Disclaimer: Dark Angel belongs to Fox et al. I claim any original characters, should they decide to present themselves.

A/N: Well, it's finally up. I kind of hit a block at the beginning, so it took a while to get this chapter out. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! (Special thanks to those of you who have given me regular feedback for most of my chapters. It's very much appreciated.) Your encouragement to keep writing helped me make myself sit down and push through the rough spots.

Chapter 9 - Protecting Wildlife

Max had spent their time on the rural highway silently looking out at the pastures dotted occasionally with farmhouses, barns, and clumps of trees. Now the only movement she made was to work her jaw in an attempt to unplug her ears from the change in pressure as they wound up the mountain road to higher elevations.

"Gum?" Alec asked. "It helps. You know, like in an airplane."

"Thanks." She accepted a piece and folded the wrapper into a small square before smoothing it out on her knee and folding it again into a different shape. She felt empty. Somewhere inside she knew grief and guilt lurked, accompanied by the loneliness fused with independence that defined her life. There was also the scorching rage toward those who hunted her family, but at the moment it seemed locked away with everything else, leaving her hollow.

Alec glanced at her while he steered the Jeep around a sharp curve. "Good thing transgenics don't get carsick," he commented.

She gave him a slightly puzzled look. "What?"

He shrugged. "A lot of people would probably get queasy on these roads, not to mention some serious puking after staring at their knees for a private origami session."

Max rolled her eyes and barely shook her head. Glancing out across the evergreen landscape again she sighed.

"Max, why don't you grab a few minutes sleep?" Alec suggested. "They're not going to expect anyone to know about their secret base, let alone circle around the north side of the mountain to sneak up on them. And I could wake you up if we run into anything interesting. You know, an elk, or a mountain goat, or something."

"Nah, I'm fine," Max said quietly and went back to playing with the tattered gum wrapper.

Alec sighed. He knew how to irritate Max and push her buttons, but dealing with this new subdued and withdrawn personality made him feel a little unsure of himself. He watched out of the corner of his eye as she lowered the window a couple inches and trailed her fingers in the air moving past the Jeep. The gum wrapper she still held flapped like a tiny flag in the breeze. She released it, turning around to watch it disappear in a glinting silver flash.

"Shame, shame, Maxie," Alec commented. "The fine for littering in a national park is like a thousand bucks."

She snorted. "You gonna report me?"

He relaxed at the slightly mocking tone in her voice. This Max he could handle. "I guess I'll let it slide this time, but we've all got to do our part in protecting wildlife."

"Ok, Ranger Alec. Whatever you say." Max rolled her eyes but was unable to suppress a small smile. "How much further to the campground?"

"White River's a couple miles ahead." He glanced at the dashboard clock. "We'll probably have about four hours until it's really dark and we can drive the rest of the way around the mountain."

A few minutes later they turned off the main road and drove past the ranger station that marked the campground entrance. The remains of the small building's roof were covered with green moss. Its years of disuse showed in the dirt covered windows, and the doorknob seemed to have rusted totally away. Alec drove carefully along what was left of the road and pulled into a grassy space that used to be a parking lot. Closer to the trees, the decaying bones of picnic tables stood as fading memories of a time when people used the area for relaxation and recreation.

Max stepped out of the Jeep and stretched. She leaned against the hood, watching Alec pick his way through the underbrush near a sign that marked a now overgrown trail. Soon he disappeared behind a tree, and she decided to follow. Ferns occasionally brushed her legs as she walked silently. The sound of rushing water filled the silence, and the underbrush thickened, forcing her to push through some bushes before she emerged on the rocky riverbed.

Alec sat on a large rock in the middle of the river and watched the water swirl into white bubbles as it roared past him. Max looked at him thoughtfully for a moment until a mischievous grin appeared on her face. Stepping lightly over a side stream, she hoped that the noise of the river would cover any sound of the rocks crunching beneath her feet. She stooped to grab a large rock and crept to the water's edge. Aiming carefully, Max tossed the stone so it landed with a plop in front of the rock Alec sat on and sprayed him with the icy water.

"Hey!" he yelled. Turning, he saw Max crouched behind a spindly bush. Large gaps between the branches would have revealed her, even if the whole plant had not been shaking from her laughter. Alec leapt smoothly to the rocky island and stalked toward her. Max's eyes widened, and she scrambled away, still giggling.

Alec followed Max in a lighthearted chase up the riverbed. Leaping lightly and sure-footedly from rock to rock, Max reversed their course. Eventually, she found herself standing on the rock Alec had recently occupied in the middle of the river. No other stones were near enough for her to reach, and when she turned Alec blocked her way back to the small island.

