Holy wow…thank you for the AMAZING REVIEWS. I appreciate each and everyone. It makes me totally want to sit down and write more (which I do).
I must take a minute to comment to a few reviews that caught my eye (although they all are appreciated).
SRC13: I just can't picture Max CO of people she never wanted to be part of. Alec is a much more logical choice, atleast to me.
Eden: I won't be able to break your idea that this 'been done before', it has, but I hope to do it better. I don't want to be a cliché.
LakerGirl08: I hate pining. I hope to offer you a pining free story. Wish me luck.
TimeToWaste247: I KNOW. I've been picturing Jensen for the entire story, and also at random points during my day. Hence the reason it is all so long. Strangely enough I've been picturing Mole, Dix, and Luke too, but just during the story time. Does that make me weird?
Cristique: Emotion 101 ha.. That just such a course that I could see Lydekker teaching in monatone. Ummm about that whole virus thing – yeah I meant that the virus had to be injected in Logan so he could form antibodies…kidding you found a plot hole, hopefully everyone was able to reason it away. Now you have figured out my secret. I am poor and underemployed and a wealthy doctor. Good catch.
Lakergirl08: I wasn't going to write in that she knew about the fight at all. However your comment lead me to try it which lead to a sexy situation, which I hope everyone enjoys
SammyGirlAtHeart: I know strangely enough hurting Alec is a strange perk for me too. I don't know why, but in this chapter he's bruised and battered so enjoy.
Deirax: I'm honored. Check out Valjean's Fan Fic and the nice people at Nuns with Pens – now those people can write.
A reader: You're prolific and wonderful. I'm a little in love with you right now.
Tasie: I'm a little in love with you too. I suffer from the no-review-itis also. Thank you so much for taking the time to jot down a little note.
Everyone: Keep reading, I'll keep writing.
Part III
Alec came to and immediately wished that he hadn't. It was just habit that the moment he woke up he took stock of himself and his surroundings. Today the outlook was less than stellar. his body was sore and swollen and agonizing. He calculated two broken ribs, a sprained wrist and enough bruises to keep him quite sore for days.
He smelled the sterile hospital smell, but even before processing a thought he knew that he was in no harm. How he knew that was always something that his immediate need to assure himself that he was safe was something he never thought about. Many nights in Psy-Ops had trained him better than anything else Manticore could have thought up. It was a sixth sense. He just knew when he woke up and someone was at the ready to torture him.
Unfortunately his mind seemed to be the only thing that would be okay today.
Then less than a second as he had processed everything he was awake. He woke to aches and pains of things that hadn't needed to be hitting or hadn't needed to be hit. He woke up knowing that he had been in rare form last night and he was glad that Max hadn't been there to admonish him or to give him that disappointed stare.
Max.
His heart hurt for a moment and it had nothing to do with the fight last night.
One second into his morning and he was ready to throw in the towel on the whole day.
Instead he opened his eyes.
He looked over and Joshua was painting on the other side of the room. Sunlight was streaming in the window and that made his mood worsen. He was in a dingy building in a toxic area of Seattle and for some reason all those factors didn't seem to prevent the sunshine and the blue sky.
Life was unfair.
"I'm court marshalling whoever decided I needed to fight the entire population of TC," Alec said attempting to use as few muscles as possible.
Joshua turned brush in hand, yellow paint splattered on his cheek. For a moment Joshua looked guilty. Then the large dog man put down his paintbrush and walked over to Alec.
"Alec, you're awake," Joshua said happily coming up and hugging Alec.
Alec moaned in pain and Joshua jumped away.
"Sorry Alec."
Alec nodded and leaned back, attempting to breathe as shallowly as possible. He closed his eyes. The perfectly photographic memory let him replay the nights events. Every punch he threw, and everyone that had connected was there in perfect clarity.
Alec had to nod in approval. He had performed flawlessly last night.
"So I won," Alec asked.
Joshua nodded, "You lasted fourteen rounds. You're the champion. Alec okay now?"
