He didn't die when he hit the water, something Alec found himself a little surprised about, and maybe a little disappointed. Because immediately, he felt the water tearing at his battered body, the currents yanking on his dislocated arm and piercing his bleeding veins with ice. It thinned his loss of blood, but simultaneously made his limbs sting with the pressure of fighting against it. The arctic waters of Seattle's pacific coast were unforgiving in the mid November weather, so when Alec's head broke the surface heaving for air, the sting of the cold autumn sea breeze only made the chilling waters worse.

His clothes were heavy with the soaking salt water, and his fatigued muscles were quickly seizing beneath the frigid temperature; their feeble flailing became involuntarily slower, as if his limbs were being dipped in heavy molasses. Everything hurt; his abdomen burned as it clenched to force his bruised legs to kick, his battered arms felt like they were breaking as he flapped with one working arm, the other tearing his nerves in burning, blistering pain as it bobbed unnaturally against his own movements and the pull of the ocean. His head was dizzy, ears ringing with a deafening tone above the fearful raging of the waves crashing with deafening booms against the rocky cliff side. He couldn't hold out much longer, and his treading against the swaying ocean was getting him nowhere.

When the inevitable pull came, Alec did the only thing left for him to do. He swallowed as much air as he could in a gasping breath, before the ocean yanked him under. He didn't know why he was holding his breath; maybe some ingrained survival instinct making him try to hold on to the very last second, or perhaps this was just a truly human reaction from the fear of drowning. Unable to bear the sting of freezing salt water, his eyes closed as he drifted down, and the panic his mind briefly felt over the prospect of drowning miraculously disappeared. A calm washed over him; it was quieter down here, no noise but the trickle of bubbles that occasionally slipped passed his lips. If he weren't about to die, he might of thought it safe and comforting in this darkness, were it also not for how fucking cold he was growing.

He thought of Max, and what she might be doing right now. 'Probably with Logan,' he thought grimly, unaware that Max was aware of his missing status and pining over him this very second. A heartbeat was taken to curse himself for his spiteful behavior and poor planning; he should have told Max where he was, and maybe none of this would of happened.

Body going lax, he felt almost blissful as his thoughts strayed to more pleasant memories. The time he and Max had dangled from the ceiling, fighting over a signed baseball while swinging uncontrollably against each other; it brought a broad smile to the boy's face. Or the time they were stuck in a closet together for over an hour. He had complained the entire time, but he wasn't really all that upset. It was nice to spend time with her he had to admit, even when she was infuriating. All the times they fought together, almost died together. How all of that somehow led to an abandon of common sense and principles, to them fucking desperate and heady against a damn club wall. He didn't regret it, and if this was the way he was going to go out, he was glad he had this memory as one of his last. The last thing he could recall before everything went truly black was the feel of Max's lips crushing against his own, and how her moans tasted on his tongue while he greedily gulped her savory flavor down.

Ice prickled his face, the sensation of air gusting over his wet flesh shocking his brain out of its dark haze. A keen pressure binding around his torso quickly followed it, and his brain couldn't decipher whether his bruised ribs or burning lungs hurt more in that instant. Then, he wretched, and freezing seawater came hurling out his mouth, the painful sensation of sand-paper tearing at his throat with the upcoming water. The pressure around his abdomen relieved, and Alec heaved a painful breath of air into his reluctant lungs, coughing and spluttering what remained up on his own. Everything was spinning, and as his mind jarred out of near death, the pain in his frozen limbs abruptly rushed back to him.

That's when he realized he was moving. A sharp yowl left him, and he grimaced heavily as his limp arm dragged against the movement. He forced his other hand to break out of the racing water, so he could grab the dislocated one, and cradle it to his chest to brace against the rushing water. Forcing his eyes open, Alec blinked away the water coating his eyelids, and squinted against the harsh wind as darkness swam passed him. Confused beyond belief, he looked around to see only the black ocean; his head had somehow breached the water, half his chest having broken the surface as well. His brows furrowed in confusion, and he looked down into the water, but couldn't see passed it.

However, he could feel something gripping around both his legs, and another force pressed into the small of his back. They felt like arms if he didn't know better, and that's when he heard a sound he'd only ever heard once before. It was an echoic whine, followed by the high-pitched clicking akin to a door creaking; noises that instantly reminded him of dolphins. Or mermaids.

