everyone?" she finally asked.

"Sleeping. I told Luke he could take a few hours off, he looked exhausted," he replied, only mentioning the transhuman because he was usually the one on graveyard duty.

"What are you doing here, then?" she asked again.

"Covering for Luke; keeping an eye on the security cameras."

"With a beer in hand?" she asked, with one of her looks.

IIt's not like I can get drunk," he pointed out.

"Where did you get it, anyway?" she asked, slightly amused. "Wait, don't answer that. I can imagine."

He grinned. "Want one?"

"No, thanks," she answered. "How long was I out for?"

Alec shrugged. "Four, maybe five hours?" he replied as he took a sip of his beer.

"What?" she uttered, her back straightening. "Why did you guys let me sleep so long?' she asked. The thing that most struck her was that she had actually slept that much.

"I told the guys not to wake you up. You haven't slept in over five days, Max," he answered, and then carried on as he saw her ready to argue. "I know. You've got shark DNA, you don't need sleep," he recited in a bored voice, "whatever. You looked exhausted." He paused. "You looked like shit, actually."

"Gee, thanks." She rolled her eyes.

He just smiled as he remained silent.

Only five days. It felt longer, though. Max wasn't sure how they were going to pull this off. They were locked in a 10-block radio, surrounded by the military; people hated them, the Familiars were after her… and if she was honest, she didn't know what to do. There were times when she wanted to panic, but wouldn't allow herself to do so, because she had been chosen as leader of the Transgenics, and leaders did not panic. This was why she had kept herself so busy the last five days. If she had nothing to do, then her mind would start thinking, and thinking led to panicking.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. She looked at Alec, who was checking the surveillance cameras. She still didn't know why he was here; why he had decided to stay. She was tired of running and hiding. Those had been her reasons, and she supposed those were the same reasons shared by the others who had remained.

But he, Alec, could have left to Canada. He fitted in perfectly wherever he went. He had a way with people; he knew how to make them love him. Probably, his Manticore training. So the question remained, and it was accompanied by many others: why had he chosen to stay? Why had he come back after she told him to go away the day he had turned against her under White's orders? There were so many things she didn't know about him, some she was curious about, some she was not.

She had never thought much about it, but when Joshua had moved into TC and she had started to help the Transhumans who inhabited the place, Alec had helped her, no questions asked. She looked at him intently. He looked relaxed; why, she did not know. How could he be relaxed at a time like this? But something occurred to her.

Maybe, he'd been through worse.

"Alec," she called, as a question rushed through her mind, unsettling her for the implications the answer could bring. He tore his eyes away from the TV screens. "Do you ever think you'd be better back at Manticore?"

The question had taken him by surprise. He thought about it for a while, searching for the right answer. He didn't want to give her the answer she was hoping to hear, but the answer that would mean something to him.

They had never really talked about Manticore like that. Probably because the one time she had tried, he had sent her off in the rudest way; though, he had been right: she didn't really have the first clue about what Manticore was really like. It had been hard when they were kids, but when her unit had escaped, it had gotten worse.

"I think everything would be simpler," he finally said, looking at her straight in the eyes. He knew she was confused by the way she looked at him, so he knew an explanation was needed. "I don't know if it would be better, but I know everything would be just… simple. Taking orders: that's simple. Carrying out an assignment: that's simple."

Max contemplated Alec's answer, a feeling of despair building inside her chest.

"So, what're you saying? You would go back if you could?" she asked a bit harshly, as the lump in her throat prevented her from expressing what she was actually feeling. Fear.

"That's not what I said. I just said it'd be simpler," he answered, the ghost of a smirk on his face.

The moment he was done talking, all she wanted to do was kick his ass so hard he would never be able to smirk without remembering this particular moment when she had turned to him with complete confidence and trust. And he'd just smirked at her. She hated when he was as cryptic as he was being right now. This was one of the reasons why she fought with him so much; he was never truly honest with her.

"So, what are you saying?" she asked again, this time her harshness replaced by a mix between disdain and distress.