Alec thought for a second. He considered the broken ribs and the bruised body, which was nothing new. He had felt a lot worse physically many times.
But he knew that Joshua wasn't asking about his body. The transgenic body was a pretty miraculous thing. They didn't ask each other about cuts and bruises. Joshua was asking about the thing that had caused him to shut down. Physical pain was easy, but they had never taught the kids at Manticore to deal with emotional pain.
They had also never taught the kids at Manticore that ones best was good enough either.
He was surprised because he felt okay.
"I'm good," he said slowly, his mind returning away from himself and back to those who had been in his path, "How is everybody else?"
He tried not to think that within forty-eight hours of being leader of his people he had stupendously and totally made an ass out of himself.
Joshua thought for a moment, "Everybody but Hayden is back on active duty. Hayden went down like a bitch and he's still hurt."
Alec thought for a moment. He remembered Hayden. The hulking X-5 had been a unit leader at Manticore. He was a solid soldier who did everything by the book, even cheat. In the year he had been out of Manticore he had learned to be loud and brash. He didn't care that he was fighting his CO, who had already gone five rounds, he was going to use his mouth. as a weapon as well as his fists. A few comments about crazy brother Ben, the one failed mission that he had in his many years of service, and his position as strictly solo instead of a unit leader went unheeded.
However Hayden had mentioned Max's name and Alec had laid him out flat before the rest of the statement had been made.
Alec smiled despite his desire to be a strong leaderly type, "That is just too bad."
"Medium Fella needs to get out of bed now," Joshua said seriously, "Army Captain is coming at three. Mole says that you need to get up, eat, and get to HQ ASAP."
"Geeze a guy is hurt and he still has to report, I miss Manticore."
"Yes," Joshua agreed, "But Alec didn't get hurt on mission. Alec wanted to hurt and hit things and drink then sleep for two days. Things need to be done."
Alec pouted, "Stop being logical."
Joshua pressed a button and in the time that it took for Alec to sit up and put his legs over the side of the bed the X-4 who was residing as the chief medical staff came in. He looked over Alec and shook his head, "You should have a few more days and no more cage fights."
Alec nodded in agreement, "Yeah, but Big Green Desert Creature Second in Command needs me to meet with Uncle Sam."
The doctor looked him over, "You know you're not invincible. The advanced healing of your bodies may make things better, but you're only running down your clock faster. Every injury you sustain is just another way that you are running your bodies into the ground. You X-5 live like there is no tomorrow."
Alec managed to get into his pants on while the doctor was preaching at him. He looked suspiciously at his shoes and decided that perhaps he would attempt going barefoot or find a nifty pair of sneakers because there was no way that he could manage those boots right now.
He picked up his shoes without a care in the world and smiled at the doctor, "That is because until today there really was no tomorrow for any of us. Now Doc have you happened to see my shirt anywhere."
The doctor looked at the creature before him, barely out of his boyhood years and sighed. Alec was covered in nasty looking purple and black marks that were beginning to turn yellow and green at the edges He stood tall and straight when the doctor knew that his muscles must be screaming.
The doctor shook his head and picked up a shirt from the back of a chair and threw it at Alec, "No wonder your kind could never be submissive, they made you guys way to cocky."
Alec smiled, "But they made us so good looking so nobody would want to kill us for it."
The doctor rolled his eyes and then pointed to the door, "Go do your thing. Don't pass out."
Joshua lead Alec out and Alec clapped the doctor on the arm, "Good thing they made you doctors so smart, cause your bedside manners suck."
&
Alec and Joshua were shoveling in as much cereal into their mouths as quickly as possible.
"I like the bunny with the fruity things and the little green guy with the marshmallows," Joshua mumbled between bites of cereal.
Alec held up a square with a waffle grid, "I kind of like these ones that catch the milk."
"No," Joshua said fairly defiantly, "The milk should turn colors, see."
Alec looked at the purple brown colored milk and nodded. This was something he couldn't win. He thought in terms of structure and Joshua thought in terms of color. So Alec just went for placation, "I see, Its pretty."
