Disclaimer: I wish it were mine, but alas it is not so

A/N: Ok, here's the next chapter. Quick, huh? Um, there will be a slight break, I'm sorry, but Harry Potter's out tomorrow. And everyone should be thankful I'm loading this now, cause I'm meant to be doing my Lit assignment. Anyway, hope you enjoy

Chapter 2: The name game

'Yeah, he's alive. Why is that so hard to believe?'

'Because I killed him. I snapped his neck.'

494 looked at Max, heard the determination in her voice. But he knew that 493 wasn't dead. What? She killed Ben? Why the hell didn't he tell me? Oh, he's a dead man when I find him, a dead man. He was alive and kicking. Definitely kicking, 494 thought as his thoughts wandered briefly to their sparring match that morning, where 493 had got in a couple of good kicks. But back to the situation at hand; the determined, slightly pale looking, definitely gorgeous woman in front of him. He could have at least warned me before I came in here that she thought her was DEAD! I'm gonna… He chose his words carefully before opening his mouth again.

'Look, I don't know how else to tell you this, but… 493, he's still alive. He is in my unit, he sleeps in the cell next to mine, and he almost kicked my ass this morning.' Max looked up at him, only a few of his words really registering.

'He sleeps in the cell next to yours? Where is it? I need to see him.' Her words came out in a rush as she stood up to head for the door to her cell, but she found herself blocked by 494.

'Hey, calm down there. First, he won't be in his cell right now, none of the guys in my unit are. Second, were you seriously going to try and just walk out of your cell after lights out? Do you have a death wish? Look, I'm probably not meant to tell you this yet, but what the hell, right? You'll probably get to see him soon, maybe in the next day or two.' At this, Max looked him right in the eye.

'What do you mean?' she demanded.

'It means that you're finally being put into a unit. My unit. Guess that makes me the lucky one, huh? But you can't say anything yet. I'm the only one who knows, I haven't even told the rest of the unit yet.' I better not live to regret this. She so better not tell anyone about this or I am so dead. Renfro will have my head if she finds out I told her about Ben. Shit, not good, so not good.

'I promise. Just… he's really alive? He's ok?' her voice had softened now and he could hear the slight quiver in her voice.

'He's really alive, and doing fine. No psychopathic tendencies to talk about, like I said, and he's actually a very nice guy, I like him a lot. Look, uh… to change the subject… the reason I'm here.' 494 said, with only the slightest bit of hesitancy present in his voice. Max glanced up at him, her look guarded, as though she was bracing herself for the worst.

'What is it?'

'Well, I'm your breeding partner.'

'Breeding partner? WHAT?' 494 almost winced at the pitch and volume of her voice. 'What do you mean, breeding partner?'

'Exactly what it sounds like. We've been paired off, and we're supposed to, uh, copulate every night until you get pregnant. Look, we don't have to, uh, copulate. Not everyone will, trust me. Oh, some will, but only the ones who are, ah…' he trailed off, not wanting to say too much just yet. And also he could hear the guards returning.

'What do you…?' Max too trailed off when she heard the guard approaching her cell door. She was surprised when it slid open and the guard stood on the other side of the door, holding a glass of water in his hand.

'Your water.' He said, and after a second, 494 nodded and reached out to take it.

'Thanks, she's just feeling a little off. You know, her heat is probably close' Alec said the last bit as soft as he could with the ordinary still hearing, but it still wasn't soft enough. The look of 452's face when he handed her the glass of water more than told him that he would most likely pay for that later. But for now he turned back to the guard. 'Oh, and before I forget, here you go.' 494 handed a small parcel to the guard, and received a small wad of money in return. 'Oh, and can you give these to Vic for me? Tell him he can pay me later, thanks.' 494 handed a few cigars to the guard, who nodded before he turned around and left, the door sliding closed behind him. 494 turned around to see 452 glaring at him.

'Yes? He has a thing for the vitamins they make us pop every morning, and uh, Vic likes these cigars from overseas.' When she didn't say anything, simply continued to glare at him, he cleared his throat and continued. 'And, uh, hey I'm sorry I said you were close to heat, but what was I supposed to say? We don't get sick, remember? And if I told him you had seizures, which I'm not sure you get, then they would have sent you off to med bay and, well then we would have both been in trouble.' 494 returned her stare, neither backing down for several minutes, until…

'Fine. Thankyou for not telling them I had seizures, which I have had in the past, by the way. But not for a while. And I really don't need a reason to be back in med bay any time soon, I guess. Or psy-ops.' She gave a tiny shudder, and 494 understood. 'I definitely don't want to be back there any time soon.'

'I know the feeling. Anyway, I'm here for another half hour, mind if I try to sleep? Bunk or floor?' 494 asked with a grin.

'I don't sleep. You can take the bunk, I'll sit.' 452 told him, and then sat down in the corner. 494 lowered himself onto her bunk, and after a minute of fidgeting to find a comfortable position, he turned his head to study her. After a minute, she looked up at him, and cocked her head, a questioning look on her face.

