A/N: I have this tendency to alternate angst with humor (or a lame attempt at humor) all within the same story. I did it with No Need to Argue, and She Asked For It, and I'm doing it again now. Am I supposed to chose a tone and stick with it? Probably. But I can't. I'm sorry about that...

Epiphany - Chapter 4

by Sorrow

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"Why am I always the bad guy with you, Max?"

It had been the longest, most sexually frustrating night of Alec's life. After three hours of enduring Max while she alternated between threatening castration and pleading for satisfaction, he found himself unbuckling his belt and faced with the decision of whether to proceed with his jeans or just use the belt to hang himself. Fortunately a third option popped into his slightly-manic mind while he was searching for an overhead fixture to loop the belt through.

It was surprisingly simple. He just needed to find someone else to step in and take over. Someone who could not be lured by Max's heat-crazed demands. It was a foolproof plan, and once he'd put the wheels in motion, Alec was almost convinced he'd be able to keep every single one of his body parts intact afterwards. Because the last thing he wanted to do was ask for Logan's help in rustling up a false identity and skipping the country.

So he arranged for someone else - someone who they both trusted - to ice her down and stop her from choking on her own tongue, while he stood guard outside the apartment. And then once he was sure Max's heat had broken and she was safe, he made his way back to his own place so he could catch an hour of sleep before the wild cat could track him down and unleash her wrath.

After a full two hours of floor pacing and ducking behind his couch each time he heard a sound in the hallway, Alec finally decided it was time to face his personal demon. He just hoped he'd be able to find her in as public a location as Terminal City could offer - much less chance of Max murdering him, if there were witnesses.

"Hey guys, anyone seen Max around?" Alec sauntered into Command and looked around at the half dozen transgenics, none of whom seemed willing to meet his eyes.

None of course, except for Mole, whose grin was so wide, his cigar was in danger of dropping out of his mouth. "What, didn't think to check if she was still under the bed sheets before you crept out at the ass-crack of dawn?"

Alec frowned, clearly puzzled. "How would you know whether.."

"Mole knows everything." The transhuman grinned harder and deftly caught the cigar as it fell, jamming it back into his mouth before turning his attention back to his shotgun.

The third-person reference caused Alec to startle. Obviously his comrade had been hanging out with Original Cindy far more than he realized. "Yeah well, it didn't happen like that."

"Uh huh." Clearly disbelieving, Mole gave his gun one last loving polish before placing it down and reaching for another.

"Whatever man." Alec shrugged and glanced out the window towards Max's apartment block. He wasn't gonna waste his time trying to explain. Besides, transgenics were a slave to their animal DNA, and there were a couple of X5's sitting in Command who could be a problem for Max, given the givens.

Ignoring the knowing glances of the others in the room, Alec turned and headed back to the apartment he'd left only a couple of hours earlier. He knew she was going to flip this all around and make it his fault, in typical Max fashion. Hell, he'd be surprised if she were to deal with it in any other way. And better to get it over and done with now, than let her drag it out with sulky glares and stinging barbs for the rest of his life. Ah hell, she was gonna do that anyway. Water off a duck's back, right?

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Well, here goes nothing. Without bothering to knock, Alec swung open Max's apartment door and sauntered in, but his happy-go-lucky facade was quickly erased by the screaming tirade he found himself facing as Max shot in front of him and slammed a fist into his forever-bruised shoulder.

"You bought OC into Terminal City! Alec what were you thinking, taking that kind of risk?"

"What was I thinking?" Alec echoed, dumbfounded. He rubbed his shoulder and darted out of her reach, sparing a glance towards Original Cindy who leant against the kitchen bench, a look of pained exasperation on her face. Seems she'd already talked her voice raw in effort to make Max see reason. And still to no avail.

"Max, I was thinking about you. Two hours stuck around you in heat and I couldn't take it anymore! I had to get someone else to watch over you otherwise I was gonna..."

Max blanched at Alec's unspoken words, then quickly looked away to avoid acknowledging the look that crossed his face when he noted her reaction. It wasn't an expression normally associated with Alec. Hurt? Dejection? Whatever. She didn't want to name it, let alone figure how to deal with it. "So you thought bringing Cindy into this toxic dump would be a good decision?"

"Actually, yes." Alec gave her a long level look. "I organised a safe escort for her into TC, and she was willing to take the health risk. Or would you have preferred if I'd just left you alone... for someone with less scruples than me to find?"

"Someone with less scruples than you?" Max snorted, and even though she knew her words were so utterly wrong, she couldn't stop herself from saying them anyway. Afraid of the alternative - having to admit her overall impression of Alec had been so ballsed up, for so long. "Gee, I find that hard to believe."

She stopped when she noticed Alec had closed his eyes as if searching inwardly for his happy place, while muttering beneath his breath. She tilted her head, perplexed, until she realized he was slowly counting.

"..eight.. nine.. ten." Alec released a long slow breath as his eyes snapped open. It hadn't helped. The anger was still there. And so was Max. He sighed. She was staring at him quizzically - maybe even a little apprehensively - and that almost brought an ill-timed smile to his face. He swallowed it back down and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"No matter what I do, I'm always gonna be the bad guy with you." It was a closing statement rather than a question, and without waiting for any further retort, he moved past her to the stairwell.

Max stared after him, a small tendril of understanding unfurling within her, but too little and too late for her to move to stop him - besides, she was too damn stubborn to admit it anyway. Even to herself.

"Boo, I have a few choice words to say to you about your boy, but I don't think you're ready to hear them yet."

Max jumped at the voice and frowned at her inattention. Original Cindy had come up behind her to stand in the doorway, and she hadn't sensed the sound and movement behind her. The transgenic squared her jaw as she swept past her friend and back into her apartment. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"Ya never do." Cindy shook her head and trailed after her, into the kitchen. For a minute she watched silently as Max began preparing coffee for the two of them. Her girl was stubborn, for sure. But this just took the cake.

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Footnote: A very short chapter I'm sorry, but my muse has left me kinda floundering in deep space at the moment! I hope you've enjoyed what's here anyway, and please leave your feedback if you like or hate it. As much as I'd love to say I don't write for reviews, that's only a half truth. Feedback is a great motivator if I know people are actually interested in reading my stuff! :)