Alec smirked wider than he thought possible despite the pain, the only thought running through his head being, 'I don't fucking believe it.' He curled his shoulders slightly, bracing his body against the waves as his saviors became aware of his consciousness, and picked up their speed of travel. Their mysterious chattering continued, growing louder when they neared the shoreline, and to Alec's relief, he recognized it as one of Seattle's abandoned docks. They had brought him home.

When the ocean began to shallow, he felt the arms bracing his thighs shift, and for a moment, he was suspended before the couple broke the surface of the water, and their arms came to support under his arms and against his back. The female was ginger with him, holding above his shoulder once a sharp hiss escaped him as she touched his dislocated arm. They brought him all the way to the banks, and even helped him up the shore until he was at the shallow cascades of the waves. He sank heavily into the sand once they dropped him, being too tired to care about how wet he was or the muddy sand now clinging to his pants.

The male receded back into the water, lingering to wait for his mate, who watched Alec with a small smile on her face as he heaved for air. Slowly, his eyes flickered up to her face. "How did you find me?" he asked weakly. Her smile remained strong as she bent over, and brought a hand up to caress ginger fingers over his right temple. He gasped from sharp pain, and jerked back slightly as she pulled her fingers away and curled her hand to show him the crimson staining her fingertips.

'They tracked me by my blood?' he thought in awe, staring at his own blood before his eyes flickered up to the mermaid's face. 'Of course…they've probably got like, shark DNA or something,' he realized; they could likely smell and track him from miles away. The transgenic was suddenly touched with a fierce wave of gratitude and affection.

"Thanks," he murmured appreciatively. She smiled, and nodded to him, and the look in her eye told him everything. He didn't need to understand her to know that, once upon a time, he had done the same for her, and she couldn't be happier to return the favor. Her smile lingered on him a moment more, before she couldn't hold her breath any longer, and retreated back into the water to join her mate. With a final nod from each of them, and a wave from Alec, the fish people returned to the ocean, disappearing beneath the black water to leave Alec to fend for himself. He couldn't have asked for more.

Taking another heavy breath, he momentarily let his body collapse against the sand, staring up into the night sky. He couldn't believe he had made it this far, and every fiber of his being wanted to just end his journey here and go to sleep. But he knew he couldn't do that, so begrudgingly, he forced himself to his feet. Immediately, he winced, body protesting heavily, but he forced it to work nonetheless. He desperately wanted to pop his shoulder back into place, and he tried a few of the easier ways, only to scream out in immense pain. He knew it was unlikely to work, but he had to try. Unfortunately, he was too frigid, and his muscles too tight; he would only end up hurting himself even more if he tried again, so his first priority was to seek warmth and dryness.

He limped all the way back to the city. What was once an easy trek, now became an endless path in Hell. He could feel prominent bruising all over his body, and he was still steadily bleeding from his stomach and head, though his shoulder wound had stopped oozing a while ago. His other shoulder was severely mangled, being left neglected in it's dislocated state, so Alec kept it cradled gently to his torso. His skin was pale, taut, and ghastly looking, and his lips were blue from the cold. But his neck burned where he had been branded, throbbing heavily with each pump of his heart. By the time he reached town, his head had started to swim again from the stress and pain in his body, and he was nearly positive he looked like a phantom.

The ordinaries noticed too, and he could feel their stares burn into his skull as he sulked by them. Quiet murmurs and cautious glares followed him with every hobble on his bad leg, and his fuzzy brain began to slowly calculate how likely it was he was getting out of here in one piece. He could already tell they weren't going to be friendly, could practically smell their fear, hate, and mistrust. It wasn't like his barcode was hidden, and with grim understanding, he stopped and glared at the faces slowing looming in closer to him. They knew what he was, and his glazed eyes counted several "fearless" men surrounding him. There was no way he would survive this.

Just when he felt their wills ready to attack, a sharp, loud honking shocked every male out of their transfixed concentration. Even Alec jolted a bit, swaying a little as a car steered into the crowd of people out of nowhere, forcing several of the humans to jump out of the way, or forfeit their own life.

"Get in," a shrill voice shouted, before the driver reached back and popped the back door open for Alec to climb in to. The transgenic had his eyes narrowed on the blonde haired man seated in the front, his sluggish brain not fully processing what was going on until one word left his mouth.