'You're an odd one, you know that?' 494 told her, a grin forming on his face as she tried to hide the smile forming on her own face.

'What do you mean odd?' She asked, trying to sound menacing, but not quite managing to pull it off. The grin on 494's face just grew.

'I don't know, just odd, I guess. Can't put my finger on it just yet, but I'm sure it'll come to me.' He smirked, and this time Max couldn't help it; she smiled back. Just a small one, but a smile nonetheless. 'There we go, a smile! I knew it. I knew you had it in you.' He said triumphantly, laughing as he looked back up at the ceiling. He heard 452 sigh, and he turned back to look at her, only to see she was shaking her head slightly, the smile still on her face, but he saw her eyes were distant. 'Penny for your thoughts?'

'I was just thinking… you need a name. 494, just doesn't suit you.' She told him, and while he recognised the change in subject, he decided to let it slip, and to go with her… for now.

'A name? You mean like, Ben? Or Max?' He asked, and heard her gasp.

'He told you? Ben told you? But, what about the whole 'insubordination' thing, you didn't report him.'

'Nah, it was the fairies. Of course he told me, and of course I didn't report him. Why would I do that? And, well, I hate to disappoint a lady, but, I already have a name.'

'Really?'

'Yep, really. It's Alec. I'll even let you have three guesses as to why that's my name.' He grinned at her again, and she suddenly had a determined look on her face. Ben was right, she is a handful. And she likes a challenge. She'll definitely fit into the unit easily, and there shouldn't be any hard feelings, they all accepted Ben after a while, and they know him now, so it should be a lot easier with Max. I hope.

'Hmm, was it cause of that really old show Alex Mack?' Max asked a grin on her face. Alec looked at her, frowning and she laughed. 'Just kidding, just kidding. I'm sure Ben would never name you after a girl who can turn into a puddle.'

'Oh no, that's definitely right. However did you guess it in one go?' Alec asked, the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

'Huh, well, I was gonna keep guessing, but I guess I'm gonna have to go with; is it cause you're a SMART ALEC?' well, well, she is the smart one, isn't she? Just like Ben said. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that she figured it out, Ben said that they tended to think alike. A small smile formed on his lips at the thought; it would be interesting to see them together in training. He decided then and there that he would pair them up the first day of training, see how they interacted. If Ben was right about them, they would do very well as partners in their tactical 'games'.

'What's with the smile? Did I guess right, by any chance?' Max asked, a small smile of her own forming.

'Yes, but that's not the reason for the smile.' Alec told her, not bothering to explain further.

'Really? You going to explain the smile or do I have to beat it out of you?' Alec laughed at this.

'Ben was right, you are a lot like him. You both resort to violence to solve very small problems. At least with me.' Alec added, grinning when Max smiled at him.

'So… that's what you were smiling about? What else has Ben been telling you about me, and am I going to need to kick his ass too?' Max demanded, but the playful tone in her voice told Alec that she found the situation very amusing.

'Oh, look at the time! I've gotta be heading back to the barracks, but don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow night. But if I'm lucky, I might see you tomorrow.' He went over to the door, knocked, and turned around as he waited for the door to open. 'Good night, Max.'

'Good night, 494' Max said, her voice sounding just like the perfect soldier, and Alec was confused until he heard the guard behind him. He straightened, and put on his soldier mask, before he nodded to her.

'452.' Was all he said before he turned and walked out the door.

Max had been alone only for half an hour when she heard the guards returning. Oh, for the love of god! What now? Can't they leave me alone? She sat up on her bed as her door slid open, to reveal Director Renfro. She immediately stood to attention.

'State your designation.'

'X5-452, ma'am' Max said, in full soldier mode now. But she was still wary; Renfro was not known for making visits to soldiers in the middle of the night, or ever, for that matter. They always went to see her, so for her to come to Max it must have been important.

'Very good, 452. I'm here to inform you that you are to be placed in a unit tomorrow. Unit 6, and you will be pleased to know that you will already have a friend in the unit. Your new CO is 494, your breeding partner, who I believe you met earlier this night. Tell me, how did it go?' Shit, what am I supposed to tell her? Lie, that's always the best option around here.

'Copulation was successful between myself and X5-494, ma'am.' Max said, still staring at the wall in front of her.

'Very good, 452. Well, here is your new schedule; you will report to 494 at the field tomorrow morning for roll call, where you will meet you new unit. Be there 5 minutes after everyone else, so 494 has a chance to tell the unit. He has been given his orders, and is aware of yours.' Renfro said, handing Max a few papers.

'Thankyou, ma'am. I will be at the field tomorrow morning at 0805 hours, ma'am, where I will report to X5-494, my new CO as part of unit 6.' Max repeated.

'Good, well, that is all. You may return to bed now.' Renfro said before turning to walk out.

