Thanks for the reviews everyone!  I would post responses on here right now...but I am tired..up all night writing this chapter for y'all.  hope you enjoy it!

Alec woke up, and couldn't help but grin, seeing his beautiful Max in his arms still. She was sound asleep, and looked like she felt safe. He continued to just stare at her, stroking her hair lightly with his hand. He wondered what was going on in her head right now...he knew how scared she still was. He knew that this was no matter to take lightly, so he wasn't going to do anything to push Max away. As he continued to stare at her face, she started to stir. Still not fully awake, she snuggled closer into Alec. "Hi," she murmured shyly.

Resisting the urge to kiss her, he smiled, "Morning..." he didn't know what he could do that would scare her. She slowly pulled herself up a little bit, and brushed her lips whisper soft against his. He smiled against her lips, and gently kissed back. Max pulled away after a moment, and looked at his face. "Something wrong?" he questioned, running a hand softly through her long hair. She shook her head, not sure what to say. "Maxie...you can tell me anything," he murmured, gazing lovingly in her eyes. He pulled her against him, and rested his chin on her head, trying to comfort her.

"I...I know..." she murmured hesitantly.

"I'm not going to force you to tell me what's going on in your head, but Maxie...when you are ready to open up, I will be here for you...ok?" he murmured into her hair.

"Thank you..." Max murmured, tears suddenly brimming in her eyes. His fingers lightly brushed away her tears, and she leaned fully into him.

"Max..." he whispered, "It'll be ok," he assured her, as she calmed down. "There we go..." he pressed his lips against her forehead. Her body relaxed again, and she looked up at him.

"Thanks Alec..." Max breathed. She looked at the alarm clock and sighed, she was late for work again.

"Max...if you aren't up to going...I'll call us in..." he started, but Max stopped him.

"Alec...you don't have to..." she whispered.

"I know you are still scared about what happened..." Alec breathed, a flash of hurt appearing in his eyes for a moment, before he was able to cover it. "Normal will understand if I call us in..." he started to reach for his phone, but Max reached out and grabbed his hand. She brought it to her lips and kissed his knuckles.

"We can't push the work on OC, Sketchy, and the others..." Max murmured.

"Max...you need to stop thinking about others...you are going to run yourself down," he whispered, once again reaching his phone. Max reluctantly let Alec call Normal.

"Hey Normal...its Alec," He rolled his eyes, "yeah...Max...she isn't feeling very well...yeah, I am just going to to stay with her today if that is ok...alright thanks Normal," he hung up the phone and turned back to Max. "Now..." he murmured, kissing her on the lips, "I am going to make sure that you relax today..." She smiled weakly, and felt his fingertips brush against her bar code. She sighed, and leaned into him again. He couldn't help but grin, seeing that his touch calmed her and made her relax.

"So...what are we going to do?" she questioned.

"Whatever you want to do..." Alec murmured with a smile.

"I don't know Alec..." she murmured, shifting uncomfortably. His smile faltered, and he brushed his hand over hers. Her hand automatically wrapped around his, and he helped her out of bed.

"Lets see..." he mumbled as he led her around the house. Max stopped when they passed the bathroom. A smirk came onto his face. "Wanna take a bath?" he questioned. Max nodded her head reluctantly. "Go ahead..." Alec gently prodded.

"Alec..." she murmured as he started to walk away. He stopped walking and turned back to her.

"Yeah?" he questioned. She was about to ask if he wanted to join her, but then shyness overpowered it.

"Thanks..." she murmured. Alec walked over to her, and brushed his lips against hers. Feeling the tension go away, Max smiled.

"I'll go whip us up some breakfast..." he murmured softly. Max smiled and nodded her head, "Come out when you are ready,"

"Ok..." Max mumbled. She started up the bathwater, and looked to see that Alec had let her have some privacy. She sighed, as she stripped down out of her dress, and dipped a toe into the hot water. She let out a breath, as she lowered herself fully into the water. Her thoughts drifted to Alec. She never thought that this would happen...but it felt natural to her..like she was meant to do this. Every time he was around her...he seemed to hold himself back; not doing what he wanted.

There was a knock on the door, and Max started. She hadn't noticed that the water had gone cold..she wondered how long she had been in there for. "Maxie...you ok in there?"

"Yeah..." Max called out.

"Is it...alright if I come in?" he questioned.

"Come on in..." she said. He opened up the door, and came in with a fresh towel. She drained the water, and stood up. Alec started to turn his head away, but Max stopped him. "Its ok," Max mumbled. He looked at Max, and smiled at her. He brought the towel and it covered her naked body. She secured the towel around herself and placed a kiss on Alec's lips.

