Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: You guys are awesome for reviewing! I love seeing what you say about this story; lol, hopefully this chapter gives you something to talk about. Thank you to Alexa, Sandra, Winchester girl, Deanna, Stargate fan, Marcus Sylenus and nattylovesu! You guy rock.

Ex Multus Familia: Part 2

Chapter 4

The alarm clock screamed for the ninth time that morning. Sidda did not even lift her hand as she reached over and grabbed the noisy piece of technology. Her merciless grasp cracked the hard plastic before she hauled back and hurled it at the wall. The clock shattered. It went silent, finally dead.

Growling under her breath, Sidda spread out her limbs. She was in the middle of the bed; her blankets and sheets had shoved off during the night, but Sidda still had not been able to get comfortable. She had even stripped down to her underwear, but that had not worked either. Everything was too hot. She was burning, and she needed something, but she wasn't sure what it was.

Snatching her cell phone off the nightstand, she flicked a button on the side. The front panel lit up. It was eleven in the morning, three hours later than she usually got up on the weekdays. She vaguely remembered Robin coming in to wake her up, but she also sort of remembered snarling at her friend to make her get out.

Dropping the phone, Sidda sat up and got onto her knees, her hands clasped together behind her neck. It was too hot to stay in bed anymore. She had to get out of here… Especially since there was no one in bed with her. Shouldn't Alec have been here? Oh, yeah, she was staying with Robin. Alec was probably working by now, over at headquarters, where Robin would also be. Work. That was where she was supposed to be too. With Alec. Alec and his sculpted, muscled body, those chiseled features, perfect green eyes…

Time to get up. She slipped out of bed and sauntered over to the dresser, swaying her hips for no reason. Hmm, clothes optional? Sidda shook her head at her own stupid idea. Clothes were definitely a must. But what clothes…

Obviously she needed to wear those black jeans and that really too-tight dark green shirt that looked ripped in too many places. Cami under that? No…wait…yeah, the black one, the tight black one. And boots. Her black combat boots. Yeah, that was good. She ran her hand over her flat stomach and smirked at her image in the cracked mirror over the dresser. Really good. She looked good.

After she was dressed, Sidda walked into the kitchen, running her fingertips over the countertop. What was supposed to be doing today? It had something to do with Joshua and culture and dancing. Mmm, dancing. She needed to do that with someone, a partner. It'd be nice to dance with Alec again, but she wasn't in a waltzing mood.

Sidda stopped and put a hand to her head before rushing over to the fridge and throwing it open. She rummaged around in the freezer and pulled out a handful of ice. Wrapping it in a kitchen towel, she pressed it to her too-hot forehead and tried to think clearly as it swiftly melted, the freezing rivulets dripping past her closed eyes.

She was hot. She was wearing clothes she would never wear on a normal day. She was in a feral mood, more animal than human at the moment. Sidda's eyes opened wide as she realized what was happening.

Heat. She was in heat. She had only been through this once, three months after she had gotten out of Manticore. The suppressants that they had been given back then had worn off, and she had gone into heat. She had ended up sleeping with an Ordinary named Gavin or Owen or something like that. She had not exactly been satisfied, and she had accidentally broken his right arm and his jaw and given him a concussion in the process. A blush crept into her already warm cheeks at the memory.

She put both hands on her makeshift ice pack and forced it harder against her forehead. There was no doubt in her mind that whenever it was completely melted, she was going to slip back into that half-animal state of mind and go looking for what she needed. If she was going to keep what happened last time from repeating, she needed to lock herself in a closet…or find someone capable of handling this with her. And there were so many strong, male transgenics in Terminal City, and there was one in particular…if he could prove himself. She needed someone she wasn't going to break.

Instinct lowered her hand, dropped the wet hair towel onto the floor, and instinct drove her out the door, down the stairs, past the apartment that Alec and, until lately, she shared. She let her hand linger for a moment on the door, knowing he wasn't there.

Biting her lower lip in a grin, she headed into the ground level room where everyone kept their bikes, regular and motored, and headed over to the cherry red Ducati 1198 S. It was a refurbished 2009 model, gorgeous and all hers. There had been some leftover money from the Italian trip, and she just couldn't resist when she saw it half-destroyed and rusting in a junkyard she and Robin had been scavenging in for spare parts for Robin's street bike. Besides, all X5s and most transgenics as a whole had street bikes; she had needed one too, right?

After she ran the bike down the ramp, Sidda revved the engine and sped off toward HQ, going much faster than was safe. She had places to go, people to see, things to take care of. Besides, the wind made her cooler for a moment, let her think clearly. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She needed to get someone to lock her in a closet and keep the key for three days.