'Thankyou, ma'am.' Max whispered to herself, as the door began to close behind Renfro. Well, Alec was right. Huh, a unit. Well, at least I won't be put with a new group every two days, I might be able to remember some designations. And Ben! I get to see Ben again. Maybe this new unit won't be as bad as the others, if they've already accepted Ben, they should accept me. And maybe Ben and I can escape together this time.

Alec stood in front of his unit, watching them as they all stood to attention just like perfect soldiers. And now I get to tell them that they get to welcome a new unit mate. Well, at least I know that one will be glad to see her, he thought as he looked at Ben. Ah well, might as well get this over with, and at least it can't be as bad as last time. They're already used to Ben, so Max shouldn't be too hard.

'Soldiers, we have been assigned a new unit member.' Alec said, in his Commanding Officer voice, and could almost hear the groans that escaped his unit's mouths. 'Most of you have heard of her, and one of you knows her. Now, I don't want you to treat her any differently then you would normal new unit mate, and as you have all gotten to know 493, despite his being a traitor, you should be able to accept 452 far more easily.' He'd managed to tell them their new member's designation without simply coming out and saying it, and he heard the somewhat delayed gasps, and saw the look on Ben's face. '493, I believe you already know 452, so you will be assigned as her partner for sparring and in our exercises, at least for the next few weeks.' Alec saw the corner of Ben's lips turn up, and new that her would receive far less bruises the next time they sparred. Just then he saw Max round the corner of the housing building, and he turned back to look at his unit. 'Soldiers,' he said as Max neared them, 'please welcome your new unit member, 452.'

'Welcome to unit 6, 452.' His unit chorused, and he saw amusement dance in Max's eyes.

'452, this is unit 6. Stand forward as I say your designation. 221' a young girl, the youngest there by the looks of it, stepped forward. She had short brown hair, delicate features, and was shorter then Max. '287' a guy this time, black hair, dark skin and tall. '344' another guy, a bit shorter than Alec, light blonde hair that was slightly long, big build. '396' a tall girl, long red and startling blue eyes came forward, she was very thin, and to an untrained observer, would seem weak and helpless, but from the way she carried herself, Max could tell she would be strong. '423' a small, petite girl came forward, shoulder length black hair, green eyes and an innocence about her; she gave Max the smallest of smiles before her soldier mask was back in place. '493' Max studied Ben's face as he stepped forward, and when he looked at her briefly, she felt her heart leap when she couldn't find that cold, hard look in his eyes that had been there the last time they had met, nor the frightened look he had just before she had killed him. She swallowed down her emotions and moved her eyes to the next person in line as Alec continued calling designations. '511' Alec called, and a short guy, of Mediterranean looks, with dark skin and dark hair, stepped forward. '564' was a girl, slightly taller the then guy next to her, with short blonde hair and light skin. '581' was an extremely tall guy, who looked, at first glance, to be lanky, but was actually quite well built, with short brown hair and brown eyes and a friendly face. '663' was another girl, slender with brown skin, long strawberry blonde hair and a girl-next-door face. '690' was the last girl, again slightly shorter then Max, with short hair that was almost red. '788' was the last in line, another guy, about Max's height, with black hair, and pale skin. Max looked at the line again, each designation running through her mind as she studied each one in turn. Then she looked at Alec. 'And, of course, I'm 494. When we fall into line, you will be between 423 and 493, and I am on the other side of 493. Now, repeat the designations before the trainers arrive.' He saw her eyes narrow at him, just the slightest bit.

'221, 287, 344, 396, 423, 493, 511, 564, 581, 663, 690, 788 and 493.' Max repeated, in the same order he had used.

'Very good. Now fall into line.' Max did as she was told, stepping into the gap that had been made between 423 and Ben. 'Now, we have sparring for an hour, then weapons training. 493 and 452 will pair up for sparring, and I will pair up with 788. All other pairs remain the same. Let's move.' He said, stepping into his spot in the line before they all turned in unison and marched towards the sparring area.

'452 and 493, onto the mat. We need to get an idea of your fighting style, 452.' Alec said, once again using his CO voice. The trainers were still present for all their training sessions, but Max was surprised to see that it was Alec who controlled their training, for the most part. She stepped onto the mat and faced Ben, and she saw the challenge in his eyes, and the smile on his lips. They circled each other for a minute, then they both charged at the same time. They were a blur of kicks and punches for a few minutes, but after about 5 minutes, Max was beginning to feel the strain of fighting him. He was stronger, more disciplined…better, she accepted grudgingly. He would win, this time. But I will get better, then we'll see who'll be smiling, she thought as she looked up at his smirking face from her place on her back. He held out a hand to her, which she ignored, getting up herself.

