Warning: this chapter is a little depressing but there is hope at the end

"Do you have any new information?" Max questioned Logan in monotone, barely looking at the man on the screen. It had been two weeks since Alec had gone down on that stage. One week since they had allowed him to leave the hospital because there was nothing more they could do and he would be more comfortable at home. That's what it was about now, making him comfortable.

"Listen Max…" Logan began drawing Max from her inner turmoil.

"Just answer the question Logan." She replied not wanting to deal with anything else. She didn't need comforting words and she didn't want them, she just wanted Alec. She just needed Alec.

"Well no but…"

"Then I don't need to hear it Logan. Call me when you have something." He didn't get to reply before Max exited the screen and went back to the video of the press conference. She had watched it so many times she probably had it memorized but at least it made her feel like she was doing something.

{[This is Isabelle Ann with the breaking news. Recently at a press conference in front of Terminal City the 2IC, other known as Alec, seems to have fallen ill. In the middle of Q and A with the appointed leader 'Max', He collapsed and was rushed away back into the walls of Terminal City, there has been no notice since. Here is the footage now…( Alec is in the background at first but as the camera focuses on him as he starts to sway. After a jolty motion he begins to go down and Max is seen diving for him. They are soon covered by the podium and a crowd of Meds which within a few minutes move them inside the walls of Terminal City. The crowd continues to be a flurry of activity.)… What you don't see in that footage is the interaction which happened between 'Max' and 'Alec'. An eyewitness claims they seemed much more than just co leaders as they report that "Max would not let him go and begged him not to leave her". Either their politics are much more emotional than ours or these two seem to be more than IC and 2IC. Of course none of this has been confirmed or denied. This was Isabelle Ann with…]}

Max didn't need to hear the rest. She stood slowly to avoid the dizziness that now usually accompanied quick movements since she decided to forgo sleep all together. She moved calmly out of the office and made sure her Manticore mask was firmly in place before moving out into the brightly lit HQ. The conservation always dwindled when she entered but it didn't bother her anymore. She was tired of telling people not to tippy toe around her.

DarkAngel

"Alec! I'm back!" Max called out as she entered the threshold of the small apartment that had once belonged to Alec alone. She had refused to let him live alone once he was released from the hospital and he had refused to sharing his apartment with some random nut job so they had compromised.

"Hey Maxie." He called back in a far too weak and hoarse voice as he exited the bedroom. Max gaze him a once over and almost let out another sob. His clothes were baggy and ill-fitting due to the fact that he couldn't keep much down, not that he had an appetite at all. Even his face had thinned out, his cheekbones sharper, and eyes sunken. He was wearing a belt but kept tugging his jeans upward as he walked the ways to the couch and collapsed. From the bedroom to the couch. That's as far as he could get without being exhausted. "So, how is HQ?"

"Having a party." She teased, happy just to get a small twist of the lips from him.

"You wound me." He taunted back, but it didn't have the same feeling it usually did.

"How are you feeling?" It was stupid question, but she asked it every day. She even knew what the answer would be…

"Peachy Maxie." But he wasn't, and she knew it, but she liked to hear it anyways. "Did Logan have anything usefull?"

"No." She answered simply, walking over to the couch and collapsing down next to him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and she set her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "We'll find something."

"I know, I trust you guys." Alec replied instantly, 'I trust you'.

Max looked up at him from her spot and, even though he was still warm from bed, his eyes were already drooping. That was what killed her. Not the dark circles, or the weight loss, but his eyes. They had lost their spark. Sure he still smirked and tried to joke but it never reached his eyes. No his eyes were always tired and pained, except when they looked at her. Then there was something else that flickered in them just for a moment. That's why she wouldn't give up trying to save him, that's why she knew he wouldn't give up to.