"Normal?" he said, voice a mixture of relief and serious confusion. His instincts quickly brought him back to the situation, as a few of the men behind him drew closer, and those that had been forced out of the way regrouped. Alec didn't hesitate again, and launched his body into the car, before firmly slamming the car door shut with his good arm as Normal twisted the steering wheel around, taking off down the street recklessly. Alec looked out the back window until they were well away from the angered crowd, and no police were in pursuit of them, which finally allowed Alec to sigh and relax a little. He sunk down in the seat, turning over to sit properly on his ass, and looked to the man in the front seat.

"Man, I have never been happier to see you, Normal," Alec murmured appreciatively before adding, "what are you even doing here?" Normal had been viciously focused on driving until Alec's voice broke through the silence, and the older man looked up to glance at his passenger in the rear-view mirror.

"Are you alright, Golden Boy?" he asked fretfully, which coming from Normal, just made him sound annoyed. Alec knew better though, because Normal's voice always was a bit softer for Alec, which made the transgenic chuckle lightly. Immediately, he grimaced once his stomach gave a painful throb, and it took a moment to stifle the pain before he slowly opened his eyes to consider his old boss thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he said weakly, but Normal wasn't convinced. Alec was lucky Normal had been doing a supply run in this neck of the city; he had a bit of a fetish for the deep-fried seafood they had in this area. Bought some for himself every two weeks. Lo and behold, he finds his precious Golden Boy near death in the middle of the street, with a bunch of racists ready to finish the job.

"I should take you to the hospital," the human said attentively.

"No," Alec immediately forced out, rolling a bit more onto his side to help cradle his arm against the ungraceful car ride. "No hospitals," he repeated, quelling his panting breath a bit while he spoke. Normal's face scrunched in slight frustration, but he didn't argue more; he knew better than most how prejudiced things still were in the city. Taking his Golden Boy to a hospital could turn out as bad as leaving him surrounded by those men would have been.

"Should I take you to your own people," Normal asked hesitantly. Alec paused a moment, deliberating, before he shook his head resolutely.

"You'll never get passed the Sector gates with me like this, and it's likely the good ol' residents of TC will assume you did this to me," Alec murmured regretfully. Normal tapped a finger on the steering wheel nervously as he drove.

"I could take you back to my house," he offered awkwardly, and Alec had to fight not to fidget uncomfortably at the suggestion. That's all he needed, for Normal to have a damn "gladiator dream" with him sleeping in the guy's guest room. He almost shuddered at the thought.

"Thanks, but that's alright."

"Well, forgive me, but what do you want me to do?" Alec bit his lip at the frustrated question, because he certainly wasn't making things any easier for Normal. He knew where he had to go, but he really, really didn't want to go there. There wasn't much of a choice at the moment, and he inwardly cursed before letting out a heavy, exasperated sigh.

"Take a left at the next crossroad," Alec began to direct.

When they got to the familiar old house, Normal pulled to a stop at the curb, and peered out his passenger side window with a scrutinizing brow. "Are you sure this is safe, Golden Boy?" the man asked, hesitant to let his favorite mutant go into such a run down place. Alec smiled fondly at the sentiment as he scooted over to the door, and opened it a fraction of an inch.

"Yeah, don't worry Normal. I'll be alright; I have a…friend, who lives here," he said, tripping up slightly on what to call the occupant of the house. Normal didn't seem convinced at first, but finally nodded in compliance and watched as Alec got out of the car. Before he shut it, Alec turned around and peered into the interior.

"Thanks again. I really owe you one for this," he said, and he could have sworn Normal blushed slightly. But the shrewd man merely waved him off, and Alec shut the door with a slight grimace, before he hobbled his broken body up the creaking steps. When he reached the door finally, he swayed heavily as sever fatigue washed over him. It took all his conscious willpower to slump into the doorframe, and Alec awkwardly knocked on the door with his good hand, that was currently trapped under his own body weight. It was a few moments before the door swung open, and when it finally did, Alec's weary eyes slowly trailed up to look at a very dumbfounded Logan.

"Alec?" he said hesitantly, taking in the boy's battered appearance. "What the hell happened?" he asked incredulously, rushing forward to help the boy stand once Alec nearly crashed face first into his foyer. Immediately after Logan's hands gripped around him, Alec let out a startling, pain-filled cry that had Logan reeling back on his decision. His hands let go, as Alec gingerly maneuvered himself through the door, but it wasn't even a full second before he had to lean heavily into Logan again. This time, the older male took more caution in where he placed his hands.