He grinned wickedly and picked up a rock. "Time for your shower, Maxie," he commented.

"Aw, c'mon Alec. The water's cold!" she appealed to him.

"I know! No thanks to you! But I don't think you've had any firsthand experience." He weighed the rock in his hands.

"Wait! Um" Max wracked her brain for an appeal. "If you let it go, you'd, uh, be the better person, y'know? You'd win." She smiled beseechingly at him.

He thought for a second. "Always looking out for my wellbeing, huh Max?" He sighed and dropped the rock by his feet. "Ok, come on back."

Max shifted her weight and jumped across the roaring water. As soon as she pushed off the ground, Alec bent down and tossed the rock in a low arc underneath her. A small geyser spouted up from the river as she sailed over it. Instinctively, her hands raised to shield her face from the tiny sparkling droplets. She stumbled slightly when she landed, and Alec stepped forward to catch her before she could take the next steadying step.

He grinned down at her and remarked, "I'd rather win this way."

Slightly flustered, Max pushed against his chest and straightened. His arms dropped from around her, and she covered her confusion by punching his shoulder. "Idiot," she hissed.

He rolled his eyes and trailed after her as she left the riverbed. "What's the matter? Can't handle payback for what you started?"

She flopped down under a cedar tree and stuck out her tongue at him.

He grinned and sat next to her with his back to the tree, his arm barely brushing hers as he settled himself. They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the rushing water in the distance.

"Do you think we've got White this time?" Max asked eventually.

Alec shrugged. "Better lead than before, although we never got confirmation that the unmarked vehicles really were his groupies."

"We have to end this," Max said rather desperately. "He can't just keep killing us, especially if he's going to try and raise help through renegade bands of humans. We won't always be able to clean up the mess before the media finds out."

"I know," he cut her off. Taking her hand he continued, "If this isn't the right place then we'll keep looking. White can't hide forever. We've got the skills and the training to take him down."

Max leaned her head against his shoulder. "That's not much good to the ones he already got," she mumbled, willing herself not to cry.

"But it will keep others safe," he countered. "You know the saying, don't let their deaths be in vain, and all that."

Max smiled wryly and wearily closed her eyes.

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Max stood on the rock in the middle of the river and watched the water rush past. Her transgenic hearing picked up a dripping noise over the roar. She focused her enhanced senses until the water's noise faded into nothing. Her eyes searched the bank as she tried to find the source of the steady dripping sound. Glancing down, Max saw that the foam at the base of the boulder was tinted pink.

She stood rooted in place as her eyes followed a glistening colored trail up the rock. Near her feet drops of red spattered steadily into a small puddle that overflowed into the rushing river. Max began gasping for air and looked higher to see the blood running down her hand and collecting momentarily at her fingertips before plunging to the rock below.

The swirling water merged with the rough green shapes of trees lining the shore as her vision blurred. The steady drip still echoing in her ears, Max felt herself swept away in the icy cold darkness of the river.

With a muffled cry Max opened her eyes, and her vision cleared. Her sudden movement startled Alec and he looked away from the deepening forest gloom to see her carefully examine her hand and arm. Relieved to find nothing wrong, Max looked up to see him watching her narrowly.

She caught the sound of steady dripping and glanced wildly around them. Gradually, she realized that they now sat in a dry circle surrounded by damp ground, sheltered by the cedar boughs above them. At least that explained the incessant noise. Her heart still raced and she took a deep breath while she tried to figure out what to say.

"It got all misty about an hour ago and started to rain a little," Alec said gently.

"Oh, um, ok." Max leaned carefully back against the tree trunk.

"So that's why you haven't been sleeping, huh? Wanna talk about 'em?" he asked.

"YeahI mean noWhat?" she looked at him, confused. The understanding she saw in his eyes helped her relax a little more.

"Nightmares," he said succinctly.

"It's just stress. So much has been going on, you know? It's not really anything," she tried to explain.

"Max, it's ok. I'm not gonna pressure you, 'cause I don't want you to hit me again, but we can talk about it. I may like to push your buttons, but I know where to draw the line," he smiled. "Usually, anyway."

She gave him a small haggard smile in return. "Thanks, but I'd rather not. Besides, I feel better now that I've gotten a couple hours sleep."

"See, I told you," he said triumphantly and then sobered. "Are you sure you're ok to go tonight?"

"Alec, I'm fine." Slightly annoyed, she continued, "We've gotta find White."

He shrugged, "At least now I don't have to worry about you going narcoleptic on me. It should be dark enough to get going. Ready?"

Max nodded and he offered her his hand. She gave it a slight squeeze after standing and kept holding it as they walked though the darkness toward their Jeep.