"It kind of looks like your body after the fight," a gruff voice said as a heavy body landed next to Alec.
Alec looked at Mole, "I didn't know you were ogling my body, that's just … well wrong. We are incompatible physiologically you know."
Mole dug into his cereal, "Don't make me go adding to your collection of body art."
"Hey, thanks for the no face rule," Alec said sarcastically, "I can barely sit, but hey at least when I meet with the army guy I won't be all battered."
"We all have to give to the cause," Mole said non-committally, "Like you right now could not eat a tenth bowl of cereal and save us something for tomorrow."
Alec looked guiltily at his two empty boxes, "Are we running short?"
"Nah," Mole said as he examined the cooked black mass on his tray, "We sent out a few groups last night, the kids you worked with over the last few months know what they're doing now."
Alec felt a pang of loss. It wasn't his business to go out anymore, he didn't get to do the stakeouts or the thrill of rob and runs. Now it was all up to the 'kids'. He suddenly felt old, grown up and boring.
With a sigh he ate his last spoonful of cereal and moved to get up, "Well you know I have some leading to do, designating and such leader things."
"And you have to grease the army guy," Mole said, "See if he can get us some stuff."
"Hmm do you think the first day would be too soon to ask for ammo to hold up armories so we can get on with taking over the world?" Alec pondered.
"Probably wait til second meeting," Joshua said hunched over his bowl.
Mole and Alec looked at Joshua, who had been practicing his sarcasm, but from whom it was still strange to hear. Mole was about to comment when they got interrupted.
"Alec, Mole," a breathless X-7 said running to the cafeteria table, "Dix needs you now."
Alec looked at Mole and Mole glared at the kid.
The boy straightened up, "Sirs, there is an emergency at HQ. Requesting your presence immediately."
"I love it when they do that," Mole muttered and Alec nudged him in the ribs.
"What is going on?" Alec asked.
The kid shrugged, "I was just told that there was a disturbance at the barricade. They brought trucks and are requesting that we take the trucks in."
Joshua looked up, "Greeks bringing gifts?"
Alec raised an eyebrow, "Do you think that we haven't read our classic battle strategies. I mean I could understand if they tried to sneak in a fake X series or something, but please this one is far too obvious."
He sighed and prepared to get up. He knew that changing positions would hurt.
"Little Fella will want to see," Joshua said standing with Mole.
Alec stood up quickly and winced in pain. He reached out sympathetically to Joshua, "Big Fella, she's gone."
"She is?" Mole asked skeptically.
Alec looked at him strangely, "She left, I don't think that she's coming back."
His voice didn't betray the hurt, but he could feel the ache. It seemed strange to say the words out loud.
Mole looked at him steadily.
Then Mole chomped on his cigar.
Then Mole looked behind Alec.
Then Mole looked at Alec.
"Then why is she sitting over there?" Mole asked seriously.
Alec looked at him confused.
"Little Fella came back from the mission you sent her on. She was successful," Joshua pointed out excitedly.
Alec turned with transgenic speed that lead to immediate excruciating pain. He turned and looked at the place where Joshua was pointing. Max sat with Gem's baby, little Maxine. She was talking to some of the other X-5 women.
Alec was frozen. He couldn't do anything but look and try to figure it out. Figuring it out wasn't working and he couldn't do anything but stare stupidly. She was supposed to be with Logan, heading to Canada. She was supposed to be gone. She had everything she ever wanted, she had the outside world and the normal boyfriend.
He didn't understand why she was here.
The animal instinct kicked in and she felt him looking at her. Mostly because most of the cafeteria was staring at Alec, the recent cage match champion, staring at Max.
She looked at him and she smiled at him. When he didn't respond he smile faltered.
He couldn't move.
What the hell was she doing here? His mind asked over and over.
Fortunately Mole grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the door, "Get Max to HQ," He barked at the little messenger.