"Date gone wrong," Alec explained dismissively, his bitter sarcasm coating the wounded whine in his voice. Somehow, Alec managed to get his good arm around Logan's shoulder, and the journalist's other arm remained lightly holding Alec's upper rib cage as he guided Alec into a seat. 'Just great,' they both thought, before Alec was eased into a chair. The transgenic grunted in pain while Logan went to shut his front door. When he returned, Alec was half-passed out, but dutifully pried his eyes open to hazily stare at Logan. "Hey, you have a fireplace here, right?" the boy asked.

"Yeah," Logan said, quirking an eyebrow, but he didn't really have to ask why. Alec was frosty pale, his lips were still blue, and his clothes were still wet; he also looked like, at any moment, he was going to shiver to death. Without another word, Logan crossed his living space to enter the common room and start a fire. The whole while, Alec's eyes followed him until he was in the other room. A few minutes later, Alec could see the orange glow flickering in from the other room, and Logan returned to help him up and bring him to the building fire. When Alec was seated on the floor in front of it, Logan made to leave, but the transgenic's still working hand was suddenly around his wrist.

"Wha- Where are you going," Alec asked unsteadily, catching Logan off guard.

"To call Max. She's been looking for you all day," he said simply, and made to shake Alec off when the boy's fingers tightened around his skin. It was surprising how much strength Alec still had left when he seemed so weak.

"No, don't call her," Alec almost pleaded.

"What?! Why? She's been worried sick about you," Logan snapped defensively, and Alec hesitated. He slowly licked his lips, thinking his options over. He really didn't want to face Max yet, not like this. It was selfish, but he couldn't deal with their state of limbo right now. His green eyes shined softly with the orange haze of the fireplace as he searched Logan's face.

"I need your help first. My arm is dislocated…it has been for too long. I need you to…pop it back into place," Alec said slowly. The alarmed surprise was evident in Logan's expression as the two stared, frozen in place as if the other were an unfamiliar enemy. Then, Logan finally relented, and eased his posture back to face Alec. Alec swallowed heavily and nodded.

"I need you to cut my shirt off," he said sourly. Logan almost protested, but Alec's eyes suddenly dropped to the floor, and something about the boy's posture made him shut his mouth. He was certain Alec wasn't used to asking for help, and it probably gnawed at him worse that he had to ask it of a human, no less. Now, he could almost see why Alec was reluctant to let him call Max, but he dismissed the thought once he turned to find a pair of working scissors. He'd rather not think of them as animals with ingrained strength hierarchies, no matter how accurate such a description might be.

Alec let his gaze trail into the fireplace while he waited, and the warmth of the flames felt like heaven on earth. He could feel the heat defrosting his rigid limbs, breathing life into his cheeks, and he was certain a bit of color was returning to his face. The brink of death was seeping away from him, but sleep would not leave the tips of his consciousness, begging him to give in. He did not, and Logan's heavy footsteps pulled him out of the fog. Alec's head turned to see Logan approaching him, and the man knelt down by Alec before he brought the scissors between them.

Alec's sweater and shirt beneath it were cut in half, and down the sleeves so it slipped easily from the boy's body. What came to view underneath momentarily had Logan covering his mouth. Alec's right shoulder had a tiny gash in it, no bigger than an inch in any direction; it was red an angry with smeared blood around the skin. His left shoulder looked horrid. It was severely discolored, an ugly brown that Logan could clearly see had torn ligaments beneath the surface, and his arm was hanging limply in his own skin, stretching the abused flesh and muscle even more. But that wasn't even the worst of it.

The boy's entire body was discolored in a similar fashion; angry blacks, blues, and purples covering too many spots on his arms and across his stomach. In the middle of a nasty cluster of brown was a shallow, long, thin gash that was still bleeding onto his tainted skin. He had an obvious concussion, if the nasty gash in his right temple was anything to go by. That entire portion of his messy hair was caked in both dry and damp blood, fresh coatings steadily seeping over the raw, opened wound. And Logan hadn't missed the burn mark in Alec's neck, identical to the one Max had seared into her hand. He didn't comment though; now wasn't the time.

