Welcome little bunnies. Well I hope you like it's a bit of everything, dark angst fun happy be warned death is involved. But happy ending is assured … possibly lol.

Disclaimer- as much as I wish, no they are not mine sigh.

Summary- 'As she looked down Alec felt his back tense. 'No no no not now' he begged himself he could feel the tremors begin. 'please not now.' It scared him knowing he was weeks from…dea… he refused to think about it.' Dark,angst,fun,happy, all in all? MA.


His hands shook slightly as he placed them on the handle of the half decaying door.

He flexed them slightly then bunched them into a fist, the tight lever of his gloves creaked a bit, then the tension eased and he loosened his fingers. Hen knew what was happening, he had experienced all the danger signs, yet he kept telling himself "I'll be alright." After all 'Alec's Always alright.'

He steadied his slightly uneven breath and opened the door, Max would go a touch crazy if she knew, she had enough on her plait right now…with out him.

He hadn't forgotten that he was just "the pain in her ass sic who was just about tolerable." But still at moments he could almost pretend they were friends. She would smile genuinely at one of his wise cracks or look at him with that rare deep look of appreciation when he would take one of the miner but most times major problems from her pile without her realising. The look came when he would report back to her flashing his triumphant grin. "Hey Maxie, don't worry your little toshie about it, its done." Normal reply would be "Alec don't call me that! And I haven't got a toshie… and not to be blunt right now but I couldn't care less if you just set up a pool table." He smiled to himself. "no Max the food rations will be fine for the next three months." Her beautiful eyes would close and she would sigh smiling for him while she did so.

At first he could only see Max in the room, her small form sitting at a desk in the little hovel she called an office, on one side of her was a computer scrounged from an abandoned building but right in front of her undergoing a cold an wary scrutiny from her chocolate brown eyes was a stack of paper work. He guessed it was the new arrival report.

It had been six months and they were still getting new arrivals everyday.

He watched as Max cuddled her self; it was cold in her office, she was wearing a thin blue jacket and black three quarter lengths. Her hair was down; it had grown longer since this had all started. She looked young with her slender form, but her eyes betrayed her, there eyes betray them all. She sighed and rested her head on the table.

Alec quietly removed his lever jacket, careful not to make any sudden movements, not because of Max but to prevent the tremors from taking over his body again.

With it dangling from his finger he stealthily moved around behind her.

With a start Max jumped. At first she wasn't sure what was happening. Then she smelt him and felt the comforting material of his jacket wrap around her shoulders. Warmth engulfed her, as well as the smell of Alec tingled with old-old scotch and musk. It was his natural smell that comforted her most. She had come to rely on him, even with his smart Ass cocky ways. Not that she would ever openly admit that. Especially to him.

She lent back and let him hold her shoulders, she wasn't cut out for this, and it was all well and good standing up for her people and freedom and all, but leading them that was on a whole new level it was another thing all together.

She felt Alec let go of her and walk to the side of her, she studied him, and something was off.

Her chocolate eyes revolving around his body, his denim jeans now extremely worn hung loosely on his waist. He had lost weight, he was still defined well muscular but he had lost weight. The light blue of his jeans still looked good against him, but it didn't stoop from him looking haunted, his polo necked jumper once black now grey gave his eyes a distracted look an almost hidden quality.

"Alec." She whispered. He knew what she was trying to say in that one word the declaration of his name. She was on her way to giving up. For the last three weeks she had been looking at ways to evacuate TC, to get them out there to find away to make them hide, again.

Alec could see her thinking he could see the million different things going through her hollow eyes, she was on the edge of breaking, she wanted out. She had been thinking about ways of getting out. He could see all that… and more.

"No" it was his simple answer. It didn't need explaining. "We can do this Maxie." He held her hand in his leaning over the side of her desk.

His forehead on hers.

He was making her look at him there eyes connected, it was the closes Max had ever let him get to her, he was going to make her realise something before she tore herself into… he didn't want to think about it. "Max stop hiding in this little office, we're out there, I'm out there." He wanted to show her that TC wasn't just a war ground, it had become there own, it was there place now. "hell Max you haven't even seen Josh in days. We need you out there with us, as our leader."

Her gaze faltered she tried to look away. "Maxie" he whispered gently, "we need you as our, I need you as my friend."

He knew deep down, he didn't have long, he wouldn't let her know that though, it was his personal mission in life, he would be here long enough to show her that there apparent Freak nation was her and she was there apparent freak nation.

He moved away from her, there was a ghost of a smile on her lips, she was fighting back, for now.

"Are you coming tonight?" he said his smirk in place. He slipped back into Alec mode.

Her eyes crunched up in confusion. "What?" she asked. She was confused about more than one thing.

Since when did she let Alec get that close to her? And what the hell was he on about where? Doing what? And why?

She herd Alec chuckle to himself and stood up to smack him upside the head.

He just let her but when she went to pull her hand away he swatted at it.

"The boys are playing some music tonight, they thought we needed a bit of a break, the humans don't look like they'll be up to much. It'll be fun. Aprils baking chocolate pudding" He wiggled his eyes at her. She smiled she could understand why chocolate pudding would be an attraction tonight considering how thin the rationing had gotten.

"I don't know Alec, I have so much work to do I … I don't think I wi…"

"Great I'll come and get you at eight." She was about to argue when he began to talk again. "Then again seven sounds better if there pudding involved."

Max looked down and smiled well looked like she had plans for tonight.

As she looked down Alec felt his back tense. 'No no no not now' he begged himself he could feel the tremors begin. 'please not now.' It scared him knowing he was weeks from…dea… he refused to think about it.

He walked to wards the door leaving his jacket that was miles to big for max on her slender shoulders. "c'ya tonight." Just before the door closed he winked at her. "Maxie."

She stayed looking at the door for a long time. Did she look that… I'll did they all is this what the war was doing to them? Oh Alec.

"Who was that?" She herd Logan's voice ask as he walked in from the adjoining room.

"Alec" she said worridly.

"What did he want?"

She didn't answer.

The moment he got out of her office he began to walk briskly hell if he was gonna hurt he couldn't do it in front of them, not at this moment anyway. ignoring questioning glances he walked right out of the main building of TC and down the streets.

As he walked out of the building he received worried looks from Biggs and MelMel.

"Biggs, I think…" her voice trailed off.

"I know."

He looked at the beautiful transgenic apologetically and went after Alec.

Alec ignored everything and just went faster until he was running at a blur. He turned a corner and stopped against a wall. His knees hit the ground hard. Blinding pain attacked him. Fuck Manticore. His head felt like it was splitting, his fist pounded against the wall. Fuck them, and what they did to him, his unit.

Biggs ran after him, Alec couldn't tell, he was in pain. Biggs knew that much. He knew why as well. He knew that would come back and bite them on the ass. Three years and no… concentrate on Alec.

He slowly went in to the ally; Alec was about to topple over, Biggs held him up before he went over completely. Shifting Alec's weight so he was now standing back to the wall.

Alec registered that he was now being held up. Hazily his eyes locked with Biggs, he found his voice weakly murmuring. "It's..."

"I know."

"have you?"

"yeah"

"When?"

"last night you"

"last week." Alec's head hit Biggs shoulder.

Damn Manticore they always found a way to win.