Halfway to HQ Mole stopped and pulled Alec into the doorway, "Look kid, I don't know what is going on, but whatever it is you need to put it away. This whole Max and you thing has put you in the hospital for a day, which is a precious day that you have lost. You have to catch up in five hours so your pretty mug can make an appearance. You need to memorize our demands and then the reasons. You have to catch up on the current events of what has been happening here. You have had your one free pass of personal trauma. You're a solider and you and Max need to start acting like you have some clue of what you are doing because this isn't time for your little drama. We've got Trojan Horses at the door and we have military ready to kill us and that kind of gets our focus over your love life. Got it soldier, and I use that word in hopes that you remember what you are."
Alec looked at him and stood his full height, a head shorter than Mole, "I'll have you remember who I am, I am your CO."
He reached out before Mole could blink and held the lizard man against the wall, his hand curled around Mole's neck, "I would have you remember that."
Mole looked at him, "I would have you earn that," he managed to choke out.
They stood like that for a moment and then Alec dropped Mole and strode towards HQ.
&
Dix looked up when Alec came in trailed by Mole who was rubbing his neck.
"We've got a package," Dix announced. Luke stood next to him going over computer printouts.
"Is it hot?" Joshua asked innocently. Mole and Alec looked at Joshua. Joshua looked at Dix seriously.
"Ummm, no," Dix said slowly, "We scanned it with everything that we have. Its not showing signs of any kind of ammo or living tissue. It is also isn't transmitting, moving, containing any kind of electric current or beeping."
Alec put up his hands for Dix to go on, "So what is it?"
"It is a ton of metal and fabric," Dix told him.
"It's a gift."
He hadn't heard her voice in two days and it seemed alien. He was so used to being the one person in the room who knew exactly what she was thinking. Now she seemed far away, further away than she had when she left. The last time that he had felt separate from her was when he was thrown into her cell. She always surprised him, but some part of him knew how she would react to him.
Now he didn't know where he stood.
Alec stood at ease and faced her, his face betraying nothing.
"You know what this is?" he asked her in his best professional voice.
Max nodded happily, "It is a gift from Sasha Spielberg. She's the daughter of Stephen Spielberg. She heard of the kids who have never seen movies and she sent us a large screen, a projector and tons of movies. We're getting Jaws, ET, the Indiana Jones Chronicles, Hook, and Jurassic Park."
"How do you know that?" Alec asked.
"I just got a transmission from the guys outside. I had Dix run some tests. It looks like what it is supposed to be. We've tested it for everything it's a peace offering."
"And we should trust them why?" Mole asked. "There could be bugs or explosives or.."
Max put up her hand, "We've checked. We know the technology better than them. There is nothing there. Its just a movie projector from the seventies and a ton of movies, its for the kids. I talked with Sasha, this is on the up and up. She wants to help us. There are lots of people out there who are curious and want to help us. I know we could get screwed so I'm being very careful, but when groups like Amnesty International get involved I have to take it seriously. It may not seem like it from the yokels outside, but there are some people out there on our side. Alec's speech made a difference."
"I don't buy it," Mole said.
"That is why I ordered one of those old fashioned film monitors, nothing digital. We can check on it, we can keep checking on it to make sure that nothing is being transmitted."
Alec listened to them bicker. He knew that it was stupid to accept gifts from the enemy, but he scanned the information that Dix gave him. Infrared, echo scan, everything down to the chemical make up of the contents of the van had been analyzed. It looked as if there was nothing but metal and celluloid.
"Lets do it," Alec said tossing aside the papers.
Mole looked up startled, "What, you know that this is the oldest trick in the book."
"What are they going to do?" Alec asked lightly, "Storm us, bomb us, give us shiny pictures to watch so they can sneak in the back door? We're soldiers, we're always ready. We don't let down our guard, but maybe we can have fun every once in awhile. It isn't as if setting up a heap of old technology is going to let them know anything about us that their hoverdrones will show."
Mole looked between the two of them, this time he didn't have the deciding vote. He threw up his hands in disgust, "Fine if they storm us and we all die I'm blaming you."