'That was an ok effort for your first time, 452. You did well, but then 493 only has so much extra training on you, so we'll have to see how you do against someone who has been here longer. But for now, 493 and 494 onto the mat.' The trainer's voice carried out, and Max looked toward him and nodded. She took her place back in the line and watched as Alec stepped out onto the mat to join Ben. She watched in fascination as they fought, and she could tell that, while it seemed that Ben was holding back a bit, Alec was good. Very good, in fact. She certainly didn't want to be fighting him any time soon, at least not until she caught up a bit in her training. What am I thinking? I'm not going to be here long enough to catch up that much, I'm out of here as soon as I can. Hopefully with Ben. She continued to watch them move, and they went on for nearly 10 minutes, neither gaining a strong upper hand, until Alec caught Ben unaware with a move Max had never seen before. He stepped to the side, ducked and kicked out at the same time, so quickly that Ben was still aiming for the spot in front of him and didn't see the kick coming until he was on his back, pinned down by Alec.

'Very good, 494. 452, back on the mat with 494.' Uh oh, this won't end well for me. Well, at least I can get in a few shots before he takes me down, hopefully one or two to where it'll show. Can't let him make a total fool out of me.

At dinner that night, Max was sore, to say the least. She had gotten her ass handed to her by Alec, and she had only managed to cause minimal pain to him. She was scowling at her food when Alec dropped down in front of her, and Ben next to her.

'So Maxie, what's wrong? Not fond of the peas? Or is it the stuff they try to pass off as potato?' Ben asked her, his voice light and full of laughter. She turned her glare to him, then looked at Alec, who looked back at her, then down at his own food, obviously trying to hide a smile.

'What's so funny, Alec? I'm probably not gonna sleep for a week now, cause of you.' Max said in a low tone. He glanced up at this, an innocent look on his face.

'Ah, but Max, I thought you didn't sleep. Shark DNA and all.' He replied, looking at Ben and smirking. She turned her head in time to see Ben duck his head, trying to hide his own smirk.

'Oh great, two of you! Wise guys, both of you. You know, I really wish I could've chosen your name.' Max informed Alec. He raised an eyebrow questioningly. 'Yeah, I think I would have named you more aptly. I would have named you Dick.' She stood, taking her tray with her. 'Guess I'll see you tonight.'

'Oh, I wouldn't miss it.' Alec told her, not bothering to hide his grin this time. She just glared at him and Ben again before turning and leaving the mess hall. Alec watched her leave, then turned back to Ben. 'Well, she certainly is a handful, isn't she?'

'Yep, that's my Maxie. I missed her, I'm glad she's back.'

'Do you really think she's gonna try and escape again?'

'Yep. I saw her life outside, Alec. They may have messed with my brain a bit, and I'm glad, I guess, but they didn't erase my memory. She had friends out there, a new family. And she doesn't like Manticore. I guess I don't really either, but it's not as bad now. Not as scary as it used to be. But I was more willing to accept being back here, I needed to be back here. Max, she doesn't want or need to be here, at least not in her eyes. If she's here long enough, I think she could settle in, get used to it and see that it's not quite as bad. But she won't want to stick around that long.'

'Yeah, maybe. Renfro had to assign me to her, didn't she? She's testing me just as much as she's testing Max.'

'Yeah. I don't envy you, mate. Not at all. If she escapes…'

'I'm the lucky guy who gets to go after her and bring her back home. She just better hope that they don't figure out who Eyes Only really is before then, otherwise…'

'You have to help her escape just so that she can infect him?'

'Yep, correct answer for 100 bucks.' Alec said dryly. 'But I gotta tell you, I think she needs to escape, if only to stop this idiot from exposing us. I don't really want to be barbequed, do you?'

'No, can't say it's on my list of things to do in life.' Ben replied, and they both laughed, glad to have moved off the subject of Max. Neither was sure how to handle her just yet. They both knew that she would escape, it was inevitable. And they both knew that it would be no easy task bringing her back. Ben had been telling the truth when he said he didn't envy Alec. He wouldn't want to be in that position, Max would hate Alec after he brought her back, he was certain of that. He just had to see to it that she forgave him. He smiled to himself. He had known those two would hit it off, he just hadn't expected it to happen so soon. Well, life had a way of surprising you like that. And who knew, maybe if Max had formed an attachment to Alec that quickly, it wouldn't take her long to form attachments to the rest of their unit. Maybe he could persuade her not to escape, or least to come back. Who knew? After everything that had happened to him, he had to hope for the best. He had decided that he had had enough darkness and loss in his life to last him forever, and he was going to do whatever he could to keep himself from going through that again.

The next night, unit 6 sat around a large camp fire, cooking pieces of meat from a deer they had caught. When Manticore said survival exercise, they meant survival. Besides the tents and their clothes and the basic first aid, they had nothing. No weapons, no equipment, nothing. They were out there for three days, and they were on their own. They had set up their tents before the sun had gone down; then 511 and 344 had gone out to find dinner. They had returned 20 minutes later carrying the buck between them. So now they all sat around roasting small pieces of meat.

'So 494, what are we gonna do tomorrow?' 788 asked, and Max looked across at him. In the dark, with just the fire light showing his face, he looked almost deathly, his pale skin even paler in the flickering light, dark shadows under his eyes.

