Title: Baby

Fandom: Dark Angel

Pairing: M/A

Summary: Set after Freak Nation. This is the second fic I've written in my Something Beautiful 'Verse. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel or any of it's characters but, I sure as hell wish I owned Alec.

Max smiled gleefully, her whole face glowing with happiness as she watched Alec play with Gem's daughter Hope. He was holding the baby up in the air blowing raspberries on her tummy. Hope was gurgling happily, her arms waving and her legs pumping excitedly. Alec pulled his face away from Hope's belly, grinning brightly. He pulled her close to his chest and spoke happily, "You like that princess, huh?"

Hope's response was to smile and pump her legs. Another adorable grin lit up Alec's face and he kissed Hope's head gently before saying, "You're so adorable princess. Did you know that?"

She giggled. "Oh, of course you did. How silly of me.", he said, smiling playfully.

He lifted Hope up and brought her little face close to his, kissing her again. Hope smiled, her little hands reaching up and tugging on Alec's hair. Alec hissed in pain, "Hey princess, you think you can let go of Uncle Alec's hair."

Hope just gurgled happily and then pulled his hair harder. "Arrgh. Uh ladies can ya' help me out here?", he asked pleadingly. Like either her or Gem could say no when he was looking at them with those big puppy dog eyes and his plump lower lip jutting out in an adorable pout. Gem walked over to him and carefully extracted her daughter's hands from his hair. When she was finished Alec rubbed his head before turning to look at Hope, who was tucked securely in Gem's arms. "You got quite the grip on you there kiddo."

Hope smiled and Gem looked at him apologetically. "Sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Kids tend to do things like that, as I'm sure you know. She's still my little princess. Aren't ya' Hope?", he reassured, smiling genuinely and lightly poking the baby's tummy, causing her to giggle.

Gem smiled at him, appreciating his understanding. "Thanks."

Alec smiled back warmly, "No problem Gem."

Looking down at her daughter, Gem spoke softly, "Alright little girl, I think it's time to say goodbye to Aunt Max and Uncle Alec. We need to get some food into that tummy of your's."

Hope smiled and gurgled happily when she heard the word food. Alec leaned down and gave the baby another kiss. Max walked over and did the same. Pulling back she tickled Hope's tummy, getting a happy squeal, and cooed, "See ya' later cutie."

Smiling she turned her attention to Gem and said, "See ya' tomorrow, have a good night."

Gem smiled and said, "Yeah, I'll see ya' tomorrow." She began walking away and after a few feet she called back to them, "The two of you will make great parents someday."

A jubilant smile slowly spread across Max's face. Alec, who had turned to stand in front of her, slowly leaned into her space and gently wrapped his arms around her. He affectionately kissed her on the tip of her nose before leaning his forehead against hers and asking softly, "What're you so happy about?"

Her smile grew bigger as she encircled his waist with her left arm and brought her right arm up so her hand could play with the soft, curly hair at the nape of his neck. God, she loved this man, the past 6 weeks had been nothing short of amazing. She loved being with him like this. She loved the feelings, the passion that he brought out in her. Max had always wondered what being in love would feel like and now that she knew she never wanted it to stop. When she was with him the rest of the world melted away, her breathe caught in her chest, and her heart rate sped up. She wanted… needed to touch him, to feel him, to taste him, to hold him, to breathe in his sent, to love him.

Sometimes she didn't know how she'd ever lived without him, without being with him like this. She couldn't get enough of his soft, dark blonde hair, his expressive, hazel-green eyes, how they sparkled with golden flecks, and his totally endearing freckles. Also the smile that glowed with genuine love and affection, the one that he reserved just for her, his gentle touches, his amazingly tender and passionate kisses and just…just him.

So, yeah,… she'd totally turned into a complete sap, but she honestly didn't care. Max just let her rich-chocolate brown eyes stare deeply into his hazel-green ones, answering his question lovingly, "You."

"Oh yeah?", he questioned, playfully, his eyes ablaze.

In a playful mood also, Max pretended to think about it. "Actually no, I was thinkin' 'bout Mole.", she deadpanned.

"Maxie you wound me.", he retorted his voice full of mock hurt."

She rolled her eyes melodramatically at his playful response, waiting for his next ridiculous comment. He surprised her when he began laughing contentedly. She loved it when he laughed, it wasn't something he did often. She hadn't even realized it until they'd been living in TC for about a month. He'd been talking to Dalton and a few other X6s and something they'd said had amused him enough for him to tilt his head back and let the laughter roll out of him. Alec's laughter had turned more than a few heads. Alec was always making people laugh but, considering everyone's reaction to his laughter Max was pretty sure nobody had ever heard him laugh before. Or maybe just not since '09 and… well that was almost as bad as never. Everyone in HQ had literally stopped whatever it was they were doing and turned to look at him. She wasn't talking about when he chuckled they'd all heard that often enough, she was talking about his genuine laughter. It had been deep and rich, rumbling out of him loudly, much like it was now. With him so close to her right now, she could feel his laughter, vibrating through her, resonating in her soul.

She felt a rush of affection for him and a desire to kiss him, so she did. She pressed her lips against his, kissing him tenderly. Max slowly pulled back and rested her forehead against his. "Maxie?", he questioned, softly.

"Yeah baby?", she questioned back. His eyes widened in shock at the endearment and he spoke, voice incredulous, "Baby?"

She smiled at him, "Yup, you're my baby."

He smiled slowly, looking up at her through lowered lashes somewhat shyly, and speaking with reverence, "Yeah, I'm your baby."

She smiled, brightly and said, "Speaking of babies, have I ever told you how much I love watching you with Hope. You're so good with her."

He smiled exultantly, his eyes alight with happiness. "No, you've neglected to tell me that piece of information.", he joked.

There was a moment of silence as he looked at her a little hesitantly. But, when he finally spoke it was with confidence, "I hope that someday you'll love watching me with our own baby."

"Yeah?", she questioned ardently, her heart constricting as she felt her self fall in love with him all over again.

"Yeah.", he answered with conviction.

A jubilant smile slowly spread across Max's face and she spoke, eyes sparkling delightedly, "You know what I think? I think that someday sounds wonderful."

AN: Yeah, this one is just as sappy as the first one. I guess I'm okay with that, I hope you enjoyed it. Please Review and constructive criticism is always welcome. Thank You for reading.

Alaina