Alec scooted closer to the fire, leaning his dislocated shoulder closest to it, so it could warm up faster. Briefly, Alec's gaze flickered to his still damp pants, and Logan followed his gaze, before he sighed heavily. They didn't speak as Alec unbuttoned and unzipped his trousers, before he shakily hoisted his pelvis up so Logan could tug the sandy, salty, wet pants off. His boxers almost tugged off with it, but Alec managed to catch them before either was scarred, sacrificing his own ass that collided with the wood once the support of his hand was gone. Alec adjusted his boxers more comfortably while Logan fetched a pair of sweatpants, giving his arm time to warm up and ease its shivering tendons and muscles.

When Logan returned, Alec looked up at him and nodded. "Okay…" he muttered, before rising off the floor and walking over to the table. With previously lost nimbleness, Alec slid onto the surface of a table, and waited patiently for Logan to clear the cluttered papers off it, before he laid back. Using his other hand, he gingerly moved his limp arm off the table, and looked at Logan as he fought back the heavy winces threatening to break surface. "Grab my arm around the wrist," he muttered, waiting as Logan did what he said. He let out a shaky breath at the change of pressure, "Now, hold it tight…and pull straight toward you. Slowly."

Logan did as he was told, and Alec had to bite on his own tongue to fight back the cry of pain threatening to leave him. He couldn't hold it back any longer when Logan straightened his arm out and continued to pull, but thankfully Logan didn't stop when Alec started screaming at the top of his lungs until they both heard the joint pop back into place. Logan immediately let go, and Alec rolled onto his other side, facing away from Logan as he gingerly brought his fixed arm into his chest, his hurt-filled cries lingering in the tense air between them.

It took a few moments for things to quiet down, and a tension grew over Alec. He didn't want to face Logan again after screaming so loud, but carefully, he sat up on the table and twisted around. However, he didn't meet Logan's eyes when he asked, "do you have any ice?" Logan quietly left to go fetch what he needed, and Alec took that time to return to the fireplace. As he was still in his boxers, he bent over to retrieve the sweats Logan had gotten him, left on the floor moments before. He moved his arm gingerly, subtle relief washing over him to be able to use it again. But he was careful while he dressed, because he didn't want to fuck it up anymore.

Logan returned with some ice wrapped in a towel, and handed it to Alec so he could apply it to his shoulder. Now more comfortable with pants on, Alec sat down and gingerly held the ice to his bare shoulder. His eyes remained transfixed on the fireplace, but he saw out of the corner of his eye that Logan crouched in front of him to come eye-level with the avoidant super soldier.

"I have to call Max now, Alec," Logan said somberly, and Alec let out a bitter chuckle.

"Why? So she can unleash her wrath on me while I'm a broken rag doll? No thank you," Alec muttered dejectedly. Logan frowned at the biting sarcasm.

"Alec-"

"No, Logan," Alec griped agitatedly, before sighing and falling back against the hard wooden floor. He didn't care about the lack of comfort in the slightest; he had a fire. He felt like the fucking king of the world right now. Besides, he'd had much worse in the past. "Just…give me a few hours to rest before you call the cat on me," he muttered sleepily, as his eyes involuntarily closed and he let go of the ice. With relief finally setting in his worst injury and the warmth radiating around him, he was out instantly, causing a bit of alarm to spark up in Logan.

"No, Alec, wait!" But it was no use, the boy was lost to the world, and Logan inwardly cursed himself. He shouldn't have let Alec fall asleep with a concussion, but he didn't think he could have kept Alec up, even if he tried harder. Because not even cold ice could keep him alert. All of his vitality seemed to have been taken from him on his journey here, and by the state of his body, Logan could only imagine why. By the burn mark alone it was obvious White or the Conclave were involved.

Frowning, he bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck as he stood, deliberating what he should do. On the one hand, he knew he should call Max. She was running all over the place looking for Alec, and he could end his love's strife with one quick phone call. He also didn't want to lie to her, and he still had to monitor the club for her in a few hours. He loved her too much, that even thinking of betraying her made him nauseas.

On the other hand, he knew Max was harder on Alec than she was on anyone else. His assumption that she would, quite literally, kick him while he was down wasn't too farfetched, which made Logan hesitate to call her. Alec needed rest; that was plain as day, and he didn't need the added stress of dealing with an angry boss on top of being Death's slippery mistress. Then again, maybe there was a different reason entirely to Alec's avoidant behavior, but Logan was no expert on the matter, even with his extended experiences with their kind. It was in this time of contemplation, that Logan took a moment to really look at Alec, passed the bruises and broken flesh.