He sighed. "I'm saying that… I love my beer," he said as he raised his can; "I love my pork rinds; I love to play poker whenever I want; and I particularly LOVE the sex."

A slight smile appeared on Max face, these last comments easing her troubled feelings, as she realized that was Alec's way of saying he loved his freedom. But there was something else she needed to know. Freedom could be found everywhere. So why was he still here?

He bit his lower lip, sensing Max's curiosity. He had always known he was overly, and on occasions, unnecessarily sensitive to other people's feelings; that was probably why he knew when to use his charms to get his way, or when to push the right buttons to keep Max's mind away from her usual sad thoughts. An empathic gift, if you must. He knew Max was waiting for an confirmation of his loyalty to their people.

"Do you know why I came back?" he asked her, and she found something in his eyes that reminded her of the night he had spent at her place after she bailed him out of jail: honesty… vulnerability, even. It took her a couple of seconds to register his question, and what he was referring to, such was her surprise at the way he seemed to have read her mind.

"To have your ass handed to you for what you did?" she ventured, unable to keep the hint of hostility from her voice, as she remembered what he had done before leaving her life for the third time. It was one of the primary reasons she found it so difficult to trust him.

"No," he answered with a somewhat sad smile, knowing he deserved that. "I came back because I owed you. I mean-" he tried to explain, but she saw how difficult it seemed for him to express what he was, in a way, feeling. He finally found the right words. "You saved my life… after I almost killed you and Josh," he conveyed, not bothering to hide the admiration he felt for her, from his voice. He looked down at his hands, which still held a relatively cold beer, unable to look at her at the memory of what he had done, the embarrassment too great to feign. "At first, I was just trying to get your money back… but, I don't know, I kinda thought I was needed. That maybe… you could… use my help," he admitted despite himself.

"Use your help," she repeated as she arched one eyebrow, her voice dripping with skepticism.

"Hey, every time you've asked, I've come through," he shot back defensively, though not feeling remotely insulted. After all, this was what their entire relationship was based on. Mindless bickering.

"Come through and complained!" she corrected, starting their lighthearted argument as she grabbed the beer can from his hand and finished it off. "Besides, you didn't help every time I've asked you to."

"I didn't. Name one time," he challenged, getting a new beer from the small cooler by his feet.

"Well," she said, rummaging through the memories of all the times he had actually helped her. She hesitated, until she found something to use to prove her point. "Well, what about when you didn't lose the fight when I asked you to, and I had to kick your ass for it?"

"That doesn't count," he answered, with his usual smirk.

"Why not?" she asked, taking a swing of her beer.

"Because Logan needed the help, not you. He's none of my business," Alec explained, knowing exactly the implications of his answer. "He's not one of mine," he clarified, making it clear that his reluctance to help the Ordinary man was purely a DNA thing.

She rolled her eyes, and with a sigh, she repeated: "So, what you're saying is…"

He smiled; she would not let it go; she would not drop it until he said it loud and clear. "I'm saying: I'm not going anywhere, if that's what you're really asking.2

Max hated to admit it but he knew her pretty well for a pain in her ass; she then thought that it made sense, after all, he knew exactly what buttons to push to tick her off.

She looked down for a moment, deep in thought, while Alec took a gulp off his beer. She then looked up at him and he was somewhat taken aback by the resolution on her eyes.

"Alec, would you be my second in command?" she asked him, never hesitating.

He almost choked with the beer; there was a request he had definitely not been expecting. Max was amused by the look on his face, she knew it wasn't something he had seen coming, especially not from her. Did she really trust him enough to ask him such a thing?

Yes her eyes seem to answer to his silent question.

Alec was surprised at how easy it had been to make the decision. His lips curved little by little until they drew a wide grin among his light-brown stubble. He took a beer can and opened it with the same hand as he handed it to Max, who took it without complaint. As he took another sip of his beer, he gave Max the answer she was waiting for.

"Sure."

They both took a swing of their beers as the dark form of Logan gazed at them form the shadows of the HQ, with a feeling of defeat in his stance.

Reviews are mostly welcome!