He grinned, "Breakfast will be ready in a few,"

"Ok," Max murmured. "Alec...you are being so patient with me..."

"I don't mind Max...we are together...and it will be like how it is supposed to be soon..." Alec murmured, tenderly placing his hand on her cheek. She grinned, leaning into his hand. His thumb lightly stroked her cheek, and she couldn't help but wrap her arms around him. "You aren't scared anymore are you?" he questioned.

"No...a little confused still..." Max murmured before she could stop herself.

"Its ok Max," Alec assured her, glad to see she wasn't so nervous around him anymore. "Its ok to feel that way...just wish I could make it go away...all the nervousness.."

"You are..." Max said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Thanks Max," Alec said. "Well I'll let you get dressed, and we can eat breakfast..." Max smiled and went pass Alec to his room. She quickly got dressed and pulled her long hair up into the towel. Max walked into the kitchen and smiled.

"You didn't have to do all of this..."

"I wanted to..." Alec murmured, wrapping his arm around her. She molded against his form, and just breathed his scent in. "Max...come on.." he murmured, having her sit down on the chair. "I know you haven't eaten since yesterday morning..." he said, bringing a bowl of oatmeal closer to her. Max smiled, and took a bite of it. Alec let his body relax as he saw Max finally eating. She really needed to take better care of herself...of course she isn't going to do it though. So, Alec knew he had a duty to help protect her from her destructive nature.

"Alec..." Max murmured, seeing that he hadn't touched anything that he had. He shook his head, and she put her hand on his knee. "What's wrong?"

"Max..." he started to lie, but stopped. "I'm worried about you," he admitted. Max got up from her chair and sat down in his lap. Instantly his hand went on her back to keep her against him.

"Why are you worried about me?" she questioned, leaning her head into his muscular chest. He leaned his chin on her head, and inhaled her scent.

"Maxie...you don't take care of yourself...you always have the whole world on your shoulders..." he murmured. Max stayed silent, but didn't pull away.

"I don't mean to worry you Alec..." she murmured. "And I do take care of myself..."

"Max..." he sighed, nuzzling his head into her neck.

"I'll try better to take care of myself Alec," she promised.

"Thank you," Alec mumbled, kissing her softly on her forehead.

"I love you Alec," Max said, looking up at his face. Alec smiled, not used to hearing it at all, from her, or earlier in his life.

"Love you too," he murmured, placing a soft kiss on her lips. Feeling her tighten her arms around him, he smiled against her lips. She made a mental note do more things like hug him, and say that she did love him. Alec seemed to be very happy when she did things like this, and it made her happy seeing him happy.

After a couple minutes, Max untangled herself from his lap, and pulled the towel off of her head. She let her hair down, and felt Alec grab for her hand. She felt him tug gently on her hand and she settled onto his lap once again. "Max, why are you tense still?" he questioned.

"I'm not..." she murmured, feeling comfortable in his embrace. Alec's hand went towards her shoulders and felt his mate relax against his body even more. "Ok...maybe a little," she admitted. His thumb gently went across her bar code. She sighed softly, as his fingers continued to work his magic. "Alec...where did you learn how to do that?"

"I don't know...I just sensed you were stressed, and I just knew how to get you to relax.." he breathed.

"That feels good..." she murmured sleepily. He couldn't help but grin; he was pleasing his mate. Her pager started to go off, and she reached out to see who it was, but Alec's hand stopped her.

"Ignore it," he breathed, lightly kissing behind her ear. "Today is the day that you get to relax, and forget everything around you.."

"Except you," she agreed, leaning into him. He smiled, giving her a kiss. "Alec..."

"Hm?" he whispered.

"I'm glad that you convinced me to stay," she mumbled, leaning her head into his chest.

"Me too," Alec murmured. "Max..." he breathed. She had fallen asleep, in his embrace. He smiled lightly, and brought her fully into his arms. He nuzzled his head into his mate's, and brought her to his bed. He tucked the sheets lightly around her, and kissed her on her forehead. "I love you Max..." he murmured, before pulling away. He walked to where Max's pager was and let out a sigh through his nose when he saw it was Logan.

Alec walked to his house phone and dialed Logan's number. "Cale residence," Asha's voice came on the line.

"Hey, did Logan page Max?" Alec asked in an annoyed voice.

"Yeah...some sort of mission or something," she said airily.

"Well...let him know that Max isn't feeling well,"

"Will do," Asha said, hanging up the phone. Alec grinned, and hung up the house phone. He walked back into his room, and smiled looking at Max curled in his bed. Laying down on the bed, she immediately wrapped her arms around him. He smiled, and ran his hand up and down on her back. He wanted to be sure that Max stayed asleep, so he just held her in his arms...