He looked almost peaceful in his sleep, like maybe the horrors he had lived with his entire life didn't exist in this state of limbo. That made him look serene, and in the orange fire light, rather beautiful. It was undeniable how attractive the young man was, even for a casual observer like Logan. He had enhanced genetics to thank for that near perfection beauty, just like Max. And it was only going to get better for him. Logan just turned 27 a few days ago, and had passed his prime, but Alec was still young, only 21 and just starting to bulk up. Already, he had started to fill out in his torso and arms; he was thicker than the skinny kid Logan had met last year, more defined in face and toned body. What he would look like when he was Logan's age wasn't something the human wanted to imagine, because there was simply no comparison.

Even though Max had assured him nothing was going on between the two, everything about Alec screamed 'threat' to a nerdy guy like Logan. But he was too good of a guy to hold something like that over Alec's head. 'You're being foolish,' he told himself; 'Max loves you.' Quietly, Logan bent over and lifted the ice off the floor, cradling it in his hands as he looked over Alec's half-clothed form one more time. Then, he sighed heavily and rubbed his mouth wearily.

"You owe me big time for this one, Alec," he mumbled begrudgingly, before he wandered off to put the ice away. He returned to Alec with a spare pillow in hand, and gently lifted the sleeping man's head up to shove it underneath his skull. Logan frowned at that, because the usually alert and hard-to-trick soldier didn't stir even the slightest. Standing up, he dutifully walked over to his cellphone before he made a call. He pushed his glasses up with a few fingers so he could forcefully pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Hello? Dr. Shankar," Logan said once someone answered the other line. He dropped his glasses to look back at Alec as he said, "I was wondering if you could do me a favor and swing by my house…yes, it's an emergency," he murmured to the busy doctor's light prodding. A relieved sigh left him when she said she'd be over quickly, and before he hung up he added, "And bring supplies for everything."

"You'll be fine. I'll be right outside, waiting around the corner in the alleyway if you need me," Max said encouragingly as they stopped a block away from Mixer. OC took a steadying breath, before she nodded at Max. Her thin black, glittering dress matched the pumps she wore, and she adjusted her wristlet nervously. She was a tough girl, but even she wasn't keen on the prospect of going in alone against a mysterious woman who could apparently beguile super humans into missing persons cases. Women happened to also be her weakness, but she smiled to Max nonetheless.

"Get Eyes Only on me?" OC asked, and Max nodded with her own morose smile. OC turned and walked toward the club to get in the waiting line while Max phoned Logan. She played with the zipper of her jacket while the dial tone lingered on, until finally she heard his voice. He sounded….tired.

"Hey," she said hesitantly, looking over her should to see she'd lost sight of OC. "Original Cindy is going in now. Can you get your eyes on the place?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I got it," Logan murmured, typing on his keyboard with one hand to bring up the club monitor screens. "I'll keep watch over her. Don't worry, Max," he added softly. Max nodded, even though he couldn't see it. His tone sounded dull, and that made her irrationally worried.

"Did you find anything yet?" she asked hesitantly, heart pounding as the question lingered in the air. All she could do was hope he hadn't seen her dirty secret, and his hesitance to answer made her heart sink.

"No," he finally answered, voice gruff and cut-off. "Nothing yet," he added, rubbing the back of his head a little as he looked toward his common room. Alec was asleep again, the exam with Dr. Shankar having been strenuous on all of them. The boy was fussy, and Logan found himself drained from simply watching him get stitched up and prodded at. After a few painkillers, Alec was out again, but Logan still needed to be awake for an indefinite amount of time. He sighed softly.

"I'll call if I do. Be careful," he added hurriedly. Then, he hung up and let out the shakiest breath. He rubbed a hand through his hair, telling himself the same line that he had been for the last hour. Not telling Max he'd found Alec (or rather Alec found him) was the right decision because she would lose concentration on the mission if she knew, and they still needed the kidnapper. That he was only going to wait until the mission was over, until morning to tell her, and she would forgive him in the end. He still felt nauseas, but he wasn't the only one.

Max lowered the phone from her ear, expression nerve-wrecked and disgruntled. Her entire body seemed to deflate with defeat. Logan had sounded off, and all her brain could come up with is that he had seen the footage. Their filthy grinding had been caught on camera, and Logan had seen the whole thing. He knew her dirty secret and could barely handle speaking to her. 'Get your head in the game, girl,' Max scolded herself, shaking her head to rid herself of such troubling thoughts. She slipped around the corner of the building she was hiding behind, and scaled up to the roof. She picked a perch that was close to Mixer's roof, but still allowed her to remain hidden. All the while she waited for the signal, her mind fretted over Logan's behavior, and her own incorrigible apprehension over Alec's disappearance.