Heat flooded her veins again. No, this was right. A grin danced across her face. This was going to be fun.

"Alec?"

Alec rubbed his forehead, trying to convince himself that there was no need to be distracted. But something was bothering him. He just couldn't place what it was.

"Ummm…"

"Alec, you okay?" He looked at Robin, who was peering at him with concern.

"Yeah, uh, where's Sidda?" All of the sudden he needed to know the answer to that question, right at that moment. He needed Robin to tell him. His eyes burned into hers as he demanded an answer.

"Well, she didn't want to get up this morning… she was very hot, I think she might have been…"

Robin's apartment, that was all he needed to know. He brushed passed Robin, and for some reason, instead of going out the door closest to him, he made for the back door. Hot. His Sidda was hot…yeah, she was very, very hot, Robin was right about that. And she was also his.

Alec glanced suspiciously at the guys near him. None of them seemed to be making for the door… good. He would have to hurt them if they were trying to go to Sidda.

Alec snapped his attention back to the door as it opened. Though it had been opened slowly, seductively, it was like a big wind had threw it open. There was Sidda in the doorway… and there was every other male in the room, looking at her too.

"Crap," he heard a female near him say.

Female. Non-threatening. Alec growled as he shoved past a few of the transgenics standing around. He had to take Sidda away from there. He had to take her to their apartment… Theirs, not Robin. She was going back to his apartment. And no other male was going to touch her.

"Hey," a rough voice said near him. Alec didn't even bother to look as his arm caught the guy by the throat, and he shoved him against the wall. The male grabbed Alec's wrist and started to wrench his way out of his grip, but when he saw who it was who had attacked him, he stopped and bowed his head in agitated submission. Alec dropped him and moved on. One less member of the male species to worry about.

Sidda seemed to be enjoying all the attention way too much. As Alec watched her eyes lingered on one of the males near her, he fought the urge to blur over there and choke the guy. Some small, rational part of Alec's brain had registered the comment that Sidda was in heat and recognized the fact that he was responding to that heat. But… the prospect of Sidda in heat was just something that he didn't want to entirely fight off. He just wanted to fight for it.

When Sidda ran her hand down the man's chest though, Alec did lose it. He ran over, pushing past people, and threw the man far away from Sidda. Sidda gave him one of her mischievous, way-too-tempting smirks, followed by an adorable pout.

"You're ruining the fun, Alec," she said, even as she shifted herself so that she was pressed up against Alec. Alec groaned, trying to fight the need to take her… take her right there.

"Hey, you two…door…" A female watched them warily, holding the door open. Door, right. Alec remembered his plan. He was going to take her back to the apartment where she would be safe. Alec gripped Sidda's arm and started pulling her toward the door.

Sidda was distracted by a guy standing close to the door on the way, and she flashed a smile at him. Alec rounded on him just as the guy tried to pull Sidda in closer to him.

"Don't touch her!" Alec said, swinging his fist at the guy. He caught the transgenic unawares; Alec smiled as his fist connected to the guy's face with a satisfying crunch. What was the guy's name anyway? B…something B. It didn't really matter.

Alec turned around to grab Sidda again and saw her among a group of guys, clearly attempting to seduce them. Alec ground his teeth in frustration. He loved Sidda's wild nature, but it was very frustrating when he was burning with the double need to get her away from other men and into his bed.

"Alec, Alec…" Alec looked down as he realized that someone was talking to him. Max. Her hands were pressed against his chest, and she was pushing him toward the door.

"Go wait outside and we'll see that she gets out there, ok? Just wait outside, don't worry, we won't let anything happen to her. Come on, Alec, go!"

Alec considered for a second and eyed Sidda. She looked up and met his eyes, all coy smiles and sexy grace. Her eyes flashed as she took in the sight of Max, way too close to Alec… Alec was her man. Hers only. Alec was supposed to be fighting for her, not looking at some other girl. Sidda's hands clenched and accidentally broke the edge of the table she was sitting on.

"Whoa," some stupid transgenic near her said. "Look at that display of muscle. Mmm." Sidda tossed her head and bestowed a smile upon him for admiring her. He actually wasn't that bad-looking. Sidda leaned closer to him and trailed her fingers along his neck. Yes, perhaps he would do.