Max smiled happily, "The kids will love this."
"Do you think that it will give them flashbacks of Psy-Ops," Mole pointed out, still miffed about being out voted.
"I know that gigantic dinosaurs and little aliens do make me thing of my sojourn there," Alec commented dryly.
Max was already going over plans with Luke. They were planning on putting the screen in the multipurpose field that had been the site of a dance party and a cage fight. She didn't look back at him, but he was sure that she was acutely aware of where he was.
Alec stood a little way away from her. When she finally went to go to her office he followed.
She stood with her back to him when he entered. He closed the door behind him. She exhaled and could feel him.
She still didn't know how to do this. She was mad at him for what she had heard about the cage fight. She also was a bit afraid of him, she didn't know what to do with the intensity of his emotions, or the intensity of what she thought was going through him. she was so afraid to be wrong. She was so afraid that this was going to hurt if she let him in. She had spent years at keeping people at arms length. She didn't want to be disappointed again.
"Mole said there was an uprising, you got into a fight," she said flatly, not believing a word of the lie. She figured that she would deal with what she could see and touch before she leant herself to emotions. She could deal with his bumps and bruises before she could deal with the emotions that lead to them. Logan's definition of 'tangibility' struck her. This was touch, this was right now.
She turned and looked at him, "Let me see."
He looked at her, she kept her back turned she held her breath, hoping that he wouldn't leave, she needed this. She could feel him watching her back, but eventually he complied. He groaned and removed his shirt.
After a moment she turned around. She looked at the lean solid body which had been expressly made for agile mobility. He had been made to move quickly and with power. Even the marr of color on his skin couldn't diminish that.
She looked calmly at the mass of bruises. Her face remained impassive, but her eyes watered.
"If you've been an idiot you look as if you paid for it," she said simply.
Alex couldn't even begin to decipher the words coming out of her mouth. He could speak seven languages, but he couldn't understand any meaning here. Everything could mean a million things. He didn't know what the hell to say.
So he went for directness.
"What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly realizing too late that it came out far to harsh.
"This is my home," she replied taken aback.
Alec looked at her startled, "I thought that you were moving on."
"You told me to move on, I think I have a say in it. You need me here."
"You had other options. Don't you have something better to do?"
"Do you have to question everything I do?" she asked angrily.
"Yes," he yelled back, "When it has something to do with me."
She glared, "What makes you think for a second that my being here has something to do with you? I asked people to stay and I'm not leaving them."
"Great we get Max the martyr. You freed them on the world and you asked them to stay so they're your responsibility. Do you ever get tired of hearing yourself whine."
"I'm not being a maryr don't you think I actually care about these people. What aobut you, you're only here because you have to be. The grandstanding and the midnight runs, you do it for glory. You don't give a fuck about these people."
He simmered. He stood bruised and aching, but she would not see him flinch. He stood before her, "You don't get to tell me what I care about. You don't get to decide why I am here."
She stood her ground and yelled back in his face, "Well good, you don't get to tell my why I'm here."
She pushed her way past him and he stepped aside.
"Go ahead run, that is what you're good at."
Her hand was on the door. She stopped and looked at the bent beam next to the door. She reached a hand up. there was still dried blood.
"Tell me how you got those," she said in a voice so soft it hurt his ears. It was venerable and he knew if she turned around with those wide brown eyes he would be a goner.
He looked down at his chest and forced his muscles to stay up right.
"You're not stupid Maxie," he said.
It was bare bones. There was no pleading, no husky lusty words, no Alec charm. The words were simply words. it was how he spoke to her at night.
She turned, her face now guarded. She knew. Well she had heard things from Gem and Alec had just confirmed everything.
She walked in front of him and lightly touched his chest. He hissed at the contact but he didn't flinch. She ran her fingers over his bumps and bruises and the bandaging over his bruised ribs. She took his hand and looked at the scabbed knuckles.
She looked up at his unblemished face and touched it lightly.
"You are smarter than this," she said with dark eyes.