After awhile, Max got bored. She wasn't used to sitting by idly for so long, and it was starting to make her fidget. Anxious frustration seeped into her core, and she had to fight back the urge to call Logan every five seconds. Fuck, she was acting like a damn girl! Pining and whining about her love life, which had been in shambles since she met Logan, but had now reached an all time low. She needed to keep focus on the mission, but every second that ticked by just made her more frenzied. There had been no word of their mystery kidnapper showing up, and it had been hours. It was partly why she had an unnecessary urge to call, but so far, two phone calls to OC and one to Logan had revealed nothing, and she could tell they were both just as frustrated as she was.

By 2am, there was no sign of their suspect and the crowds were starting to wane. Even though she was itching to move on, she was still reluctant to call it a night. It seemed there wasn't much to do though, and she was through wasting time on this plan. OC joined her where they had parted, and Max was immediately ready to storm over to Logan's to begin a plan B. It was OC who caught her wrist the moment she twisted around in frenzy.

"Hey, I know you wanna find Alec, Boo… but not all of us are super human like you. Give Logan a break; he's been stressin' over those computers all night for you," her friend tried to coax. Max couldn't be deterred though, and with an apologetic smile, yanked her arm away from her friend. She shook her head resolutely.

"I can't. I'm sorry. Can you get home alright?" Max asked, and with a frown, OC nodded to her. They parted ways, and Max flew toward Logan's place on her motorcycle. She knew there wasn't much that could get done in the wee hours of the morning, but she needed a game plan. Her entire world felt out of sort without something to guide her forward, and right now, they were quite literally back to square one.

When she arrived at Logan's a little passed 2:30, she called the man's cellphone to make sure he was still up. And she didn't delay in her footsteps as it rang, so by the time a sleepy-sounding Logan picked up the phone, Max was already standing outside his front door.

"I'm coming in," was the brief warning she provided, before trying for the doorknob. It was locked, and she very nearly slammed her shoulder into it to break the bloody thing open, but the scratching on the other side of the door made her pause long enough to hear the locks come undone. On the other side, a very haggard, disgruntled Logan stood, eyes half closed and mouth slightly agape as he gawked at her. He was just about to fall asleep when his phone blared to life beside him, waking him with a start to let him know that Max was right at his door.

Not that at any other time he wouldn't have loved the surprise visit, but now was really the worst time for this to be happening.

"We need to talk," she said evenly, before she barreled forward to get through the door. Upon instinct, Logan's foggy brain forced him to reel back, his Henley and PJ pant covered body dodging the threat of Max's body drawing too close. His arm swung the door shut behind her as she trudged through his foyer, and he swiftly followed after her, though there was a distinct bubble between the two.

"Wait, Max-" he whined, but it was too late. She had crossed the bridge between the messy dining room and his living room, where Alec was sleeping upon the floor, still right next to the fire, which had died an hour ago into nothing but ash and embers. Still, his face was tilted toward its fading warmth, body covered by a thick quilt Logan had laid over him some time after Dr. Shankar had left.

Max hadn't expected to see him, so there was no way to predict (let alone control) the throb that erupted through her heart and shot straight into her groin at the sight of him. It was immediate, and sent a hot flush to her cheeks as she stood there, staring dumbfounded at the quiet, safe form slumbering peacefully beneath a bundle of blankets. Relief washed over her, a momentary calm allowing a small smile to pass her lips. Then, the rage set in, because she had been busting her ass all night on futile projects to find him when, here he was, taking a fucking nap!

Without thinking, she surged forward, skipped half a step, and sent a hard jab into Alec's rib with the tip of her boot. The reaction was instant, a sharp yell piercing through the silent house as Alec's body jolted upright. "What the fuck," he snarled loudly; a rabid dog growing viciously defensive over it's wounded body. Wild eyes snapped up to Max, and he barred his teeth in an angry snarl to match her irate glare. Those angry emerald eyes crashed onto Logan as Alec cradled his wounded oblique.

"I told you," he quipped sharply. It caused Max to falter slightly, but she wasn't ready to give up her anger yet. She reeled quickly on Logan.