No, no… his jokes were lame, and there was a much better-looking guy next to him. Sidda turned her attention to the dark-haired male with light-blue eyes. Maybe he would do. Though really, most of them men gathered around her looked very nice. Perhaps she would just take them all. Yes, that sounded like the best solution. But Alec…

"Anyone want to follow me back to my apartment?" Sidda asked, smiling at the lot. They all stood up immediately, and Sidda purred in satisfaction. Now, if only she could manage to make it back to the apartment without jumping anyone's bones…

Sidda glanced at Alec from underneath her eyelashes. These other males, they were toys, but if Alec didn't step up, she would make do with one of them. Of course, with the way he was looking at her…

Someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward. It was the tall X5 with the shaggy black hair, the tan skin and the intense brown eyes. "You don't want all of them. You only need me."

Although someone in the back of her mind was screaming at her to not to, she pressed herself against him, her fingers splayed out across his chest. What was his name? Mmm, oh yeah, Lexington. A former C.O. back at Manticore, therefore possibly an alpha classification. He smelled like cinnamon, autumn sun and hard work. It was a wonderful, utterly yummy scent, but it wasn't the right smell. His hand trailed down her face, dabbling through the fire that was bursting like sun flares across her skin.

"Your apartment or mine?" he asked, his other hand moving to her waist. Sidda smiled and then pulled back; she didn't want him, she wanted—

"Alec, don't you dare!" Sidda heard some female voice yell, and suddenly Lexington was gone, his body crashing into one of the card tables. Alec was in his place, his back to Sidda as he faced Lexington, probably seeing him as his biggest threat among the males. Lexington sprang to his feet and charged Alec, but Alec dodged to the side and twisted around to kick Lexington in the back of the head. The other male recovered quickly, whipping around to face Alec.

Sidda was vaguely aware that this was a very bad, potentially deadly situation, but the cat side of her only noticed Max blurring toward them. Toward Alec. That woman wanted Alec. Sidda intercepted her, darting behind Max just as the other female rushed by. She grabbed both of Max's shoulders and hauled back, hurling the other female to the ground. She had ten extra years of training on Max, and she wasn't about to let some 09er get to her guy, not while she still had breath in her.

A split second of her human side screaming that Max was her friend kept her from stomping on Max's windpipe with her combat boot, and in that second, Max grabbed Sidda's foot and propelled her into the air. Mid-air, Sidda twisted and landed on her feet, blurring back toward Max, but a hand grabbed her by the upper arm and yanked her off course.

Alec's fingers burned on her bare skin, almost as hot as the fire searing her veins. Blood was dripping from his upper lip, and Sidda couldn't stop herself from going up on her tiptoes to kiss him right on that spot. Something inside her was vicious right now, a side of her she didn't know existed. Alec's lips were rough against hers.

"No more games. We're going home," Alec growled at her when they finally broke apart, "Now."

"And what if I don't want to go with you?"

His hand was iron around her wrist as he took her out of HQ, not that that was necessary; she would have followed him willingly, led the way even. No other male approached them as Alec stormed away, pulling Sidda behind him.

Robin slammed the door shut behind Sidda and Alec before any of those mindless males got it into their mind to challenge Alec. She was going to kill Sidda later or at least give her a stern, hard lecture on controlling herself during heat. Yes, it was a hard thing to do, but it was possible to at least try. She didn't have to go crazy and drive herself down to HQ to make life a nightmare.

After most of the males went back to work or excused themselves from the room, Robin walked over to Max. The female transgenic was shooing off the males, snapping at them and hitting them as she felt the need. They all shuffled off, shoulders bowed, heads down, embarrassed or disappointed.

"Are you okay, Max?" Robin asked as she reached her.

Max waved her off. "I'm fine. She just caught me off guard." She sighed and glared at the closed door. "What the hell was she doing, anyways, coming here when she was in heat?"

Robin sighed and walked over to where Lexington had eventually landed. The poor guy was unconscious; Alec had really punched him hard that last time. As she bent down to make sure nothing was broken on Lex, she kept talking to Max. "Sidda…this is just what she's told me, but when she's in heat, she really loses it. She can't think straight at all or only for a short period. The last time this happened, the guy she had sex with ended up in the hospital."

"Damn Manticore," Max grumbled, "They really did a shitty job with us, didn't they?" Her bitter face turned soft as she looked down at Lexington. "Is he going to be okay?"

Robin nodded. "Definitely, but it wouldn't hurt to take him over to the infirmary. Alec wasn't exactly pulling his punches."

Max rolled her eyes. "No, not really." She rubbed the bridge of her nose and then yelled for a couple of X5 guys who were standing around. They grabbed Lexington by his arms and legs and carried him out of the room, heading toward the infirmary.

"Morning…" Alec said.

"Mmm, is it?" Sidda said, moving up next to him to share his warmth. She glanced at the clock on the other side of him. "10 a.m.… I wonder what day it is?