He let off a dry laugh, "I'm the dumbest man on the face of the earth. They can give a person all the IQ in the world. It doesn't matter. I am the biggest idiot."
He let out a huge sigh and pulled her to him again. This time it wasn't harsh or demanding. It was pretty and sweet. His hand cupped her face and he slowly sunk into her lips. He couldn't stop, he had to touch her. She was enthralled. No one had ever touched her softly, without need or want or demands.
The kiss was home.
But it was also bittersweet.
When he pulled away and started to put on his shirt he didn't look at her. Finally task done he looked up at her his eyes shining, "I don't do drama Maxie. I do action. I can't wait silently until you notice me."
She looked at him and blinked. He didn't get it. She was shocked, but through every night that they had been together he saw it only as one sided.
"I'm not going to do that. I can't. When you left…" he trailed off looking at her taking her in, "I just knew. I can't do subterfuge any more. I escaped from them and I won't do things quietly anymore. I'm done hiding and for you everything is fine as long as it is a secret and you get to control it. I'm not going to play that game."
This wasn't what she expected to hear, but she knew it was coming. Alec wasn't a man of subtleties. He was overwhelming and omnipresent. He looked at her with his green eyes blazing, eyes that read her and made her feel naked inside and out.
Alec turned and left the room, but he kept the door open.
She looked as he opened the door and she was absolutely terrified, but she picked her head up. Some times stepping away from comfortable was the way to go. Alec doing grand gestures was a matter of course. Max knew that if she did a grand gesture it would be shattering.
For a second she contemplated if she was going to do this. She could just go back to the simple way that things were.
But her feet were already out the door.
"Oh Dix," she called out across HQ kind of breathlessly, "I have an addition to your role. I need you to take on daily communication with Eyes Only and Logan. He is going to work in Washington DC for us, that is, if we all approve him. You will still report all his activities to the committee, but you will have the contact and the daily responsibilities. He will still be working with Eyes Only, but he will also be working primarily on our needs. Eyes Only has agreed to take us on as a full time project, if we want that."
No one in HQ looked up, but everyone was still. Her daily or bi-daily meetings with Logan were hours long. She ran when he called and sat in a private room. She was the liaison to Logan and it was a position that she cherished. In order for her to give it up could only mean that she was giving up the only time that she would have with Logan. Something had changed.
No one made a noise, typed or moved paper. Mole's jaw dropped and a cigar landed on the ground. Alec looked at Max, standing at ease, she was looking at him as she spoke.
She stopped in front of Alec, she bit her lip and looked down for a second. She looked up at him.
"Do you want to go with me tonight to see the movie?"
Alec looked at her and whispered inaudibly, "What are you doing?"
She looked steadily at him, biting her lip, begging him not to be stupid, "Action. Doing something I can't control."
He searched her eyes for something and she tried to smile as every second he didn't say anything.
Alec couldn't say anything. This was just unexpected.
She was just about to think that the game was over when he flipped back into some version of Alec.
Alec shrugged in automatic response as if it wasn't painful and as if this was the most natural thing in the world, "Sure."
She smiled, something she was doing more today than she had done in the entire time he had known her.
"Pick me up around seven," she turned before either one of them could change their minds, and Dix followed her, "Okay we need two units and the sniper division in place to pick up the truck. We need a driver and.."
She trailed off as she left the room. Alec turned to watch her, as did the rest of HQ.
Mole walked up behind Alec looking at the closed door.
"Did she just say that she dumped Logan and asked you on a date?" Mole asked.
"I don't remember those words," Alec said turning to Mole.
"It was all undertone. That is what women do," Mole told him.
"And Mole knows this through the ten minutes in his life he as ever spent with a woman," Dix said coming up next to Mole.
Alec whirled on him, "I thought we weren't going to discuss me and Max?"
"I don't want to know about your sex life or your romantic life, what I want to know is if hell froze over. It's a bet and if she just asked you out on a date and the ordinary is out of the picture someone is going to be rolling in it tonight."