'Well, I was thinking some games. I want to try out different pairings, now that 452 is in the unit, and I don't think 493 had a chance to work with everyone properly either. So I guess this is as good a time as any to figure that out. Tomorrow after breakfast we'll play a tag team game. We'll pair up, split up and hunt each other. So we'll need to evade the other pairs, last pair standing wins. Pairs will be 663 and 788, 221 and 511, 423 and 581, 287 and 690, 493 and 564, 396 and 344, and 452 with me. We'll switch partners at the end of the game and go again, with slightly different rules, but that's for tomorrow. So, 452, what does it feel like being back in a unit?' Alec asked, grinning as he looked at Max.

'Hard to say. Haven't really had enough time for it to sink in yet, give me another week. But it's definitely going to be nice not moving from unit to unit every few days. Eventually they all start to look the same, and I learnt the hard way people don't like to be called the wrong designation.' This had everyone laughing.

'Who'd you call the wrong designation?' 344 asked.

'Uh… 733.' Max said grimacing as she remembered what had happened after. She'd been in the med bay for three days.

'733? Shit, whose designation did you call him?' 396 asked, looking sympathetic to Max.

'758'

'758? I'm surprised you're still breathing. He hates 758.' 581 said.

'Yeah, I gathered that as soon as I said it. But in my defence they look similar and their designations are very close, and I was only in his unit for and hour before I said it. Well, they didn't put me back in that unit again.' Max said, starting to relax. Unit 6 wasn't so bad; she could deal with them until she escaped.

'I can imagine.' 690 said, and they all started laughing again.

'Alright, we need to get an early start tomorrow, we have a lot to get through the next three days, so it's time for… well, not lights out, I guess, cause it's already dark, but time for bed at least.'

'Sir, yes, sir.' They all chorused as they stood up and wandered off to their tents. Max entered her tent behind Ben, and kicked off her boots before settling in. She turned to look at him; she was still worried that she was going to wake up and find it was all a dream, that Ben wasn't alive. She shook her head as if to get rid of the thoughts, and Ben noticed.

'What's up Maxie?'

'I'm sure I'm gonna wake up one morning and find out it's all a dream, that you're not really here.' She whispered to him, her voice full of vulnerability.

'I'm here, Maxie, it's real. I'm not going anywhere.' He told her, and he held her just like she had held him in the forest.

'Ben… will you come with me?'

'Come with you? Maxie what…? No, you're not trying to escape, are you?' Ben asked, turning her face to look at him. 'Max…'

'What, Ben? Don't you want to escape? Do you really want to stay here, in this place? Do you really want to do what they want you to do? Do you really want to be a…'

'A what, Max?' Ben demanded, his voice becoming defensive and angry.

'Nothing' Max said as she turned her head away and tried to move from his arms.

'No, not nothing. A what, Max? A killer? Is that what you were going to say? Was it?' he demanded, and he shook her shoulders when she shook her head. 'You don't get it Max, and you never will unless you listen, but you never listen.' Ben said, anger in his voice, as he got up to leave the tent. He pulled on his boots and pushed the flap open, but before he left he turned back to look at her. 'You don't know what it's like, Max. I was a killer out there, but I'm not in here, why can't you get that?' Then he turned away and walked off towards the fire.

Alec was sitting behind their tent, on a stump, and he heard the whole conversation. He saw Ben come out of the tent and walk towards him. He waited for him to pass by him, into the woods before he got up and followed him.

'Hey' Ben slowed down at Alec's voice, and turned his head slightly.

'You know, I'm more angry about her talking about this place like it's using us to be killers then her thinking I'm a killer. I was a killer, Alec, plain and simple. But here… I mean I know that sometimes we're sent in to take someone out, but how many of them are actually dead?'

'Not many, you're right. Only the really bad guys are dead.'

'Exactly, that's what I mean. She just won't see that. Why won't she see that?'

'Cause no one's told her that Ben. You should tell her that. But if she wants to escape, she'll do it, and maybe it'll be good for her to escape. Look, you need to talk to her before she escapes, and then I'll be there once she's gone. But before she goes, we need to get her to form some attachments.'

'Yeah? You got any ideas?' Ben asked, looking sideways at Alec, who grinned at him.

'Yeah, I think I got just the thing.'

The next evening, as the sun was going down, they all sat around the fire, once again cooking bits of meat, talking about the day. They had done three exercises, and Max had gotten to work with three people.

'Ok unit, I have a… bonding exercise for us. Now, before I tell you what it is, I want to make it very clear that you do not have to partake if you don't want to, and if you don't know one will judge you for it. But there will be no talk of this outside the unit, do I make myself clear?' Alec said, the last bit in his CO voice.

'Sir yes sir' the unit chorused.

'Ok, now the exercise is quite simple and requires no moving, just thinking. Now, as you all know, when we are sent on missions, we are given names, identities. But when we come home again, we are automatically a number again, just as they want us. Well, in their old unit, 493 and 452 had names.' Alec heard Max's sharp intake of breath, and grinned. 'Now, I know some of you will think of this as insubordination, but you know what? I too have a name, and I like it, I think it suits me. My name is Alec…'

'As in smart-aleck' Ben put in.