"How long has he been here?"

"A few hours," Logan muttered tiredly.

"And you didn't think to call me!?" Max spat, unable to control her raging feet as they stalked her closer to Logan. The older man quirked a single brow in question, and leaned back slightly from the imposing fury of the smaller woman.

"Yeah, Max. I did, but Alec asked me not to, since he was afraid of how angry you'd be. Judging by your behavior now, I have to say I think I made the right call," he chided calmly, his voice sounding kind enough to be annoyingly condescending. It made her anger immediately deflate to flare up into something else entirely; offended embarrassment.

"Hey. I never said I was afraid," Alec huffed indignantly as he sat up. The covers hiding his upper body subsequently fell into his lap, exposing the gray T-shirt he now wore to hide his colorful wounds and the bandages that covered the worst of them. He winced when the gauze covering his neck began to itch over the burned flesh, and he reached up with his left hand to peel it off. Max had turned around just in time to see the mark that came into view. Everything else was forgotten as her face fell.

"Alec," she breathed regretfully, instantly coming to his side and dropping to her knees beside him. Mildly surprised at the change in atmosphere, Alec tilted his chin up to cast a curious gaze upon her face. When he realized what she was looking at, his hand subconsciously came up to cover his blackened skin.

"White?" she asked, and Alec nodded to her morosely. She knew what that meant, and her heart plummeted into her stomach. Her eyes trailed lower on him, a bitter understanding as to why he yelled so loud when she kicked him surfacing. She took note of the heavy bruising she could see around his elbows, and wondered how many others he carried in hidden places. "Is anything else-?" she asked thickly, hands reaching the hem of his shirt to pull it up.

"No- Max, I'm fine," he muttered quickly, his own hands coming up to grasp gently around her own and pull them away from the thin barrier he had left. Her gaze flickered up to his face for a brief moment, and she pouted a little before looking back to his shirt.

"Alec, let me see," she pressed, trying to shake his hands off to push up on his shirt again. He almost laughed a little as he fought her, but it was more out of discomfort than humor.

"No, really. I'm alright! Logan and Dr. Shankar already patched me up, so unless you're going to kiss it better…" They both froze for a moment at the careless words, and Max instantly let go of him, recoiling to slump onto her own heels as if he'd violently shocked her.

"What?" she stuttered, and Alec looked at her with bewildered eyes for a moment. Then, he huffed and flopped back down onto the pillow set out for him.

"Nothing," he griped bitterly, eyes focusing on the black and red embers left in the fireplace. "Clearly I'm still delusional from the near hypothermia I suffered through," he punched out. There was an awkward silence between the two that Logan was suddenly hyper-awake for. Blinking, he looked from one to the other, both completely oblivious of his presence. It wasn't unusual for Alec to flirt. Granted, he never really flirted with Max before that Logan saw, besides the one misunderstanding he had seeing Alec leave Max's apartment.

But this was a throwaway comment, one he never would have thought deeper on were it not for Max's odd reaction. Normally, she would have hit Alec or dismissed him with her own snappy quip, before shoving his hands away and taking a look. This was…wrong, and he cleared his throat to get their attention. Alec's eyes barely flickered in his direction, but Logan paid attention as Max's head quickly screwed around. She looked up at him with wide, startled eyes, and something else immediately rose in them that he didn't want to name. Guilt.

It was confirmed by the way she quickly looked away, casting her eyes downward into the blanket curled around Alec's feet. 'Maybe there is something I don't know about,' he thought bleakly, and the notion made him swallow heavily. Forcing his eyes onto Alec, Logan finally said, "I think it's time you told us what happened."

Alec didn't take his hard glare off the bright embers, and something dulled in his fluid eyes at the prospect of reliving the last twenty-four hours. But he swallowed quietly, and with a neutral voice, said, "Yeah…. yeah, alright."

AN: So whatcha guys think!? I'm hoping you guys enjoyed this chapter, because it was a lot of fun to write! Max and Alec are finally together again, yay! And tensions are growing ^.^ Please let me know if you guys are still enjoying this story, or want to see anything happen in the future! I'll keep writing in it anyway, because I actually love where I've gotten with it, but knowing I'm giving you guys something worthwhile helps! And once again, thank you all for reviewing, favoriting, and following.

And a special thanks to recicup and scmumsy for reviewing on every chapter thus far! You guys rock ;)