Alec laughed. "Well, thanks to the internal clocks that Manticore provided us, I'm sure you know what day it is."

Sidda grinned against Alec's chest and then looked up. "Yep, three days after I grabbed you out of headquarters. AKA, Thursday." Sidda suddenly laughed. "Oh my gosh…headquarters…" She punched Alec in the arm. "Why did you go there, you moron? Max is probably going to kill me."

"Yeah, probably. As long as you didn't kill her." He played with a strand of Sidda's hair. "And I didn't know you were in heat. That's what you get for staying at Robin's apartment."

"Learned my lesson, didn't I?" Sidda said, sitting up. She grabbed one of Alec's t-shirts from the chair beside the bed and threw it on. She tossed the shorts that had been sitting under it over to Alec.

"I think I look better without any clothes on…"

"I think you do, too, but we better go find out what's been happening while we were shutting ourselves away from the world."

"So you're just gonna go out in my t-shirt? Well, that is kinda sexy." Alec winked at her.

"No, I'll look a little more decent in a moment," she said, moving from the bedroom into the kitchen. She grimaced at the mess they had made of the living room the first day of Sidda's heat. They were simply lucky they'd had the restraint to wait until the apartment.

Sidda felt ravenous. She opened the fridge and glanced inside, searching for something to satisfy her hunger. There wasn't really anything…. Sidda turned to the cabinets and smiled with satisfaction as she found an unopened bag of chips. She closed her eyes as she crunched down on the perfect salty taste. Oh, that tasted good.

"Mmmm." Alec wrapped one arm around Sidda's waist and reached over her shoulder with the other one to grab a chip from the bag.

"Get your own," Sidda said, shooting a glare at him. But she held the bag up so that he could grab an easier handful. It was entirely tempting to just stay at home with Alec and laze the day away, but at the same time she was itching to know what was going on with Terminal City. Who knew, maybe humans had staged a mass protest or perhaps the government had decided to renege on their deal while Alec and Sidda were in the apartment. It was rather disconcerting not to be up-to-date.

As if someone was reading her mind, her cell phone rang just at that moment.

"Don't answer," Alec said, resting his head against Sidda's shoulder.

"It's just a phone call," Sidda said, moving to grab the phone.

"Yes, and phone calls always deliver the worst news."

"And the best," Sidda said, still attempting to get to the phone. She finally managed to get it and flipped it open. Alec held up his hands, saying that he had tried to warn her.

"Sidda?"

"Robin, the fact that you called me about five minutes after I woke up this morning could definitely be called uncanny."

"Yeah, well, I was there when you went into heat, and I know when it wears off. Can you come into headquarters? And Alec too?"

"Sure," Sidda said, glancing at Alec. She was going to kill Robin if this was bad news. "Is it an emergency?"

"No, no, nothing like that. Joshua just wants to have a meeting again."

"Ahh, got it. I'll be there in a bit."

"Ok, see ya."

"See?" Sidda said to Alec as she hung up the phone. "Not bad news."

"Not great either," Alec said with a sigh. "If it was anyone but Joshua, I would not be doing this."

"But it is, and so you are," Sidda said. She kissed him lightly. "Come on, let's go see our friends."

They tried sneaking into HQ, but it was harder than they thought it would be. Sneaking in a side door was a good start, but the second they reached a more populated hallway, there were catcalls and whistles along with a few guys sheepishly disappearing into other rooms. Alec kept an arm around Sidda's waist the whole time, and she leaned against him, still feeling sleepy.

They avoided the main room and darted straight for the conference room. When they walked inside, everyone was smirking and grinning at them.

Sidda blushed and felt like burying her face into Alec's shoulder. Oh, going to HQ didn't seem like a good idea at all anymore.

"Nice going, Sidda," Syl said, smirking at them from behind a few papers in her hands. "If you wanted to destroy headquarters, what's wrong with a simple bomb?"

"What, Syl, jealous someone's getting some?" Alec replied. He smiled back at Syl who frowned at him. She didn't like being reminded that Krit was gone.

"They couldn't help it," Robin said to Syl, though she was smiling at Alec and Sidda too. "Nature and everything."

"All right, people, can we get on with this?" Max said. She motioned for Alec and Sidda to take a seat. Sidda peeked at the dark-haired transgenic, half expecting her to be furious about what had happened earlier that week. Instead, Max was smiling at her, one of those understanding looks. Sidda sighed in relief and sat down, ready to throw herself into whatever project Joshua wanted them to do. She noticed Alec yawn out of the corner of her eye and grinned. Of course, sleeping a little more would be nice too.