'Yes, as in smart-aleck, and as you can see Ben named me. Ben being 493. And 452 is Max. Now, the exercise is that we are going to name each other. The other thirteen with help name each of us, with the exception of myself, Ben and Max, of course. I feel this will help us bond, but if any of you have objections, speak now and you may go back to your tent.' There was silence as Max, Ben and Alec looked around at the rest of the unit. A few, Max noted, had excited looks on their faces, while a few looked a little unsure, but Max knew that they all trusted Alec, so none of them would object if he said it was a good idea.

'Who are we going to start with, sir?' 221 asked in an eager voice, despite her obvious attempts to hide her enthusiasm.

'Well, since you seem to be one of the more… agreeable people to this exercise, let's start with you, shall we?' Alec said, and looked at the unit. 'Ok, since none of you want to start, how about you Ben? Any ideas?'

'How about…' Ben paused, trying to think of a ridiculous name that she would hate, once explained to her. 'Angelina?'

'Angelina?' Max asked, looking at him enquiringly.

'Yeah, as in the ballerina.' He told her.

'Ballerina?' 221 asked, looking almost insulted. 'I don't look like any… wait, do you mean the mouse? As in those books from the 90's? Before I beat you up, may I ask why you want to name me after a mouse who does ballet?' Ben grinned.

'Well…' he started, obviously trying to choose his words carefully, 'you have a really small body and a delicate face, kinda like a ballerina would and I don't know the name of any real famous ballerinas.' She simply glared at him, obviously rejecting his name. 'Ok, so I put in my suggestion, who wants to go next? 581, how about you?' Ben asked smirking, picking the very tall guy sitting opposite 221, who was also very obviously in love with her. He glared at Ben before turning to 221.

'Ok, what about Abbey?' he said, looking at her.

'Huh… Abbey. Abbey. Yeah, I like it.' She said, finally. Then she turned to the rest of the unit, who all nodded at her, and Alec noted that they had all relaxed now that someone else had been first, and then 663 turned to 581 and asked 'So, why did you pick Abbey?' He looked at her, and they all saw the flicker in his eyes before he hid it.

'Uh… well, I know she was always interested in history and old buildings and stuff, especially old churches and things, so…'

'You named me Abbey as in the buildings where monks live? Like all those ones in England and stuff?' the newly named Abbey asked him, a soft look in her eyes.

'Well, yeah, I thought it kind of suited you, in a weird way I guess. I dunno, you're the youngest in the unit, one of the youngest X5s, and you're so interested in history and old things and, well…' He trailed off, looking kind of embarrassed, and while Max thought it was cute, and funny, she also felt sorry for him, so she turned to 511, who was laughing and said 'I think it's 511's turn.' That sobered him up quickly, and he turned and glared at her.

'Hey, why me?' He asked indignantly.

'Cause I said so, that's why.' Max told him, matter of factly, and then looked at Alec, whose eyes were laughing, but he too sobered up when he noticed the look in her eyes. His own eyes narrowed slightly at her, trying to figure out what she was up to. Her eyes shifted to the left slightly, then back again. He followed her gaze to 511, then looked back at her and smiled.

'I agree with Max, I think we need to name 511. Any suggestions?' Alec asked the group.

'How bout toad?' 344 said, earning a glare and a punch in the stomach from 511. 'I'll take that as a no, then.' He said, which only served to earn him another look.

'I think I have the perfect name for him.' 564 said from the other side of Max. They all turned to look at her.

'What is it?' Max asked her, seeing the sparkle in her eye.

'Biggs.' She said simply, and smiled at the puzzled looks she received from the 13 people watching her. She shrugged her shoulders and said 'you know, cause of his big ego. We all know he's got the biggest ego out of anyone here at Manticore.' Everyone laughed, agreeing with her, except Max, who turned to Alec.

'And here I thought no one could have an ego bigger then you, but since I trust 564, I'll just have to believe her, although I'm gonna need some proof eventually.' Alec looked at her, a look of mock hurt on his face as he put a hand over his heart.

'Ah Max, your words cut me deep.' All this managed to do was make everyone burst into laughter again. Eventually they all stopped laughing at Alec, and he turned to 511. 'So, what do you think? Biggs?'

'Yeah, I like it; despite the fact that I think there is nothing wrong with my ego.' He told them, looking at 564 as he said it. 'And I think we should name her next.'

'Ok,' she said, and then looked expectantly at the rest of them. 'So? Who's gonna name me?' she asked after a minute. Everyone was quiet for five minutes, and no one could come up with anything. Finally Max turned to her.

'What's your favourite letter?' she asked her.

'What?'

'Your favourite letter, you know, a…b…c? Which one?' 564 thought about it for a minute.

'C, definitely. Why?'

'Well, it might help us come up with a name. It's how Ben and Zach named me, remember Ben?'

'Yeah, you were a hard one. Took us almost a day, you rejected everything we gave you. So we asked her what her favourite letter was, and after she said M, we thought about words that started with M and finally settled on Max, cause we thought it suited her.' Ben told them, thinking back to that time nearly 10 years ago.

'Why Max?' Abbey asked, curious as to how they had named each other.

'Cause she always gave everything her all, her maximum effort, whether it was training or helping someone, or hating this place. It was Zach's idea; he pretty much named us all.' They were all quiet, Max and Ben remembering their unit, the others remembering their childhoods, or the different names they had had over the years.

'I've got it.' Biggs said suddenly, startling them all out of their own little reveries. They all looked expectantly at him and he smiled. 'Cece' he said, mimicking the matter of fact tone she had used when she decided his name, then he mimicked her shrug. 'She said C was her favourite letter, so… Cece.'

'Cece it is.' She said. 'Now let's do 690' she added, pointing the redhead opposite her.

'Oh, I know. She's really into like birthstones and gemstones and stuff. So we could call her Ruby or Sapphire or something.' 423 said, her enthusiasm coming through now as she was really starting to get into the naming game.

'How about Gem?' 344 asked, looking at her. She smiled, and nodded at him.

'I like it. What about you? I think you need a name now.' She smiled again, then looked at Cece. 'What do you think we should name him?'

'I don't know; he's gonna be a hard one I think. What does he do?'

'Uh, he sits around, he sleeps, cleans his knives.' Gem said, grinning. 'He's not a very interesting person, actually.' He glared at her, and she laughed. 'Just kidding, it's just when everyone else is around, you don't do much. You like to watch.'

'We call him Tom.' Alec suggested. 'You know, as in Peeping-Tom.' Everyone was laughing for nearly five minutes after this, except, of course, 344. When Alec finally came up for air and saw the look on his face, he only started laughing again. He tried to calm down, and eventually was able to speak, but still with little bursts of laughter. 'Sorry, it's just… your face… admit it… it was funny…' he trailed off, chuckling to himself. 'Ok, ok, someone else name him.'

Gem was studying him, a thoughtful look on her face. 'What about Blade? He likes knives so much, they're his weapon of choice. I think it suits him.'

'Yeah, I agree. Blade suits him.' Max said, nodding and smiling. 'So, how about 287 now?'

'Ok, I have the perfect name for him.' 396 said, grinning. 'Steve. He loves movies, especially those old ones by Spielberg, like uh… ET and… other ones. Anyway, he likes film, so I think it suits him. What do you think?' she asked looking at 287. He was smiling and he nodded.

'Who could complain about being named after one of the greatest directors of the 20th and 21st centuries?' 287 said, looking at 396. 'What about you? We need to name you now, I think.'

'Ok, name away' she said.

'How about Ariel?' 423 asked, eyes wide in excitement and eagerness. 'You look like Ariel, and you love to swim. It fits you to a T.'

'So Steve gets named after a famous director and I get named after a cartoon mermaid?' 396 asked, amused but also pleased. She liked the name, and agreed with 423; it fit her perfectly. 'I like it. So how about you now?'

'Finally! Any ideas? Anyone?' She looked around the unit, and they all studied her.

'How about Jessica?' Abbey asked after a moment. 423 thought about it for a minute, then shook her head.

'What about Kirsten?' Cece asked, and again 423 shook her head.

'Sam?' 663 asked, and once again, 423 rejected it.

'How about Sue?' Gem asked a few minutes later. 423 automatically wrinkled her nose at the idea, and 788 grinned.

'Don't worry, I got it. Honey. We'll call you Honey.' He said, as if leaving no room for disagreement.

'Yeah, you'll call me Honey.' She said, mimicking her tone. 'But why?' She asked after a minute.

'Easy. Honey is just… you.' He said after thinking about, looking straight into her eyes. She understood, and she smiled.

'Yeah, you're honey, Honey.' Biggs said, breaking the moment between them and bringing the group back to their task; they still had three people to name, and it was getting late. 'So, 788, how about we do you next?'

'Fine by me. Just… don't let Alec have any say.' He said, making them all laugh. Alec mocked a hurt look, but inside he was happy with how this was going. They were all getting into it, which was good, and Max was bonding with the unit. He looked at Ben, and the two briefly shared a knowing look about her. This might work after all. Maybe she won't escape.

'Hmm… you're easy. I knew what we were gonna call you about a minute after Alec told us what we were doing.' Honey said, her soft voice drifting through the air, gaining everyone's attention. She had a knack for that; getting everyone's attention, as well as solving problems or breaking up fights. Something in her voice just drew people in, like flies to… well, honey. She smiled at the thought; the name really did sum her up. 'Well, if we named Steve after a famous director and Ariel after a cartoon, I'm naming you after a dead guy.' She told him, and he looked like she had gone momentarily crazy.

'A dead guy? That's all you're giving me? I mean, I got no problem being named after a dead guy, Steven Spielberg's probably dead, but aren't you gonna tell me my name?' He whined.

'Fine. It's Drac.' She said, then looked at Max, who had a look of curiosity on her face, then shrugged. 'As in Dracula, the famous vampire. You got the whole dark hair, pale skin, mysterious thing going for you. People notice you, but you also blend into the background if you want to, just like Dracula. Plus, I think it's a cool name.' His eyes had narrowed slightly when she'd described his hair and skin, but they returned to normal as he decided on the name. While everyone was staring at him, he finally nodded his approval. 'Excellent choice, Drac. Now, let's move on to 581, and hope he's easier then some of us, cause I'm tired.'

'Anyone a basketball fan?' Abbey asked, and they all looked at her as if to say, what the hell does basketball have to do with anything? She smiled at their confused faces, then turned to 581. 'I'll take that as a no, then, shall I? Well, I think we should call him Jordan. Need an explanation, look it up.'

'Ok then, I like it.' Jordan said, understanding why she had chosen the name for him.

'Which leaves lucky last, 663. What will name you.' Ben drawled, laughter shinning in his eyes. He knew what they should call her, but he'd let someone else start the suggestions.

'What about Jessica?' Honey asked, and 663 gave her a look.

'Ok, I know it's late and I'm the last one, but seriously? You're using your reject names on me? I am insulted.' She said, trying to look indignant, but failing.

'Ok, ok, sorry. Ooh, I got another one; how about Rose?' Honey asked, and earned a shake of the head for her efforts.

'I don't want to be named after a flower. Next?' She asked, looking around the group. Her eyes landed on Ben's and held his gaze for a second, before she moved on. 'No one? Come one, you all managed to name everyone else, what about me? What about you Ben? You seem to be good at the naming game, where are your suggestions?' She asked accusingly, but with no real anger in her voice, although her eyes became stormy when he merely smirked at her. She opened her mouth to say something when he cut her off.

'Ok, don't worry. No need to overreact, I have just the name for you.' He said, then stoped. The unit looked at him expectantly, but he just sat there for a minute, letting it draw out as long as possible. He was enjoying this; he always had fun making 663 angry. Finally, when she was all but throwing daggers with her eyes, feigned a look of innocence and said 'Oh, are you all waiting to hear her new name? I'm sorry. It's Sash.'

'Sash?' Max asked.

'Yep, Sash. To remind us all that she's number one.' He told her, receiving a few knowing ohs from the group. 'In one of her assignments she had to enter a beauty pageant and she came first.' He explained to Max, before turning back to 663. 'So, what do you think? Like my choice?' She didn't answer straight away, but he could see in her eyes that she liked it, but because she was angry she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd chosen a name for her that she loved. Eventually, she settled for a brief nod of assent before she rose from her spot beside the fire.

'Well, I had lots of fun today, and naming everyone was a great way to pass the time, but I'm going to head to bed now. Good night.' She said, slipping once again into 663, and saluting Alec before she turned in the direction of their tent.

Slowly, one by one they all followed suit until it was just Ben, Max and Alec sitting by the fire.

'Well, that went pretty well, didn't it?' Ben said after a while, looking at Alec. Another quick look passed between them before Alec grinned.

'I think it went very well. Everyone seemed to have fun, and no one reacted badly, which is a plus. We definitely don't need to worry about Renfro finding out, and they'll all enjoy having their own names now. And I personally learnt a lot about the unit tonight.'

'What do you mean?' Max asked, curious.

'Well, I just think that tonight's exercise showed a side of some of these people that I've never seen before, and it was very… illuminating.' He decided finally, for lack of a better word. Yes, very… illuminating. So Abbey and Jordan, huh? And Biggs and Cece? Should've known, always fighting. And Ben's got a thing for Sash. I'll have to keep that piece of information for later, he thought, a slight smirk playing across his lips, before the object of his thoughts stood up from beside him.

'Well, I'm gonna follow suit and head to bed. Don't you two crazy kids do anything I wouldn't do.' He told them before he walked away.

'So, did you enjoy the exercise?' Alec asked Max after a minute of semi-awkward silence. She glance at him, then smiled.

'Yeah, it was interesting, to say the least. I learnt a lot about everyone, stuff I probably wouldn't have noticed for a while. And can I just add; Honey and Drac? Never in a million years would I have guessed those two.'

'Oh yeah, they're the oldest couple in the unit. Been together almost two years now, I think. Ariel and Steve were next, and Gem and Blade got together soon after that. Now, Biggs and Cece, and Abbey and Jordan I didn't know about until tonight.' He told her, and she mocked surprise.

'What? The great Alec didn't know something about his unit?' He glared at her.

'Hey, I had my suspicions, they just weren't confirmed until tonight. But the most important thing I learnt tonight was…'

'…Ben is into Sash? She finished for him, and they looked at each other and laughed. Yeah, maybe this will work out, Alec thought again, just as Max thought I can't get too close to him… I mean them. In two weeks, hopefully, I'll be out of here.

A/N: So?? PLEASE REVIEW!!! Thanks to everyone who reviewed to chapter 1!! Hope you liked chapter two!